Phoenix

“Morning, Bulb!” Sunset called out as she finished making her way down the stairs, the turning around waving happily in response. The rest of her weekend had gone fine, though it had taken Sunset hours in the shower to fully feel cleansed of her date.

“Heya, Periwinkle! How’d the tests go?” Sunset received a smile and a nod from the girl.

“Reawy good! Thank you!” the girl’s head bobbed excitedly as she ran over and clapped her hands on Sunset’s hips. “Boop!”

Sunset giggled as she bent over and mirrored the action on the shorter girl, the child smiling happily before they separated, the pair walked side by side as they made their way into main lounge.

“So why were you gone so wong?” the girl asked, in a way that only a innocent child could, her eyes full of wonderment.

“Oh! I, uh, I was just in a bad accident, dear.” Sunset faked a smile as she looked back down at Periwinkle.

“Is that why you’re wearin’ an eyepatch?”

“No, I stole it from a pirate!”

Sunset spent the rest of the day with a helper.

***

Sunset glared at the small piece of leather dangling from her clawed grip. It wasn’t even part way through her second week back at the Charity House and she had already managed to put her claws through one of her leather gloves. The way they had sliced through the material was indescribable. A hot knife would have struggled to go through butter compared to how easily she sliced through the glove.

“I seriously hate you…” Sunset growled viciously at the uncaring extremities as she flung the glove onto the desk, the leather piece colliding with the shattered fragments that remained of the file she had borrowed earlier the morning.

She ran her hands through her head, giving a loud Equestrian curse that she prayed Princess Celestia heard on her pillowy throne. She had been happy to find out that her claws seemingly inhuman edge seemed to not cut her like the did other things, she just wished she didn’t have to deal with it at all.

She muffled her scream in her pillow as she flopped uselessly onto her bed, her arms and legs flailing uselessly around her. Why did she still have these reminders of her past failures!? The wing vanished when she had run out of magic, so why hadn’t the arm and the eye followed suit!?

Maybe it was because of her magic? She had felt her magic reserves recharging over time, confusing her as to why it was happening. Saying the Gaia was barren of natural magic was the grossest understatement Sunset could possibly think of, and that had prevented her from using magic when she first came over.

The whole reason she had magic here on Gaia in the past was because of the corruption of the Element of Magic, its perversion giving her access to dark, Equestrian Magic. That is also why she had her magic back at the games, when the corruption seeked to overpower and consume her. But she had defeated the corruption, dispelling it at those games. She had spent many nights searching herself for any sort of remnant, finding nothing even hinting at it having even existed.

Yet still her magic continued to return to her, slowly. But not slowly enough, as her mind went back to her youth. Unicorns had to regularly use their magics, discharging it as the Humans might say, or else it would build up. There had been reports from Equestria’s past of Unicorns unwilling or unable to use their magic, and while at first they only suffered headaches, it eventually became fatal. A favoured punishment of Unicorns in the ancient past was to bind their magic, and leave them bound and helpless as their magics built and built until it literally exploded out of them.

She hoped that wouldn't happen to her here, but just to be safe she had to find someway of slowly bleeding the power off. The only issue was how and where, as she knew the instant that Equestrian Magic was used on Gaia, her fellow Equestrians would know. The Sirens would search her down, probably assisted by Princess’ Twilight and Celestia. Even that Princess Luna would probably be brought in, Princess Cadance also.

She couldn’t risk it, but at least she had time to think of a plan. A couple weeks at least, given how her recovery rate seemed to be.

***

Sunset hummed to herself as she swept her mop across the shower room floor. She watched with a warm smile as the floor glistened moistly up at her, small soap bubbles popping infrequently.

Her mind was focused on other thoughts however. Sunset knew she promised Mother Charity that she would reach out to her friends and let them know she was alive, but how could she approach them without knowing just who she was first?

Her mind floated through her memories, the three major phases of her life coming to the forefront of her thoughts.

Sunset Shimmer of Equestria, the homeless street urchin who was personally adopted by the solar goddess herself. She was overly proud, but confident, her natural talents and abilities allowing her to overcome any trial before her. But she was also destructive, laying waste to any who would oppose her and manipulate those that didn't.

