Finding Family.by Dark Star the CrazedChaptersCold.Hospital.Discharge.Residence.RevelationCold.Sunset Shimmer wandered the streets of Canterlot City, her eyes damp and her cheeks stained with tears. The girl was in a state that could be considered trance like, with a vacant, teary eyed stare. The sudden honking of a horn got her attention as she looked toward the source. "Get outa' the road!" The girl, frightened in her current state of mind bolted in the opposite direction. As she ran she began to think of the events that has led to her wandering the streets, and as she thought, voices began to echo through her mind. "You secret stealer!" 'Shut up.' "You're not our friend!" 'Shut up!' "How could you do this?" 'Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!!!' "Yer not welcome her, Sunset!" Sunset stopped dead in her tracks, hands trembling and heart aching. She sat down, leaning against the wall of the alley she had run into, tears began to flow once again. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Anon-a-Bitch!" Sunset looked up, and through her tears she saw a group of 5 teenagers standing there. One of them walked forward, brandishing what appeared to be a pipe. "This is going to be fun." The teen kicked the girl in the chest before she began to repeatedly hit her with the pipe three of the others quickly following suit.. The next thing Sunset knew, she was lying on the ground, the snow around her stained red. She could just barely feel her arms and legs. "Gilda... What the hell is wrong with you!? You said we were just going to scare her!" That voice... Sunset used most of what remained of her strength to croak out a single word. "R-rainbow?" "You're still alive? Good." From her position on the ground Sunset couldn't see what was happening. "Finish it." "What!? No! I'm not gonna-" "Yes you are! Because if you don't you're gonna be joining her. Now take the pipe and cave her skull in!" Sunset heard the pipe fall to the ground, followed by the crunching of snow. For a moment the entirety of existence seemed to go silent. She didn't know how long it lasted but it seemed like an eternity before three simple words brought Sunset's heart to a momentary stop. "I'm sorry Sunset..." Sunset felt the pipe collide with the back of her head head before seeing it fall to the ground beside her out of the corner of her eye. "What have I done?"* It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A statement that the polychromatic teen started to repeat over and over. "The right thing. Let's go before someone sees. And don't even think about calling the cops or an ambulance Dash, they won't be able to save her at this point... Besides, the universe is better without her." The crunching of snow followed those words and Rainbow Dash muttered one more 'sorry' before she joined the group that had just left. Sunset had no idea how long she laid there, but she didn't care anymore. She just wanted the her injuries and the cold to take her at this point. She closed her eyes and began to slip away, only for a slightly familiar voice to echo through the alley. "Hey are yo- Oh sweet Faust! Dagi! Call an ambulance! Aria help me get her into that store!" Sunset felt a pair of hands begin to shake her and pull her off the ground. "Come on! Stay with me!" Sunset used the last of her strength to turn her head to the side. All she managed to see before darkness took her was blue skin. A while later at Canterlot General. Sunset slipped in and out of consciousness as she was being moved. "Give me the rundown on the way Redheart, if we don't get this girl into surgery now she,s going to die, and I don't intend to let that happen!" "Her ID says Sunset Shimmer... Called in by a... Said that she found her in an alley... From a glance I see a broken leg and signs of hypothermia, she doesn't seem to be suffering from frostbite... From the injuries on her chest I'd say she got at least thirteen broken ribs... Whoever did this was most likely trying to kill her." Once more Sunset slipped into darkness. After eight straight hours of surgery and seven more hours of rest. Sunset groaned as she opened her eyes before trying to sit up, only to ha e a hand placed on her shoulder. "Stay still dear, you shouldn't move for a while. You don't want your stitches to act up do you?" 'Stitches?' Sunset's head was flooded with memories, only they also brought a great deal of pain with them, causing her to scream out and reach for her head, only to find out that she had been restrained. After a moment the pain subsided and Sunset's head dropped back onto the pillow she had been resting on when she woke up. "There there dear, I'll be right back, I'm going to get Doctor Hoarse and Officer Shining Armor. They need you to answer some questions, ok?" Sunset managed to nod. "I'll be back in a moment dear. In the mean time, the girls that found you have been waiting here since you came in... If you want to see them I can let them in while you wait..." "Do any of them look like the girls in the pictures I have in my wallet?" When the nurse shook her head Sunset looked away and sighed. "Alright." The nurse nodded and walked out of the room. Moments later a figure appeared in the doorway. A figure that Sunset had met before. A figure with yellow skin and a large fluff of hair. "Long time no see Sunset Shimmer." Adagio walked into the room followed by the other Sirens before walking over to Sunset and placing a finger on the girl's lips. "Don't say anything, I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. We're not here for revenge. If we wanted to hurt you we would have left you to die in the snow." "Why didn't you? Why are you even here? You're here to mock me aren't you? Well go ahead and laugh it up. The big hero Sunset Shimmer has fallen, framed for a crime she didn't commit, abandoned by those she thought of as friends... " As tears began to we'll in the girl's eyes Adagio pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down before running her hand down Sunset's cheek. "What are-" "Shhh... Let it out Sunset. My sisters and I will listen." Sunset looked behind the Siren and saw the other two standing there, looks of genuine concern on their faces, though Aria was trying her best to hide it. Despite her using all of her willpower in order to try and not look weak in front of her former enemies, the flood gates broke and she began to sob. "Shhh it's ok... We're here for you..." Adagio began running her hand through her hair and allowed the girl to lean her head on her shoulder. Rainbow Dash's house. Rainbow looked at her mirror in horror at what she saw. "S-s-sunset..." 'Murderer.' "No, Sunset, I-" 'You killed me. Why'd you do it Rainbow? Did you really hate me that much?' "I had to! They would have-" 'No choice? You were the one with the pipe I your hands. You were the one to finish it. You could have turned on them and gotten help, but instead you murdered me... Princess Twilight couldn't have picked a better friend.' Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she threw a punch at the girl, shattering the mirror. She looked at her bleeding hand and something clicked causing her sit down, hugging her legs to her chest as she cried. "I'm a monster..." Those were the only words she said as her mother came in and asked what happened. Scootaloo looked at her adoptive sister and in the back of her mind, she finally realized just what she and the Crusaders had done. Author's Note Sooo... Yeah... I've got a fucked up mind. Note that this is a prequel to The Tale of Team SASA, not a stand alone story. * Yes I just did that... I repeat, I have fucked up mind. Hospital."And you're sure that's all you can remember?" After what seemed like hours, Sunset finally managed to calm down enough to answer the questions that the officer handling her case had needed to ask her. Seeing the girl nod, Shining Armor sighed and closed the notepad he was holding before slipping it into his pocket. "Right then, this should be enough for the arrest warrants. Don't worry we'll bring them in, just leave the rest to us." With that the officer left, leaving only only the doctor and Sirens with the girl the fire haired girl. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to discuss your injuries with you, and I must say that you are quite lucky Miss Shimmer." Doctor Hoarse walked over to one of the machines used to show x-rays and turned it on, revealing an x-ray that showed how Sunset's leg was broken in three places. "Despite the beating you took, and the fact that we lost you twice during the operation, you will manage to make a full recovery, though you may have to go through physical therapy for your leg, which, barring any further injuries, should take three months to heal." The doctor turned to the girl and frowned. "Speaking of which, I noticed that your ID and medical records didn't list an address." Sunset didn't notice the fact that the Siren's faces seemed to have steeled. "Assuming that this means you're homeless..." Sunset looked away and nodded, slightly ashamed of the fact that she didn't have a place to live. "In that case, i need to ask, where do you plan to stay while you recover once you've been discharged?" "Oh, I'll just stay with my friends..." Sunset stopped halfway through her answer, realizing that at this point her 'friends' were not a viable option. She stayed silent for a moment before looking down at her hands. "I... I don't know..." "I see, well in that case I suppose we cou-" The doctor was cut off by Sonata, whom, much to Sunset's shock, announced the last thing she ever thought she'd hear from one of her former enemies. "She can stay with us!" Adagio and Aira looked at the girl for a second before looking at each other. After a moment Adagio nodded. "Well... We do have a few spare rooms... Not to mention the fact that it would be a nice way to repay her." Aria placed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at her fellow Sirens before seeing Sunset out of the corner of her eye and groaning before placing a hand to her forehead. "I guess we kinda owe her and the Rainbooms for breaking our amulets..." The small cringe Sunset made at the mention of the Rainbooms did not escape the notice of the eldest Siren. "Fine, if it's ok with her she can stay at our place... But if she goes in my room I'm going to rip her, and the two of you, into so many pieces that the person with the highest IQ on the planet won't be able to count them all!" The Siren got up and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna get something to eat from the cafeteria... Damn pony magic making me remember I have a conscience..." After Aria walked out Sonata walked over and placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Don't worry about Aria, she's always grumpy." The Siren went over to the door and looked over her shoulder back at the other two. "Imma' go get a taco, you two want anything?" Sunset just stared dumb at the Siren as she left. 