Wounds Not Quite Healedby EquineAvengerChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8 (Edited 6/9/18)Chapter 9 (Edited 05/23/18)Chapter 10Chapter 11 (Edited 091420)Chapter 12Chapter 3Chapter 1It was shortly after New Year’s Day, all the students of Canterlot High were returning to school to start the next semester. It had been a very rough holiday season for most of them, but it seemed like everyone had gotten through it and were happy to go back to school. A certain group of teenage girls were already getting underway with their New Year plans. They were all part of a music band known as the Rainbooms, which included: Rainbow Dash, the lead guitarist; Fluttershy, the tambourine player; Applejack, the bass player; Pinkie Pie, the drummer; Rarity, the keytar player; and Sunset Shimmer, the rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist. They were all gathered one afternoon in the music room to practice their instruments, except for Sunset. “Shouldn’t she be here by now?” Rainbow said impatiently while tuning her guitar. “Maybe she’s doing some important school work.” Fluttershy guessed. “She does have other classes to work in.” Applejack reminded Rainbow. “I know, but have any of you noticed she’s been hanging out less with us since the holidays?” Rainbow asked the others suspiciously. “Come to think of it, she has been skipping music practice lately.” Pinkie said. “I’m sure she had her reasons.” Rarity dismissed their concerns. “It’s the new year. A time to start again.” Then Sunset entered the room holding her backpack. “Hey, girls.” She greeted them. “Sunset!” they all happily greeted her back. “You’re late again.” Rainbow teasingly reminded her. “Where have you been?” “Oh, you know… busy.” Sunset replied sheepishly. “Come to think of it, you’ve been busy for quite some time since the beginning of the new year.” Pinkie said. “Yeah, about that. Sorry girls, but I’m afraid I can’t practice with you today. There’s something I need to do.” Sunset regretfully told them. “This is the fourth time this week that you’ve skipped band practice.” Rarity said. “Is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked concerned. “Oh yes, everthing’s fine.” Sunset assured them. “It’s just a really important errand I have to do.” “Well, if you say it’s important, I’ll take yer’ word for it.” Applejack said understandingly. “Me too.” Fluttershy agreed. “Me three!” Pinkie said wanting to join in. “Thanks, girls.” Sunset said gratefully. “I’ll see you all next week.” “Would you like to have a sleepover this weekend?” Rarity asked. “Oh, no. Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t do that this time.” Sunset nervously apologized. “Oh, okay.” Rarity said slightly disappointed. “You probably have a lot on your plate at the moment. How about another time?” “Yeah, perhaps another time. Well, I gotta get going. Bye.” “Goodbye.” They all bid their friend as she left the room. “Is it me or has Sunset been seeming a little… off lately?” Fluttershy concernedly asked the others. “You think it might be related to what happened during the holiday season?” Rarity also asked. “Nah, it can’t be that.” Pinkie said doubtfully. “The true identity of Anon-a-Miss was revealed and everything went back to the way it was. By the way, how are your sisters doing?” “Oh, Apple Bloom hasn’t been feelin’ too happy lately.” AJ sadly told her. “She’s been picked on less since the beginning of the new year, but ah’ think she’s still feelin’ pretty bad about the whole Anon-a-Miss thing.” “Same goes for Sweetie Belle.” Rarity sadly added. “Some nights I hear her crying in her sleep.” “Hey Rainbow, how’s Scootaloo been?” Fluttershy asked her friend. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t really seen Scoots lately.” Dash said concernedly. “And whenever I do see her she seems so sad.” “They’re all probably still feeling pretty ashamed for what they did.” Fluttershy said feeling a little sorry for the three younger girls. “Well, ah’ think we all have a pretty good idea of what’s probably eatin’ those three. But we still need ta’ figure out what’s eatin’ Sunset.” AJ said suspiciously. As Sunset walked down the sidewalk from the school, she dropped her seemingly happy façade and her facial expression showed that she really was quite unhappy. After walking for some time, she arrived at a certain building and entered its doors. She walked up an ascending staircase till she reached a room where a woman with glasses was sitting behind a desk and working on her computer. “Hello, can I help you?” the woman politely asked looking up from her computer when Sunset approached her desk. “Can you tell Dr. Shrink his five o’clock is here?” Sunset replied. The woman said pressing a button on the phone on her desk, which made a buzzing noise, and spoke into it. “Sir, Sunset Shimmer is here to see you.” Then she took her finger off the button and turned to Sunset. “He’ll be with you shortly.” Sunset sat on a bench near the entrance of the room. After a minute, the door near the woman at the desk opened to reveal a tall, slender man wearing a suit, glasses, and a concerned look on his face. He also had nicely cut and groomed moustache and beard. He looked to be in his late-thirties. “Sunset, I’m ready.” He informed her in a gentle voice. She got up and followed him into the room. They were now in a room with a desk, a bookshelf, a coffee table, and a couch built for a person to lay down on. “You remember how this goes, right?” Sunset placed her backpack next to the couch and lied down with her back on the couch. The doctor put a water jug and a plastic cup on the coffee table near Sunset and took his seat at his desk. “So, how have things been lately?” he asked her getting out a pen and a notepad. “To be honest, I’m actually not feeling very good today, I’m afraid.” She said. “I felt the pain again.” “Would you mind telling me how all this happened again? Try not to leave out anything important.” He instructed. Sunset told Dr. Shrink about the day she first came to Canterlot High to the Anon-a-Miss affair. She told him about how she used to be a terrible person in the past, but after losing to her rivals at the Fall Formal (she left out all the magic parts to avoid looking crazy), she strove to become a better person. She also told him that after the Battle of the Bands (minus the magic parts), things were actually starting to look up for her. That is until the Anon-a-Miss affair started. A mysterious blogger had somehow gotten his or her hands on the secrets of some students, including her former rivals turned friends, and posted them on the internet. It wasn’t long before everyone started accusing her of being this blogger and scorned her. Even her own friends came to believe it was her and turned their backs on her. It was the most heartbreaking and worst moment in her life. Eventually, the true culprits confessed and everything seemingly went back to normal. But for the Sunset, the pain and heartache never went away. After the beginning of the New Year, Sunset secretly decided to take up therapy sessions with Dr. Shrink to help ease her pain. “And that’s the whole story.” Sunset concluded her story while wiping away some tears. “It appears to me that the problem here is still the same.” Dr. Shrink explained. “Sunset, you suffer from an extreme fear of loneliness. You believed that if you always had your five friends by your side, everything would be alright. But this incident with Anon-a-Miss has proven that not everyone is completely reliable. Have you taken my suggestion and made some new friends outside of school?” “Yes, I have.” Sunset answered with a smile. “And how has that been going for you?” “Very well, thank you.” Dr. Shrink suddenly got a suspicious look on his face. “You’re not still going out with him, are you?” Sunset then started to look nervous. “I know when we first met after New Year’s things got a little... bumpy. But I think our relationship is getting better. I feel we’re becoming closer everyday. We’re going out for dinner this weekend.” “Hmm.” Dr. Shrink still looked suspicious, but then he seemed lightened up when he looked at his watch. “Well Sunset, if you believe everything’s going to be okay, I’ll take your word for it.” “Thank you, sir.” She said getting up from the couch and grabbing her backpack. “Same time next week?” “Sure thing. Goodbye, thanks.” Sunset bid him farewell and left the room. Dr. Shrink got up from his desk and looked out the window of his office down at the street. He saw Sunset leaving the building and head down the street. He couldn’t help but think about what Sunset said when he asked her about him. “Oh, Sunset.” The doctor said to himself in a tone of disappointment. “You should know by now that I can tell when you’re fibbing.” Chapter 2It was next Monday, and everyone was heading off to their first classes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were walking down the hall together chatting about Sunset Shimmer’s strange behavior lately. “Okay, we both agree that Sunset’s been acting very strange lately, right?” Rainbow asked. “Yeah, she doesn’t seem like her usual self,” Pinkie agreed. “Well, her new usual self, not her old usual self. Her old self wasn’t the nicest person.” “She seems so distant. She doesn’t hang out with us as much as she used to. Do you think she might be hiding something?” “I think we should gather more information before we jump to conclusions.” Pinkie said in a slightly more serious tone. Both she and Dash paused for a moment remembering the Anon-a-Miss affair. “Well, either way, I’m not going to feel comfortable until I find out what’s up with Sunset.” “I can’t believe it!” said an upset and unpleasant voice. Both Pinkie and Rainbow turned to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking down the hall together and they didn’t look very happy. “A perfectly planned New Year’s party ruined!” “Hold on, what’s this stuff about ruined parties?” Pinkie stopped and asked the younger girls. Pinkie had a strict rule against ruined parties. “Over the weekend, my family and Silver Spoon’s took us to this really great restaurant to celebrate New Year’s. But then Sunset Shimmer and her new boyfriend came and ruined everything!” Diamond Tiara complained. “Wait, what was that last part?” Rainbow asked curiously. “Sunset has a new boyfriend?” Pinkie also asked. “Yeah, unfortunately,” Diamond Tiara bitterly answered. Both Rainbow and Pinkie stood in surprise for a moment, processing what they had just heard. Then big excited smiles formed on their faces. Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense to them now. “Rainbow Dash, this is great!” Pinkie said excitedly grabbing her friend. “What?!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exclaimed baffled. “I know, Sunset’s got a boyfriend!” Dash happily said to Pinkie. “We’ve gotta tell the other girls! I bet they’re gonna want to meet him!” Pinkie said. “Trust me, you might not want to get your hopes up for this one,” Silver Spoon nervously suggested. “Oh, almost forgot,” Pinkie said noticing the two smaller girls again. “Don’t worry, you two. I’ll find a way to make up for that party you lost.” “Come on, Pinkie. We’ve gotta tell the others,” Rainbow said. “I can hardly wait!” Pinkie said excitedly as she and Dash took off down the hall leaving Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon behind. “Ugh!” Diamond Tiara groaned in annoyance. “They have no idea what their getting themselves into.” “Come on. We’d better get to class,” Silver Spoon suggested. “Maybe a little work will help put that horrible night behind us.” Diamond Tiara frowned remembering the horrible night. Then she started walking with her friend. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie met Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy and were walking down a hallway and talking about what they heard from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “So you see, it all makes sense now!” Pinkie excitedly told them. “Ah’ never thought ah’d see the day when Sunset Shimmer would take up datin’ again,” Applejack said proudly. “I’m so happy for her,” Fluttershy said. “I simply must meet the lucky man!” Rairty said excitedly. “I bet after spending a few years with one another they’ll eventually decide to tie the knot, and I’ve already got our dear Sunset’s wedding dress design planned!” “Calm down, Rarity,” AJ said putting her hand on the fashionista’s shoulder. “Baby steps. Let’s focus on meetin’ the guy first.” After walking down the hall for a while, they eventually found Sunset Shimmer emptying out her locker for the day. “Sunset!” they all called and hurried over to meet her. “Hi, girls,” Sunset politely responded. “How are things going?” “Oh, we hear somethings are going pretty good for some people.” Rainbow said slyly and winked at her. “What do you mean?” Sunset asked not understranding the sentence. “We heard the good news,” Fluttershy said. “What good news?” Sunset asked confused. “Oh darling, you’ve become so secretive with your personal life,” Rarity teased. “We heard ya’ found a new man ta’ hang out with,” AJ said humbly. “You have a new boyfriend!” Pinkie excitedly and loudly announced. Sunset’s look of confusion turned to one of nervousness. “You found out?” “Oh yes. Congradulations, darling,” Rarity said. “Is he cool?” Rainbow asked excitedly. “We should all throw a party to celebrate!” Pinkie said shooting confetti from her sleeves. “When were you thinking of introducing us to him?” AJ asked. “I don’t know. He doesn’t have a lot of time to meet other people,” Sunset said nervously. “Well, I’m sure he’d like to meet us,” Rainbow said confidently. “We’re your friends after all.” Sunset looked up at a clock on a wall and it seemed to make her more nervous. “Sorry girls. I really need to get going. Goodbye.” With that, she darted down the hallway towards the school entrance leaving the Five confused. “What’s up with her?” Rainbow asked. “She looked like she was in a hurry,” Fluttershy said. “I bet she’s going someplace to meet up with her new boyfriend,” Pinkie excitedly guessed. “I say we should follow her and see if it’s true,” Rainbow suggested. “Is that really a good idea?” Fluttershy asked skeptically. “Absolutely,” Rainbow confidently replied. “What could possibly go wrong?” “Ah’ don’t know,” AJ skeptically said. “Ah’ have a bad feelin’ about this.” Sunset was walking at a fast pace down the sidewalk of a neighborhood. She was heading someplace, and judging be the nervous look on her face, she needed to get there fast. “I hope I’m not too late,” She said to herself. “If I’m late, Zak won’t be too happy.” After a while, she came to a house that looked like it was in need of a paint job. She was about to walk across the yard to the door when she heard a noise behind her. She turned around to find the Five standing in the middle of the sidewalk with big excited smiles on their faces. “What are you doing here?” Sunset asked nervously sweating. “You left so quickly,” Fluttershy explained. “We became concerned, so we followed you.” “So his name is Zak?” Rainbow asked. “That’s a cool name.” “And this is his place?” Pinkie asked staring at the house in front of them. “I must say, it could really do with a new coat of paint,” Rarity said examining the house. “What do you think? Cerulean?” “You shouldn’t be here,” Sunset anxiously told them while trying not to raise her voice too much. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?” Applejack asked concerned. “Havin’ a new boyfriend isn’t somethin’ ta’ be embarrassed about isn’t?” “It’s… it’s just-” “Sunset!” came a loud and unpleasant voice from the house. They all turned to see a young man, probably in his early twenties, wearing long dark blue pants with chains, black boots, a black leather jacket, and sunglasses standing in the doorway. He looked to be a head taller than Sunset. He had dark red hair and tan skin, and was smoking a cigarette. He was also accompanied by two other guys; one was skinnier and shorter with spiky green hair, lip piercings, and wore similar clothing. The other was a little more portlier, wearing sneakers, black pants, a sleeveless t-shirt, and a cap. None of them looked very happy. “Oh… hi, Zak,” Sunset nervously walked up and greeted the middle guy. “I’m here.” “You’re late,” He replied angrily. “Only by three minutes,” She said sheepishly. Then she covered her mouth as if realizing she just said something she shouldn’t had said. “Excuse me?!” Zak asked raising his voice as he came closer to Sunset until he was towering over her. She trembled under his gaze. “Do you know what can happen in the short time of three minutes?” As Sunset struggled to come up with an acceptable responce, he turned his attention to the five girls staring nervously from the sidewalk. “Who the hell are these bimbos?” The girls were utterly offended by his question. “They’re my friends from CHS,” Sunset answered him. “I don’t remember telling you to bring anyone with you,” He scolded. “I know,” Sunset desperately tried to explain. “It’s just, they found out about us and got excited. So they followed me-” before Sunset could finish her explanation, Zak took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew a little smoke into her face causing her to cough and cover her eyes. “I don’t give a shit,” He told her in a threatening tone and grabbed the collar of her shirt. “If I tell you to get here on a certain time, then you’d better hell get here. I don’t care what obstacles you think you have to face, and I don’t want any of your shitty excuses. Understand?” “Y... yes, sir,” Sunset timidly agreed. Her eyes were etched with fear as he held her. “Good,” Zak said releasing her shirt. “Now get in there. Some of the other guys arrived earlier and there’s a pile of dishes on the table, so get to work.” “Better be quick about it,” The slim guy at the door said with a snicker. “You don’t want to upset him anymore than you already have,” The portly guy chuckled. “Right,” Sunset replied obiediantly and miserably. Zak shoot the five other girls a cold glare before closing the door. The Five all stood on the sidewalk in utter shock. Sunset’s new boyfriend was not what they all thought he would be, not at all. Chapter 4It was another day at Canterlot High. Another glum day. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack were walking down one of the school hallways. They all looked very miserable because they were unable to convince Sunset Shimmer to breakup with Zak the other day. Despite Sunset’s denials, it was painfully obvious he was abusing her. Also, they hadn’t seen Sunset anywhere today, and they were growing more concerned by the hour. Just then, they saw Vice Principal Luna enter the hallway and signal for them with her hand. “Girls, I’m glad I found you,” Luna said. “Principal Celestia would like for you all to come to her office.” “Is something wrong?” Fluttershy nervously asked. “We’re not sure yet. There’s someone who would like to speak with all of you.” Luna led the five girls to her sister’s office. When they entered, Celestia was sitting at her desk and a slender man with a groomed moustache and beard, wear a suit and glasses was sitting in a chair facing the principal’s desk. “Girls, this is Dr. Shrink,” Celestia introduced the man. “He would like to talk with you all.” “Thank you, Celestia,” Dr. Shrink said before turning to the five girls. “You are all friends of Sunset Shimmer, am I right?” “We are,” Fluttershy answered. “How do you know Sunset?” Applejack curiously asked. “I’m her therapist,” Dr. Shrink answered. The five girls dropped their jaws in surprise. “Since when has Sunset been going to therapy?” Rainbow asked in disbelief. “Since the beginning of the New Year,” Dr. Shrink calmly answered. “Why would she need to start the New Year with therapy sessions?” Pinkie asked bewildered. “I’m sorry, it’s against my policy to discuss what my patient and I talk about during our sessions with others. Anyway, I’m here to ask you all a couple questions.” “Do they have to do with Sunset?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Yes, they do,” the doctor answered. “At our last session, she seemed really bothered by something but couldn’t find it in her heart to give me all the details. Do any of you know what might’ve happened to her that day?” “Well, we tried to ask her if she could breakup with her new… boyfriend, Zak,” Rarity uneasily answered. “You know about him too, don’t you?” Rainbow asked. “Yes… Unfortunately, I do,” Shrink replied in a bitter-sounding tone. “Well, needless ta say, we weren’t able ta convince her,” AJ said. “Do you know how badly he’s been treating her?” Pinkie asked the therapist. “Yes, I do,” Shrink replied with a sad look on his face. “And I’ve tried talking her into leaving him, but she strongly feels she needs to stay with him.” “That’s loco in the coco!” Pinkie said. “Why on Earth would Sunset want to stay with a jerk like that?” Rainbow asked frustrated. “She’s probably afraid of what he might do if she tries to leave. Am I right?” Rarity asked Shrink. The therapist stared at the girls for a moment before lowering his head and answering. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss my patient’s therapy sessions with anyone.” “It is him, isn’t it?” Rainbow angrily asked, but the doctor did not answer nor looked any of them in the eye. “Is there anything else you need, doctor?” Celestia asked noticing how uneasy the man looked. “No, that’s all I needed to know,” he assured her. “I’ll be leaving now.” He got up from the chair and started walking over to the door. Before exiting the room, he turned to the five girls. He had one last thing to say. “Girls, I can’t tell you everything I know. But I must warn you, sometimes what you think is the problem is not entirely true.” With that, he walked out the door and was gone leaving the five girls confused. “What do you think he meant by that?” Fluttershy asked. “Ah’m not sure,” AJ replied. “Well, we can think about it later,” Rainbow said changing the subject. “Principal Celestia, we haven’t seen Sunset anywhere today. Do you know where she might be?” “As a matter of fact, I think I do,” Celestia answered in a bitter tone. “Earlier this morning, Zak, Sunset Shimmer’s boyfriend, came by my office today to tell me that Sunset wouldn’t be attending school today.” Earlier that morning, Zak was standing in Celestia’s office while she was sitting at her desk and Luna was standing by her side. Needless to say, they weren’t having a very pleasant conversation. “So you see, Sunset’s got some important things to do for me today, so she won’t be attending school today,” Zak said. “I hope you understand.” “But Sunset has an important test in one of her classes today,” Luna argued. “What’s one little test?” Zak replied uncaringly. Luna glared at the young man. “Well, can you at least take some of her class assignments home with you so she can work on them?” Celestia asked him. She had an annoyed look on her face and she was holding a pen in her right hand. Then she handed a couple papers with her left hand. “Here are all the classes she’s taking this semester.” Zak took the papers, looked over them for a moment, then dropped them in a nearby wastebasket. “I can’t be expected to waste my time with this crap, and neither should Sunset.” Celestia and Luna were growing angrier by the second. Never in their careers had they encountered someone so callous and so disrespectful. “Sunset needs this or she’ll fall behind in her classes!” Luna said raising her voice a little. “Not my problem,” Zak uncaringly responded. “She’s your girlfriend! Don’t you care about her future?” Celestia angrily asked squeezing the pen in her hand. “Oh, I know what Sunset’s future will be,” Zak smugly replied. “Trust me, she doesn’t need an education for that.” Then he walked out of the office giving the two women one last triumphant and remorseless grin. SNAP! Luna looked and saw that her sister had gotten so angry and squeezed the pen so hard it broke in her hand. Celestia sat in her chair furiously glaring at her office door with black ink dripping from her right hand and onto her desk. “As you might already know, we’re not too fond of this predicament either,” Luna said bitterly. “Son of a bitch!” Rainbow angrily blurted out shocking the rest of her friends. “Normally we don’t tolerate that kind of language, Miss Dash,” Celestia told the rainbow-haired teenager. “Although in this situation, I think it fits.” “That guy is just awful,” Fluttershy said. “We can’t let Sunset keep hanging out with him.” “We understand your concern, Miss Shy,” Celestia said. “We’ve heard about these kinds of relationships,” Luna added. “And I’m afraid they only get worse.” “Well, then we have do somethin’!” AJ stated. “I’m hope you’re not planning on doing anything rash,” Celestia said with concern. “Of course not,” Rarity assured her. “We’re just going to go over to that dreadful looking house of his and try once again to talk Sunset out of this relationship. There are other alternatives to handling problems besides hostility, darlings.” “I wish we’d realized that earlier during the Anon-a-Miss affair,” Fluttershy glumly said. At hearing this, everyone in the room started feeling very down with remorseful looks on their faces. “Yeah, we made some mistakes that time,” Rainbow admitted. “But we resolved it, and it’s all over now.” “I guess you’re right,” Fluttershy unsurely agreed. “Come on, y’all!” AJ said. “Let’s go talk to Sunset again.” “Good luck, girls,” Celestia said bidding her students farewell as they left her office. “I hope they’re successful in talking Sunset Shimmer out of this unhealthy relationship,” Luna said to her sister. “Me too, Luna,” Celestia replied. “I used to think Sunset was a problematic child, but she was an angel next to this guy,” Luna remarked. “We’ve experienced some bizarre recent things, sister. But somehow, I find this situation very hard to bare,” Celestia said with great concern. “We know happens to people who become trapped in situations like this.” “Yes, we’ve seen cases like these, and don’t end well.” Luna agreed. “Let’s just hope Sunset will be one of the lucky ones.” The five girls arrived at Zak’s house. Rarity was having a hard time trying to stand the outer appearance of the place. The sounds of male laughter and loud rock music could be heard from inside. Fluttershy took a deep breath, nervously walked up to the front door, and gave a few knocks on it. “Hey boss,” one male voice was heard. “I think there’s someone at the door.” “Well crap,” another voice, which they recognized as Zak’s, said. “Sunset, go see what that is.” “Do I have to like this?” a nervous female voice, which they recognized as Sunset Shimmer’s, asked. “Yes! Now go answer it!” Zak yelled angrily. “And be quick about it! Some of the guys still haven’t gotten their beers yet.” “Yeah, better not take too long,” another male voice said in a perverted tone. “Hurry up!” a third male voice demanded. “Okay, I’m going,” Sunset anxiously assured them. The sound of a perverted whistle was also heard. The front door opened slightly to reveal Sunset poking her head out from behind the door. “Girls! What are you doing here?” she asked nervously. “Sunset, we really need to have a talk,” AJ said. “Now’s not the best time,” Sunset nervously replied. “Sunset, we’re worried about you,” Fluttershy said with great concern in her voice. “We heard Zak made you skip school today.” “I’m fine.” “You’re obviously not, darling,” Rarity disagreed. “Your therapist, Dr. Shrink, came by Principal Celestia’s office today.” Sunset stared in surprise for a moment. “So you know about that now?” “Yeah,” Pinkie responded. “Not many people who go to therapy don’t have problems.” “And we think it has something to do with tall, dark, and bossy in there,” Rainbow said angrily. “I assure you I’m fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do,” Sunset said starting to close the door. “No, you’re not fine,” Rainbow said pushing the door wide open before Sunset could close it. The five girls’ jaws dropped in shock and horror at what they saw in front of them now. Sunset was no longer hiding behind the door and they all saw that she was wearing a long white kitchen apron over her front and by the looks of it, nothing else. Sunset blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry girls,” she nervously apologized. “Now’s really not a good time.” With that, she closed the door on the five speechless teens. The sounds of bare footsteps were heard. “Who was it?” Zak’s asked in a demanding tone. “No one,” Sunset nervously answered. “I’ll go get those beers.” “And when you’re done, get back in here and assume the position,” Zak told her. “I’m gonna be needing my footstool soon.” He was followed by the sounds of sadistic and perverted cackling from the other guys in the room. The five girls could only listen with dread as they all realized that this problem was far more serious than they ever expected, and would be a whole lot harder to solve. Chapter 5The next day, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were sitting together on the steps of the school’s main entrance. They were all still in shock over what they’d seen last night. “Am I the only one who can’t come up with an explanation for what we just saw last night?” Rainbow asked her friends. “Nope, even ah think what we saw couldn’t be interpreted any other way,” Applejack replied. “Look, it’s Sunset,” Fluttershy informed them pointing to their approaching friend. Sunset was wearing her usual attire, but this time she had a pair of sunglasses on. “Hey girls, how’s everything?” Sunset politely asked in a seemingly happy tone as if nothing happened last night. “Are you okay, Sunset?” Rainbow asked suspiciously. “Just fine. Why do ask?” Sunset answered casually. “Last time we saw you, darling, you weren’t exactly decent,” Rarity said. “Oh, I just got out of the shower that’s all,” Sunset said reassuringly. “In an apron?” Rainbow asked suspiciously again. “I couldn’t find any towels, it was the only thing I could find.” “But you didn’t look soaking wet at all,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Sorry girls, I gotta get to class,” Sunset nervously excused herself and walked into the school. “See you later.” Despite Sunset’s claims, the five friends weren’t convince in the slightest that things were okay. In the school cafeteria, the five friends sat down at a table for lunch. They had hoped Sunset would join them but she chose to sit at an empty table all alone instead. It was like she was trying to avoid them. Then they were approached by the Crusaders. “I take y’all are worried about Sunset,” Apple Bloom guessed. “Yeah, there’s something about her that seems out of place,” Fluttershy replied. “We’ve noticed she’s been acting weird too,” Scootaloo said. “It’s like she’s trying to hide something.” “And it’s making us a little worried,” Sweetie Belle added. “Oh, now you’re all concerned about people’s feelings considering what you pulled last season,” Diamond Tiara unpleasantly remarked to the three Crusaders overhearing their conversation. “Six months of detention wasn’t nearly what you deserved,” Silver Spoon bitterly added and left with her friend. Many of the other students shot the Crusaders very angry and threatening glares which the five older girls noticed. “What’s with them?” Pinkie asked. “Although we apologized for our actions,” Apple Bloom sadly explained. “Some people still haven’t forgiven us for the whole Anon-a-Miss thing.” “So that’s what all the teasing and picking on you was about,” AJ said with realization. “I can’t believe I almost forgot how bad that was,” Rarity said. “I promise y’all we’ll have a talk with everyone and clear this up,” AJ promised. “We appreciate that, but right now we’re more worried about Sunset,” Sweetie Belle said. “Do you think it has something to do with that dirt bag she’s been hanging around with?” Scootaloo asked. “Most definitely,” Rainbow answered with bitter absolution. “Have you tried talking her into breaking up with him?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yes, but she won’t listen,” Fluttershy answered. “Maybe she’s to talk with somebody else,” Applejack said getting an idea. “And ah know just the person. Come on y’all, let’s go see the principal.” The Five and the Crusaders left the cafeteria and headed straight to Principal Celestia’s office. Twenty minutes later, a request by Vice Principal Luna over the school speakers was heard. “Sunset Shimmer, please report to the principal’s office.” Later, Sunset Shimmer arrived at the principal’s office and sat in a chair facing Celestia’s desk. Both Celestia and Luna found it strange to see Sunset wearing a pair of sunglasses. The Five and the Crusaders were outside the door waiting and trying to see if they could listen in on the conversation inside. “Sunset Shimmer, do you know why you’re here?” Celesita asked. “No, I haven’t done anything wrong. Have I?” Sunset nervously asked. “No, you’re here because your friends and other students have been voicing their concerns about you.” “But I’m fine, really,” Sunset assured them. “Miss Shimmer, you are obviously not fine,” Luna argued. “Your grades have been dropping and you haven’t been very social with anyone. For goodness sake, you’ve been going to therapy.” “I have a lot of stressful issues and Zak needs me for a few things,” Sunset tried to come up with an excuse. “What kind of things?” Luna asked suspiciously. “You know, things,” Sunset nervously tried to come up with something. “Are there any problems between you and Zak?” Celestia asked suspiciously. Ever since she and Luna met Zak, she developed a deep hatred for him. It was clear that this creep didn’t care for the importance of Sunset’s school life. “No, not at all,” Sunset insisted. “He may seem a little rough around the edges but he’s really not that bad.” But Celestia and Luna weren’t convinced. “Can you take off your glasses and look me in the eye when you say that?” Celestia requested. “Well… uh…” Sunset stuttered nervously. For some reason she didn’t want to take off her sunglasses which increased the principal and vice principal’s suspicions. “Please,” Celestia insisted. Sunset let out a defeated sigh. She had no choice. She reluctantly removed the sunglasses from her face. When she did this, both Celestia and Luna’s faces lit up with shock and horror. “Oh My God!” an utterly horrified Celestia exclaimed. Sunset’s right eye was swollen and had a dark color to it. “This isn’t what it looks like,” she tried to say. “Sunset Shimmer, has Zak been hitting you?” Luna asked with a very upset look on her face. “No, it was an accident,” she tried to deny, but this didn’t convince the two sisters in the slightest. “Sunset, it’s painfully obvious to everyone here at CHS that you’re in some trouble,” Celestia tried to reason with her. “But we can’t help you unless you open up and ask us to. So please, talk to us. You can trust us, can’t you?” Sunset thought for a moment, then she seemed like she wanted to say something. But then she changed her mind. “I… I can’t,” she said with tears flowing from her eyes. Then she got out of her seat, left the principal’s office, and ran down the hallway past her friends sobbing. When Sunset ran past her friends, they all managed to get a good look at her face and saw the black eye. Their faces were etched with horror. Rainbow’s face slowly formed into one of absolute fury. Now they knew Sunset Shimmer was being physically abused. They all walked into the principal’s office to find Celestia with her face buried in her hands. She had failed to help a student and she wasn’t taking it well. “Okay, we all know what’s goin’ on, right?” Applejack asked to see if everyone was on the same page. Everyone nodded their heads ‘yes’. “We can’t let this piece of shit keep treating Sunset like this,” Rainbow angrily declared. “Shouldn’t we tell the police about what he’s doing to her?” Fluttershy suggested. “I’m afraid they can’t do anything unless Sunset files the report herself,” Luna sadly told them. “She won’t do it. She’s probably scared of what Zak will do if she does,” Rainbow said. “And personally, I don’t blame her,” Rarity added. “Come on, we gotta go talk to her,” AJ said leading her four friends out of the principal’s office. At Sugarcube Café, Sunset was sitting at an outside table drinking a smoothie. She looked absolutely miserable and received a lot of concerned looks from people who passed by her noticing her black eye. Then she noticed her friends had arrived and approached the table she was sitting at. They looked at her with concern written across their faces. “If you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about this,” Sunset said covering her black eye with her hand. “Sunset, please talk to us,” Fluttershy pleaded. “I may be good at sensing when someone isn’t happy, but even everyone else can see you’re not happy as clear as frosting on a cake,” Pinkie said. “You’re obviously not doing well, darling,” Rarity added. “If you just tell us what Zak is doing to you then we can help,” Rainbow insisted. “This ‘relationship’ you have with Zak is causing you more pain than a rattlesnake bite in the desert on a hot summer day,” AJ said. “It’s just a developing relationship, I can deal with it,” Sunset insisted. “Besides, I’ve had worse pain.” “Since when?” Rainbow asked confused. But before Sunset could answer, a very familiar and unpleasant voice called her name. “Sunset!” Everyone turned to see a car had parked near where they were and out of the vehicle came Zak and his two cohorts from before; Chunk, the portly one, and Scratch, the slim one. “What the fuck is taking you so long?” Zak asked in an angry tone. “Sorry Zak,” Sunset nervously apologized and got up from her seat. “I’m ready to go now.” “Hey Zak!” Rainbow called to him getting his attention. She and the other four all had bitter looks on their faces. “We’ve got something we need to say to you!” “Sunset, get in the car,” Zak commanded his girlfriend while glaring at her five friends. “Zak, there’s no need to do anything here,” Sunset nervously tried to talk him into just leaving with her. She sensed what was about to happen, she didn’t want to see an unpleasant confrontation between her friends and her new boyfriend. “Let’s just leave and-” But before Sunset could finish, Zak grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. “I said get in the car!” he threateningly ordered her and then released her. Sunset obediently did as she was told. Watching Zak threaten their friend like that made the Five’s anger increase even more. “So what the hell do you want?” Zak asked impatiently. “We want you to leave Sunset alone,” Rainbow told him. “She’s very unhappy,” Pinkie said. “And she doesn’t need a brute like you making it worse,” Rarity added. As the girls voiced their complaints, Zak’s impatient glare slowly formed into a smug and malicious smile. “Aw! Isn’t this cute, boys?” he mockingly asked his two cohorts. “They’re all concerned.” Both Chunk and Scratch started chuckling mockingly which made the girls even angrier. “Don’t you even care how Sunset feels?” Fluttershy asked trying to find at least one shred of humanity in that mess. “Listen, I don’t need a group of pitiful lonely skanks telling me how to treat my property,” Zak argued. “Property?!” Rarity exclaimed utterly appalled. “Sunset Shimmer is not your property!” AJ angrily declared. “She’s a person!” “What kind of creep treats someone who cares for them so cruelly?!” Pinkie asked angrily. This made Zak let out a small sadistic chuckle. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?!” “What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked confused. But her question was ignored. “Well, if you’re all that concerned, perhaps I could hook you up with some of my boys,” Zak mockingly suggested. “Chunk, Scratch, what do you think?” “Sounds good to me, boss,” Chunk agreed. “Yeah, give the rest of us a chance at some lovin’,” Scratch mockingly said licking his lips in a perverted manner. The five girls stood there glaring furiously as the thugs mocked and laughed at them. “Look ladies,” Zak said in a faux affable and threatening tone. “I don’t know exactly what feelings you have for my girl and I don’t really care. But I don’t ever want to see you talking to her again. Although, my offer for you to join us is still open. So if you ever change your minds, you know where to find me.” Zak walked back to his car and hopped in with a smug smile on his face. As his two cohorts got in, Scratch shot the five girls a sadistic grin and a very foul hand sign. The Five watched furiously as the car with their poor friend took off. “FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Rainbow yelled after them. It was clear that something was keeping Sunset from leaving Zak and Zak wasn’t going to let go of Sunset anytime soon. They needed a new plan to try and save their friend from this horribly toxic relationship. Chapter 6That night, Sunset Shimmer was at Zak’s house cleaning dishes in the kitchen sink while he and his friends were enjoying themselves in the other room. While she was drying a drinking glass, she accidentally dropped it. It shattered into many tiny pieces when it hit the floor. The accident triggered a flashback of when her friends brutally accused her of being Anon-a-Miss and mercilessly abandoned her. When the flashback ended, Sunset staggered back a little and began shedding tears. She hadn’t noticed that Zak was standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette and had witnessed the entire thing, down to the last detail. Instead of flying into a rage and start yelling and hitting her like he usually did, a sinister grin formed on his face. He knew exactly what just happened and this gave him an idea. He walked into the kitchen toward Sunset until she finally noticed him. “Zak?” Sunset said surprised and nervous. “It… it was an accident. I didn’t mean-” “Looks like you were having one of those episodes again,” Zak said in a surprisingly calm tone. Sunset knew that whenever he spoke calmly, which was very rare, it meant he was up to something. “Yes,” Sunset politely and nervously replied. “Yes, I did.” “Your therapist says that’s a problem,” Zak stated. “Well, I know just the treatment to help get your little mind off those troubling things.” Then he took her hand and led her into the living room. His grip wasn’t too tight but not too gentle either. It was strong enough just to let her know he wanted her to come. “Guys, my girl’s had one of her episodes again,” Zak told his gang members. “Scratch, get the stuff.” “With pleasure,” Scratch said with a devious chuckle that promised something malicious and got out of his chair to get something from another room. A moment later, he returned with a syringe, and it appeared to be filled with some kind of yellowish liquid. “What is that?” Sunset asked nervously staring at the syringe. “You could say it’s your medicine,” Zak answered her with a sinister smile on his face. “Now take it if you want to feel better.” Knowing that it was a bad idea not to do as he said, Sunset walked over to Scratch and rolled up the sleeve of her right arm allowing Scratch to insert the syringe into her exposed flesh. Sunset cringed in pain as the needle pierced her skin. Scratch slowly pushed down on the needle’s plunger and injected the strange liquid into Sunset’s arm. She began to feel strange and dizzy. Her perspective of reality was becoming distorted, the world around her began to spin and flow like waves at the ocean. Her ability to think like a young adult began to decrease. Sunset collapsed on her hands and knees letting out heavy uncomfortable groans much to the pleasure and satisfaction of Zak and Scratch. “Where am I?” Sunset asked nauseous and confused. “Who’s there?” “It’s ‘daddy’, baby,” Zak replied with a sadistic grin. “Daddy?” Sunset responded. “Daddy!” She wrapped her arms affectionately around Zak’s legs. She was acting and sounding like a little child. “That’s right, baby. Daddy’s here,” Zak said smugly rubbing her head as if she were a dog. “Good girl.” “Looks like it’s working, boss,” Scratch commented. “Yes, if we keep pumping her with that shit she’ll eventually become perfect,” Zak said with a sinister chuckle as he continued petting Sunset’s head who was still high on what they forced into her. The rest of Zak’s gang started laughing with him. The next day at CHS, the Five and the Crusaders were all sitting together at a table in the cafeteria during lunch with very glum expressions on their faces. The girls had allowed their younger sisters to sit with them to make sure that they weren’t harassed by anyone who was still sore about the Anon-a-Miss incident. Fluttershy was comforting Scootaloo who had received a black eye from an angry student earlier that day. But what they all wanted most of all was to get Sunset Shimmer out of her toxic relationship with Zak. But they were running low on ideas. Then they were approached by Flash Sentry, who was accompanied by Micro Chips, Sandalwood, Snips, Snails, the Diamond Boys, and Bulk Biceps. “I take you’re all upset about Sunset,” Flash guessed reading the unhappy looks on their faces. “We pride ourselves on our abilities to solve problems,” Applejack said. “But we’re at the end of our rope and not gettin’ anywhere.” “We’ve tried talking with Sunset and even Zak,” Fluttershy explained. “But for some reason she feels she has to stay with him and he’s going to keep remorselessly yelling and beating her nonstop. Who knows what else he might do to her next.” “Do any of you remember the old days when some punk would cause a girl at our school trouble and some of us guys would get together and kick his ass?” Flash asked with a tone that sounded like he was ready for action. “That sounds really satisfying right about now,” Rainbow Dash said with a mischievous grin. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it then,” Rover eagerly suggested. His two companions, Spot and Fido, voiced their agreement. “I always believed violence never solved anything,” a reluctant Fluttershy disagreed. “Well, trying to reason has failed so I honestly think of another alternative,” Rarity said. “Then it’s settled!” Flash declared. “Boys of CHS, this is our time to shine! Tonight, we help Sunset Shimmer!” The other guys cheered in agreement. Flash then led the group out of the cafeteria to begin their plan to liberate Sunset Shimmer from this despicable excuse of a guy. The Five and the Crusaders watched them leave with hope in their eyes. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” a concerned Fluttershy wondered. “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Rainbow confidently replied. “Flash looked like he had a plan,” Rarity added. “We should have faith that he’ll be able to do what we could not.” “He’s got this,” Pinkie said. “Now that the issue with Sunset and Zak is being taken care of, I think we can turn our attention to other important issues,” AJ said turning her attention to the Crusaders. “Like your problems.” “What do you mean?” Apple Bloom asked confused. “Your bully problems, darling,” Rarity answered. The Crusaders suddenly had nervous looks on their faces. This was an issue that they didn’t want to get into. “It’s nothing serious, honestly,” Sweetie Belle insisted. “Yeah, you don’t need to trouble yourselves on our account,” Scootaloo added. “Nonsense,” Pinkie said. “We’re all big sisters to you kids. So if your smiles are turned upside down, it’s our duty to turn them upside up again.” “Come on, just tell us who’s giving you girls trouble and let us help you out,” Rainbow insisted. The Crusaders could see that there was no possibility of talking the five older girls out of this. “Okay,” Apple Bloom reluctantly agreed to let them help. “But ah don’t know what good it’ll do.” “Great!” Rainbow said happily. “Now let’s get this done.” The five friends then started escorting the three younger girls out of the cafeteria. “Just don’t expect this to be easy,” Scootaloo told them. “I think it’s going to be practically impossible,” Sweetie Belle added, but the skepticism of the youngsters was ignored the five confidant teens. The eight girls split up to search around the school for people who’ve been giving the Crusaders a hard time. Each Crusader went with her respective big sister; Apple Bloom with Applejack, Sweetie Belle with Rarity, and Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash. The Apple sisters found a student named Aqua Blossom sitting at a table in the library reading a book. When the sisters approached the table, Aqua turned her attention from her book and looked up at them. Her facial expression made it very clear that she was not happy to see the younger Apple sister. “Hello Aqua Blossom,” AJ greeted her. “Hi Applejack,” Aqua politely replied. “Ah hear you and my sister here have some issues between the two of yah,” AJ said gesturing to her nervous-looking sister. “Her little Anon-a-Miss stunt cost me my relationship with me boyfriend,” Aqua bluntly and bitterly stated. “Well, ah think she has something she’d like to say about that,” AJ said and gestured her sister to step forward and say what she needed to say while giving her a warm supportive smile. For a moment, Apple Bloom became hesitant as she looked into Aqua Blossom’s glaring eyes. But regained a little of her composure after taking a deep breath. “Ah’m very very sorry about what ah did ta you,” Apple Bloom said in her most timid and remorseful tone she could muster. But Aqua continued to glare at her. “There, she apologized. So is everythin’ okay now?” Applejack hopefully asked. Aqua Blossom turned her angry eyes from Apple Bloom to AJ. “Can you and your friends use your magic to rewind time and stop her and her friends from doing what they did last Christmas?” she bitterly asked. “Uh… no. Sorry, our magic doesn’t work like that,” AJ replied honestly and regretfully. “Then just tell her and her little friends to stay the heck away from me.” “But Aqua…” AJ attempted to reason with her but was interrupted. “Their little stunt last year cost me my relationship with the guy I loved,” Aqua said with pain and sadness in her eyes. “I had planned a wonderful party for the two of us on Christmas Eve. But now he’s gone, and no amount of apology is ever going to fix that.” With that, she got up from her seat and walked away leaving the two Apple siblings to think about what she said. Apple Bloom lowered her head in shame while her elder sister placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were in the school gymnasium where they had found a student named Curly Winds was practicing some basketball. The two sisters had interrupted his practice to settle his issues with Sweetie Belle. “And so, now you understand how truly sorry my sister is for what she did,” Rarity confidently said. “So can we put this whole messy business behind us?” “Sorry Rarity,” Curly politely argued. “But because of your sister’s Anon-a-Miss fiasco, I lost my job at the sports store at the mall. Now I have to work at that lousy junk shop run by those two identical low lives. There’s no way I can truly forgive that.” After that, the athlete went back to his basketball practice. Realizing that there was no getting through to him, Rarity was forced to leave with her sad sister. In the hallway, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had met up with a rocker named Cherry Crash and Rainbow seemed to be in a bit of an argument with her. “Come on, Cherry,” Rainbow said. “She said she was sorry, what more do you want?” “All my plans for the holiday were completely ruined by her little stunt,” Cherry argued. “Now you’re still cool in my book, Dash. But your little friend here is not allowed anywhere near me from now on, not after what she and her friends did. Sorry Dash, but that’s final. