Peril In Canterlot

Chapters

Prologue - The lonely howl
Chapter 1 - A bad day all around
Chapter 2 - Friendships and Promises
Chapter 3 - The Masks we wear
Chapter 4 - A Brothers love and a Shy's confusion

Prologue - The lonely howl

The night was dark with a chill in the air that left Rover's breathe fogged in the wind as he made his way home, the snow crunching underneath his feet. Anon-A-Miss had gotten worse and worse as the time for winter break neared, targeting everyone without any restriction, even at her worst Sunset had never been this bad. Rover had his own experiences with the she-demon in the past yet she always had a plan in those experiences, now she seemed more focused on randomly targeting everyone. He continued his train of thought as he passed by a dark alleyway where a shadowy form stood in waiting before coming out and following him, the figure matching his footsteps completely. The added sound of footsteps coupled with the feeling of being watched snapped him out of his thoughts and forced him to take pause, the feeling he got was one that made his skin crawl and his hair stand on end, he quickly turned around to see who would be following him.

He found nothing, not even footprints other than his in the snow. After a moment he shrugged it off thinking that it must have been his mind playing tricks on him he continued forward. Not long after the sound started up again, and the feeling of being watched returned... Yet there was something strange about this new feeling, it felt more intense, and much more deadly. This sent a shiver of fear through the diamond dog, something he'd never truly experienced before as he was one of the ones who caused the fear in others.

Deciding that he would have to take care of the problem, he took a detour from his normal path home as he made for what appeared to be an abandoned florist shop that had seen better days. Entering the building he quickly got into what he thought was a perfectly good hiding spot to attack his pursuer when they came in to follow him. Drawing his switch blade he waited, listening to the sound slowly making it's way towards the shop... And nothing, the footsteps just stopped, as his impatiences started to get the best of him he heard the footstep begin to leave. With a breath of relief he didn't know he had been holding his shoulders sagged in a relaxed motion.

As he got ready to leave the sound of a window breaking in the back of the shop startled him back into action, tensing up he rushed to the back of the shop ready to fight, what he found was a broken window and a broken brick that must have come from the wall outside. Chuckling to himself, he got ready to leave but then felt an arm wrap around his neck pulling against it and a knife pierce his upper back causing him to gasp in pain before the need to cough over took him, causing him to cough up large amounts of blood. The knife was pulled out and stabbed back in two more times leaving Rover unable to put up any resistance that he might have otherwise. With that down he felt the arm leave his neck allowing him to fall onto the floor, blood pooled around him as he felt the world slowly slip away. The only sound he heard before the darkness took over completely was that of a females laughter before speaking.

"That's a good boy, play dead....." The voice said before leaving as a blurred object of yellow and red.

Later that day…..

Red and blue lights filled the area as officers surrounded the front of the shop in bright yellow caution tape. Civilians in the area stared in shock as a medical examiner loaded a body into the back of his van. Officers were already on scene, asking anyone nearby if they’d seen anything. A black car, nondescript in color and model, pulled up to the curve behind the police cars.

Daring Do sighed as she watched the people mulling about the scene. She had only JUST gotten back in town and already there was a case to solve. ‘Well, better get this over with,’ she thought, stepping from her vehicle and making her way toward the crime scene.

An officer with ivory skin and deep blue hair stepped into her path and Daring rolled her eyes. “Sorry, Ma’am,” the officer stated. “Civilians aren’t allowed in the crime zone. Body has already been loaded. If you are related to the victim, please meet the ME at-.”

“I’m the detective on call,” Daring interrupted, not interested in hearing the usual spiel.

The officer’s eyes widened. “You’re Detective Daring Do?” he asked, his eyes alight with excitement.

“That is correct,” Daring watched the officer squirm for a moment, a smirk coming to her lips as he stood straighter.

“P-pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ma’am!” he said, puffing out his chest. “Officer Shining Armor at your service. Allow me to take you to the scene of the crime.”

The detective couldn’t help a small sarcastic smile. “How kind of you, officer.”

Shining Armor led Daring inside of the rundown flower shop. The detective side-stepped broken pots and random gardening tools as she followed the officer to the very back of the shop. There, on the ground, was a puddle of blood, clearly the place where the victim had bled out. Squatting to get a closer look, Daring found traces of blue hair and droplets of what could have been saliva, most likely discharged when the victim was stabbed.

Reaching into her hip pouch, the detective removed a pair of gloves and some evidence bags, beginning to collect the evidence. As she worked, she asked, “Can you tell me all you know so far, Officer Armor?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” From the tremble in his voice, it was clear Shining Armor hadn’t thought she would really need him. ‘He must be a rookie,’ Daring inwardly sighed.

“From the information we have now, we know that the victim was a member of the Diamond Dogs gang. He was part of the Canterlot sector, went by the name Rover.”

Daring’s eyebrows furrowed. “What was a Diamond Dog doing in this part of Canterlot?” she mused aloud. “Last I checked, their headquarters always remained on the opposite side of town, just on the edges of the Sweet Apple Acres farm.”

“We’ve no idea what he was doing out here, Ma’am, er, Detective,” Shining explained. “Our best guess is that he was coming home from school. ME said that he had died about five hours ago.”

“Who called in?” the detective asked, finally standing. Her legs protested and she grimaced. Might need to work out a bit more. She’d been getting lazy on her squats.

“Some teenagers who were sneaking through the building. Said something about looking for some valuables they’d stashed here. Officers Soarin and Lightning Dust have already taken them in for questioning.”

Daring nodded her approval. “Good, good. The victim being a member of the Diamond Dog gang means we can’t rule out the possibility that there might be a gang war brewing. Better safe than sorry.”

She stowed the evidence bags into her hip pouch and turned to face Officer Shining Armor. He stood attentively. “Thank you for your assistance, officer,” she said. “Here is my card if anything new arises on the case. I’ll be taking this evidence to the forensic labs for testing.”

“Of course, Detective Do.” Shining saluted her and turned to go.

Daring watched him go for a moment before looking to the puddle of blood. She hoped this was just an uncoordinated kill, but considering the location and the affiliation of the victim, she didn’t have much hope. Sighing one last time, Daring exited the shop and slipped into her car. She hoped the forensic techs had coffee. It was going to be a long night for them all.

Author's Note

I really hope ya'll enjoyed this, I most certainly did making this as well as my two gracious and helpful collaborators.

the lovely Snowflake Dissonance and the great Demegor. Two really good author's and friends. They helped proof read, collab, and come up with some of the ideas for this chapter.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful day and I will see ya next time with the next chapter

Chapter 1 - A bad day all around

POV - Principal Celestia

Celestia sits at her desk checking over her files, her third cup of coffee taunting her for her restless nights. Everything has just gotten worse since the start of Anon-A-Miss, students are bullied for their exposed secrets and it appears Anon-A-Miss is only getting worse and worse by the day. If this goes on after winter break it could mean permanent damages in the friendships that have been made at the school and the loss of her job. After finishing the last of her paperwork she got up to check up on how Luna was doing when her phone started ringing insistently, much to the chargin of the small migrain she had forming in her head.

