The Forsaken

Chapters

Blame
Decision
Stand
Adjustment
Friends
Anon-A-Miss
Consequences
The Start of Problems
Nightmare
Rise
Worrying
Care and Circumstance
Leaving the Past
Transition

Blame

Sunset didn’t know what was worse; the fact that she was alone, or the fact that she was alone not of her own choice but by forced exclusion by those whom she once thought were her friends. Or maybe it was all of that plus the pain brought by thoughts of what had been happening these past two weeks leading up to where she was now. Sunset wasn’t sure. She just knew that she was hurt, tired, and all but done with life at this point.

The blast of cold air from a shoddily patched up hole in the wall made the girl shiver. The slight distraction was almost enough to bring Sunset out of her thoughts, but was immediately assaulted by memories of the words and actions she had been forced to endure throughout the weeks.

What are you doing here, anon-a-miss?

Don’t you know no one wants you here?

We’d be better off had you never existed.

Secret stealer.

Meanie.

Bitch.

She-demon.

That word. The mere thought of it made sunset feel sick as she curled in a protective ball. The amber skinned girl clutched what could have once been considered a blanket around her form, struggling to hold back another round of tears that threatened to erupt from her reddened eyes.

How did it get to this?

Sunset sniffled, remembering the time before this pain, before this exclusion and most of all...before anon-a-miss. Things had been good. They’d been great actually, and sunset as well as her friends had been as thick as thieves. Slumber parties, plans for get togethers over the winter break, and general things that would be fun when shared among friends. But, that was just it. The cause of her situation. If it wasn’t for anon-a-miss, whoever they may be, perhaps things would have turned out differently. Maybe sunset wouldn’t be forced to return home each day, spirits lowered at another failed attempt to convince her friends of her innocence. Maybe she wouldn’t be more depondent than the day prior, not covered in new bruises and pains from those who ‘accidentally’ brushed passed her in the hallway or those more bold in the halls who cornered her when people weren’t present. Hell, sometimes there were nad they just didn’t care, spurred on by the shouts and jeers directed at the girl prostrate on the floor, barely registering anything other than the crushing humiliation she knew she was under.

Although, I can’t say that I blame them. With my history at that school, this is likely my punishment for making their lives hell for almost three years.

Despite what the rest of the school was doing to her, sunset felt that she could have almost put up with it if her friends were at her side. Their support, just like when she had been redeemed by the elements of harmony at the Fall Formal, would have been able to get her through this hell.

That is, if they weren’t the ones to leave me first.

Sunset neatly cried aloud once more remembering the accusations of the five girls before leaving her to cry out after them in despair, pleading for her innocence and their understanding. The brutal way in which they immediately turned against sunset, at the slightest suspicion towards her hurt. They hadn’t even given sunset a chance to explain her side, never gave her a chance to prove that she was being honest. Applejack was the element of fucking honesty, for Celestia’s sake; surely that farm girl could have at least sensed her genuineness.

They should have known. Should have known that with all of the experiences that they had together, with sunset’s addition to the elements and just being friends with her for months after the Formal, that she would never go back to the life of loneliness that had been her entire life before CHS.

Sunset’s gaze shifted to the side where her magic journal sat opened on a makeshift table. While not close enough to read Twilight’s last message, the contents were fresh enough in her memory.

Sometimes, you just have to stay strong, and find your family.

That statement, once written, had given sunset the strength through these weeks to hope that her friends could be reasoned with if she tried hard enough. But trying to meet in the school was all but impossible with the other students’ abuse, and outside of school was no better. The most recent attempt with them at Sugarcube Corner nearly resulted in Rainbow Dash beating the red head’s face in for even showing up. It would have happened too, had Applejack not grabbed the prismatic girl and held her back before jumping the other girl. Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity just stared with all the anger and suppressed disgust of someone who had just discovered they stepped in dog poop in their favorite shoes.

Sunset scoffed.

Find my family, huh. Problem is Twilight, I’m just not sure who that is anymore.

