Chapters Chapter 2: Scars Never Heal
(8:00PM)
"Just me, myself, and I... Nobody else."
Sunset cracked her neck, shoulders, and pretty much every other muscle in her small body. Slowly stripping down until she was completely nude, she didn't dress in her new leather clothing yet. She sauntered over to the mirror and gazed at her reflection; it consisted of a girl who beared a very exact resemblance to her... But was her. Instead, it was a girl who was troubled, fragile, afraid... Afraid of the mare in the mirror with nothing to lose now. Yes, before her now was her pony form, a beaten and bruised mare with cuts and lacerations. Yes, those scars were inflicted... By herself.
"Look at you. Just look at you. Look at what your life has given you. First, you were a troubled mare who was the former apprentice of a Queen Alicorn. Second, you were an Alpha Bitch who ruled an alternate dimension's school version of Canterlot for three long years. Next, you were a reluctant anti-hero seeking redemption who became a full-fledged hero after helping the Humane 6 defeat the Dazzlings. Finally... You are back at square one."
Sunset sighed softly and gently caressed one of her scars on her stomach; it wasn't severe, but it was enough to cause her pain. In fact, her aforementioned pain wasn't the effect of the accusations against her, but instead the cause was her parents' double deaths that occurred in front of her very eyes. The criminal who committed the crime was evidently horrified, and he could only cry silently in unison with her as the nearby police cruiser came pulling up to the sidewalk. From that moment, besides the goal of making and doing her parents proud, that young orphan girl learned one valuable lesson that day...
Scars never heal, as stated by Sunset Shimmer.
A few minutes later, Sunset donned her leather uniform and took one more gaze at her reflection; she was a female version of Mad Max ... In her opinion. Knowing that the temperature would drop drastically where she was going, she headed to her closet and pulled out a black long-sleeve collared shirt with a matching T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, placing the former clothes both underneath the leather jacket and the latter clothing above the leather pants. She then took the Glock 21 and two spare magazines, placed the box underneath the pillow, and tucked away the gun in her jacket pocket. Taking up her iPhone and not her journal, Sunset dialed up a number and held it up to her ear,
"Hey, this is Sunset Shimmer. If any of the Dazzlings are there, you better bedazzle up in this address..."
(8:45PM)
Logan hung up his coat and vaguely listened on to the conversation between the father and his daughter. It had been a while since he was informed that his superior was also a loving and caring dad; this surprised him to the full extent that he was unaware of the fact his boss – a gruff, old (old was a mere understatement) bastard – could also be a big jerk with a heart of gold. This secret also pained him to the full extent because he never had a father, let alone a father figure, when he was younger. He only had an aunt, a depressed druggie named Chrysalis, who cared for him deeply as did her FBI agent boyfriend only known as "King Sombra". He has known little about him beside the fact that the reason why he became a member in the first place: his old love interest before Chrysalis was killed in an assassination attempt.
That, and the reason why he was called "Sombra" was that he killed most of the terrorists responsible using only a Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot, a tank of propane, and a hacksaw. The following fire resembled something of a fiery shadow demon. Talk about a case of Mad Max -itis. Still, that young boy learned a valuable lesson that day...
Scars never heal, as paraphrased by Logan Lazuli.
Logan sighed softly at his reminiscing and detached his belt, placing it in his built-in locker in his newly renovated office. He unloaded his SIG-Sauer P226R and placed it in his fingerprint verification safe. Exiting his office, he began to make his way to the coffee machine down the hall and felt that the message was going through his mind clearly: he was seeing blurred lines as of this moment. He quickly regained his vision, however, and proceeded to grab a plain old vanilla latte with whipped cream to keep himself awake at this time of the day. Even though it was almost nine, he wouldn't make past ten.
"Lazuli?"
Logan dared to drop his coffee and swiftly turned his neck that a crack-like sound bounced off the wall, "Yes, co-boss? You required my presence?"
Hunt Order worriedly winced, fearing that he had set something off in her father's protégé, "Yes, Lazuli, I hope that I haven't derailed your train of thought."
"No, sir, that train had long derailed before you called for me."