“Please let it not be another phone call about Anon-A-Miss, please…..” She says to herself, silently praying to any deity that might be listening.

She answers the phone with her standard greeting. “Hello, this is principal Celestia speaking, how may I help you today?”

“Hello principal Celestia, this is detective Daring Do from the Canterlot Police Department. I’m sorry to inform you, but at around 5pm a student of yours by the name Rover Smith stabbed to death in an abandoned Florist shop on Baker street… Apparently he was on his way home when it happened, we just wanted to inform you so that you could properly be notified of the situation. I wish I could provide you with more information, but until we can determine the cause and/or reason behind this murder I cannot give you anymore information. I wish you a happy holidays and hope for the best, goodbye.” She says before ending the call.

Principal Celestia was stunned by this statement, and found herself wishing, probably for the first time since Tuesday, that this had been another call about Anon-A-Miss. She picks up her phone and starts to quickly dialing Luna’s number.

“Luna, I have an urgent matter to discuss, hurry to my office!” She says wishing she could have a drink.

POV Change - Fluttershy

The sky was blanketed in gray clouds covering up the shining sun from Canterlot high, seemingly emulating the general feeling of the student body as they awaited classes to end for the last day before winter break. The Rainbooms were the most eager of the students in this regard, being as they were the first targets of the profile Anon-A-Miss, and thought to be betrayed by Sunset the once Queen Bee of school. Since the creation of the account its influence and suffering has spread across the entire campus, affecting both student and faculty members alike. Fluttershy sighs as she sits in the back of her first period classroom once again forced to hide away in her hoodie after some of the secrets about her “above-average” love for animals was exposed. As she made her way through the boring lecture that miss Cheerilee was giving, something about how the pagan beliefs formed in history, before suddenly the sound of the intercom turned on catching her attention before the sound of Principal Celestia’s voice came on.

“Would all students please make their way towards the gym, there is an emergency announcement that will be taking place. All students and faculty are required to be present for this meeting.” She said before the sound of the intercom cutting off sounded throughout the school.

Fluttershy was confused as to what the principal could possibly want to talk to the school body about. She quickly left the classroom alongside her fellow students towards the direction of the gymnasium making sure not to be noticed as much as possible, this didn’t help when one of her old tormentors from before Sunset, Dumbbell, pushed her into the corner where the lockers and the wall meet laughing as he did so.

“Animal fucker…..” He chuckled as some of his other buddies laughed alongside him before moving on, throwing their own jeers and insights at the now silently sobbing Fluttershy.

She knew she shouldn’t have come to school today, she had hoped that she could have avoided this if she had just stayed home. As she started to beat herself up over her lack of foresight she’s startled when a gentle hand grasped her shoulder, frightened she turned to see her friend Rarity looking over her worriedly, obviously checking her for injuries.

“My word, Fluttershy darling, what happened to you? Was it another one of those brutes, I swear I may just have to have a very unladylike talk those buffoons that dare call themselves gentlemen.” Rarity says as she gently helps a clinging Fluttershy up onto her feet.

Once Fluttershy was on her feet she hugged Rarity feeling her gently caressing her back. “W-why d-d-did this ha-happen to us?…” Fluttershy sobs out to Rarity in pain.

“Shhhhhh, I don’t know deary, sometimes some people never change… Sunset is just one of those people, we gave her a chance and she threw it back in our faces. Now we’re stuck dealing with her lies and the hatred she’s spread across campus.” Rarity says holding onto her crying friend.

“Come, we should be heading to the Gymnasium soon darling. Don’t want to be late, it sounded important.” She says gently leading Fluttershy to the gym as she started to calm down.

When they arrive they look around to find the rest of the Rainbooms sitting near the far exit of the Gym with Rainbow Dash and Applejack sitting on either side of a visibly depressed Pinkie Pie. Ever since the school learned that Pinkie Pie was once in an insane asylum for multiple personality disorder they would tease her and even go out of their way to make her life miserable. Turning her head from them she noticed on the opposite side of the gym was Sunset at the double doors that led to the sports field. Fluttershy quickly turned her head and made a beeline for her friends with Rarity quick to catch up. Upon sitting with their friends and catching it Fluttershy turns and notices something off about Celestia, she doesn’t seem like her normal, seemingly always peppy self, she seemed somber and more than a little tired. While turning to Sunset she seemed to be anticipating something, almost restlessly as she taps her foot in impatience, probably wants to spread more secrets.

POV Change- Celestia (Principal)

Principal Celestia watched the students file in. Each of them milling about the room and waiting for whatever the assembly would be about. Her eyes scoured the room and she found Spot and Fido leaning against the wall. Her heart thudded painfully against her ribs at the sight of them. She couldn't imagine how terrible this loss had been for them. Certainly, they wouldn't show it, but she knew Rover had been a close friend of theirs. She hoped they could move past his loss and continue on for the future.

Once the last of the stragglers had entered the hall, Celestia cleared her throat and looked to Luna. Her sister nodded to her encouragingly and the principal returned it. Gazing out at all of the gathered students, Celestia took a deep breath and began.

"Everyone," she said, her voice carrying around the quickly quieting room. "I understand that this may seem irritating to some of you, being called in for an assembly on the last day before break. However, I would just like to tell you all that I value each and every one of you as my student, and I can assure you that the faculty and staff feel the same. Whenever a student drops out, graduations, moves away, or transfers, it is a hard experience for everyone involved. The student is always missed, and the memories they created here at CHS don't just disappear."

Off to the side, Spot turned his face away, Fido patting him on the back. Celestia swallowed and continued, "As you can probably guess, it is also difficult for everyone when a student dies. It leaves a terrible scar on CHS, one that will take a long time to heal. The other night, Rover Ruby was found dead in an abandoned flower shop in a remote part of Canterlot." There were several gasps from the crowd, but Celestia waved her hand to quiet them. "I understand that this is hard to take, but I just would like to reiterate a few things with you all. We here at CHS are a family. We make friendships that last lifetimes and it will always be difficult for us when someone leaves unexpectedly.

"Because of this, I want you all to be safe, this holiday season. Please do not take unnecessary risks, please travel in groups. The police are still looking for the culprit of the murder, and until they are caught, I would feel better knowing no one else is in their sights. Please stay safe, and may Rover's spirit watch over his friends and family." Spot broke into soft wails as he pressed his face into Fido's chest. The larger boy just let him, keeping his face stoic so his friend could let it out. "Have a happy and *safe* break everyone. Dismissed.”
That was all she could give them. It pained her to know that she couldn't keep all of them safe. But she hoped that, what she couldn't do, their families and friends could. She didn't want to lose anymore students to some wayward killer. Certainly, the police had said that it was a gang dispute, but Celestia still preferred to be wary on the slim chance it wasn't. She didn't want to lose anyone else.

