Wounds Not Quite Healed

The 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.