Hunt bit her bottom lip and blew her hair out of her face, "Listen, Logan – "
"Lazuli," Logan drank his latte as he stated this.
Hunt rolled her eyes, "Okay, Lazuli... I know that it should be my dad who should be saying this, but – "
"Just spit it out."
Hunt nodded slowly and carefully chose her following words, "My dad wants me to tell you that he wants you... To take a case involving an online persona only known as 'Anon-A-Miss'".
Logan could only blink in response, "Anon-A-Who?"
(8:50PM)
Danielle emerged from her apartment bathroom, a violet towel wrapped around her dampened hair and a robe wrapped around her naked body. Knowing that the temperature would drop drastically, she had to get dressed and fast. A few minutes later, she came back to the living room sporting a pair of navy blue pajamas above an equally colored robe. Today was Throwback Thursday, which meant today celebrated the movies of yesteryear; her entertainment section was chock-full of the 70s/80s grindhouse/exploitation flicks, Hong Kong martial arts films, and Chinese Wuxia/Japanese Chambara movies she soaked up during her childhood. One of those films was Mad Max , a 1979 Australian dystopian action flick of the "carsploitation" genre. That particular film was the last film before...
Danielle shook the negative memory off and made her way to the kitchen; her current intention was to cook up an "everything but the kitchen sink" sundae. She then placed said sundae on the coffee table, turning on her TV and slipping in the DVD in its player. Okay, she needed to stop thinking and talking about sex. She needed to relax and feel pleasure –
"Damn it."
Danielle hungrily took big bites of her ice cream monstrosity as she watched Max's breakdown transpire into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. The reason why she loved this film was this: unlike most action movies today (or any general genre), the story was focused and thought-provoking, the characters were layered and relatable, and the action was gritty and ultra-realistic. She felt that she and Max were so relatable that they could be practically married by now for only one reason... Both were motivated by their desire for revenge. It was then the young gratuitous girl learned a valuable lesson that day...
Scars never heal, as commented by Danielle Ingram.
After Mad Max was finished, Danielle placed on its sequel, The Road Warrior: Mad Max 2 . She then took and opened up her laptop, "Alright..."
(9:00PM)
Sunset never thought it would come down to this: a Mexican Standoff between her and Adagio Dazzle, the leader of the Dazzlings. Two girls, two guns, and a hell of a lot of squinting; the both of them stood a few feet away from each other. The former aimed her Glock 21 at the latter as the latter held her Heckler & Koch P30 at the former. Both wouldn't break away from each other's sights any time; both had all the time in the world. The only ones worried were Adagio's sisters, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.
"So... You gonna break, Shimmer?"
"Fat chance, Dazzle."
Chapter 3: Differentiating Opinions
(8:00PM)
"Hey, this is Sunset Shimmer. If any of the Dazzlings are there, you better bedazzle up in this address..."
Adagio Dazzle glanced up from her laptop and over to her iPhone, cleansing her ears of anything blocking sound; did she hear that correctly? Snatching it up and replaying the message over and over again until it was embedded in her thick skull, she traveled to her bedroom with the intention of getting dressed for the following confrontation that would follow. Taking out of her closet a purple winter coat with an equally colored turtleneck, puff ball cap, and a pair of stockings with boots, she also reached into her drawer and pulled out a Heckler & Koch P30 with two spare magazines. Chambering the slide and cocking its hammer, Adagio tucked the automatic and its spares in her coat; exiting her bedroom, she knocked on the door of her two sisters', getting them both to wake up from their slumber,
"Aria, Sonata, get up. We're going somewhere."
Aria huffed, "Somewhere where? Naughty or nice?"
Sonata giggled, "Oh, Aria, don't be such a square."
"Hey!" Adagio suddenly snapped, "Did you two even listen to me?"
"Yeah, yeah, we heard ya, Adagio," Aria waved her off, "You told us to get up, and we're up. In fact, we've been up."