Pretty much everyone had forgotten about Anon-a-Miss by the time they shuffled back to their classrooms. Silence hung in the air as the students contemplated what they had been told. Most of them preferred to brush it off as a gang conflict, having heard some snippets of the story from the news already. However, others felt an uneasiness in their stomachs, as though something wasn't right with the whole thing. The younger students huddled together in groups, skittish and jumpy, while most of the older students went about their business. It was probably a one-off, so it didn't matter as much to them.

Fluttershy hated knowing that someone had died and felt her chest constrict for Rover's friends. However, she was grateful that only a few students were paying attention to her now, distracted as everyone else was with the news of Rover's death. Her friends converged around her as everyone made their way to their lockers, the break looming ahead of them.

Author's Note

Hi there everybody, Sar Meister here.... So last time I uploaded the prologue I got a lot of positive feedback, and it really touched me to hear as that was my first time posting anything ever regarding my stories.

So I decided to at least try and get ya'll 1 chapter before I relaxed for the rest of my time on winter break. So I hope ya'll enjoyed and I'll see ya'll next time.

Happy Hearts Warming Eve.

Sincerely,
Sar Meister

Chapter 2 - Friendships and Promises

All was silent within Sweet Shoppe. That was the first thing Fluttershy noticed, as she sat at the Rainboom’s unofficial table, with Pinkie Pie by her side. Both of them were waiting, for the rest of their friends to show up. Each second her friends weren’t there, caused Fluttershy’s heart to thump in fear, that they had been murdered, the images of her mind plaguing her as she tried to hide herself away in a tight shivering ball of stress and fear. Pinkie must have sensed her suffering, because a sudden hug pulled Fluttershy from her internal fears.

“Th-thanks Pinkie, I really needed that…” She says sincerely as she gently returns the hug, feeling much more calm than she was previously.

“No problem Fluttershy, I’m just helping a friend in need.” Pinkie says with her warm smile, that made Fluttershy feel like she was guaranteed to have a better day.

Before she could enjoy the little time alone with Pinkie she was given, the front door opened to the rest of her friends. Rainbow and Applejack were panting, as if they’d been running for quite sometime, and Rarity seemed slightly distressed about something, but otherwise was alright in her own way.

“Terribly sorry we’re late deary, I was pulled away on urgent matters when a customer simply demanded my attention. Then Sweetie Belle tried to steal me away for something about a song she made, so I couldn’t really say no...” She says nervously, whether in guilt for being late, or something else Fluttershy didn’t know, though she could guess Pinkie might know.

“Yeah, I had to watch over Scoots for a bit, lately she’s been wanting my attention more and more. It got to the point I had to put my foot down and tell her I needed to go take care of my friends.” Rainbow says as she relaxes herself into the seat. “I ended up having to run all the way here because mom took the car out and dad doesn’t trust me yet to drive his truck… The truck breaks down the one time I’m driving and it’s automatically my fault!…” She begins to grumble in her tired frustration kindly accepting a drink Pinkie pulled from somewhere.

Fluttershy always did wonder where she got her things, and for that manner, how did she manage to transport them all around like they were nothing. Suffice to say there were many things that Fluttershy questioned about her dear friend, but knew would never be answered.

”Y’all think it’s mighty bit weird that our siblings seem to be getting overly attached to us? I don’t know about you, but they never seemed to act like this before.” She says looking to everyone else as if to say something felt fishy about the whole situation. “I ask cause the same thing happened ta me earlier today. I was out doing chores like normal and Applebloom just pops up out of nowhere trying to hang out, now normally I wouldn’t see this as anything unusual. But what gets me is that she knows that I take the farm chores very serious and my friends just as much as my family, but she was hellbent harder than a dog after a juicy steak to get me to stay with her… I don’t know something don’t sit right with me, especially after the assembly today, like Pandora’s box been open and it’s contents dumped out.” Applejack explains to her friends taking a seat next to the exhausted Rainbow Dash and the pious lady Rarity.

Fluttershy starts to dwell on this, trying to sort out the facts from the emotional pain she felt when Sunset started this, and from her time as her personal bully at school. Well that was until her process was interrupted by Pinkie Pie in a way only she could manage.

“What, like Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are all secretly anon-a-miss and started the account out of the perceived need to get rid of Sunset Shimmer so we’d hang out with them more, and simply let it grow out of proportion without any care to what effects it might have on students, faculty, us, them, or Sunset should the truth ever be found out?… That’s just crazy talk Applejack, have you been getting into your family’s special zapple cider again? You remember what happened last time you drank some of that?” Pinkie says stunning everyone to silence before slowly nodding their heads at how ridiculous it all sounded said aloud.

It had to be Sunset Shimmer, no two ways about it… They weren’t terrible friends, they just opened up to the wrong person is all, yeah that has to be what happened. Fluttershy thought to herself almost desperately, because the other option was just too terrible to contemplate, that it was them who were the terrible friends, and Sunset opened up to the wrong people… That thought led to dangerous thinking for Fluttershy, along with any depressing thoughts she normally had, and it would do to have her friends worry about her too much. Although it would help get her more time with Pinkie Pie if she asked her to spend the night with her, she’d probably have to ask her by herself so as to avoid letting the others down.

From there the conversations started to stem away from those depressing thoughts to more comfortable areas, like how the animals were doing at the animal shelter that Fluttershy volunteered at or Pinkie Pie’s new babysitting service she started up after she realized how good she was with children after taking care of the cake twins. By the end of the day they were laughing and giggling to themselves happily as they got ready to leave Applejack stopped them.

“Now y’all girls remember to come on by ya hear, otherwise I’ll come hunt ya down myself.” She says with a playful chuckle before tipping her hat to them after receiving a chorus of acknowledged as she got into the family truck, it was a heavily beat up Ram, one of the old models that should have broken down a long time ago, but was still running on spit shine, hard work, self taught maintenance, and duct tape, lots of duct tape. Fluttershy waited till the others left before turning to Pinkie Pie to stop her from leaving as well.

“Uh, I was wondering, if maybe you could… spend the night with me, I’m a little scared by what’s happened, and I know I’d feel better if maybe… You spent the night.” She says, twirling her hair in hope that Pinkie will say yes, her entire body was filled with anxiety waiting for Pinkie’s answer and felt like her stomach might explode from how hard the bunnies were playing within her. She never understood why Pinkie could make the butterflies into bunnies but she did.

“At least until Applejack’s Christmas celebration party that is…” She adds quickly noticing her error, she didn’t want to make Pinkie Pie feel like she was trapped, even though she secretly wanted to trap her in tight rough ropes…

“No bad thoughts, go away!” She thought guiltily as her face took on her signature soft blush.

Before her internal rambling and self-loathing could continue Pinkie gave her answer.

“Sure thing Fluttershy, we don’t get to hang out by ourselves all that often. It’ll be nice to spend it just between the two of us.” She says in her happy-go-lucky ways, as if the world would simply work out in her favor, like it always seemed to do, especially with her Pinkie sense.

As they left, they never did notice the person watching them from across the street, nor did they notice when the person started following.

Later that night at Fluttershy’s home.