'Am I on Mars? Tell me I'm on Mars. None of this makes any sense, I must be on Mars!' "Well then if Miss Shimmer has no objections..." Sunset, despite her mind going at about thrice the maximum speed of a bullet train, weighed her options before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine with it, it's not like I have anywhere else to go..." The doctor nodded and wrote something down on a notepad he had with him. "Now then, while I'm here, I'd like to ask how you are going to pay your bills..." Adagio's voice was the one to speak up, her words bringing Sunset's mind to a halt. "I'll be paying the bills doctor." The former pony's head snapped in the direction of the Siren and Sunset's eye began to twitch as the doctor nodded and left the room. She remained silent for a moment before opening her mouth, only for Adagio to place her hand over it. "This is not a scheme to get you into our debt Sunset Shimmer, think of this as our way of thanking you and your..." Remembering how Sunset had cringed at the mention of the Rainbooms and the fact she had stopped midway when saying she could stay with her friends, Adagio searched for the right term for this situation. "Acquaintances... For breaking our amulets and making it so that we no longer need to feed off negative energy..." "But I-" "Are going to lay down and get some more rest, you're not really in a position, nor the best state of mind to argue after all." Sunset stared at the Siren and groaned before laying back down, knowing that she was right. Canterlot High right after the final bell. Rainbow and her friends were standing in front of the statue, Fluttershy holding Sunset's journal, waiting for Princess Twilight to arrive. Applejack, having seen that Rainbow was in a strange state all day, finally got fed up. "All right, that's it Rainbow! Either you tell us what's got you moodier than Winnona when I'm to busy to play with her, or I'll hog tie you and-" "I made a big mistake AJ. I did something terrible and I'll never be able to take it back... And I don't think it's something my teenage friends are going to be able to help me with it." Rainbow turned and looked as Twilight emerged from the portal, a stern expression on her face. "Twilight, thank god you're he-" The other four humans gasped in shock when Twilight struck Rainbow across the face hard enough to knock her to the ground. Rainbow didn't say anything in response, she didn't even try to get up. "Now Twilight that was-" "Princess." AJ stopped and looked at the Princess. "'Scues me?" The pony in a human body turned at looked at her, a look of rage in her eyes. "I said 'Princess'. That is how you shall refer to me from now until we fix this mess. Only my friends get to refer to me by my name!" The words left the cowgirl stunned as Twilight walked past her, her eyes set on Sunset's journal. "B-b-but we are friends..." Fluttershy started shaking as the purple girl marched over, holding the book up for protection before Twilight ripped it out of her hands. Twilight snorted. "Oh, you mean you're going to leave me crying my eyes out in the middle of the school? Sorry but I think I'll pass!" "Twilight, darling, we would-" Rarity was silenced by the glare Twilight sent her way, quickly amending her statement. "Princess Twilight, you can't honestly be taking that traitor's side!" "Traitor? You're being hypocrite Rarity. I think I already know who Anon-a-Miss is, and it's not Sunset!" The girls, excluding Rainbow, whom had gotten back on her feet and was standing in silence off to the side, gasped in shock. "I'd stand here and explain away every single piece of your theory and tell you who Anon-a-Miss really is, but right now I need to find Sunset before she does something stupid and hurt-" "There's no point in looking for her..." Twilight turned and looked at Rainbow Dash with a mixture of rage and confusion on her face. "What are you saying Rainbow?" "I'm saying I fucked up. Badly. I did something that can't be undone... Sunset's gone... I... I..." Rainbow wasn't able to finish her sentence before she started crying. After a moment Twilight's eyes widened and the journal fell from her hands. "No... No! She's not, you couldn't have..." The pony ran over and placed her hands on the teens shoulders. "Rainbow, please tell me you didn't!" When Rainbow didn't answer Twilight backed away and started to repeatedly shake her head. "Nonononono! This can't be real!" Before Twilight's mind unraveled any further a voice called out to them. "Excuse me, but would any of you happen to be Rainbow Dash?" Before anyone else could respond Rainbow walked up to the approaching officer, turned around and got on her knees before placing her hands on her head, much to her friend's confusion. "I'm not going to lie, part of me was hoping I'd get to chase Canterlot High's star runner." Rainbow didn't make any snark comments as she was lifted to her feet and her hands were placed behind her back. As she was being stood up Principal Celestia and Vice principal Luna walked over. "Excuse me Officer, but would you mind explaining why you and your friends just put four of my students in handcuffs and you're raising that number to five?" Seeing who the officer was arresting she huffed. "Number five being the captain of the soccer team no less." The officer ignored her, choosing to follow protocol instead. "Rainbow Dash, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Sunset Shimmer." All those gathered, aside from Twilight, who now was beginning to have hope, hearing the officer say attempted murder, gasped in shock and started to protest. The officer ignored said protests as he began to lead Rainbow away. "You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?" All Rainbow could do was simply nod as she was placed in the back of a police cruiser with Gilda. Discharge.Twilight rushed into Canterlot General in a panic, running up to the front desk and slamming her palms down as hard as she could in order to get the receptionist's attention. The woman calmly looked up at the girl and set her crossword puzzle down. "Can I help you?" Twilight would have normal blushed in embarrassment, but this was an emergency. "My friend was assaulted and more than likely severely injured last night. She was brought here for treatment, I need to see her! I need to know that she's ok!" The receptionist gave the alicorn turned human a deadpan stare. "What's their name?" She looked down and was ready to start typing. "Sunset Shimmer." The woman didn't even need to look up the girl, as she had already had her file up. "Ya just missed her. She was discharged a few minutes ago, left with three other girls about your age, if ya head out now you might be able to catch her before she leaves." Twilight ran out the door passing the four of her 'friends' that hadn't been arrested. With Sunset and the Dazzlings. "Hey, Sunny?" Sunset looked at Sonata as the Siren helped her out of the wheelchair she was in and into the Siren's van. Apparently the blue Siren, who the others had confirmed was the youngest of them, had a habit of giving people nicknames. "Aren't those your friends?" Sunset's eyes widened and she looked out of rear window of the van. Sure enough, there were her 'friends' and they seemed to be looking for her. She was about to tell the Siren to ignore them, she wasn't in the mood to talk after all, but then a certain purple skinned pony turned human caught her eye. "Twilight..." Sunset wanted to get out of the van and roll over to her friend and mentor, but at the same time she didn't want to face the Princess, knowing that she would probably have to interact with the others if she did. After weighing her options Sunset sighed. "Seeing as you three are letting me stay with you and Adagio payed my hospital bills... I hate having to ask any more of you but... Could... Could one of you give Twilight some money for a cab and your address? I'd go over and talk to her now but..." Sonata placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder, gave her an understanding smile and nodded before taking off toward the group of five, Aria groaned and got out of the van before walking after her younger sister to make sure she didn't screw things up. Twilight and her 'friends' were looking around in a panic, trying to find Sunset before she left. Just as she was about to call out her friend's name again, a bubbly voice reached her ears. "Hey there!" Twilight and the others turned Applejack quickly getting ready for a fight once she realized who had just spoken. "What in tarnations are you doing here Siren?" "Actually, my name's Sonata." Applejack and the others blinked in confusion at the Siren's nonchalant response as she the blue skinned girl walked up to Twilight. "You're Twilight right?" Twilight quietly nodded as Sonata pulled out her wallet in order to pull out some bills and a business card. "Sunny-" "Sunny? Do you mean Sunset!?" Twilight grabbed the girl by the shoulders and began shaking her. "Where is she!? I usually try not to be violent, but so help me Faust, if the three of you- Ahhghh!!!" Aria glared at the Princess as she twisted her wrist while Sonata recovered from the violent shaking she had just received. Hearing snow crunch the purple Siren turned and glared at Applejack as she approached. "Back off or I'll feed you your own hat." Judging by the look in the Siren's eyes, AJ decided it was in her best interest to do as she said. Once the blonde had backed away the Siren returned her gaze to the royal. "Look, normally someone that touched my little sister would be laying on the ground and missing a few teeth, but I'm going to let it slide this time because you're just trying to find Sunset." Aria let Twilight go and the girl started rubbing her wrist. Twilight glared at the Siren before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about Sunset, she was attacked last night and-" "We know." Twilight looked at the purple Siren in confusion as she jerked her thumb in Sonata's direction. "The ditz over there is the one who found her." Sonata nodded very enthusiastically in response. "Anyway she wanted us to give you our address and some money for a cab before the four of us took off." "But I thought there were only three of you?" Aria groaned and looked at the one that she had dubbed 'the Pink Menace' after the Battle of the Bands. "Me, my sisters and Sunset." Twilight and the others gasped. "Yeah, that's right. Sunset's going to be staying at our place until her leg heals. And she's doing it willingly." Rarity narrowed her eyes and pointed at Twilight. "You see what we mean darling? Sunset is cavorting with the enemy! She's a traitor!" Twilight wheeled around and was about to smack Rarity when Sonata rushed past her and stared into the white girl's eyes, said girl cringing in fear. "Ok, first of all if what Sunset said about the last week is true, you have no right to call her a traitor after leaving her crying in the middle of a school hallway!" The four humans cringed in shame. "Secondly, the reason she's staying with us is because she is afraid that the lot of you will do something to her similar to what that Rainbow Dash did." They cringed again, their hearts starting to ache. "And finally, your hair is stupid!"