"Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity, please report to the main office." the intercom blared, summoning the five girls from their various classes to the center of Canterlot High.
"What's this about?" Rainbow asked under her breath as she and Applejack walked into the school from the soccer field.
"I dunno." Applejack replied, shrugging. "Maybe they need our help with somethin'."
As Rainbow and Applejack walked through the empty halls of Canterlot High, Rarity and Pinkie Pie joined them.
"I hope we aren't being reprimanded for something." Rarity said.
"I'm sure it's nothing like that." Rainbow replied. "They're probably gonna give as an award or something."
"Why on earth would they do that?"
"Hello? We've saved the entire school! I'm surprised we haven't gotten some sort of recognition for it yet."
Rarity responded with a roll of her eyes.
"There's Fluttershy!" Pinkie beamed, pointing to said girl, who was standing just outside the door to the office. Fluttershy smiled nervously and opened the door for her friends, walking in and closing the door behind them.
Upon entering, the five were greeted by Principal Celestia, who sat at her desk with a worried expression on her face. Featherweight stood beside her, his face echoing the administrator's.
"Girls," she began, once everyone had found a seat. "Have you seen Sunset Shimmer today?"
"Not really." Rainbow said, shrugging. "She isn't involved with any sports programs, so I don't see her very often."
"Me neither." Applejack added. "Then again, Ah've been busy, what with mah new part time job an' all."
"That's weird!" Pinkie said, gasping. "I was just about to add more exposition too!"
The group looked at her, and she continued.
"I mean, Rarity and I were talking about how we hadn't seen her."
"What about you, Fluttershy?" Celestia asked. The reticent girl shook her head.
"All right, Featherweight." the principal said. "Have you calmed down enough to tell us what's going on?"
"Yeah." the boy said, stopping and turning to the group.
"So, you know how I'm the photographer for the Wondercolt Weekly, right?" he began. The others in the room nodded.
"Well, one of the columnists decided to do an article on how Sunset Shimmer was adjusting to things, and so I got the job of photographing her. I followed her everywhere I could. I took picture after picture. I even managed to get a few videos."
"Just like most of my first dates." Pinkie said, smirking, as Featherweight shot her a look.
"One of the videos I took was this..." he said, pulling out a camera and plugging it into the nearby TV via a large, black cable.
The screen flickered to life to show Sunset Shimmer standing at her locker, placing her books inside of it. As she took a few books out, Trixie walked up to her, and they began talking. The conversation evidently turned to a sensitive subject, because after ten or so seconds, Trixie was shouting, and Sunset was running away, her face in her hands.
The video ended, and the ensuing silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.
"You know," Rarity said, hands on her hips. "I honestly wouldn't put it past her."
"Right on that point." Applejack added.
"So, what's the plan?" Rainbow said. "Do we confront Trixie first, or do we go find Sunset?"
"Why not both?" Pinkie asked.
"Leave Trixie's punishment to me." Celestia said, sighing and standing. "You five go find Sunset. She needs friends like you now more than ever."
"Leave it to us!" Rainbow said, saluting and leaving the office, her friends - and a concerned Featherweight - in tow.
Celestia sighed, once the doors had closed and she was alone. Clearing her throat, she pressed a button on her intercom and spoke.
"Trixie Lulamoon, please come to the main office."
"Why are we in the parking lot again?" Applejack asked, as Pinkie and Rainbow Dash examined the area, the former donning a deerstalker and brandishing a magnifying glass.
"Didn't you hear me earlier?" Pinkie said, holding the glass to Applejack's left eye and gazing deeply. "We're looking for Sunset's car!"
"Pinkie, dear," Rarity interjected, pulling said girl off of Applejack. "If Sunset left the school, wouldn't she have taken her car?"
"You're right!" Pinkie shouted. "We need to look for tire tracks!"
"She doesn't drive a car." Fluttershy said.
"A motorcycle, then?" Rainbow asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.
"No." was her friend's reply. "She takes the bus."