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m very busy.” The rocker turned and walked down the hallway away from the upset rainbow-haired athlete and her miserable younger companion. Soon school hours had ended for the day, and students started returning home. The Five and the Crusaders were all walking home together. The expressions on their faces were clear indicators that the day had not gone well for them. They had been all over school that day trying to convince many students to resolve their issues with the Crusaders but to no avail. “Did either of you have better luck than us today?” Rainbow asked Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Uh… not exactly,” Pinkie reluctantly admitted. “Sorry,” Fluttershy apologized. “But not a single person we’ve talked to is willing to forgive the girls.” “And it’s all about the whole Anon-a-Miss thing,” Pinkie added. Hearing that, the three Crusaders lowered their heads in shame. “We’re never going to live that down,” Apple Bloom said miserably. “Don’t worry, sugarcube,” AJ said putting a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We’ll just find another way to work this out.” “Yes, where there’s a will there’s a way,” Rarity agreed. “But how?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What we did was unforgiveable,” Scootaloo added. “We forgave you three,” Rarity reminded them. “You’re our sisters, that’s different,” Sweetie Belle said. “Cheer up,” Pinkie said in a warm and friendly tone. “Everything will turn out alright in the end.” “Yeah, we’ll come up with something that’ll convince everyone to put that whole Anon-a-Miss business behind them,” Applejack said confidently. “Yeah, I bet when we’re done you’ll hardly even remember that whole thing,” Rainbow supportively agreed. There was a small moment of silence. The five older girls had confident and supportive looks on their faces as if waiting for the three younger girls to show their approval and happiness for their plan. However, their reactions were quite the opposite. “That’s horrible!” Apple Bloom said visibly disgusted. The Five were completely surprised by this unexpected reaction. “But don’t y’all want to put Anon-a-Miss behind yah?” a confused AJ asked. “Yeah, but it’s never gonna happen,” Scootaloo answered. “And trying to forget about it is not the answer,” Sweetie Belle added. “But Sweetie Belle-” Rarity tried to reason with her sister. “Listen, we all appreciate what yer tryin’ ta do fer us but here’s some advice,” Apple Bloom spoke in a serious tone. “We damaged a lot of lives with our little Anon-a-Miss stunt, and it’s not the kind of damage you can simply kiss or put a Band-Aid on and everythin’ll feel better. And our reasons for doing it might sound understandable ta you, but they were completely selfish to everyone else. The only thin’ worse than causing that kind of pain, is ta avert yer eyes from it.” “When you really hurt someone, don’t ever forget them or what you did to them,” Sweetie Belle added. “Because we promise you they’ll never forget it,” Scootaloo concluded. The Five stood stunned and speechless by the Crusaders’ words. Neither of them knew how to respond to that. “Please don’t worry about us,” Apple Bloom insisted. “You five have more important things to be concerned about,” Scootaloo said. The Crusaders started walking ahead of the Five who followed about ten feet behind leaving them to think about what was said to them. The three little girls’ words had made the Five feel something that they couldn’t say why they were feeling it, and that thing was guilt. Was it guilt for being unable to help their younger sisters or was it something else? The next morning, the Five had returned to CHS and were walking down the hallway when they spotted Flash Sentry looking through his locker. Smiles formed on their faces as they hoped that his being here might bring them some good news. They rushed over to speak with him. “Flash! Boy, are we happy to see you again,” Rainbow said excitedly as she and the others got closer. “So how did it go with Sunse-” but before she could finish her sentence, Flash closed his locker and revealed himself fully to the girls. Instantly, their excited smiles changed to looks of horror. Flash’s face did not look good at all. His right eye was dark and swollen and he had a large cotton gauze taped to his left cheek. “Flash, what happened?” Rarity asked concerned. “I’m sorry, girls,” Flash apologized in a broken tone of voice full of despair while lowering his head in shame. “I failed.” Author's Note Next chapter will show exactly what happened to Flash. Chapter 7Last Night: Flash Sentry and his team (consisting of Bulk Biceps, Snips, Snails, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, the Diamond Boys, a fashionista named Scott Green, and a drama boy named Nolan North) were all walking along the sidewalk toward Zak’s house. Their plan was to free Sunset Shimmer from his cruel grasp. Since the Five were getting nowhere in trying to breakup this toxic relationship, these boys decided it was time to take matters into their own hands. Flash was especially eager to save Sunset, since she was his ex-girlfriend and although he didn’t admit it deep down he still had some feelings for her. “So what’s the plan?” Rover asked ready for action. “I’ll go in alone for now, the rest of you hang back and watch,” Flash said. “A full-on brawl is the last thing anyone wants.” “Speak for yourself,” Spot remarked clutching his right fist. “I need to try and talk to Sunset first,” Flash continued. “She needs to know how concerned everyone is about her and that she needs to leave that creep. All of you hang back and observe for now. But if things start getting ugly, then jump in. Okay?” “Got it,” the rest of the boys agreed. “Okay, here I go,” Flash said beginning to separate from the group who stopped walking till they were at least twenty feet from the house. “Wish me luck.” Flash walked up to the door of the creepy old house, took a deep breath, and knocked on it. After a moment, it opened a little to reveal Sunset Shimmer. “Flash?!” Sunset said surprised. “What are you doing here?” “I was concerned about you,” he answered with a warm and concerned expression on his face. “I wanted to see if you were okay.” “Well as you can see, I’m doing fine,” Sunset politely reassured him. “Sorry, but you should leave. Zak doesn’t like uninvited visitors.” “That’s what I want to talk to you about, Sunset,” Flash said with a serious expression on his face. “Flash please,” Sunset pleaded. “Whatever it is, we can—” “Hey!” came Zak’s unpleasant voice. “What the hell is taking you so long, Sunset?” Then Zak appeared at the end of the hall behind Sunset. He looked very annoyed as he walked toward them. Sunset backed up against the wall to avoid bumping into him and making him even angrier. Zak stopped when he reached them and glared at Flash. “Who’s this fuck?” “He’s a friend from school,” Sunset answered timidly. “What’s your name?” Zak asked Flash in a seemingly polite tone as his glare formed into a menacing smile. “I said ‘what’s your name?’!” he repeated the question more aggressively. “Flash… Sentry,” Flash nervously answered. This was the first time he met Sunset’s new boyfriend, and he was already making him feel uneasy. He could tell just by looking at him that he didn’t have any humane qualities. “He’s a nice guy, Zak,” Sunset said hoping to lighten the mood a little. “Shut the fuck up!” Zak responded threateningly. Seeing him threaten Sunset like that in front of him already started to make Flash’s blood boil. Zak turned his attention back to Flash with that sick smile on his face. “Wanna go for a ride?” “No thanks,” Flash politely replied trying to hide his anger. “No thanks?!” Zak said sounding surprised. “What does that mean?” “I don’t want to go.” “Go where?” “For a ride. I don’t want to go for a ride.” “A ride! Yeah, let’s go for a little ride,” Zak said grabbing Flash by the shoulder. It was clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Me and the boys were just on our way out and we could use some more company to make things more fun. Right boys?” At the end of the hall, Scratch and Chunk were there voicing their agreement. “Yeah, call the rest of the gang and tell them to meet us at the Nightmare Moon Bar,” he ordered his men. “You, get in the car,” he ordered Sunset who obediently did as she was told. “Come on, let’s all go for a ride.” He then started dragging Flash to his car by his shoulder. Outside, Flash’s group watched from behind a large tree in the front yard of another house two houses away and saw Zak and his two cohorts coming out of the house with Sunset and Flash. All five of them got in the car that was parked next to the sidewalk in front of the house and then took off. “What should we do now?” Snips asked. “Follow them,” Micro Chips replied and started stealthily pursuing the moving vehicle with the other boys following right behind him. Later on, Zak, his goons, Sunset, and Flash all arrived at the Nightmare Moon Bar (a bar that was open all night long) where they met up with the rest of Zak’s gang. They were all having drinks, playing pool and darts, and some were laughing and making bets while two drunk members got into a brawl. Sunset and Flash were the only ones that didn’t look like they were having fun. The two were forced to sit at a table with Zak, Scratch, and Chunk. They were spending most of the time listening to Zak talk about disgusting, disrespectful, and embarrassing things about Sunset, getting back at people who owe him money, or other horrible things he and his gang did to people mostly for fun. “And so if that dipshit who runs the Sugarcube Café doesn’t pay up by next week, me and the boys will go over there, knock out a few of his teeth, and vandalize the place a bit. Sounds like a pretty fun idea doesn’t it?” Zak said with a cackle. Scratch and Chunk both cackled with him. However, Sunset and Flash looked very disturbed by this. “By the way, I heard you and my girl here used to be an item.” This made both Flash and Sunset become very nervous. The neutral look on his face made hard to tell if he was angry. “Did you ever ‘check out’ your ex carefully? Cause I sure did!” Then he and his two thugs started laughing like hysterical hyenas while a clearly embarrassed Sunset just stared at the ground. “Can we please talk about something else?” Flash politely asked noticing how uncomfortable Sunset looked. “Why? Everyone looks like they’re having a good time,” Zak argued. Then Sunset got up from her seat. Zak immediately grabbed her arm in a tight grip. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked threateningly. “I was just going to use the bathroom,” Sunset nervously replied. “Be quick about it,” Zak ordered and released her arm. Sunset walked to the other end of the bar where the restrooms where located. Once she was out of sight, Zak turned his attention back to his unwilling guest. “Girls, you know what I mean?” Inside the restroom, Sunset leaned against the sink and stared into the mirror above it. She looked very stressed and the way Zak and his gang were treating her in front of her ex wasn’t helping at all. She stared at her miserable-looking reflection in the mirror for a moment. But then reflections of the Five suddenly appeared standing behind her with angry expressions on their faces. “Secret stealer!” the Pinkie reflection said with venom in her voice. Startled, Sunset spun around and saw that there was no one there. Taking some deep heavy breathes, Sunset turned back around, turned on the sink faucet, started splashing water in her face to help calm herself down. Back outside, Zak was finishing a very ‘informational’ conversation with Flash. “So you see, Flash. Women are like dogs. If you don’t train them right, they will never learn obedience. I mean, imagine what how difficult it would be to have a disobedient bitch in your home that just does whatever it wants whenever it wants.” “You’d need a shit-ton of newspaper,” Scratch remarked causing everyone at the table, except Flash, to burst into hysterical laughter. Flash just sat in his seat quietly glaring at Zak. The only useful thing he learned from this conversation was that this guy did not respect Sunset, or women in general, at all. Never in all his life had Flash met such a disgusting, amoral, and cruel excuse of a human being such as this guy. Flash felt like he might go crazy if he continued to hang around this guy and his gang any longer. “Where the hell is she?!” Zak said becoming impatient. Sunset had been in the restroom for a little over a minute. “See what I mean?!” “There she is,” Chunk said spotting Sunset coming through the bathroom door. “Watch and learn from the master,” Zak said proudly and got up from his seat and started walking towards Sunset. As soon as he got to her, he tightly grabbed her left arm. “Where the hell were you?! I thought I told you to ‘be quick’!” he threatened her. “I… I…” she stammered nervously. “Ow!” she yelled as Zak began to painfully twist her arm. “My boys and I do so much for you and you continue to repay our kindness like this!” Zak viciously scolded. “Is a little obedience too fucking much to ask?!” “Please Zak, you’re hurting me!” Sunset pleaded for him to stop twisting her arm. But he only twisted it more. “Leave her alone!” Flash suddenly yelled unable to take it anymore. Instantly, everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing and turned their attention completely on Flash. They all stared at him as if he just sprouted a second head and challenged God. “What was that?!” Zak hissed glaring at Flash. “I said ‘leave her alone!’” Flash repeated himself getting out of his seat and marching towards Zak. The rocker glared at the gang leader with threatening angry eyes. “You already had your chance with her, dickhead. So fuck off!” Zak viciously retorted. Then his furious glare turned to a disturbing malicious grin. “Besides, I’ve bigger things to give her than you ever did. Why else do you think we’re still together?” Then in a cruel act of spite, he twisted Sunset’s arm even more, all the while staring at Flash with a sadistic grin on his face. “AAAAHHHHH!” Sunset cried in pain as her arm was twisted. Unable to stand it anymore, Flash snapped and in the blink of an eye threw his right fist right in the middle of Zak’s face causing him to let go of Sunset’s arm and land on his back. Everyone in the bar gasped and stared in shock at what the young rocker just did. “Flash!” a horrified Sunset said. She stared at him as if he just pissed off an angry lion. The tension increased as Zak started getting back on his feet. The gang leader had his right hand over his face covering everything below his eyes. Blood dripped through his fingers. He glared at Flash with murder in his eyes. “You piece of shit!” Zak hissed furiously. “Looks me and the boys need to teach you a little lesson!” Suddenly, Scratch and Chunk grabbed both of Flash’s arms restraining him and preventing him from defending himself. “Take him out back,” Zak ordered his goons. “No Zak!” Sunset cried and grabbed his right arm. “He didn’t mean it! It wasn’t his fault! Please let him go!” she desperately pleaded. SMACK! Sunset’s pleas were given their response when Zak freed his arm from her grasp and backhanded her across the face. Witnessing this made Flash’s blood boil even more than it already was. “Restrain her,” Zak ordered another one of his gang members who got Sunset in a full nelson. “Stupid bitch.” Zak and his gang dragged both Flash and Sunset outside through the backdoor of the bar. Most of the gang held Flash while Zak was preparing to give him the most brutal beat down of his life. Poor Sunset was held back and being forced to watch. “You got guts doing something like this to me,” Zak said pointing to his bloody nose. “And now I’m going to see if I can knock them out through your mouth.” Suddenly, he upper cutted his right fist right into Flash’s stomach causing the rocker’s eyes grow wide and groan in pain. Then he followed that up with a harder uppercut with his left arm, then another with his right, and then his left again. Each blow was harder than the last. Soon he started kicking Flash in the torso knocking the wind out of him. His gang all cheered him on as he beat the living crap out of the defenseless high school student. “PLEASE STOP IT!” Sunset desperately cried with tears dripping from her eyes. “SHUT UP!” Zak yelled back at her. Then he grabbed the collar of Flash’s jacket with his left hand and started repeatedly punching him in the face with his right. Eventually, he stopped and the rocker had a big swollen black eye and blood was dripping from his nose and mouth. “And now…” Zak said with an evil grin as he reached into his right pocket and pulled out s switchblade. “Let’s put a smile on that face of yours.” “NOOO!” Sunset screamed as Zak started to cut Flash’s left cheek. “Hold it right there!” a nerdy-sounding voice suddenly yelled. Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and turned to see another group of boys standing twenty feet from them. The group turned out to be the other guys Flash had brought along with him, and by the looks of it, they were done sticking to the shadows and were ready for a fight. “I’d let go of our friends if I were you guys,” Nolan North said. “YEEAAHH!” Bulk Biceps followed up brandishing his fists. Zak’s gang immediately let go of Flash who quickly walked over to join his companions. “Woah! Flash, you look terrible, dude,” Sandalwood said examining his friend’s injuries. “It’s okay. I might’ve looked even worse if you guys hadn’t shown up when you did,” Flash assured him. “I think now would be okay for a full-on brawl,” Rover said. Both groups got ready to fight. Zak’s gang pulled out various deadly-looking weapons like chains, knives, brass knuckles, and a few of them actually had guns. Sunset was still held back and watched anxiously and helplessly as both sides prepared for combat. She silently prayed for something to stop this before it even began. With the weapons and ruthlessness Zak’s gang had, Flash’s group would surely suffer. “Shall we fuck them up, boss?” Chunk eagerly asked Zak. “Taking down these pussies will be fun,” Scratch added with sadistic excitement in his voice. “No,” Zak whispered to his two cohorts. “I’d love to teach these dumb fucks who they’re dealing with. Unfortunately, it’s not part of the job.” “Then what do we do?” Scratch quietly asked. Zak thought for a moment. Then he got an idea. “Stand down, boys,” he ordered his gang who did as they told with surprised and confused expressions on their faces. Flash’s group looked just as surprised and confused as them. Were they giving up? What was Zak up to? “I have a better idea.” Then he walked over to his restrained girlfriend. “Okay Sunset, I’ll give you three minutes to clear out these bastards. Three minutes or, well, you know what the worst thing in the world is,” Zak told her with a sinister smile. Instantly, Sunset’s facial expression turned to one of absolute horror. She knew what he was talking about. Flash also noticed how scared Sunset looked. It was apparent that Zak was holding something over her. “I’ll do it,” Sunset nervously complied. “I’ll get them to leave.” “Good,” Zak said satisfied and snapped his fingers. The thug holding Sunset released her and she walked over to confront Flash and his group. “You guys really need to leave,” Sunset politely told the boys from CHS. “You’ve caused enough trouble already.” “Sunset, we’re just trying to help,” Flash said. “How? By causing fights?” Sunset argued. “He started it,” Flash argued back. “I was only standing up for you.” “Did the girls put you up to this? Because if they did, please tell them to stop meddling. I’m perfectly fine!” “No, you’re not! He’s hurting you!” The intensity of the argument was increasing. “It’s obvious to everyone. Why do you continue to hang around and defend that son of a bitch?” “Look, I know things look a little rough, but I keep telling everyone all I can handle myself. But you make things worse the more you try to butt in.” “What happened to you? The old you never would’ve let anyone push you around like that!” The moment those words left Flash’s lips, the rocker immediately covered his mouth with both hands realizing he might’ve said the absolute wrong thing to say in this argument. Many of Flash’s companions gasped in shock when they heard him say that last sentence, Zak grinned with satisfaction realizing that things were going in his favor, and a very hurt-looking expression formed on Sunset’s face. Flash definitely didn’t think before speaking. “I guess some things never do change after all,” Sunset said in a heartbroken tone and lowered her head in sadness. Tears started to form in her eyes again. It seemed to her that she would never be free of her wretched past. “Sunset,” Flash said in a gentler and more calm tone. He was clearly regretting the choice of words he used. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I know Zak’s holding something over you, but no one can help you unless you let us.” “You don’t understand,” Sunset somberly replied. “I don’t think any of you truly understand the situation here.” “What’s wrong?” Flash asked confused. Sunset got closer and started whispering something into his ear. By the time she was finished, Flash’s face was etched with shock and horrific realization. Whatever Sunset just told him, it made him look like he committed a very terrible crime. “Sunset… I… I…” he stammered trying to speak, but the newfound guilt was eating away at his insides preventing him from speaking clearly. “Please, just forget about me,” Sunset said with great sadness. “I’m sorry things couldn’t had been better between us.” Then she turned and rejoined Zak’s group. “I’ve talked to them. They’ll never bother you ever again.” “Excellent!” Zak said with satisfaction. “Now let’s go back inside and drink a few more rounds.” The rest of his gang cheered triumphantly as they and a sad Sunset all went back into the bar leaving Flash and his friends outside cold, confused, and feeling utterly defeated. “What the hell just happened?!” Rover exclaimed unsatisfied. “Could someone explain to me what just happened,” a clueless Snails asked. “Well, that could’ve gone better,” Scott Green bitterly remarked. “So what’s next plan?” Sandalwood asked Flash. “There is no next plan,” he replied with a voice full of sorrow. “WHAT?!” the other boys all exclaimed. “So we’re NOT going to try and help Sunset Shimmer?!” Snips asked confused and unhappy. “No, we’re not,” Flash replied turning to face them with a bruised and beaten face filled with guilt and devoid of hope. “We can’t.” Then he walked past them and started heading off into the night. He looked so broken and defeated. “See you all at school tomorrow.” “So we’re just going to give up?!” Bulk asked with tears in his eyes. “We had our chance to help that girl, and we missed it. A long time ago,” he replied not even bothering to look back. Present Day: Flash had met up with the Five and had told them everything that had happened to him last night, except what Sunset had whispered to him. He figured it would be best if Sunset had the chance to tell them that herself. The cut on his left cheek was covered by a large gauze, but his right eye was still dark and swollen. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Flash,” Fluttershy said sympathetically. “So you’re not going to try and help Sunset again?!” Rainbow Dash said disappointed. “Whatever happened to ‘Boys of CHS, this is our time to shine’?” “This whole thing is worse than you think,” Flash sadly told them. “You don’t know the true reason behind Sunset Shimmer’s pain.” “The reason is a big wretched excuse of a human being named Zak,” Rarity said bitterly. “Plain and simple.” “But girls-” Flash tried to reason with them, but it was no use. “We appreciate that you tried ta help, Flash,” Applejack said. “But it looks like it’s still up ta us ta help our friend.” “Thanks for trying,” Pinkie expressed her gratitude. “But what’ll we do?” Fluttershy asked. “Sunset won’t listen to us.” “Don’t worry, ah have an idea,” Applejack announced. “Let’s all meet after classes then ah can explain everything.” With that, she and the rest of her friends left to go to their classes confident that they’d be successful this time. However, Flash watched them all leave with a face filled with doubt and pity. They had no idea what was really going on or what they were getting themselves into. “You know what’s really wrong with Sunset, don’t ya?” asked a pitiful voice that was revealed to be Apple Bloom joined by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They all shared the same facial expression he had. “We figured it out,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’m afraid this whole thing is doomed to end in tears,” Flash said sadly. “And it’s our fault,” Scootaloo remorsefully concluded. Author's Note Well, it appears Flash and the Crusaders know what's really going on. When the Five finally find out, it will break them. Chapter 8 (Edited 6/9/18)Zak, a gang leader and Sunset Shimmer’s new boyfriend. She started seeing him sometime after New Year’s. At first, the idea of Sunset having a new boyfriend was exciting, but that changed completely after meeting him in person. This guy proved to be an incredibly disrespectful and cruel son of a bitch. He has no compassion for his poor suffering girlfriend and if she displeases him in anyway, he has no hesitation to brutally threaten or abuse her. So many of the students and teachers of CHS had come to despise him because of this. Unfortunately, their attempts to do something about it were all met with failure, mostly because Sunset refuses to leave him no matter how badly he treated her. Sunset’s five friends were the ones mostly affected by all this, they couldn’t stand seeing their friend put through so much torment and were determined to breakup this toxic relationship. After Flash Sentry, Sunset’s ex-boyfriend, failed in his attempt, the Five now had another plan to fix the problem. The five friends had just finished their last classes for the day and were just about to head out the front doors of the school. “Okay, y’all remember the plan?” Applejack asked the group. “Yep,” Pinkie Pie replied. “Thanks for explaining the whole thing to us during lunch.” “I still think it sounds too risky,” Fluttershy said doubtfully. “Fluttershy’s right, darling,” Rarity agreed. “The chances of this working are very, and I can’t stress this ‘very’ enough, slim.” “Well, we’ve tried most everything else,” Rainbow Dash stated. “Besides, we can’t just give up. We’ve fought an evil she-demon and three manipulative sirens, a regular dirt bag human shouldn’t be too hard to handle.” “The fact that he’s human is what scares me the most,” Fluttershy said catching everyone’s attention. “When confronting Demon Sunset and the Dazzlings we knew how to face them. But Zak is a human from our world, and each human is different and unique making us unpredictable and perhaps even more dangerous than the foes we’ve faced.” “Wow, that’s pretty deep,” an astonished Pinkie Pie commented. “Doesn’t matter now,” Rainbow dismissed. “What matters now is that bastard is making Sunset’s life a living hell and he has to be stopped.” “Whatever you’re all planning, I recommend you don’t go through with it,” Flash Sentry suddenly confronted them. He was looking much better today now that his injuries were healing. “I assure you if you try to confront Zak you’ll only make things worse.” “We appreciate your concerns, but Sunset’s our responsibility,” Rarity assured. “More than you think,” Flash quietly said under his breath. “She’s also our best friend, and best friends look out for each other,” Pinkie said. “Don’t they?” “Yes, yes they do,” Flash bitterly agreed. “Then that’s what we have to do.” “Applejack’s got a new idea that should free Sunset from Zak’s grip,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s a risky one, but it’s the last one we’ve got,” Rarity added. “We gotta go now,” AJ said. “Remember, have faith in the power of Friendship.” With that, the five confident girls were on their way to who knows where to enact their mysterious plan. However, Flash did not share their great confidence in this ending well for anyone. “It’s hard to have faith in something you don’t see anymore,” Flash doubtfully said to himself. At the Nightmare Moon Bar, Zak was sitting at a table and having a few drinks with his two top cronies, Scratch and Chunk. The gang leader was in a pretty bad mood and it was making his goons uncomfortable. “Dumb bitch!” Zak bitterly mumbled. “Why is the process taking so long?!” “Well boss,” Scratch tried to explain. “She’s tougher than she seems. Even with the ‘stuff’, it’s going to take some time for that mind of hers to completely break.” “But we’re a little behind schedule,” Chunk added. “Well, we wouldn’t be if those annoying bitches and that high school would just fuck off!” Zak angrily said. Suddenly, the doors of the bar flew open to reveal the five angry aforementioned girls. “Hey, Zak!” Rainbow called to him. “Speak of the devil,” Scratch commented. The five girls approached the table the three punks were sitting at. All five teens glared at them defiantly and without a shred of fear. “What the hell do you want now?” Zak angrily demanded. “We want you to leave our friend, Sunset Shimmer, alone,” Rarity declared. “God damn it! Not this shit again,” Zak voiced his annoyance and frustration. “Don’t you sluts get it?! Sunset’s mine! She’d rather hangout with me than you. End of story. Besides, she’s not hear right now. She’s having another session with her therapist. So piss off!” “We don’t believe that,” Applejack denied. “Well, I don’t give a damn about the opinions of ‘your type’,” Zak retorted. “What, ya got somethin’ against country folk now?” “Oh no, it’s not that,” Zak said putting on mockingly fake exterior of politeness. “I have nothing against country people. But I don’t care much for orphans.” Applejack’s defiant expression suddenly turned to one of complete shock and utter offense as the three gang members chuckled at her. Tormenting Sunset was one thing, but insulting her deceased parents was crossing a line. The only thing that kept her from unleashing her full fury on them was the importance of the plan she and the girls had. “We didn’t come here to start any trouble,” Rarity said noticing the AJ was too offended to speak. “We came here to make a deal.” “What kind of deal?” Zak asked confused and curious. He knew these girls didn’t have a very good opinion of him, but what deal could they possibly make with him? “You probably know now that many of us have tried numerous ways to try and convince our friend to breakup with you,” Rarity explained. “And not a single one of them have worked,” Rainbow added. “But then we decided: if we can’t convince Sunset to leave, then perhaps we can try to convince you to leave,” Pinkie finished. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy confidently added. Zak and his goons stared at the girls in complete surprise for a moment or two. They never thought it would come to something like this. They couldn’t tell if they were really stupid or up to something. “You. Want me. To breakup. With Sunset?” Zak asked confused. “And how do you intend to convince me to do that? Will you beat me up? Because I warn you that would be a very shitty idea.” “What do you want?” Applejack bitterly asked. She hated having to stoop this low. “Excuse me?” Zak mockingly said pretending not to hear her. “What do we need to give you?” Rarity asked. “What do we need to do?” Pinkie asked. “To get you to leave Sunset Shimmer alone?” Rainbow finished. Zak gave an arrogant chuckle. “So it’s come to this. What makes you think any of you are even worthy enough to makes deals with a guy like me?” “You’re garbage who treats others like lesser trash,” Rarity retorted. “Don’t act like you’re some gorgeous, high and mighty, self-righteous angel of justice or some shit because you’re not. Even if you’d like to be.” “Oh, you’d be surprised at all the amazing things we’ve done,” a confident Rainbow boasted. This caused Zak and his two cronies to burst into hysterical laughter. “Look who thinks she’s hot shit!” “There really isn’t anything funnier than watching morons dig their own graves. Right boss?” Chunk chuckled. “Especially when those morons are a group of high school bimbos who are too stupid to see what they’re doing,” Scratch said making the Five angrier. “Or even what they’ve already done!” Zak added with a smug sinister grin which made the girls’ blood boil even more. “Shut up!” AJ yelled unable to take it anymore. “Stop acting like you know us,” Rarity demanded. “You don’t know a damn thing about any of us!” Rainbow angrily said. “Oh, but I do,” Zak smugly replied unintimidated. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Sunset. I’ve heard about your ‘heroic’ deeds in the past. No, I hear you’re overconfident and your performance sucks!” “Let Sunset Shimmer go or I’ll kick your head off and use it for a FOOTBALL!” Rainbow furiously threatened as AJ and Fluttershy struggled to hold the tough athlete back and keep her from starting a brawl. Zak put on a serious face for a moment. He appeared to be thinking about the deal the girls were trying to make with him. After half a minute, he returned to his detestable smiling visage. “Tell you what. If you all want me gone that bad, I’ll do it for free.” “What?!” a confused Pinkie exclaimed. The others shared her confused expression. It seemed their plan had worked, but way too easily. They thought they would have had to do something to convince him to take the deal. “See, I can be a generous guy,” Zak said proudly. “I’m supposed to meet Sunset Shimmer in the school parking lot tomorrow afternoon. I’ll breakup with her right on the spot. You’re all welcome to be there and watch if you don’t trust me. But I warn you, you may not like the outcome.” “Trust us, Sunset’ll be a whole lot better without scum like you in her life,” AJ defiantly and confidently replied. But Zak only chuckled as he and his cohorts got up and began to leave the bar. “Hey Rainbow,” Scratch stopped to say something to Dash. “I’m still single if you wanna hang out.” “I don’t date assholes or pussies,” the disgusted athlete shot the gangster down. “That’s okay. I’m sure your mom will wanna hang out,” Scratch replied as he continued to follow his partners while giving a mocking and lecherous chuckle. The five friends were left alone with their thoughts. It looked like they finally succeeded in breaking up Sunset and Zak. But it was easy. Too easy. Zak gave into their demands almost without problem and he didn’t seem at all bothered. He was up to something. But what? The following day, the Five had gathered in the parking lot that afternoon. Zak and his two lackeys had also arrived like they said they would and now they were all waiting for a certain red and yellow haired girl to show up. Zak was smoking a cigarette while waiting. Soon enough, Sunset Shimmer emerged from the school doors leading to the parking lot. Behind her were a lot of other students, including Flash Sentry, Trixie Lulamoon, and the Crusaders. Before this scheduled event, the Five had spread the news of Zak finally agreeing to leave Sunset alone as well as the place and time it would happen. A lot of students had gathered and were eager to witness this disturbing relationship finally put to an end. The only ones that didn’t seem very enthusiastic were Flash and the Crusaders who looked nervous that something terrible was actually about to happen. As Sunset crossed the parking lot carrying her backpack, she noticed her friends watching her with great anticipation. This made her feel uncomfortable. Everyone hated Zak, that was no secret. But they didn’t seem too bothered by his presence today. Something was off. “I’m ready, Zak,” Sunset said arriving to leave with him. Her boyfriend seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood today. Usually he looked annoyed and would yell at her for being late by just a few seconds, but this time he seemed disturbingly calm. Sunset’s nervousness increased as a sinister grin formed on Zak’s face as he eyed her. “Is something wrong?” “Sunset, do you remember what the worst thing in the world is?” he asked her. “L-loneliness,” Sunset answered with anxiety written all over her face. “W-why do you ask?” “Sunset, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us,” Zak said. Sunset’s eyes went wide with horror at hearing these words. “W-what?!” “You’re too much trouble to take care of so I’m cutting my losses,” Zak coldly explained. “Let’s be honest, you’re garbage. A pile of hopeless garbage.” “Douchebag,” Dash bitterly muttered under her breath. “I’m done with this so goodbye,” Zak finally finished before signaling to his goons that it was time to leave. The moment he said those words, almost everyone watching formed big smiles on their faces. It was finally over. Zak and Sunset were no longer an ‘item’. They wouldn’t have to pay witness to his cruelty to Sunset again. The Five were the most relieved because they felt Sunset would be truly happy again in their company and not have to endure this toxic relationship anymore. This felt like a time to celebrate. “Good riddance!” Applejack said. “Who needs that kind of trash?!” Rainbow rhetorically asked. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy agreed. “Don’t worry, darling, you still have us,” Rarity said comfortingly to Sunset. “Yeah, you still have your friends,” Pinkie happily agreed. Time seemed to slow down and the world seemed to fall apart around Sunset as she watched Zak and his henchmen walk away leaving her in total darkness. Immediately, memories of what happened last holiday season began flooding her mind. The secrets being posted, the fights and arguments erupting around school, all fingers pointed at her, and worse the heartbreaking moment when her five so-called friends gave into the belief that she was the culprit and turned their backs on her. She felt it again, the cold and painful feeling on loneliness consume her. Sunset began to take rapid heavy breathes of anxiety. None of the things her friends were saying to her seemed to get through. Then suddenly, she bolted toward Zak, fell to her knees, and grabbed the left sleeve of his leather jacket. “NO! PLEASE ZAK!” Sunset begged with great anxiety and desperation in her voice. Rivers of tears were rapidly streaming from her eyes down her cheeks. All the students, especially the Five, were shocked and confused by this unexpected reaction from Sunset. After the horrible way he’s treated her, they thought for sure she’d be happy to finally be rid of him. “What did I do wrong? What do I need to do?” The gang leader pulled his arm out of her grasp and continued to stare down at her with cold unsympathetic eyes. “Why are you doing this? You promised you wouldn’t turn your back on me!” “Not my choice,” Zak responded. “Your little 'friends' put me up to this.” “WHAT?!” Sunset exclaimed completely shocked and turned her attention toward the Five. “It would seem your 'friends' don’t approve of our relationship,” Zak said. “They don’t seem to like me very well. Can’t understand why.” “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. Just wait here,” Sunset told him with a surprisingly composed tone. Usually she was very nervous when she spoke to him. Sunset then walked over to the Five and faced them with a very clearly disappointed look. “I know I’ve done a lot of terrible things in the past, and I’m sorry for that. But is there something about me that you all still hate?” The tone of her voice was beginning to grow angrier and it made the Five nervous. “Are all of you determined to make my life miserable when I’m desperately trying to turn it around?!” “It’s not like that,” Rainbow nervously tried to explain. “We were just trying to help.” “Yeah, well, you didn’t!” Sunset furiously replied. Those words hit Rainbow Dash a lot harder than anyone expected. Upon hearing those very words, the memory of when she said something similar to Sunset when she tried to help during the Battle of the Bands. Only this time, the roles were reversed. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help.” – Sunset Shimmer. “Yeah, well, you didn’t.” – Rainbow Dash. While Rainbow was experiencing some regretful memories, the rest of the Five stepped forward to try and reason with Sunset. “Sunset, why are you so willing to be that snake’s pet?” AJ asked. None of the Five could comprehend why Sunset would devote everything to someone like Zak. It didn’t make any sense. “He’s hurting you both physically and emotionally, and he doesn’t even care,” Fluttershy added. “You don’t understand anything. Do you?” the red and yellow haired girl replied with disappointment. “For the last time, there are no issues between me and Zak.” “Then why are you having therapy sessions with Dr. Shrink?” Pinkie asked accusingly. “We heard about that,” Rarity added. “I’ve was seeing Dr. Shrink way before I ever met Zak,” Sunset answered. This was a big confusing surprise to everyone. Their belief that Zak was the reason for Sunset Shimmer’s therapy sessions was now completely debunked. If that scumbag of a person wasn’t the reason for these therapy sessions, then what was it? What could have driven Sunset to this? “If you had some serious issues, then why would you keep us in the dark?” Rarity asked. “Why would you not trust us with this?” AJ also asked. “Aren’t friends supposed to trust each other?” Fluttershy asked after AJ. “My ‘friends’ wouldn’t had abandoned me the moment they got the chance,” Sunset responded in a cold and very pain-filled voice that caused everyone’s jaws to drop in shock and confusion. “Oh no!” Apple Bloom muttered as she realized the truth of everything in an instant. “All of this dates back to last year’s holiday season,” Sunset explained. “The worst time of my entire life, bar none. Do you all remember that? After I worked so hard to earn everyone’s respect and trust, after I helped you all win the Battle of the Bands, after I shared my deepest and most personal feelings with you, after you all made feel like I mattered and was more than just a friend to you all, WHAT did you say to me?!” The terrible memory of when the Five gave into the belief that Sunset was the secret-posting blogger, Anon-a-Miss, and mercilessly cast her out of their group without even hearing her side suddenly flashed in their minds. “We trusted you, Sunset! We thought you were our friend!” – Rainbow Dash. “How could you do this? After all we’ve been through together?” – Rarity. “You—you secret-stealer!” – Pinkie Pie. “No you’re not! You’re not the person we thought you were! You’re not our friend!” – Fluttershy. “This is it, Sunset. You’re not going to take advantage of us anymore. I’m sorry, but you did this to us. Tell whatever secrets you want. But we don’t have to listen.” – Applejack. “Every single word tore me apart!” Sunset tearfully explained. “Even after the true culprits were revealed those wounds still never healed. For a season that was supposed to be about ‘peace on earth and good will towards men’ it was filled with nothing but hate, torment, false accusation, and betrayal! And I suffered the worst of it! But where were you five when I was left in the cold and cruel world all alone? Where were you when I was sleeping in the library pouring out my broken heart telling Twilight what I was going through? Where were all of you when I was ruthlessly harassed by mobs of angry students falsely blaming me for the crap that Anon-a-Miss was causing them?! Nowhere! You didn’t even care how much I was suffering. How miserable I was. You didn’t even give me a chance to prove my innocence, you just decided that I was the culprit and that was that. You made me think I was like family to you all. Well, if this is how you treat your friends and family, then I’d hate to see how you treat your enemies!” Unable to hold it in any longer, Sunset stopped ranting and burst into hysterical sobbing. Everyone bared witness to this gut-wrenching and heart-breaking sight. As Sunset sobbed, the Five had come to a horrific realization. They thought they knew what the situation was but they were completely wrong, AGAIN! The memories of all those terrible things they said to Sunset Shimmer when they accused her of being Anon-a-Miss and cast her out played like a big projector in their minds. Remembering that moment, and combined with the fact that Sunset was innocent all along, they now realized just how unnecessarily cruel they truly were to her. They thought Sunset had betrayed them, but in reality, they were the ones who betrayed her. Taking into account that she was left practically homeless and hated schoolwide, it was no wonder she sought therapy after New Year’s. Then things they heard from others in the past suddenly made sense. “Well for starters, he understands and trusts me.” – Sunset Shimmer. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss my patient’s therapy sessions with anyone.” – Dr. Shrink. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?!” – Zak. “When you really hurt someone, don’t ever forget them or what you did to them.” – Sweetie Belle. “Because we promise you they’ll never forget it.” – Scootaloo. “You don’t know the true reason behind Sunset Shimmer’s pain.” – Flash Sentry. “But Zak,” Sunset spoke after she finally calmed down and stopped crying. “Zak isn’t like you.” “Sunset, Zak is–” Applejack tried to talk some sense into the emotional girl but was interrupted. “I know some of the things he’s done to me do look pretty awful. But they are NOTHING compared to what I endured during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco!” Sunset yelled. “Let me tell the day when Zak and I first met. One day when I was sitting by myself outside the Sugarcube Café lamenting over what happened to me last holiday season, he noticed how miserable I looked and asked me what was the matter. And I told him everything.” Flashback: Sunset Shimmer was sitting at a table outside the Sugarcube Café crying. Zak was sitting at the same table with her. She had just finished telling him about Anon-a-Miss, how her friends abandoned her, and everything she went through before New Year’s. “You poor little thing,” Zak said in a tender tone as he gently stroked Sunset’s red and yellow hair. “You’ve been through so much. Too much in fact. You deserve much better than those sluts who call themselves your ‘friends’.” Then he put his hand on hers causing Sunset to stop crying and look up at him. He gave her the most friendly and angelic smile she’d ever seen. “If it’s okay? I’d very much like to be your friend, and I promise you that I’ll never turn my back on you no matter what, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset’s teary eyes filled with hope and her frown turned into warm smile. She felt that she’d finally where she truly belonged, and the person she belonged with. End of Flashback. Sunset then reached into her shirt revealed a hidden golden necklace that was around her neck. Hanging from the necklace was a colorful piece of jewelry that was shaped just like her cutie mark. “See this?” she asked showing the necklace to the Five. “He gave me this the very next day. This is proof that he trusts, understands, and cares about me. Unlike you.” Tears suddenly started pouring from her eyes again. “I trusted you! I thought you were all my friends! How could you do this to me?! After all we’ve been through together?!” “But Sunset, we are your friends!” Fluttershy desperately pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes as well. “You gotta believe us!” Pinkie tearfully pleaded too. “No you’re NOT!” Sunset angrily denied. “You’re NOT the people I thought you were! You’re NOT my friends!” Zak, Scratch, and Chunk had been watching this tear-jerking scene unfold with satisfied grins on their faces. Then Zak decided it was time to put an end to this. “Alright Sunset, I think you’ve made your point,” the gang leader told his girlfriend. “The truth is I never planned to go back on my word. But I’m afraid there isn’t enough of you for the both of us, so I give you a choice: it’s either me or them. What will it be?” The tension suddenly quadrupled. Zak was giving Sunset a serious choice: either stay with her ‘friends’ or leave them and stick with him and his gang. Either decision would have consequences. For moment, Sunset looked to be thinking it over. Then she came to a decision. She turned around to face the girls. Her face was devoid of emotion. No happiness, no sadness, no anger, nothing. “Sunset, what are you doing?” Rainbow nervously asked uncomfortable with the look Sunset was give them. She didn’t answer. “No. No, don’t do it!” Rarity desperately pleaded realizing what decision Sunset had made. “I don’t have a choice,” Sunset emotionlessly replied. Suddenly, Applejack grabbed her arm. “If we weren’t friends, would we be able to do this?” the cowgirl said joining hands with Rarity, who joined hands with Pinkie, who joined hands with Fluttershy, who joined hands with Rainbow, who took Sunset’s other hand. “Friendship Is Magic!” the Five chanted and prepared to unleash a spectacle of light and colors. But nothing happened. “Come on friendship lasers,” Pinkie nervously pleaded. “Make with the sparks!” A confused Zak, Scratch, and Chunk shook their heads in disappointment and disgust. Whatever this was supposed to be, it was absolutely pathetic. Having had enough, Sunset freed herself from AJ and Dash’s grips. “This is it.” “We can fix this!” Pinkie pleaded with rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks. “Just tell us what we need to do!” “You’re not going to take advantage of me anymore.” “You don’t want to do this!” Fluttershy tearfully begged. “I’m sorry, but you all did this to me.” “Please, just give us a chance to explain!” Rarity pleaded, tears messing up her mascara. “Tell whatever excuses you want.” “You’re more than just our friend, you’re fam–” a tearful Applejack desperately tried to reason with her. “But I don’t have to listen.” All of the Five felt like that last line blew a hole in each of them. However, Sunset had one last thing to say. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her magical journal. “Let’s face it, Twilight’s the one everyone really loves. She’s your friend, not me. I’m just the one who contacts her when you need her. Well, I’ve decided to make things easier for all of you by cutting out the middleman.” Then she dropped the journal on the asphalt at the Five’s feet. “It’s yours now. I have nothing left to write in it.” With that, she left her five former friends with their thoughts and walked over to join with Zak’s group. “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized to her boyfriend. “I’m sure they won’t try to bother us again.” “I’m proud of you, Sunny,” Zak said in an uncharacteristically kind tone and gently patted her head. “You’ve finally found the courage to stand up for yourself. Now wait over here by the car. I need to ‘take care’ of a ‘few things’.” He then walked over to the Five accompanied by his two thugs. Time seemed to slow down and reality seemed to become distorted from the perspective of the Five. All of this had to be a dream. A very very bad dream. But it wasn’t. Sunset Shimmer had dumped all of them for a creep like Zak, and it was all because of a terrible mistake they made about a little over a month ago. They should’ve known. They all should’ve known better than to think all that damage could never had been fixed so easily. And now because of their ignorance, they had lost one of their closest friends. All things must come around, and the Five’s unfaithfulness was paid back tenfold. The five girls finally turned their attention to Zak. All of their faces plastered with misery, remorse, and despair. “It’s crazy how a piece of jewelry and a few flowery words can make someone think you’re their friend,” Zak mocked them. “But it’s even crazier how a few stupid photos can turn people against each other. Am I right?” But none of the girls responded. They just stared at him with the same pained expressions on their faces. “What’s the matter? Oh my god, are you all speechless?! That’s a first. I still can’t believe you all just turned on her just like that. Now that’s cold, even for a guy like me.” “Stop it!” Applejack demanded in a weak and quiet voice. “But I don’t want to,” Zak retorted. “Why?” a tearful Fluttershy spoke. “What did Sunset ever do to you? Why are you so cruel to her?” “I think the real question is ‘why not?’,” Zak answered sporting a very sadistic and proud grin. “You sick twisted sadist!” Rarity shouted at him. “Sadist?!” Zak said seemingly insulted, but then chuckled. “Take a good look in the mirror! You five cast your friend out like garbage, never once thought of the possibility that she was being setup, and you didn’t even care that others were making her miserable. I bet you actually enjoyed it too. You can’t honestly think any of you are better than me.” “SHUT UP!” Rainbow Dash suddenly screamed and punched Zak’s left cheek as hard as she could. The blow knocked the gang leader on his back, as well as knocked his sunglasses off and his cigarette out of his mouth. Scratch and Chunk tried to help their boss back on his feet, but he refused their assistance and got up himself. A little blood dripped from Zak’s mouth but he ignored it and shot a very mocking and sinister smile at his assailant. “Hell, you even forgave the real culprits so easily,” the sadistic gang leader continued to slander them. “I guess you all prefer anything over Sunset Shimmer.” That comment was met with another slug in the face from the athlete that knocked him on his back again, but the cruel gang leader still wasn't finished. "And it turned out the real culprits were just a bunch of stupid, selfish, lonely little brats crying for their sisters' attention. Pathetic, isn't it?!" Then Rainbow grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and lifted him off the ground. “You’re wrong,” the athlete growled. “They're. We're. Not. Like. THAT!” She started repeatedly punching him in the face. “I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT!” Tears fell from Dash’s face with each punch. “Rainbow Dash!” everyone heard Sunset yell. They turned and saw Sunset glaring at the rainbow-haired athlete and holding up her phone. “Put him down or I will call the police on you for assault!” After a moment of staring at Sunset in disbelief, Rainbow finally complied. She couldn’t believe Sunset actually threatened to call the police on her. Had their relationship really gotten that bad? Sunset ran over to Zak to see if he wasn’t hurt too bad. Now he had a black eye, a bruised cheek, and blood dripping from his nose. “Are you alright, Zak?” Sunset asked concerned. “Of course I’m alright,” he replied. “Actually, I’ve never felt better.” He then gave them the biggest, cruelest, mocking triumphant smile he could muster. He had won. All anyone could do now was watch helplessly as Sunset Shimmer left with Zak and his thugs. “This is all your fault!” Trixie accused the Crusaders. “You and your stupid Anon-a-Miss stunt.” Then she and most of the other students left. The Crusaders all hung their heads in sorrow for their sisters and their friends. Flash gave the Five one last sympathetic look before leaving, he knew this would happen and cursed himself for being unable to warn them. The Five watched with tearful heavy hearts as their former enemy and best friend disappeared abandoning them just like they did to her. Their plan had failed. Sunset was no longer their friend and they were all to blame for it. They couldn’t even summon the Magic of Friendship. “AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!” Rainbow Dash loudly cried in shame over her own ignorance and powerlessness. Author's Note Well, now we know the truth. It wasn't Zak who was the reason for Sunset Shimmer's therapy sessions, it was everyone's actions during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco. But it did give Zak the means to emotionally manipulate Sunset. How will the Five fix this one? Chapter 9 (Edited 05/23/18)Sunset Shimmer walked down the locker-filled hallways of the school till she finally came across her friends. “Hey, girls!” she happily greeted them. However, something wasn’t right. None of them looked very happy. “What’s going…on?” “Sunset, do you… Have you lost your phone recently?” Applejack asked suspiciously. “Um… no?” a confused Sunset answered and took out her cellphone. “It’s right here. Why?” “Then you need to explain this,” the cowgirl angrily said and presented her phone. Sunset took a look at AJ’s phone and saw that the pictures she had taken of her friends wearing the awful outfits from Rarity’s ‘closet of shame’ had been posted by Anon-a-Miss on MyStable. “What?!?” the red and yellow haired girl nervously exclaimed. “How did she get our pictures?” “They’re not our pictures, Sunset…” AJ said accusingly. “…They’re yours,” an angry Rainbow Dash finished. “All those pictures were taken by you,” Applejack continued her accusation. “Wait, but–” Sunset stammered. “—I’ve had my phone all this time! How did she–” “Yeah, how did she?” Applejack interrupted. “How did she know about my nickname? How did she get the pictures from your phone? It was you all along! You’re ‘Anon-a-Miss’!” “We trusted you, Sunset!” Rainbow angrily said. “We thought you were our friend!” “How could you do this?” Rarity said sadly. “After all we’ve been through together?” “No, wait, you guys–” Sunset desperately pleaded. “I didn’t do this! I could never hurt any of you!” The Five thought for a moment. Soon their angry expressions diminished and were replaced by more calm, friendly, and understanding expressions. “Okay, Sunset,” AJ said in friendlier tone. “If you say you didn’t do this, then we believe ya.” “Please excuse me for what I just said,” Rarity said apologetically. “Sorry we doubted ya,” Rainbow apologized. “Thanks girls,” Sunset said relieved. “How about we all work together to figure out who this nasty secret-stealer really is!” Pinkie suggested. “That sounds like a great idea,” Fluttershy agreed. “Alright then, let’s hop to it!” Applejack said confidently. With that, the girls started walking down the hallway to begin their investigation. All but one. “Hey Sunset, aren’t you coming with us?” Rainbow called and turned around to see what was the matter. Then she let out a horrified gasp that caused the others to turn around and gasp as well. Sunset hadn’t moved from where she stood and stared at them with a very tortured and heartbroken expression. Standing next to her was a very ominous and sinister looking Zak giving them a big sadistic grin. “Get real you dumb bitches!” Zak cruelly said. “Everyone knows this isn’t how it really went down!” Then he burst into cruel, mocking, hysterical laughter. “GGGGAAAAAAHHHHH!” Applejack screamed as she shot up in her bed. It was just a dream. A very bad dream. The poor cowgirl got out of bed, walked over to the window on the other side of the room, and just stared outside with a very miserable look on her face. It had been three days since Sunset Shimmer cut all ties with the Five and abandoned them for Zak. Since then, Applejack has been having dreams of her and the others making different decisions during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco only to wake up to sad and painful reality. The sad country girl stared through her bedroom window at the outside hoping to see Sunset appear in the yard so she could go down and reconcile. Alas, once again she was forced to accept reality. Unbeknownst to her, Apple Bloom had been standing in the doorway silently watching her the whole time. Seeing her big sister in such a depressed state made the younger girl’s heart sink. Meanwhile, Rarity had just woken up and she wasn’t feeling too happy either. She was tending to some of the outfits that were worn by her mannequins, but even looking after her proudly made clothes brought the fashionista no joy. Then she came across a mannequin wearing a wig she had left on it some time ago. The wig was mostly red with a couple yellow stripes. The mannequin was beginning to look just like Rarity’s now-former friend, Sunset Shimmer. For a moment, Rarity thought she saw Sunset’s friendly smiling visage form on the mannequin’s blank face. When reality finally came back, Rarity wrapped her arms around the mannequin as if it actually were her friend and started sobbing. She desperately wanted her friend back so much. Unfortunately, the painful memory of when Sunset had dumped them all for Zak rang heavily in her mind. Sweetie Belle had been watching her beloved sister’s pitiful scene and couldn’t help but blame herself for it now that everyone knew the real reason Sunset had made her recent decisions. Later that day, Applejack and Rarity met with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie at the school and were all silently walking down a hall together. The other three looked just as miserable as the first two. Pinkie’s once poofy hair was now straight and hanging down. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, please report to the principal’s office?” Vice Principal Luna’s voice was heard over the intercoms. None of the Five knew why they being summoned to Principal Celestia’s office but knew they had to answer the call. They were met with an unexpected surprise when they arrived. Sunset’s therapist, Dr. Shrink, was waiting there with Celestia and Luna, and he did not look happy. “Thank you for coming, girls,” Celestia said. “I’ve called you all here because Dr. Shrink would like to have a word with you.” “Is it about Sunset?” Rarity nervously asked. “Yes, it is,” the doctor said sternly. “In our last meeting, she told me that you and other students have been trying to take matters into your own hands with her boyfriend issues and have only been making things worse.” “Do you have any idea of the things he’s been doing to her?” Rainbow asked. “Yes, I do,” the doctor answered. “But the authorities can’t do anything unless Sunset herself tells them. But do you know why she won’t do that?” “Because then she’d feel like she has no one else to turn to,” Fluttershy answered with sadness. “So she finally told you,” Dr. Shrink deduced. “And you realize the real reason I didn’t want to tell you about our sessions.” Then he spoke with great disappointment in his voice. “I warned you about thinking what the real problem was, but none of you listened to me, and now Sunset’s condition is much worse now. She cried for almost an entire hour at our last session.” The Five were already feeling pretty bad, but hearing this news made them feel a whole lot worse. “Is there anything we can do?” a concerned Pinkie asked. “I think you’ve all done quite enough,” Shrink coldly replied. The girls hung their heads in shame. “How is Sunset? Has anyone seen her lately?” Applejack asked the three adults. “I’d hate to inform you all, but she dropped out two days ago,” Luna sadly informed them. “WHAT?!?” the Five gasped. This couldn’t possibly be real. “She said she couldn’t take all the heartache anymore,” a sad Celestia said. “I tried very hard to talk her out of it, but it was no use.” “Now she’s gonna spend even MORE time with that creep!” a horrified Rainbow stated. Realizing that his time was up, Shrink got up from his seat and started to leave. But not before he turned to say one last thing to the distraught girls. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you all to stay away from Sunset Shimmer from now on,” the therapist told them. “Your antics, while well-intentioned, have caused her nothing but trouble. It is my duty to ensure the well-being of my patients. Perhaps if you had paid more attention to your friend’s feelings this all could’ve been avoided. I’m sorry and goodbye.” With that, the doctor departed leaving the poor girls with their miserable thoughts. That afternoon, the Five all met at the Sugarcube Café. They all just sat at a table, drinking smoothies, and not conversing at all. For Mrs. Cake, it was one of the saddest sights she’d ever seen in her café. Suddenly, Flash Sentry entered the café accompanied by the Crusaders. The little Crusaders did not look like they were in the best condition. Scootaloo had a black eye, Sweetie Belle had a couple Band-Aids on her cheek and forehead, and Apple Bloom had a black eye and a large cotton gauze taped to her left cheek. The sight of the three messed up little girls immediately caught the attention of the five older girls. “Good Lord! Sweetie Belle, what happened?” Rarity anxiously asked. “What happened ta ya, Apple Bloom?” a concerned AJ asked her sister. “What happened, Scoots?” a shocked Rainbow asked her sister figure. “Things became pretty rough for us since we confessed to being Anon-a-Miss,” Apple Bloom explained. “But ever since what happened between you all and Sunset a few days ago,” Scootaloo added. “Everyone hates us even more,” Sweetie Belle finished. “I accompanied them to make sure no one caused them anymore harm,” Flash said. “Well, it’s not like they didn’t bring this whole thing upon themselves,” said an unpleasant voice that entered the café. Everyone saw that it was Trixie accompanied by Snips and Snails. “What do you want, Trixie?” Rainbow bitterly asked. She was not in the mood for any of the wannabe magician’s crap right now. “Relax, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie is not here to cause any trouble,” Trixie announced in her usual hammy style before shifting to a more serious tone. “She’s here to tell you about Sunset Shimmer.” “What about Sunset?” Rarity anxiously asked. Trixie suddenly had everyone’s undivided attention. “Is she doing better?” an anxious Fluttershy asked. “Uh…” Snails stuttered uncomfortably. “Define better,” a nervous Snips replied. “First off, while the Great and Powerful Trixie may not see eye-to-eye with Sunset Shimmer, she doesn’t think Sunset deserves this kind of barbaric treatment,” Trixie explained. “So yesterday, while Trixie was at the town park trying to give the bystanders a magnificent performance the likes of which they’ve never seen, she noticed Sunset sitting at a bench all by herself. So Trixie decided to see if she could offer some assistance.” Flashback: Trixie, accompanied by Snips and Snails, nervously approached Sunset Shimmer, who was sitting a park bench alone with her head hanging down. With Zak nowhere in sight, it was probably a good opportunity to try and talk to the seriously troubled red and yellow haired girl. “Hello Sunset,” Trixie greeted Sunset. She tried to sound as polite as possible. “It’s the Great and Powerful Trixie. Remember?” No response. It was time to get serious. “I know I’m probably one of the last people you want to see right now, but I just want to have a serious talk with you. No insults or belittling.” Still no response. “Look, everyone’s been really concerned about you ever since the scene in the school parking lot. Your friends have been absolutely miserable without you. I know it’s unbelievable to hear this coming from me, but the Great and Powerful Trixie really thinks you should try to give your friends another chance.” This was indeed a rare moment of Trixie actually trying to extend a helping hand to someone she considered her most bitter rival next to Rainbow Dash. Sunset slowly lifted her head to face Trixie. End of Flashback. “But when she finally lifted her head to look at me, she…” Trixie explained but started stuttering. Apparently what happened next didn’t go so well and she was clearly disturbed about it. “Did she angrily tell you to leave her alone?” Fluttershy nervously asked. None of the Five liked where this was going. “Actually…” Trixie uncomfortably continued. Flashback: Sunset looked up at Trixie with a confused expression and unusually red bloodshot eyes. “Hey Trixie,” Sunset greeted her in an unexpected happy tone. “You look great today.” “Excuse me?” Trixie said surprised by Sunset’s tone. “It’s amazing how very blue the sky is, isn’t it?” Sunset said in a goofy tone turning her head up to the sky. “Are you okay?” Trixie asked confused and concerned. “Of course,” Sunset happily assured her. “Daddy says if I take my ‘medicine’ more often I will feel all better.” “Daddy? Medicine?” “Yeah. Speaking of which, it’s time to go back and take some more,” Sunset said as she struggled to stand. For some reason, her movement was a little clumsier. “Sorry I have to leave you four so suddenly.” “Us four?” Trixie asked confused. There was only Snips and Snails with her. “Yeah. You, Snips, Snails, and Steven Magnet over there,” Sunset replied looking to the right of the trio, but there was no one there. “Hi Steven.” Trixie and the two boys watched with disturbed expressions as Sunset clumsily walk away while singing ‘Shake Your Tail’ to herself. They were starting to put together what was going on with her. End of Flashback. “And that was the only time we saw her,” Trixie concluded her story. “Trixie has reason to believe Zak is getting Sunset hyped up on drugs.” Everyone who had listened to the story was horrified. It was bad enough that Zak was physically and emotionally abusing Sunset, but now he was destroying her already fragile mind with drugs. “That mother—!” an enraged Rainbow Dash tried to speak but became so furious she couldn’t finish her sentence. “That’s it!” Then the athlete got up from her seat. “What are you doing, Rainbow?” a concerned Fluttershy asked. “I’m going to put an end to this once and for all,” the angry athlete replied. “Hold yer horses, Dash,” AJ said. “After what happened the last time we saw Sunset, we can’t just waltz up and do something that’ll make things worse.” “So are you saying we should just sit around and wait for things to happen?!” Rainbow argued. “It could be too late and Sunset’s brain could already turn to mush! I don’t care, I’m going out there to get ‘my friend’ back!” “Can’t let you do that, Rainbooms!” came an unexpected and unpleasant voice. Everyone turned to see the Dazzlings blocking the doorway with smug looks on their faces. It had been quite some time since the siren trio was defeated during the Battle of the Bands and expelled from CHS. Needless to say, no one was delighted to see them at all. “You!” Rainbow said with venom in her voice. “That’s Right,” Adagio Dazzle smugly replied. “What are you all doing?” Pinkie angrily asked. “I thought we got rid of you three for good,” an angry Rarity said. “Get out of my way!” Rainbow demanded. “Sorry, no can do,” Sonata Dusk teasingly refused. “So are you three working for Zak now?” Applejack asked accusingly. “That asshole?! Not in a million years,” Aria Blaze answered in an insulted tone. “Don’t you think you’ve messed Sunset’s life up enough?” Adagio asked in a taunting tone. “Why do you care?” a confused Rarity bitterly responded. “I thought you’d hate her after she helped us take you down during the Battle of the Bands.” “Oh, we do hate her,” Adagio replied. “So very much,” Sonata added. “It’s a little complicated,” Aria said. “You expect us to believe that three power-hungry, hate-spreading sirens like you want to help Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow distrustfully asked. “Believe whatever you want,” Aria uncaringly replied. “You certainly did that during the whole Anon-a-Miss fiasco,” Adagio taunted them. Suddenly, everyone’s bitter and untrusting expressions turned to ones of shock and surprise. “How do you know about that?” a surprised Pinkie asked. Adagio took a cellphone out of her pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “Internet,” she said in a tone that made it sound obvious. “We also had secret hangouts around the school to watch all the unhappy students make fools of themselves,” Aria chuckled. “I heard it was you three,” Adagio said turning a sinister eye toward the guilty-looking Crusaders. “I must congratulate you, you three managed to accomplish what we failed to do, and you didn’t even use any magic. You would’ve made great sirens.” Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow all stepped in front of their remorseful and respective sisters to protect them from anymore of Adagio’s taunting while shooting the sirens very angry glares. “Yeah, it was fun while it lasted,” Sonata said in a disappointed tone. “Let me guess,” an annoyed AJ said. “The fun ended when the real culprits came clean and the Anon-a-Miss account was taken down?” “No, the fun ended when we saw this,” Adagio replied, opened a file on her phone, and held it up for everyone to see. It was a video that someone recorded and posted on the internet of the Five mercilessly accusing a heartbroken Sunset Shimmer and abandoning her. Watching that video and remembering that moment made the Five’s hearts sink. "And you say we're bad?! Well, we're here to make sure you don't cause that poor girl anymore pain than you already have." "It's too disturbing to watch," Sonata said with a cringe. “Don’t get us wrong,” Aria said noticing some confusion amongst their old enemies. “We hate all of you, especially Sunset Shimmer, and even that Zak creep, and we were perfectly content with watching your stupid school tear itself apart through meaningless hatred. But when you five decided to throw away your honor as ‘friends’ so easily, you took all the fun out of it.” “You boast about your precious ‘Magic of Friendship’, the power that you all used to defeat us, and the friends that make your lives so happy but when you find your reputations being threatened you turn on each other as if all those so-called ‘magical’ and ‘happy’ times meant absolutely nothing,” Adagio explained. “It’s pathetic. You’re nothing but a bunch of miserable hypocrites. Victory at the Battle of the Bands doesn’t belong to you, Rainbooms, it belongs to us.” “Sunset deserves WAY better for the part she played in our defeat,” Sonata said. "Sunset does need friends, but they're not you guys," Aria added. Even with their ability to sing taken away, every word the Dazzlings said cut like a very sharp knife causing extreme guilt and shame. The Five felt like little mice backed into a corner surrounded by three big mean cats with no way out. “We didn’t know it wasn’t her!” Dash said in a desperate attempt to defend herself against the sirens’ merciless verbal onslaught. “You didn’t know because you didn’t want to know because then you wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it!” Adagio retorted. “Rainbow Trash!” “This is the problem with friendship,” Sonata said. “When you put too much trust in someone, they eventually end up disappointing you. Lucky us!” “What about you three?” Fluttershy asked. “Aren’t you three friends?” The three sirens glared at each other before giving an answer in unison. “No!” “Sonata and Aria are constantly bickering like children and driving me nuts,” Adagio explained glaring at her two cohorts who were glaring at each other. But then she put on a more serious face. “But neither of us can have anyone else as partners.” Hearing this, Sonata and Aria shared the same serious expression as their leader. That was something they all could agree on. “Even if you don’t like someone, sometimes they’re the person you need most of all. That’s a lesson you all failed to learn.” “Whatcha talkin’ about?” Pinkie asked. “I mean without your little princess friend or Sunset Shimmer leading your little misfit group, you’re nothing,” Adagio maliciously explained. “Wanna know why? Because you’re human.” “What’s that supposed ta mean?” an insulted AJ asked. “In all the years we’ve spent banished to this world, there’s one thing that never ceases to amaze us,” Adagio sinisterly explained. “Human foolishness. We’ve seen them make the same mistakes over and over again, some of which we played a part in.” “But no matter how many times it happens, they never learn,” Aria finished. The Five were so full of shame that neither of them were unable to talk back anymore. Considering humanity’s history and the Five’s own history, how could anyone say the sirens did not have a point. “Well, I believe we’re done here,” Adagio said believing it was time to leave. “Come girls.” As she lead her two cohorts out the doors of the café, Sonata stopped to say one last thing to her old enemies. “You know, you humans are so confusing,” the ditzy siren said in a genuinely confused tone. “You throw away everything for nothing.” With that, she left with the rest of her fellow sirens. Sensing that the Five wanted to be alone with their thoughts, Flash, the Crusaders, Trixie, Snips, and Snails left the café. The five teenagers sat silently at their table together looking even worse than when they came in. It was bad enough that they lost their best friend to a horrible excuse of a human being, but the things said by the Dazzlings did nothing to help. Fluttershy buried her face in her hands and started crying while Pinkie Pie gently stroked her head. After a few minutes, Fluttershy finally stopped crying, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she reached into her backpack and pulled out the journal Sunset had abandoned along with them. “What are you doing, Flutters?” Rainbow asked noticing the journal. “We’ve all tried everything to help Sunset,” the shy eco girl sadly explained. “I kept this close as a last resort incase we ran out of ideas on how to get Sunset back on our own.” She opened up the journal to a blank page and took out a pen. “Looks like this is our last resort.” With that, she began writing in the journal. Dear Princess Twilight… Chapter 10Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s alicorn Princess of Friendship, was sitting in her castle’s library happily reading an exciting book. Suddenly, her reading was interrupted by a vibrating sound. The sound was coming from the table, surface covered with various books, sitting in the middle of the room. One of the books on the table was vibrating and glowing pink. She recognized the book and knew it must be her former rival turned good friend, Sunset Shimmer, writing a message to her from the human world. She opened the book thinking it might be a letter about a lesson in friendship Sunset learned and wanted to share with her, just like Twilight used to share friendship lessons she learned with her mentor, Princess Celestia. However, instead of a friendship lesson, she found something quite disturbing: Dear Princess Twilight, We know you might be busy with princess duties at the moment, but this is an emergency. There is a very, very serious problem with Sunset Shimmer, which is why we’re writing this message instead of her. If you come through the portal, we’ll explain everything. Please come over as soon as possible if you get this message, we really need your help. Your friends: Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy “Spike! We need to make a trip through the mirror immediately!” the young alicorn princess called to her faithful dragon assistant while making a quick exit out of the castle library. Sensing the importance of this issue, she wasted no time. Back in the human world, the Humane Five were just returning to CHS after their miserable time at Sugarcube Café. Just as they arrived in front of the school entrance, they saw their beloved friend pop out of the dimensional portal that was their school statue followed by her trusty dragon-turned-canine sidekick. Immediately, their hearts filled with joy and hope at the sight of their old friend. “Twilight!” they all exclaimed in joyful unison and immediately embraced her. Some students had gathered at the school to see the girl from another dimension that saved their school twice in the past return. They all shared the belief that if there was someone who could fix this problem, it would be Twilight Sparkle. Even Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, and the Crusaders were amongst the crowd with hopeful expressions on their faces. “Twilight’s back!” Lyra Heartstrings said excitedly. “She’ll be able to make things right!” Bon Bon said just as excited. “Oh Twilight,” Applejack said. “You have no idea how bad things have been here.” “I received your message and now I’m here,” Twilight assured the human counterparts of her friends. “Now tell me what is wrong with Sunset Shimmer.” The Five told her about how Sunset had formed a relationship with the gang leader named Zak and how he was horribly abusing her. Needless to say, the Princess of Friendship didn’t like the news. “Sweet Celestia! What is Sunset thinking?!” Twilight exclaimed clearly unnerved. Spike didn’t look too happy about hearing this either. “And you say she refuses to listen to any of you! Why wouldn’t she listen?! I thought you were all friends.” “She is still very hurt from the Anon-a-Miss incident that she doesn’t trust anyone anymore,” Rarity answered. “Anon-a-Miss?! I thought that whole thing was resolved a month ago,” Twilight said very confused. But then her confusion turned to suspicion. “What exactly happened?” she asked suspiciously. “I don’t know too many details of that fiasco because I wasn’t there. But it’s clear that Sunset was hurt really badly from it. I know you all thought she was the culprit and turned your backs on her, but what exactly did you say to her when you did?” A wave of tension swept over the Five as Twilight questioned them. The five nervous teens didn’t want to answer that question but the seriousness in their friend’s tone meant they didn’t have a choice. Reluctantly, the Five repeated the exact words they said to Sunset on that terrible day. To say Twilight didn’t take it well would be a huge understatement. The purple-skinned girl hung her head in utter disbelief and disappointment. Her head hung so low that her bangs hung low enough to cover her eyes leaving only her nose and frown visible. Spike felt both horrified by the terrible things he also heard and concerned as he could sense how very upset his mistress was feeling. “Now we know that sounds bad, darling,” Rarity spoke up trying to ease the tension. “But please try to understand.” “All the evidence was pointed at her,” Applejack said. “Considering her past, how could we not suspect her,” Fluttershy timidly added. “You remember what she was like, don’t you?” Pinkie asked. “Heck, I bet if the same thing happened to you, you would’ve thought it was her too,” Rainbow spoke in a friendly tone trying to reach an understanding. SMACK! Without warning, Twilight slapped Rainbow Dash across the face leaving a big red hand print on her left cheek. Everyone was shocked by what Twilight just did. Rainbow stood where she was holding her aching cheek in complete surprise. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Before anyone could react or respond to what happened, Twilight used this moment of surprise to slap the rest of the Five in the face. Now all five girls were holding their aching cheeks and staring in complete shock at their dearest friend who was standing in front of everyone holding her right hand which was trembling with pain from slapping all of them. Almost everyone present stared at Twilight and couldn’t believe what she just did. The only ones who didn’t look surprised were Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, and the Crusaders. The look in the humanized alicorn’s eyes sent shivers down everyone’s spines. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions, but mostly disappointment, fury, and disgust. “Will there be any consequences for what I just did?” Twilight asked the principal and vice principal without changing emotion. “We’ll let it slide this time,” Celestia regretfully answered. “Consider it our apology for letting everything get out of hand,” a remorseful Luna added. “This one is on us.” After that, the two faculty members departed into the school. Sensing that this was a tense and personal moment between Twilight and the Five, the rest of the students started leaving with only Flash and the Crusaders staying behind. Twilight was taking deep breaths while trying very hard to calm herself. Spike and the Five were nervous, they had never seen their friend this angry. “Why?” Twilight finally simmered down and asked. She was still pretty angry, but was now calm enough to have a conversation. “How could say such cruel things to Sunset Shimmer and turn your backs on her after all she’s done for you?” “We were embarrassed and angry,” Fluttershy nervously answered. “Our most embarrassing secrets were being posted on the internet for the whole world to see,” Rarity added. “Oh, I’m sorry girls,” Twilight replied in an unsympathetic tone. “It sounds like you’ve all had a rough time since I’ve been gone. Sunset too, as she was being falsely accused of the very crimes you just mentioned by everyone including yourselves.” Hearing their terrible deed being constantly brought was making the already ashamed Crusaders feel even more ashamed of themselves and now they had to watch their beloved big sisters pay for their deeds. “You know, I’ve been having some hardships back in my world also. Quite recently, my friends and I went to a little village where everypony there was forced to have the same cutie mark and be equal. Things weren’t too bad, until their leader tried to steal our cutie marks and brainwash us into becoming a part of their society!” Everyone cringed at the princess’s sudden yelling. “I thought things would get better when Sunset decided to turn over a new leaf after the Fall Formal. Were her apologies not that convincing to you? Or what about when she actually helped us stop the sirens during the Battle of the Bands? Was that moment not good enough for you?” None of the Five answered Twilight’s angry question. They were trying to think of an answer that might calm her down. But it was too late, after observing their nervous and shameful facial expressions, she got her answer. “I asked you all to look out for her,” she reminded them in a calmer tone. “If I didn’t ask that, would you still had tried to be friends with Sunset? And I want the truth.” The Five found themselves corned by a very difficult question. Now only was their last ditch effort to resolve this issue with Sunset and Zak already starting to go south, but they also felt that their friendship with Twilight was now in jeopardy. However, they knew they had no choice but to come clean. “No,” AJ regretfully answered. “After everythin’ she’d done ta us in the past years, we would’ve had nothin’ ta do with her. Ah’m sorry.” Hearing this, the Princess of Friendship hung her head in great disappointment. “I have one more question, for them,” she said looking over at the Crusaders who were now starting to feel a little nervous because now they had to answer to their hero from another world. Twilight approached the three younger girls and asked them in the calmest tone she could muster, “I heard you three were really Anon-a-Miss. Now I know Sunset Shimmer wasn’t the nicest person any of you have ever met in the beginning, trust me I understand. But what exactly did she do that made you want to ruin her life like this?” “It wasn’t like that,” Apple Bloom was the first to speak. “Ever since Sunset became friends with our sisters, they’ve been spendin’ more time with her and less time with us.” “When the holiday season came, our sisters started ignoring us even more,” Sweetie Belle tearfully explained. “We got desperate.” “However, turns out framing Sunset for secret-stealing wasn’t the best solution,” Scootaloo admitted with clear self-disgust in her voice. “Yep, would appear that way,” Twilight said with a mixture of disappointment and pity in her voice. While she was upset with how petty and foolish the Crusaders’ motivation was, she noticed they had a few bruises and clear looks of remorse on their faces and couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them. They were already experiencing the consequences of their actions. “Well then, I’m sorry for the inconvenience I caused everyone. This one is on me.” “No Twilight, it–” Fluttershy tried to argue. She along with the other were surprised that Twilight would take some blame for this entire mess. “I don’t want to hear it,” Twilight stopped her. “Words can’t describe how disappointed and… frustrated I am with all of you. That being said, I understand the importance of this situation and will offer my assistance.” “So you’ll help us?” Pinkie asked with renewed hope. “No Pinkie,” Twilight corrected her. “I’m going to help Sunset Shimmer. After that, it’s up to the rest of you to clean up your own mess. It appears I’m going to be here for a while, so I’ll need to find a place to stay.” “You’re always welcome to stay with us,” Fluttershy offered. “Yeah, we can have a slumber party together like last time!” Pinkie said with hope and excitement in her voice. “I think I’ll sleep in the school library this time,” Twilight replied in a tone that was as polite as she could muster while giving them a look that made it clear she didn’t want to hang out with them. This rejection hit the Five hard. Pinkie suddenly felt her hope and excitement disappear. They had upset Twilight to the point where she didn’t want to spend time with them. Some of them were even starting to understand how Sunset must’ve felt when they wrongfully cast her out. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked as if they were ready to start shedding tears. “Why don’t you stay at my place?” Flash politely offered the princess. “I have a spare room with a bed. I’m sure it’ll be better than sleeping on a bunch of hard books.” “Thanks Flash,” Twilight calmly expressed her gratitude. The blue-haired rocker started leading her to the school parking lot where he had parked his car. “Wait, Twilight!” a desperate and hurt Rainbow called to her. “I know we didn’t trust Sunset Shimmer as much as we should’ve, but how did you know she was innocent?” Twilight just shook her head in disgust and continued following Flash without answering the question. “Isn’t it obvious?” a sad and disappointed Spike asked the Five before joining his mistress. The Five sadly watched as their friend walked away wanting nothing to do with them at the moment and leaving them with their shameful thoughts. It was apparent to everyone that they had screwed up, big time. As Flash drove his car, he looked over at Twilight, who was sitting in the front passenger seat with Spike, from time to time to see if her mood would change. Sadly, she still had that unhappy and disappointed look on her face. “Um…” Flash said trying to start a friendly conversation in hopes of lightening the mood. “So, how have things been in your world?” “Okay, I guess,” Twilight answered with little to no emotion in her voice. “Well, now that I have a chance to say this, I’m sorry for the things I said during the Battle of the Bands.” “I know,” Twilight replied but this time giving him a warm and forgiving smile which he returned with his own warm smile. She had actually long forgiven him since then. “Could you do me a favor,” she asked in a more serious tone. “Before we go to your place, I’d like you to show me were Sunset hangs out with this ‘Zak’ person.” “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Flash replied in a warning tone. “Zak is more dangerous than you think.” “I’m not going to do anything yet, I just want to see for myself how bad it is.” So Flash drove by the house where Zak lived and stopped the car. Twilight rolled down the passenger window to see if she could get a better look and hear better. SMACK! “AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” They suddenly heard what sounded like someone getting slapped hard and a painful cry. “FUCKING MORON!” an extremely vicious and unpleasant voice yelled. It was obviously Zak. “Get the hell out of my sight!” Then they saw through a window Sunset Shimmer enter the kitchen. She looked absolutely miserable. Not just because she had tears in her eyes and a big red hand print on her left cheek. The expression on her face was filled with heartbreak, loneliness, and hopelessness. Twilight had seen enough and couldn’t bear to see anymore, so she rolled her window back up. “Alright, let’s go,” Twilight sadly told Flash she had gotten what she wanted. Flash wasted no time and drove them away from that forsaken hellhole. Twilight looked very upset now. She just got here, but she immediately realized how truly horrible the situation was. Things were a lot worse than she expected. She could already tell that this was going to be one of the hardest challenges of her life. “Oh Sunset! What have they done to you?!” she said to herself. “What have I done to you?!” Author's Note New Chapter Finally Here! Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully Twilight will be able to figure out a way to set things right. Chapter 11 (Edited 091420)It was morning and the Humane Five were at the Sugarcube Café. They had received a message from Twilight Sparkle to all meet at that place. All five teenagers were sitting at a table with glum and nervous expressions on their faces for they knew Twilight would still be a little upset with them after hearing the terrible details of how Sunset Shimmer suffered during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco. They turned their attention toward the door when they heard someone enter the café, it turned out to be Twilight with Spike by her side. The purple girl took a seat at the table where her ‘friends’ sat. She didn’t make eye contact with any of them. Her face was devoid of warmth and happiness. Instead, it bore seriousness and disappointment. The Five knew this would not be a pleasant meeting. “So…” Rarity was the first to speak. “How are you doing, darling?” “Been better,” Twilight replied in a glum tone of voice while still not making eye contact. “Would you like to order something?” Fluttershy politely asked. “No thanks,” Twilight responded emotionlessly. Afterwards there was a moment of uneasy silence between all of them until Twilight spoke again. “When I asked you all to look out for Sunset Shimmer, I knew it wouldn’t be easy for either of you. However, I hoped that eventually you’d all let bygones be bygones and become true friends with her. But the way you interpreted my request was to watch over her and make sure she behaved and stayed in line as if you were her parole officers. Am I assuming that correctly?” None of the Five answered the question. Instead they gave Twilight looks filled with shame, nervousness, and embarrassment which gave her the answer she needed, and it didn’t please her one bit. “Have any of you figured out why you couldn’t use your magic the last time you spoke with her?” Twilight asked. She hoped they’d figured that out on their own by now, but the curious expressions on their faces said otherwise. “Because Sunset truly isn’t your friend anymore. In fact, I doubt she ever was.” “Are you saying she was pretending to be our friend the whole time?” Rainbow asked suspiciously. “No Rainbow Dash,” an annoyed Twilight replied. “I’m saying you were the ones pretending to be her friend the whole time.” While they understood why Twilight was cross with them, the Five couldn’t help feel very offended by that accusation. “What are you talking about?!” a defensive Rainbow Dash objected. “We never did something like that. Don’t you remember the light show we put on during the Battle of the Bands?” “We all know there was no way we could’ve pulled that off if we weren’t all friends with each other,” Pinkie added. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy concluded. “Correction,” Twilight counter argued. “You five were my friends during that time and so was Sunset Shimmer. If I wasn’t there the Dazzlings would’ve won without any problem at all. I was the middleman that made that magical moment possible. None of you ever gave her an offer to join the band. And when she did try to help out, you all mercilessly snapped at her!” This made the Five cringe with shame and embarrassment as they remembered that moment. “Okay I admit, I might’ve overreacted a little that time,” an uneasy Rainbow replied. “‘A little’ doesn’t quite cover it, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight scolded. “Look I wanted you all to at least try to be friends with Sunset. But if you didn’t want to you could’ve just been honest about it instead of just getting both our hopes up and then dashing them like that. This is something I expected better from you, Applejack.” “Now hold on a darn minute,” Applejack spoke defensively. “Maybe ah’ wasn’t as nice ta’ Sunset as ah’ should’ve been, but ah’ ain’t no liar! You of all people should know me better than that.” “For a while, I thought I did,” Twilight bitterly replied with a big scowl on her face. “Okay, I admit,” the country girl said admitting some defeat. “The first time we started hangin’ out with Sunset, ah’ was a little skeptical. It had just been a few weeks after the Fall Formal, and ah’ wasn’t entirely sure Sunset had changed for the better. Some of mah’ friendly interactions with her weren’t entirely… ‘genuine’.” “So you lied?!” a shocked Pinkie asked. “No! Not exactly. Ah’ just hid mah’ true feelins’ of distrust under a mask of trust. But all that changed. As we hung out with Sunset more often, the feelins’ ah’ originally faked started ta’ become real. Pretty soon ah’ actually started havin’ fun in Sunset’s company. Ah’ felt like ah’ had finally made friends with the girl ah’ once considered mah’ worst enemy.” AJ smiled warmly after she was done talking, but it slowly disappeared as she saw Twilight’s scowl remained unchanged. “Or maybe you got so good at it that you started fooling yourself,” the Princess said accusingly. Nothing AJ said had any effect on her. “You did lie, Applejack. Not to me. Not to Sunset. But to yourself. And that’s the worst person anyone can lie to because when you lie to yourself, it makes it easier to lie to others.” “Now hold on Twilight darling,” Rarity spoke coming to AJ’s defense. “You’re taking this a little too far. This was all a big horrible misunderstanding.” “All the evidence we had was pointed at her,” Rainbow added. “How was she able to prove to you she was innocent?” “Sunset is the only person in this world who doesn’t have anything to prove!” Twilight said raising her voice a little which startled all five girls. Then she stood up so she was looking down at all five still seated girls and making herself more a center of attention. “Look I know Sunset Shimmer wasn’t the nicest person you ever met, I know that just as much as everyone at CHS. But at least I’m not letting that prevent me from starting a new relationship with her. By clinging to what happened in the past, you’re ignoring what’s happening in the present. Besides, I’ve met a lot of bad people from my world and Sunset isn’t even the worst. I admit when I returned here to help you against the Dazzlings I too was a little skeptical about her. But after having a little talk with her the night we had that sleepover, I realized she wasn’t the person she was when we first met, at all. I could plainly see that all she wanted was to help out and be accepted. After she proved to be the key to finally beating the sirens, I hoped that would be the turning point in her life that would finally make all of that possible. But apparently I was wrong. Apparently her help at the Battle of the Bands wasn’t enough for any of you! And now, I’m responsible for her suffering.” “What are you talking about, darling?” a confused Rarity asked. “You were the only one who didn’t believe she was guilty?” Fluttershy said. “But I left her all alone with you,” the Princess of Friendship shamefully replied. “Trusting you five with Sunset Shimmer has been the greatest mistake of my life.” She said with both sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Then she left her seat and walked through the café doors. She needed a moment to blow off some steam before resuming her discussion with her ‘friends’ again. Back at the table, Twilight’s words hit the Humane Five harder than a speeding locomotive. To hear that she considers them mistakes made them feel like the biggest bunch of failures in the entire universe. How could they possibly be able to redeem themselves at this point? “It seems like everything you say to her now just makes her angrier,” a calm but disappointed Spike said. “The pony versions of you were able to learn friendship lessons faster than this. Why can’t you?” “But we have learned,” Pinkie insisted. “We just want Twilight to understand why we did what we did,” Rainbow added. “The fact that you’re trying so hard to justify your actions shows otherwise,” Spike disagreed. “Did any of you ever apologize to Sunset Shimmer when you found out who the real Anon-a-Miss was?” No one answered. “Did any of you look her in the eye and say you were sorry?” “Not in that way, per se,” Rarity uncomfortably admitted. “But we did start hanging out with her again,” Pinkie said managing a smile. “We invited her over to slumber parties, played games, watched movies, ate delicious goodies, and had a wonderful holiday season together.” “We thought apologizin’ through our actions was the best way to make it up ta her,” Applejack concluded. “No you didn’t,” the purple puppy disagreed surprising the five teenage humans. He had a very serious expression on his face. “Back in our world, I used to wet the bed when I was younger. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that sometimes I tried to hide the sheets. How often I got caught or not isn’t the point. The point is you’re all doing the same thing I did. Instead of dealing with your mistake, you’ve been trying to make Sunset and everyone else forget about it and move on as if it never happened. I couldn’t believe you would all do something so stupid and so cruel to Sunset Shimmer, but I never thought you would all try to resolve this issue in such a cowardly way. This goes especially to you, Rainbow Dash.” The little dog’s words dug deeper than a rusty pickaxe. “And as for Dash’s question about ‘how Twilight knew Sunset was innocent’. The answer is ‘Twilight is Sunset’s friend,’ plain and simple. Do real friends believe their friends are innocent until proven guilty?” “Oooooh… crap!” Pinkie exclaimed in realization. Suddenly, Twilight reentered the café accompanied by the Crusaders. “Your sisters would like to have a few words with you,” Twilight informed the Five. She still had a stern look on her face. “Twilight told us about what has been happenin’ here,” Apple Bloom said. “Don’t worry girls, you don’t have to take the blame for this one,” Rarity assured them. “We didn’t come here to take any blame,” Sweetie Belle said. “We came here to give you some advice,” Scootaloo added. “Something we did after the Anon-a-Miss fiasco that you five have failed to do.” “What’s that?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “Grow up!” Apple Bloom answered bluntly. The Five were stunned by this. “You may claim to have learned your lesson, but the fact that y’all tryin’ so hard to make excuses and justify them says otherwise.” “You’re so focused on the horrible things Sunset did to you in the past,” Sweetie Belle added. “That you’re completely ignoring the horrible things you’re doing to her in the present,” Scootaloo concluded. “Surely, you must’ve known Sunset was innocent all along. We didn’t pull off Anon-a-Miss that well,” Apple Bloom said. “So why did you all turn on her?” Scootaloo asked. “Did you have any idea how much you made her cry?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I… I…” Fluttershy anxiously stuttered trying to come up with a response. The others looked like they were doing the same thing. After a moment, a look of utter shock and realization formed on the pink-haired eco-girl’s face which soon formed on the faces of the other girls as well. They did know they made Sunset cry when they cast her out of their circle of friends. Surely someone who would cry that hard must’ve been innocent of the crime they accused her of. So WHY did they do it?! WHY did they continue to let her suffer?! It was at this moment that the Five finally realized the exactly what they had done and had needlessly pushed away an innocent and very good friend. Possibly forever! Any excuses or justifications they might’ve still had for their actions and thoughts suddenly vanished out of existence. “We did!” she said in a soft horrified tone. “And we still did nothing! No wonder she left us for Zak!” The extremely remorseful girl burst into hysterical sobbing. “Stupid, vain, ungrateful hypocrite!” Rarity cursed herself as her tears washed away her mascara. “Ah’ can’t believe we did this!” Applejack said horrified and disgusted with herself. “We had ONE job!” Rainbow yelled tearfully. “Be Sunset Shimmer’s fucking friends!” “We were supposed to show her how great friendship was!” an extremely upset Pinkie said. “But instead, we showed her just how ugly and terrible humans can truly be! We didn’t just take a page from the Old Sunset Shimmer, we wrote a sequel to her goddamn book!” “Girls,” Twilight tried to calm them down and get their attention. “Chapter One: stab your own innocent and best friend in the back for no reason!” “GIRLS!” Twilight yelled finally getting their attention. “Yes! You hurt her! More than she could ever possibly hurt you, but this isn’t the time to feel sorry for yourselves. I organized this meeting with you all so that you could finally have this realization. It’s time you all started owning up to the part you played in this whole fiasco and stop letting the CMC shoulder all the blame. If you remember it was practically your fault they started Anon-a-Miss in the first place because you neglected them. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that justifies what they did in the slightest. But I’m sick and tired of everyone trying to avoid answering for what they did as if the pain they caused was not their fault.” Twilight took a moment to calm down, and resumed her speech. “Now, I have a plan to help out Sunset Shimmer. But it’s going to need everyone’s assistance, and I mean everyone. I’m going to go out and find Sunset and try to convince her to come back to the school with me.” “What should we do?” Fluttershy asked. “I want all of you to share your realization with the rest of the school. They all need to understand the damage they’ve inflicted just as much as you.” “You can count on us,” AJ agreed. But there was an obvious hint of sadness in her voice. “This time.” “Do you need any of us to go with you?” Rarity asked. “No,” Twilight answered. “I have to do this part myself. Sunset might not listen to me, but I know she won’t listen to you.” “What about Zak?” a concerned Pinkie asked. “He’s not going to let her go.” “Just leave him to me,” Twilight replied with a serious expression. “You all just focus on what you need to do and be ready for when we arrive. When we do, I want you all to be prepared to pour your hearts out and apologize like you’ve never apologized before.” “Do you think she’ll forgive us?” Fluttershy asked. “No,” Twilight answered honestly. This made the already miserable Five look even more miserable. “She might not even want to be friends with you. I know I wouldn’t, and Sunset Shimmer is a far more forgiving person than I am. In that case, I will take her back to Equestria with me where I’ll make sure she’ll receive the happiness she’s rightfully earned. But in the slim chance she does decide to give you a second chance, I want you all to promise me one thing.” “And what’s that, darling?” Rarity asked. “I want you to promise me that you will be Sunset Shimmer’s friends for real. And if I ever hear that you’ve hurt her like this again, not only will I take Sunset back to Equestria, but I will also take the journal, the magic, and permanently seal the portal and cut any and all ties to this world forever. Do I make myself clear?” The Five and the Crusaders all stood in silence for a moment thinking about the severity of the Princess of Friendship’s ultimatum. “Crystal,” Rarity reluctantly agreed. The fashionista had summoned as much courage as she could to answer that question. The others nodded in agreement. “Thank you,” Twilight expressed her gratitude. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a friend to find.” With that, she and Spike got up, walked out of the café, and were gone. The Five and the Crusaders stayed behind in the café for a while still thinking about the promise they just made. The moment was so serious that even Pinkie Pie couldn’t think of anything to say to lighten the mood. This was truly their very last chance. From now on, they would have to be wiser and more careful about how they treated their friends because if they messed this up, they could say good-bye to the magic, Sunset, and Twilight forever. “Well, ah’ guess we better head back to the school and clean up our mess,” Applejack broke the silence. With that, the Humane Five and the CMC all left the café and headed back to CHS to have a word with the rest of the student body. Forlorn expressions donning their faces. They looked as if hope was hanging by a very very thin thread now. Author's Note The next chapter for this story is finally here! I apologize for the long wait. I've been dealing with a lot of writer's block and am currently working at an internship and haven't had a lot of time to write or post anything new. But now I've found the time and am back! Chapter 12Sunset Shimmer, the most miserable and loneliest person in the world, sat on a park bench all by herself. There were lots of other people having fun and going about their day, but she paid them no mind. Right now, with the help of her ‘medicine’ provided by Zak, Sunset found herself in a blissful state of mind cut off from the reality around her. From her point of view, everything was bright and sunny, everyone around her looked like pony versions of themselves smiling and waving to her as they passed by. Even the sun itself literally smiled down at her from the sky. For a moment, she felt happy. But she knew it was only a matter of time before the ‘medicine’ wore off and all this went away returning her to the dark and harsh reality she truly lived in. As she sat by herself waiting for the effects to wear off, she saw something unexpected walking towards her. It looked like Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and her best friend and mentor, trotting up to her accompanied by her loyal dragon assistant, Spike. “Sunset Shimmer?” the purple alicorn said in an echoey and concerned tone. “Sunset, it’s me, Twilight. Can you hear me?” Suddenly, the effects wore off and Sunset saw that the pony standing in front of her was actually a human strongly resembling the pony she knew. No, she knew this human. After a moment of observing her, Sunset finally realized that it really was her dearest friend standing before her in her human form alongside her canine-looking companion. “Twilight?” the surprised Sunset responded rubbing her bloodshot eyes. “Is it really you? You’re really here?” “Yes Sunset,” the purple human-looking pony replied warmly. “I’m here.” Sunset could barely contain herself. She practically leapt from the bench and wrapped her arms around the only person she considered her friend. Tears streamed from her tightly closed eyes as she embraced her. Twilight smiled warmly as she gently returned the embrace. “What are you doing here?” Sunset asked releasing her from the embrace. “Your frien–” she stopped a moment to clear her throat. “The girls told me everything.” “Oh Twilight!” Sunset exclaimed taking a moment to let out a little sob before collecting herself enough to speak clearly. “I didn’t mean for you to get mixed up in all this. I know you have a lot of important duties as princess…” “As Princess of Friendship, any issue involving friendship is my duty,” Twilight said. “And they don’t stop at the borders of our world. Sunset, please tell me everything and don’t leave out any details.” Sunset reluctantly told Twilight everything that had happened to her from the Anon-a-Miss fiasco to the falling out with the Five. Twilight listened to all of it. Although she had heard it from the others, she wanted to hear it from Sunset to make sure she understood everything. “Sunset, I’m so sorry all this happened to you,” Twilight sincerely apologized putting a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Her eyes were full of sympathy. “Sunset, we need to talk. But I need you to come with me back to Canterlot High.” Hearing that made Sunset sweat with anxiety. “I… I can’t do that,” she nervously stuttered. “Yes, you can,” Twilight urged. “You need to. We both know that.” “I… I tried to be friendly and forgiving, but I just can’t –” “I’m not asking you to forgive anyone. Right now, I’m having a hard time forgiving them for this whole mess. But I can’t let you destroy your life like this. You need help.” “I…” Sunset was very conflicted. She knew there was some truth in Twilight’s words, but the thought of returning to that place frightened her. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But it’s too late for me. You should just forget about you and return to Equestria with your friends. Nopony will hold it against you. You tried your best. My life was just beyond salvation.” Then she pulled a small syringe filled with a strange-looking liquid from her pocket. It didn’t take long for Twilight to realize that stuff was the drugs Zak was making her take. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just need –” But before she could inject herself with the syringe, Twilight grabbed the hand holding it and firmly held it away from her body. “Sunset!” Twilight said in a very serious tone and pleading eyes. “I gave you my trust when you needed it. May I please have yours?” For a moment, Sunset stared into her friend’s desperate violet eyes trying to figure out what to do. After a while, she reluctantly conceded. “Alright.” Because Twilight was the only person who believed she was innocent during the Anon-a-Miss affair, Sunset felt she owed her. Feeling Sunset’s grip loosen, Twilight gently pulled the syringe from her hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Thank you, Sunset,” Twilight said gratefully and embraced her. “We’d better get going. They’re waiting for us. I promise I’ll be by your side till the end, my friend.” “I know.” The two interdimensional girls and their little dog eventually made it back to the school. Sunset stared hesitantly at the building as a lot of terrible memories popped into her mind. But she felt Twilight take her hand and looked at her with a trusting and confident expression. Twilight led Sunset down the empty hallways of the school while Spike followed. Sunset nervously clung to Twilight’s arm like a nervous child clung to its parents for protection and to keep from getting separated. The deeper they traveled into the building, the more anxious Sunset became. Her anxiety became so great that she gently started pulling Twilight’s arm in the opposite direction when they came across the door to the auditorium. “It’s okay, Sunset,” Twilight assured her in a comforting tone. “I’m right here.” Sunset calmed down and reluctantly allowed Twilight to proceed. They walked through the doors to find the entire room filled with students and faculty members. Once the two girls entered the room, everyone turned their attention towards them. Sunset tighten her hold on Twilight’s arm when she saw all those people. Seeing Sunset trembling in fear while clinging to Twilight made some of the students feel like they were looking into a mirror. In the past, they all feared Sunset Shimmer’s wrath when she was the top bully of their school. But now it looked like the roles were reversed. Sunset looked like the frightened victim afraid that anyone of them would take the opportunity to harm her. After all she had done to them in the past you’d think some of them would find this satisfyingly cathartic, but given the circumstances it was actually the opposite. This was not satisfying at all. For the CMCs and the Five, it was gut-wrenching to see just how much their actions had traumatized Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer,” Principal Celestia was the first to speak and approach Sunset with Vice Principal Luna by her side. “Allow me to explain what all this is about,” she sincerely explained. “When we told Twilight what was happening, she wasted no time in coming here and organizing this huge intervention on your behalf. We know you’ve been going through a very very difficult time and are unsure who to trust, but I assure you no one here blames you. Therefore, I would like to be the first to say I’m so very sorry for all the hardships you’ve endured. As principal of CHS, I am very ashamed of not being there for you when you needed me. But even though you are no longer a student at this school, I will do everything within my authority to help you. I know it may not mean anything since it is a little too late, but I hope that you will give me a chance to make amends for my failures.” While touched by her former principal’s words, Sunset gave a silent and polite nod acknowledging Celestia’s apology and offer to help. Celestia and Luna then stood aside allowing the CMCs, the architects of the Anon-a-Miss fiasco and Sunset’s torment, to face her. “I remember you all said that the reason you did this to me was because you were jealous of the attention I was getting from your sisters,” Sunset said to them in a sad and neutral tone. “I never meant for that to happen. Ever since the Fall Formal, I just wanted to atone for the things I did in the past. To start over and make friends.” She paused for a moment as a few small tears started forming in her eyes. “But I never imagined anyone would pull something like Anon-a-Miss. I never thought anyone would just forget all the effort I put in just like that.” Sunset’s eyes began to water as she spoke. “I just don’t understand. I did everything Twilight asked me to do and still nothing worked out in the end. I was still lonely and hated for the past I so desperately tried to wash away with good deeds. Sometimes I was so miserable that I actually thought about taking my own life.” So many people in the room gasped in shock and horror when they heard this. So many members of CHS despised Sunset Shimmer for her past, but no one would ever wish for her death, not even during the Anon-a-Miss incident. The CMCs, the Five, and Twilight all looked the most disturbed by this. If their actions had pushed Sunset to suicide, the Five’s and the CMCs’ chances of atonement and forgiveness would be even slimmer than they already were. “There is nothing any of us can say that will excuse what we’ve done to you,” Apple Bloom summed up enough courage to finally speak. Her eyes looked like they were ready to burst with tears. “The bitterness you feel towards us is justified,” a tearful Sweetie Belle added. “Everyone was so focused on antagonizing you for the things you did to them that they didn’t realize they were becoming the very demon they thought they were vilifying,” Scootaloo sadly said. “Sunset, we’re so sorry for all the suffering we caused you,” Apple Bloom concluded. Tears were now dripping down her cheeks. Sunset nodded and gave the three younger girls a warm and grateful smile before turning to face the Five, the former friends whose betrayal had hurt her the most. It was time for her to properly face her painful past. “First off, I would like to say I understand,” Sunset calmly spoke to the Five. “I was a messed up person. I did things to you and other people for the smallest and most selfish reasons. I’m not proud of the person I used to be.” She paused as the tears in her eyes started dripping down her cheeks and her voice started to crack a little. “But I honestly tried so very hard to make up for the things I’ve done and be someone that no one would need to fear at this school anymore. I even helped you save this school. Surely you of all people, or at least one of you, must’ve known I was innocent and being setup.” At this point, Sunset couldn’t hold it back any longer. She let all her emotions pour out like a water pipe releasing all the backed up water after being unclogged. “Why? Please tell me, why?” For a moment, the Five stared at her wondering what to say until Applejack was the first to finally stepped forward. “Sunset Shimmer,” AJ addressed her former friend. “You made our lives at this school a living hell for three years.” “That’s something no one gets over easily,” Rarity spoke next. “When Twilight asked us to give you another chance, we were skeptical,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Making friends with an old enemy sounded weird,” Pinkie Pie said. “But you were a lot different from the person you used to be,” Fluttershy spoke. “You seemed to truly regret your actions and wanted to be a better person. But even after the battle against the Sirens, we still felt a little fear for you.” Sunset hung her head as she felt her heart sink. It would appear that her worst fear was realized. Even after all the few but undeniable good things she’d recently done, they were all for nothing. No one, not even her new friends, would ever see her as anything but the horrible bully she once was. “Even after everything, you still feared I would do something bad to you?” she asked a soft and heartbroken tone. “Actually, I think we were more afraid that you wouldn’t do something bad to us,” Rainbow corrected with a shameful look on her face. This caused the look of sadness on Sunset’s face to disappear as she looked up at them with a look of confusion now. “Ya’ see, when someone makes your life miserable for that long,” AJ explained. “Ya’ learn ta’ easily vilify them.” “To the point where you find it impossible to see them as anything else,” Rarity continued. “You become so paranoid and obsessed that you’re always on the lookout, waiting for them to make a bad move,” Pinkie took her turn. “To you, that person is wicked, untrustworthy, irredeemable and rotten to the core,” Rainbow said. “Because if they weren’t, what would that make you?” Fluttershy concluded. Tears started forming in her eyes. At that moment, the pain and confusion in Sunset’s eyes melted away as a look of understanding and realization formed on her face. “What we’re saying is we were so blinded by our hatred for the person you used to be to see the person you were becoming,” Rainbow tearfully confessed. “To see what we were becoming,” Rarity added. Tears were messing up her mascara. For a long moment, Sunset stared at the Five. Not with a look of resentment or heartbroken sadness, but with a look of pity and understanding. All this time she saw them as reminders of her shameful past that could never truly forget or forgive and the Anon-a-Miss incident had all but proven that true. However, after hearing this, she now saw them as images of herself, people ashamed of the hurtful things they did and desperately trying to atone for their deeds. “You’ve apologized for so many things you did to us,” Pinkie struggled to speak through her watery eyes. “But we can NEVER apologize enough for what we did to you!” “We don’t expect ya’ ta’ forgive us,” a remorseful AJ spoke. “We completely understand if ya’ll never wanna be friends with us again. But ah’ want ya’ ta’ know that while you said many wrong and hurtful things to us in the past, there was one thing you were right about.” AJ’s voice started to crack as tears began leaking from her eyes. “I truly am a stupid country girl!” Sunset was shocked and horrified hearing Applejack say that about herself. It brought back some shameful memories of some of the hurtful things she used to say to her. The red and yellow haired girl walked up to the teary-eyed country girl and gently wrapped her arms around her in warm embrace. The moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone turned to see Zak standing in the doorway and clapping his hands with a smug smile on his face. He was accompanied by Chunk and Scratch. The atmosphere suddenly changed, a feeling of hostility suddenly filled the room. Everyone, with the exception of a nervous Sunset Shimmer, all glared at the appearance of these unexpected, and unwanted, guests. “Nice little speeches,” Zak commented the Five in a mocking tone. “Any of you ever thought of doing standup comedy?” “Fuck you!” Derpy yelled at him in response. “As much as I’d love to watch you bimbos fail at another pathetic fucking attempt at getting back your ‘friend’,” the gang leader said condescendingly. “Sunset and I need to go over to my place for a little party. Isn’t that right, babe?” “Why don’t you leave her alone and pick on someone your own size, punk!” Cranky Doodle snapped at the gang leader. “Like you, old man?!” Zak replied threateningly. “Come on, Sunset. Let’s get outta here.” Sunset stared fearfully at Zak who was waiting with a malicious grin for her to comply. Her first impulse was to go with him, she how he got when she didn’t give in to what he wanted. “Not so fast!” Twilight said stepping between Sunset and Zak. Everyone’s attention was now on her as she faced her friend’s abuser with a look of determination and disgust on her face. “Who the hell are you?” Zak demanded. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the humanized alicorn introduced herself. “A friend of Sunset Shimmer.” Zak and his goons rolled their eyes when they heard this. Another annoying so-called friend trying to take away their property. “You must be Zak, Sunset’s new ‘boyfriend’.” “You’ve heard of me,” Zak noticed with a smug grin. “I’m flattered. Funny, Sunset told about all her other so-called friends but she never mentioned you before.” “I’m not always around.” “Well that’s a damn shame,” Zak replied in a mocking tone. “Because I heard she really could’ve needed your help last holiday season. You heard what happened right?” “Yes, I did. Sunset told me about even as she endured it.” “So you knew your friend was in trouble and you still did nothing?!” Zak said letting out a mocking laugh. Chunk and Scratch joined in. “Then you’re just as much a heartless backstabbing (bleep) as those five.” He said pointing to the Five. So many people stared wide-eyed and jaw-dropped at what Zak just said. Even Chunk and Scratch looked shocked that their leader would stoop so low to use the foulest of curse words. Sunset cringed as she listened to Zak’s vulgar slander. Most of the time, she kept quiet when he said things that weren’t true. But this was very hard for her to not talk back to him in this moment. She knew Twilight was nothing like that, she was the only person who believed in her innocence and remained her friend. Despite the vulgar slander she received, Twilight remained unfazed. Then she chuckled much to everyone’s surprise. “My friends have told me a lot about you, Zak. But I prefer to meet the people they talk about and judge them myself,” Twilight said. “And I must say, you’re every bit as rotten as they said you were. But you’re also very pathetic.” Everyone gasped when they heard this. “You think you can intimidate me?! Break me?! Make me think I’m no better than you?! I’ve dealt with worse than you. You’re nothing but a cowardly bully, intimidating and breaking people with your aggressiveness and your hurtful but false words. I’ve read about guys like you, acting like big scary giants because they’re afraid everyone will find out how small their ‘shortcomings’ are!” Everyone, including Sunset and Zak’s gang, was at a loss for words. Twilight, showing absolutely no fear or weakness, dared to speak to a vicious thug like him in such a way. Zak’s face was turning red at the fearless girl’s powerful words. No one ever speaks to him like that and gets away with it. Chunk and Scratch took a few steps back as they sensed their boss’s rage boil. “You… little… bitch!” Zak managed to overcome his intense rage enough to say. “Where do you get off talking to me that way?!? Do you know what I can do to you?!?” “You can’t even hold a candle to Sunset Shimmer back when she justified everyone’s dislike of her,” Twilight continued unchanged. Sunset was surprised to hear this. “Even though she made a lot of mistakes back then, there was one trait she had that I found quite admirable: she never let anyone push her around! While it’s important to treat others the way you want to be treated, it’s just as important to be able to stand up for yourself and not let anyone walk all over or take advantage of you.” Then she turned her attention to her friend. “Sunset, I know you’re trying so hard to be a better person, and you’re doing an amazing job. In fact, I think you may become a better person than me one day, but none of that will matter if you forget how to stand up for yourself and trust in those whom you know have your best interests. This guy, he doesn’t care what’s best for you. And you know it, don’t you?” It was at this moment, Sunset Shimmer had an epiphany. Twilight was right. One of the things that attracted Snips, Snails, and possibly even Flash Sentry to her was her toughness. While it’s important to treat people the way you want to be treated, it’s also important to not let them walk all over you. “Oh, give me a fucking break!” Zak angrily exclaimed. He was really getting sick and tired of this. “If you all hadn’t been such sucky-ass friends, Sunset wouldn’t had left you. Wait, let me correct myself. She didn’t leave you, you threw her out like holiday trash! An unwanted puppy! I took her in and gave her a place to belong. For the kindness and generosity I showed her, she remains grateful to me.” “Kindness?!...” Sunset repeated in a quiet voice. The tone of her voice sounded slightly irritated much to everyone’s surprise. “Generosity?!” Sunset rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a big dark bruise on her arm much to everyone’s horror. “Is this what you call kindness?!” “That was an accident, Sunset,” Zak replied in a threatening tone. “Remember?” “No,” Sunset replied defiantly. “It was not.” Everyone, including Zak and his goons, were speechless. This was the first time Sunset ever stood up to him. “Sunset, babe,” Zak said in a much gentler tone. “You’re feeling well. Let’s go home and give you some medicine.” “I don’t want your goddamn medicine!” Sunset shouted. Her words echoed a little in the room. There was a moment of stunned silence until Sunset lifted her head and faced her ‘boyfriend’ with watery eyes and a defiant glare. “After the Fall Formal, I realized all I ever wanted was to have friends. You are not my friend! You’re no one’s friend. I’m not going to let my fear give you power over me anymore.” Sunset reached into her shirt and pulled out the golden necklace Zak had given her and dropped it on the floor. The shiny metal dented and the jewels cracked on impact. Micro Chips walked out of the crowd and picked up the broken jewelry. After examining it, he turned to Zak and his gang with a look of disgust on his face. “Just as I thought,” the techie bitterly announced. “This was made from very cheap material.” “Fake,” a disgusted Rarity said. “Just like his relationship with Sunset.” “It’s over, Zak,” Sunset announced. “What?!” he responded, he was barely holding back his rage. “We’re… through!” Sunset answered bravely. “Look you little…” Zak said furiously as he began to approach his now ex-girlfriend. But Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs all blocked his path and shot threatening glares at him which seemed to make him angrier. The urge to resort to violence was the first thing that came to mind, but then he looked around at everyone else. They were all giving him the exact same looks as the girls. It was apparent that there was nothing he could do to win this. After all this time, he had finally tasted a defeat. His face turned so red, his head looked like it was going to burst. “You’re on my shit list, bitch!” he said threateningly pointing to Twilight. “And you will pay for this!” he said to Sunset. Then he turned around and left the room with his two mooks. Once Zak and his goons were gone, the entire room erupted into happy and victorious cheering. Outside the school, the thuggish trio all hopped into their car. Scratch and Chunk were a little nervous about the emotional state of their boss. “You okay, boss?” a concerned Chunk asked. “Shut up and fucking drive!” Zak snapped. Chunk wasted no time in doing as he was told. “Hand me the fucking phone!” Scratch immediately handed Zak a cellphone. The livid gang leader dialed a number and listened to the ringing until it stopped to speak. “Bad news, old man! We’re going to have to do this the hard way!” Back in the auditorium, almost everyone was celebrating. Sunset Shimmer was no longer going to hang out with Zak. The plan had worked. However, Twilight and the Five noticed Sunset wasn’t participating in the celebration. She wore a sad expression on her face. Soon everyone else took notice of this and stopped cheering. “I did so many things in the past that I’m still so ashamed of,” Sunset said. “I thought that if I suffered enough, things would eventually get better.” Then she turned to Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs. “I understand why you all did what you did to me during the holidays. But it still doesn’t justify them.” The Five and the CMCs hung their heads in shame and agreement. However, Sunset soon gave them a warm smile. “That being said, I want to say how grateful I am to all of you here tonight. You finally made me realize that the relationship I had with Zak wasn’t the best solution to my problems and that I had to get away from him.” “What will you do now, Sunset?” Twilight asked. “If you don’t want to be our friend again, we completely understand, darling,” Rarity said supportively. “After what we did, I wouldn’t want to be our friend either,” Rainbow added. Sunset thought for a moment before answering. “Can I have a little time to think about it?” “Sure,” Twilight answered warmly. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting.” While it was a relief that Sunset was finally finished with Zak, the next issue would be figuring out and accepting what would be best for her. The thought of losing their friend was heartbreaking, but the Five knew they had to do what was best for Sunset Shimmer. Even if meant having to say good-bye. Author's Note I'M FINALLY BACK! Here's the long awaited next chapter! Sorry for the very, very long wait. I'm almost done now. However, Zak is not done yet. What does this scumbag have planned for Sunset now? Chapter 3The next day, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all gathered in the music room to practice. However, none of them were feeling in the mood to play their instruments. They were not very happy about meeting Zak, Sunset Shimmer’s new boyfriend, last night. “Sorry, girls,” Fluttershy apologized putting her tambourine down. “But I don’t feel like practicing today.” “I don’t blame you, darling,” Rarity said understandingly. “Yeah, especially after meeting Sunset’s new boyfriend, Zak,” Pinkie bitterly remarked. “Let’s try not ta’ think about it anymore,” Applejack suggested. “We probably just caught him on an off day.” “Whatever,” Rainbow said frustrated. “At first, I thought this guy would be cool. But now that I’ve met him, I don’t like him. Not one bit.” Afterwards, the five girls were walking down a hallway with glum looks on their faces. Then Fluttershy noticed some of her fellow eco-kids and walked over to talk with them. “Hey, Fluttershy,” Sandalwood greeted her. “How are things hangin’?” “Not very well I’m afraid,” she glumly replied. “I’m sensing some negative waves. Did something bad happen?” “Oh, my friends and I found out that Sunset got a new boyfriend. It was exciting until we met him.” “Was his name Zak?” asked an eco-girl named Paisley. “How did you know?” Fluttershy asked surprised. “A few days ago, we got together for some relaxing meditation in the park,” Sandalwood explained. “But then Sunset, Zak, and a couple of his buddies came along and ruined the peace.” “All he did was yell and boss her around,” said an eco-boy named Captain Planet. “That’s awful!” Fluttershy said disturbed. “Totally,” Sandalwood agreed. The athletes were having soccer practice outside, but their best player, Rainbow Dash, didn’t seem herself today. She wasn’t playing as good as she used to. “Hey, you okay today, Dash?” asked Teddy, one of her teammates. “Sorry, guys,” she apologized. “I don’t think I’m up for soccer practice today.” “You feeling alright?” asked Heart Burns. “I’m fine, it’s just getting a look at Sunset’s new boyfriend, Zak, yesterday put me a really lousy mood.” “I know what you’re talking about,” Cloudy Kicks said. “I got a glimce of that guy myself.” “You did?” “Yeah, I was on my way with Tennis Match to watch a friend’s house to watch the game a couple nights ago, and we heard some very loud and disturbing noises coming from a house along the way.” Cloudy Kicks and Tennis Match were walking along a sidewalk chatting excitedly. “You stupid little bitch!” they heard a very loud and angry male voice coming from a very poorly painted house. Both girls stopped in their tracks and turned their attention toward it as more unpleasant yelling followed. “That is not the brand of chips I told you to get!” There was the sound of something being flung against a wall. “I’m sorry, Zak,” said a timid female voice that sounded exactly like Sunset Shimmer. “But the store was all out. I thought this would be a good substitute.” “Idiot! What did I tell you about thinking?! Besides, if the store is out of them, then go look at another store!” “But I don’t know if any of the other stores sell them,” Sunset’s voice was beginning to sound more nervous. “Well, you should’ve figured that out before this happened!” “I’m sorry,” Sunset sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “Just shut up and get the hell out of my sight!” “I’m so sorry,” the sound of crying and running was heard then followed by a door slamming. Both athlete girls were extremely shocked and disturbed by what they just heard. “You really heard that?!” Rainbow asked now very angry. “Yeah, I’m afraid that’s exactly what we heard,” Cloudy Kicks answered. “Sunset!” Rainbow said clenching her fists as her fury rose. She already had a bad perspective of this guy but hearing this made it even worse. The idea of her friend being abused made her furious. Elsewhere, Pinkie was telling a group of drama kids and comdians about her first encounter with Zak, and she wasn’t telling the story like it was one of the most fun moments in her life. “And that’s what happened,” Pinkie bitterly concluded her story. “So it’s just as bad as the rumors say,” said a drama boy named Nolan North. “I remember seeing them at the mall three days ago,” Derpy told them. “It was so unpleasant.” Derpy was shopping at a clothing store at the mall. She was trying on different sunglasses to see which one makes it more difficult to see her crooked eyes until she saw Sunset Shimmer shopping in the same store. “Hello, Sunset,” Derpy greeted her. “Hi, Derpy,” Sunset politely replied. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, you know, shopping for new clothes.” “Me too, I’ve been shopping with Zak.” “Who’s that?” Derpy curiously asked. “He’s a new guy I’ve been hanging out with.” “You mean like a new boyfriend?” Derpy excitedly asked. “You could say that.” “Sunset, what the hell is taking so long?” Zak appeared and asked in gruff and impatient voice. “Hi ,Zak,” Sunset nervously greeted her boyfriend. “I was just looking for a new outfit to wear for tonight. Tell me, which one do you think looks nice?” she held up two dresses, one with green colors and one with red colors, to show him. But he angrily knocked both dresses out of her hands in one swipe. “I don’t care what you chose to wear,” Zak said in a threatening tone and glared down at Sunset who was trembling under his gaze. “In fact, some of the guys prefer you wear nothing like last time,” he said sporting a sadistic and perverted grin. Sunset’s eyes widened with horror. “Please don’t make me go through that again,” she begged clutching her body defensively. “Then stop wasting everyone’s time, you stupid little slut,” Zak threatened. “What are you looking at?” he asked Derpy in a hostile tone as he turned to leave the store. “Sorry Derpy, I have to go,” Sunset said in an unhappy tone and immediately followed Zak out the door. Back in the store, Derpy stood where she was completely aghast by what she’d just witnessed right in front of her. “Poor Sunset,” Derpy said feeling very sympathetic. “I don’t understand why she would want to hangout with a guy like that.” “Sunset has made some poor decisions in the past, but this is just crazy,” Octavia said. “This is a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” a comedian named Blueberry Pie said. “And I used to consider Sunset Shimmer my worst enemy.” “Yeah, this guy sounds like a real dirt bag,” her friend, Raspberry Fluff added. “What do you think, Pinkie?” Derpy asked the pink poofy-haired girl. Pinkie looked absolutely shocked and nervous. “From what you’ve told me, things sound a lot worse than we thought. I’d better go tell the others,” then she took off down the hall. “Thanks, Derpy,” she called back and waved her hand as she ran. During Lunchtime, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and AJ all met together at one of the cafeteria tables to discuss what they’ve learned. “Well, I’d like to say I’ve learned something very important today,” Pinkie was the first one to speak when they sat down. “Turns out Sunset’s new boyfriend isn’t bad.” “No, he’s absolutely horrible!” Fluttershy interrupted. “How did you know I was going to say that?” Pinkie asked. Then a nervous look spread across her face. “Oh no, am I becoming predictable?!” “The point is this guy, Zak, is a creep and shouldn’t be hangin’ out with Sunset,” Applejack declared. “I just can’t abide such tactless behavior,” Rarity said. “I just want to walk up to the jerk and pound his stupid face in,” Rainbow said clenching her fists. “Maybe we should talk to Sunset about how we feel about this,” Fluttershy suggested. “Fluttershy’s right,” AJ agreed. “We should deal with this rationally before doing something that might make it worse. Ya’ll remember what happened with Anon-a-Miss, right?” The other girls cast sad and remorseful glances down at the floor. It was the most humiliating and shameful time of their lives, how could they not remember? “AJ’s right,” Rainbow said. “We all made some pretty terrible mistakes during that time, but it got resolved and everything went back to normal. Though our little sisters did got quite a bit of detention for what they did.” “I also hear that they’re being picked on a little more frequently since then,” Fluttershy added. “Really? Apple Bloom’s still bein’ harassed since then?” AJ angrily asked entering her protective older sister mode. “Sweetie Belle never told me about this,” Rarity said worried and confused. “Scootaloo never said anything either,” Rainbow added. “Something weird is going on here,” Pinkie said suspiciously. “We’d better catch Sunset Shimmer before she leaves school early again,” Fluttershy suggested. “Fluttershy’s got a point,” AJ agreed. “We’d better go deal with Sunset’s problem while we still have the chance. Then we can deal with our sisters’ problems after.” “Right,” the others agreed in unison. Then they all got up from their table and left the cafeteria. Sunset Shimmer was in the hallway taking supplies out of her locker and putting them in her backpack. She closed the locker door to find her five friends waiting behind it. Their sudden appearance nearly made her jump out of her shoes and socks. “Girls, I didn’t expect you,” Sunset apologized for nearly freaking out. “Sunset, darling, we need to have a talk,” Rarity said. “Can it wait another time?” Sunset nervously asked. “I have a very important appointment to keep.” “In a hurry to get something for your man before he throws another fit?” Rainbow angrily asked. “You mean Zak? Sorry you had to see that, you just caught him on a bad day that’s all,” Sunset assured them. “According to many of the students here, he has a lot of bad days,” Applejack said suspiciously making Sunset look even more nervous. “Sunset, we’re your friends,” Fluttershy said in a gentle and understanding tone. “And we care deeply for you. But this new person you’ve started a relationship with, it makes us nervous and worry for you.” “I appreciate your concern, but Zak’s not so bad once you get to know him. In fact, he’s actually a pretty great guy to be around,” Sunset said reassuringly. “How great?” Pinkie asked suspiciously. “Well for starters, he understands and trusts me. He doesn’t like when I’m gone for too long, so that means he really cares for my safety. He likes to hang out with all his cool friends, throw parties, hangout at really cool places, and he doesn’t make fun of my past all the time like you all do.” The last part Sunset said in a bitter tone. “That’s a surprise,” Pinkie said confused. “You’d think he’d feel a little weird about dating a girl who once turned into a demon… No offense.” But instead of saying ‘none taken’ like she usually did, she gave them an unamused look and rolled her eyes. She clearly did not appreciate it this time. “I gotta go. See you all later,” Sunset bid farewell to her friends as she ran out of the school to make her appointment. After Sunset had left, the five girls headed back down the hallway and they didn’t very happy. Not only did they fail to resolve the issue with their friend but they also manage to accidentally offend her as well. “Looks like this it going to harder than we thought,” AJ said to the others. “Let’s just hope things won’t get any worse,” Rarity also said.