Sunset Shimmer of Gaia, the former Alpha Bitch of Canterlot High School who was trying her best to make amends for her past transgressions. She was always quick to help, donating her time and money to those around her. But she was overly passive, allowing herself to be used and trampled over by those who she tried to appease.

Fireside Glow, the amnesiac quadruplet, the girl who had no past. She has matured from a quiet, unsure wallflower into someone who had no trouble making true friends. But she let her worries about who she was drive her, letting those around her feed her insecurities and cause her to crumble in self doubt.

All three had their respective highs and lows. Sunset of Equestria was confident and self assured, but she was a malicious manipulator and bully. Sunset of Gaia was kind and helpful, but over so, giving more of herself than what was healthy. Fire Glow was the proper mix of confidence and friendly, but she let doubt and lies consume her too easily.

Sunset as she was now was trying to balance the three, trying her best to be kind and helpful, but not let herself be misused. Yet she was using all the work to hide away from her troubles, which was wrong in it’s own way. And now she was lost because she knew too much about herself, something Fireside Glow would have loved to know.

What about those that she had associated with? Sunset Shimmer of Equestria was easy, with only three individuals. She had used Flash Sentry to climb the social hierarchy, abusing him until he could take no more. Snips and Snails had been manipulated simply by the fact that they were teenaged boys, a low cut shirt or tight jeans and they had trouble not staring at her.

Sunset of Equestria had a lot more people. Octavia, Vinyl, Lyra and Bon Bon had all risked their reputations in trying to be her friends, and yet were always there for her. Princess Twilight had tried her best to always be there for Sunset, misunderestimating just how different the Gaian versions of her friends were from their Equestrian counterparts. Yet she was hesitant to fully remove the Rainbooms from her thoughts. They had been justified in their tepidity in trusting that Sunset had changed, and they had indeed started to come around before Anon-A-Miss started. They weren’t even the most vicious students in CHS when Sunset was being falsely prosecuted.

Fireside Glow, however, was the hardest to quantify. Crystal Prep students were a mixed basket, for every student that tried to bully her, there was one that treated her friendly. Or were at least polite. The Gaian Twilight Sparkle had been a great friend, if unsure of what she should actually do. Indigo Zap was competitive and helped Fireside become more confident in herself, while Sunny Flare had done her best to help temper the growing pride to make sure it didn't grow overly large. Lemon Zest always had the right tune no matter the moment, and while Sour Sweet’s methods were oft bipolar, she was as true a friend as the rest. Even Sugarcoat had her own way of being there for Fireside, often pointing out just why the students were the way they were, rarely judging anyone harshly.

Sunset stopped her mopping as two trio’s made their presence known. They were the whole reason she was hesitant to reach out, to declare she was still alive and well.

The Sirens.

To one side stood the three Equestrian beings that had broke CHS apart, just as Sunset had done weeks prior. They hovered in place, their eyes and pendants glowing an unearthly, bloody crimson as projections of their true forms swam around the air, glaring at her in a predatory manner.

To the other side stood the three girls who had saved her life. Who had taken her in and cared for her, calling Sunset one of their own. They laughed with her, shared stories and made jokes. Aria seemed to have her arms wrapped around someone’s shoulders, her trademark crass smirk splitting into fresh laughter as Adagio stood to the side, shaking her head in amusement as she rested her hands on her hips. Meanwhile Sonata was dancing around, her face full of mirth and merriment, only to pause when she turned around and looked at Sunset, the cyan girl’s face faltering as a single tear started to roll down her cheek.

“For buck’s sake!” the amber girl cursed loudly in Equestrian as she slammed the mop back onto the floor, following it shortly after as she crouched over, rolling herself into her knees as she dug her hands into the back of her head. Why did they have to make things complicated!? Why couldn’t they have just remained as the villains that replaced her and allowed her to show the students of CHS that she was a better person now!?

But how could she judge them so negatively now! Yes, they had been the villains during their stay at Canterlot High, but so had Sunset for the majority of her time at the school! But they had left when they failed, went into hiding and were never heard from again!