"Well, why didn't ya tell us this earlier?" Applejack said, giving Fluttershy a look. "The buses don't come fer another hour or so."
"I did, but you didn't listen." Fluttershy said, blowing a strand of hair from her face and folding her arms in front of her chest.
"It's all right." Rarity said, ever the diplomat. "We'll simply take my car to Sunset's house."
"But none of us know where she lives." Rainbow said.
"I do." Fluttershy said. "She lives in the Star-Swirl condos, just like me."
"And you didn't tell us this earlier?" Pinkie asked, giving Fluttershy the same treatment as Applejack.
"This is the third time I've said it this week. Maybe you should try listening to me." Fluttershy replied, pushing Pinkie off of her and walking away.
"What's eatin' her?" Applejack asked.
"I have no idea." Rarity replied.
"You guys go ahead and go to Sunset's." Rainbow said. "Fluttershy and I'll meet you there."
The others shrugged and walked off - Pinkie with a cry of 'shotgun!' - as Rainbow ran to catch up to Fluttershy.
"Something's up." she said simply, once she and her friend were walking at the same pace.
"It's nothing." Fluttershy said, turning away from her friend. "I'm sorry for snapping back there."
"It isn't nothing. I don't think I've ever heard you sound so angry. What's wrong?"
"It's-"
"It's not nothing, and I'm not leaving until you tell me."
Fluttershy sighed, and turned to her friend.
"It's that video Featherweight showed us."
"What about it? Trixie's a grade-A jerkwad, but that's nothing new."
"You don't know what she said to Sunset."
"And you do?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, Flutters, please just calm down and explain."
Fluttershy sat down on the sidewalk, her back resting against the wall of the school, and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"You know I'm in ESL club." she began.
"Yeah."
"Well, our teacher is deaf, and she's been teaching me how to read lips."
Rainbow stopped for a second and sat down next to her friend.
"And so you read Trixie's lips, and..."
"She said the most horrible things to Sunset, and I can tell she meant them."
"Like what?"
"You don't want to know."
"Fluttershy, tell me. I can't understand what's going on unless you explain."
"You really, really don't want to know."
"Tell me already!"
"She told Sunset to kill herself." Fluttershy said, tears beginning to stream down her face. "Sunset started crying, and she just kept on yelling at her until she ran off."
Rainbow Dash said nothing, wrapping her friend in a tight hug.
"It's gonna be alright, Fluttershy." Rainbow said, breaking the silence. "We're gonna find her, and she's gonna be fine. It'll be okay."
"You don't know that." Fluttershy said, hiding her face behind her hair. "When... When Trixie said that, I saw this look in Sunset's eyes. I'm scared she might-"
"Well, she can't if we find her first." Rainbow said. "And when we find her, and help her out, you'll get to punch Trixie second, I promise."
"Second?" Fluttershy said, turning to her friend.
"Sunset gets to go first, of course." Rainbow said, grinning. "But she can't do that until we find her. Let's go."
Fluttershy sniffled, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her sweater, nodded, and followed Rainbow Dash back to the parking lot.
"Here we are!" Pinkie cried jovially as the car pulled into the apartment complex. "Sunset's house should be around here somewhere."
As the three exited the car and looked around, Applejack let out a low whistle.
"Y'all sure Sunset lives here?" she said. The others agreed with her.
They'd driven up a small road into a picturesque courtyard with a well-manicured lawn and a park in the middle where children frolicked and a swimming pool decorated with murals of dolphins and resplendent aquatic life. The entire area was framed by a large hedge with purple and magenta flowers woven into it in alternating patterns. Behind the hedge, short, wide buildings were laid out in what looked like a rather large cul-de-sac, curving around with the road the girls had just taken being the only thing splitting the circle formed by the condominiums. Each building was made to a different theme; some were green, laced with ivy and flowers, some were grey stone, with regal crenelations and blue-and-gold flags waving from the roofs. Some were in a modern style, all glass and curves, sleek and stylish, while some seemed to be simple log cabins. Birds chirped and sang, and the sun shone brightly, turning the swimming pool into a disk of shining light.