Fluttershy and Pinkie found themselves inside her room, it was 12pm, but neither could sleep with the scary wind and tree’s scraping the side of the house. Each time they took a peak at the window or the nearby tree they could swear they would see a figure, but each time it wouldn’t be there when they took a closer look. Eventually tired of trying to sleep they decided to play some games, eventually getting into a small game of truth or dare. Fluttershy found herself having lots of fun, the dares were lighthearted and no where close to the “extreme” dares that Rainbow seemed to like to use whenever the game got played, and the truths were harmless and pretty funny now that Fluttershy thought about them.

Pinkie Pie similarly was having fun playing with Fluttershy, out of all of their friends Fluttershy was the one she was the least close to. Because she was always afraid she’d be too much for the poor shy girl, but it seems those fears were all for nothing, Fluttershy was having a blast thanks to her and wasn’t retreating in her shell like other times, even when the Rainbooms were there for her she’d still retreat in her shell at times. But right now Pinkie Pie had to ask Fluttershy a very important question, and she needed the truth. So when it was her turn she turned to Fluttershy and asked the question.

“Truth or Dare Fluts?” Pinkie asks using her special name for Fluttershy that only they knew.

“Truth…” Fluttershy answers after some thought, she had noticed that Pinkie seemed to grow serious before asking which gave Fluttershy pause from her stupor of a good mood, worried she had done something.

“Oh my what could I have done? I hope I haven’t done anything to offend her or anything… D-does she know?! Dear holy sweet Lord, please don’t let her know about my collection underneath Angel’s bed…” She silently prays within her mind as she starts to sweat in anxiety.

Pinkie took note of Fluttershy’s reaction, having been her friend for so long and being pretty good at reading people or situations after taking those psychology classes she prided herself on. She seemed like she was hiding somethings from her, which she guessed was alright given what’s happened lately with Anon-A-Miss, but she wanted to get closer to Fluttershy.

“Has Dumbbell been bullying you again?” She asks seriously giving Fluttershy the best version of her infamous Stare that Pinkie could pull off.

Fluttershy gulped at this, not expecting this question really from the pink girl, and almost wish she had asked about the items underneath Angel’s bed. Taking a moment to think of how to best avoid the question, it soon became evident that she could resist Pinkie Pie and her version of the Stare… It was just too cute for her, like a kitten and puppy hugging in the crib.

“Y-yes… He started up again after Sunset leaked our secrets onto Mystable. He does it when I’m alone, and sometimes…” She stops herself as at this point instead of tearing up she’s straight up crying. “S-sometimes he molest me… And threatens to do terrible things if I say anything…” She cries out as Pinkie envelopes her in a hug and gently begins stroking her hair, whispering sweet honey words to sooth her pain while internally she felt a war brewing between her two personalities, on what they should do.

Fluttershy soon fell asleep, however not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure leaving the window and off into the snow. Pinkie soon joined her friend feeling spent after that emotional bomb drop tore through her heartstrings.

POV Change - Shadowy figure

“So that’s who’s been harming Fluttershy, I always knew Dumbbell was an idiot, but he’s clearly on a whole new level… Well I guess it’s time I paid him a little visit.” The figure thought as they pulled a nice well kept jacket closer to their body, it's warmth unable to fully stand up to the cold winds. Yet the figure moved as if it felt none of it, their mind set on a mission their body would complete, the weather be damned should it try and stop them.

POV Change - Spot

Spot growled lowly as he sat in his room, cleaning a beretta pistol as he silently contemplated what happened, how in a span of a night and a day his world had been broken. One of his brothers, the most special one to him, had been murdered in cold blood, and worse yet they were still out there. Whether they were part of a rival gang or just some punk, Spot would find out who killed Rover and he was going to make them pay dearly for the pain they caused him.

Author's Note

Hope ya'll enjoyed, would have had this out sooner, but I was a little behind on ideas on where to go.

Chapter 3 - The Masks we wear

Daring Do sighed as she sat at the coffee table at home, nearly a week since the murder of Rover Smith, and there were no leads to be had. Nothing about the case was fitting together, the teenagers they had brought in for questioning all had solid alibi's and possessed no motive to commit the crime, let alone any evidence pointing them out as the murderers besides happening to be in the area. The DNA results on the hair sample and the droplets of saliva weren’t expected back for a few days, thus leaving her with no leads and a case that didn’t sit right with her whatsoever. She just felt like there was something missing, a few key pieces of the puzzle she hasn’t found yet. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead trying to calm the small migraine forming in her head, she decides to take a look over her notes and data she was able to get about him and the crime.

From what the coroner filed, Rover Smith died due to a massive amount of blood loss. He was stabbed three times in the back in the middle of the shop, once owned by a local florist enthusiast before she ended up getting a new place to do business. He died a somewhat quick death, with him barely able to put up a struggle let alone stay standing up. The only bits of evidence within the room was 3 drops of saliva and a single strand of blue hair.

The victim, Rover Smith, was 17 years of age the middle child of 3 brothers, Fido and Spot Smith. Family says that he was rough around the edges, but held love for his family, particularly for his younger brother Spot. He was enrolled in the same school as her younger sister, Canterlot High School, where he was relatively average in grade leaning towards D’s and the occasional C’s than anything else. The puzzling thing is that besides being part of the Diamond Dog gang Rover hadn’t seemed to make any enemies, especially any that would want him dead. What could the motive have been, why would they attack Rover, and what would they do next. Those were just some of the questions that lingered in her mind.

Yet as time passed she found herself looking more and more towards CHS, something in her gut told her answers could be found if she started digging into the happenings of the school. Sighing to herself, she slowly got up to make herself a new cup of coffee. The nights since Thursday night hadn’t been kind to her, and since the school was closed she couldn’t do much paper shuffling... Suddenly an idea came to her, upon checking the clock on her desk she smiled softly as she got up quickly and made her way towards the living room. There on the couch sat her little sister Ditzy Doo, still experiencing the hurtles of high school life and the roller coaster of emotions that is being a teenager. What Daring wouldn’t do to be a teenager again and not have to worry about working yet, this thought caused her to chuckle softly gaining her sisters attention as she muted the TV.

“Hey sis, mind if we have a little chat? I mean if your busy that’s alright, buuuuuut… I can always say it’s official police business. Which it kinda is and kinda is big sister moment. So take your pick.” Daring said with a tired smile, waiting for permission to continue.

Ditzy looked at her sister confused, normally she was extremely playful and wouldn’t ask to have a chat, she’d just do. So for something to change her demeanor, something serious must be on the menu. Turning the TV off completely Ditzy turned her entire attention to Daring, gently patting the side of the couch next to her for them to talk.

Daring took this as a good sign and took a seat next to her, sighing softly as she felt her entire body get hit by the comforting sensation of the couch, her one true bed and technical lover if she was being honest with herself. Dreading the conversation to come she decided it would be best to approach it like any other big sister “We’re a family of badasses!” talk.

“So I take it you heard about what happened to one of the student today?” She asks trying to keep a calm exterior in the face of worry for her little sister.

