He Who Fights Monsters: The Final Days of Sunset Shimmer

Chapters

What You Are in the Dark
Opening Ceremonies
Bring Me the Horizon

What You Are in the Dark

Chapter 1: What You Are in the Dark

In Canterlot, anything is possible, they say. The city is a beautiful jewel, a shining beacon, a glistening fruit just waiting for someone to take a bite.

But nothing is perfect. Every jewel has a flaw. Every beacon can go out. And in the end, every fruit will either be swallowed up...or begin to rot.

The apartment was dark, barely lit up by a computer monitor, and that was how Cloud Cover liked it. He didn’t need someone across the street peeking in on him and calling somebody, and he enjoyed his privacy anyway. Most of his work didn’t lend itself to public approval, after all.

Nor did most of his leisure activities, when he thought about it.

Cloud Cover gasped into the darkness as his callused hands wrapped around his girth, gently gripping his shaft and slowly running his fingers up and down along the length. His breath caught in his throat as he inhaled, gasping in the reek of cum, chemicals and liquor that he had come to associate with home.

The hum of the computer was soon the only sound in the room as he regained his composure and bit down on his lip with some frustration. He would prefer to listen to some music during one of these sessions, but he had dropped his headphones earlier in the week and the landlord had made it very clear what would happen if he kept playing deathcore after midnight. Fucking philistines, he had shouted, before begrudgingly agreeing to the new terms.

Cloud was almost as still as the grave as he roughly massaged the tip of his cock, in the hopes of increasing the...well, he wouldn't call it pleasure. It had been years since masturbation had given him any pleasure, not after everything he had seen and done. He preferred to think of it like scratching an itch, tending to an irritation before it got the better of him and caused him to...act out, in inconvenient ways. He'd already lost two apartments, lashing out at people in his frustration.

And that satisfaction would need to last him a while. He would need to be master of his domain for a good length of time, two weeks at least, time enough to get a good case of blue balls going. He'd learned from experience that two weeks was about as long as he could last without venting any frustration, sexual or otherwise, and when he finally did get relief after such a long time...

Her face flashed in his head as he considered the thought and a shudder of real pleasure jolted up his spine. Cloud Cover grinned, a twisted smile with every emotion save actual happiness behind it. An idea came to him in the fog of this rare sensation, something to provide him with some...inspiration, for the weeks to come. With his free hand Cloud reached across the bed he laid on and began to rummage through his...special drawer.

During moments of intense anger, frustration, or sadness, the drawer was always the first thing Cloud Cover turned to. Back in the early days, when he had been eking out a living on the streets after his expulsion, it had started off as a simple newspaper clipping of her picture from the Fall Formal. Thinking about that smug, laughing bitch...what he would do if he could get her alone...it had been all that had kept him going. He still had the picture, stained with cum and barely legible anymore, a keepsake to remind him of why he was doing this.

Rummaging around he felt a number of the objects he had acquired - panties, used tampons, photographs taken in the still of night - before he found what he wanted. The clump of hair - acquired when he'd "accidentally" followed her into her hairdresser 's- had been something he had been looking for for a long time. The opportunity had only recently come up, and he had snatched it in a heartbeat. He had been looking forward to it.

Even in the dim light it was beautiful. Crimson red, with golden highlights...he could just imagine it draping down her body as she walked. Like the sparkling of the sun. Fitting, really.

Cloud Cover buried his face into the locks of hair, breathing deeply enough to almost suffocate. It smelled exactly like he thought it would. The heavy musk of cinnamon and wildflowers overtook his senses, blocking out the iodine and lye he used in his profession. His cock hardened in his hands as precum seeped from the tip.

If he closed his eyes he could pretend she was there, her smoky, sexy voice gasping in pain as he wrapped her hands through her hair and slammed her against the locker. He imagined burying his face into her hair as he slowly strangled her in his headspace, muffling the laughter he heard from her in all his nightmares.

His eyes rolled up to his bureau as he began to grow light-headed, passing over the collections of Nietzsche and Rand he had accumulated, past the Suicide Silence LPs, to the last shred of what he used to be... pictures from the life he had before. The first photo he had ever taken with the junior varsity football team...his first Fall Formal, where he had tried and failed to ask her on a date...the school newspaper crew which had abandoned him when she told them all what he was doing...his family who had thrown him out when the news had reached them...and his yearbook photo, of a fresh-faced young man of bright blue skin and neatly trimmed dark gray hair, the quintessential go-getter before his hair had grown long and greasy, and his skin an ashen pale. Before his chemistry hobby became his only means of survival. Before...all of this.