Chapter 1It was shortly after New Year’s Day, all the students of Canterlot High were returning to school to start the next semester. It had been a very rough holiday season for most of them, but it seemed like everyone had gotten through it and were happy to go back to school. A certain group of teenage girls were already getting underway with their New Year plans. They were all part of a music band known as the Rainbooms, which included: Rainbow Dash, the lead guitarist; Fluttershy, the tambourine player; Applejack, the bass player; Pinkie Pie, the drummer; Rarity, the keytar player; and Sunset Shimmer, the rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist. They were all gathered one afternoon in the music room to practice their instruments, except for Sunset. “Shouldn’t she be here by now?” Rainbow said impatiently while tuning her guitar. “Maybe she’s doing some important school work.” Fluttershy guessed. “She does have other classes to work in.” Applejack reminded Rainbow. “I know, but have any of you noticed she’s been hanging out less with us since the holidays?” Rainbow asked the others suspiciously. “Come to think of it, she has been skipping music practice lately.” Pinkie said. “I’m sure she had her reasons.” Rarity dismissed their concerns. “It’s the new year. A time to start again.” Then Sunset entered the room holding her backpack. “Hey, girls.” She greeted them. “Sunset!” they all happily greeted her back. “You’re late again.” Rainbow teasingly reminded her. “Where have you been?” “Oh, you know… busy.” Sunset replied sheepishly. “Come to think of it, you’ve been busy for quite some time since the beginning of the new year.” Pinkie said. “Yeah, about that. Sorry girls, but I’m afraid I can’t practice with you today. There’s something I need to do.” Sunset regretfully told them. “This is the fourth time this week that you’ve skipped band practice.” Rarity said. “Is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked concerned. “Oh yes, everthing’s fine.” Sunset assured them. “It’s just a really important errand I have to do.” “Well, if you say it’s important, I’ll take yer’ word for it.” Applejack said understandingly. “Me too.” Fluttershy agreed. “Me three!” Pinkie said wanting to join in. “Thanks, girls.” Sunset said gratefully. “I’ll see you all next week.” “Would you like to have a sleepover this weekend?” Rarity asked. “Oh, no. Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t do that this time.” Sunset nervously apologized. “Oh, okay.” Rarity said slightly disappointed. “You probably have a lot on your plate at the moment. How about another time?” “Yeah, perhaps another time. Well, I gotta get going. Bye.” “Goodbye.” They all bid their friend as she left the room. “Is it me or has Sunset been seeming a little… off lately?” Fluttershy concernedly asked the others. “You think it might be related to what happened during the holiday season?” Rarity also asked. “Nah, it can’t be that.” Pinkie said doubtfully. “The true identity of Anon-a-Miss was revealed and everything went back to the way it was. By the way, how are your sisters doing?” “Oh, Apple Bloom hasn’t been feelin’ too happy lately.” AJ sadly told her. “She’s been picked on less since the beginning of the new year, but ah’ think she’s still feelin’ pretty bad about the whole Anon-a-Miss thing.” “Same goes for Sweetie Belle.” Rarity sadly added. “Some nights I hear her crying in her sleep.” “Hey Rainbow, how’s Scootaloo been?” Fluttershy asked her friend. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t really seen Scoots lately.” Dash said concernedly. “And whenever I do see her she seems so sad.” “They’re all probably still feeling pretty ashamed for what they did.” Fluttershy said feeling a little sorry for the three younger girls. “Well, ah’ think we all have a pretty good idea of what’s probably eatin’ those three. But we still need ta’ figure out what’s eatin’ Sunset.” AJ said suspiciously. As Sunset walked down the sidewalk from the school, she dropped her seemingly happy façade and her facial expression showed that she really was quite unhappy. After walking for some time, she arrived at a certain building and entered its doors. She walked up an ascending staircase till she reached a room where a woman with glasses was sitting behind a desk and working on her computer. “Hello, can I help you?” the woman politely asked looking up from her computer when Sunset approached her desk. “Can you tell Dr. Shrink his five o’clock is here?” Sunset replied. The woman said pressing a button on the phone on her desk, which made a buzzing noise, and spoke into it. “Sir, Sunset Shimmer is here to see you.” Then she took her finger off the button and turned to Sunset. “He’ll be with you shortly.” Sunset sat on a bench near the entrance of the room. After a minute, the door near the woman at the desk opened to reveal a tall, slender man wearing a suit, glasses, and a concerned look on his face. He also had nicely cut and groomed moustache and beard. He looked to be in his late-thirties. “Sunset, I’m ready.” He informed her in a gentle voice. She got up and followed him into the room. They were now in a room with a desk, a bookshelf, a coffee table, and a couch built for a person to lay down on. “You remember how this goes, right?” Sunset placed her backpack next to the couch and lied down with her back on the couch. The doctor put a water jug and a plastic cup on the coffee table near Sunset and took his seat at his desk. “So, how have things been lately?” he asked her getting out a pen and a notepad. “To be honest, I’m actually not feeling very good today, I’m afraid.” She said. “I felt the pain again.” “Would you mind telling me how all this happened again? Try not to leave out anything important.” He instructed. Sunset told Dr. Shrink about the day she first came to Canterlot High to the Anon-a-Miss affair. She told him about how she used to be a terrible person in the past, but after losing to her rivals at the Fall Formal (she left out all the magic parts to avoid looking crazy), she strove to become a better person. She also told him that after the Battle of the Bands (minus the magic parts), things were actually starting to look up for her. That is until the Anon-a-Miss affair started. A mysterious blogger had somehow gotten his or her hands on the secrets of some students, including her former rivals turned friends, and posted them on the internet. It wasn’t long before everyone started accusing her of being this blogger and scorned her. Even her own friends came to believe it was her and turned their backs on her. It was the most heartbreaking and worst moment in her life. Eventually, the true culprits confessed and everything seemingly went back to normal. But for the Sunset, the pain and heartache never went away. After the beginning of the New Year, Sunset secretly decided to take up therapy sessions with Dr. Shrink to help ease her pain. “And that’s the whole story.” Sunset concluded her story while wiping away some tears. “It appears to me that the problem here is still the same.” Dr. Shrink explained. “Sunset, you suffer from an extreme fear of loneliness. You believed that if you always had your five friends by your side, everything would be alright. But this incident with Anon-a-Miss has proven that not everyone is completely reliable. Have you taken my suggestion and made some new friends outside of school?” “Yes, I have.” Sunset answered with a smile. “And how has that been going for you?” “Very well, thank you.” Dr. Shrink suddenly got a suspicious look on his face. “You’re not still going out with him, are you?” Sunset then started to look nervous. “I know when we first met after New Year’s things got a little... bumpy. But I think our relationship is getting better. I feel we’re becoming closer everyday. We’re going out for dinner this weekend.” “Hmm.” Dr. Shrink still looked suspicious, but then he seemed lightened up when he looked at his watch. “Well Sunset, if you believe everything’s going to be okay, I’ll take your word for it.” “Thank you, sir.” She said getting up from the couch and grabbing her backpack. “Same time next week?” “Sure thing. Goodbye, thanks.” Sunset bid him farewell and left the room. Dr. Shrink got up from his desk and looked out the window of his office down at the street. He saw Sunset leaving the building and head down the street. He couldn’t help but think about what Sunset said when he asked her about him. “Oh, Sunset.” The doctor said to himself in a tone of disappointment. “You should know by now that I can tell when you’re fibbing.”
Chapter 2It was next Monday, and everyone was heading off to their first classes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were walking down the hall together chatting about Sunset Shimmer’s strange behavior lately. “Okay, we both agree that Sunset’s been acting very strange lately, right?” Rainbow asked. “Yeah, she doesn’t seem like her usual self,” Pinkie agreed. “Well, her new usual self, not her old usual self. Her old self wasn’t the nicest person.” “She seems so distant. She doesn’t hang out with us as much as she used to. Do you think she might be hiding something?” “I think we should gather more information before we jump to conclusions.” Pinkie said in a slightly more serious tone. Both she and Dash paused for a moment remembering the Anon-a-Miss affair. “Well, either way, I’m not going to feel comfortable until I find out what’s up with Sunset.” “I can’t believe it!” said an upset and unpleasant voice. Both Pinkie and Rainbow turned to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking down the hall together and they didn’t look very happy. “A perfectly planned New Year’s party ruined!” “Hold on, what’s this stuff about ruined parties?” Pinkie stopped and asked the younger girls. Pinkie had a strict rule against ruined parties. “Over the weekend, my family and Silver Spoon’s took us to this really great restaurant to celebrate New Year’s. But then Sunset Shimmer and her new boyfriend came and ruined everything!” Diamond Tiara complained. “Wait, what was that last part?” Rainbow asked curiously. “Sunset has a new boyfriend?” Pinkie also asked. “Yeah, unfortunately,” Diamond Tiara bitterly answered. Both Rainbow and Pinkie stood in surprise for a moment, processing what they had just heard. Then big excited smiles formed on their faces. Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense to them now. “Rainbow Dash, this is great!” Pinkie said excitedly grabbing her friend. “What?!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exclaimed baffled. “I know, Sunset’s got a boyfriend!” Dash happily said to Pinkie. “We’ve gotta tell the other girls! I bet they’re gonna want to meet him!” Pinkie said. “Trust me, you might not want to get your hopes up for this one,” Silver Spoon nervously suggested. “Oh, almost forgot,” Pinkie said noticing the two smaller girls again. “Don’t worry, you two. I’ll find a way to make up for that party you lost.” “Come on, Pinkie. We’ve gotta tell the others,” Rainbow said. “I can hardly wait!” Pinkie said excitedly as she and Dash took off down the hall leaving Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon behind. “Ugh!” Diamond Tiara groaned in annoyance. “They have no idea what their getting themselves into.” “Come on. We’d better get to class,” Silver Spoon suggested. “Maybe a little work will help put that horrible night behind us.” Diamond Tiara frowned remembering the horrible night. Then she started walking with her friend. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie met Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy and were walking down a hallway and talking about what they heard from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “So you see, it all makes sense now!” Pinkie excitedly told them. “Ah’ never thought ah’d see the day when Sunset Shimmer would take up datin’ again,” Applejack said proudly. “I’m so happy for her,” Fluttershy said. “I simply must meet the lucky man!” Rairty said excitedly. “I bet after spending a few years with one another they’ll eventually decide to tie the knot, and I’ve already got our dear Sunset’s wedding dress design planned!” “Calm down, Rarity,” AJ said putting her hand on the fashionista’s shoulder. “Baby steps. Let’s focus on meetin’ the guy first.” After walking down the hall for a while, they eventually found Sunset Shimmer emptying out her locker for the day. “Sunset!” they all called and hurried over to meet her. “Hi, girls,” Sunset politely responded. “How are things going?” “Oh, we hear somethings are going pretty good for some people.” Rainbow said slyly and winked at her. “What do you mean?” Sunset asked not understranding the sentence. “We heard the good news,” Fluttershy said. “What good news?” Sunset asked confused. “Oh darling, you’ve become so secretive with your personal life,” Rarity teased. “We heard ya’ found a new man ta’ hang out with,” AJ said humbly. “You have a new boyfriend!” Pinkie excitedly and loudly announced. Sunset’s look of confusion turned to one of nervousness. “You found out?” “Oh yes. Congradulations, darling,” Rarity said. “Is he cool?” Rainbow asked excitedly. “We should all throw a party to celebrate!” Pinkie said shooting confetti from her sleeves. “When were you thinking of introducing us to him?” AJ asked. “I don’t know. He doesn’t have a lot of time to meet other people,” Sunset said nervously. “Well, I’m sure he’d like to meet us,” Rainbow said confidently. “We’re your friends after all.” Sunset looked up at a clock on a wall and it seemed to make her more nervous. “Sorry girls. I really need to get going. Goodbye.” With that, she darted down the hallway towards the school entrance leaving the Five confused. “What’s up with her?” Rainbow asked. “She looked like she was in a hurry,” Fluttershy said. “I bet she’s going someplace to meet up with her new boyfriend,” Pinkie excitedly guessed. “I say we should follow her and see if it’s true,” Rainbow suggested. “Is that really a good idea?” Fluttershy asked skeptically. “Absolutely,” Rainbow confidently replied. “What could possibly go wrong?” “Ah’ don’t know,” AJ skeptically said. “Ah’ have a bad feelin’ about this.” Sunset was walking at a fast pace down the sidewalk of a neighborhood. She was heading someplace, and judging be the nervous look on her face, she needed to get there fast. “I hope I’m not too late,” She said to herself. “If I’m late, Zak won’t be too happy.” After a while, she came to a house that looked like it was in need of a paint job. She was about to walk across the yard to the door when she heard a noise behind her. She turned around to find the Five standing in the middle of the sidewalk with big excited smiles on their faces. “What are you doing here?” Sunset asked nervously sweating. “You left so quickly,” Fluttershy explained. “We became concerned, so we followed you.” “So his name is Zak?” Rainbow asked. “That’s a cool name.” “And this is his place?” Pinkie asked staring at the house in front of them. “I must say, it could really do with a new coat of paint,” Rarity said examining the house. “What do you think? Cerulean?” “You shouldn’t be here,” Sunset anxiously told them while trying not to raise her voice too much. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?” Applejack asked concerned. “Havin’ a new boyfriend isn’t somethin’ ta’ be embarrassed about isn’t?” “It’s… it’s just-” “Sunset!” came a loud and unpleasant voice from the house. They all turned to see a young man, probably in his early twenties, wearing long dark blue pants with chains, black boots, a black leather jacket, and sunglasses standing in the doorway. He looked to be a head taller than Sunset. He had dark red hair and tan skin, and was smoking a cigarette. He was also accompanied by two other guys; one was skinnier and shorter with spiky green hair, lip piercings, and wore similar clothing. The other was a little more portlier, wearing sneakers, black pants, a sleeveless t-shirt, and a cap. None of them looked very happy. “Oh… hi, Zak,” Sunset nervously walked up and greeted the middle guy. “I’m here.” “You’re late,” He replied angrily. “Only by three minutes,” She said sheepishly. Then she covered her mouth as if realizing she just said something she shouldn’t had said. “Excuse me?!” Zak asked raising his voice as he came closer to Sunset until he was towering over her. She trembled under his gaze. “Do you know what can happen in the short time of three minutes?” As Sunset struggled to come up with an acceptable responce, he turned his attention to the five girls staring nervously from the sidewalk. “Who the hell are these bimbos?” The girls were utterly offended by his question. “They’re my friends from CHS,” Sunset answered him. “I don’t remember telling you to bring anyone with you,” He scolded. “I know,” Sunset desperately tried to explain. “It’s just, they found out about us and got excited. So they followed me-” before Sunset could finish her explanation, Zak took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew a little smoke into her face causing her to cough and cover her eyes. “I don’t give a shit,” He told her in a threatening tone and grabbed the collar of her shirt. “If I tell you to get here on a certain time, then you’d better hell get here. I don’t care what obstacles you think you have to face, and I don’t want any of your shitty excuses. Understand?” “Y... yes, sir,” Sunset timidly agreed. Her eyes were etched with fear as he held her. “Good,” Zak said releasing her shirt. “Now get in there. Some of the other guys arrived earlier and there’s a pile of dishes on the table, so get to work.” “Better be quick about it,” The slim guy at the door said with a snicker. “You don’t want to upset him anymore than you already have,” The portly guy chuckled. “Right,” Sunset replied obiediantly and miserably. Zak shoot the five other girls a cold glare before closing the door. The Five all stood on the sidewalk in utter shock. Sunset’s new boyfriend was not what they all thought he would be, not at all.
Chapter 4It was another day at Canterlot High. Another glum day. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack were walking down one of the school hallways. They all looked very miserable because they were unable to convince Sunset Shimmer to breakup with Zak the other day. Despite Sunset’s denials, it was painfully obvious he was abusing her. Also, they hadn’t seen Sunset anywhere today, and they were growing more concerned by the hour. Just then, they saw Vice Principal Luna enter the hallway and signal for them with her hand. “Girls, I’m glad I found you,” Luna said. “Principal Celestia would like for you all to come to her office.” “Is something wrong?” Fluttershy nervously asked. “We’re not sure yet. There’s someone who would like to speak with all of you.” Luna led the five girls to her sister’s office. When they entered, Celestia was sitting at her desk and a slender man with a groomed moustache and beard, wear a suit and glasses was sitting in a chair facing the principal’s desk. “Girls, this is Dr. Shrink,” Celestia introduced the man. “He would like to talk with you all.” “Thank you, Celestia,” Dr. Shrink said before turning to the five girls. “You are all friends of Sunset Shimmer, am I right?” “We are,” Fluttershy answered. “How do you know Sunset?” Applejack curiously asked. “I’m her therapist,” Dr. Shrink answered. The five girls dropped their jaws in surprise. “Since when has Sunset been going to therapy?” Rainbow asked in disbelief. “Since the beginning of the New Year,” Dr. Shrink calmly answered. “Why would she need to start the New Year with therapy sessions?” Pinkie asked bewildered. “I’m sorry, it’s against my policy to discuss what my patient and I talk about during our sessions with others. Anyway, I’m here to ask you all a couple questions.” “Do they have to do with Sunset?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Yes, they do,” the doctor answered. “At our last session, she seemed really bothered by something but couldn’t find it in her heart to give me all the details. Do any of you know what might’ve happened to her that day?” “Well, we tried to ask her if she could breakup with her new… boyfriend, Zak,” Rarity uneasily answered. “You know about him too, don’t you?” Rainbow asked. “Yes… Unfortunately, I do,” Shrink replied in a bitter-sounding tone. “Well, needless ta say, we weren’t able ta convince her,” AJ said. “Do you know how badly he’s been treating her?” Pinkie asked the therapist. “Yes, I do,” Shrink replied with a sad look on his face. “And I’ve tried talking her into leaving him, but she strongly feels she needs to stay with him.” “That’s loco in the coco!” Pinkie said. “Why on Earth would Sunset want to stay with a jerk like that?” Rainbow asked frustrated. “She’s probably afraid of what he might do if she tries to leave. Am I right?” Rarity asked Shrink. The therapist stared at the girls for a moment before lowering his head and answering. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss my patient’s therapy sessions with anyone.” “It is him, isn’t it?” Rainbow angrily asked, but the doctor did not answer nor looked any of them in the eye. “Is there anything else you need, doctor?” Celestia asked noticing how uneasy the man looked. “No, that’s all I needed to know,” he assured her. “I’ll be leaving now.” He got up from the chair and started walking over to the door. Before exiting the room, he turned to the five girls. He had one last thing to say. “Girls, I can’t tell you everything I know. But I must warn you, sometimes what you think is the problem is not entirely true.” With that, he walked out the door and was gone leaving the five girls confused. “What do you think he meant by that?” Fluttershy asked. “Ah’m not sure,” AJ replied. “Well, we can think about it later,” Rainbow said changing the subject. “Principal Celestia, we haven’t seen Sunset anywhere today. Do you know where she might be?” “As a matter of fact, I think I do,” Celestia answered in a bitter tone. “Earlier this morning, Zak, Sunset Shimmer’s boyfriend, came by my office today to tell me that Sunset wouldn’t be attending school today.” Earlier that morning, Zak was standing in Celestia’s office while she was sitting at her desk and Luna was standing by her side. Needless to say, they weren’t having a very pleasant conversation. “So you see, Sunset’s got some important things to do for me today, so she won’t be attending school today,” Zak said. “I hope you understand.” “But Sunset has an important test in one of her classes today,” Luna argued. “What’s one little test?” Zak replied uncaringly. Luna glared at the young man. “Well, can you at least take some of her class assignments home with you so she can work on them?” Celestia asked him. She had an annoyed look on her face and she was holding a pen in her right hand. Then she handed a couple papers with her left hand. “Here are all the classes she’s taking this semester.” Zak took the papers, looked over them for a moment, then dropped them in a nearby wastebasket. “I can’t be expected to waste my time with this crap, and neither should Sunset.” Celestia and Luna were growing angrier by the second. Never in their careers had they encountered someone so callous and so disrespectful. “Sunset needs this or she’ll fall behind in her classes!” Luna said raising her voice a little. “Not my problem,” Zak uncaringly responded. “She’s your girlfriend! Don’t you care about her future?” Celestia angrily asked squeezing the pen in her hand. “Oh, I know what Sunset’s future will be,” Zak smugly replied. “Trust me, she doesn’t need an education for that.” Then he walked out of the office giving the two women one last triumphant and remorseless grin. SNAP! Luna looked and saw that her sister had gotten so angry and squeezed the pen so hard it broke in her hand. Celestia sat in her chair furiously glaring at her office door with black ink dripping from her right hand and onto her desk. “As you might already know, we’re not too fond of this predicament either,” Luna said bitterly. “Son of a bitch!” Rainbow angrily blurted out shocking the rest of her friends. “Normally we don’t tolerate that kind of language, Miss Dash,” Celestia told the rainbow-haired teenager. “Although in this situation, I think it fits.” “That guy is just awful,” Fluttershy said. “We can’t let Sunset keep hanging out with him.” “We understand your concern, Miss Shy,” Celestia said. “We’ve heard about these kinds of relationships,” Luna added. “And I’m afraid they only get worse.” “Well, then we have do somethin’!” AJ stated. “I’m hope you’re not planning on doing anything rash,” Celestia said with concern. “Of course not,” Rarity assured her. “We’re just going to go over to that dreadful looking house of his and try once again to talk Sunset out of this relationship. There are other alternatives to handling problems besides hostility, darlings.” “I wish we’d realized that earlier during the Anon-a-Miss affair,” Fluttershy glumly said. At hearing this, everyone in the room started feeling very down with remorseful looks on their faces. “Yeah, we made some mistakes that time,” Rainbow admitted. “But we resolved it, and it’s all over now.” “I guess you’re right,” Fluttershy unsurely agreed. “Come on, y’all!” AJ said. “Let’s go talk to Sunset again.” “Good luck, girls,” Celestia said bidding her students farewell as they left her office. “I hope they’re successful in talking Sunset Shimmer out of this unhealthy relationship,” Luna said to her sister. “Me too, Luna,” Celestia replied. “I used to think Sunset was a problematic child, but she was an angel next to this guy,” Luna remarked. “We’ve experienced some bizarre recent things, sister. But somehow, I find this situation very hard to bare,” Celestia said with great concern. “We know happens to people who become trapped in situations like this.” “Yes, we’ve seen cases like these, and don’t end well.” Luna agreed. “Let’s just hope Sunset will be one of the lucky ones.” The five girls arrived at Zak’s house. Rarity was having a hard time trying to stand the outer appearance of the place. The sounds of male laughter and loud rock music could be heard from inside. Fluttershy took a deep breath, nervously walked up to the front door, and gave a few knocks on it. “Hey boss,” one male voice was heard. “I think there’s someone at the door.” “Well crap,” another voice, which they recognized as Zak’s, said. “Sunset, go see what that is.” “Do I have to like this?” a nervous female voice, which they recognized as Sunset Shimmer’s, asked. “Yes! Now go answer it!” Zak yelled angrily. “And be quick about it! Some of the guys still haven’t gotten their beers yet.” “Yeah, better not take too long,” another male voice said in a perverted tone. “Hurry up!” a third male voice demanded. “Okay, I’m going,” Sunset anxiously assured them. The sound of a perverted whistle was also heard. The front door opened slightly to reveal Sunset poking her head out from behind the door. “Girls! What are you doing here?” she asked nervously. “Sunset, we really need to have a talk,” AJ said. “Now’s not the best time,” Sunset nervously replied. “Sunset, we’re worried about you,” Fluttershy said with great concern in her voice. “We heard Zak made you skip school today.” “I’m fine.” “You’re obviously not, darling,” Rarity disagreed. “Your therapist, Dr. Shrink, came by Principal Celestia’s office today.” Sunset stared in surprise for a moment. “So you know about that now?” “Yeah,” Pinkie responded. “Not many people who go to therapy don’t have problems.” “And we think it has something to do with tall, dark, and bossy in there,” Rainbow said angrily. “I assure you I’m fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do,” Sunset said starting to close the door. “No, you’re not fine,” Rainbow said pushing the door wide open before Sunset could close it. The five girls’ jaws dropped in shock and horror at what they saw in front of them now. Sunset was no longer hiding behind the door and they all saw that she was wearing a long white kitchen apron over her front and by the looks of it, nothing else. Sunset blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry girls,” she nervously apologized. “Now’s really not a good time.” With that, she closed the door on the five speechless teens. The sounds of bare footsteps were heard. “Who was it?” Zak’s asked in a demanding tone. “No one,” Sunset nervously answered. “I’ll go get those beers.” “And when you’re done, get back in here and assume the position,” Zak told her. “I’m gonna be needing my footstool soon.” He was followed by the sounds of sadistic and perverted cackling from the other guys in the room. The five girls could only listen with dread as they all realized that this problem was far more serious than they ever expected, and would be a whole lot harder to solve.
Chapter 5The next day, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were sitting together on the steps of the school’s main entrance. They were all still in shock over what they’d seen last night. “Am I the only one who can’t come up with an explanation for what we just saw last night?” Rainbow asked her friends. “Nope, even ah think what we saw couldn’t be interpreted any other way,” Applejack replied. “Look, it’s Sunset,” Fluttershy informed them pointing to their approaching friend. Sunset was wearing her usual attire, but this time she had a pair of sunglasses on. “Hey girls, how’s everything?” Sunset politely asked in a seemingly happy tone as if nothing happened last night. “Are you okay, Sunset?” Rainbow asked suspiciously. “Just fine. Why do ask?” Sunset answered casually. “Last time we saw you, darling, you weren’t exactly decent,” Rarity said. “Oh, I just got out of the shower that’s all,” Sunset said reassuringly. “In an apron?” Rainbow asked suspiciously again. “I couldn’t find any towels, it was the only thing I could find.” “But you didn’t look soaking wet at all,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Sorry girls, I gotta get to class,” Sunset nervously excused herself and walked into the school. “See you later.” Despite Sunset’s claims, the five friends weren’t convince in the slightest that things were okay. In the school cafeteria, the five friends sat down at a table for lunch. They had hoped Sunset would join them but she chose to sit at an empty table all alone instead. It was like she was trying to avoid them. Then they were approached by the Crusaders. “I take y’all are worried about Sunset,” Apple Bloom guessed. “Yeah, there’s something about her that seems out of place,” Fluttershy replied. “We’ve noticed she’s been acting weird too,” Scootaloo said. “It’s like she’s trying to hide something.” “And it’s making us a little worried,” Sweetie Belle added. “Oh, now you’re all concerned about people’s feelings considering what you pulled last season,” Diamond Tiara unpleasantly remarked to the three Crusaders overhearing their conversation. “Six months of detention wasn’t nearly what you deserved,” Silver Spoon bitterly added and left with her friend. Many of the other students shot the Crusaders very angry and threatening glares which the five older girls noticed. “What’s with them?” Pinkie asked. “Although we apologized for our actions,” Apple Bloom sadly explained. “Some people still haven’t forgiven us for the whole Anon-a-Miss thing.” “So that’s what all the teasing and picking on you was about,” AJ said with realization. “I can’t believe I almost forgot how bad that was,” Rarity said. “I promise y’all we’ll have a talk with everyone and clear this up,” AJ promised. “We appreciate that, but right now we’re more worried about Sunset,” Sweetie Belle said. “Do you think it has something to do with that dirt bag she’s been hanging around with?” Scootaloo asked. “Most definitely,” Rainbow answered with bitter absolution. “Have you tried talking her into breaking up with him?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yes, but she won’t listen,” Fluttershy answered. “Maybe she’s to talk with somebody else,” Applejack said getting an idea. “And ah know just the person. Come on y’all, let’s go see the principal.” The Five and the Crusaders left the cafeteria and headed straight to Principal Celestia’s office. Twenty minutes later, a request by Vice Principal Luna over the school speakers was heard. “Sunset Shimmer, please report to the principal’s office.” Later, Sunset Shimmer arrived at the principal’s office and sat in a chair facing Celestia’s desk. Both Celestia and Luna found it strange to see Sunset wearing a pair of sunglasses. The Five and the Crusaders were outside the door waiting and trying to see if they could listen in on the conversation inside. “Sunset Shimmer, do you know why you’re here?” Celesita asked. “No, I haven’t done anything wrong. Have I?” Sunset nervously asked. “No, you’re here because your friends and other students have been voicing their concerns about you.” “But I’m fine, really,” Sunset assured them. “Miss Shimmer, you are obviously not fine,” Luna argued. “Your grades have been dropping and you haven’t been very social with anyone. For goodness sake, you’ve been going to therapy.” “I have a lot of stressful issues and Zak needs me for a few things,” Sunset tried to come up with an excuse. “What kind of things?” Luna asked suspiciously. “You know, things,” Sunset nervously tried to come up with something. “Are there any problems between you and Zak?” Celestia asked suspiciously. Ever since she and Luna met Zak, she developed a deep hatred for him. It was clear that this creep didn’t care for the importance of Sunset’s school life. “No, not at all,” Sunset insisted. “He may seem a little rough around the edges but he’s really not that bad.” But Celestia and Luna weren’t convinced. “Can you take off your glasses and look me in the eye when you say that?” Celestia requested. “Well… uh…” Sunset stuttered nervously. For some reason she didn’t want to take off her sunglasses which increased the principal and vice principal’s suspicions. “Please,” Celestia insisted. Sunset let out a defeated sigh. She had no choice. She reluctantly removed the sunglasses from her face. When she did this, both Celestia and Luna’s faces lit up with shock and horror. “Oh My God!” an utterly horrified Celestia exclaimed. Sunset’s right eye was swollen and had a dark color to it. “This isn’t what it looks like,” she tried to say. “Sunset Shimmer, has Zak been hitting you?” Luna asked with a very upset look on her face. “No, it was an accident,” she tried to deny, but this didn’t convince the two sisters in the slightest. “Sunset, it’s painfully obvious to everyone here at CHS that you’re in some trouble,” Celestia tried to reason with her. “But we can’t help you unless you open up and ask us to. So please, talk to us. You can trust us, can’t you?” Sunset thought for a moment, then she seemed like she wanted to say something. But then she changed her mind. “I… I can’t,” she said with tears flowing from her eyes. Then she got out of her seat, left the principal’s office, and ran down the hallway past her friends sobbing. When Sunset ran past her friends, they all managed to get a good look at her face and saw the black eye. Their faces were etched with horror. Rainbow’s face slowly formed into one of absolute fury. Now they knew Sunset Shimmer was being physically abused. They all walked into the principal’s office to find Celestia with her face buried in her hands. She had failed to help a student and she wasn’t taking it well. “Okay, we all know what’s goin’ on, right?” Applejack asked to see if everyone was on the same page. Everyone nodded their heads ‘yes’. “We can’t let this piece of shit keep treating Sunset like this,” Rainbow angrily declared. “Shouldn’t we tell the police about what he’s doing to her?” Fluttershy suggested. “I’m afraid they can’t do anything unless Sunset files the report herself,” Luna sadly told them. “She won’t do it. She’s probably scared of what Zak will do if she does,” Rainbow said. “And personally, I don’t blame her,” Rarity added. “Come on, we gotta go talk to her,” AJ said leading her four friends out of the principal’s office. At Sugarcube Café, Sunset was sitting at an outside table drinking a smoothie. She looked absolutely miserable and received a lot of concerned looks from people who passed by her noticing her black eye. Then she noticed her friends had arrived and approached the table she was sitting at. They looked at her with concern written across their faces. “If you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about this,” Sunset said covering her black eye with her hand. “Sunset, please talk to us,” Fluttershy pleaded. “I may be good at sensing when someone isn’t happy, but even everyone else can see you’re not happy as clear as frosting on a cake,” Pinkie said. “You’re obviously not doing well, darling,” Rarity added. “If you just tell us what Zak is doing to you then we can help,” Rainbow insisted. “This ‘relationship’ you have with Zak is causing you more pain than a rattlesnake bite in the desert on a hot summer day,” AJ said. “It’s just a developing relationship, I can deal with it,” Sunset insisted. “Besides, I’ve had worse pain.” “Since when?” Rainbow asked confused. But before Sunset could answer, a very familiar and unpleasant voice called her name. “Sunset!” Everyone turned to see a car had parked near where they were and out of the vehicle came Zak and his two cohorts from before; Chunk, the portly one, and Scratch, the slim one. “What the fuck is taking you so long?” Zak asked in an angry tone. “Sorry Zak,” Sunset nervously apologized and got up from her seat. “I’m ready to go now.” “Hey Zak!” Rainbow called to him getting his attention. She and the other four all had bitter looks on their faces. “We’ve got something we need to say to you!” “Sunset, get in the car,” Zak commanded his girlfriend while glaring at her five friends. “Zak, there’s no need to do anything here,” Sunset nervously tried to talk him into just leaving with her. She sensed what was about to happen, she didn’t want to see an unpleasant confrontation between her friends and her new boyfriend. “Let’s just leave and-” But before Sunset could finish, Zak grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. “I said get in the car!” he threateningly ordered her and then released her. Sunset obediently did as she was told. Watching Zak threaten their friend like that made the Five’s anger increase even more. “So what the hell do you want?” Zak asked impatiently. “We want you to leave Sunset alone,” Rainbow told him. “She’s very unhappy,” Pinkie said. “And she doesn’t need a brute like you making it worse,” Rarity added. As the girls voiced their complaints, Zak’s impatient glare slowly formed into a smug and malicious smile. “Aw! Isn’t this cute, boys?” he mockingly asked his two cohorts. “They’re all concerned.” Both Chunk and Scratch started chuckling mockingly which made the girls even angrier. “Don’t you even care how Sunset feels?” Fluttershy asked trying to find at least one shred of humanity in that mess. “Listen, I don’t need a group of pitiful lonely skanks telling me how to treat my property,” Zak argued. “Property?!” Rarity exclaimed utterly appalled. “Sunset Shimmer is not your property!” AJ angrily declared. “She’s a person!” “What kind of creep treats someone who cares for them so cruelly?!” Pinkie asked angrily. This made Zak let out a small sadistic chuckle. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?!” “What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked confused. But her question was ignored. “Well, if you’re all that concerned, perhaps I could hook you up with some of my boys,” Zak mockingly suggested. “Chunk, Scratch, what do you think?” “Sounds good to me, boss,” Chunk agreed. “Yeah, give the rest of us a chance at some lovin’,” Scratch mockingly said licking his lips in a perverted manner. The five girls stood there glaring furiously as the thugs mocked and laughed at them. “Look ladies,” Zak said in a faux affable and threatening tone. “I don’t know exactly what feelings you have for my girl and I don’t really care. But I don’t ever want to see you talking to her again. Although, my offer for you to join us is still open. So if you ever change your minds, you know where to find me.” Zak walked back to his car and hopped in with a smug smile on his face. As his two cohorts got in, Scratch shot the five girls a sadistic grin and a very foul hand sign. The Five watched furiously as the car with their poor friend took off. “FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Rainbow yelled after them. It was clear that something was keeping Sunset from leaving Zak and Zak wasn’t going to let go of Sunset anytime soon. They needed a new plan to try and save their friend from this horribly toxic relationship.