As sunset sat on her mattress (more like a lumpy rock that hurts my back every night), the sadness she had been struggling to contain gradually shifted to annoyance. That annoyance then became anger and a sickening rage that burned in her gut, searing hot and bright in her core until it was unleashed in a yell as the once unicorn jumped to her feet and threw off her blanket. From there, the girl proceeded to let loose her pain on nearly everything within sight. Pictures of her friends lay shattered, clothes and shoes that she managed to obtain through her years on earth were strewn across the ground and even torn in places. School supplies were flung about the room in her tirade, and even the table holding her journal wasn’t spared, as with a feat of rage fueled strength, Sunset flipped it over.

Sunset stood amongst the chaos that was once her room. Her teal eyes were opened wide as she gulped in heaps of air. The adrenaline was fading. With nothing left to break, the anger that had once burned beneath her skin seemed to simmer until it was only a bearable ache that centered in her chest. Immediately, the last of Sunset’s strength gave out as she collapsed to the floor. Her anger came out again it seemed. She supposed those sessions with Principal Celestia didn’t really help manage it as much as she liked to believe. She closed her eyes.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Sunset repeated the process a few more times. Even if she did still have problems controlling her anger, at least the breathing exercises seemed to work somewhat.

Once she finally felt stable enough to think clearly, sunset began to plan. It was always something she had been good at. Since her time as Princess Celestia's student, the ability to scheme and plan had been her pride as a pony and a human. Of course it’s what got her into trouble in this world, but still, it helped her mind focus on possibilities rather than stew like how she’d been doing. She planned out what her next course of actions would be. What she would be able to do in the near future since apparently the one she had at Canterlot High was shot. After all, when it got down to it, no one apparently was willing to give her a chance. Not even the friends twilight had entrusted her with. If they really weren’t going to listen, did that even make them friends? Were those five even her friends to begin with? Or was she simply a charity case thrusted on them by a promise to Twilight? True friends would have given her the benefit of the doubt, would have stuck by her and helped her when she was at her lowest. And even compared to the Fall Formal, this had to be it.

Not anymore.

Determination sparked in her eyes.

Not anymore.

She wasn’t going to be the one everyone wanted to pick on. She wasn’t going to be the world’s punching bag. Sunset knew she was innocent even if everyone else felt otherwise, but letting them continue to harass her was more than she could take. Rising from the floor, Sunset grabbed the journal laying on its side, the spine slightly bent from its collision with the ground.

I’m sorry Twilight, but I’ve made my decision. If this is what my life amounts to after all the work I’ve done to prove I’ve changed, then it isn’t worth it. At least not at CHS.

Sunset didn’t bother to tidy her floor. Not now anyway. It was too late to be worrying about that stuff and besides, she could fix it later. Faster than what her train wreck of a life had become, too. The red and yellow haired girl climbed into her bed, only bothering with the removal of her shoes and jacket. Everything else took more energy than she was willing to give effort for at the moment. Come the next school day, Sunset had more important things to take care of.

Author's Note

'Sup everyone. If you read my chapter, thank you very very much. If you liked it, double thanks. This is my first actual story, so I wanted to experiment with some ideas that I had for my fave characters. Namely, Sunset and the Sirens. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Decision

When Sunset next awoke, she was greeted by the sight of her half destroyed ‘room’, if one could call it such. The resulting chaos from her temper tantrum the night before was still scattered across the floor. She was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, and the rumples, wrinkles and overall smell was making Sunset regret her decision to not find some other ensemble to wear to bed. The whole situation was making the former unicorn feel even worse than she had been these past few weeks.

Sunset’s head remained on her pillow as she took in all of the stimuli around her, teal eyes partially glazed and slowly scanning the mess. She could feel the tangled nest that was her hair around the sides of her face. She debated getting up and even facing another day of torture at that hell of a school, and nearly caved to the partial comfort her bed was offering her.

Was it all worth getting ready if she was only going to be harrassed repeatedly for something she didn’t even do? Why would she want to face that? It’s not like anyone would believe her if she said otherwise. Not those who were supposed to be her friends, not the rest of the students certainly. Maybe the teachers would - or at least some - but their sway over the school was flimsy in comparison to the choke hold of a grip that Anon-A-Miss had over everyone there.