Cloud Cover's grip on the locks of hair tightened to the point of pain as he began to quietly sob, tears streaming down his face that soon turned into muffled, angry screams. Blood trickled from between his fingers and polluted the cinnamon aroma.

Cloud imagined what it would be like to see her blood on his hands instead. He lurched forward as he climaxed, spraying his ejaculate all over his hands and across his stomach.

Cloud Cover couldn't say how long he stayed curled up on his bed. Minutes, hours, it was hard to tell sometimes. He hadn't kept track of time at all in the years since he has been expelled. And why bother? No college would take him in with half an education and a criminal record; every decent college knew about his activities thanks to her. He'd never be able to get an honest job; she had seen to that. And he could forget about finding the girl of his dreams; she had been the one he wanted, and she had done nothing but ruin his life in every way imaginable.

He didn't have anything good to live for, not anymore. The only thing he had to live for now was his own pleasure...and her pain.

Cloud Cover stumbled in the dark over to the kitchen and washed his hands until all the blood had been wiped away before splashing some water onto his face. A part of him wanted to work on some of the "special goodies" he would be using within the next two weeks, but there would be time enough for that in the morning.

With a sigh, Cloud planted himself in front of the computer screen, staring at the face on the Spacebook profile he had spent the past few hours scouring over. He had learned her habits by heart. He knew where she would be based on what her friends were doing. He knew everything about her, about her past. And that was what drove him mad.

He spent a minute or so tracing the profile picture, wandering over the curves he knew she had, smiling for a moment before his eyes glanced over to her other pictures. Laughing, playing, singing with her friends...living the life he should have lived.

He was miserable, alone, a criminal, in spite of everything he had been promised. But this wretched, miserable cunt...all she had to do was cry a bit, and suddenly everyone loved her. She was happy.

Sunset Shimmer didn't deserve to be happy.

Cloud sighed again and closed the laptop before turning to his side,
lying in a pool of his own essence as he drifted off into sleep. Two weeks, he whispered to himself as the tears dried. Two more weeks, and everything would be set right.

He would make certain that Sunset Shimmer would pay for her crimes with her life...even if it cost him his soul.

Author's Note

And so see the story unfold, of the monstrous Cloud Cover and his wicked plans. I wish I could say he would see the light, and let Sunset go...but we live not in a fairy tale world.

Why yes, Cloud Cover is supposed to be a total creep, why do you ask?

Opening Ceremonies

Chapter 2: Opening Ceremonies

Sugarcube Corner. Home of the best milkshakes and cupcakes in town. Back when he was still working for the school newspaper Cloud Cover would pop in here every day to unwind and piece together the notes from his interviews. He hadn't been in months after what had happened, but it was definitely a place filled with fond memories, and he was glad to visit now and then, even when he wasn't on "business."

A bouncing pink ball of energy, practically, no, literally humming in his ear, reminded him that he had never been big on the service back then either.

"So how did you like the smoothie, Mister..."

"Cirrus, and yes, it is fantastic, Ms....Ponk?"

"PINKIE!!!" She practically screamed her name into Cloud Cover's ear; if he hadn't gotten used to it by now he would surely have spilled the whole thing on himself.

"Yes, my apologies. But seriously, thank you, this is the best shake I've ever had."

Pinkie Pie slumped a bit, and Cloud could swear he could see her hair deflate slightly.

"But you always say that...you wouldn't lie to me, right?"

Cloud managed to control his panic and keep a straight face; he had seen "Pinkamena" show up only once before, and he was hoping to avoid seeing it twice. Having someone like...that...present would present complications he just didn't need yet...or ever, for that matter.

"Oh, never," he stage whispered with a smile as fake as the chocolate in the ice cream. "It's just every shake you make gets better and better, it's like a fractal of yumminess!" It took everything Cloud had not to open his wrists as he said it.