Chapter 6That night, Sunset Shimmer was at Zak’s house cleaning dishes in the kitchen sink while he and his friends were enjoying themselves in the other room. While she was drying a drinking glass, she accidentally dropped it. It shattered into many tiny pieces when it hit the floor. The accident triggered a flashback of when her friends brutally accused her of being Anon-a-Miss and mercilessly abandoned her. When the flashback ended, Sunset staggered back a little and began shedding tears. She hadn’t noticed that Zak was standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette and had witnessed the entire thing, down to the last detail. Instead of flying into a rage and start yelling and hitting her like he usually did, a sinister grin formed on his face. He knew exactly what just happened and this gave him an idea. He walked into the kitchen toward Sunset until she finally noticed him. “Zak?” Sunset said surprised and nervous. “It… it was an accident. I didn’t mean-” “Looks like you were having one of those episodes again,” Zak said in a surprisingly calm tone. Sunset knew that whenever he spoke calmly, which was very rare, it meant he was up to something. “Yes,” Sunset politely and nervously replied. “Yes, I did.” “Your therapist says that’s a problem,” Zak stated. “Well, I know just the treatment to help get your little mind off those troubling things.” Then he took her hand and led her into the living room. His grip wasn’t too tight but not too gentle either. It was strong enough just to let her know he wanted her to come. “Guys, my girl’s had one of her episodes again,” Zak told his gang members. “Scratch, get the stuff.” “With pleasure,” Scratch said with a devious chuckle that promised something malicious and got out of his chair to get something from another room. A moment later, he returned with a syringe, and it appeared to be filled with some kind of yellowish liquid. “What is that?” Sunset asked nervously staring at the syringe. “You could say it’s your medicine,” Zak answered her with a sinister smile on his face. “Now take it if you want to feel better.” Knowing that it was a bad idea not to do as he said, Sunset walked over to Scratch and rolled up the sleeve of her right arm allowing Scratch to insert the syringe into her exposed flesh. Sunset cringed in pain as the needle pierced her skin. Scratch slowly pushed down on the needle’s plunger and injected the strange liquid into Sunset’s arm. She began to feel strange and dizzy. Her perspective of reality was becoming distorted, the world around her began to spin and flow like waves at the ocean. Her ability to think like a young adult began to decrease. Sunset collapsed on her hands and knees letting out heavy uncomfortable groans much to the pleasure and satisfaction of Zak and Scratch. “Where am I?” Sunset asked nauseous and confused. “Who’s there?” “It’s ‘daddy’, baby,” Zak replied with a sadistic grin. “Daddy?” Sunset responded. “Daddy!” She wrapped her arms affectionately around Zak’s legs. She was acting and sounding like a little child. “That’s right, baby. Daddy’s here,” Zak said smugly rubbing her head as if she were a dog. “Good girl.” “Looks like it’s working, boss,” Scratch commented. “Yes, if we keep pumping her with that shit she’ll eventually become perfect,” Zak said with a sinister chuckle as he continued petting Sunset’s head who was still high on what they forced into her. The rest of Zak’s gang started laughing with him. The next day at CHS, the Five and the Crusaders were all sitting together at a table in the cafeteria during lunch with very glum expressions on their faces. The girls had allowed their younger sisters to sit with them to make sure that they weren’t harassed by anyone who was still sore about the Anon-a-Miss incident. Fluttershy was comforting Scootaloo who had received a black eye from an angry student earlier that day. But what they all wanted most of all was to get Sunset Shimmer out of her toxic relationship with Zak. But they were running low on ideas. Then they were approached by Flash Sentry, who was accompanied by Micro Chips, Sandalwood, Snips, Snails, the Diamond Boys, and Bulk Biceps. “I take you’re all upset about Sunset,” Flash guessed reading the unhappy looks on their faces. “We pride ourselves on our abilities to solve problems,” Applejack said. “But we’re at the end of our rope and not gettin’ anywhere.” “We’ve tried talking with Sunset and even Zak,” Fluttershy explained. “But for some reason she feels she has to stay with him and he’s going to keep remorselessly yelling and beating her nonstop. Who knows what else he might do to her next.” “Do any of you remember the old days when some punk would cause a girl at our school trouble and some of us guys would get together and kick his ass?” Flash asked with a tone that sounded like he was ready for action. “That sounds really satisfying right about now,” Rainbow Dash said with a mischievous grin. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it then,” Rover eagerly suggested. His two companions, Spot and Fido, voiced their agreement. “I always believed violence never solved anything,” a reluctant Fluttershy disagreed. “Well, trying to reason has failed so I honestly think of another alternative,” Rarity said. “Then it’s settled!” Flash declared. “Boys of CHS, this is our time to shine! Tonight, we help Sunset Shimmer!” The other guys cheered in agreement. Flash then led the group out of the cafeteria to begin their plan to liberate Sunset Shimmer from this despicable excuse of a guy. The Five and the Crusaders watched them leave with hope in their eyes. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” a concerned Fluttershy wondered. “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Rainbow confidently replied. “Flash looked like he had a plan,” Rarity added. “We should have faith that he’ll be able to do what we could not.” “He’s got this,” Pinkie said. “Now that the issue with Sunset and Zak is being taken care of, I think we can turn our attention to other important issues,” AJ said turning her attention to the Crusaders. “Like your problems.” “What do you mean?” Apple Bloom asked confused. “Your bully problems, darling,” Rarity answered. The Crusaders suddenly had nervous looks on their faces. This was an issue that they didn’t want to get into. “It’s nothing serious, honestly,” Sweetie Belle insisted. “Yeah, you don’t need to trouble yourselves on our account,” Scootaloo added. “Nonsense,” Pinkie said. “We’re all big sisters to you kids. So if your smiles are turned upside down, it’s our duty to turn them upside up again.” “Come on, just tell us who’s giving you girls trouble and let us help you out,” Rainbow insisted. The Crusaders could see that there was no possibility of talking the five older girls out of this. “Okay,” Apple Bloom reluctantly agreed to let them help. “But ah don’t know what good it’ll do.” “Great!” Rainbow said happily. “Now let’s get this done.” The five friends then started escorting the three younger girls out of the cafeteria. “Just don’t expect this to be easy,” Scootaloo told them. “I think it’s going to be practically impossible,” Sweetie Belle added, but the skepticism of the youngsters was ignored the five confidant teens. The eight girls split up to search around the school for people who’ve been giving the Crusaders a hard time. Each Crusader went with her respective big sister; Apple Bloom with Applejack, Sweetie Belle with Rarity, and Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash. The Apple sisters found a student named Aqua Blossom sitting at a table in the library reading a book. When the sisters approached the table, Aqua turned her attention from her book and looked up at them. Her facial expression made it very clear that she was not happy to see the younger Apple sister. “Hello Aqua Blossom,” AJ greeted her. “Hi Applejack,” Aqua politely replied. “Ah hear you and my sister here have some issues between the two of yah,” AJ said gesturing to her nervous-looking sister. “Her little Anon-a-Miss stunt cost me my relationship with me boyfriend,” Aqua bluntly and bitterly stated. “Well, ah think she has something she’d like to say about that,” AJ said and gestured her sister to step forward and say what she needed to say while giving her a warm supportive smile. For a moment, Apple Bloom became hesitant as she looked into Aqua Blossom’s glaring eyes. But regained a little of her composure after taking a deep breath. “Ah’m very very sorry about what ah did ta you,” Apple Bloom said in her most timid and remorseful tone she could muster. But Aqua continued to glare at her. “There, she apologized. So is everythin’ okay now?” Applejack hopefully asked. Aqua Blossom turned her angry eyes from Apple Bloom to AJ. “Can you and your friends use your magic to rewind time and stop her and her friends from doing what they did last Christmas?” she bitterly asked. “Uh… no. Sorry, our magic doesn’t work like that,” AJ replied honestly and regretfully. “Then just tell her and her little friends to stay the heck away from me.” “But Aqua…” AJ attempted to reason with her but was interrupted. “Their little stunt last year cost me my relationship with the guy I loved,” Aqua said with pain and sadness in her eyes. “I had planned a wonderful party for the two of us on Christmas Eve. But now he’s gone, and no amount of apology is ever going to fix that.” With that, she got up from her seat and walked away leaving the two Apple siblings to think about what she said. Apple Bloom lowered her head in shame while her elder sister placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were in the school gymnasium where they had found a student named Curly Winds was practicing some basketball. The two sisters had interrupted his practice to settle his issues with Sweetie Belle. “And so, now you understand how truly sorry my sister is for what she did,” Rarity confidently said. “So can we put this whole messy business behind us?” “Sorry Rarity,” Curly politely argued. “But because of your sister’s Anon-a-Miss fiasco, I lost my job at the sports store at the mall. Now I have to work at that lousy junk shop run by those two identical low lives. There’s no way I can truly forgive that.” After that, the athlete went back to his basketball practice. Realizing that there was no getting through to him, Rarity was forced to leave with her sad sister. In the hallway, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had met up with a rocker named Cherry Crash and Rainbow seemed to be in a bit of an argument with her. “Come on, Cherry,” Rainbow said. “She said she was sorry, what more do you want?” “All my plans for the holiday were completely ruined by her little stunt,” Cherry argued. “Now you’re still cool in my book, Dash. But your little friend here is not allowed anywhere near me from now on, not after what she and her friends did. Sorry Dash, but that’s final. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m very busy.” The rocker turned and walked down the hallway away from the upset rainbow-haired athlete and her miserable younger companion. Soon school hours had ended for the day, and students started returning home. The Five and the Crusaders were all walking home together. The expressions on their faces were clear indicators that the day had not gone well for them. They had been all over school that day trying to convince many students to resolve their issues with the Crusaders but to no avail. “Did either of you have better luck than us today?” Rainbow asked Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Uh… not exactly,” Pinkie reluctantly admitted. “Sorry,” Fluttershy apologized. “But not a single person we’ve talked to is willing to forgive the girls.” “And it’s all about the whole Anon-a-Miss thing,” Pinkie added. Hearing that, the three Crusaders lowered their heads in shame. “We’re never going to live that down,” Apple Bloom said miserably. “Don’t worry, sugarcube,” AJ said putting a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We’ll just find another way to work this out.” “Yes, where there’s a will there’s a way,” Rarity agreed. “But how?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What we did was unforgiveable,” Scootaloo added. “We forgave you three,” Rarity reminded them. “You’re our sisters, that’s different,” Sweetie Belle said. “Cheer up,” Pinkie said in a warm and friendly tone. “Everything will turn out alright in the end.” “Yeah, we’ll come up with something that’ll convince everyone to put that whole Anon-a-Miss business behind them,” Applejack said confidently. “Yeah, I bet when we’re done you’ll hardly even remember that whole thing,” Rainbow supportively agreed. There was a small moment of silence. The five older girls had confident and supportive looks on their faces as if waiting for the three younger girls to show their approval and happiness for their plan. However, their reactions were quite the opposite. “That’s horrible!” Apple Bloom said visibly disgusted. The Five were completely surprised by this unexpected reaction. “But don’t y’all want to put Anon-a-Miss behind yah?” a confused AJ asked. “Yeah, but it’s never gonna happen,” Scootaloo answered. “And trying to forget about it is not the answer,” Sweetie Belle added. “But Sweetie Belle-” Rarity tried to reason with her sister. “Listen, we all appreciate what yer tryin’ ta do fer us but here’s some advice,” Apple Bloom spoke in a serious tone. “We damaged a lot of lives with our little Anon-a-Miss stunt, and it’s not the kind of damage you can simply kiss or put a Band-Aid on and everythin’ll feel better. And our reasons for doing it might sound understandable ta you, but they were completely selfish to everyone else. The only thin’ worse than causing that kind of pain, is ta avert yer eyes from it.” “When you really hurt someone, don’t ever forget them or what you did to them,” Sweetie Belle added. “Because we promise you they’ll never forget it,” Scootaloo concluded. The Five stood stunned and speechless by the Crusaders’ words. Neither of them knew how to respond to that. “Please don’t worry about us,” Apple Bloom insisted. “You five have more important things to be concerned about,” Scootaloo said. The Crusaders started walking ahead of the Five who followed about ten feet behind leaving them to think about what was said to them. The three little girls’ words had made the Five feel something that they couldn’t say why they were feeling it, and that thing was guilt. Was it guilt for being unable to help their younger sisters or was it something else? The next morning, the Five had returned to CHS and were walking down the hallway when they spotted Flash Sentry looking through his locker. Smiles formed on their faces as they hoped that his being here might bring them some good news. They rushed over to speak with him. “Flash! Boy, are we happy to see you again,” Rainbow said excitedly as she and the others got closer. “So how did it go with Sunse-” but before she could finish her sentence, Flash closed his locker and revealed himself fully to the girls. Instantly, their excited smiles changed to looks of horror. Flash’s face did not look good at all. His right eye was dark and swollen and he had a large cotton gauze taped to his left cheek. “Flash, what happened?” Rarity asked concerned. “I’m sorry, girls,” Flash apologized in a broken tone of voice full of despair while lowering his head in shame. “I failed.” Author's Note Next chapter will show exactly what happened to Flash.
Chapter 7Last Night: Flash Sentry and his team (consisting of Bulk Biceps, Snips, Snails, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, the Diamond Boys, a fashionista named Scott Green, and a drama boy named Nolan North) were all walking along the sidewalk toward Zak’s house. Their plan was to free Sunset Shimmer from his cruel grasp. Since the Five were getting nowhere in trying to breakup this toxic relationship, these boys decided it was time to take matters into their own hands. Flash was especially eager to save Sunset, since she was his ex-girlfriend and although he didn’t admit it deep down he still had some feelings for her. “So what’s the plan?” Rover asked ready for action. “I’ll go in alone for now, the rest of you hang back and watch,” Flash said. “A full-on brawl is the last thing anyone wants.” “Speak for yourself,” Spot remarked clutching his right fist. “I need to try and talk to Sunset first,” Flash continued. “She needs to know how concerned everyone is about her and that she needs to leave that creep. All of you hang back and observe for now. But if things start getting ugly, then jump in. Okay?” “Got it,” the rest of the boys agreed. “Okay, here I go,” Flash said beginning to separate from the group who stopped walking till they were at least twenty feet from the house. “Wish me luck.” Flash walked up to the door of the creepy old house, took a deep breath, and knocked on it. After a moment, it opened a little to reveal Sunset Shimmer. “Flash?!” Sunset said surprised. “What are you doing here?” “I was concerned about you,” he answered with a warm and concerned expression on his face. “I wanted to see if you were okay.” “Well as you can see, I’m doing fine,” Sunset politely reassured him. “Sorry, but you should leave. Zak doesn’t like uninvited visitors.” “That’s what I want to talk to you about, Sunset,” Flash said with a serious expression on his face. “Flash please,” Sunset pleaded. “Whatever it is, we can—” “Hey!” came Zak’s unpleasant voice. “What the hell is taking you so long, Sunset?” Then Zak appeared at the end of the hall behind Sunset. He looked very annoyed as he walked toward them. Sunset backed up against the wall to avoid bumping into him and making him even angrier. Zak stopped when he reached them and glared at Flash. “Who’s this fuck?” “He’s a friend from school,” Sunset answered timidly. “What’s your name?” Zak asked Flash in a seemingly polite tone as his glare formed into a menacing smile. “I said ‘what’s your name?’!” he repeated the question more aggressively. “Flash… Sentry,” Flash nervously answered. This was the first time he met Sunset’s new boyfriend, and he was already making him feel uneasy. He could tell just by looking at him that he didn’t have any humane qualities. “He’s a nice guy, Zak,” Sunset said hoping to lighten the mood a little. “Shut the fuck up!” Zak responded threateningly. Seeing him threaten Sunset like that in front of him already started to make Flash’s blood boil. Zak turned his attention back to Flash with that sick smile on his face. “Wanna go for a ride?” “No thanks,” Flash politely replied trying to hide his anger. “No thanks?!” Zak said sounding surprised. “What does that mean?” “I don’t want to go.” “Go where?” “For a ride. I don’t want to go for a ride.” “A ride! Yeah, let’s go for a little ride,” Zak said grabbing Flash by the shoulder. It was clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Me and the boys were just on our way out and we could use some more company to make things more fun. Right boys?” At the end of the hall, Scratch and Chunk were there voicing their agreement. “Yeah, call the rest of the gang and tell them to meet us at the Nightmare Moon Bar,” he ordered his men. “You, get in the car,” he ordered Sunset who obediently did as she was told. “Come on, let’s all go for a ride.” He then started dragging Flash to his car by his shoulder. Outside, Flash’s group watched from behind a large tree in the front yard of another house two houses away and saw Zak and his two cohorts coming out of the house with Sunset and Flash. All five of them got in the car that was parked next to the sidewalk in front of the house and then took off. “What should we do now?” Snips asked. “Follow them,” Micro Chips replied and started stealthily pursuing the moving vehicle with the other boys following right behind him. Later on, Zak, his goons, Sunset, and Flash all arrived at the Nightmare Moon Bar (a bar that was open all night long) where they met up with the rest of Zak’s gang. They were all having drinks, playing pool and darts, and some were laughing and making bets while two drunk members got into a brawl. Sunset and Flash were the only ones that didn’t look like they were having fun. The two were forced to sit at a table with Zak, Scratch, and Chunk. They were spending most of the time listening to Zak talk about disgusting, disrespectful, and embarrassing things about Sunset, getting back at people who owe him money, or other horrible things he and his gang did to people mostly for fun. “And so if that dipshit who runs the Sugarcube Café doesn’t pay up by next week, me and the boys will go over there, knock out a few of his teeth, and vandalize the place a bit. Sounds like a pretty fun idea doesn’t it?” Zak said with a cackle. Scratch and Chunk both cackled with him. However, Sunset and Flash looked very disturbed by this. “By the way, I heard you and my girl here used to be an item.” This made both Flash and Sunset become very nervous. The neutral look on his face made hard to tell if he was angry. “Did you ever ‘check out’ your ex carefully? Cause I sure did!” Then he and his two thugs started laughing like hysterical hyenas while a clearly embarrassed Sunset just stared at the ground. “Can we please talk about something else?” Flash politely asked noticing how uncomfortable Sunset looked. “Why? Everyone looks like they’re having a good time,” Zak argued. Then Sunset got up from her seat. Zak immediately grabbed her arm in a tight grip. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked threateningly. “I was just going to use the bathroom,” Sunset nervously replied. “Be quick about it,” Zak ordered and released her arm. Sunset walked to the other end of the bar where the restrooms where located. Once she was out of sight, Zak turned his attention back to his unwilling guest. “Girls, you know what I mean?” Inside the restroom, Sunset leaned against the sink and stared into the mirror above it. She looked very stressed and the way Zak and his gang were treating her in front of her ex wasn’t helping at all. She stared at her miserable-looking reflection in the mirror for a moment. But then reflections of the Five suddenly appeared standing behind her with angry expressions on their faces. “Secret stealer!” the Pinkie reflection said with venom in her voice. Startled, Sunset spun around and saw that there was no one there. Taking some deep heavy breathes, Sunset turned back around, turned on the sink faucet, started splashing water in her face to help calm herself down. Back outside, Zak was finishing a very ‘informational’ conversation with Flash. “So you see, Flash. Women are like dogs. If you don’t train them right, they will never learn obedience. I mean, imagine what how difficult it would be to have a disobedient bitch in your home that just does whatever it wants whenever it wants.” “You’d need a shit-ton of newspaper,” Scratch remarked causing everyone at the table, except Flash, to burst into hysterical laughter. Flash just sat in his seat quietly glaring at Zak. The only useful thing he learned from this conversation was that this guy did not respect Sunset, or women in general, at all. Never in all his life had Flash met such a disgusting, amoral, and cruel excuse of a human being such as this guy. Flash felt like he might go crazy if he continued to hang around this guy and his gang any longer. “Where the hell is she?!” Zak said becoming impatient. Sunset had been in the restroom for a little over a minute. “See what I mean?!” “There she is,” Chunk said spotting Sunset coming through the bathroom door. “Watch and learn from the master,” Zak said proudly and got up from his seat and started walking towards Sunset. As soon as he got to her, he tightly grabbed her left arm. “Where the hell were you?! I thought I told you to ‘be quick’!” he threatened her. “I… I…” she stammered nervously. “Ow!” she yelled as Zak began to painfully twist her arm. “My boys and I do so much for you and you continue to repay our kindness like this!” Zak viciously scolded. “Is a little obedience too fucking much to ask?!” “Please Zak, you’re hurting me!” Sunset pleaded for him to stop twisting her arm. But he only twisted it more. “Leave her alone!” Flash suddenly yelled unable to take it anymore. Instantly, everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing and turned their attention completely on Flash. They all stared at him as if he just sprouted a second head and challenged God. “What was that?!” Zak hissed glaring at Flash. “I said ‘leave her alone!’” Flash repeated himself getting out of his seat and marching towards Zak. The rocker glared at the gang leader with threatening angry eyes. “You already had your chance with her, dickhead. So fuck off!” Zak viciously retorted. Then his furious glare turned to a disturbing malicious grin. “Besides, I’ve bigger things to give her than you ever did. Why else do you think we’re still together?” Then in a cruel act of spite, he twisted Sunset’s arm even more, all the while staring at Flash with a sadistic grin on his face. “AAAAHHHHH!” Sunset cried in pain as her arm was twisted. Unable to stand it anymore, Flash snapped and in the blink of an eye threw his right fist right in the middle of Zak’s face causing him to let go of Sunset’s arm and land on his back. Everyone in the bar gasped and stared in shock at what the young rocker just did. “Flash!” a horrified Sunset said. She stared at him as if he just pissed off an angry lion. The tension increased as Zak started getting back on his feet. The gang leader had his right hand over his face covering everything below his eyes. Blood dripped through his fingers. He glared at Flash with murder in his eyes. “You piece of shit!” Zak hissed furiously. “Looks me and the boys need to teach you a little lesson!” Suddenly, Scratch and Chunk grabbed both of Flash’s arms restraining him and preventing him from defending himself. “Take him out back,” Zak ordered his goons. “No Zak!” Sunset cried and grabbed his right arm. “He didn’t mean it! It wasn’t his fault! Please let him go!” she desperately pleaded. SMACK! Sunset’s pleas were given their response when Zak freed his arm from her grasp and backhanded her across the face. Witnessing this made Flash’s blood boil even more than it already was. “Restrain her,” Zak ordered another one of his gang members who got Sunset in a full nelson. “Stupid bitch.” Zak and his gang dragged both Flash and Sunset outside through the backdoor of the bar. Most of the gang held Flash while Zak was preparing to give him the most brutal beat down of his life. Poor Sunset was held back and being forced to watch. “You got guts doing something like this to me,” Zak said pointing to his bloody nose. “And now I’m going to see if I can knock them out through your mouth.” Suddenly, he upper cutted his right fist right into Flash’s stomach causing the rocker’s eyes grow wide and groan in pain. Then he followed that up with a harder uppercut with his left arm, then another with his right, and then his left again. Each blow was harder than the last. Soon he started kicking Flash in the torso knocking the wind out of him. His gang all cheered him on as he beat the living crap out of the defenseless high school student. “PLEASE STOP IT!” Sunset desperately cried with tears dripping from her eyes. “SHUT UP!” Zak yelled back at her. Then he grabbed the collar of Flash’s jacket with his left hand and started repeatedly punching him in the face with his right. Eventually, he stopped and the rocker had a big swollen black eye and blood was dripping from his nose and mouth. “And now…” Zak said with an evil grin as he reached into his right pocket and pulled out s switchblade. “Let’s put a smile on that face of yours.” “NOOO!” Sunset screamed as Zak started to cut Flash’s left cheek. “Hold it right there!” a nerdy-sounding voice suddenly yelled. Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and turned to see another group of boys standing twenty feet from them. The group turned out to be the other guys Flash had brought along with him, and by the looks of it, they were done sticking to the shadows and were ready for a fight. “I’d let go of our friends if I were you guys,” Nolan North said. “YEEAAHH!” Bulk Biceps followed up brandishing his fists. Zak’s gang immediately let go of Flash who quickly walked over to join his companions. “Woah! Flash, you look terrible, dude,” Sandalwood said examining his friend’s injuries. “It’s okay. I might’ve looked even worse if you guys hadn’t shown up when you did,” Flash assured him. “I think now would be okay for a full-on brawl,” Rover said. Both groups got ready to fight. Zak’s gang pulled out various deadly-looking weapons like chains, knives, brass knuckles, and a few of them actually had guns. Sunset was still held back and watched anxiously and helplessly as both sides prepared for combat. She silently prayed for something to stop this before it even began. With the weapons and ruthlessness Zak’s gang had, Flash’s group would surely suffer. “Shall we fuck them up, boss?” Chunk eagerly asked Zak. “Taking down these pussies will be fun,” Scratch added with sadistic excitement in his voice. “No,” Zak whispered to his two cohorts. “I’d love to teach these dumb fucks who they’re dealing with. Unfortunately, it’s not part of the job.” “Then what do we do?” Scratch quietly asked. Zak thought for a moment. Then he got an idea. “Stand down, boys,” he ordered his gang who did as they told with surprised and confused expressions on their faces. Flash’s group looked just as surprised and confused as them. Were they giving up? What was Zak up to? “I have a better idea.” Then he walked over to his restrained girlfriend. “Okay Sunset, I’ll give you three minutes to clear out these bastards. Three minutes or, well, you know what the worst thing in the world is,” Zak told her with a sinister smile. Instantly, Sunset’s facial expression turned to one of absolute horror. She knew what he was talking about. Flash also noticed how scared Sunset looked. It was apparent that Zak was holding something over her. “I’ll do it,” Sunset nervously complied. “I’ll get them to leave.” “Good,” Zak said satisfied and snapped his fingers. The thug holding Sunset released her and she walked over to confront Flash and his group. “You guys really need to leave,” Sunset politely told the boys from CHS. “You’ve caused enough trouble already.” “Sunset, we’re just trying to help,” Flash said. “How? By causing fights?” Sunset argued. “He started it,” Flash argued back. “I was only standing up for you.” “Did the girls put you up to this? Because if they did, please tell them to stop meddling. I’m perfectly fine!” “No, you’re not! He’s hurting you!” The intensity of the argument was increasing. “It’s obvious to everyone. Why do you continue to hang around and defend that son of a bitch?” “Look, I know things look a little rough, but I keep telling everyone all I can handle myself. But you make things worse the more you try to butt in.” “What happened to you? The old you never would’ve let anyone push you around like that!” The moment those words left Flash’s lips, the rocker immediately covered his mouth with both hands realizing he might’ve said the absolute wrong thing to say in this argument. Many of Flash’s companions gasped in shock when they heard him say that last sentence, Zak grinned with satisfaction realizing that things were going in his favor, and a very hurt-looking expression formed on Sunset’s face. Flash definitely didn’t think before speaking. “I guess some things never do change after all,” Sunset said in a heartbroken tone and lowered her head in sadness. Tears started to form in her eyes again. It seemed to her that she would never be free of her wretched past. “Sunset,” Flash said in a gentler and more calm tone. He was clearly regretting the choice of words he used. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I know Zak’s holding something over you, but no one can help you unless you let us.” “You don’t understand,” Sunset somberly replied. “I don’t think any of you truly understand the situation here.” “What’s wrong?” Flash asked confused. Sunset got closer and started whispering something into his ear. By the time she was finished, Flash’s face was etched with shock and horrific realization. Whatever Sunset just told him, it made him look like he committed a very terrible crime. “Sunset… I… I…” he stammered trying to speak, but the newfound guilt was eating away at his insides preventing him from speaking clearly. “Please, just forget about me,” Sunset said with great sadness. “I’m sorry things couldn’t had been better between us.” Then she turned and rejoined Zak’s group. “I’ve talked to them. They’ll never bother you ever again.” “Excellent!” Zak said with satisfaction. “Now let’s go back inside and drink a few more rounds.” The rest of his gang cheered triumphantly as they and a sad Sunset all went back into the bar leaving Flash and his friends outside cold, confused, and feeling utterly defeated. “What the hell just happened?!” Rover exclaimed unsatisfied. “Could someone explain to me what just happened,” a clueless Snails asked. “Well, that could’ve gone better,” Scott Green bitterly remarked. “So what’s next plan?” Sandalwood asked Flash. “There is no next plan,” he replied with a voice full of sorrow. “WHAT?!” the other boys all exclaimed. “So we’re NOT going to try and help Sunset Shimmer?!” Snips asked confused and unhappy. “No, we’re not,” Flash replied turning to face them with a bruised and beaten face filled with guilt and devoid of hope. “We can’t.” Then he walked past them and started heading off into the night. He looked so broken and defeated. “See you all at school tomorrow.” “So we’re just going to give up?!” Bulk asked with tears in his eyes. “We had our chance to help that girl, and we missed it. A long time ago,” he replied not even bothering to look back. Present Day: Flash had met up with the Five and had told them everything that had happened to him last night, except what Sunset had whispered to him. He figured it would be best if Sunset had the chance to tell them that herself. The cut on his left cheek was covered by a large gauze, but his right eye was still dark and swollen. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Flash,” Fluttershy said sympathetically. “So you’re not going to try and help Sunset again?!” Rainbow Dash said disappointed. “Whatever happened to ‘Boys of CHS, this is our time to shine’?” “This whole thing is worse than you think,” Flash sadly told them. “You don’t know the true reason behind Sunset Shimmer’s pain.” “The reason is a big wretched excuse of a human being named Zak,” Rarity said bitterly. “Plain and simple.” “But girls-” Flash tried to reason with them, but it was no use. “We appreciate that you tried ta help, Flash,” Applejack said. “But it looks like it’s still up ta us ta help our friend.” “Thanks for trying,” Pinkie expressed her gratitude. “But what’ll we do?” Fluttershy asked. “Sunset won’t listen to us.” “Don’t worry, ah have an idea,” Applejack announced. “Let’s all meet after classes then ah can explain everything.” With that, she and the rest of her friends left to go to their classes confident that they’d be successful this time. However, Flash watched them all leave with a face filled with doubt and pity. They had no idea what was really going on or what they were getting themselves into. “You know what’s really wrong with Sunset, don’t ya?” asked a pitiful voice that was revealed to be Apple Bloom joined by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They all shared the same facial expression he had. “We figured it out,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’m afraid this whole thing is doomed to end in tears,” Flash said sadly. “And it’s our fault,” Scootaloo remorsefully concluded. Author's Note Well, it appears Flash and the Crusaders know what's really going on. When the Five finally find out, it will break them.
Chapter 8 (Edited 6/9/18)Zak, a gang leader and Sunset Shimmer’s new boyfriend. She started seeing him sometime after New Year’s. At first, the idea of Sunset having a new boyfriend was exciting, but that changed completely after meeting him in person. This guy proved to be an incredibly disrespectful and cruel son of a bitch. He has no compassion for his poor suffering girlfriend and if she displeases him in anyway, he has no hesitation to brutally threaten or abuse her. So many of the students and teachers of CHS had come to despise him because of this. Unfortunately, their attempts to do something about it were all met with failure, mostly because Sunset refuses to leave him no matter how badly he treated her. Sunset’s five friends were the ones mostly affected by all this, they couldn’t stand seeing their friend put through so much torment and were determined to breakup this toxic relationship. After Flash Sentry, Sunset’s ex-boyfriend, failed in his attempt, the Five now had another plan to fix the problem. The five friends had just finished their last classes for the day and were just about to head out the front doors of the school. “Okay, y’all remember the plan?” Applejack asked the group. “Yep,” Pinkie Pie replied. “Thanks for explaining the whole thing to us during lunch.” “I still think it sounds too risky,” Fluttershy said doubtfully. “Fluttershy’s right, darling,” Rarity agreed. “The chances of this working are very, and I can’t stress this ‘very’ enough, slim.” “Well, we’ve tried most everything else,” Rainbow Dash stated. “Besides, we can’t just give up. We’ve fought an evil she-demon and three manipulative sirens, a regular dirt bag human shouldn’t be too hard to handle.” “The fact that he’s human is what scares me the most,” Fluttershy said catching everyone’s attention. “When confronting Demon Sunset and the Dazzlings we knew how to face them. But Zak is a human from our world, and each human is different and unique making us unpredictable and perhaps even more dangerous than the foes we’ve faced.” “Wow, that’s pretty deep,” an astonished Pinkie Pie commented. “Doesn’t matter now,” Rainbow dismissed. “What matters now is that bastard is making Sunset’s life a living hell and he has to be stopped.” “Whatever you’re all planning, I recommend you don’t go through with it,” Flash Sentry suddenly confronted them. He was looking much better today now that his injuries were healing. “I assure you if you try to confront Zak you’ll only make things worse.” “We appreciate your concerns, but Sunset’s our responsibility,” Rarity assured. “More than you think,” Flash quietly said under his breath. “She’s also our best friend, and best friends look out for each other,” Pinkie said. “Don’t they?” “Yes, yes they do,” Flash bitterly agreed. “Then that’s what we have to do.” “Applejack’s got a new idea that should free Sunset from Zak’s grip,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s a risky one, but it’s the last one we’ve got,” Rarity added. “We gotta go now,” AJ said. “Remember, have faith in the power of Friendship.” With that, the five confident girls were on their way to who knows where to enact their mysterious plan. However, Flash did not share their great confidence in this ending well for anyone. “It’s hard to have faith in something you don’t see anymore,” Flash doubtfully said to himself. At the Nightmare Moon Bar, Zak was sitting at a table and having a few drinks with his two top cronies, Scratch and Chunk. The gang leader was in a pretty bad mood and it was making his goons uncomfortable. “Dumb bitch!” Zak bitterly mumbled. “Why is the process taking so long?!” “Well boss,” Scratch tried to explain. “She’s tougher than she seems. Even with the ‘stuff’, it’s going to take some time for that mind of hers to completely break.” “But we’re a little behind schedule,” Chunk added. “Well, we wouldn’t be if those annoying bitches and that high school would just fuck off!” Zak angrily said. Suddenly, the doors of the bar flew open to reveal the five angry aforementioned girls. “Hey, Zak!” Rainbow called to him. “Speak of the devil,” Scratch commented. The five girls approached the table the three punks were sitting at. All five teens glared at them defiantly and without a shred of fear. “What the hell do you want now?” Zak angrily demanded. “We want you to leave our friend, Sunset Shimmer, alone,” Rarity declared. “God damn it! Not this shit again,” Zak voiced his annoyance and frustration. “Don’t you sluts get it?! Sunset’s mine! She’d rather hangout with me than you. End of story. Besides, she’s not hear right now. She’s having another session with her therapist. So piss off!” “We don’t believe that,” Applejack denied. “Well, I don’t give a damn about the opinions of ‘your type’,” Zak retorted. “What, ya got somethin’ against country folk now?” “Oh no, it’s not that,” Zak said putting on mockingly fake exterior of politeness. “I have nothing against country people. But I don’t care much for orphans.” Applejack’s defiant expression suddenly turned to one of complete shock and utter offense as the three gang members chuckled at her. Tormenting Sunset was one thing, but insulting her deceased parents was crossing a line. The only thing that kept her from unleashing her full fury on them was the importance of the plan she and the girls had. “We didn’t come here to start any trouble,” Rarity said noticing the AJ was too offended to speak. “We came here to make a deal.” “What kind of deal?” Zak asked confused and curious. He knew these girls didn’t have a very good opinion of him, but what deal could they possibly make with him? “You probably know now that many of us have tried numerous ways to try and convince our friend to breakup with you,” Rarity explained. “And not a single one of them have worked,” Rainbow added. “But then we decided: if we can’t convince Sunset to leave, then perhaps we can try to convince you to leave,” Pinkie finished. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy confidently added. Zak and his goons stared at the girls in complete surprise for a moment or two. They never thought it would come to something like this. They couldn’t tell if they were really stupid or up to something. “You. Want me. To breakup. With Sunset?” Zak asked confused. “And how do you intend to convince me to do that? Will you beat me up? Because I warn you that would be a very shitty idea.” “What do you want?” Applejack bitterly asked. She hated having to stoop this low. “Excuse me?” Zak mockingly said pretending not to hear her. “What do we need to give you?” Rarity asked. “What do we need to do?” Pinkie asked. “To get you to leave Sunset Shimmer alone?” Rainbow finished. Zak gave an arrogant chuckle. “So it’s come to this. What makes you think any of you are even worthy enough to makes deals with a guy like me?” “You’re garbage who treats others like lesser trash,” Rarity retorted. “Don’t act like you’re some gorgeous, high and mighty, self-righteous angel of justice or some shit because you’re not. Even if you’d like to be.” “Oh, you’d be surprised at all the amazing things we’ve done,” a confident Rainbow boasted. This caused Zak and his two cronies to burst into hysterical laughter. “Look who thinks she’s hot shit!” “There really isn’t anything funnier than watching morons dig their own graves. Right boss?” Chunk chuckled. “Especially when those morons are a group of high school bimbos who are too stupid to see what they’re doing,” Scratch said making the Five angrier. “Or even what they’ve already done!” Zak added with a smug sinister grin which made the girls’ blood boil even more. “Shut up!” AJ yelled unable to take it anymore. “Stop acting like you know us,” Rarity demanded. “You don’t know a damn thing about any of us!” Rainbow angrily said. “Oh, but I do,” Zak smugly replied unintimidated. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Sunset. I’ve heard about your ‘heroic’ deeds in the past. No, I hear you’re overconfident and your performance sucks!” “Let Sunset Shimmer go or I’ll kick your head off and use it for a FOOTBALL!” Rainbow furiously threatened as AJ and Fluttershy struggled to hold the tough athlete back and keep her from starting a brawl. Zak put on a serious face for a moment. He appeared to be thinking about the deal the girls were trying to make with him. After half a minute, he returned to his detestable smiling visage. “Tell you what. If you all want me gone that bad, I’ll do it for free.” “What?!” a confused Pinkie exclaimed. The others shared her confused expression. It seemed their plan had worked, but way too easily. They thought they would have had to do something to convince him to take the deal. “See, I can be a generous guy,” Zak said proudly. “I’m supposed to meet Sunset Shimmer in the school parking lot tomorrow afternoon. I’ll breakup with her right on the spot. You’re all welcome to be there and watch if you don’t trust me. But I warn you, you may not like the outcome.” “Trust us, Sunset’ll be a whole lot better without scum like you in her life,” AJ defiantly and confidently replied. But Zak only chuckled as he and his cohorts got up and began to leave the bar. “Hey Rainbow,” Scratch stopped to say something to Dash. “I’m still single if you wanna hang out.” “I don’t date assholes or pussies,” the disgusted athlete shot the gangster down. “That’s okay. I’m sure your mom will wanna hang out,” Scratch replied as he continued to follow his partners while giving a mocking and lecherous chuckle. The five friends were left alone with their thoughts. It looked like they finally succeeded in breaking up Sunset and Zak. But it was easy. Too easy. Zak gave into their demands almost without problem and he didn’t seem at all bothered. He was up to something. But what? The following day, the Five had gathered in the parking lot that afternoon. Zak and his two lackeys had also arrived like they said they would and now they were all waiting for a certain red and yellow haired girl to show up. Zak was smoking a cigarette while waiting. Soon enough, Sunset Shimmer emerged from the school doors leading to the parking lot. Behind her were a lot of other students, including Flash Sentry, Trixie Lulamoon, and the Crusaders. Before this scheduled event, the Five had spread the news of Zak finally agreeing to leave Sunset alone as well as the place and time it would happen. A lot of students had gathered and were eager to witness this disturbing relationship finally put to an end. The only ones that didn’t seem very enthusiastic were Flash and the Crusaders who looked nervous that something terrible was actually about to happen. As Sunset crossed the parking lot carrying her backpack, she noticed her friends watching her with great anticipation. This made her feel uncomfortable. Everyone hated Zak, that was no secret. But they didn’t seem too bothered by his presence today. Something was off. “I’m ready, Zak,” Sunset said arriving to leave with him. Her boyfriend seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood today. Usually he looked annoyed and would yell at her for being late by just a few seconds, but this time he seemed disturbingly calm. Sunset’s nervousness increased as a sinister grin formed on Zak’s face as he eyed her. “Is something wrong?” “Sunset, do you remember what the worst thing in the world is?” he asked her. “L-loneliness,” Sunset answered with anxiety written all over her face. “W-why do you ask?” “Sunset, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us,” Zak said. Sunset’s eyes went wide with horror at hearing these words. “W-what?!” “You’re too much trouble to take care of so I’m cutting my losses,” Zak coldly explained. “Let’s be honest, you’re garbage. A pile of hopeless garbage.” “Douchebag,” Dash bitterly muttered under her breath. “I’m done with this so goodbye,” Zak finally finished before signaling to his goons that it was time to leave. The moment he said those words, almost everyone watching formed big smiles on their faces. It was finally over. Zak and Sunset were no longer an ‘item’. They wouldn’t have to pay witness to his cruelty to Sunset again. The Five were the most relieved because they felt Sunset would be truly happy again in their company and not have to endure this toxic relationship anymore. This felt like a time to celebrate. “Good riddance!” Applejack said. “Who needs that kind of trash?!” Rainbow rhetorically asked. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy agreed. “Don’t worry, darling, you still have us,” Rarity said comfortingly to Sunset. “Yeah, you still have your friends,” Pinkie happily agreed. Time seemed to slow down and the world seemed to fall apart around Sunset as she watched Zak and his henchmen walk away leaving her in total darkness. Immediately, memories of what happened last holiday season began flooding her mind. The secrets being posted, the fights and arguments erupting around school, all fingers pointed at her, and worse the heartbreaking moment when her five so-called friends gave into the belief that she was the culprit and turned their backs on her. She felt it again, the cold and painful feeling on loneliness consume her. Sunset began to take rapid heavy breathes of anxiety. None of the things her friends were saying to her seemed to get through. Then suddenly, she bolted toward Zak, fell to her knees, and grabbed the left sleeve of his leather jacket. “NO! PLEASE ZAK!” Sunset begged with great anxiety and desperation in her voice. Rivers of tears were rapidly streaming from her eyes down her cheeks. All the students, especially the Five, were shocked and confused by this unexpected reaction from Sunset. After the horrible way he’s treated her, they thought for sure she’d be happy to finally be rid of him. “What did I do wrong? What do I need to do?” The gang leader pulled his arm out of her grasp and continued to stare down at her with cold unsympathetic eyes. “Why are you doing this? You promised you wouldn’t turn your back on me!” “Not my choice,” Zak responded. “Your little 'friends' put me up to this.” “WHAT?!” Sunset exclaimed completely shocked and turned her attention toward the Five. “It would seem your 'friends' don’t approve of our relationship,” Zak said. “They don’t seem to like me very well. Can’t understand why.” “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. Just wait here,” Sunset told him with a surprisingly composed tone. Usually she was very nervous when she spoke to him. Sunset then walked over to the Five and faced them with a very clearly disappointed look. “I know I’ve done a lot of terrible things in the past, and I’m sorry for that. But is there something about me that you all still hate?” The tone of her voice was beginning to grow angrier and it made the Five nervous. “Are all of you determined to make my life miserable when I’m desperately trying to turn it around?!” “It’s not like that,” Rainbow nervously tried to explain. “We were just trying to help.” “Yeah, well, you didn’t!” Sunset furiously replied. Those words hit Rainbow Dash a lot harder than anyone expected. Upon hearing those very words, the memory of when she said something similar to Sunset when she tried to help during the Battle of the Bands. Only this time, the roles were reversed. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help.” – Sunset Shimmer. “Yeah, well, you didn’t.” – Rainbow Dash. While Rainbow was experiencing some regretful memories, the rest of the Five stepped forward to try and reason with Sunset. “Sunset, why are you so willing to be that snake’s pet?” AJ asked. None of the Five could comprehend why Sunset would devote everything to someone like Zak. It didn’t make any sense. “He’s hurting you both physically and emotionally, and he doesn’t even care,” Fluttershy added. “You don’t understand anything. Do you?” the red and yellow haired girl replied with disappointment. “For the last time, there are no issues between me and Zak.” “Then why are you having therapy sessions with Dr. Shrink?” Pinkie asked accusingly. “We heard about that,” Rarity added. “I’ve was seeing Dr. Shrink way before I ever met Zak,” Sunset answered. This was a big confusing surprise to everyone. Their belief that Zak was the reason for Sunset Shimmer’s therapy sessions was now completely debunked. If that scumbag of a person wasn’t the reason for these therapy sessions, then what was it? What could have driven Sunset to this? “If you had some serious issues, then why would you keep us in the dark?” Rarity asked. “Why would you not trust us with this?” AJ also asked. “Aren’t friends supposed to trust each other?” Fluttershy asked after AJ. “My ‘friends’ wouldn’t had abandoned me the moment they got the chance,” Sunset responded in a cold and very pain-filled voice that caused everyone’s jaws to drop in shock and confusion. “Oh no!” Apple Bloom muttered as she realized the truth of everything in an instant. “All of this dates back to last year’s holiday season,” Sunset explained. “The worst time of my entire life, bar none. Do you all remember that? After I worked so hard to earn everyone’s respect and trust, after I helped you all win the Battle of the Bands, after I shared my deepest and most personal feelings with you, after you all made feel like I mattered and was more than just a friend to you all, WHAT did you say to me?!” The terrible memory of when the Five gave into the belief that Sunset was the secret-posting blogger, Anon-a-Miss, and mercilessly cast her out of their group without even hearing her side suddenly flashed in their minds. “We trusted you, Sunset! We thought you were our friend!” – Rainbow Dash. “How could you do this? After all we’ve been through together?” – Rarity. “You—you secret-stealer!” – Pinkie Pie. “No you’re not! You’re not the person we thought you were! You’re not our friend!” – Fluttershy. “This is it, Sunset. You’re not going to take advantage of us anymore. I’m sorry, but you did this to us. Tell whatever secrets you want. But we don’t have to listen.” – Applejack. “Every single word tore me apart!” Sunset tearfully explained. “Even after the true culprits were revealed those wounds still never healed. For a season that was supposed to be about ‘peace on earth and good will towards men’ it was filled with nothing but hate, torment, false accusation, and betrayal! And I suffered the worst of it! But where were you five when I was left in the cold and cruel world all alone? Where were you when I was sleeping in the library pouring out my broken heart telling Twilight what I was going through? Where were all of you when I was ruthlessly harassed by mobs of angry students falsely blaming me for the crap that Anon-a-Miss was causing them?! Nowhere! You didn’t even care how much I was suffering. How miserable I was. You didn’t even give me a chance to prove my innocence, you just decided that I was the culprit and that was that. You made me think I was like family to you all. Well, if this is how you treat your friends and family, then I’d hate to see how you treat your enemies!” Unable to hold it in any longer, Sunset stopped ranting and burst into hysterical sobbing. Everyone bared witness to this gut-wrenching and heart-breaking sight. As Sunset sobbed, the Five had come to a horrific realization. They thought they knew what the situation was but they were completely wrong, AGAIN! The memories of all those terrible things they said to Sunset Shimmer when they accused her of being Anon-a-Miss and cast her out played like a big projector in their minds. Remembering that moment, and combined with the fact that Sunset was innocent all along, they now realized just how unnecessarily cruel they truly were to her. They thought Sunset had betrayed them, but in reality, they were the ones who betrayed her. Taking into account that she was left practically homeless and hated schoolwide, it was no wonder she sought therapy after New Year’s. Then things they heard from others in the past suddenly made sense. “Well for starters, he understands and trusts me.” – Sunset Shimmer. “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss my patient’s therapy sessions with anyone.” – Dr. Shrink. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?!” – Zak. “When you really hurt someone, don’t ever forget them or what you did to them.” – Sweetie Belle. “Because we promise you they’ll never forget it.” – Scootaloo. “You don’t know the true reason behind Sunset Shimmer’s pain.” – Flash Sentry. “But Zak,” Sunset spoke after she finally calmed down and stopped crying. “Zak isn’t like you.” “Sunset, Zak is–” Applejack tried to talk some sense into the emotional girl but was interrupted. “I know some of the things he’s done to me do look pretty awful. But they are NOTHING compared to what I endured during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco!” Sunset yelled. “Let me tell the day when Zak and I first met. One day when I was sitting by myself outside the Sugarcube Café lamenting over what happened to me last holiday season, he noticed how miserable I looked and asked me what was the matter. And I told him everything.” Flashback: Sunset Shimmer was sitting at a table outside the Sugarcube Café crying. Zak was sitting at the same table with her. She had just finished telling him about Anon-a-Miss, how her friends abandoned her, and everything she went through before New Year’s. “You poor little thing,” Zak said in a tender tone as he gently stroked Sunset’s red and yellow hair. “You’ve been through so much. Too much in fact. You deserve much better than those sluts who call themselves your ‘friends’.” Then he put his hand on hers causing Sunset to stop crying and look up at him. He gave her the most friendly and angelic smile she’d ever seen. “If it’s okay? I’d very much like to be your friend, and I promise you that I’ll never turn my back on you no matter what, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset’s teary eyes filled with hope and her frown turned into warm smile. She felt that she’d finally where she truly belonged, and the person she belonged with. End of Flashback. Sunset then reached into her shirt revealed a hidden golden necklace that was around her neck. Hanging from the necklace was a colorful piece of jewelry that was shaped just like her cutie mark. “See this?” she asked showing the necklace to the Five. “He gave me this the very next day. This is proof that he trusts, understands, and cares about me. Unlike you.” Tears suddenly started pouring from her eyes again. “I trusted you! I thought you were all my friends! How could you do this to me?! After all we’ve been through together?!” “But Sunset, we are your friends!” Fluttershy desperately pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes as well. “You gotta believe us!” Pinkie tearfully pleaded too. “No you’re NOT!” Sunset angrily denied. “You’re NOT the people I thought you were! You’re NOT my friends!” Zak, Scratch, and Chunk had been watching this tear-jerking scene unfold with satisfied grins on their faces. Then Zak decided it was time to put an end to this. “Alright Sunset, I think you’ve made your point,” the gang leader told his girlfriend. “The truth is I never planned to go back on my word. But I’m afraid there isn’t enough of you for the both of us, so I give you a choice: it’s either me or them. What will it be?” The tension suddenly quadrupled. Zak was giving Sunset a serious choice: either stay with her ‘friends’ or leave them and stick with him and his gang. Either decision would have consequences. For moment, Sunset looked to be thinking it over. Then she came to a decision. She turned around to face the girls. Her face was devoid of emotion. No happiness, no sadness, no anger, nothing. “Sunset, what are you doing?” Rainbow nervously asked uncomfortable with the look Sunset was give them. She didn’t answer. “No. No, don’t do it!” Rarity desperately pleaded realizing what decision Sunset had made. “I don’t have a choice,” Sunset emotionlessly replied. Suddenly, Applejack grabbed her arm. “If we weren’t friends, would we be able to do this?” the cowgirl said joining hands with Rarity, who joined hands with Pinkie, who joined hands with Fluttershy, who joined hands with Rainbow, who took Sunset’s other hand. “Friendship Is Magic!” the Five chanted and prepared to unleash a spectacle of light and colors. But nothing happened. “Come on friendship lasers,” Pinkie nervously pleaded. “Make with the sparks!” A confused Zak, Scratch, and Chunk shook their heads in disappointment and disgust. Whatever this was supposed to be, it was absolutely pathetic. Having had enough, Sunset freed herself from AJ and Dash’s grips. “This is it.” “We can fix this!” Pinkie pleaded with rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks. “Just tell us what we need to do!” “You’re not going to take advantage of me anymore.” “You don’t want to do this!” Fluttershy tearfully begged. “I’m sorry, but you all did this to me.” “Please, just give us a chance to explain!” Rarity pleaded, tears messing up her mascara. “Tell whatever excuses you want.” “You’re more than just our friend, you’re fam–” a tearful Applejack desperately tried to reason with her. “But I don’t have to listen.” All of the Five felt like that last line blew a hole in each of them. However, Sunset had one last thing to say. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her magical journal. “Let’s face it, Twilight’s the one everyone really loves. She’s your friend, not me. I’m just the one who contacts her when you need her. Well, I’ve decided to make things easier for all of you by cutting out the middleman.” Then she dropped the journal on the asphalt at the Five’s feet. “It’s yours now. I have nothing left to write in it.” With that, she left her five former friends with their thoughts and walked over to join with Zak’s group. “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized to her boyfriend. “I’m sure they won’t try to bother us again.” “I’m proud of you, Sunny,” Zak said in an uncharacteristically kind tone and gently patted her head. “You’ve finally found the courage to stand up for yourself. Now wait over here by the car. I need to ‘take care’ of a ‘few things’.” He then walked over to the Five accompanied by his two thugs. Time seemed to slow down and reality seemed to become distorted from the perspective of the Five. All of this had to be a dream. A very very bad dream. But it wasn’t. Sunset Shimmer had dumped all of them for a creep like Zak, and it was all because of a terrible mistake they made about a little over a month ago. They should’ve known. They all should’ve known better than to think all that damage could never had been fixed so easily. And now because of their ignorance, they had lost one of their closest friends. All things must come around, and the Five’s unfaithfulness was paid back tenfold. The five girls finally turned their attention to Zak. All of their faces plastered with misery, remorse, and despair. “It’s crazy how a piece of jewelry and a few flowery words can make someone think you’re their friend,” Zak mocked them. “But it’s even crazier how a few stupid photos can turn people against each other. Am I right?” But none of the girls responded. They just stared at him with the same pained expressions on their faces. “What’s the matter? Oh my god, are you all speechless?! That’s a first. I still can’t believe you all just turned on her just like that. Now that’s cold, even for a guy like me.” “Stop it!” Applejack demanded in a weak and quiet voice. “But I don’t want to,” Zak retorted. “Why?” a tearful Fluttershy spoke. “What did Sunset ever do to you? Why are you so cruel to her?” “I think the real question is ‘why not?’,” Zak answered sporting a very sadistic and proud grin. “You sick twisted sadist!” Rarity shouted at him. “Sadist?!” Zak said seemingly insulted, but then chuckled. “Take a good look in the mirror! You five cast your friend out like garbage, never once thought of the possibility that she was being setup, and you didn’t even care that others were making her miserable. I bet you actually enjoyed it too. You can’t honestly think any of you are better than me.” “SHUT UP!” Rainbow Dash suddenly screamed and punched Zak’s left cheek as hard as she could. The blow knocked the gang leader on his back, as well as knocked his sunglasses off and his cigarette out of his mouth. Scratch and Chunk tried to help their boss back on his feet, but he refused their assistance and got up himself. A little blood dripped from Zak’s mouth but he ignored it and shot a very mocking and sinister smile at his assailant. “Hell, you even forgave the real culprits so easily,” the sadistic gang leader continued to slander them. “I guess you all prefer anything over Sunset Shimmer.” That comment was met with another slug in the face from the athlete that knocked him on his back again, but the cruel gang leader still wasn't finished. "And it turned out the real culprits were just a bunch of stupid, selfish, lonely little brats crying for their sisters' attention. Pathetic, isn't it?!" Then Rainbow grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and lifted him off the ground. “You’re wrong,” the athlete growled. “They're. We're. Not. Like. THAT!” She started repeatedly punching him in the face. “I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT!” Tears fell from Dash’s face with each punch. “Rainbow Dash!” everyone heard Sunset yell. They turned and saw Sunset glaring at the rainbow-haired athlete and holding up her phone. “Put him down or I will call the police on you for assault!” After a moment of staring at Sunset in disbelief, Rainbow finally complied. She couldn’t believe Sunset actually threatened to call the police on her. Had their relationship really gotten that bad? Sunset ran over to Zak to see if he wasn’t hurt too bad. Now he had a black eye, a bruised cheek, and blood dripping from his nose. “Are you alright, Zak?” Sunset asked concerned. “Of course I’m alright,” he replied. “Actually, I’ve never felt better.” He then gave them the biggest, cruelest, mocking triumphant smile he could muster. He had won. All anyone could do now was watch helplessly as Sunset Shimmer left with Zak and his thugs. “This is all your fault!” Trixie accused the Crusaders. “You and your stupid Anon-a-Miss stunt.” Then she and most of the other students left. The Crusaders all hung their heads in sorrow for their sisters and their friends. Flash gave the Five one last sympathetic look before leaving, he knew this would happen and cursed himself for being unable to warn them. The Five watched with tearful heavy hearts as their former enemy and best friend disappeared abandoning them just like they did to her. Their plan had failed. Sunset was no longer their friend and they were all to blame for it. They couldn’t even summon the Magic of Friendship. “AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!” Rainbow Dash loudly cried in shame over her own ignorance and powerlessness. Author's Note Well, now we know the truth. It wasn't Zak who was the reason for Sunset Shimmer's therapy sessions, it was everyone's actions during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco. But it did give Zak the means to emotionally manipulate Sunset. How will the Five fix this one?