"I think we've arrived at the wrong address." Rarity breathed.
Their wonderment was cut off by the sound of a motorcycle, shortly followed by its origin; a sky-blue vehicle that slowed and stopped next to the car, bearing two helmeted figures on it.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash disembarked, the latter looking around and smiling at the reactions of her friends.
"I couldn't believe it either, for the first time." she said, taking off her helmet and placing it on one of the handlebars. "It's really something."
"How can you afford to live here?" Applejack asked incredulously, turning to Fluttershy, who kept her helmet on, flipping the visor down in embarrassment.
"The owners have to follow Star-Swirl's last will and testament," Rainbow said. "which, apparently, states that-"
Fluttershy put a hand on her friend's shoulder and shook her head.
"Well, let's just say that Fluttershy gets to stay here for free because reasons." Rainbow said. "Now where's Sunset's condo?"
Fluttershy led them down a small path past the playground and through the hedge into a small area kept in shadow and overgrown with thorny bushes.
"This is where Sunset lives?" Pinkie asked. Fluttershy shook her head, leading them past the bushes into a small square and up to a small castle-style condo.
"Here." she said, stepping back to let Rainbow Dash knock on the door. As she did, it swung open, revealing a small, empty front room with a hallway leading off to the left. Wet shoeprints led from the front door into the hall.
"Her room's this way." Fluttershy said, once again taking point and guiding her friends through the spartan corridor and to a small, grey door set into the wall.
"Anyone in there?" Rainbow asked.
There was no reply.
They opened the door and entered Sunset Shimmer's bedroom.
In the furthest corner of the room lay a crisply-made twin bed, with orange sheets and a red blanket bearing Sunset's cutie mark. Next to the bed stood a small night stand, with a picture of Princess Celestia resting atop it next to a small clock and a bottle of what appeared to be grape soda. A computer desk sat against the opposite wall, next to the door, a laptop computer humming softly on it. It was the only room in the house that bore any ornamentation; orange, red, and yellow paper cranes hung from the ceiling, moving ever so slightly in the wind created by the ceiling fan that spun slowly and distributed the scent of perfume around the room. Light shone through a small window, landing on a note that lay on the floor in the middle of the room next to a pile of wet clothing, a trail of wet shoeprints leading toward and away from it.
"She's been here recently." Fluttershy said, taking off her helmet.
"How can you tell?" Rarity asked.
"I can smell her perfume; she always uses a bit too much." came the reply, as Fluttershy stepped forward and picked up the letter, her eyes scanning over it before she dropped it and sat on the bed, her head in her hands.
"What does it say?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy didn't answer.
Rainbow strode up to the note, read it, handed it to Rarity, and sat down next to Fluttershy, hugging her friend for the second time that day.
Rarity cleared her throat and read.
Dear friends,
I'm leaving.
Trixie was right; the others at this school won't ever forgive me.
I tried to leave earlier, but I was a coward, and so I came back. This time, I'll be gone for a lot longer, and the next time you see me, it'll all be over.
Tell Twilight that I'm sorry for taking the crown, and for trying to take over, and to check the Fire Fly wing of the Canterlot Archives. There's a book on the third bookshelf to the left that I think she'll find interesting: 'Pyrrhic Pyre's Principles of Pyromancy: Sparks, Flames, and Infernos.'
Tell Princess Celestia that I love miss her, and that she's always been the mom I've never had near and dear to my heart, even if I was an arrogant, stubborn idiot.
Above all, tell them - tell everyone:
I'm sorry.
-SS
There was a long silence, punctuated by Fluttershy's heavy, ragged breathing.
After what seemed like an eternity, Rarity slowly laid the note down on the floor.
"We need to go find her." Pinkie said softly.
"She could be anywhere by now." Rarity said. "How could we?"