His patience was soon enough rewarded, however, as the pink hair became even poofier than it was before and the sugar high baker did an honest-to-god backflip back over the counter, grin wide like that of a child, and legitimate too.

"Just wanted to be absotively posilutely sure, Mr. Sierra Mist!" Pinkie Pie was back in the kitchen so quickly that he could have sworn she teleported. Maybe she had. She was nothing if not resourceful.

Cloud Cover felt the traces of a real smile cross his features, and the memory of what that used to feel like made him wince. Back in the old days Pinkie Pie was damn good at making him smile, legitimately smile just like she did. She had that effect on everyone, really.

Cloud wondered sometimes why he hadn't asked Pinkie Pie out instead back then. Sure, she might have said no, but she would have let him down...easily, if not gently due to her nature. She wouldn't have laughed at him like Sunset did. She wouldn't have called the police, like Sunset did.

Hindsight is a bitch.

Cloud Cover felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. 2:45, about what he expected. With a flick of his wrists he donned his sunglasses and pulled his hood up over his head, shifting his seat so that his back was against the back corner. When Pinkie Pie had asked him about why he did it - which only happened once, much to his confusion - Cloud had explained that he was sensitive to light.

When he had asked her why there was a wooden stake in her skirt the next day, Pinkie Pie had called it insurance. As with most things related to Pinkie Pie, Cloud was not too sure whether to be relieved or deeply troubled.

With a sigh, Cloud Cover leaned back into his seat and turned his eyes to the door. When he had set this plan into motion it had been remarkably simple. He knew Sunset had very few people she interacted with regularly, and none that would miss her. The issue back then had been less "get Sunset alone" and more "get Sunset in a place nobody would be looking."

He had planned to wait for her to get drunk or hide out somewhere, and he would simply snatch her up, to be counted among any number of the disappeared homeless in town. For that reason he had followed her for months, learning her patterns, figuring out where she went most often. He would wait for her to break her routine and simply vanish into the night, never to be seen again.

But by the time he was prepared to make his move the situation had drastically changed. And what was to be a remarkably simple plan had become remarkably complicated.

The door to the bakery opened, right on cue, and Cloud slinked down into his seat, whipping out his copy of the film novelization of Atlas Shrugged to conceal his face. His friends back in school had gotten it for him as a joke; his review of the film in the school paper had become something of a running gag back then and they enjoyed messing with him.

The movie still sucked, but the book had its uses.

He was loath to admit it, but the group of friends Sunset had found were an interesting bunch. The one named Rainbow Dash was first, of course, sliding in through the door with an agile grace that was no fit for her personality and sidling up to the counter to place her order. Unkempt hair with all of the colors of the rainbow hung limp on her shoulders, sweat staining her workout clothes and accentuating her athletic figure. Coach Zebra had always bemoaned how Rainbow Dash was in better shape than half the guys on Varsity, and Cloud had to agree with him on that.

The familiar click of custom stilettos introduced Rarity, and Cloud sunk even further into his seat when she entered. Her purple mane of neatly coiffed hair - no extensions, to his surprise - belied her frustration as she gripped Rainbow Dash by the ear to drag her back to the main party, and most certainly masked her shrewd gaze around the room. Rarity was thicker around the hips than Rainbow was by far, but there was a lot of muscle in her legs and he had seen firsthand what it could do. He did not want any of them involved more than necessary, but Rarity was the absolute last person he wanted to find out about his actions.

Fluttershy and Applejack walked in next, and Cloud managed to relax just slightly. Truth be told, he had always found Fluttershy to be more annoying than Pinkie Pie with her self-denigration, but she wasn't a bad sort, and she had been the only person to try and help him out during his initial suspension. The fact that she always wore ill-fitting sweaters over her ample rack didn't hurt, either. Cloud Cover tried not to think about what effect these next few weeks would have on her; she'd probably be able to cry a sweater of tears. The poor dear said nothing, and quietly slinked into the seat furthest from the door; if he hadn't known her he might have thought she was scared of them, until she started speaking to Applejack about some issue with her herd animals.

Applejack was the only one of Sunset's friends Cloud had a hard time getting a bead on. It wasn't that she was a good liar; far from it, she was absolutely terrible. And that was the problem. He was so used to dealing with liars and ladder climbers that a legitimately honest person was not something he knew how to handle. Combine that with her imposing physique and she was just as much a threat to this plan as Rarity. But she was also exceptionally stupid, and could be easily dissuaded from looking into certain details, which played to his advantage.