This continuous spiral of self doubt and negativity continued for a while until Sunset remembered something. The reason why this day was supposed to be so important. While not enough to remove the metaphorical cloud above her, Sunset was able to put things into perspective just enough to give a run down of how her day should go more or less. She wouldn’t be there for long - certainly not the whole day - if everything she needed was finished like she wanted.

While this thought enough to get Sunset to sit up, it took much more will power for her to leave the bed and actually make an effort in her appearance. As far as Sunset was concerned, she felt awful and was in no desire to cover that up. But to put on the airs that what she was enduring had no effect - and wouldn’t after today - she combed through her hair, found another pair of clothes that somehow remained undisturbed by her rage the night before, and used her light collection of makeup to cover the signs of fatigue under her eyes. That fact that it was so practiced after all this time should have been concerning, but Sunset continued looking at her reflection take the unconcerned expression she had been wearing like a second skin for weeks. No one would know how low she felt, how much this ordeal was actually getting to her. No one cared, so she wouldn’t give them reason to.

A glance at the clock told Sunset that she was nearly fifteen minutes late for classes. By now, everyone would be in homeroom, leaving the halls free. It took another ten minutes or so for Sunset to walk towards Canterlot High anyway, so she was in no rush. The only thing the orange teen grabbed upon leaving was her journal. She needed no keys where she was living - as if anyone would think to check if another person inhabited this decrepit shack. Her phone was useless to her now as well. She had no one to call or expect messages from save for principal Celestia since her friends abandoned her, so she spared it not a second glance.
Exiting the building, Sunset was assaulted by the cold winds of the winter months. Humans not being in control of the weather was still somewhat strange to her, but she ignored it for now, focused on getting to the school before classes let out. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to deal with any more drama while she went to get this taken care of.

Celestia sunk her head in her hands as she thought of the trouble her school was enduring. All because of this assumed character that had dubbed itself Anon-A-Miss. Because of this person -whoever they may be- fights had broken out over the school, trust and friendships had been broken, and if not the worst part, caused one student in particular to regress in a downward spiral of depression. The principle sighed.

Sunset Shimmer was probably the most loved and hated person among the student body. When she had entered the CHS as a freshman, she was the model student. Smart, athletic, and kind to everyone, Sunset seemed almost impossible. When she had discovered the truth during the Formal of her underhanded ways, it brought Celestia a new perspective of the girl. While most seemed to agree that she was nothing more than a demon and should be done away with as such, Celestia disagreed. She merely saw a troubled youth, a long way from home; Twilight had told her all of the world beyond the portal and its functionality every two and a half years.

While there were some rough patches with getting Sunset to come to her after the incident at first, to the principal's surprise she had come of her own accord just a month later and all but poured her heart out to the older woman. Sunset told Celestia of her princess counterpart, their relationship as teacher and student (though Celestia felt a closer bond that Sunset was trying to avoid bringing up), and their inevitable fall out that led to Sunset’s escape across the mirror. It was another side to Sunset that the principle had discovered. One that had a passion for learning, was eager for positive attention, and was willing for a positive change in her life. The following months consisted of almost daily sessions where the teen would share her progress, her fear and insecurities over her new found friends and status in the school. Celestia had helped Sunset with her issues with her temper, given the other girl guidance that she felt would help with her transition among the school, and felt closer than a student/instructor relationship was appropriate.

Celestia had been thinking on the issue for a while of asking Sunset to live with her and Luna, knowing that the girl had no family here or on the other side of the portal. She would have presented Sunset with the papers that currently lay over her desk for her opinion. If good, the adoption papers would have been signed and they would have hopefully lived as a family officially. Despite Luna’s hard exterior, she knew the other woman was as excited for the development as Celestia herself. Or was before this whole debacle with Anon-A-Miss. Once it started, the idea of adopting Sunset had taken a back seat to finding who was responsible.

The first two posts had been harmless enough, but once there had been more posted that resulted in escalated anger and violence, things exploded in their faces. Sunset’s visits these recent weeks had shown Celestia her relapse into the insecure and angry teen she had seen after the Formal.