Adagio resisted the urge to pull her handgun on her own sister and instead took a page from Sonata's book, "Aria... Don't be such a smartass and get ready. Please." She walked away from her, out the apartment, and toward the front of the complex. Aria herself exchanged uncertain glances with Sonata before they both decided to get ready. The former donned a green coat with a silver star in the center, an equally-colored scarf, boots, earmuffs, mittens, cap, and pair of stockings; the latter fashioned a pink and red hooded coat with an equally-colored pair of boots, earmuffs, stockings, and mittens. Talk about the many similarities.
The pair of sisters made their way to the car, where Adagio had already turned over the engine; entering through the back and passenger door respectively, Sonata gently bounced up and down, unaware of the handgun tucked away in the driver's coat... Something that Aria was fully aware of,
"Adagio, what the hell is–?"
"None of your damn business," Adagio rapidly responded under her breath, gritting her teeth. This alone shut Aria up swiftly and smoothly. Driving away from the apartment, the trio (specifically the vivid orange haired leader) proceeded to meet with one of their dreaded nemeses... Sunset Shimmer.
(8:45PM)
In the school system, a principal's primary focus is to keep the school he or she (in this case, she) is in charge of in safe hands. The last thing you would expect is the principal to do the complete opposite. That principal in question almost paid the price... And for good reason. Destruction, exploitation, and overall manipulation were the three highlights of said principal; the cherry on top of it all was the destructive designee was a woman.
Gazing at her fingers as they tapped on her wooden desk, one Abacus Cinch made one nauseating flashback to one particular event a few months prior to the present: the Friendship Games. This particular Games saw her star student leave the scene after five "fantastic" straightforward years. Her prized pupil didn't exactly tolerate being thrown under the bus and exploited (as mentioned above) for all the wrong reasons. Hey, it's as if exploitation in general was all right.
Abacus ceased her finger tapping and began to sooth her forehead, groaning in pain as she did so. Contemplating her decision to pick up her iPhone laying a few inches from her, she eventually did and dialed up a number she never expected to dial. Not in a million years.
(8:50PM)
Principal Celestia emerged from her bedroom, a white bathrobe wrapped around her naked body; she had just finished taking a shower. After drying herself up and replacing her bathrobe with a silk variant, she began to set out her nightgown on her bed when her iPhone began to ring. Her current thought besides I'm really fucking tired was now replaced with Who the fuck can wrack up the nerve to call me up at this time?
"Hello?"
"Ah, Celestia. I assume you got out of the shower?"
"Cinch? How did you know?"
"You just told me."
Celestia's eyebrows furrowed and soon widened, scowling at herself for falling for that, "Look, Cinch. I'm really busy at the moment, so if you could just cut to the chase – "
"If you mean busy with the Anon-a-Miss case, then I'll certainly do just that."
Celestia's eyebrows began to furrow and widen again, her grip slowly loosening on the phone, "Cinch? How...did...you...know?" She repeated, albeit more angry than before.
Cinch, on the other hand, was rather enjoying her torment and replied for the heck of it, "You just told me."
(9:00PM)
A hour later, the trio arrived in Ponyville Park, where Sunset was waiting for them to arrive. Parking near a frosted tree and turning off the engine, they all exited the car and walked towards the cold cut center, Adagio shifting her automatic from her jacket pocket to her pant pocket. Cocking the hammer and gripping the handle, she gestured her two sisters to stay where they were as she went on to investigate. Her grip on the handgun's handle tightened; Sunset herself clutched her pistol and slowly chambered the slide. At this, Adagio and Sunset both raised their handguns at each other; all were evidently surprised for the same reason – guns were involved in a petty squabble.
Adagio never thought it would come down to this: a Mexican Standoff between her and Sunset Shimmer, the leader of the Rainbooms. Two girls, two guns, and a hell of a lot of squinting; the both of them stood a few feet away from each other. The former held her Heckler & Koch P30 at the latter as the latter held her Glock 21 on the former. Both wouldn't break away from each other's sights any time; both had all the time in the world. The only ones worried were her own sisters, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.
"So... You gonna break, Shimmer?"
"Fat chance, Dazzle."
"You told us to meet you here. Why?"
"I wanna make a deal with you. You wanna make a deal with me?"
"Why would you of all people wanna make a deal with me of all people?"