With Pinkie Pie stepping out from behind the counter, that accounted for five of the six people he'd be spending the next two weeks dealing with. He HAD heard of a sixth friend...Twibright something or other...but she so very rarely appeared that he didn't have much information on her. All he knew was that when she showed up, Canterlot High was on the news due to some kind of monster attack and Sunset Shimmer became basically untouchable due to the attention she received. Twibright's presence was the reason this plan had taken so long to implement and had so many revisions; she was a walking talking x-factor.

So now...he was waiting for the main event.

Pretending to scratch his head, Cloud Cover slipped a discreet listening device into his ear and turned towards the group of misfits he had come to associate with Sunset. This stage of the plan would require their assistance, whether they knew it or not, and they would give him everything he needed.

"So are we going to get this thing going, or what?" Dash leaned in so that anyone coming into the conversation would have difficulty hearing them. "Sunset's birthday is in two weeks and..."

"...and Sunset has also never had a proper birthday party, dear." Rarity's voice was as smooth as silk as she sipped on her cherry shake. "We can't just drop a surprise party on her head like it was confetti. We need to handle the situation gracefully."

"But surprise parties are so much fun, Rara!" Pinkie Pie's response was expected. "Sunset's been so dumped in the downs lately that she needs a GOOD surprise for a change! Between that whole Gabby Gums Anon-a-Miss thing..." - Applejack coughed uncomfortably, making Cloud Cover grin - "...and not knowing about Twilight being back, she could use a good pick up! "

Applejack leaned in suddenly, as if to prevent Pinkie Pie from bringing up her sister's mudslinging any further. "Actually, Ah was gonna ask about that. Where IS Twilight stayin' when she gets here next week? Ah know we can't have her at Sunset's and Sunset's liable to visit all our houses..."

Cloud Cover's ears perked. If Twilight -THAT was her name, he grumbled to himself - was here, he needed to know about it.

Barely audible, even with the device, was Fluttershy. "Um...why not have Twilight stay with Sunset? I...I don't think we should wait for her birthday...it'll make Sunset so happy..."

Cloud Cover raised an eyebrow. What?

"It was Twilight's idea, I'm afraid," sighed Rarity. "I can only imagine she read some book on being spontaneous in a relationship and thinks this is the way to go about it. Not to mention her fear she couldn't open the door in time. It IS dreadfully romantic, though, isn't it?"

Rarity's airy sigh masked the snort of laughter that Cloud let slip out of his mouth, which he just barely managed to catch. Now THIS was a surprise. It seemed Sunset had gone through more than a few small changes over the past few months.

A warped, cruel smirk flashed on his face for a moment before he could get it under control. This was an interesting development...and served his plans perfectly.

"Oh gag me." Rainbow Dash visibly rolled her eyes before leaning back in her seat. Eloquent as always. "She should just go on a regular date and skip all this "what a shock" crap. If it were me I would have asked her out in ten seconds flat, no mess."

"I'm sure that's not the only thing you'd do in ten seconds flat, darling."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash did tend to get into it a lot, from what he could tell, like an old married couple. They were the sort of people Sunset would have accused of being carpet munchers and had humiliated in public. The irony was almost too much to bear.

"Shut up, you two! She's almost here!"

Applejack had seen her before Cloud could, but he managed to slump as low as he could in his seat, pretending to nap in the corner as the door opened. He could hear the heavy step of leather biker boots on the tile, he had practically memorized the sound. Cloud could feel his heart playing a staccato in his chest as he summoned up enough courage to peek out from behind his book. A swirling torrent of hate boiled up in his gullet as he stared at...her.

Sunset Shimmer.

Even after everything he had been through, all the poverty and exhaustion and rage, Cloud still had to admit she was beautiful. The clump of hair he had stolen from her barber could not begin to compare to the real thing, and set against the afternoon sun her crimson-gold locks almost glowed. Even as demurely as she walked Cloud could still make out the curvy, toned figure underneath her leather jacket, her breasts just slightly bouncing as she walked over to her friends with a warm smile. Her purple skirt hugged the contours of her ass almost perfectly, and as she bent down to speak to her friends Cloud could feel his member swell in anticipation.