“Y-yeah, it was announced at the assemble last week, just before during first period… Everyone was really shocked by it from what I saw.” She says honestly and hesitantly, looking down at her hands as if they were foreign objects to her, meant to be studied and examined.

“Yeah, that… Ditzy I was hoping you could possibly help your older sis out. Specifically I need information on his relationships at school… did he have any enemies to speak of, or was anyone holding a grudge?” She asks equally hesitant, not wishing to push her sister into anything she didn’t want to do.

“Well… while I don’t think he had any enemies, everyone kinda knew he and a Russian girl named Gilda had sort of a rivalry between them.” Ditzy said mulling over her answer. “Though it never got serious enough to warrant staff intervention…” She finishes, looking up to her sister as she sees her taking notes.

“Hmmm, has anything else happened lately. Even if not directly pertaining to him.” She asks noting down the rivalry and possible love interest between the two. She internally chuckled to herself, she maybe a detective, but she still loved to make pairings.

She seems to physically gulp as her eyes widen in what looks to be fear. This alarms Daring as she broke from her mental thoughts to completely focus on her sister once more, falling more into protective sister mode and less detective mode. Though there was little difference in the two.

Ditzy opened her mouth several times, each time wondering if she should talk to her about Anon-A-Miss. In the past the adults and faculty had merely brushed it aside as if it didn’t matter, which had hurt many students and caused them to lash out in that pain and anger. Yet, if she couldn’t at least trust her sister, then who could she trust. Deciding she’d take a leap of faith she took a deep breathe, steadying her nerves.

“Uh, sis, d-do you know the social media website called Mystable?” She asks feeling her chest tighten in worry and anticipation for Daring’s response to what she would say. Especially about the secrets leaked about her specifically.

“Well yeah, I don’t know who doesn’t. Though I don’t really use my account at all, just kinda have it to have it.” She says shrugging her shoulders as she wonders where she’s going with this. She then asks. “Why do you ask sis? Someone bothering you?”

“W-well… there’s this profile account called Anon-A-Miss, on this profile the person has been posting everyone’s secrets for the world to see… I... They…” She starts to tear up as she tries to continue. “They have caused a lot of p-people to start fighting and hurting each other… breaking friendships and partners in the process…” She says hugging her sister tightly as she lightly sobs into her shoulder.

Daring surprised by this, she quickly wraps her sister into a tight loving embrace. “Just let it all out… but as soon as your done I want to know… what did they post?” She says leaving no room for arguments as she worked to comfort her crying sister, whispering the occasional sweet nothings to help sooth her.

As time moved on, Ditzy found herself slowly calming down enough to notice she had dampened her sisters shoulder immensely. After finishing she looked up to her sister. “Sorry… it’s just been a hard week sis.” She says nervous about how her sister might react to her secret she kept even from her. “Anon-A-Miss posted a picture… of my girlfriends and I… kissing on a date.” She says looking up to her shyly and slightly hopeful her sister would understand.

Daring looked at her in surprise before saying with a shit-eating grin. “Damn sis, how much action are we talking, when did it start?” She asks, curious to know of her sisters conquests she’s been apparently hiding from her, before growing serious and asking. “Do you need me to “talk” to them?”

Ditzy blushed softly as she finds herself laughing softly at her sister’s antics. “N-no, they’ve been great to me… You actually know them, their Vinyl and Octavia, and to answer your second question remember when we got snowed in last winter at Octavia’s mountain lodge? That’s when…” She says bashfully as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Anyway, the important thing was that we weren’t ready to go public… Vinyl and Octavia umm… Well they have a lot of baggage at home their relationship would draw up, and I was kinda scared to come out…” She says growing more and more hesitant as she spoke about what had happened.

Daring, having calmed down from her sisterly pride, started to gently stroke her back, hoping to comfort her. “Don’t worry sis, take all the time you need.” She says as silence soon follows.

The silence that hung in the air wasn’t one of awkwardness, but neither was it peaceful, it was a tense silence that oppressed the occupants of the room. Minutes passed before Ditzy said anything, she seemed ready to go to end this conversation.

“It’s only been getting worse, from Monday night to Friday several hours after the assembly, they’ve been posting more and more secrets… with really mean and demeaning comments...” She says feeling relieved to finally get these problems off of her chest and feeling as if she could speak to her sister so freely.

Daring sighed before asking the most obvious question. “Do you know whose account it is?” Daring thought maybe if she could question them, they might be able to give her some sort of information, at least point her in the right directions… And it wouldn’t hurt to give them a piece of her mind for hurting her little sister.

“N-no… but everyone seems t-to think it was a girl… called Sunset Shimmer…” She says looking up to Daring with tired eyes. “Though, I’m not sure if I believe them or not...” She says looking unsure about it.

“Do you happen to know where I could find this Sunset Shimmer?...” She asks deciding it might pay to give this Sunset a visit, if for nothing else, to see if she couldn’t get some more information.

“N-no not really, but I’ve seen her walking in the direction of the Suburban area, near where the rich families like to stay…” She says hugging her sister tightly.

“Thanks Ditzy, I’ll make sure to keep that in mind… You wouldn’t mind holding down the fort tomorrow while I head out to do some looking around? Kinda have to check on this new information.” She asks still worried for her little sister.

Ditzy nods, the heavy talk having sapped her of any energy to stay awake for any longer than necessary. As fell into slumber Daring could only smirk at how peaceful she seemed, with her strange ability to sleep anywhere no matter the position.

“Just another thing you pick up from dad, though you’ve got mom’s eyes.” Daring muses to herself, being the only one of the the 3 kids to actually look like her father slightly. She gently picks Ditzy up and pulls her to her bedroom, gently laying her to sleep on her master bed. As she went to leave though, she found Ditzy and pulled her into a tight embrace. Chuckling to herself she decided to not fight it and just laid down next to her, work could come in the morning.

Sunset shivered slightly, her body shuddering involuntarily from the sudden change of temperature, from frigid cold of winter to the tropical warmth of her home. As her body slowly became adjusted to the temperature, she started to make her way through the building, the only sound being her footsteps against the hard wood flooring and the silent drops of tears from holding in the pain. Yet she knew that she needed to hold it in till she was safe in the confines of her room, soon she’d be near the staircase though that would take her to the second level the sound of heels clacking against the floor resonated throughout the grand archways of the manor. Stiffening up she paused in her attempt to go up the stairs, as a woman of 38 walked towards her with a bored expression. Her posture was straight as an arrow, her body language was conserved, and her eyes shone with no love for her “daughter” and only the barest of acknowledgment.

"Ah, Miss Shimmer, you have finally returned." she said, her voice betraying no feelings "I want you to prepare yourself for the Spoon’s annual masquerade ball. We'll be leaving in two hours sharp." She pauses for a moment, her bored expression momentarily shifting into a grimace "And have the other one prepare as well. You're both expected at this event." Without another word, she turns and walks away, her heels clicking on the floor, the air silent as if transfixed by the woman’s aura of authority.