It came to a head at the beginning of last week. Sunset had come in, to Celestia’s surprise with a black eye, bleeding lip, and scuffed clothes. Some students had taken things further and directly assaulted the girl on her way between classes. Sunset though just seemed as empty as she had been like the days before, almost unaware of her current injuries. She seemed so done when the two talked of her solution to the events happening then. But if Celestia was being honest, as much as the subject of their conversation was painful, it seemed the best way to make sure that Sunset was safe and could continue with a life not stained with the mistakes of her past and the ill will of others. She promptly made sure that the students responsible were punished duly for their actions.

And so here principal Celestia sat on the Monday following that decision as she waited for Sunset to arrive. Worryingly enough, it was 30 minutes post the time school officially began. Sunset should be here by now. Just as this thought passed, the intercom on the instructor’s desk crackled on.

“Sunset Shimmer is here to see you miss,” Raven’s voice sounded.

Celestia snapped to attention, “Thank you, Raven. Please send her in right away.”

Sunset entered her office not a minute later, obviously exhausted as Celestia had seen her recently, but her eyes shining with a hardened quality that the instructor had not seen from the girl in a quite a while.

“Sunset, it’s good to see you this morning, however behind this meeting may be,” Celestia began as she glanced at the wall clock. “I would ask how you were if the question was not so redundant.”

The amber teen shuffled in place. “Yeah. I guess we both no the answer to that, huh?” She glanced away.

The older woman sighed. “I won’t beat around the bush Sunset. While I wish that this didn’t have to be used for your situation, it seems only the best solution.” Celestia pulled an enclosed letter from the piles of folders and presented it to Sunset’s outstretched hand. “I had hoped that by now I we could have fixed this Anon-A-Miss problem before it came to this, but a transfer away from CHS while this is all happening would benefit you.”

Sunset opened the letter slowly as the principle talked, showing the styled cursive lettering on the top of the page:

Crystal Prep Transfer Request: APPROVED

There seemed to be a sudden weight - not much but still felt - that lifted itself from Sunset’s shoulders. Never had such words given the teen this much relief. “Thank you for this, principal Celestia.”

Initially, when Sunset had come to the office with her proposal for a transfer, principal Celestia’s shock had made the younger girl fear that her idea would be rejected. While the woman never once believed Sunset to be guilty of the crimes everyone accused, there was that seed of fear ingrained from her unresolved past with her mentor. Maybe she’d rather have Sunset suffer in the hell hole this school had become for tearing her school apart three years before. Sure it was completely irrational, but seemed a likely possibility to Sunset’s already taxed emotions.

“I had to make a few calls. After all, a mid semester transfer isn’t all that common, especially for juniors. My niece works as Dean for the school, so getting her to expedite the process wasn’t as difficult.” Celestia hesitated for a bit before continuing, “Just know that even though you will no longer be a student here, you are always welcome to come to either me or my sister for anything. Once a Wondercolt, always a Wondercolt.” She offered Sunset a smile that was returned full force.

“Of course. I can’t say I’d been able to be who I am now without your guiding me since the Formal. Ghosting you after helping me with something this big wouldn’t be cool.” Sunset shrugged, but her grip tightened on the letter in her hand that was cradled at her chest. “Again, thank you so much.”

Deciding that it would be better to leave now before classes were finished, Sunset made her way to the door. She stopped before gripping the handle and turned back slightly, her face obscured by her red and yellow locks. “And um.... you know…. before all this happened, if you and vice principal Luna had asked me…. I would have said yes.” With that, she rushed from the office, only just managing to catch the older woman’s slack jawed expression.

Author's Note

So sorry for the delay. I meant to upload this a long time ago, however college graduation, and finals happening at the same time really takes a lot out of a person. No promises for weekly updates, but I'll try to have some steady schedule going.

Stand

When Sunset emerged into the hallway, to her relief it was still empty. By her count, she had about another fifteen minutes until homeroom was released. Plenty of time, she thought. So she began an almost leisurely walk to the front doors. That talk with Celestia had helped her mood a bit.