"Hey, guys. Are...we talking about something?"

It was so strange hearing her speak like that. In all his memories of her Cloud could only imagine that voice - deep and smoky, like something out of an old noir film - speaking insults and venom. To hear her so demure, so...sweet...

...it was wrong. She was wrong. Her entire existence was wrong. Cloud felt his knuckles whiten as he gripped his book harder than ever. A new boldness came over him as he stared at this beautiful, wretched bitch.

He could accept her before. He had wanted to exact his revenge but at the very least he could acknowledge that was what she was, a cold hearted cunt with no concern for anyone but herself. Back then he had only planned to humiliate her, to rough her up and then let her go.

But then he was thrown out of his house. Then he had to live on the streets for three damning years, selling anything he could make to the toothless, aimless gutter trash of society. He had gone from a man on the road to greatness to one of the poor leeches he had spent all his life looking down on.

And then there was this girl, this...thing, so awful a person that she had turned into a literal demon in front of all of Cloud's old friends and mentors. A monster whose insides matched her outsides at last. That was when he had planned to strike, getting rid of Sunset for good.

And then Twilight happened. Apparently all it took for Sunset to be forgiven was a beam of gaudy light and a stupid speech. Sunset carried on her life like her past had never happened. She made friends. She became loved. She became a fucking hero. And what was her price paid for all that she did before? Just a few months of being shunned and a minor case of cyber bullying. That. Was. All.

Cloud Cover could feel his cock agree with him. He could do it, right here, right now. All he had to do was knock out her friends, close the shop, and he could rape her to death right there in the middle of the room. He wondered what her whore moans would sound like...

No, no! Not yet! Cloud shook himself out of his reverie and fought against the erection. He had to wait. There would be time enough to enjoy himself later. And all that aside...he wanted to see what he could use against her with this new relationship.

Maintaining his focus, Cloud Cover listened in on Sunset, watching her full lips wrap around the words she spoke. God damn.

"So Sunset, your birthday is coming up, right? Got any crazy plans?", squeaked Rainbow Dash.

Sunset shook her head and laughed. "No, not really. I was kind of hoping to just...you know, spend time at home, watch some movies with you guys. Nothing too major."

"Too bad Twilight couldn't be here to spend it with-" Pinkie yelped as Applejack stomped on her foot, and to Cloud's joy Sunset's smile visibly, obviously faltered at the statement.

"Y...yeah. Actually, I was going to ask. You guys haven't heard from Twilight at all, right?"

An awkward pause passed over each of them as they shook their heads. Cloud supposed that was technically true.

Sunset sighed. "It's just...we talk through the journal sometimes, but with all her princess stuff it takes her a while to get back to me. And I can't go through the portal..."

Sunset jerked up in her seat and sported a very shaky smile. Cloud could tell right away it was a fake.

But portals? Journals? Princesses?Could this be part of the magic he had dealt with back in the school, what he had seen this Twilight perform?

"Don't fret, sugarcube," Applejack whispered. "She's probably doing everything she can to get that portal fixed right. That's probably why she can't write as much. Didn't you say Celestia was busy all the time too?"

Sunset nodded, but her smile was as fake as ever. "I know. I just worry sometimes. My Equestria is...a lot different than this one. Being a princess means a lot of things over there that she has to deal with...she doesn't have time for me, that's all."

Applejack and Fluttershy visibly squirmed in their seats, but Rarity placed her hand on Sunset's.

"Sunset, mon cher, I know how it feels. Goodness knows I've had my fair share of...awkward courtiers..."

Sunset blushed, her face turning a bright red. Oh, this was too much. "Wha...Twilight and I aren't..."

"Oh hush, darling, we can all see it plain as day." But as Rarity spoke, each one of her friends slipped in front of her, to her visible irritation.

"Yeah, you guys might as well get a room every time she visits!"

"I'm already planning the wedding AND the reception!"

"You two get along better than a plow in a field!"

"Um...you two are...eeeep, a really cute couple..."

Cloud Cover's eyes narrowed at the stammering, almost luminescent Sunset, her panicked face betraying how close to home they had hit. Relationship nothing, this was a full blown thirst.