Sunset said nothing but instead pulled out something she and her sisters never thought they would ever see again: their former amulets. Adagio nevertheless didn't lowered her handgun and instead raised her face so it would be in line with Sunset's own,
"Alright, Shimmer. I'm listening."
"Good. I suggest you listen."
(10:00AM)
"Okay, Hunt, enlighten me: Who is this Anon-A-Miss again?"
"Anon-A-Miss is an online persona who revealed the secrets of a group of girls nicknamed The Humane 5 and systemically worked his or her way up to the entire school of Canterlot High. His or her real identity remains anonymous... Hence his or her alias. Get it?"
Logan huffed while Hunt chuckled, "I get the play on words, Hunt, but I don't think it would brighten up the mood, considering our predicament."
Hunt coughed and regained her posture, "Right, of course. Listen, about yesterday..."
"What about yesterday?" Logan furrowed his eyebrows.
"Were you thinking about something important? You seemed rather...agitated when I called for you."
Logan frowned upon the event that Hunt was referring to and shook his head a tad too quick, "No. It was nothing, nothing that would concern you."
"Are you sure?"
"No... Not in the slightest."
Hunt shot Logan a worried glance; he in turn shot her a unworried glance. They both headed their separate ways: the former to the printing machine for more copies of the information regarding Anon-A-Miss, the latter to the coffee machine for more coffee regarding either vanilla bean or cinnamon roll swirl. Either way, they both ended up together again in the meeting room, where their boss was waiting for them both... Although Hunt arrived much earlier than Logan,
"Hi, Dad."
"Hey, hon. You got the info?"
"More than just mere info, Dad."
Hunt passed out a seperate sheet of paper for her fellow officers to read as she spoke out the contents of said seperate sheets of paper,
"All night and all day up until now, I've been analyzing the patterns of pretentiousness left by our good friend Anon-A-Miss. He or she is systemically proceeding slowly, as if she wants the entire school to digest the dinner before getting a taste of dessert. First, there's this prominent clique of girls in said school nicknamed The Humane 5. Second, there's the entire school, students and staff alike. Third, there's the primary suspect – Sunset Shimmer. Given her past reputation as a former Alpha Bitch, it was rather easy to see why. She insists that she has changed, but nobody – not even the Humane 5 – believes her."
"Do you?"
"I know an Innocent when I see one, Dad; believe me, this girl is no exception."
Swift Order nodded and smiled, "Just needed to make sure, kiddo."
Hunt shot her father a reassuring one before continuing, "All the while, Anon-A-Miss has provided the tabloids with plenty of fodder. Sunset is suffering both verbal and physical abuse thanks to him or her, subjected on by the entire school sans the Principal and her sister, the Vice Principal. Then, approximately 15 hours later, she disappears without a trace. In the shortest terms... You can't find her unless she wants to be found."
"She didn't disappear."
Everybody, Hunt and Order included, turned towards the entrance to find Detective Logan Lazuli sipping on a vanilla latte with cinnamon roll swirl, a grin plastered on his face while his left hand balled up into a fist. This made one half of the room feel uneasy, knowing something was awfully off when the hard-boiled detective smiled. The other half felt surprised, considering that they have never seen the hard-boiled detective smile before... Up until now, at least,
"I'm sorry?"
"You shouldn't be; it's an officer's habit to be momentarily confused in a time like this time, but they'll rework their brainless gears into action."
"What are you suggesting, Detective?"
"I am not suggesting, Commissioner; I am merely stating... Sunset didn't disappear, as I stated earlier. She's going through a process."
"What kind of process?"
Logan shrugged and sipped his latte once more, "Just... A process."
(11:00AM)
Gilda suddenly found herself in the girls' bathroom, gazing into the mirror as her hands balled up into fists. Her usual rage had drastically increased tenfold, and for good reason; Anon-A-Miss had posted yet another secret... Which involved her. And Rainbow Dash. And a strap-on. She had absolutely no idea in the slightest how that photo was taken, as she couldn't recall the events that preceded it. She was certain about one thing: she was absolutely humiliated and infuriated.
Which was the primary reason why Gilda smashed the mirror with her bare fists, screaming as she did so. A momentarily silence later...
"Anger management issues much?"