* Rarity gasped in shock at the insult. Applejack and Twilight, being the most, level headed of the group looked at the older Siren, who was staring at her little sister in shock, she and Adagio had never seen Sonata genuinely angry before. "A'right I guess it's understandable she wouldn't want to be near us for a while after... What Rainbow did... But why would she stay with you three? Why wouldn't she just stay at her own place?" Aria raised an eyebrow at the farmer. "Seriously? The lot of you are supposed to be her friends and you didn't know? She's homeless you hick." Aria ignored the stunned look on the humans faces and turned toward Twilight before pulling a few bills and a business card out of her wallet and handing them to Twilight. "She's staying with us at this address Princess, you're welcome to come see her and talk if you want." Hey eyes shifted to the real humans. "They're not." Without another word Aria walked over to her sister and slapped her on the back of her head to get her attention. "Let's go." "Now hold on a cotton pickin minute!" Applejack ran over and grabbed Aria's shoulder. "What do you mean we're not welcome to come see her!? She's our friend too!" Aria simply looked over her shoulder at the cowgirl. "Unless you want to have your ass dragged into that hospital for a broken arm, I suggest you let go. Now." "You don't scare me Siren, you don't have magic anymore!" Aria snorted. "I've been all around the world cowgirl, I don't need magic to beat the shit out of you. I'm highly trained is several styles of martial arts and can literally break even bone in your body in under thirty minutes."** Applejack's grip loosened at the lack of emotion in the Siren's voice. She wasn't trying to intimidate the cowgirl, she was just stating a fact. Aria shook the girls had off her shoulder and walked away with her sister, quickly getting into their van, which drove away, with the girls seeing Sunset inside. Twilight watched the retreating van for a moment before looking at the true humans, her mind made up. "Where do I find a taxi?" Canterlot Police Department. Rainbow moved in front of the camera as she was given a placard with her name on it. The camera flashed once and she turned to the side where it flashed again before having the placard taken and being led to a holding cell with Gilda and other three students that had attacked Sunset. Gilda would have run over and decked the girl but this wasn't her first rodeo. She knew the guards responded to a fight quickly and that they weren't nice to the instigators. So she settled with glaring at the girl that couldn't manage to finish off the dying she-demon. It didn't matter though, once she got out she'd get the prismatic bitch for being weak, and she'd make sure the she-demon died for real the next time. Rainbow sat down in the corner and hugged her knees to her chest as she began crying once again. Author's Note * "It looks like a bunch of purple curly fries!" ** Some of these styles include Krav Maga, Judo, Hapkido, Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo and Muay Thai. Residence.Sunset stared in awe at the size of the Siren's home. She had expected a house that was slightly larger than any of her 'friends' houses, not one that was about a fourth the size of Celestia's castle! Sunset's head snapped toward Adagio. "You three live here? In Chestnut Hills?"* "Indeed we do, and I'm proud to say we never once used our magic to amass our wealth. I just happen to be very good at playing the stock market." After the four had managed to get inside the large house Aria walked down a hallway and disappeared around a corner, a door slamming shut a few moments later. "Now that we're here, we need to lay down some ground rules." Sunset shrugged in her wheelchair. "The least I can do is follow the rules since you're letting me stay here." Adagio smiled as Sonata walked past and handed her a pen and piece of paper. "Now there aren't many, but these are rules that you need to follow." To Sunset's surprise, they were all pretty normal rules you would expect in any household. "I need to know if you have any allergies." Sunset raised her eyebrow. "In case I make something for dinner... What are you giving me that look for?" "Just never expected you or your sisters to be able to cook is all. Don't worry, I'm not allergic to anything humans normally put in food..." "We all have hobbies of our own. Sonata collects comics and plays video games, Aria has her martial arts and I cook. Now, I use exotic ingredients every now and again so 'normal' may not always apply ." Sunset looked away and mumbled something under her breath. "What was that?" Sunset sighed, looked her directly in the eyes and narrowed her own. "I am deathly allergic to it, so don't laugh." Adagio smirked in response. "If I laugh, you can slap me." "Hay. I'm allergic to hay." Adagio, with a deadpan face, nodded and wrote it down before looking back at Sunset. "Ironic." She clapped her hands together and nodded. "Now that that's done, I can show you your room." Adagio walked past the girl who turned her wheelchair around and followed her. "I must admit, I'm looking forward to you staying with us." Once more Sunset raised an eyebrow as she followed. "Why?" "The others... Well Aria and Sonata are my younger siblings and I love them dearly, though it may seem like the opposite at times, but they can be..." Adagio stopped in front of a plain oak wood door and put a finger to her chin. "Irritating, Sonata always being so childish and Aria always wanting to use violence to solve her problems. It will be nice to have someone staying with us who actually uses their brain for once. Anyway, this is the room you'll be staying in." Adagio opened the door and Sunset looked inside. The room was slightly larger than an average sized room and had a queen size bed, the top of it being pressed up against a wall as well as a few dressers and a closet. There was only one thing Sunset found suspicious. The walls were red. Her favorite color. She looked at Adagio, eyebrow raised. "Why is it red, not that I mind, red's my favorite color in fact, but..." "That would be Sonata's doing. I'm not sure why, but when we moved in she insisted at we paint seven rooms, each in a different color of the rainbow." Sunset just kept her eyebrow raised, though she slightly cringed at the word 'rainbow'. "My bedroom is yellow, hers is blue and Aria's is indigo. I'd let you have the orange, green or purple rooms but they are a bathroom, wreckroom and a room we use for storage, respectively." Sunset opened her mouth to respond when someone rang the doorbell. "I'll get it!" Sonata ran out of her room toward the front door and opened it. "Hey there Princess, come on in." Sunset wheeled around the corner just in time to see Twilight enter. As soon as Twilight saw Sunset she ran past Sonata and hugged the girl as tight as she could. "Sunset! I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" Sunset put on a fake smile and looked at the blue Siren. "Hey Sonata, could you and Adagio give us some time alone?" Sonata smiled and nodded before walking upstairs with her eldest sister, the pair of ponies turned human hearing a pair of doors open and close a few moments later. "I'm fine Twilig-" "No you're not." Sunset looked Twilight in the eyes and all she saw was rage. "Don't you dare lie to me Sunset Shimmer. You are not 'fine'. You were assaulted by one of our friends and almost died." Sunset frowned and needed to correct her. "Your." Twilight blinked at Sunset. "What?" Sunset sighed and looked away. "You said 'our'. They're your friends Twilight, not mine... They never were." Twilight frowned and put a hand on the girls shoulder. "What are you saying Sunset? Of course they were." Sunset looked at the girl and snapped, all the anger she had been holding back since the Battle of the Bands came loose. "I'm not blind Twilight, and neither are you! You and I both know that they never really saw me as a friend! They saw my as a pet! As a trophy to show everyone that they took down the Queen Bee of Canterlot High!" Sunset looked away. "I realized that the day they yelled at me during the Battle of the Bands... I think you did too... We just didn't want to admit it..." Twilight frowned and narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You're wrong Sunset! They are your friends! They're just confused, they..." "Then why did they turn on me so quickly!?" Twilight flinched at the girl's words. "After all I've done for them, all I've done to prove that I've changed, it took less than a week for them to abandon me!" Sunset looked away and began to cry. "I may not fully understand friendship, but I'm pretty sure that's something friends don't do to each other..." Twilight's eyes softened and she reached out to the girl. "Sunset, please, I know your hurting right now but-" "Hurting!? I died Twilight!" Twilight's hand retracted at the statement. "I flat lined while they were operating on me. Twice." Sunset glared at Twilight. "I was technically murdered by Rainbow Dash and you are trying to defend the people who abandoned me, including her!" Sunset's head dropped and, to Twilight's surprise, she began laughing. "I should have seen this coming, they were your friends first after all..." The words hurt but Twilight didn't back down. "Sunset I-" "Leave... Just... Leave, please..." Sunset turned around and began to wheel herself to the room Adagio said she'd be staying in. It took a few moments for the Princess to register what had just been said. "Sunset wait! I'm not defending-" "She knows you're not defending them Princess." Twilight looked at and saw Adagio leaning on the balcony railing. "You should go for now..." "But I-" "Twilight, can I call you by your name?" Twilight hesitantly nodded. "I know you're not defending them, and somewhere in her mind so does Sunset. But she's hurting right now, and when someone is hurting they can't think straight and they process what others say differently. It might not be easy for you, but please, try and trust me. I know how to deal with these kinds of situations. I have two younger siblings after all." Twilight looked at Adagio for a moment before looking at the hallway Sunset had disappeared into and after what seemed like an eternity to the Princess, she looked back at the Siren. "What should I do?" The Siren walked down the spiral staircase she was standing next to and walked over to the Princess when she reached the first floor. Adagio gave her a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "She's not thinking straight and in all honesty, she needs some more rest. Come back tomorrow once she has settled down. In the meantime I suggest you try and find out who the 'Anon-a-Miss' that started all this is. Don't worry about Sunset, she'll be safe and sound, my sisters and I will make sure of it." Twilight slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll come back tomorrow, I'll probably know for sure who Anon-a-Miss is as well." Twilight turned around and headed toward the door before sparing one last glance at the Siren. "Please, take care of her." "You have my word." Twilight nodded and left the house before pulling out the phone her friends had given her, calling them and asking them to come get her. Once her ride was on the way, Twilight began to cry.