"Well, we won't get any closer ta findin' her by just sittin' here." Applejack said, turning to the door. "Ah'll ask around, see if anyone saw 'er leave."
"I'll get the car started." Rarity said, following Applejack through into the corridor.
"I'll go check the school again." Pinkie added. "Maybe she's come back."
"Fluttershy and I'll-" Rainbow Dash began.
"I'll track her from here." Fluttershy said. "You all have helped so much. Thank you. But I can handle this."
Pinkie left, possibly to relay the news to the others, while the two sat there.
"It's all right, Fluttershy." Rainbow said, getting up off of the bed. "I know this has hit you hard, but we can help."
"No you can't." Fluttershy said, taking off the helmet and putting it on the bed beside her. "You don't know how she thinks; how people planning to... do that are like."
"And you do?"
"Yes."
"How? Rainbow asked. "I've been with you practically since birth! We've been sisters for years now! How could you know and I wouldn't?"
Fluttershy's answer was quiet, a whisper that Rainbow could just barely make out.
"Because I've tried."
Rainbow Dash sat back down on the bed.
"When?"
"It was before we met the others. Just after we got home from summer camp, I went to Ghastly Gorge."
"And... you tried to..."
"I chickened out. I remember standing on the edge of the cliff, looking down, and wondering if it'd hurt when I hit the bottom. After a few minutes, I realized that I hadn't said goodbye to you yet. It was an excuse, and I knew it, but I still held on to it, used it. I decided to go home, get some sleep, and write a note and do it the next day."
Fluttershy lay back on the bed, a wistful smile gracing her features.
"The next day, I met the others. They were just so happy. And when you introduced me to them, they didn't have a problem with me like all the other kids did. They accepted me. And once I was part of that happiness, how could I not be happy too?"
Fluttershy gave a sigh of contentment before frowning again.
"But now Sunset's about to make the same mistake I almost made."
"Then let's find her." Rainbow said, standing up and picking up Fluttershy's helmet. "And make her happy, just like we did with you."
Fluttershy nodded, following her friend out the door and closing it gently behind her.
As they passed the pool, Fluttershy stopped her friend and pointed to a wet, black object lying next to the water.
"Her jacket." she said simply, bending over to pick it up. "It looks like she took it off here, and it got soaked by the runoff."
"There's something at the bottom of the pool!" Rainbow cried, pointing. Fluttershy peered into the clear water, eyes widening when she discovered what it was.
At the bottom of the pool lay a brick tied to a rope.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rainbow asked when Fluttershy told her. "It's just a brick."
"Think, Rainbow." Fluttershy said. "You're trying to find a way to die, and there's a pool of water deeper than you are tall. So what do you do?"
Rainbow understood then.
"I guess you'd tie a brick to your ankle, then hop in."
Fluttershy nodded. "It wouldn't be too heavy to carry, but it'd be heavy enough to keep someone from floating, especially if they're wearing clothes."
"The pile in her room." Rainbow said.
"In her note, she said: 'I tried to leave earlier, but I was a coward and came back.'" Fluttershy said. "That's what she meant. She tried to drown herself, failed, and went back home."
"Then she changed, and left again."
"But she didn't change shoes." Fluttershy said, pointing to two sets of prints, one nearly faded and the other fresh. "We have our trail."
They followed the footprints back down the path to Sunset's house until they came to the thorn bushes.
"They stop here." Fluttershy said. "But look how these ones are fresher. She stood here longer. And they point towards the thorns."
Fluttershy took a step forward and touched a thorn with her finger, pulling it back red.
"They scratched her as she went through them."
Sure enough, as the two forced their way through the bushes, they found a patch of black cloth stuck on one of the branches.
"She can't be too far ahead; the blood was still fresh. Come on!"
They broke through to the other side of the bushes and found themselves in between two of the buildings. The shoeprints, now muddy, led to the wall of the complex.
"She hopped the fence." Rainbow said. "You go over; I'll grab the cycle and head around the long way."
"Right."