Rarity managed to push the gaggle aside in a huff. "Dear God, you'll kill the poor thing! AS I WAS SAYING...Sunset. You love her. You were prepared to lay down your life for her at the Battle of the Bands, and she never gave up on you once. Twilight Sparkle is a complete absent-minded professor and a bookworm of the highest order. If she had forgotten about you, I can assure you would not have heard one word from her ever again. She takes time out of her princess duties, her friends in that world, to talk to you. She has no time for you? Darling, she has MADE time for you, and that says a lot."

Sunset stared down at her drink, hands visibly trembling. "You...think so?"

Rarity clasped her hand and smiled,stopping the shaking. "Darling...trust me...you two were destined to be together."

Sunset said nothing, simply kept staring into her coffee as silent tears started to fall. The group circled around her, in one big hug, and Cloud Cover took the opportunity to slip out through the back door as they were distracted.

Twilight Sparkle...Cloud Cover could feel an elation pour through his body as he stared up into the sky. His plan had been flawless before, but now...now it was bulletproof.

He had discovered Sunset's one true weakness. And he would use it to shatter her very life.

But first, he had to make some phone calls.

"Hello, Apple residence!" The cheerful, familiar voice of Granny Smith sounded on the other line.

"Hello, Mrs. Smith. This is Professor Cirrus, from Canterlot High. Is Apple Bloom home?"

Cloud Cover grinned. He had gone incognito. Now...was the time to go Anon-A-Miss.

Author's Note

Keep your friends close...and your enemies closer.

What is Anon A Miss? Either check out the 2014 Holiday Special comic, or tune in for chapter 3!

Bring Me the Horizon

Chapter 3: Bring Me the Horizon

Cloud Cover had never been a stranger to the Internet, and although his tastes in content had changed since he was younger, his skill for information tracking had not been diminished. And the one thing he had learned above all else was that no matter what you were looking for, there was always someone else looking for the same thing...and often times, had an easier way to get it.

Apple Bloom sat in front of him now, quietly looking left to right as if to check out for thieves in the night despite it being her own house. The clock ticked softly in the background of the small farmhouse foyer.

"Ya shouldn't've come here, Cloud."

Cloud calmly sipped his tea as he regarded the young girl before him with an air of patience. "If your brother or sister caught you talking to strangers on the internet it would have caused problems for the both of us. It's easier to pretend to be a professor or a tutor."

Apple Bloom glowered at him. "They know Ah'm a good kid. They don't think Ah'd talk to strangers."

Cloud shrugged. "But that's what you're doing anyway, and if they found you on a chatroom or email late at night they would think that. Especially if Applejack found out given your history...Anon-a-Miss."

Cloud Cover let the last word sink in as Apple Bloom squirmed in her seat. Her discomfort made him nod in approval. "Ah...Ah'm not like that anymore..."

"So you say," Cloud replied in an even tone. "But we both know better...because we both want the same thing."

Anon-a-Miss had come to Cloud's attention not long after he had adjusted his plans for Sunset Shimmer, when he had started observing her school and what people had been saying about her. The first few months had passed largely without incident...until rumors started floating around about Sunset starting some kind of online slander mill

It had been total hogwash, of course. Sunset was many things, but she was absolutely not sloppy; if she wanted to keep a secret she would leave absolutely no trace of connection back to her, and the ties to Sunset were basically set up like a trail of bread crumbs. Besides, if Sunset had truly gone back to her old ways she would have made a complete spectacle of the whole affair.

No, someone was trying to frame Sunset Shimmer, and make her life miserable. For all of Anon-a-Miss's lack of subtlety, they had the same goal...and unlike Cloud Cover, she had access to information on Sunset's friends that he could use.

It had been pretty simple to figure out who Anon-a-Miss was, in retrospect. The proxies and defenses she had set up for the main site were surprisingly intricate for a kid her age, but she had made the mistake of conducting half of her business on her cell phone, to make it look like Sunset was following people and to give Apple Bloom an alibi. Once he had cross referenced where the website's phone-based posts were coming from most often with the activities of the locals, it only took a day or so to narrow it down to Apple Bloom.

Unfortunately, he had found out too late; Apple Bloom had confessed to her actions following some sort of blowup with Applejack, and Anon-a-Miss vanished like so many other shock sites. The well had dried up.