** Rainbow Dash's house. Scootaloo entered the house, only to see her adoptive mother crying on the couch. "Mom? What's wrong?" Windy got up and hugged her adopted daughter as hard as she could. "Oh Scootaloo, it's just terrible! Rainbow was arrested in front of school today!" The orange skinned girl's eyes widened. "What!? Why!?" "The officer said that she... She said that Rainbow tried to kill her friend, Sunset!" 'No' Scootaloo began to tremble. "B-but things are going to be okay right!? They made some kind of mistake right!?" She just wanted to spend more time with her sister, she didn't want Sunset to die! "Mom, please, tell me they made a mistake!" "I wish I could Scooty, but... Rainbow... She confessed." That did it, Scootaloo's mind shattered as her world crumbled around her. And then, all she saw was darkness. Author's Note * Chestnut Hills was (or maybe still is) a high class neighborhood in Philadelphia. ** She didn't stay inside where it was warm because she didn't want her former enemies to see her cry. RevelationThe Sirens stood outside Sunset's room, hearing crying coming from within. "Sunset, please, we want to help you, but we can't do that if you don't talk to us." Sunset heard them, and shouted back, though the door muffled it a bit. "Leave me alone!" Adagio frowned. "Sunset Shimmer I know you're hurting right now, but you have to talk about it or things will only get worse. I'm coming in whether you want me to or not." The eldest Siren grabbed the door know and tried to twist it, only to find it locked. "Damn it. Aria could you...?" Adagio looked at the middle sibling and saw her nod as she pulled out a bobbypin. A second later the door opened. Sonata looked at the girl with fiery hair that was laying on the bed and frowned. She was about to open her mouth to speak when her phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and hit the end call button upon seeing that it was a former boyfriend. A second later her eyes widened and the Siren got an idea. Slipping the phone into her pocket Sonata went out the door and headed to her room. Sunset's head raised off of the pillow she had buried her face in, and it was clear to the eldest Siren, whom had sat down on the bed next to her, that she had been crying her eyes out at the fact that even Twilight had 'abandoned' her. "Please, go away." "Sunset, believe me, if I thought it would help, I would. But I know that if I do that, you will most likely hurt yourself." Sunset opened her mouth to argue only for the eldest Siren to give her a flat look. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't thought about hurting yourself today." Sunset did as the Siren said and opened her mouth to speak, but no words were able to come out. Adagio gave the girl a small smile. "I'm here if you need someone to listen." Sunset rolled onto her back and sighed before blowing her nose into a tissue from a box on the nightstand. "I just don't understand why Anon-a-Miss did this to me. Why now? Everything was finally going right for me, I was happy, I had friends!" Sunset frowned as the words left her mouth, her thoughts drifting and finally settling on an image of the five human girls standing over her broken and battered body, a dog collar with her name on it in Rainbow's hand. "Well, I was a dog had owners at the very least..." Adagio frowned and gripped the girl's shoulder. "Stop that. You are not an animal, and if I ever hear you refer to yourself as a dog again, I'm going to slap you." Sunset didn't know why, but she felt the need to smirk. "Well technically humans, and ponies, and even Hippocampi are-" Sunset's phone beeped, the girl sighed and pulled out said phone, seeing that Anon-a-Miss had made another post. "Who are they making angry at me... Uh Adagio?" The Siren looked over the girl's shoulder. "Yes?" The puffy haired girl looked at the post and smirked. "Well, well, well. It seems as if Sonata want's to play hero..." On the Anon-a-Miss MyStable page, which Sonata had temporarily hijacked, was... Honestly a pretty threatening message. 'Anon-a-Miss, by the end of the week, your name and greatest secrets shall be revealed. Should you wish to avoid this fate, as well as the pain you have brought upon Sunset Shimmer, you shall reveal yourself to the entirety of Canterlot High and delete this account. You have 48 hours to comply.' Underneath the post was a timer that was steadily ticking down. Sweet Apple Acres. "Sunset said some things when I talked with her, and looking back, seeing the way you girls treated her at the Battle of the Bands, as much as it hurts to admit it, I think she might have been right. So let me ask you this, did any of you ever think of Sunset as your friend? No, wait, scratch that, did you ever even think of her as a person?" Twilight, having finished crying before Applejack arrived to pick her up, was livid once more. She and the Rainbooms, sans Rainbow Dash, were currently in Applejack's room at Sweet Apple Acres. The only one who was actually brave enough to respond, was Fluttershy. "I..." She gulped and looked away. "Not at first... At first I saw her as a trophy, and after a few days, I saw her wounded animal... But after a few months I really did start to see her as a friend... I-I can't believe I treated her like that, like this..." Fluttershy barely managed to look into Twilight's eyes. "I'm sorry." What more could she say? Twilight's eyes softened a bit, but not very much. "I'm not the one you need to apologize too." She looked at the others. "What about you?" Pinkie, who's skin and hair had seemingly changed to a darker color, shook her head. "I was just happy that everyone else was smiling... I never really though about Sunset... I never really thought about making her smile..." "Loath as I am to admit it... I saw her as nothing more than a charity case and a model for my clothes Darling... I had only really started to connect with her right before this started." Tears began to form and mascara began to run. Twilight looked at the only one who remained silent. "Well? What about you Applejack?" Applejack looked at the ceiling for a moment before steeling her nerves. "No. I didn't, and I still don't." Applejack ignored the gasps that came from her fellow humans and matched the glare that Twilight gave her. "People don't change Twilight. She's a no-good, lying, snake in the grass who honestly deserves whatever she gets. Rainbow went to far, but I won't lie, I probably would have too had I been there." Twilight's gaze remained on the cowgirl for a moment before she closed her eyes. "I see." After a few moments of silence she opened her eyes. "I've come to a decision. We are going to find out who Anon-a-Miss really is. We are going to make them confess. They are going to ask Sunset for forgiveness, you are going to ask Sunset for forgiveness, the entire school is going to ask Sunset for forgiveness. And once everything is over and done with, unless she objects for some reason, I am taking Sunset back to Equestria. Afterwards, I am going to sever my connections with all of you. Except Fluttershy, because I believe that she actually saw Sunset as a person." She turned to said girl and handed her Sunset's journal. "If Sunset chooses to leave, you will be the only one keeping me from closing the portal." She turned back to the others. "I will continue to aid the school if anything magical in nature causes trouble. Only because it will be the right thing to do." Silence reigned supreme for a few seconds. "Now that that is done with, Applejack, call your sister and get her over here. Now." Applejack glared at the Princess but did as she asked. A few moments later Applebloom walked into the room. "Whaddaya need..." She looked at Twilight and her heart dropped into her stomach. She knew, she didn't know how, but she knew. "H-howdy Princess..." "Applebloom, I'm only going to ask this once. Are you, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Anon-a-Miss?" Applebloom tried to calm herself and opened her mouth. "Yes." Applebloom looked away once she saw the utterly destroyed look on Applejack's face. "It was my idea, I started it and brought Sweetie and Scoots on board later. How did you figure out it was us?" Twilight frowned at the girl. "Well, I hope you're happy with yourselves. As for your question, I used my brain. Only Sunset, the girls and Applejack's family knew about Piggly Wiggly, Sweetie would clearly know about Rarity's failed dresses and the junior soccer team, which Scootaloo is on, trains at the same time as the upperclassmen team, and they share a locker room." The four elder girl's eyes widened at how they had missed that. "Aside from that your counterparts in Equestria did something very similar." Applebloom glared at the Princess. "I don't see why you care, so we told a few secrets, so what? It's not like anyone actually got hurt!" "That's where you're wrong. You've destroyed several friendships and ruined several people's reputations. From what I understand, several students have requested to be transferred to another school because of you. And worst of all, you're actions led to Sunset getting attacked. Physically." Applebloom gulped, in that moment she knew that she and her friends had gone too far. "W-what? Is she okay? We didn't mean for her to get hurt, honest!" Twilight snorted. "While I would just love to explain the hypocrisy of that statement, I need you to answer a simple question. Why? What could possibly possess you to do something like this? Was it revenge for the torment she put you through for three years?" Applebloom looked away. "A-a little... It was mostly because she was spending so much time with our sisters... They were barely spending time with us anymore..." Twilight had to restrain herself. "I don't like violence Applebloom. I try to find peaceful solutions to problems. But if you're seriously telling me that the three of you almost got Sunset killed because you were jealous, well, the only thing keeping me from slapping you is the fact that you are a child. To answer your question, she is going to recover, but she is most certainly not okay." Applebloom cringed at the steel in the Princess's voice. "Now, you are going to call your friends and the three of you are coming with me. We're going to where Sunset is staying, the three of you are going to ask her for forgiveness, afterwards we are going to go and find Principal Celestia and you are going confess to her. And if the three of you try to weasel out of any punishment she gives you, not even Faust herself would be able to protect you. Do you understand?" The girl squeaked. "Ok." Applebloom's phone beeped and she checked it, seeing that Sweetie Belle had texted her, telling her to look at the Anon-a-Miss page. The message and Twilight's word caused the girl to faint from panic.