At least until they found Sunset bleeding out on the street in the middle of a freezing blizzard and for some reason decided to save her. They spent so much time and energy, let alone money and other resources, to help Sunset, taking her in and treating her like their own sister. They had shown a side to them that she would have never thought possible of three Equestrian monsters of myth. Three beings that had threatened Equestria itself with their powers!

Yet they decided to save one of the girls that had thwarted them and destroyed the source of their magics, the very way they fed on the negative emotions of others. And they seemed to forgive Sunset.

When the Daemon had first tried to take Sunset over, it was them who had called for the Princess’ of Equestria to come help. It was Sonata who physically attacked the Daemon, demanding that it return her sister!

Who was she to judge them now?

***

“So your first real client is set up for Saturday evening.” Mother Charity said, handing over the manila folder full of paperwork to Sunset, the amber girl sitting across the table as she flipped open the sheet.

“He’s paid the fee?” she asked as she flipped through the large pamphlet of papers.

“And a little extra.”

“Seems like he’s signed everything as well.” Sunset spun the manila folder back towards the woman.

“Yup, signed, dated, initial, and printed.” the woman snapped the folder shut and slipped it back into one of the drawers of her desk. “Room 302 will be reserved for you, and you are welcome to go and get things arranged, as usual.”

“Ha, the instant I take my top off he won’t be looking at anything else!” Sunset laughed as she stood up from the seat.

***

Sunset groaned as she stood under the blazing stream of water flowing freely from the shower head above her, cascading down her form in great rivulets. Her hands were busy massaging more body wash forcefully onto her breasts, squeezing and massaging the slimy lotion across her bountiful bust.

She had been right about the man, the instant they walked into the room and Sunset took off her top he was hers, his entire being focusing on the freely jiggling orbs on Sunset’s chest. Sure, he had tried to make things fun for Sunset, but his entire being seemed to be dedicated to her tits. When she had pushed him back onto the bed and straddled him across his waist, the instant she was properly seated, his hands shot to grasping at her, firmly manipulating the pillowy flesh. She had let him continue to play with her rack as she started to undress him, pulling his tie apart with her teeth as he palmed her nipples.

He had been of an above average size, at least as far as Humans were concerned, and had thusly almost vanished into her cleavage when she started to go down on his erect length, her head slowly trying to bob up and down on his head.

“So, I take it everything went alright?” Sunset flashed back to reality upon hearing Mother Charity’s voice from the other side of the shower stall.

“Eh, as alright as it could go.” she shrugged, even while knowing that the woman wouldn’t be able to see her actions. “I was right about him being hypnotized by my breasts though!”

“You could stop damn near everyone in the world if live streamed you taking your top of, Sunset!” the woman laughed gaily from the other side. “Of course he would have lost it!”

“I take it he just finished paying?” she asked, turning to the shower head and focusing it on her cleavage. The man had seemed dead set on smearing his seed on her breasts, which was at least better than on her face or down her throat.

“Yup, was hoping to set up an appointment with you again soon. Though…” Sunset paused as she heard the woman start to trail off.

“Lemme guess, I got another client?”

“Two, for next week. Are you up for it?” the woman asked, a sincere tone of affection and worry filling the air.

“Heh, you know I’m good for it.” Sunset replied, chuckling humourfully. “Who knows, maybe one of these times I’ll get to finish!”

“Awww, princess!” Sunset turned around towards the now open shower stall, Mother Charity shaking her head and grinning. “Damn near the whole house knows that you finish yourself after every time.”

Mother Charity had to wash her outfit two times to get all the soap and shampoo out of it after that.

***

“So, let me get this straight.” Sunset sighed, resting her head in between her palms. “The two of you decide that Olive shouldn’t be the only with Horsiemon cards, and so you two sneak into her room and steal some of them?”

The two boys remained glued to their feet, scuffling them against the floor as they continued to try and ignore Sunset. Olive Branch had asked “Big Sister” Sunset to find out what happened to her collection of Horsiemon cards, and especially her “Super Rare Ultra Shiny” Electro Mouse.

“And then to top it off, you start deciding to fling them around like weapons?” the amber girl pointed over to the remains of a flower vase that Berzailios was cleaning up in total silence.