Chapter 9 (Edited 05/23/18)Sunset Shimmer walked down the locker-filled hallways of the school till she finally came across her friends. “Hey, girls!” she happily greeted them. However, something wasn’t right. None of them looked very happy. “What’s going…on?” “Sunset, do you… Have you lost your phone recently?” Applejack asked suspiciously. “Um… no?” a confused Sunset answered and took out her cellphone. “It’s right here. Why?” “Then you need to explain this,” the cowgirl angrily said and presented her phone. Sunset took a look at AJ’s phone and saw that the pictures she had taken of her friends wearing the awful outfits from Rarity’s ‘closet of shame’ had been posted by Anon-a-Miss on MyStable. “What?!?” the red and yellow haired girl nervously exclaimed. “How did she get our pictures?” “They’re not our pictures, Sunset…” AJ said accusingly. “…They’re yours,” an angry Rainbow Dash finished. “All those pictures were taken by you,” Applejack continued her accusation. “Wait, but–” Sunset stammered. “—I’ve had my phone all this time! How did she–” “Yeah, how did she?” Applejack interrupted. “How did she know about my nickname? How did she get the pictures from your phone? It was you all along! You’re ‘Anon-a-Miss’!” “We trusted you, Sunset!” Rainbow angrily said. “We thought you were our friend!” “How could you do this?” Rarity said sadly. “After all we’ve been through together?” “No, wait, you guys–” Sunset desperately pleaded. “I didn’t do this! I could never hurt any of you!” The Five thought for a moment. Soon their angry expressions diminished and were replaced by more calm, friendly, and understanding expressions. “Okay, Sunset,” AJ said in friendlier tone. “If you say you didn’t do this, then we believe ya.” “Please excuse me for what I just said,” Rarity said apologetically. “Sorry we doubted ya,” Rainbow apologized. “Thanks girls,” Sunset said relieved. “How about we all work together to figure out who this nasty secret-stealer really is!” Pinkie suggested. “That sounds like a great idea,” Fluttershy agreed. “Alright then, let’s hop to it!” Applejack said confidently. With that, the girls started walking down the hallway to begin their investigation. All but one. “Hey Sunset, aren’t you coming with us?” Rainbow called and turned around to see what was the matter. Then she let out a horrified gasp that caused the others to turn around and gasp as well. Sunset hadn’t moved from where she stood and stared at them with a very tortured and heartbroken expression. Standing next to her was a very ominous and sinister looking Zak giving them a big sadistic grin. “Get real you dumb bitches!” Zak cruelly said. “Everyone knows this isn’t how it really went down!” Then he burst into cruel, mocking, hysterical laughter. “GGGGAAAAAAHHHHH!” Applejack screamed as she shot up in her bed. It was just a dream. A very bad dream. The poor cowgirl got out of bed, walked over to the window on the other side of the room, and just stared outside with a very miserable look on her face. It had been three days since Sunset Shimmer cut all ties with the Five and abandoned them for Zak. Since then, Applejack has been having dreams of her and the others making different decisions during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco only to wake up to sad and painful reality. The sad country girl stared through her bedroom window at the outside hoping to see Sunset appear in the yard so she could go down and reconcile. Alas, once again she was forced to accept reality. Unbeknownst to her, Apple Bloom had been standing in the doorway silently watching her the whole time. Seeing her big sister in such a depressed state made the younger girl’s heart sink. Meanwhile, Rarity had just woken up and she wasn’t feeling too happy either. She was tending to some of the outfits that were worn by her mannequins, but even looking after her proudly made clothes brought the fashionista no joy. Then she came across a mannequin wearing a wig she had left on it some time ago. The wig was mostly red with a couple yellow stripes. The mannequin was beginning to look just like Rarity’s now-former friend, Sunset Shimmer. For a moment, Rarity thought she saw Sunset’s friendly smiling visage form on the mannequin’s blank face. When reality finally came back, Rarity wrapped her arms around the mannequin as if it actually were her friend and started sobbing. She desperately wanted her friend back so much. Unfortunately, the painful memory of when Sunset had dumped them all for Zak rang heavily in her mind. Sweetie Belle had been watching her beloved sister’s pitiful scene and couldn’t help but blame herself for it now that everyone knew the real reason Sunset had made her recent decisions. Later that day, Applejack and Rarity met with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie at the school and were all silently walking down a hall together. The other three looked just as miserable as the first two. Pinkie’s once poofy hair was now straight and hanging down. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, please report to the principal’s office?” Vice Principal Luna’s voice was heard over the intercoms. None of the Five knew why they being summoned to Principal Celestia’s office but knew they had to answer the call. They were met with an unexpected surprise when they arrived. Sunset’s therapist, Dr. Shrink, was waiting there with Celestia and Luna, and he did not look happy. “Thank you for coming, girls,” Celestia said. “I’ve called you all here because Dr. Shrink would like to have a word with you.” “Is it about Sunset?” Rarity nervously asked. “Yes, it is,” the doctor said sternly. “In our last meeting, she told me that you and other students have been trying to take matters into your own hands with her boyfriend issues and have only been making things worse.” “Do you have any idea of the things he’s been doing to her?” Rainbow asked. “Yes, I do,” the doctor answered. “But the authorities can’t do anything unless Sunset herself tells them. But do you know why she won’t do that?” “Because then she’d feel like she has no one else to turn to,” Fluttershy answered with sadness. “So she finally told you,” Dr. Shrink deduced. “And you realize the real reason I didn’t want to tell you about our sessions.” Then he spoke with great disappointment in his voice. “I warned you about thinking what the real problem was, but none of you listened to me, and now Sunset’s condition is much worse now. She cried for almost an entire hour at our last session.” The Five were already feeling pretty bad, but hearing this news made them feel a whole lot worse. “Is there anything we can do?” a concerned Pinkie asked. “I think you’ve all done quite enough,” Shrink coldly replied. The girls hung their heads in shame. “How is Sunset? Has anyone seen her lately?” Applejack asked the three adults. “I’d hate to inform you all, but she dropped out two days ago,” Luna sadly informed them. “WHAT?!?” the Five gasped. This couldn’t possibly be real. “She said she couldn’t take all the heartache anymore,” a sad Celestia said. “I tried very hard to talk her out of it, but it was no use.” “Now she’s gonna spend even MORE time with that creep!” a horrified Rainbow stated. Realizing that his time was up, Shrink got up from his seat and started to leave. But not before he turned to say one last thing to the distraught girls. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you all to stay away from Sunset Shimmer from now on,” the therapist told them. “Your antics, while well-intentioned, have caused her nothing but trouble. It is my duty to ensure the well-being of my patients. Perhaps if you had paid more attention to your friend’s feelings this all could’ve been avoided. I’m sorry and goodbye.” With that, the doctor departed leaving the poor girls with their miserable thoughts. That afternoon, the Five all met at the Sugarcube Café. They all just sat at a table, drinking smoothies, and not conversing at all. For Mrs. Cake, it was one of the saddest sights she’d ever seen in her café. Suddenly, Flash Sentry entered the café accompanied by the Crusaders. The little Crusaders did not look like they were in the best condition. Scootaloo had a black eye, Sweetie Belle had a couple Band-Aids on her cheek and forehead, and Apple Bloom had a black eye and a large cotton gauze taped to her left cheek. The sight of the three messed up little girls immediately caught the attention of the five older girls. “Good Lord! Sweetie Belle, what happened?” Rarity anxiously asked. “What happened ta ya, Apple Bloom?” a concerned AJ asked her sister. “What happened, Scoots?” a shocked Rainbow asked her sister figure. “Things became pretty rough for us since we confessed to being Anon-a-Miss,” Apple Bloom explained. “But ever since what happened between you all and Sunset a few days ago,” Scootaloo added. “Everyone hates us even more,” Sweetie Belle finished. “I accompanied them to make sure no one caused them anymore harm,” Flash said. “Well, it’s not like they didn’t bring this whole thing upon themselves,” said an unpleasant voice that entered the café. Everyone saw that it was Trixie accompanied by Snips and Snails. “What do you want, Trixie?” Rainbow bitterly asked. She was not in the mood for any of the wannabe magician’s crap right now. “Relax, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie is not here to cause any trouble,” Trixie announced in her usual hammy style before shifting to a more serious tone. “She’s here to tell you about Sunset Shimmer.” “What about Sunset?” Rarity anxiously asked. Trixie suddenly had everyone’s undivided attention. “Is she doing better?” an anxious Fluttershy asked. “Uh…” Snails stuttered uncomfortably. “Define better,” a nervous Snips replied. “First off, while the Great and Powerful Trixie may not see eye-to-eye with Sunset Shimmer, she doesn’t think Sunset deserves this kind of barbaric treatment,” Trixie explained. “So yesterday, while Trixie was at the town park trying to give the bystanders a magnificent performance the likes of which they’ve never seen, she noticed Sunset sitting at a bench all by herself. So Trixie decided to see if she could offer some assistance.” Flashback: Trixie, accompanied by Snips and Snails, nervously approached Sunset Shimmer, who was sitting a park bench alone with her head hanging down. With Zak nowhere in sight, it was probably a good opportunity to try and talk to the seriously troubled red and yellow haired girl. “Hello Sunset,” Trixie greeted Sunset. She tried to sound as polite as possible. “It’s the Great and Powerful Trixie. Remember?” No response. It was time to get serious. “I know I’m probably one of the last people you want to see right now, but I just want to have a serious talk with you. No insults or belittling.” Still no response. “Look, everyone’s been really concerned about you ever since the scene in the school parking lot. Your friends have been absolutely miserable without you. I know it’s unbelievable to hear this coming from me, but the Great and Powerful Trixie really thinks you should try to give your friends another chance.” This was indeed a rare moment of Trixie actually trying to extend a helping hand to someone she considered her most bitter rival next to Rainbow Dash. Sunset slowly lifted her head to face Trixie. End of Flashback. “But when she finally lifted her head to look at me, she…” Trixie explained but started stuttering. Apparently what happened next didn’t go so well and she was clearly disturbed about it. “Did she angrily tell you to leave her alone?” Fluttershy nervously asked. None of the Five liked where this was going. “Actually…” Trixie uncomfortably continued. Flashback: Sunset looked up at Trixie with a confused expression and unusually red bloodshot eyes. “Hey Trixie,” Sunset greeted her in an unexpected happy tone. “You look great today.” “Excuse me?” Trixie said surprised by Sunset’s tone. “It’s amazing how very blue the sky is, isn’t it?” Sunset said in a goofy tone turning her head up to the sky. “Are you okay?” Trixie asked confused and concerned. “Of course,” Sunset happily assured her. “Daddy says if I take my ‘medicine’ more often I will feel all better.” “Daddy? Medicine?” “Yeah. Speaking of which, it’s time to go back and take some more,” Sunset said as she struggled to stand. For some reason, her movement was a little clumsier. “Sorry I have to leave you four so suddenly.” “Us four?” Trixie asked confused. There was only Snips and Snails with her. “Yeah. You, Snips, Snails, and Steven Magnet over there,” Sunset replied looking to the right of the trio, but there was no one there. “Hi Steven.” Trixie and the two boys watched with disturbed expressions as Sunset clumsily walk away while singing ‘Shake Your Tail’ to herself. They were starting to put together what was going on with her. End of Flashback. “And that was the only time we saw her,” Trixie concluded her story. “Trixie has reason to believe Zak is getting Sunset hyped up on drugs.” Everyone who had listened to the story was horrified. It was bad enough that Zak was physically and emotionally abusing Sunset, but now he was destroying her already fragile mind with drugs. “That mother—!” an enraged Rainbow Dash tried to speak but became so furious she couldn’t finish her sentence. “That’s it!” Then the athlete got up from her seat. “What are you doing, Rainbow?” a concerned Fluttershy asked. “I’m going to put an end to this once and for all,” the angry athlete replied. “Hold yer horses, Dash,” AJ said. “After what happened the last time we saw Sunset, we can’t just waltz up and do something that’ll make things worse.” “So are you saying we should just sit around and wait for things to happen?!” Rainbow argued. “It could be too late and Sunset’s brain could already turn to mush! I don’t care, I’m going out there to get ‘my friend’ back!” “Can’t let you do that, Rainbooms!” came an unexpected and unpleasant voice. Everyone turned to see the Dazzlings blocking the doorway with smug looks on their faces. It had been quite some time since the siren trio was defeated during the Battle of the Bands and expelled from CHS. Needless to say, no one was delighted to see them at all. “You!” Rainbow said with venom in her voice. “That’s Right,” Adagio Dazzle smugly replied. “What are you all doing?” Pinkie angrily asked. “I thought we got rid of you three for good,” an angry Rarity said. “Get out of my way!” Rainbow demanded. “Sorry, no can do,” Sonata Dusk teasingly refused. “So are you three working for Zak now?” Applejack asked accusingly. “That asshole?! Not in a million years,” Aria Blaze answered in an insulted tone. “Don’t you think you’ve messed Sunset’s life up enough?” Adagio asked in a taunting tone. “Why do you care?” a confused Rarity bitterly responded. “I thought you’d hate her after she helped us take you down during the Battle of the Bands.” “Oh, we do hate her,” Adagio replied. “So very much,” Sonata added. “It’s a little complicated,” Aria said. “You expect us to believe that three power-hungry, hate-spreading sirens like you want to help Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow distrustfully asked. “Believe whatever you want,” Aria uncaringly replied. “You certainly did that during the whole Anon-a-Miss fiasco,” Adagio taunted them. Suddenly, everyone’s bitter and untrusting expressions turned to ones of shock and surprise. “How do you know about that?” a surprised Pinkie asked. Adagio took a cellphone out of her pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “Internet,” she said in a tone that made it sound obvious. “We also had secret hangouts around the school to watch all the unhappy students make fools of themselves,” Aria chuckled. “I heard it was you three,” Adagio said turning a sinister eye toward the guilty-looking Crusaders. “I must congratulate you, you three managed to accomplish what we failed to do, and you didn’t even use any magic. You would’ve made great sirens.” Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow all stepped in front of their remorseful and respective sisters to protect them from anymore of Adagio’s taunting while shooting the sirens very angry glares. “Yeah, it was fun while it lasted,” Sonata said in a disappointed tone. “Let me guess,” an annoyed AJ said. “The fun ended when the real culprits came clean and the Anon-a-Miss account was taken down?” “No, the fun ended when we saw this,” Adagio replied, opened a file on her phone, and held it up for everyone to see. It was a video that someone recorded and posted on the internet of the Five mercilessly accusing a heartbroken Sunset Shimmer and abandoning her. Watching that video and remembering that moment made the Five’s hearts sink. "And you say we're bad?! Well, we're here to make sure you don't cause that poor girl anymore pain than you already have." "It's too disturbing to watch," Sonata said with a cringe. “Don’t get us wrong,” Aria said noticing some confusion amongst their old enemies. “We hate all of you, especially Sunset Shimmer, and even that Zak creep, and we were perfectly content with watching your stupid school tear itself apart through meaningless hatred. But when you five decided to throw away your honor as ‘friends’ so easily, you took all the fun out of it.” “You boast about your precious ‘Magic of Friendship’, the power that you all used to defeat us, and the friends that make your lives so happy but when you find your reputations being threatened you turn on each other as if all those so-called ‘magical’ and ‘happy’ times meant absolutely nothing,” Adagio explained. “It’s pathetic. You’re nothing but a bunch of miserable hypocrites. Victory at the Battle of the Bands doesn’t belong to you, Rainbooms, it belongs to us.” “Sunset deserves WAY better for the part she played in our defeat,” Sonata said. "Sunset does need friends, but they're not you guys," Aria added. Even with their ability to sing taken away, every word the Dazzlings said cut like a very sharp knife causing extreme guilt and shame. The Five felt like little mice backed into a corner surrounded by three big mean cats with no way out. “We didn’t know it wasn’t her!” Dash said in a desperate attempt to defend herself against the sirens’ merciless verbal onslaught. “You didn’t know because you didn’t want to know because then you wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it!” Adagio retorted. “Rainbow Trash!” “This is the problem with friendship,” Sonata said. “When you put too much trust in someone, they eventually end up disappointing you. Lucky us!” “What about you three?” Fluttershy asked. “Aren’t you three friends?” The three sirens glared at each other before giving an answer in unison. “No!” “Sonata and Aria are constantly bickering like children and driving me nuts,” Adagio explained glaring at her two cohorts who were glaring at each other. But then she put on a more serious face. “But neither of us can have anyone else as partners.” Hearing this, Sonata and Aria shared the same serious expression as their leader. That was something they all could agree on. “Even if you don’t like someone, sometimes they’re the person you need most of all. That’s a lesson you all failed to learn.” “Whatcha talkin’ about?” Pinkie asked. “I mean without your little princess friend or Sunset Shimmer leading your little misfit group, you’re nothing,” Adagio maliciously explained. “Wanna know why? Because you’re human.” “What’s that supposed ta mean?” an insulted AJ asked. “In all the years we’ve spent banished to this world, there’s one thing that never ceases to amaze us,” Adagio sinisterly explained. “Human foolishness. We’ve seen them make the same mistakes over and over again, some of which we played a part in.” “But no matter how many times it happens, they never learn,” Aria finished. The Five were so full of shame that neither of them were unable to talk back anymore. Considering humanity’s history and the Five’s own history, how could anyone say the sirens did not have a point. “Well, I believe we’re done here,” Adagio said believing it was time to leave. “Come girls.” As she lead her two cohorts out the doors of the café, Sonata stopped to say one last thing to her old enemies. “You know, you humans are so confusing,” the ditzy siren said in a genuinely confused tone. “You throw away everything for nothing.” With that, she left with the rest of her fellow sirens. Sensing that the Five wanted to be alone with their thoughts, Flash, the Crusaders, Trixie, Snips, and Snails left the café. The five teenagers sat silently at their table together looking even worse than when they came in. It was bad enough that they lost their best friend to a horrible excuse of a human being, but the things said by the Dazzlings did nothing to help. Fluttershy buried her face in her hands and started crying while Pinkie Pie gently stroked her head. After a few minutes, Fluttershy finally stopped crying, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she reached into her backpack and pulled out the journal Sunset had abandoned along with them. “What are you doing, Flutters?” Rainbow asked noticing the journal. “We’ve all tried everything to help Sunset,” the shy eco girl sadly explained. “I kept this close as a last resort incase we ran out of ideas on how to get Sunset back on our own.” She opened up the journal to a blank page and took out a pen. “Looks like this is our last resort.” With that, she began writing in the journal. Dear Princess Twilight…
Chapter 10Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s alicorn Princess of Friendship, was sitting in her castle’s library happily reading an exciting book. Suddenly, her reading was interrupted by a vibrating sound. The sound was coming from the table, surface covered with various books, sitting in the middle of the room. One of the books on the table was vibrating and glowing pink. She recognized the book and knew it must be her former rival turned good friend, Sunset Shimmer, writing a message to her from the human world. She opened the book thinking it might be a letter about a lesson in friendship Sunset learned and wanted to share with her, just like Twilight used to share friendship lessons she learned with her mentor, Princess Celestia. However, instead of a friendship lesson, she found something quite disturbing: Dear Princess Twilight, We know you might be busy with princess duties at the moment, but this is an emergency. There is a very, very serious problem with Sunset Shimmer, which is why we’re writing this message instead of her. If you come through the portal, we’ll explain everything. Please come over as soon as possible if you get this message, we really need your help. Your friends: Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy “Spike! We need to make a trip through the mirror immediately!” the young alicorn princess called to her faithful dragon assistant while making a quick exit out of the castle library. Sensing the importance of this issue, she wasted no time. Back in the human world, the Humane Five were just returning to CHS after their miserable time at Sugarcube Café. Just as they arrived in front of the school entrance, they saw their beloved friend pop out of the dimensional portal that was their school statue followed by her trusty dragon-turned-canine sidekick. Immediately, their hearts filled with joy and hope at the sight of their old friend. “Twilight!” they all exclaimed in joyful unison and immediately embraced her. Some students had gathered at the school to see the girl from another dimension that saved their school twice in the past return. They all shared the belief that if there was someone who could fix this problem, it would be Twilight Sparkle. Even Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, and the Crusaders were amongst the crowd with hopeful expressions on their faces. “Twilight’s back!” Lyra Heartstrings said excitedly. “She’ll be able to make things right!” Bon Bon said just as excited. “Oh Twilight,” Applejack said. “You have no idea how bad things have been here.” “I received your message and now I’m here,” Twilight assured the human counterparts of her friends. “Now tell me what is wrong with Sunset Shimmer.” The Five told her about how Sunset had formed a relationship with the gang leader named Zak and how he was horribly abusing her. Needless to say, the Princess of Friendship didn’t like the news. “Sweet Celestia! What is Sunset thinking?!” Twilight exclaimed clearly unnerved. Spike didn’t look too happy about hearing this either. “And you say she refuses to listen to any of you! Why wouldn’t she listen?! I thought you were all friends.” “She is still very hurt from the Anon-a-Miss incident that she doesn’t trust anyone anymore,” Rarity answered. “Anon-a-Miss?! I thought that whole thing was resolved a month ago,” Twilight said very confused. But then her confusion turned to suspicion. “What exactly happened?” she asked suspiciously. “I don’t know too many details of that fiasco because I wasn’t there. But it’s clear that Sunset was hurt really badly from it. I know you all thought she was the culprit and turned your backs on her, but what exactly did you say to her when you did?” A wave of tension swept over the Five as Twilight questioned them. The five nervous teens didn’t want to answer that question but the seriousness in their friend’s tone meant they didn’t have a choice. Reluctantly, the Five repeated the exact words they said to Sunset on that terrible day. To say Twilight didn’t take it well would be a huge understatement. The purple-skinned girl hung her head in utter disbelief and disappointment. Her head hung so low that her bangs hung low enough to cover her eyes leaving only her nose and frown visible. Spike felt both horrified by the terrible things he also heard and concerned as he could sense how very upset his mistress was feeling. “Now we know that sounds bad, darling,” Rarity spoke up trying to ease the tension. “But please try to understand.” “All the evidence was pointed at her,” Applejack said. “Considering her past, how could we not suspect her,” Fluttershy timidly added. “You remember what she was like, don’t you?” Pinkie asked. “Heck, I bet if the same thing happened to you, you would’ve thought it was her too,” Rainbow spoke in a friendly tone trying to reach an understanding. SMACK! Without warning, Twilight slapped Rainbow Dash across the face leaving a big red hand print on her left cheek. Everyone was shocked by what Twilight just did. Rainbow stood where she was holding her aching cheek in complete surprise. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Before anyone could react or respond to what happened, Twilight used this moment of surprise to slap the rest of the Five in the face. Now all five girls were holding their aching cheeks and staring in complete shock at their dearest friend who was standing in front of everyone holding her right hand which was trembling with pain from slapping all of them. Almost everyone present stared at Twilight and couldn’t believe what she just did. The only ones who didn’t look surprised were Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, and the Crusaders. The look in the humanized alicorn’s eyes sent shivers down everyone’s spines. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions, but mostly disappointment, fury, and disgust. “Will there be any consequences for what I just did?” Twilight asked the principal and vice principal without changing emotion. “We’ll let it slide this time,” Celestia regretfully answered. “Consider it our apology for letting everything get out of hand,” a remorseful Luna added. “This one is on us.” After that, the two faculty members departed into the school. Sensing that this was a tense and personal moment between Twilight and the Five, the rest of the students started leaving with only Flash and the Crusaders staying behind. Twilight was taking deep breaths while trying very hard to calm herself. Spike and the Five were nervous, they had never seen their friend this angry. “Why?” Twilight finally simmered down and asked. She was still pretty angry, but was now calm enough to have a conversation. “How could say such cruel things to Sunset Shimmer and turn your backs on her after all she’s done for you?” “We were embarrassed and angry,” Fluttershy nervously answered. “Our most embarrassing secrets were being posted on the internet for the whole world to see,” Rarity added. “Oh, I’m sorry girls,” Twilight replied in an unsympathetic tone. “It sounds like you’ve all had a rough time since I’ve been gone. Sunset too, as she was being falsely accused of the very crimes you just mentioned by everyone including yourselves.” Hearing their terrible deed being constantly brought was making the already ashamed Crusaders feel even more ashamed of themselves and now they had to watch their beloved big sisters pay for their deeds. “You know, I’ve been having some hardships back in my world also. Quite recently, my friends and I went to a little village where everypony there was forced to have the same cutie mark and be equal. Things weren’t too bad, until their leader tried to steal our cutie marks and brainwash us into becoming a part of their society!” Everyone cringed at the princess’s sudden yelling. “I thought things would get better when Sunset decided to turn over a new leaf after the Fall Formal. Were her apologies not that convincing to you? Or what about when she actually helped us stop the sirens during the Battle of the Bands? Was that moment not good enough for you?” None of the Five answered Twilight’s angry question. They were trying to think of an answer that might calm her down. But it was too late, after observing their nervous and shameful facial expressions, she got her answer. “I asked you all to look out for her,” she reminded them in a calmer tone. “If I didn’t ask that, would you still had tried to be friends with Sunset? And I want the truth.” The Five found themselves corned by a very difficult question. Now only was their last ditch effort to resolve this issue with Sunset and Zak already starting to go south, but they also felt that their friendship with Twilight was now in jeopardy. However, they knew they had no choice but to come clean. “No,” AJ regretfully answered. “After everythin’ she’d done ta us in the past years, we would’ve had nothin’ ta do with her. Ah’m sorry.” Hearing this, the Princess of Friendship hung her head in great disappointment. “I have one more question, for them,” she said looking over at the Crusaders who were now starting to feel a little nervous because now they had to answer to their hero from another world. Twilight approached the three younger girls and asked them in the calmest tone she could muster, “I heard you three were really Anon-a-Miss. Now I know Sunset Shimmer wasn’t the nicest person any of you have ever met in the beginning, trust me I understand. But what exactly did she do that made you want to ruin her life like this?” “It wasn’t like that,” Apple Bloom was the first to speak. “Ever since Sunset became friends with our sisters, they’ve been spendin’ more time with her and less time with us.” “When the holiday season came, our sisters started ignoring us even more,” Sweetie Belle tearfully explained. “We got desperate.” “However, turns out framing Sunset for secret-stealing wasn’t the best solution,” Scootaloo admitted with clear self-disgust in her voice. “Yep, would appear that way,” Twilight said with a mixture of disappointment and pity in her voice. While she was upset with how petty and foolish the Crusaders’ motivation was, she noticed they had a few bruises and clear looks of remorse on their faces and couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them. They were already experiencing the consequences of their actions. “Well then, I’m sorry for the inconvenience I caused everyone. This one is on me.” “No Twilight, it–” Fluttershy tried to argue. She along with the other were surprised that Twilight would take some blame for this entire mess. “I don’t want to hear it,” Twilight stopped her. “Words can’t describe how disappointed and… frustrated I am with all of you. That being said, I understand the importance of this situation and will offer my assistance.” “So you’ll help us?” Pinkie asked with renewed hope. “No Pinkie,” Twilight corrected her. “I’m going to help Sunset Shimmer. After that, it’s up to the rest of you to clean up your own mess. It appears I’m going to be here for a while, so I’ll need to find a place to stay.” “You’re always welcome to stay with us,” Fluttershy offered. “Yeah, we can have a slumber party together like last time!” Pinkie said with hope and excitement in her voice. “I think I’ll sleep in the school library this time,” Twilight replied in a tone that was as polite as she could muster while giving them a look that made it clear she didn’t want to hang out with them. This rejection hit the Five hard. Pinkie suddenly felt her hope and excitement disappear. They had upset Twilight to the point where she didn’t want to spend time with them. Some of them were even starting to understand how Sunset must’ve felt when they wrongfully cast her out. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked as if they were ready to start shedding tears. “Why don’t you stay at my place?” Flash politely offered the princess. “I have a spare room with a bed. I’m sure it’ll be better than sleeping on a bunch of hard books.” “Thanks Flash,” Twilight calmly expressed her gratitude. The blue-haired rocker started leading her to the school parking lot where he had parked his car. “Wait, Twilight!” a desperate and hurt Rainbow called to her. “I know we didn’t trust Sunset Shimmer as much as we should’ve, but how did you know she was innocent?” Twilight just shook her head in disgust and continued following Flash without answering the question. “Isn’t it obvious?” a sad and disappointed Spike asked the Five before joining his mistress. The Five sadly watched as their friend walked away wanting nothing to do with them at the moment and leaving them with their shameful thoughts. It was apparent to everyone that they had screwed up, big time. As Flash drove his car, he looked over at Twilight, who was sitting in the front passenger seat with Spike, from time to time to see if her mood would change. Sadly, she still had that unhappy and disappointed look on her face. “Um…” Flash said trying to start a friendly conversation in hopes of lightening the mood. “So, how have things been in your world?” “Okay, I guess,” Twilight answered with little to no emotion in her voice. “Well, now that I have a chance to say this, I’m sorry for the things I said during the Battle of the Bands.” “I know,” Twilight replied but this time giving him a warm and forgiving smile which he returned with his own warm smile. She had actually long forgiven him since then. “Could you do me a favor,” she asked in a more serious tone. “Before we go to your place, I’d like you to show me were Sunset hangs out with this ‘Zak’ person.” “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Flash replied in a warning tone. “Zak is more dangerous than you think.” “I’m not going to do anything yet, I just want to see for myself how bad it is.” So Flash drove by the house where Zak lived and stopped the car. Twilight rolled down the passenger window to see if she could get a better look and hear better. SMACK! “AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” They suddenly heard what sounded like someone getting slapped hard and a painful cry. “FUCKING MORON!” an extremely vicious and unpleasant voice yelled. It was obviously Zak. “Get the hell out of my sight!” Then they saw through a window Sunset Shimmer enter the kitchen. She looked absolutely miserable. Not just because she had tears in her eyes and a big red hand print on her left cheek. The expression on her face was filled with heartbreak, loneliness, and hopelessness. Twilight had seen enough and couldn’t bear to see anymore, so she rolled her window back up. “Alright, let’s go,” Twilight sadly told Flash she had gotten what she wanted. Flash wasted no time and drove them away from that forsaken hellhole. Twilight looked very upset now. She just got here, but she immediately realized how truly horrible the situation was. Things were a lot worse than she expected. She could already tell that this was going to be one of the hardest challenges of her life. “Oh Sunset! What have they done to you?!” she said to herself. “What have I done to you?!” Author's Note New Chapter Finally Here! Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully Twilight will be able to figure out a way to set things right.