Cold.Sunset Shimmer wandered the streets of Canterlot City, her eyes damp and her cheeks stained with tears. The girl was in a state that could be considered trance like, with a vacant, teary eyed stare. The sudden honking of a horn got her attention as she looked toward the source. "Get outa' the road!" The girl, frightened in her current state of mind bolted in the opposite direction. As she ran she began to think of the events that has led to her wandering the streets, and as she thought, voices began to echo through her mind. "You secret stealer!" 'Shut up.' "You're not our friend!" 'Shut up!' "How could you do this?" 'Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!!!' "Yer not welcome her, Sunset!" Sunset stopped dead in her tracks, hands trembling and heart aching. She sat down, leaning against the wall of the alley she had run into, tears began to flow once again. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Anon-a-Bitch!" Sunset looked up, and through her tears she saw a group of 5 teenagers standing there. One of them walked forward, brandishing what appeared to be a pipe. "This is going to be fun." The teen kicked the girl in the chest before she began to repeatedly hit her with the pipe three of the others quickly following suit.. The next thing Sunset knew, she was lying on the ground, the snow around her stained red. She could just barely feel her arms and legs. "Gilda... What the hell is wrong with you!? You said we were just going to scare her!" That voice... Sunset used most of what remained of her strength to croak out a single word. "R-rainbow?" "You're still alive? Good." From her position on the ground Sunset couldn't see what was happening. "Finish it." "What!? No! I'm not gonna-" "Yes you are! Because if you don't you're gonna be joining her. Now take the pipe and cave her skull in!" Sunset heard the pipe fall to the ground, followed by the crunching of snow. For a moment the entirety of existence seemed to go silent. She didn't know how long it lasted but it seemed like an eternity before three simple words brought Sunset's heart to a momentary stop. "I'm sorry Sunset..." Sunset felt the pipe collide with the back of her head head before seeing it fall to the ground beside her out of the corner of her eye. "What have I done?"* It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A statement that the polychromatic teen started to repeat over and over. "The right thing. Let's go before someone sees. And don't even think about calling the cops or an ambulance Dash, they won't be able to save her at this point... Besides, the universe is better without her." The crunching of snow followed those words and Rainbow Dash muttered one more 'sorry' before she joined the group that had just left. Sunset had no idea how long she laid there, but she didn't care anymore. She just wanted the her injuries and the cold to take her at this point. She closed her eyes and began to slip away, only for a slightly familiar voice to echo through the alley. "Hey are yo- Oh sweet Faust! Dagi! Call an ambulance! Aria help me get her into that store!" Sunset felt a pair of hands begin to shake her and pull her off the ground. "Come on! Stay with me!" Sunset used the last of her strength to turn her head to the side. All she managed to see before darkness took her was blue skin. A while later at Canterlot General. Sunset slipped in and out of consciousness as she was being moved. "Give me the rundown on the way Redheart, if we don't get this girl into surgery now she,s going to die, and I don't intend to let that happen!" "Her ID says Sunset Shimmer... Called in by a... Said that she found her in an alley... From a glance I see a broken leg and signs of hypothermia, she doesn't seem to be suffering from frostbite... From the injuries on her chest I'd say she got at least thirteen broken ribs... Whoever did this was most likely trying to kill her." Once more Sunset slipped into darkness. After eight straight hours of surgery and seven more hours of rest. Sunset groaned as she opened her eyes before trying to sit up, only to ha e a hand placed on her shoulder. "Stay still dear, you shouldn't move for a while. You don't want your stitches to act up do you?" 'Stitches?' Sunset's head was flooded with memories, only they also brought a great deal of pain with them, causing her to scream out and reach for her head, only to find out that she had been restrained. After a moment the pain subsided and Sunset's head dropped back onto the pillow she had been resting on when she woke up. "There there dear, I'll be right back, I'm going to get Doctor Hoarse and Officer Shining Armor. They need you to answer some questions, ok?" Sunset managed to nod. "I'll be back in a moment dear. In the mean time, the girls that found you have been waiting here since you came in... If you want to see them I can let them in while you wait..." "Do any of them look like the girls in the pictures I have in my wallet?" When the nurse shook her head Sunset looked away and sighed. "Alright." The nurse nodded and walked out of the room. Moments later a figure appeared in the doorway. A figure that Sunset had met before. A figure with yellow skin and a large fluff of hair. "Long time no see Sunset Shimmer." Adagio walked into the room followed by the other Sirens before walking over to Sunset and placing a finger on the girl's lips. "Don't say anything, I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. We're not here for revenge. If we wanted to hurt you we would have left you to die in the snow." "Why didn't you? Why are you even here? You're here to mock me aren't you? Well go ahead and laugh it up. The big hero Sunset Shimmer has fallen, framed for a crime she didn't commit, abandoned by those she thought of as friends... " As tears began to we'll in the girl's eyes Adagio pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down before running her hand down Sunset's cheek. "What are-" "Shhh... Let it out Sunset. My sisters and I will listen." Sunset looked behind the Siren and saw the other two standing there, looks of genuine concern on their faces, though Aria was trying her best to hide it. Despite her using all of her willpower in order to try and not look weak in front of her former enemies, the flood gates broke and she began to sob. "Shhh it's ok... We're here for you..." Adagio began running her hand through her hair and allowed the girl to lean her head on her shoulder. Rainbow Dash's house. Rainbow looked at her mirror in horror at what she saw. "S-s-sunset..." 'Murderer.' "No, Sunset, I-" 'You killed me. Why'd you do it Rainbow? Did you really hate me that much?' "I had to! They would have-" 'No choice? You were the one with the pipe I your hands. You were the one to finish it. You could have turned on them and gotten help, but instead you murdered me... Princess Twilight couldn't have picked a better friend.' Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she threw a punch at the girl, shattering the mirror. She looked at her bleeding hand and something clicked causing her sit down, hugging her legs to her chest as she cried. "I'm a monster..." Those were the only words she said as her mother came in and asked what happened. Scootaloo looked at her adoptive sister and in the back of her mind, she finally realized just what she and the Crusaders had done. Author's Note Sooo... Yeah... I've got a fucked up mind. Note that this is a prequel to The Tale of Team SASA, not a stand alone story. * Yes I just did that... I repeat, I have fucked up mind.
Hospital."And you're sure that's all you can remember?" After what seemed like hours, Sunset finally managed to calm down enough to answer the questions that the officer handling her case had needed to ask her. Seeing the girl nod, Shining Armor sighed and closed the notepad he was holding before slipping it into his pocket. "Right then, this should be enough for the arrest warrants. Don't worry we'll bring them in, just leave the rest to us." With that the officer left, leaving only only the doctor and Sirens with the girl the fire haired girl. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to discuss your injuries with you, and I must say that you are quite lucky Miss Shimmer." Doctor Hoarse walked over to one of the machines used to show x-rays and turned it on, revealing an x-ray that showed how Sunset's leg was broken in three places. "Despite the beating you took, and the fact that we lost you twice during the operation, you will manage to make a full recovery, though you may have to go through physical therapy for your leg, which, barring any further injuries, should take three months to heal." The doctor turned to the girl and frowned. "Speaking of which, I noticed that your ID and medical records didn't list an address." Sunset didn't notice the fact that the Siren's faces seemed to have steeled. "Assuming that this means you're homeless..." Sunset looked away and nodded, slightly ashamed of the fact that she didn't have a place to live. "In that case, i need to ask, where do you plan to stay while you recover once you've been discharged?" "Oh, I'll just stay with my friends..." Sunset stopped halfway through her answer, realizing that at this point her 'friends' were not a viable option. She stayed silent for a moment before looking down at her hands. "I... I don't know..." "I see, well in that case I suppose we cou-" The doctor was cut off by Sonata, whom, much to Sunset's shock, announced the last thing she ever thought she'd hear from one of her former enemies. "She can stay with us!" Adagio and Aira looked at the girl for a second before looking at each other. After a moment Adagio nodded. "Well... We do have a few spare rooms... Not to mention the fact that it would be a nice way to repay her." Aria placed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at her fellow Sirens before seeing Sunset out of the corner of her eye and groaning before placing a hand to her forehead. "I guess we kinda owe her and the Rainbooms for breaking our amulets..." The small cringe Sunset made at the mention of the Rainbooms did not escape the notice of the eldest Siren. "Fine, if it's ok with her she can stay at our place... But if she goes in my room I'm going to rip her, and the two of you, into so many pieces that the person with the highest IQ on the planet won't be able to count them all!" The Siren got up and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna get something to eat from the cafeteria... Damn pony magic making me remember I have a conscience..." After Aria walked out Sonata walked over and placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Don't worry about Aria, she's always grumpy." The Siren went over to the door and looked over her shoulder back at the other two. "Imma' go get a taco, you two want anything?" Sunset just stared dumb at the Siren as she left. 