Only when the sound of her heels tapping on the floorboards were gone did Sunset feel the ability to breathe, her heart thumping slightly in pain and anxiety. As silent as a mouse, Sunset made her way upstairs to her room. Upon entering she saw her sister sitting there, staring off into the adjacent room, quickly turning her head to the door upon hearing it squeak open. Sunset didn’t need to ask what she was looking at, she knew, and it caused her pain to think that she was at that point once more.

“Hey Sunset, how was your day? Did you talk to those jerks?…” She asks, her beautiful red and yellow hair flowing softly down to the just her neck, her hair cut shorter than Sunset’s to differentiate the two of them. While the more skittish of the two, she was just as protective of her sister as Sunset was of her.

“Same as before unfortunately Sunrise… Sadly it seems Anon-A-Miss has won, and well… I lost.” She says sounding almost as if she’s given up, before suddenly brightening up. “But at least I have you, and you have me sis.” She says rushing up and pulling her into a tight loving embrace. “Besides I’m sure there are other places we could make friends. Heard there was a academy nearby, it wouldn’t be hard to try and start fresh there...”

Sunrise looked to her sister, seemingly indecisive on what to do or say. Eventually, after sometime she must have thought of what she wanted to say. “Well... no matter what, I’ll follow you Sunset… No matter the cost.” She says smiling softly as Sunset gently breaks the hug.

“Alright, we should probably get ready for this masquerade ball mom is sending us, lest we incur her wrath. I don’t mind it much, but you need to eat more, especially with how little they feed you to begin with.” She says looking her sister over, her body visibly leaner than Sunset’s own body.

Sunrise just nods with her soft smile, Sunset takes a moment to head into the bathroom to ready herself. Once Sunrise was sure her sister couldn’t hear her through the closed door she turned to the adjacent room, in it was a chair, table, a few pages of a book she had been writing, and connected to the ceiling was a noose. She smiles at it before shaking her head.

“Not today, old friend… not today, maybe… maybe life is worth living for a few more days.” She says before heading towards the closet to put together a decent dress, preferring an old Victorian style to Sunset’s more leather biker punk rock look. Sunrise sighed in relief, enjoying the feeling of the soft silk fabric rub against her body, the dress was basic in design, meant for elegance and to flow freely while also showing off just enough to entice onlookers.

When Sunset exited the bathroom, she was wearing a more formal dress meant for a business woman than a high school student, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. “You look nice sis, maybe today’s the day we get mom’s approval?” Sunset says with a smile, causing Sunrise to blush softly at the compliment.

“Y-you really think so? I’ve been working really hard to get her to notice me…” She says looking herself over, her teal dress flowing to just above her ankles.

“Yeah sis, besides you still have me.” She says gently as she looks her over. “Would you like me to work a bit on your makeup?” She asks curiously.

“Well I wouldn’t mind some help, I’ve never been the best at doing my own makeup.” She says blushing softly in embarrassment. “Then when your done I’ll do yours, I don’t think either of us will ever be able to do our own makeup.” She says with a giggle of her own.

The car pulled in to the Spoon manor, it was an old mansion, having been with the family for generations since the family came over from Europe during the Colonial era, which the design of the manor showed. With it’s white marble columns and decorated roof, it screamed that a rich family resided in there. As they entered the extravagant entrance they were greeted by one of the servants, he was a tall man with lanky arms, a tight suit, and balding head. His tone was that of a bored gentleman who had been there since as long as he could remember.

Sunset and her family handed him their coats that had previously been protecting them from the snowy weather just after he’d uttered. “May I take your coats.” Sunset could only hold in a chuckle at how cliched and over-the-top Silver Spoon’s family seemed to be going this year.

As they entered the ballroom they were greeted by Dashing Spoon and his family Miracle Fork and Silver Spoon. Dashing went immediately to Sunset’s father, they were business rival’s along with Filthy Rich, and loved to hang out ignoring their spawn, well mostly… Filthy Rich seems like a good father at least, actually spending time with his daughter when he could.

“Nova Flare, it’s wonderful to see you again, my friend.” Dashing says pulling Sunset’s father into a hug, the men removing their masks, Nova’s was that of a mighty lion, and Dashing’s was a day of the dead mask. He seemed to be incredibly proud of his family’s long Hispanic ancestry, constantly bringing it up whenever he can in public.

While the men of the families were happy to see the other and enjoyed the others company, the mothers were a different matter. Sunset’s mother still wore her bored, calculating expression, eyeing the decor of the manor in all of it’s detail.

"Miracle, darling, so good to see you again. And I gotta say, I love what you did with the old place, really shows off, what you're all about. Hope your hubby didn't mind the expenses though." She says her voice was that of sweetened words that made Sunset and Sunrise shudder slightly in fear, taking a moment to actually look at the older woman.

“Ahh, Firecracker Silvertongue, how lovely of you to stop by. I do hope you had an easy enough time getting here. I know how hard it must be having to get all your things in order.” She says in a sickeningly sweet manner that nearly made Sunset and her sister gag internally.

Of course they worked hard to keep their composure around mother, they wanted to make her proud, even if the woman’s word choice had struck a chord.

“Well, I just felt they needed to get some cultured air. See what it’s like to be in flashy upper class home” Firecracker counters with a small smirk. “Of course, if I wanted that we could have just gone to see Spoiled Milk, and her family.” She says shrugging her shoulders, keeping up the appearance of enjoying the company of the woman.

With that both families entered the ballroom, where the rest of the guests awaited. The night played out the same as it normally would have, with Sunset and Sunrise being shone off to the guests as their well-behaved and polite daughters. Though multiple times throughout the night, Sunset noticed the second glances of Silver Spoon towards her direction, constantly whispering towards Diamond Tiara. By the time they were set to leave, Sunset and Sunrise were both exhausted from having to deal with such large groups of people… none of them truly caring about anything, but their vices and money that they flitter away on useless trinkets and material items.

It was only when they had gotten into the car did the masks their parents had put on for public display, fade away. Nova Flare just kept his eyes on the road, not even acknowledging his wife, of whom he had been married to for over 18 loveless years. Likewise she kept her ice cold eyes, that shone like the moon, fixated on the various buildings they passed by, picking out each one they collectively owned and their worth. It was no secret to Sunset that her “parents” never wanted children… much less to be together. If it hadn’t been for their social standing, and the demands of society, she’s sure they wouldn’t be together. Both a different individual in mind that they would see on occasion when they thought they could get away with it.

Though they never did count on Sunset learning about their dirty secret. Though she would have preferred in a less graphic way than how she had original learned of it. Her father had a golf instructor he’d have visit, through one of these visit’s Sunset came across them, and learned to never use the love-seat in the 3rd living room. Though his relationship was much healthier than her mother’s, a truly sadistic and dominative side that enjoyed pushing the limits of her partners till they give out. Sunset had the displeasure of witnessing one such case, and she had decided that day she would take it to her grave.