But then again...change was a fickle thing. He had an asset now, and what's more, he had ways to turn her to his advantage.

Cloud set his tea cup onto the wooden table, brushing a strand of freshly washed and trimmed hair out of his face; still gaunt, but a more professional gaunt.

"Tell me, Apple Bloom...the Anon-a-Miss business...why did you start it?"

Apple Bloom squirmed again, staring in anger at him. "Ah told you, Ah'm..."

"Not like that anymore, yes yes. I'm simply asking why you did it."

She looked down at her cell phone for a while, stroking the casing with her thumb, deep in thought.

"It's just...y'all have a family, right?"

Cloud cringed a bit, but kept his emotions under control. "Y-yes...in a manner of speaking."

"So ya know how close family can be...how much they can mean to you."

Cloud nodded; he knew the technical reason she did this, but this was a bit of new context for him. "More than you know."

Apple Bloom wore a sad smile. She had opened her phone's gallery to a picture of Applejack.

"Mah big sister is mah world. She means everythin' to me. When mah folks died, she raised me, taught me right from wrong, showed me how ta run a farm and pick an apple and everythin' I'd need growin' up."

Cloud thought of his own little brother, how he'd shown him writing and chemistry and sports. He wondered how he was doing.

"See, Applejack didn't have any friends at school before Sunset came along, so she'd always spend her time at home with me. She never liked the kids at school, callin' em liars and sneaks and prissies, so we'd always hang out the moment she came home. And then Sunset got reformed and..." Apple Bloom shuddered.

"It wasn't so bad at first. She'd hang out after school for a while and then head home, only a couple of nights a week. But then she started sleepin' over, going on trips, joining that damn devil's music band...and Ah never got to see her at all. Ah hoped if Sunset and the others just...went away, Applejack would come home, y'know?"

Cloud nodded again; the story had hit closer to home than he would have liked, but he was starting to see the cracks in her armor.

"Very true," Cloud said, leaning back and folding his arms, affecting a false smile he had come to master. "So when you confessed to your actions, and told Applejack all of this, she must have made more time to spend with you...right?"

Apple Bloom said nothing, continuing to stare at her picture of her big sister.

"Surely she spent time with other people? Invited you along?"

Apple Bloom quietly shook her head.

Cloud Cover grinned for a moment before regaining control of his expression. "So you're telling me you owned up to your actions, told Applejack what you really thought...and she did't accommodate your feelings? She didn't do a thing different? Almost as if...she didn't care?"

Apple Bloom started and stood up, his implication clearly agitating her. "Watch yer mouth! Applejack is a great big sister! She is!"

Cloud smiled a bit more and nodded. "I'm sure she is, Apple Bloom. And you're a great little sister. You're a go-getter, an innovator, a clever girl...so why are you letting Applejack slip away?"

Apple Bloom stomped her feet and slapped her hands on the table. "I'm not! I told her how I felt and-"

"And she did nothing," spoke Cloud, raising his voice just enough to get her attention. "You bared your soul to her...and she ignored it. She still hangs out with her friends more than you. The problem has not gone away. And something tells me your feelings haven't gone away, either."

Apple Bloom opened her mouth, but could say nothing in response to that.

"You and I both know that nothing is gained by half-hearted efforts and the good will of others. In order to live this life, we have to live it for ourselves. We have to be intentional about our lives...or they will slip away. When you were Anon-a-Miss, you had that drive, that intention, because you wanted your sister back. And the moment you thought she would listen to you...she walked away again."

Apple Bloom sunk back into her seat as the thought settled in her head.

"A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving. And I think, Apple Bloom, that your desire is worth achieving. You need to finish what you started back then. You need to get your sister back...and I can make it happen."

Apple Bloom looked up at Cloud, her eyes sadly shining. "W-what do you mean?"

Cloud stood up and walked over to the mantle, glancing at a picture of Apple Bloom and her two friends from the school, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Sweetie Belle is Rarity's little sister, and Scootaloo spends most of her time with Rainbow Dash as a sort of adopted sibling. And since Fluttershy spends most of her time with Rainbow Dash, and since you are Applejack's sister, the three of you have ready access to four out of Sunset's friends on a regular basis."

Apple Bloom nodded in affirmation.