'Am I on Mars? Tell me I'm on Mars. None of this makes any sense, I must be on Mars!' "Well then if Miss Shimmer has no objections..." Sunset, despite her mind going at about thrice the maximum speed of a bullet train, weighed her options before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine with it, it's not like I have anywhere else to go..." The doctor nodded and wrote something down on a notepad he had with him. "Now then, while I'm here, I'd like to ask how you are going to pay your bills..." Adagio's voice was the one to speak up, her words bringing Sunset's mind to a halt. "I'll be paying the bills doctor." The former pony's head snapped in the direction of the Siren and Sunset's eye began to twitch as the doctor nodded and left the room. She remained silent for a moment before opening her mouth, only for Adagio to place her hand over it. "This is not a scheme to get you into our debt Sunset Shimmer, think of this as our way of thanking you and your..." Remembering how Sunset had cringed at the mention of the Rainbooms and the fact she had stopped midway when saying she could stay with her friends, Adagio searched for the right term for this situation. "Acquaintances... For breaking our amulets and making it so that we no longer need to feed off negative energy..." "But I-" "Are going to lay down and get some more rest, you're not really in a position, nor the best state of mind to argue after all." Sunset stared at the Siren and groaned before laying back down, knowing that she was right. Canterlot High right after the final bell. Rainbow and her friends were standing in front of the statue, Fluttershy holding Sunset's journal, waiting for Princess Twilight to arrive. Applejack, having seen that Rainbow was in a strange state all day, finally got fed up. "All right, that's it Rainbow! Either you tell us what's got you moodier than Winnona when I'm to busy to play with her, or I'll hog tie you and-" "I made a big mistake AJ. I did something terrible and I'll never be able to take it back... And I don't think it's something my teenage friends are going to be able to help me with it." Rainbow turned and looked as Twilight emerged from the portal, a stern expression on her face. "Twilight, thank god you're he-" The other four humans gasped in shock when Twilight struck Rainbow across the face hard enough to knock her to the ground. Rainbow didn't say anything in response, she didn't even try to get up. "Now Twilight that was-" "Princess." AJ stopped and looked at the Princess. "'Scues me?" The pony in a human body turned at looked at her, a look of rage in her eyes. "I said 'Princess'. That is how you shall refer to me from now until we fix this mess. Only my friends get to refer to me by my name!" The words left the cowgirl stunned as Twilight walked past her, her eyes set on Sunset's journal. "B-b-but we are friends..." Fluttershy started shaking as the purple girl marched over, holding the book up for protection before Twilight ripped it out of her hands. Twilight snorted. "Oh, you mean you're going to leave me crying my eyes out in the middle of the school? Sorry but I think I'll pass!" "Twilight, darling, we would-" Rarity was silenced by the glare Twilight sent her way, quickly amending her statement. "Princess Twilight, you can't honestly be taking that traitor's side!" "Traitor? You're being hypocrite Rarity. I think I already know who Anon-a-Miss is, and it's not Sunset!" The girls, excluding Rainbow, whom had gotten back on her feet and was standing in silence off to the side, gasped in shock. "I'd stand here and explain away every single piece of your theory and tell you who Anon-a-Miss really is, but right now I need to find Sunset before she does something stupid and hurt-" "There's no point in looking for her..." Twilight turned and looked at Rainbow Dash with a mixture of rage and confusion on her face. "What are you saying Rainbow?" "I'm saying I fucked up. Badly. I did something that can't be undone... Sunset's gone... I... I..." Rainbow wasn't able to finish her sentence before she started crying. After a moment Twilight's eyes widened and the journal fell from her hands. "No... No! She's not, you couldn't have..." The pony ran over and placed her hands on the teens shoulders. "Rainbow, please tell me you didn't!" When Rainbow didn't answer Twilight backed away and started to repeatedly shake her head. "Nonononono! This can't be real!" Before Twilight's mind unraveled any further a voice called out to them. "Excuse me, but would any of you happen to be Rainbow Dash?" Before anyone else could respond Rainbow walked up to the approaching officer, turned around and got on her knees before placing her hands on her head, much to her friend's confusion. "I'm not going to lie, part of me was hoping I'd get to chase Canterlot High's star runner." Rainbow didn't make any snark comments as she was lifted to her feet and her hands were placed behind her back. As she was being stood up Principal Celestia and Vice principal Luna walked over. "Excuse me Officer, but would you mind explaining why you and your friends just put four of my students in handcuffs and you're raising that number to five?" Seeing who the officer was arresting she huffed. "Number five being the captain of the soccer team no less." The officer ignored her, choosing to follow protocol instead. "Rainbow Dash, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Sunset Shimmer." All those gathered, aside from Twilight, who now was beginning to have hope, hearing the officer say attempted murder, gasped in shock and started to protest. The officer ignored said protests as he began to lead Rainbow away. "You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?" All Rainbow could do was simply nod as she was placed in the back of a police cruiser with Gilda.
Discharge.Twilight rushed into Canterlot General in a panic, running up to the front desk and slamming her palms down as hard as she could in order to get the receptionist's attention. The woman calmly looked up at the girl and set her crossword puzzle down. "Can I help you?" Twilight would have normal blushed in embarrassment, but this was an emergency. "My friend was assaulted and more than likely severely injured last night. She was brought here for treatment, I need to see her! I need to know that she's ok!" The receptionist gave the alicorn turned human a deadpan stare. "What's their name?" She looked down and was ready to start typing. "Sunset Shimmer." The woman didn't even need to look up the girl, as she had already had her file up. "Ya just missed her. She was discharged a few minutes ago, left with three other girls about your age, if ya head out now you might be able to catch her before she leaves." Twilight ran out the door passing the four of her 'friends' that hadn't been arrested. With Sunset and the Dazzlings. "Hey, Sunny?" Sunset looked at Sonata as the Siren helped her out of the wheelchair she was in and into the Siren's van. Apparently the blue Siren, who the others had confirmed was the youngest of them, had a habit of giving people nicknames. "Aren't those your friends?" Sunset's eyes widened and she looked out of rear window of the van. Sure enough, there were her 'friends' and they seemed to be looking for her. She was about to tell the Siren to ignore them, she wasn't in the mood to talk after all, but then a certain purple skinned pony turned human caught her eye. "Twilight..." Sunset wanted to get out of the van and roll over to her friend and mentor, but at the same time she didn't want to face the Princess, knowing that she would probably have to interact with the others if she did. After weighing her options Sunset sighed. "Seeing as you three are letting me stay with you and Adagio payed my hospital bills... I hate having to ask any more of you but... Could... Could one of you give Twilight some money for a cab and your address? I'd go over and talk to her now but..." Sonata placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder, gave her an understanding smile and nodded before taking off toward the group of five, Aria groaned and got out of the van before walking after her younger sister to make sure she didn't screw things up. Twilight and her 'friends' were looking around in a panic, trying to find Sunset before she left. Just as she was about to call out her friend's name again, a bubbly voice reached her ears. "Hey there!" Twilight and the others turned Applejack quickly getting ready for a fight once she realized who had just spoken. "What in tarnations are you doing here Siren?" "Actually, my name's Sonata." Applejack and the others blinked in confusion at the Siren's nonchalant response as she the blue skinned girl walked up to Twilight. "You're Twilight right?" Twilight quietly nodded as Sonata pulled out her wallet in order to pull out some bills and a business card. "Sunny-" "Sunny? Do you mean Sunset!?" Twilight grabbed the girl by the shoulders and began shaking her. "Where is she!? I usually try not to be violent, but so help me Faust, if the three of you- Ahhghh!!!" Aria glared at the Princess as she twisted her wrist while Sonata recovered from the violent shaking she had just received. Hearing snow crunch the purple Siren turned and glared at Applejack as she approached. "Back off or I'll feed you your own hat." Judging by the look in the Siren's eyes, AJ decided it was in her best interest to do as she said. Once the blonde had backed away the Siren returned her gaze to the royal. "Look, normally someone that touched my little sister would be laying on the ground and missing a few teeth, but I'm going to let it slide this time because you're just trying to find Sunset." Aria let Twilight go and the girl started rubbing her wrist. Twilight glared at the Siren before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about Sunset, she was attacked last night and-" "We know." Twilight looked at the purple Siren in confusion as she jerked her thumb in Sonata's direction. "The ditz over there is the one who found her." Sonata nodded very enthusiastically in response. "Anyway she wanted us to give you our address and some money for a cab before the four of us took off." "But I thought there were only three of you?" Aria groaned and looked at the one that she had dubbed 'the Pink Menace' after the Battle of the Bands. "Me, my sisters and Sunset." Twilight and the others gasped. "Yeah, that's right. Sunset's going to be staying at our place until her leg heals. And she's doing it willingly." Rarity narrowed her eyes and pointed at Twilight. "You see what we mean darling? Sunset is cavorting with the enemy! She's a traitor!" Twilight wheeled around and was about to smack Rarity when Sonata rushed past her and stared into the white girl's eyes, said girl cringing in fear. "Ok, first of all if what Sunset said about the last week is true, you have no right to call her a traitor after leaving her crying in the middle of a school hallway!" The four humans cringed in shame. "Secondly, the reason she's staying with us is because she is afraid that the lot of you will do something to her similar to what that Rainbow Dash did." They cringed again, their hearts starting to ache. "And finally, your hair is stupid!"