“M-Maybe…” the one on the right said.

“We didn’t think they’d hurt anything…” the one on the left added.

“Well not only do we need a new vase, but you also ruined Olive’s Electro Mouse.” Sunset said, shifting around in her crouch as she looked at the two boys. “Now what are we going to do?”

“I dunno…” the pair said in unison, kicking opposite feet against the floor lamely.

“Do you know why Olive got those Horsiemon cards?” the pair looked up, tears threatening to build at the corners of their eyes. “Because she was a good girl, and got a treat because of it.”

“We’re sorry…” the one on the left said, nodding his head again.

“We didn’t mean ta…” the right one followed in suit.

“...Do you two think you can apologize to Mother Charity for destroying flower vase?” Sunset asked, the two boys freezing up before nodding their downwards tilted heads somehow. “Good, come with me, and when we are done you are going to go apologize to Olive Branch and return all of her cards before I find a way to replace her card for her.”

***

The third week at the Charity House had started rather quietly, not too much drama or action happening as she continued to cement her role in the house as a leader of sorts. “Big Sister” Sunset Shimmer had a nice tone to it, she thought. Her second true client had been similar to the first, though was lacking a little in the size compartment compared to her previous John, and while he may have been a quick finisher, at least he had tried to make her feel good.

The middle of the week saw her tutoring almost everyone at some time period, ranging from basic math, to algebra, to world history and proper sentence structure. She had more than a few late nights as she helped those younger than her go over homework or study assignments. One little girl even had to read a story to Sunset, the amber Equestrian sitting patiently and smiling warmly as the girl stuttered along through the words on the page. More than once Sunset had to help her, the first time almost leaving the girl in tears as she tried to pronounce one of the words. But once Sunset calmed her down, and helped her with how to punctuate the word, the girl was beaming and reading with a proud tone to her voice.

Mother Charity had continued to run and grab things for Sunset, ranging from getting the claw holes in her gloves stitched up, to getting the girl a sticker book just plastered with little gold stars, the matriarch commenting and wondering why she never thought of that before as the younger kids started to flock around the “Big Sister” of the House.

The second client of the week had been a real charmer for Sunset, actually taking her out to a decent little family owned diner before going back to the house. He was a real go getter as far as getting Sunset off was concerned, the girl swearing that he was the closest she ever got to that mysterious peak. He had left saying that he would “train”, so as to do better next time.

The pay had been more than worth it though, not that she had any need of it now. She didn’t need some fancy electric guitar or the newest, state of the art, smart phone. Her money went to smaller things, the few “big” purchases being that of some bulkier clothes.

She had started to grow stir crazy, but knew that if she were to leave the Charity House she would need a proper disguise. Said disguise was a massive, fur lined, hoodie, with a bulky, somewhat oversized turtleneck and a pair of sunglasses. She had made sure that the fur for the hoodie was fake, Mother Charity complaining about it even though she took Sunset’s money. But he piece that completed the outfit was a toque, a simple piece of red, white, and red striped fabric, with a large red leaf in the middle of the large white band in the middle.

She spun around and looked at herself in the mirror, smiling at the look of it all. With the hoodie flipped up, and the turtleneck sufficiently bulky, her body shape was well hidden. To further add to things, she had tried binding her chest, and while it was of some discomfort, it did its job, and considering how little she planned to be out, the annoyance was worth it. The sunglasses were of one of the popular, vastly oversized styles, helping to obscure her face. The only thing that was oddly not hidden away were her legs, which were clad in snug, well worn, jeans, the knees slightly washed out.

She smiled and nodded after one last spin, before starting to strip out of the outfit, laying everything gently on her bed. She would use her excursions to find some way to get out of town to discharge her growing magic reserves. It had started off at a slow enough build up, but over the last day it had started to increase its buildup, worrying Sunset slightly at its sudden increase. At least she still had some time, her thoughts going to the free day on Monday that she had been forced to take by Mother Charity, the woman saying that Sunset needed a day off. Sunset smirked, somewhat looking forward to being free to stalk the city again, or at least the local downtown strip.

The rest of the city could wait.