The drive soon came to an end, and with it the overbearing silence that had captivated the the family of four, Sunset and Sunrise were the first out, both quick to open the doors for their parents. For this was the moment, the moment where hopefully their parents would recognize them. This was something Sunset had been working hard for since Sunset’s redemption, and for Sunrise since before Sunset had been part of the family. However, when their parents left the car, there were no words said, no praise, or even acknowledgment that they existed. Sunset took a step back from this, though the pain she felt was nothing compared to what Sunrise was going through.

Tears brimmed at her eyes, her body stiff as her hope seemed to die away. The only thing that stopped her from breaking down was the fact their parents were still there, though when the father left mother turned towards them. Her posture was serious and her expression seemed unchanged from the car ride, though Sunset could tell there was a difference. She stopped before both of them giving a small nod.

“Miss Shimmer, you and the other did adequate, continue to do so for future rewards.” She says giving them both a gentle pat on the shoulder before turning and leaving the two sisters alone with nothing but their thoughts.

Sunset looked to her sister worried, hoping that she would be alright. Instead what she found was Sunrise giving a small wary smile as she gently held the shoulder her mother touched.

“She… She touched my shoulder…” She says, tears once of sadness now replaced with tears of joy.

Sunset on the other hand looked worried for her sister, gently pulling her into what she hopes is a comforting embrace. Eventually, Sunrise started to calm down, falling asleep into Sunset’s arms. Gently taking her away to their room, Sunset laid her down onto their bed.

“Sleep tight, my dear sister, soon we will be free from this hellhole. Our parents will love us, and we won’t have to deal with CHS anymore…I’ll be back, I just need to take care of somethings.” She whispers to her sister, kissing her forehead, before heading out the room.

Taking with her a thick jacket that looked like it had seen better days and too much sentimental value for Sunset to get rid of, and a dark blue journal, she made her way out of the house.

Author's Note

This chapter was created by Me, Sar Meister

editted and inspired by work with the Meister Tungul, the magnificient Snowflake Dissonance, and the fantastic Demegor.

I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter as much as I did making it. Even if it did take long time, thanks to college and other things getting in the way.

Chapter 4 - A Brothers love and a Shy's confusion

Spot’s POV

The chill in the air was all that seemed to phase Spot, ever present as he made his way through the streets and alleyways of the city of Canterlot. He walked with purpose, gone was the younger brother that would goof off and play jokes. The weight in his jacket pocket was a constant reminder on what he was doing out in the bitter cold. Eventually, he reached his destination, an old speakeasy that most people didn’t even know about. A couple members of the Gryphon gang stood out in front of it keeping watch.

He paid them no heed as he went towards the door, they didn’t even stop him, knowing who he was since the news hit about his brother's death two weeks prior. That and he had been coming back time and time again wanting information on who killed his brother, each time no new information. It was like this upstart just came out of nowhere, no one had even heard about anyone boasting about a kill. Once he entered, he made a beeline for who he had come to see. The Storm King, leader of the Storm mafia and his lieutenant Tempest Shadow, the Storm mafia was one of the bigger tougher gangs in the city with Tempest Shadow being someone you didn’t want gunning for you.

Ex-military and all the deadly, she sent a chill up his back just by her presence, but as it stood Spot wasn’t willing to let this scare him off. He was determined to find his brother’s killer, even if he had to converse with the Storm Mafia.

“Spotty boy, how’s it been?” The Storm king asked with a really disproportionate voice to his hulking demeanor. This surprised Spot when he’d first met him, though now felt like a bad joke. He was a rather ruthless man behind that voice that caused people to look twice for the wrong reasons.

“It’s…” He starts off with a sigh. “It’s been a few weeks...” He said, his voice tired with bags underneath his eyes, though he remained alert still. His body ready for action, no matter how many sleepless nights he had gone through.

“Yeah, again I’m real sorry about what happened to your brother. Slobber’s death is a tragedy for us all in the underworld.” He says, getting Spot’s brother’s name wrong causing his knuckles to pop from how hard they’d been turned into fists.

“His name is Rover… Rover Smith!...” He growls out in anger, his blood boiling at this mans utter disrespect for his brother.

Tempest gets ready to move in for the kill but is stopped when she sees the Storm King raise his hand to stay her normal answer to violent outbursts.

“Now, Spotticus Maximus, I don’t think you should raise your voice to me. We’re all friends here, with the friendship and the rainbows, Bleh…” He said, ending it with seemingly upchucking the very idea. “Anyway, we wouldn’t want anything… unfortunate to happen to you, would we Spots-r-us?” He asked with a malicious grin, his mood turning dark suddenly, so much so that even his disproportionate voice couldn’t even lighten the mood.

His fists tightened, his body tensing for a fight before it slowly relaxes. “No… we wouldn’t mister Storm King… Just, it’s Rover, my brother’s name was Rover.” He said with a sigh, having calmed down from his anger, and while he dared not to look into the eyes of the Storm King, he did catch a glimpse of Tempest predatory smirk, her scarred left eye winking at him in an almost teasing fashion.

“Good, now Spotimoly, I know why you’re here, and I think I might have some good news for you.” He said with a cheerful smile, as if the last few moments of life never happened, he snapped his fingers causing two henchmen to run off to retrieve some items.

Spot perked up at this, the promise of good news pertaining to his search. “R-really!? That’s fantastic!” Spot said genuinely ecstatic about the idea that his search was that much closer to being completed.

The two henchmen return with a suitcase upon opening reveals a document of some lab results. “Now a colleague of mine down at the police station managed to snag me a copy of these documents on some of the samples found at the murder site. Apparently, 3 drops of saliva and a piece of blue hair was left on the ground. The drops of saliva couldn’t be identified in time, having dried up, but the hair on the other hand… well, there’s enough there for some DNA testing, so you’ve got a few months.” The Storm King revealed in a rather overly grandiose and needlessly flashy manner.

“I’d suggest finding out whoever it is your brother knew with this dark blue hair...” He said with a knowing smile, not having to even look up as he heard Spot rushing to leave as quickly as possible.

“Thank you, Storm King… I’m in your debt, sir.” Spot spoke, his voice filled with gratitude and eagerness evident in his voice, almost like a puppy given a new chew toy.

“It was a pleasure sir Spotsalot, now you may take your leave, and I’ll enjoy the lovely dinner that’s being prepared.” The Storm King said rather flamboyantly as a few waiters started to bring his meal to him.

Quickly leaving the restaurant, Spot set out to find the only person he could think of that could possibly want to kill his older brother. Pulling out his cellphone he called his other brother, the tone ringing a few times before he answers the phone. “Hey Fido, meet me at the entrance of Goldenstate gated community. It’s time we paid a visit with Flash Sentry...”

Sunset’s POV

Sunset found herself walking the streets of Canterlot once more, this time heading towards the park. Normally it would be in full use during this time of the year, though it seemed the recent crazy weather had deterred people from coming to this wonderland of ice and snow. As she continued down the path through the park, all assumptions of being alone were gone when she noticed two fresh tracks in the snow. Following them out of curiosity over who’d want to be out. Eventually, she neared the source of the tracks in the snow, the sight causing her to growl in rage.