* Rarity gasped in shock at the insult. Applejack and Twilight, being the most, level headed of the group looked at the older Siren, who was staring at her little sister in shock, she and Adagio had never seen Sonata genuinely angry before. "A'right I guess it's understandable she wouldn't want to be near us for a while after... What Rainbow did... But why would she stay with you three? Why wouldn't she just stay at her own place?" Aria raised an eyebrow at the farmer. "Seriously? The lot of you are supposed to be her friends and you didn't know? She's homeless you hick." Aria ignored the stunned look on the humans faces and turned toward Twilight before pulling a few bills and a business card out of her wallet and handing them to Twilight. "She's staying with us at this address Princess, you're welcome to come see her and talk if you want." Hey eyes shifted to the real humans. "They're not." Without another word Aria walked over to her sister and slapped her on the back of her head to get her attention. "Let's go." "Now hold on a cotton pickin minute!" Applejack ran over and grabbed Aria's shoulder. "What do you mean we're not welcome to come see her!? She's our friend too!" Aria simply looked over her shoulder at the cowgirl. "Unless you want to have your ass dragged into that hospital for a broken arm, I suggest you let go. Now." "You don't scare me Siren, you don't have magic anymore!" Aria snorted. "I've been all around the world cowgirl, I don't need magic to beat the shit out of you. I'm highly trained is several styles of martial arts and can literally break even bone in your body in under thirty minutes."** Applejack's grip loosened at the lack of emotion in the Siren's voice. She wasn't trying to intimidate the cowgirl, she was just stating a fact. Aria shook the girls had off her shoulder and walked away with her sister, quickly getting into their van, which drove away, with the girls seeing Sunset inside. Twilight watched the retreating van for a moment before looking at the true humans, her mind made up. "Where do I find a taxi?" Canterlot Police Department. Rainbow moved in front of the camera as she was given a placard with her name on it. The camera flashed once and she turned to the side where it flashed again before having the placard taken and being led to a holding cell with Gilda and other three students that had attacked Sunset. Gilda would have run over and decked the girl but this wasn't her first rodeo. She knew the guards responded to a fight quickly and that they weren't nice to the instigators. So she settled with glaring at the girl that couldn't manage to finish off the dying she-demon. It didn't matter though, once she got out she'd get the prismatic bitch for being weak, and she'd make sure the she-demon died for real the next time. Rainbow sat down in the corner and hugged her knees to her chest as she began crying once again. Author's Note * "It looks like a bunch of purple curly fries!" ** Some of these styles include Krav Maga, Judo, Hapkido, Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo and Muay Thai.
Residence.Sunset stared in awe at the size of the Siren's home. She had expected a house that was slightly larger than any of her 'friends' houses, not one that was about a fourth the size of Celestia's castle! Sunset's head snapped toward Adagio. "You three live here? In Chestnut Hills?"* "Indeed we do, and I'm proud to say we never once used our magic to amass our wealth. I just happen to be very good at playing the stock market." After the four had managed to get inside the large house Aria walked down a hallway and disappeared around a corner, a door slamming shut a few moments later. "Now that we're here, we need to lay down some ground rules." Sunset shrugged in her wheelchair. "The least I can do is follow the rules since you're letting me stay here." Adagio smiled as Sonata walked past and handed her a pen and piece of paper. "Now there aren't many, but these are rules that you need to follow." To Sunset's surprise, they were all pretty normal rules you would expect in any household. "I need to know if you have any allergies." Sunset raised her eyebrow. "In case I make something for dinner... What are you giving me that look for?" "Just never expected you or your sisters to be able to cook is all. Don't worry, I'm not allergic to anything humans normally put in food..." "We all have hobbies of our own. Sonata collects comics and plays video games, Aria has her martial arts and I cook. Now, I use exotic ingredients every now and again so 'normal' may not always apply ." Sunset looked away and mumbled something under her breath. "What was that?" Sunset sighed, looked her directly in the eyes and narrowed her own. "I am deathly allergic to it, so don't laugh." Adagio smirked in response. "If I laugh, you can slap me." "Hay. I'm allergic to hay." Adagio, with a deadpan face, nodded and wrote it down before looking back at Sunset. "Ironic." She clapped her hands together and nodded. "Now that that's done, I can show you your room." Adagio walked past the girl who turned her wheelchair around and followed her. "I must admit, I'm looking forward to you staying with us." Once more Sunset raised an eyebrow as she followed. "Why?" "The others... Well Aria and Sonata are my younger siblings and I love them dearly, though it may seem like the opposite at times, but they can be..." Adagio stopped in front of a plain oak wood door and put a finger to her chin. "Irritating, Sonata always being so childish and Aria always wanting to use violence to solve her problems. It will be nice to have someone staying with us who actually uses their brain for once. Anyway, this is the room you'll be staying in." Adagio opened the door and Sunset looked inside. The room was slightly larger than an average sized room and had a queen size bed, the top of it being pressed up against a wall as well as a few dressers and a closet. There was only one thing Sunset found suspicious. The walls were red. Her favorite color. She looked at Adagio, eyebrow raised. "Why is it red, not that I mind, red's my favorite color in fact, but..." "That would be Sonata's doing. I'm not sure why, but when we moved in she insisted at we paint seven rooms, each in a different color of the rainbow." Sunset just kept her eyebrow raised, though she slightly cringed at the word 'rainbow'. "My bedroom is yellow, hers is blue and Aria's is indigo. I'd let you have the orange, green or purple rooms but they are a bathroom, wreckroom and a room we use for storage, respectively." Sunset opened her mouth to respond when someone rang the doorbell. "I'll get it!" Sonata ran out of her room toward the front door and opened it. "Hey there Princess, come on in." Sunset wheeled around the corner just in time to see Twilight enter. As soon as Twilight saw Sunset she ran past Sonata and hugged the girl as tight as she could. "Sunset! I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" Sunset put on a fake smile and looked at the blue Siren. "Hey Sonata, could you and Adagio give us some time alone?" Sonata smiled and nodded before walking upstairs with her eldest sister, the pair of ponies turned human hearing a pair of doors open and close a few moments later. "I'm fine Twilig-" "No you're not." Sunset looked Twilight in the eyes and all she saw was rage. "Don't you dare lie to me Sunset Shimmer. You are not 'fine'. You were assaulted by one of our friends and almost died." Sunset frowned and needed to correct her. "Your." Twilight blinked at Sunset. "What?" Sunset sighed and looked away. "You said 'our'. They're your friends Twilight, not mine... They never were." Twilight frowned and put a hand on the girls shoulder. "What are you saying Sunset? Of course they were." Sunset looked at the girl and snapped, all the anger she had been holding back since the Battle of the Bands came loose. "I'm not blind Twilight, and neither are you! You and I both know that they never really saw me as a friend! They saw my as a pet! As a trophy to show everyone that they took down the Queen Bee of Canterlot High!" Sunset looked away. "I realized that the day they yelled at me during the Battle of the Bands... I think you did too... We just didn't want to admit it..." Twilight frowned and narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You're wrong Sunset! They are your friends! They're just confused, they..." "Then why did they turn on me so quickly!?" Twilight flinched at the girl's words. "After all I've done for them, all I've done to prove that I've changed, it took less than a week for them to abandon me!" Sunset looked away and began to cry. "I may not fully understand friendship, but I'm pretty sure that's something friends don't do to each other..." Twilight's eyes softened and she reached out to the girl. "Sunset, please, I know your hurting right now but-" "Hurting!? I died Twilight!" Twilight's hand retracted at the statement. "I flat lined while they were operating on me. Twice." Sunset glared at Twilight. "I was technically murdered by Rainbow Dash and you are trying to defend the people who abandoned me, including her!" Sunset's head dropped and, to Twilight's surprise, she began laughing. "I should have seen this coming, they were your friends first after all..." The words hurt but Twilight didn't back down. "Sunset I-" "Leave... Just... Leave, please..." Sunset turned around and began to wheel herself to the room Adagio said she'd be staying in. It took a few moments for the Princess to register what had just been said. "Sunset wait! I'm not defending-" "She knows you're not defending them Princess." Twilight looked at and saw Adagio leaning on the balcony railing. "You should go for now..." "But I-" "Twilight, can I call you by your name?" Twilight hesitantly nodded. "I know you're not defending them, and somewhere in her mind so does Sunset. But she's hurting right now, and when someone is hurting they can't think straight and they process what others say differently. It might not be easy for you, but please, try and trust me. I know how to deal with these kinds of situations. I have two younger siblings after all." Twilight looked at Adagio for a moment before looking at the hallway Sunset had disappeared into and after what seemed like an eternity to the Princess, she looked back at the Siren. "What should I do?" The Siren walked down the spiral staircase she was standing next to and walked over to the Princess when she reached the first floor. Adagio gave her a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "She's not thinking straight and in all honesty, she needs some more rest. Come back tomorrow once she has settled down. In the meantime I suggest you try and find out who the 'Anon-a-Miss' that started all this is. Don't worry about Sunset, she'll be safe and sound, my sisters and I will make sure of it." Twilight slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll come back tomorrow, I'll probably know for sure who Anon-a-Miss is as well." Twilight turned around and headed toward the door before sparing one last glance at the Siren. "Please, take care of her." "You have my word." Twilight nodded and left the house before pulling out the phone her friends had given her, calling them and asking them to come get her. Once her ride was on the way, Twilight began to cry.** Rainbow Dash's house. Scootaloo entered the house, only to see her adoptive mother crying on the couch. "Mom? What's wrong?" Windy got up and hugged her adopted daughter as hard as she could. "Oh Scootaloo, it's just terrible! Rainbow was arrested in front of school today!" The orange skinned girl's eyes widened. "What!? Why!?" "The officer said that she... She said that Rainbow tried to kill her friend, Sunset!" 'No' Scootaloo began to tremble. "B-but things are going to be okay right!? They made some kind of mistake right!?" She just wanted to spend more time with her sister, she didn't want Sunset to die! "Mom, please, tell me they made a mistake!" "I wish I could Scooty, but... Rainbow... She confessed." That did it, Scootaloo's mind shattered as her world crumbled around her. And then, all she saw was darkness. Author's Note * Chestnut Hills was (or maybe still is) a high class neighborhood in Philadelphia. ** She didn't stay inside where it was warm because she didn't want her former enemies to see her cry.