"What I want is very simple. Over the next few days, I want you to get your friends together and start gathering information on Sunset's friends. Figure out their plans for the next two weeks, see if anything is bothering them in their personal lives, where they're going to hold any parties, and report it to me. I'll also be doing the same thing, just from a distance."

Apple Bloom said nothing as she placed her head in her hands.

"After a few days of this, I want you to start seeding information from me among the six of them. Now, this cannot be like Anon-a-Miss; if the same pattern repeats itself they will know it was you. All you have to do is mention details in passing that I will direct, like Pinkie's use of recreational drugs, or Fluttershy stealing animals, that sort of thing. Spread distrust among the six of them, but don't do it all at once. I still need all of Sunset's friends to show up at her party for this to work."

Apple Bloom stood up and walked towards him, a dark look on her face as she looked up at Cloud. "And why should Ah do it?"

Cloud looked down on her with a grin. "Sunset Shimmer is the only one I care about; what happens to the rest means nothing to me. So if I were to happen to release some more...delicate information on them, it would complete the schism and break apart their friendship permanently. If we work together we can set it up so that Applejack has noone else in the school to turn to...and I will suggest the idea of me coming in as a home teacher for the two of you. You'll learn what you need to learn, and you and Applejack can spend all day together, every day, until you're both old enough to work the farm full time."

Apple Bloom's eyes widened as she realizes what that meant. "A-and nothing will happen to Applejack?"

Cloud ruffled Apple Bloom's head and knelt down to her level, staring right into her eyes as his face became deathly serious. "If I don't have your help, Apple Bloom, Applejack could easily get caught in the crossfire. Sunset's friends have a great deal of...quirks, to their personalities. If I implement this plan without your help, it could easily turn out that Applejack might attack Sunset at some point. And you and I both know that Sunset is the sort to take...revenge."

Apple Bloom stepped back, the idea seeming to make her shiver.

"Don't worry, kid, with your help I can keep Applejack out of as much hot water as possible. All you have to do is give me all the information you can and do exactly what I say, and she will be kept safe."

Apple Bloom stared up at Cloud as he stood up, writing down a number to his burner phone and placing it in her hands.

"It's a hard decision, going back to the old ways, I know. I'll give you a day to decide what you want to do; if I don't hear from you, I'll go through on my own and see what happens. The choice is yours...but I know you'll make the right one."

Cloud Cover turned around and made for the exit, letting Apple Bloom stand alone with her thoughts and fears. The look of terror on her face had been perfect; she would break down and call him before the night had passed.

Cloud had timed today to the letter, however, and just as he walked through the door he passed by Apple Bloom's grandmother, Granny Smith Apple, a fun, if demented, old lunch lady whom he had always admired for her past accomplishments at this farm.

"Ah, Ms. Granny Smith, perfect timing! I was wondering if you had a phonebook in this house! I'm looking for better school supplies for Apple Bloom's class and I forgot my phone at home." Smile and nod, Cloud reminded himself; he had no doubt she was the last person in town to own one, and he needed to decrease his paper and digital trail as much as possible.

"Yessir, Mr. Cloud Atlas! I always keep one up to date, just in case a giant magnet flies over and wipes all our Intermaaquanets!"

Cloud had to suppress a grin at her surprisingly sound reasoning; he didn't have the heart to tell her something like that would kill the phones as well.

After a few moment's clattering she presented the thick book to Cloud and wandered off to prepare the apple jam for next month's Cider Fest. Such a pity Sunset wouldn't be able to attend; he would have loved to see cider drip down her chest one more time...or maybe blood would work better...

Cloud shook away the fantasy and cracked open the book, thumbing through the pages until he found the section for the Crystal Prep neighborhood, and found the name and number he was looking for and wrote it down in his phone.

"I hope you don't mind company...Twilight."

Cloud grinned a savage grin. It was time to pick up his...gift for Sunset.

You can't show up to a birthday without a present, after all.

Author's Note

Time to meet our secondary villain for the story. Old habits die hard, and evil doesn't just vanish with detention. }:)

But seriously, never skimp on a gift, guys.

Sorry about the wait, by the way, between work and a trip out of state my time was limited. But now we're back, for more Sunset feels and Cloud Cover heels! :)