There before her was a Dumbbell getting too handsy with Fluttershy, who was in tears over the entire matter. All of this together caused the edges of Sunset’s vision to turn red as she made her way over towards the unsuspecting duo. As the sound of the snow crunching underneath of her feet reached them it was drowned out by Fluttershy’s sobbing tears and the sounds of ruffling clothes as Dumbbell aggressively groped her smaller body.

The world seemed to slow for Sunset Shimmer as she threw a sucker punch into Dumbbell’s unprotected and unprepared side. The force of the hit caused something to snap, forcing him to let go of Fluttershy, stumbling away as he tried to keep his balance.

Grunting in pain he turned to Sunset angrily. “ What the FU-” Was all he managed to get out before another punch, an uppercut, slammed into his jaw forcing his mouth closed. This was followed with an elbow to the gut that caused him to fall to the ground on his back. From there, there was nothing Dumbbell could do as Sunset began to wail on him, beating him over and over. Eventually, something pulled Sunset back, something that, if not for a last-minute recognition of Fluttershy, would have been given the same treatment.

“What are you doing Fluttershy?!” Sunset asked with a growl, her voice was strained, her body tense, and her rabid adrenaline to finish what was started pushed for more.

Though, what forced her to stop, was the look in Fluttershy’s eyes. The silent pleading for Sunset to lower her fists and to stop hurting. Turning back to Dumbbell, Sunset saw a bleeding and bruised mess as he slowly crawled away in pain. Wiping her weighted gloves, Sunset grunted before turning to Fluttershy.

“You alright?...” She asked, struggling to hold in her emotions for the one she cared for.

Fluttershy POV

“Y-yes… th-th-thanks to you…” Fluttershy whispered softly, surprised and amazed by what Sunset did for her.

“Good… do… do you need escorting somewhere, or are you good?” Sunset asked, she slowly began to relax as they got further and further away from where they had left Dumbbell.

“N-no… th-though… I w-wouldn’t mind you leading me home…” She said softly, unsure how long till the blackmailing started, or if Sunset wasn’t planning something. Though she was glad that Sunset saved her, it just confused Fluttershy. This confusion didn’t leave her, even as they walked back to her place, wondering if this was just a weird dream or a trick in the making. It scared Fluttershy, for once again it made her start to doubt herself.

‘M-maybe I was wr-wrong… ab-about Sunset… I mean… wh-why would she save me?’ She thought to herself as she seemed to silently study Sunset through her hair, which strangely enough always seemed to work great as a one-way view. Allowing Fluttershy to see all before her, while at the same time, keeping any from seeing her, at least her face.

Normally, she only did this when she knew she was in a bad situation or when she was anxious and away from friends. Now it was an almost daily occurrence, with her internal anxiety going off even when there wasn’t anything to worry about.

‘M-maybe…’

Dumbbell POV

Dumbbell groaned in pain as he removed another tooth that had been practically punched out of his mouth. Though, that wasn’t to say, that the rest of his body didn’t hurt just as much. The only thing missing from the brutal beating he’d gotten was a comical indentation of some kind on his body. Otherwise, his body was nothing more than a bruised and broken mess.

After the beating he had received, Dumbbell had pulled himself home, wish to avoid anyone that might know him. Groaning as he sank into his busted couch, hearing a loud creaking from somewhere as he did, he placed a large bag of frozen peas over his bruised eye, hoping that it would calm his raging headache. As the pain started to slowly slide into a generally dull and numb throbbing in his head he heard about creaking. Though, this time it wasn’t from the couch, it sounded more like it came from the second floor. After a moment of thought, he decided it was probably nothing, just his home settling.

It was only when he heard two more creaks above him that he knew it wasn’t the house settling. Grunting, he pulled himself up, his muscles protesting as he did so. Quickly grasping a rather dented and old metal bat, he made his way upstairs, each step seeming to be far louder despite his attempts to be as quiet as possible. As he reached the top of the stairs, he began to feel chilled to the bone, though it wasn’t from how quiet it was, more due to the window that was open letting in the cold blowing winds from outside. Suspicion rushing through him as he noticed wet footprints where snow had melted onto the rug, leading towards his bedroom.

Slowly making his way into his messy and disorganized room, he seemingly found nothing. Though, upon a second glance, he noticed one thing out of place, 2 leather boots, wet from melted snow as they dripped all over the rug underneath them. Before he could question this, he was struck in the back with the force of a bear if the punch was made out of metal. He crumpled forward as he felt something give out inside him.

“F-FUUUCK!!!” Dumbbell cried out in pain, feeling like his left shoulder blade was completely shattered.

Dragging himself with his last good arm, he tried to get away even as the pain felt like he was ripping his insides out. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t make it far as another blow hit his right shoulder, sending him spasming in pain. Fearing for his life he tried to will himself up, shaking and crying hot tears as he begged for his life. Yet it was all for not as a sickening crunch filled the air, followed by 3 more blows that squitched more so than crunched.

Flash Sentry POV

Flash sighed softly as he rested against his favorite tree, this was his favorite place to relax and unwind. The stars, the space, and the general quietness of it all. It gave him peace of mind and a sense of tranquility even in such deplorable times. Few knew of his special spot, and he trusted them not to tell, for it was here where he found himself since the last day of school with a broken heart. Sadly his time alone was disturbed by the sounds of grass rustling as 2 people walked towards him.

The clouds made it hard to make out who was coming towards him, but it sent a chill through his heart as it began to quicken in fear.

“He-hello… wh-who are you?” He asked as his hand instinctively went towards his back pocket, where he gripped the handle of his switchblade.

Soon the figures stepped into the light to reveal Spot and his oldest brother Fido.

“Hey Flash, I figured you’d be here… I mean, Rover always did say you loved this spot...” He said with a joking tone, though his eyes seemed to glint with a danger to them Flash had never before seen.

“Yeah… I didn’t know he told you that.” Flash said, feeling uneasy with Spot, not particularly noticing Fido.

“Yep, he told me a lot… he enjoyed every minute with you.” He said, his force thick with sorrow, pain, and love. “So… it makes me wonder… what the fuck happened!!!” Spot practically shouted as he pushed Flash into the tree hard.

Before Flash could react he found his arms pulled and bound behind the tree by Fido, who had taken the time to move into a position to restrain him.

“Wh-what!? I-I didn’t do anything!” Flash said, panicking as he tried to break out of the bonds that held him fast to the strong old Oak.

Spot slammed his fist into Flash’s gut, cutting off anything else he might have said.

“BULLSHIT!!! Now tell me… what happened!” Spot said with deadly seriousness, his hand reaching into his left pocket.

Panting for a moment, Flash tried to regain his breath. “I.. Al-alright… I’ll t-tell you what happened… th-that night.”

Author's Note

Sorry guys and gals this took so long, hope ya'll enjoyed this.

I hope everybody has a wonderful day.

Sincerely,
Sar Meister