Fluttershy took a few steps back, thanked her P.E. teacher silently, and ran toward the wall, jumping as high as she could and grabbing onto the top with her hands. With considerable effort, she managed to get an arm up, then a leg, and, soon, her entire body. When she hit the ground on the other side, she didn't have to wait long before Rainbow came back, riding her motorcycle.
"Which way did she go?" she asked. Fluttershy examined the shoeprints.
"That way." she said, pointing. Rainbow Dash nodded and motioned for her to get on the bike. Fluttershy obliged.
"How far ahead was she?" Rainbow asked as Fluttershy put on her helmet.
"No more than ten or so minutes." she replied. "And if we take into account the fact that she was walking, we should be close."
"Right."
They drove through the streets, Fluttershy calling out whenever the shoeprints turned, until the prints led into an alley.
"Check around, see if she's here." Rainbow said, stopping the motorcycle.
Nodding, Fluttershy got off the motorcycle and headed into the alley.
There was a gasp, followed by Fluttershy's voice.
"Rainbow!"
Rainbow turned the bike off and ran into the alley to find Fluttershy staring down a silhouette. It was tall, broad-shouldered, and definitely male.
And he was standing over Sunset Shimmer, a bloody knife in his hand.
Rainbow dashed toward the figure, and he retreated, dropping something as he fled. She wanted to chase after him, make him pay for what he did, but Fluttershy's voice cut through her rage.
"Call 911!"
Rainbow turned, pulling her phone out and dialing the number.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" a female voice called.
"I need an ambulance here right away." Rainbow replied. "One of my friends is hurt real bad. Someone stabbed her, I think in the stomach."
"Where are you located?"
Rainbow sprinted out of the alley and checked the street signs.
"I'm at 14th and Mane. Come quick!"
She hung up and turned around, entering the alley again.
Fluttershy was leaning over Sunset, her shirt torn into a makeshift bandage and her hands pressed against the unconscious girl's stomach.
"Anything I can do to help?" Rainbow asked.
"Something flat for me to press these down with." Fluttershy replied, her voice tense. "It'll help me stop the bleeding."
Rainbow looked around and spotted the thing the man had dropped: Sunset's wallet. She picked it up and gave it to Fluttershy.
"She's not breathing." Fluttershy said, her voice trembling. "Rainbow, please keep pressing this down."
Rainbow took over as Fluttershy began CPR.
It felt like forever, the time that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy spent trying to keep their friend alive. At long last, the telltale sirens of an EMT unit heralded the arrival of emergency personnel.
Two doctors entered the alley and took over from there, lifting Sunset onto a stretcher and rolling her into the ambulance.
"It's a good thing you called us when you did." One of them said. "If we'd arrived any later, she might not have as much of a chance as she does."
"Will she be okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"The wound isn't as bad as it looks." the doctor replied. "She'll be all right."
They drove off, Sunset Shimmer in the back of the car, and Fluttershy sank to the ground, the adrenaline of the moment leaving her.
For the third time that day, she cried.
When she managed to calm herself down, she left the alley to find Rainbow sitting on the motorcycle, the visor on her helmet down over her eyes.
"You should call the others and let them know." Rainbow said, her voice trembling. "Tell them we'll meet them at Canterlot General."
Fluttershy nodded and pulled her phone out, dialing Applejack's number.
"Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.
"We found her." Fluttershy said simply. "She was hurt, but we managed to get her to the hospital. Bring the others."
"Will do."
Fluttershy hung up, and Rainbow Dash drove away.
Tears threatened to fill Fluttershy's eyes again; she blinked them away.
Sunset was going to be all right.
In that moment, Fluttershy knew that everything was going to be all right.
Author's Note
And that's the end! There is a sequel in the works, although if it gets written at the same rate as this one, don't expect it for a couple of months at the earliest.
A lot of this story - particularly Fluttershy's reactions and her story - were inspired by things that happened to me. I hope it was as cathartic to read as it was to write.
So, yeah. I guess there's really nothing much left to say here.
Have a nice day. ^^