RevelationThe Sirens stood outside Sunset's room, hearing crying coming from within. "Sunset, please, we want to help you, but we can't do that if you don't talk to us." Sunset heard them, and shouted back, though the door muffled it a bit. "Leave me alone!" Adagio frowned. "Sunset Shimmer I know you're hurting right now, but you have to talk about it or things will only get worse. I'm coming in whether you want me to or not." The eldest Siren grabbed the door know and tried to twist it, only to find it locked. "Damn it. Aria could you...?" Adagio looked at the middle sibling and saw her nod as she pulled out a bobbypin. A second later the door opened. Sonata looked at the girl with fiery hair that was laying on the bed and frowned. She was about to open her mouth to speak when her phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and hit the end call button upon seeing that it was a former boyfriend. A second later her eyes widened and the Siren got an idea. Slipping the phone into her pocket Sonata went out the door and headed to her room. Sunset's head raised off of the pillow she had buried her face in, and it was clear to the eldest Siren, whom had sat down on the bed next to her, that she had been crying her eyes out at the fact that even Twilight had 'abandoned' her. "Please, go away." "Sunset, believe me, if I thought it would help, I would. But I know that if I do that, you will most likely hurt yourself." Sunset opened her mouth to argue only for the eldest Siren to give her a flat look. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't thought about hurting yourself today." Sunset did as the Siren said and opened her mouth to speak, but no words were able to come out. Adagio gave the girl a small smile. "I'm here if you need someone to listen." Sunset rolled onto her back and sighed before blowing her nose into a tissue from a box on the nightstand. "I just don't understand why Anon-a-Miss did this to me. Why now? Everything was finally going right for me, I was happy, I had friends!" Sunset frowned as the words left her mouth, her thoughts drifting and finally settling on an image of the five human girls standing over her broken and battered body, a dog collar with her name on it in Rainbow's hand. "Well, I was a dog had owners at the very least..." Adagio frowned and gripped the girl's shoulder. "Stop that. You are not an animal, and if I ever hear you refer to yourself as a dog again, I'm going to slap you." Sunset didn't know why, but she felt the need to smirk. "Well technically humans, and ponies, and even Hippocampi are-" Sunset's phone beeped, the girl sighed and pulled out said phone, seeing that Anon-a-Miss had made another post. "Who are they making angry at me... Uh Adagio?" The Siren looked over the girl's shoulder. "Yes?" The puffy haired girl looked at the post and smirked. "Well, well, well. It seems as if Sonata want's to play hero..." On the Anon-a-Miss MyStable page, which Sonata had temporarily hijacked, was... Honestly a pretty threatening message. 'Anon-a-Miss, by the end of the week, your name and greatest secrets shall be revealed. Should you wish to avoid this fate, as well as the pain you have brought upon Sunset Shimmer, you shall reveal yourself to the entirety of Canterlot High and delete this account. You have 48 hours to comply.' Underneath the post was a timer that was steadily ticking down. Sweet Apple Acres. "Sunset said some things when I talked with her, and looking back, seeing the way you girls treated her at the Battle of the Bands, as much as it hurts to admit it, I think she might have been right. So let me ask you this, did any of you ever think of Sunset as your friend? No, wait, scratch that, did you ever even think of her as a person?" Twilight, having finished crying before Applejack arrived to pick her up, was livid once more. She and the Rainbooms, sans Rainbow Dash, were currently in Applejack's room at Sweet Apple Acres. The only one who was actually brave enough to respond, was Fluttershy. "I..." She gulped and looked away. "Not at first... At first I saw her as a trophy, and after a few days, I saw her wounded animal... But after a few months I really did start to see her as a friend... I-I can't believe I treated her like that, like this..." Fluttershy barely managed to look into Twilight's eyes. "I'm sorry." What more could she say? Twilight's eyes softened a bit, but not very much. "I'm not the one you need to apologize too." She looked at the others. "What about you?" Pinkie, who's skin and hair had seemingly changed to a darker color, shook her head. "I was just happy that everyone else was smiling... I never really though about Sunset... I never really thought about making her smile..." "Loath as I am to admit it... I saw her as nothing more than a charity case and a model for my clothes Darling... I had only really started to connect with her right before this started." Tears began to form and mascara began to run. Twilight looked at the only one who remained silent. "Well? What about you Applejack?" Applejack looked at the ceiling for a moment before steeling her nerves. "No. I didn't, and I still don't." Applejack ignored the gasps that came from her fellow humans and matched the glare that Twilight gave her. "People don't change Twilight. She's a no-good, lying, snake in the grass who honestly deserves whatever she gets. Rainbow went to far, but I won't lie, I probably would have too had I been there." Twilight's gaze remained on the cowgirl for a moment before she closed her eyes. "I see." After a few moments of silence she opened her eyes. "I've come to a decision. We are going to find out who Anon-a-Miss really is. We are going to make them confess. They are going to ask Sunset for forgiveness, you are going to ask Sunset for forgiveness, the entire school is going to ask Sunset for forgiveness. And once everything is over and done with, unless she objects for some reason, I am taking Sunset back to Equestria. Afterwards, I am going to sever my connections with all of you. Except Fluttershy, because I believe that she actually saw Sunset as a person." She turned to said girl and handed her Sunset's journal. "If Sunset chooses to leave, you will be the only one keeping me from closing the portal." She turned back to the others. "I will continue to aid the school if anything magical in nature causes trouble. Only because it will be the right thing to do." Silence reigned supreme for a few seconds. "Now that that is done with, Applejack, call your sister and get her over here. Now." Applejack glared at the Princess but did as she asked. A few moments later Applebloom walked into the room. "Whaddaya need..." She looked at Twilight and her heart dropped into her stomach. She knew, she didn't know how, but she knew. "H-howdy Princess..." "Applebloom, I'm only going to ask this once. Are you, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Anon-a-Miss?" Applebloom tried to calm herself and opened her mouth. "Yes." Applebloom looked away once she saw the utterly destroyed look on Applejack's face. "It was my idea, I started it and brought Sweetie and Scoots on board later. How did you figure out it was us?" Twilight frowned at the girl. "Well, I hope you're happy with yourselves. As for your question, I used my brain. Only Sunset, the girls and Applejack's family knew about Piggly Wiggly, Sweetie would clearly know about Rarity's failed dresses and the junior soccer team, which Scootaloo is on, trains at the same time as the upperclassmen team, and they share a locker room." The four elder girl's eyes widened at how they had missed that. "Aside from that your counterparts in Equestria did something very similar." Applebloom glared at the Princess. "I don't see why you care, so we told a few secrets, so what? It's not like anyone actually got hurt!" "That's where you're wrong. You've destroyed several friendships and ruined several people's reputations. From what I understand, several students have requested to be transferred to another school because of you. And worst of all, you're actions led to Sunset getting attacked. Physically." Applebloom gulped, in that moment she knew that she and her friends had gone too far. "W-what? Is she okay? We didn't mean for her to get hurt, honest!" Twilight snorted. "While I would just love to explain the hypocrisy of that statement, I need you to answer a simple question. Why? What could possibly possess you to do something like this? Was it revenge for the torment she put you through for three years?" Applebloom looked away. "A-a little... It was mostly because she was spending so much time with our sisters... They were barely spending time with us anymore..." Twilight had to restrain herself. "I don't like violence Applebloom. I try to find peaceful solutions to problems. But if you're seriously telling me that the three of you almost got Sunset killed because you were jealous, well, the only thing keeping me from slapping you is the fact that you are a child. To answer your question, she is going to recover, but she is most certainly not okay." Applebloom cringed at the steel in the Princess's voice. "Now, you are going to call your friends and the three of you are coming with me. We're going to where Sunset is staying, the three of you are going to ask her for forgiveness, afterwards we are going to go and find Principal Celestia and you are going confess to her. And if the three of you try to weasel out of any punishment she gives you, not even Faust herself would be able to protect you. Do you understand?" The girl squeaked. "Ok." Applebloom's phone beeped and she checked it, seeing that Sweetie Belle had texted her, telling her to look at the Anon-a-Miss page. The message and Twilight's word caused the girl to faint from panic.