Chapter 11 (Edited 091420)It was morning and the Humane Five were at the Sugarcube Café. They had received a message from Twilight Sparkle to all meet at that place. All five teenagers were sitting at a table with glum and nervous expressions on their faces for they knew Twilight would still be a little upset with them after hearing the terrible details of how Sunset Shimmer suffered during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco. They turned their attention toward the door when they heard someone enter the café, it turned out to be Twilight with Spike by her side. The purple girl took a seat at the table where her ‘friends’ sat. She didn’t make eye contact with any of them. Her face was devoid of warmth and happiness. Instead, it bore seriousness and disappointment. The Five knew this would not be a pleasant meeting. “So…” Rarity was the first to speak. “How are you doing, darling?” “Been better,” Twilight replied in a glum tone of voice while still not making eye contact. “Would you like to order something?” Fluttershy politely asked. “No thanks,” Twilight responded emotionlessly. Afterwards there was a moment of uneasy silence between all of them until Twilight spoke again. “When I asked you all to look out for Sunset Shimmer, I knew it wouldn’t be easy for either of you. However, I hoped that eventually you’d all let bygones be bygones and become true friends with her. But the way you interpreted my request was to watch over her and make sure she behaved and stayed in line as if you were her parole officers. Am I assuming that correctly?” None of the Five answered the question. Instead they gave Twilight looks filled with shame, nervousness, and embarrassment which gave her the answer she needed, and it didn’t please her one bit. “Have any of you figured out why you couldn’t use your magic the last time you spoke with her?” Twilight asked. She hoped they’d figured that out on their own by now, but the curious expressions on their faces said otherwise. “Because Sunset truly isn’t your friend anymore. In fact, I doubt she ever was.” “Are you saying she was pretending to be our friend the whole time?” Rainbow asked suspiciously. “No Rainbow Dash,” an annoyed Twilight replied. “I’m saying you were the ones pretending to be her friend the whole time.” While they understood why Twilight was cross with them, the Five couldn’t help feel very offended by that accusation. “What are you talking about?!” a defensive Rainbow Dash objected. “We never did something like that. Don’t you remember the light show we put on during the Battle of the Bands?” “We all know there was no way we could’ve pulled that off if we weren’t all friends with each other,” Pinkie added. “Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy concluded. “Correction,” Twilight counter argued. “You five were my friends during that time and so was Sunset Shimmer. If I wasn’t there the Dazzlings would’ve won without any problem at all. I was the middleman that made that magical moment possible. None of you ever gave her an offer to join the band. And when she did try to help out, you all mercilessly snapped at her!” This made the Five cringe with shame and embarrassment as they remembered that moment. “Okay I admit, I might’ve overreacted a little that time,” an uneasy Rainbow replied. “‘A little’ doesn’t quite cover it, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight scolded. “Look I wanted you all to at least try to be friends with Sunset. But if you didn’t want to you could’ve just been honest about it instead of just getting both our hopes up and then dashing them like that. This is something I expected better from you, Applejack.” “Now hold on a darn minute,” Applejack spoke defensively. “Maybe ah’ wasn’t as nice ta’ Sunset as ah’ should’ve been, but ah’ ain’t no liar! You of all people should know me better than that.” “For a while, I thought I did,” Twilight bitterly replied with a big scowl on her face. “Okay, I admit,” the country girl said admitting some defeat. “The first time we started hangin’ out with Sunset, ah’ was a little skeptical. It had just been a few weeks after the Fall Formal, and ah’ wasn’t entirely sure Sunset had changed for the better. Some of mah’ friendly interactions with her weren’t entirely… ‘genuine’.” “So you lied?!” a shocked Pinkie asked. “No! Not exactly. Ah’ just hid mah’ true feelins’ of distrust under a mask of trust. But all that changed. As we hung out with Sunset more often, the feelins’ ah’ originally faked started ta’ become real. Pretty soon ah’ actually started havin’ fun in Sunset’s company. Ah’ felt like ah’ had finally made friends with the girl ah’ once considered mah’ worst enemy.” AJ smiled warmly after she was done talking, but it slowly disappeared as she saw Twilight’s scowl remained unchanged. “Or maybe you got so good at it that you started fooling yourself,” the Princess said accusingly. Nothing AJ said had any effect on her. “You did lie, Applejack. Not to me. Not to Sunset. But to yourself. And that’s the worst person anyone can lie to because when you lie to yourself, it makes it easier to lie to others.” “Now hold on Twilight darling,” Rarity spoke coming to AJ’s defense. “You’re taking this a little too far. This was all a big horrible misunderstanding.” “All the evidence we had was pointed at her,” Rainbow added. “How was she able to prove to you she was innocent?” “Sunset is the only person in this world who doesn’t have anything to prove!” Twilight said raising her voice a little which startled all five girls. Then she stood up so she was looking down at all five still seated girls and making herself more a center of attention. “Look I know Sunset Shimmer wasn’t the nicest person you ever met, I know that just as much as everyone at CHS. But at least I’m not letting that prevent me from starting a new relationship with her. By clinging to what happened in the past, you’re ignoring what’s happening in the present. Besides, I’ve met a lot of bad people from my world and Sunset isn’t even the worst. I admit when I returned here to help you against the Dazzlings I too was a little skeptical about her. But after having a little talk with her the night we had that sleepover, I realized she wasn’t the person she was when we first met, at all. I could plainly see that all she wanted was to help out and be accepted. After she proved to be the key to finally beating the sirens, I hoped that would be the turning point in her life that would finally make all of that possible. But apparently I was wrong. Apparently her help at the Battle of the Bands wasn’t enough for any of you! And now, I’m responsible for her suffering.” “What are you talking about, darling?” a confused Rarity asked. “You were the only one who didn’t believe she was guilty?” Fluttershy said. “But I left her all alone with you,” the Princess of Friendship shamefully replied. “Trusting you five with Sunset Shimmer has been the greatest mistake of my life.” She said with both sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Then she left her seat and walked through the café doors. She needed a moment to blow off some steam before resuming her discussion with her ‘friends’ again. Back at the table, Twilight’s words hit the Humane Five harder than a speeding locomotive. To hear that she considers them mistakes made them feel like the biggest bunch of failures in the entire universe. How could they possibly be able to redeem themselves at this point? “It seems like everything you say to her now just makes her angrier,” a calm but disappointed Spike said. “The pony versions of you were able to learn friendship lessons faster than this. Why can’t you?” “But we have learned,” Pinkie insisted. “We just want Twilight to understand why we did what we did,” Rainbow added. “The fact that you’re trying so hard to justify your actions shows otherwise,” Spike disagreed. “Did any of you ever apologize to Sunset Shimmer when you found out who the real Anon-a-Miss was?” No one answered. “Did any of you look her in the eye and say you were sorry?” “Not in that way, per se,” Rarity uncomfortably admitted. “But we did start hanging out with her again,” Pinkie said managing a smile. “We invited her over to slumber parties, played games, watched movies, ate delicious goodies, and had a wonderful holiday season together.” “We thought apologizin’ through our actions was the best way to make it up ta her,” Applejack concluded. “No you didn’t,” the purple puppy disagreed surprising the five teenage humans. He had a very serious expression on his face. “Back in our world, I used to wet the bed when I was younger. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that sometimes I tried to hide the sheets. How often I got caught or not isn’t the point. The point is you’re all doing the same thing I did. Instead of dealing with your mistake, you’ve been trying to make Sunset and everyone else forget about it and move on as if it never happened. I couldn’t believe you would all do something so stupid and so cruel to Sunset Shimmer, but I never thought you would all try to resolve this issue in such a cowardly way. This goes especially to you, Rainbow Dash.” The little dog’s words dug deeper than a rusty pickaxe. “And as for Dash’s question about ‘how Twilight knew Sunset was innocent’. The answer is ‘Twilight is Sunset’s friend,’ plain and simple. Do real friends believe their friends are innocent until proven guilty?” “Oooooh… crap!” Pinkie exclaimed in realization. Suddenly, Twilight reentered the café accompanied by the Crusaders. “Your sisters would like to have a few words with you,” Twilight informed the Five. She still had a stern look on her face. “Twilight told us about what has been happenin’ here,” Apple Bloom said. “Don’t worry girls, you don’t have to take the blame for this one,” Rarity assured them. “We didn’t come here to take any blame,” Sweetie Belle said. “We came here to give you some advice,” Scootaloo added. “Something we did after the Anon-a-Miss fiasco that you five have failed to do.” “What’s that?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “Grow up!” Apple Bloom answered bluntly. The Five were stunned by this. “You may claim to have learned your lesson, but the fact that y’all tryin’ so hard to make excuses and justify them says otherwise.” “You’re so focused on the horrible things Sunset did to you in the past,” Sweetie Belle added. “That you’re completely ignoring the horrible things you’re doing to her in the present,” Scootaloo concluded. “Surely, you must’ve known Sunset was innocent all along. We didn’t pull off Anon-a-Miss that well,” Apple Bloom said. “So why did you all turn on her?” Scootaloo asked. “Did you have any idea how much you made her cry?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I… I…” Fluttershy anxiously stuttered trying to come up with a response. The others looked like they were doing the same thing. After a moment, a look of utter shock and realization formed on the pink-haired eco-girl’s face which soon formed on the faces of the other girls as well. They did know they made Sunset cry when they cast her out of their circle of friends. Surely someone who would cry that hard must’ve been innocent of the crime they accused her of. So WHY did they do it?! WHY did they continue to let her suffer?! It was at this moment that the Five finally realized the exactly what they had done and had needlessly pushed away an innocent and very good friend. Possibly forever! Any excuses or justifications they might’ve still had for their actions and thoughts suddenly vanished out of existence. “We did!” she said in a soft horrified tone. “And we still did nothing! No wonder she left us for Zak!” The extremely remorseful girl burst into hysterical sobbing. “Stupid, vain, ungrateful hypocrite!” Rarity cursed herself as her tears washed away her mascara. “Ah’ can’t believe we did this!” Applejack said horrified and disgusted with herself. “We had ONE job!” Rainbow yelled tearfully. “Be Sunset Shimmer’s fucking friends!” “We were supposed to show her how great friendship was!” an extremely upset Pinkie said. “But instead, we showed her just how ugly and terrible humans can truly be! We didn’t just take a page from the Old Sunset Shimmer, we wrote a sequel to her goddamn book!” “Girls,” Twilight tried to calm them down and get their attention. “Chapter One: stab your own innocent and best friend in the back for no reason!” “GIRLS!” Twilight yelled finally getting their attention. “Yes! You hurt her! More than she could ever possibly hurt you, but this isn’t the time to feel sorry for yourselves. I organized this meeting with you all so that you could finally have this realization. It’s time you all started owning up to the part you played in this whole fiasco and stop letting the CMC shoulder all the blame. If you remember it was practically your fault they started Anon-a-Miss in the first place because you neglected them. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that justifies what they did in the slightest. But I’m sick and tired of everyone trying to avoid answering for what they did as if the pain they caused was not their fault.” Twilight took a moment to calm down, and resumed her speech. “Now, I have a plan to help out Sunset Shimmer. But it’s going to need everyone’s assistance, and I mean everyone. I’m going to go out and find Sunset and try to convince her to come back to the school with me.” “What should we do?” Fluttershy asked. “I want all of you to share your realization with the rest of the school. They all need to understand the damage they’ve inflicted just as much as you.” “You can count on us,” AJ agreed. But there was an obvious hint of sadness in her voice. “This time.” “Do you need any of us to go with you?” Rarity asked. “No,” Twilight answered. “I have to do this part myself. Sunset might not listen to me, but I know she won’t listen to you.” “What about Zak?” a concerned Pinkie asked. “He’s not going to let her go.” “Just leave him to me,” Twilight replied with a serious expression. “You all just focus on what you need to do and be ready for when we arrive. When we do, I want you all to be prepared to pour your hearts out and apologize like you’ve never apologized before.” “Do you think she’ll forgive us?” Fluttershy asked. “No,” Twilight answered honestly. This made the already miserable Five look even more miserable. “She might not even want to be friends with you. I know I wouldn’t, and Sunset Shimmer is a far more forgiving person than I am. In that case, I will take her back to Equestria with me where I’ll make sure she’ll receive the happiness she’s rightfully earned. But in the slim chance she does decide to give you a second chance, I want you all to promise me one thing.” “And what’s that, darling?” Rarity asked. “I want you to promise me that you will be Sunset Shimmer’s friends for real. And if I ever hear that you’ve hurt her like this again, not only will I take Sunset back to Equestria, but I will also take the journal, the magic, and permanently seal the portal and cut any and all ties to this world forever. Do I make myself clear?” The Five and the Crusaders all stood in silence for a moment thinking about the severity of the Princess of Friendship’s ultimatum. “Crystal,” Rarity reluctantly agreed. The fashionista had summoned as much courage as she could to answer that question. The others nodded in agreement. “Thank you,” Twilight expressed her gratitude. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a friend to find.” With that, she and Spike got up, walked out of the café, and were gone. The Five and the Crusaders stayed behind in the café for a while still thinking about the promise they just made. The moment was so serious that even Pinkie Pie couldn’t think of anything to say to lighten the mood. This was truly their very last chance. From now on, they would have to be wiser and more careful about how they treated their friends because if they messed this up, they could say good-bye to the magic, Sunset, and Twilight forever. “Well, ah’ guess we better head back to the school and clean up our mess,” Applejack broke the silence. With that, the Humane Five and the CMC all left the café and headed back to CHS to have a word with the rest of the student body. Forlorn expressions donning their faces. They looked as if hope was hanging by a very very thin thread now. Author's Note The next chapter for this story is finally here! I apologize for the long wait. I've been dealing with a lot of writer's block and am currently working at an internship and haven't had a lot of time to write or post anything new. But now I've found the time and am back!
Chapter 12Sunset Shimmer, the most miserable and loneliest person in the world, sat on a park bench all by herself. There were lots of other people having fun and going about their day, but she paid them no mind. Right now, with the help of her ‘medicine’ provided by Zak, Sunset found herself in a blissful state of mind cut off from the reality around her. From her point of view, everything was bright and sunny, everyone around her looked like pony versions of themselves smiling and waving to her as they passed by. Even the sun itself literally smiled down at her from the sky. For a moment, she felt happy. But she knew it was only a matter of time before the ‘medicine’ wore off and all this went away returning her to the dark and harsh reality she truly lived in. As she sat by herself waiting for the effects to wear off, she saw something unexpected walking towards her. It looked like Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and her best friend and mentor, trotting up to her accompanied by her loyal dragon assistant, Spike. “Sunset Shimmer?” the purple alicorn said in an echoey and concerned tone. “Sunset, it’s me, Twilight. Can you hear me?” Suddenly, the effects wore off and Sunset saw that the pony standing in front of her was actually a human strongly resembling the pony she knew. No, she knew this human. After a moment of observing her, Sunset finally realized that it really was her dearest friend standing before her in her human form alongside her canine-looking companion. “Twilight?” the surprised Sunset responded rubbing her bloodshot eyes. “Is it really you? You’re really here?” “Yes Sunset,” the purple human-looking pony replied warmly. “I’m here.” Sunset could barely contain herself. She practically leapt from the bench and wrapped her arms around the only person she considered her friend. Tears streamed from her tightly closed eyes as she embraced her. Twilight smiled warmly as she gently returned the embrace. “What are you doing here?” Sunset asked releasing her from the embrace. “Your frien–” she stopped a moment to clear her throat. “The girls told me everything.” “Oh Twilight!” Sunset exclaimed taking a moment to let out a little sob before collecting herself enough to speak clearly. “I didn’t mean for you to get mixed up in all this. I know you have a lot of important duties as princess…” “As Princess of Friendship, any issue involving friendship is my duty,” Twilight said. “And they don’t stop at the borders of our world. Sunset, please tell me everything and don’t leave out any details.” Sunset reluctantly told Twilight everything that had happened to her from the Anon-a-Miss fiasco to the falling out with the Five. Twilight listened to all of it. Although she had heard it from the others, she wanted to hear it from Sunset to make sure she understood everything. “Sunset, I’m so sorry all this happened to you,” Twilight sincerely apologized putting a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Her eyes were full of sympathy. “Sunset, we need to talk. But I need you to come with me back to Canterlot High.” Hearing that made Sunset sweat with anxiety. “I… I can’t do that,” she nervously stuttered. “Yes, you can,” Twilight urged. “You need to. We both know that.” “I… I tried to be friendly and forgiving, but I just can’t –” “I’m not asking you to forgive anyone. Right now, I’m having a hard time forgiving them for this whole mess. But I can’t let you destroy your life like this. You need help.” “I…” Sunset was very conflicted. She knew there was some truth in Twilight’s words, but the thought of returning to that place frightened her. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But it’s too late for me. You should just forget about you and return to Equestria with your friends. Nopony will hold it against you. You tried your best. My life was just beyond salvation.” Then she pulled a small syringe filled with a strange-looking liquid from her pocket. It didn’t take long for Twilight to realize that stuff was the drugs Zak was making her take. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just need –” But before she could inject herself with the syringe, Twilight grabbed the hand holding it and firmly held it away from her body. “Sunset!” Twilight said in a very serious tone and pleading eyes. “I gave you my trust when you needed it. May I please have yours?” For a moment, Sunset stared into her friend’s desperate violet eyes trying to figure out what to do. After a while, she reluctantly conceded. “Alright.” Because Twilight was the only person who believed she was innocent during the Anon-a-Miss affair, Sunset felt she owed her. Feeling Sunset’s grip loosen, Twilight gently pulled the syringe from her hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Thank you, Sunset,” Twilight said gratefully and embraced her. “We’d better get going. They’re waiting for us. I promise I’ll be by your side till the end, my friend.” “I know.” The two interdimensional girls and their little dog eventually made it back to the school. Sunset stared hesitantly at the building as a lot of terrible memories popped into her mind. But she felt Twilight take her hand and looked at her with a trusting and confident expression. Twilight led Sunset down the empty hallways of the school while Spike followed. Sunset nervously clung to Twilight’s arm like a nervous child clung to its parents for protection and to keep from getting separated. The deeper they traveled into the building, the more anxious Sunset became. Her anxiety became so great that she gently started pulling Twilight’s arm in the opposite direction when they came across the door to the auditorium. “It’s okay, Sunset,” Twilight assured her in a comforting tone. “I’m right here.” Sunset calmed down and reluctantly allowed Twilight to proceed. They walked through the doors to find the entire room filled with students and faculty members. Once the two girls entered the room, everyone turned their attention towards them. Sunset tighten her hold on Twilight’s arm when she saw all those people. Seeing Sunset trembling in fear while clinging to Twilight made some of the students feel like they were looking into a mirror. In the past, they all feared Sunset Shimmer’s wrath when she was the top bully of their school. But now it looked like the roles were reversed. Sunset looked like the frightened victim afraid that anyone of them would take the opportunity to harm her. After all she had done to them in the past you’d think some of them would find this satisfyingly cathartic, but given the circumstances it was actually the opposite. This was not satisfying at all. For the CMCs and the Five, it was gut-wrenching to see just how much their actions had traumatized Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer,” Principal Celestia was the first to speak and approach Sunset with Vice Principal Luna by her side. “Allow me to explain what all this is about,” she sincerely explained. “When we told Twilight what was happening, she wasted no time in coming here and organizing this huge intervention on your behalf. We know you’ve been going through a very very difficult time and are unsure who to trust, but I assure you no one here blames you. Therefore, I would like to be the first to say I’m so very sorry for all the hardships you’ve endured. As principal of CHS, I am very ashamed of not being there for you when you needed me. But even though you are no longer a student at this school, I will do everything within my authority to help you. I know it may not mean anything since it is a little too late, but I hope that you will give me a chance to make amends for my failures.” While touched by her former principal’s words, Sunset gave a silent and polite nod acknowledging Celestia’s apology and offer to help. Celestia and Luna then stood aside allowing the CMCs, the architects of the Anon-a-Miss fiasco and Sunset’s torment, to face her. “I remember you all said that the reason you did this to me was because you were jealous of the attention I was getting from your sisters,” Sunset said to them in a sad and neutral tone. “I never meant for that to happen. Ever since the Fall Formal, I just wanted to atone for the things I did in the past. To start over and make friends.” She paused for a moment as a few small tears started forming in her eyes. “But I never imagined anyone would pull something like Anon-a-Miss. I never thought anyone would just forget all the effort I put in just like that.” Sunset’s eyes began to water as she spoke. “I just don’t understand. I did everything Twilight asked me to do and still nothing worked out in the end. I was still lonely and hated for the past I so desperately tried to wash away with good deeds. Sometimes I was so miserable that I actually thought about taking my own life.” So many people in the room gasped in shock and horror when they heard this. So many members of CHS despised Sunset Shimmer for her past, but no one would ever wish for her death, not even during the Anon-a-Miss incident. The CMCs, the Five, and Twilight all looked the most disturbed by this. If their actions had pushed Sunset to suicide, the Five’s and the CMCs’ chances of atonement and forgiveness would be even slimmer than they already were. “There is nothing any of us can say that will excuse what we’ve done to you,” Apple Bloom summed up enough courage to finally speak. Her eyes looked like they were ready to burst with tears. “The bitterness you feel towards us is justified,” a tearful Sweetie Belle added. “Everyone was so focused on antagonizing you for the things you did to them that they didn’t realize they were becoming the very demon they thought they were vilifying,” Scootaloo sadly said. “Sunset, we’re so sorry for all the suffering we caused you,” Apple Bloom concluded. Tears were now dripping down her cheeks. Sunset nodded and gave the three younger girls a warm and grateful smile before turning to face the Five, the former friends whose betrayal had hurt her the most. It was time for her to properly face her painful past. “First off, I would like to say I understand,” Sunset calmly spoke to the Five. “I was a messed up person. I did things to you and other people for the smallest and most selfish reasons. I’m not proud of the person I used to be.” She paused as the tears in her eyes started dripping down her cheeks and her voice started to crack a little. “But I honestly tried so very hard to make up for the things I’ve done and be someone that no one would need to fear at this school anymore. I even helped you save this school. Surely you of all people, or at least one of you, must’ve known I was innocent and being setup.” At this point, Sunset couldn’t hold it back any longer. She let all her emotions pour out like a water pipe releasing all the backed up water after being unclogged. “Why? Please tell me, why?” For a moment, the Five stared at her wondering what to say until Applejack was the first to finally stepped forward. “Sunset Shimmer,” AJ addressed her former friend. “You made our lives at this school a living hell for three years.” “That’s something no one gets over easily,” Rarity spoke next. “When Twilight asked us to give you another chance, we were skeptical,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Making friends with an old enemy sounded weird,” Pinkie Pie said. “But you were a lot different from the person you used to be,” Fluttershy spoke. “You seemed to truly regret your actions and wanted to be a better person. But even after the battle against the Sirens, we still felt a little fear for you.” Sunset hung her head as she felt her heart sink. It would appear that her worst fear was realized. Even after all the few but undeniable good things she’d recently done, they were all for nothing. No one, not even her new friends, would ever see her as anything but the horrible bully she once was. “Even after everything, you still feared I would do something bad to you?” she asked a soft and heartbroken tone. “Actually, I think we were more afraid that you wouldn’t do something bad to us,” Rainbow corrected with a shameful look on her face. This caused the look of sadness on Sunset’s face to disappear as she looked up at them with a look of confusion now. “Ya’ see, when someone makes your life miserable for that long,” AJ explained. “Ya’ learn ta’ easily vilify them.” “To the point where you find it impossible to see them as anything else,” Rarity continued. “You become so paranoid and obsessed that you’re always on the lookout, waiting for them to make a bad move,” Pinkie took her turn. “To you, that person is wicked, untrustworthy, irredeemable and rotten to the core,” Rainbow said. “Because if they weren’t, what would that make you?” Fluttershy concluded. Tears started forming in her eyes. At that moment, the pain and confusion in Sunset’s eyes melted away as a look of understanding and realization formed on her face. “What we’re saying is we were so blinded by our hatred for the person you used to be to see the person you were becoming,” Rainbow tearfully confessed. “To see what we were becoming,” Rarity added. Tears were messing up her mascara. For a long moment, Sunset stared at the Five. Not with a look of resentment or heartbroken sadness, but with a look of pity and understanding. All this time she saw them as reminders of her shameful past that could never truly forget or forgive and the Anon-a-Miss incident had all but proven that true. However, after hearing this, she now saw them as images of herself, people ashamed of the hurtful things they did and desperately trying to atone for their deeds. “You’ve apologized for so many things you did to us,” Pinkie struggled to speak through her watery eyes. “But we can NEVER apologize enough for what we did to you!” “We don’t expect ya’ ta’ forgive us,” a remorseful AJ spoke. “We completely understand if ya’ll never wanna be friends with us again. But ah’ want ya’ ta’ know that while you said many wrong and hurtful things to us in the past, there was one thing you were right about.” AJ’s voice started to crack as tears began leaking from her eyes. “I truly am a stupid country girl!” Sunset was shocked and horrified hearing Applejack say that about herself. It brought back some shameful memories of some of the hurtful things she used to say to her. The red and yellow haired girl walked up to the teary-eyed country girl and gently wrapped her arms around her in warm embrace. The moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone turned to see Zak standing in the doorway and clapping his hands with a smug smile on his face. He was accompanied by Chunk and Scratch. The atmosphere suddenly changed, a feeling of hostility suddenly filled the room. Everyone, with the exception of a nervous Sunset Shimmer, all glared at the appearance of these unexpected, and unwanted, guests. “Nice little speeches,” Zak commented the Five in a mocking tone. “Any of you ever thought of doing standup comedy?” “Fuck you!” Derpy yelled at him in response. “As much as I’d love to watch you bimbos fail at another pathetic fucking attempt at getting back your ‘friend’,” the gang leader said condescendingly. “Sunset and I need to go over to my place for a little party. Isn’t that right, babe?” “Why don’t you leave her alone and pick on someone your own size, punk!” Cranky Doodle snapped at the gang leader. “Like you, old man?!” Zak replied threateningly. “Come on, Sunset. Let’s get outta here.” Sunset stared fearfully at Zak who was waiting with a malicious grin for her to comply. Her first impulse was to go with him, she how he got when she didn’t give in to what he wanted. “Not so fast!” Twilight said stepping between Sunset and Zak. Everyone’s attention was now on her as she faced her friend’s abuser with a look of determination and disgust on her face. “Who the hell are you?” Zak demanded. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the humanized alicorn introduced herself. “A friend of Sunset Shimmer.” Zak and his goons rolled their eyes when they heard this. Another annoying so-called friend trying to take away their property. “You must be Zak, Sunset’s new ‘boyfriend’.” “You’ve heard of me,” Zak noticed with a smug grin. “I’m flattered. Funny, Sunset told about all her other so-called friends but she never mentioned you before.” “I’m not always around.” “Well that’s a damn shame,” Zak replied in a mocking tone. “Because I heard she really could’ve needed your help last holiday season. You heard what happened right?” “Yes, I did. Sunset told me about even as she endured it.” “So you knew your friend was in trouble and you still did nothing?!” Zak said letting out a mocking laugh. Chunk and Scratch joined in. “Then you’re just as much a heartless backstabbing (bleep) as those five.” He said pointing to the Five. So many people stared wide-eyed and jaw-dropped at what Zak just said. Even Chunk and Scratch looked shocked that their leader would stoop so low to use the foulest of curse words. Sunset cringed as she listened to Zak’s vulgar slander. Most of the time, she kept quiet when he said things that weren’t true. But this was very hard for her to not talk back to him in this moment. She knew Twilight was nothing like that, she was the only person who believed in her innocence and remained her friend. Despite the vulgar slander she received, Twilight remained unfazed. Then she chuckled much to everyone’s surprise. “My friends have told me a lot about you, Zak. But I prefer to meet the people they talk about and judge them myself,” Twilight said. “And I must say, you’re every bit as rotten as they said you were. But you’re also very pathetic.” Everyone gasped when they heard this. “You think you can intimidate me?! Break me?! Make me think I’m no better than you?! I’ve dealt with worse than you. You’re nothing but a cowardly bully, intimidating and breaking people with your aggressiveness and your hurtful but false words. I’ve read about guys like you, acting like big scary giants because they’re afraid everyone will find out how small their ‘shortcomings’ are!” Everyone, including Sunset and Zak’s gang, was at a loss for words. Twilight, showing absolutely no fear or weakness, dared to speak to a vicious thug like him in such a way. Zak’s face was turning red at the fearless girl’s powerful words. No one ever speaks to him like that and gets away with it. Chunk and Scratch took a few steps back as they sensed their boss’s rage boil. “You… little… bitch!” Zak managed to overcome his intense rage enough to say. “Where do you get off talking to me that way?!? Do you know what I can do to you?!?” “You can’t even hold a candle to Sunset Shimmer back when she justified everyone’s dislike of her,” Twilight continued unchanged. Sunset was surprised to hear this. “Even though she made a lot of mistakes back then, there was one trait she had that I found quite admirable: she never let anyone push her around! While it’s important to treat others the way you want to be treated, it’s just as important to be able to stand up for yourself and not let anyone walk all over or take advantage of you.” Then she turned her attention to her friend. “Sunset, I know you’re trying so hard to be a better person, and you’re doing an amazing job. In fact, I think you may become a better person than me one day, but none of that will matter if you forget how to stand up for yourself and trust in those whom you know have your best interests. This guy, he doesn’t care what’s best for you. And you know it, don’t you?” It was at this moment, Sunset Shimmer had an epiphany. Twilight was right. One of the things that attracted Snips, Snails, and possibly even Flash Sentry to her was her toughness. While it’s important to treat people the way you want to be treated, it’s also important to not let them walk all over you. “Oh, give me a fucking break!” Zak angrily exclaimed. He was really getting sick and tired of this. “If you all hadn’t been such sucky-ass friends, Sunset wouldn’t had left you. Wait, let me correct myself. She didn’t leave you, you threw her out like holiday trash! An unwanted puppy! I took her in and gave her a place to belong. For the kindness and generosity I showed her, she remains grateful to me.” “Kindness?!...” Sunset repeated in a quiet voice. The tone of her voice sounded slightly irritated much to everyone’s surprise. “Generosity?!” Sunset rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a big dark bruise on her arm much to everyone’s horror. “Is this what you call kindness?!” “That was an accident, Sunset,” Zak replied in a threatening tone. “Remember?” “No,” Sunset replied defiantly. “It was not.” Everyone, including Zak and his goons, were speechless. This was the first time Sunset ever stood up to him. “Sunset, babe,” Zak said in a much gentler tone. “You’re feeling well. Let’s go home and give you some medicine.” “I don’t want your goddamn medicine!” Sunset shouted. Her words echoed a little in the room. There was a moment of stunned silence until Sunset lifted her head and faced her ‘boyfriend’ with watery eyes and a defiant glare. “After the Fall Formal, I realized all I ever wanted was to have friends. You are not my friend! You’re no one’s friend. I’m not going to let my fear give you power over me anymore.” Sunset reached into her shirt and pulled out the golden necklace Zak had given her and dropped it on the floor. The shiny metal dented and the jewels cracked on impact. Micro Chips walked out of the crowd and picked up the broken jewelry. After examining it, he turned to Zak and his gang with a look of disgust on his face. “Just as I thought,” the techie bitterly announced. “This was made from very cheap material.” “Fake,” a disgusted Rarity said. “Just like his relationship with Sunset.” “It’s over, Zak,” Sunset announced. “What?!” he responded, he was barely holding back his rage. “We’re… through!” Sunset answered bravely. “Look you little…” Zak said furiously as he began to approach his now ex-girlfriend. But Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs all blocked his path and shot threatening glares at him which seemed to make him angrier. The urge to resort to violence was the first thing that came to mind, but then he looked around at everyone else. They were all giving him the exact same looks as the girls. It was apparent that there was nothing he could do to win this. After all this time, he had finally tasted a defeat. His face turned so red, his head looked like it was going to burst. “You’re on my shit list, bitch!” he said threateningly pointing to Twilight. “And you will pay for this!” he said to Sunset. Then he turned around and left the room with his two mooks. Once Zak and his goons were gone, the entire room erupted into happy and victorious cheering. Outside the school, the thuggish trio all hopped into their car. Scratch and Chunk were a little nervous about the emotional state of their boss. “You okay, boss?” a concerned Chunk asked. “Shut up and fucking drive!” Zak snapped. Chunk wasted no time in doing as he was told. “Hand me the fucking phone!” Scratch immediately handed Zak a cellphone. The livid gang leader dialed a number and listened to the ringing until it stopped to speak. “Bad news, old man! We’re going to have to do this the hard way!” Back in the auditorium, almost everyone was celebrating. Sunset Shimmer was no longer going to hang out with Zak. The plan had worked. However, Twilight and the Five noticed Sunset wasn’t participating in the celebration. She wore a sad expression on her face. Soon everyone else took notice of this and stopped cheering. “I did so many things in the past that I’m still so ashamed of,” Sunset said. “I thought that if I suffered enough, things would eventually get better.” Then she turned to Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs. “I understand why you all did what you did to me during the holidays. But it still doesn’t justify them.” The Five and the CMCs hung their heads in shame and agreement. However, Sunset soon gave them a warm smile. “That being said, I want to say how grateful I am to all of you here tonight. You finally made me realize that the relationship I had with Zak wasn’t the best solution to my problems and that I had to get away from him.” “What will you do now, Sunset?” Twilight asked. “If you don’t want to be our friend again, we completely understand, darling,” Rarity said supportively. “After what we did, I wouldn’t want to be our friend either,” Rainbow added. Sunset thought for a moment before answering. “Can I have a little time to think about it?” “Sure,” Twilight answered warmly. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting.” While it was a relief that Sunset was finally finished with Zak, the next issue would be figuring out and accepting what would be best for her. The thought of losing their friend was heartbreaking, but the Five knew they had to do what was best for Sunset Shimmer. Even if meant having to say good-bye. Author's Note I'M FINALLY BACK! Here's the long awaited next chapter! Sorry for the very, very long wait. I'm almost done now. However, Zak is not done yet. What does this scumbag have planned for Sunset now?
Chapter 3The next day, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all gathered in the music room to practice. However, none of them were feeling in the mood to play their instruments. They were not very happy about meeting Zak, Sunset Shimmer’s new boyfriend, last night. “Sorry, girls,” Fluttershy apologized putting her tambourine down. “But I don’t feel like practicing today.” “I don’t blame you, darling,” Rarity said understandingly. “Yeah, especially after meeting Sunset’s new boyfriend, Zak,” Pinkie bitterly remarked. “Let’s try not ta’ think about it anymore,” Applejack suggested. “We probably just caught him on an off day.” “Whatever,” Rainbow said frustrated. “At first, I thought this guy would be cool. But now that I’ve met him, I don’t like him. Not one bit.” Afterwards, the five girls were walking down a hallway with glum looks on their faces. Then Fluttershy noticed some of her fellow eco-kids and walked over to talk with them. “Hey, Fluttershy,” Sandalwood greeted her. “How are things hangin’?” “Not very well I’m afraid,” she glumly replied. “I’m sensing some negative waves. Did something bad happen?” “Oh, my friends and I found out that Sunset got a new boyfriend. It was exciting until we met him.” “Was his name Zak?” asked an eco-girl named Paisley. “How did you know?” Fluttershy asked surprised. “A few days ago, we got together for some relaxing meditation in the park,” Sandalwood explained. “But then Sunset, Zak, and a couple of his buddies came along and ruined the peace.” “All he did was yell and boss her around,” said an eco-boy named Captain Planet. “That’s awful!” Fluttershy said disturbed. “Totally,” Sandalwood agreed. The athletes were having soccer practice outside, but their best player, Rainbow Dash, didn’t seem herself today. She wasn’t playing as good as she used to. “Hey, you okay today, Dash?” asked Teddy, one of her teammates. “Sorry, guys,” she apologized. “I don’t think I’m up for soccer practice today.” “You feeling alright?” asked Heart Burns. “I’m fine, it’s just getting a look at Sunset’s new boyfriend, Zak, yesterday put me a really lousy mood.” “I know what you’re talking about,” Cloudy Kicks said. “I got a glimce of that guy myself.” “You did?” “Yeah, I was on my way with Tennis Match to watch a friend’s house to watch the game a couple nights ago, and we heard some very loud and disturbing noises coming from a house along the way.” Cloudy Kicks and Tennis Match were walking along a sidewalk chatting excitedly. “You stupid little bitch!” they heard a very loud and angry male voice coming from a very poorly painted house. Both girls stopped in their tracks and turned their attention toward it as more unpleasant yelling followed. “That is not the brand of chips I told you to get!” There was the sound of something being flung against a wall. “I’m sorry, Zak,” said a timid female voice that sounded exactly like Sunset Shimmer. “But the store was all out. I thought this would be a good substitute.” “Idiot! What did I tell you about thinking?! Besides, if the store is out of them, then go look at another store!” “But I don’t know if any of the other stores sell them,” Sunset’s voice was beginning to sound more nervous. “Well, you should’ve figured that out before this happened!” “I’m sorry,” Sunset sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “Just shut up and get the hell out of my sight!” “I’m so sorry,” the sound of crying and running was heard then followed by a door slamming. Both athlete girls were extremely shocked and disturbed by what they just heard. “You really heard that?!” Rainbow asked now very angry. “Yeah, I’m afraid that’s exactly what we heard,” Cloudy Kicks answered. “Sunset!” Rainbow said clenching her fists as her fury rose. She already had a bad perspective of this guy but hearing this made it even worse. The idea of her friend being abused made her furious. Elsewhere, Pinkie was telling a group of drama kids and comdians about her first encounter with Zak, and she wasn’t telling the story like it was one of the most fun moments in her life. “And that’s what happened,” Pinkie bitterly concluded her story. “So it’s just as bad as the rumors say,” said a drama boy named Nolan North. “I remember seeing them at the mall three days ago,” Derpy told them. “It was so unpleasant.” Derpy was shopping at a clothing store at the mall. She was trying on different sunglasses to see which one makes it more difficult to see her crooked eyes until she saw Sunset Shimmer shopping in the same store. “Hello, Sunset,” Derpy greeted her. “Hi, Derpy,” Sunset politely replied. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, you know, shopping for new clothes.” “Me too, I’ve been shopping with Zak.” “Who’s that?” Derpy curiously asked. “He’s a new guy I’ve been hanging out with.” “You mean like a new boyfriend?” Derpy excitedly asked. “You could say that.” “Sunset, what the hell is taking so long?” Zak appeared and asked in gruff and impatient voice. “Hi ,Zak,” Sunset nervously greeted her boyfriend. “I was just looking for a new outfit to wear for tonight. Tell me, which one do you think looks nice?” she held up two dresses, one with green colors and one with red colors, to show him. But he angrily knocked both dresses out of her hands in one swipe. “I don’t care what you chose to wear,” Zak said in a threatening tone and glared down at Sunset who was trembling under his gaze. “In fact, some of the guys prefer you wear nothing like last time,” he said sporting a sadistic and perverted grin. Sunset’s eyes widened with horror. “Please don’t make me go through that again,” she begged clutching her body defensively. “Then stop wasting everyone’s time, you stupid little slut,” Zak threatened. “What are you looking at?” he asked Derpy in a hostile tone as he turned to leave the store. “Sorry Derpy, I have to go,” Sunset said in an unhappy tone and immediately followed Zak out the door. Back in the store, Derpy stood where she was completely aghast by what she’d just witnessed right in front of her. “Poor Sunset,” Derpy said feeling very sympathetic. “I don’t understand why she would want to hangout with a guy like that.” “Sunset has made some poor decisions in the past, but this is just crazy,” Octavia said. “This is a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” a comedian named Blueberry Pie said. “And I used to consider Sunset Shimmer my worst enemy.” “Yeah, this guy sounds like a real dirt bag,” her friend, Raspberry Fluff added. “What do you think, Pinkie?” Derpy asked the pink poofy-haired girl. Pinkie looked absolutely shocked and nervous. “From what you’ve told me, things sound a lot worse than we thought. I’d better go tell the others,” then she took off down the hall. “Thanks, Derpy,” she called back and waved her hand as she ran. During Lunchtime, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and AJ all met together at one of the cafeteria tables to discuss what they’ve learned. “Well, I’d like to say I’ve learned something very important today,” Pinkie was the first one to speak when they sat down. “Turns out Sunset’s new boyfriend isn’t bad.” “No, he’s absolutely horrible!” Fluttershy interrupted. “How did you know I was going to say that?” Pinkie asked. Then a nervous look spread across her face. “Oh no, am I becoming predictable?!” “The point is this guy, Zak, is a creep and shouldn’t be hangin’ out with Sunset,” Applejack declared. “I just can’t abide such tactless behavior,” Rarity said. “I just want to walk up to the jerk and pound his stupid face in,” Rainbow said clenching her fists. “Maybe we should talk to Sunset about how we feel about this,” Fluttershy suggested. “Fluttershy’s right,” AJ agreed. “We should deal with this rationally before doing something that might make it worse. Ya’ll remember what happened with Anon-a-Miss, right?” The other girls cast sad and remorseful glances down at the floor. It was the most humiliating and shameful time of their lives, how could they not remember? “AJ’s right,” Rainbow said. “We all made some pretty terrible mistakes during that time, but it got resolved and everything went back to normal. Though our little sisters did got quite a bit of detention for what they did.” “I also hear that they’re being picked on a little more frequently since then,” Fluttershy added. “Really? Apple Bloom’s still bein’ harassed since then?” AJ angrily asked entering her protective older sister mode. “Sweetie Belle never told me about this,” Rarity said worried and confused. “Scootaloo never said anything either,” Rainbow added. “Something weird is going on here,” Pinkie said suspiciously. “We’d better catch Sunset Shimmer before she leaves school early again,” Fluttershy suggested. “Fluttershy’s got a point,” AJ agreed. “We’d better go deal with Sunset’s problem while we still have the chance. Then we can deal with our sisters’ problems after.” “Right,” the others agreed in unison. Then they all got up from their table and left the cafeteria. Sunset Shimmer was in the hallway taking supplies out of her locker and putting them in her backpack. She closed the locker door to find her five friends waiting behind it. Their sudden appearance nearly made her jump out of her shoes and socks. “Girls, I didn’t expect you,” Sunset apologized for nearly freaking out. “Sunset, darling, we need to have a talk,” Rarity said. “Can it wait another time?” Sunset nervously asked. “I have a very important appointment to keep.” “In a hurry to get something for your man before he throws another fit?” Rainbow angrily asked. “You mean Zak? Sorry you had to see that, you just caught him on a bad day that’s all,” Sunset assured them. “According to many of the students here, he has a lot of bad days,” Applejack said suspiciously making Sunset look even more nervous. “Sunset, we’re your friends,” Fluttershy said in a gentle and understanding tone. “And we care deeply for you. But this new person you’ve started a relationship with, it makes us nervous and worry for you.” “I appreciate your concern, but Zak’s not so bad once you get to know him. In fact, he’s actually a pretty great guy to be around,” Sunset said reassuringly. “How great?” Pinkie asked suspiciously. “Well for starters, he understands and trusts me. He doesn’t like when I’m gone for too long, so that means he really cares for my safety. He likes to hang out with all his cool friends, throw parties, hangout at really cool places, and he doesn’t make fun of my past all the time like you all do.” The last part Sunset said in a bitter tone. “That’s a surprise,” Pinkie said confused. “You’d think he’d feel a little weird about dating a girl who once turned into a demon… No offense.” But instead of saying ‘none taken’ like she usually did, she gave them an unamused look and rolled her eyes. She clearly did not appreciate it this time. “I gotta go. See you all later,” Sunset bid farewell to her friends as she ran out of the school to make her appointment. After Sunset had left, the five girls headed back down the hallway and they didn’t very happy. Not only did they fail to resolve the issue with their friend but they also manage to accidentally offend her as well. “Looks like this it going to harder than we thought,” AJ said to the others. “Let’s just hope things won’t get any worse,” Rarity also said.