Gilda swiftly shifted and found one of the three sirens who hypnotized her and the rest of the school a year before, "You? What the hell do you want?"
Adagio raised her hands in surrender, "Relax, Griffon. I'm not a foe, nor a friend. So... That wouldn't exactly give you reason to relax."
"Relax? Why would I relax? You're here in the school!"
"So are you. That, and too much blood pumping up leads to bloody fists."
Gilda glanced down at her fists, which were indeed profusely bleeding and dripping down to the floor. They loosened up and she glanced back up at Adagio, "What's it to you?"
"What's it to me? It just shows how much you care about her reputation. It just shows how you are not letting some bitch like Anon-A-Miss take control of your life and its secrets."
Gilda's angered frown slowly transitioned into a saddened one, "Why would you care? In fact, why do you care?"
"Because... I just do."
Gilda and Adagio both shared an uncomfortable silence before the latter broke it, "Anyway... I wanna make a deal with you. Do you accept?"
"It depends: what kind of deal?"
"The kind of deal that involves a little slice of heavenly vengeance."
Gilda wanted to ask, but she didn't. Her question just got her answer. To this extent, she smirked a very sinister smirk, to Adagio replied with an equally shady smile.
(12:00N)
Celestia glanced over at the clock and impatiently tapped her fingers on her own wooden desk, unwittingly mimicking Cinch's actions when doubting her decision to call her herself. In this case, it was the opposite in this situation; Celestia was considering whether or not to meet with Cinch in Ponyville Park at exactly 12 o'clock noon. Said time was fastly approaching, and she was wasting some of her own by sitting and watching as it passed by.
Celestia's pair of hands suddenly balled up into fists; she was absolutely certain that Sunset Shimmer was an Innocent, no matter how incriminating the evidence was. It seemed that she and Luna were the only ones who truly believed her, which further motivated her to prove her innocence and the school wrong. Her motivation was dangerously mirroring that of a pretentious passion, something that was unsanitary for a school's reputation.
Celestia Natchios had more than just a mere reputation to worry about, something she made a mental note of when she chambered her Glock 17.
As Celestia tucked her G17 into her coat pocket and exited her room, she unintentionally ran into Luna... Quite literally,
"Sister?"
"Luna? What are you – "
"There was spilled blood and shattered glass in the girls' bathroom; Gilda lost her temper... Again."
"I see." Celestia rubbed her chin as Luna spoke again, "Are you going somewhere? In the middle of the day?"
The eldest sister deadpanned her youngest and sighed agitatedly, "Yes, Luna, but I won't be long. Hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay?"
The youngest sister furrowed her eyebrows at her eldest but nevertheless answered her, "Yes, sister. Be careful, okay?"
"I always am."
With that, Celestia left Luna to her own devices, believing her to utilizing them to good use for the school. She marched down the front steps and glanced down at her wristwatch, which read 11:50 approaching noon, and glanced up at the road, which read a black 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT351 revving up its engine and rolling down its window. The driver was a girl who seemed around 17 years of age with brunette hair, a leather biker jacket, and a half-hearted look of uncomfortableness,
"Get in, Miss Celestia."
This particular girl seemed to know her name as well, "What?"
"You need to get to Ponyville Park, and you can't get there by walking. Get in."
Celestia frowned upon this demand but nevertheless complied, "Alright." She walked toward the car and entered inside; her nose wrinkled at the smell of damp cigarettes and alcohol. Danielle didn't seem to notice this at all as her notification was completely focused on the road. Five minutes of speeding later, the duo ended up in Ponyville Park, where a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 was parked nearby underneath a tree. Celestia turned to Danielle with a look of evident disapproval; the latter shrugged it off and ushered the former out of her car. As she walked a more away from the car, that's when Cinch exited from hers. A black trenchcoat and her own bony hands balling up into fists, Celestia felt that it matched Cinch's personality quite well...
As did the handgun that she was reaching out of her coat pocket.
Celestia instantly pulled her Glock 17 as Cinch instantly pulled her SIG-Sauer P229R as Danielle instantly pulled her Glock 19. Yet another Mexican Standoff involving women. What a lovely day.