She had known for the longest about the older woman’s interest in her adoption, but decided to let her come on her own rather than confront her about it. Besides, there were and still are a lot of things going on right now. Still, Sunset had meant it when telling Celestia that her response would have been yes. It could have been left over partial idolization and want for a family that began with Princess Celestia. But a larger part was because of how she had always been there for Sunset before, and even after the Formal when she had been deemed a lost cause by many. Sure, Sunset had been difficult. She had been angry at her situation. At herself. And there was fear of uncertainty that she would need to essentially trust others with her process to change to become a better person. But when the whispers got to be too much, when Sunset felt that even her assigned friends couldn’t help her, Celestia had been there. As a counselor, and as someone that Sunset soul still after all this consider a friend. She wouldn’t have minded if a mom was added to that list….

Sunset shook her head and sighed. It was a little too late for that now and she needed to focus on other things.... Like the hard surface she just smashed into. Sunset groaned and held her head, it having taken a large brunt of the impact. Whatever it was made a thump as it hit the ground, followed by a startled ‘eep’ like sound. She opened her eyes and froze when she noticed the long pink hair and light yellow skin. Of everyone, why did it have to be her?!

Fluttershy remained on the ground with her eyes closed and trembling. “Oh I’m so very sorry. I wasn’t looking where I… was….going.” She trailed off when she finally noticed the figure before her. Her eyes grew wide. “Sunset…”

The amber skinned girl didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Her gaze simply remained on Fluttershy. She noticed the red head’s expression shift from confusion, to realisation, to fear, and something else before finally hardening. Her teal eyes seemed to shine like ice.The yellow girl let out another startled ‘eep’ when Sunset suddenly moved to tower over her. Up close, Fluttershy noticed several things. Her normally luscious hair was flat but still had flyaways. Makeup was also applied, but seemed rushed and couldn’t hide the signs of exhaustion that were still prominently displayed under Sunset’s eyes. And most obviously, her clothes were rumpled as if slept in. Fluttershy attempted to speak and question the other girl, but Sunset beat her to it. She leaned her face in even closer to Fluthershay’s and she flinched away.

“Dont. Tell anyone you saw me. Understand?” she hissed.

“Y-Yes.” Fluttershy stammered.

Sunset made a small ‘hmm’ of acknowledgment, piercing eyes still glaring down into Fluttershy’s before walking around her and continuing on. The pinkette watched as Sunset stomped through the hallway until she exited the school’s main doors with a resounding click. The yellow girl was stuck. If possible, Sunset seemed even more hostile than in the years before the Fall Formal. Tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes before she looked down in remorse.

Sunset….I’m so sorry.

Sunset rushed from the front doors of the school in a near panic. She knew that in between classes she would have run in to another student. It was inevitable. But seeing Fluttershy was a possibility that she hadn’t considered. Seeing her was like another kick to the chest. When Sunset had been beaten at the Fall Formal and was subsequently given another chance, besides Principal Celestia, Fluttershy was one of the only other people who was willing to help her change. It was crazy; the girl that Sunset had tormented for years and made a verbal punching bag was the first in Princess Twilight’s human friend group to help her. Everyone else was still wary - and they had every right to be - but Fluttershy went the extra mile to include Sunset in their group activities, sit with her at lunch for the time before she really hung out with the others, and was generally someone that Sunset had considered to be closer than the others. Maybe too close.

And that’s why it hurts so much.

As The red head continued her brisk walk back to her apartment, that ache in her chest barely faded. If anything, it increased at the thought of what had been. Having to be aggressive with the other girl like when she used to be a bully was a painful thing to do, but necessary. It had come back so naturally to be that person she used to, but it was the only way she could ensure that the other girl wouldn’t go blabbing to the rest about Sunset’s whereabouts. Even reformed, Sunset’s anger was legendary and her control on it recently had been slipping with all of this cyber bullying drama. Sadness was a big piece too, but now was slowly giving way.

Sunset shook her head clear. That was the past. Nothing anyone could do about it now, and honestly, she didn’t want to. She was moving forward and if others at CHS wouldn’t let her then she would find another place to do so.

My past is not today.

Author's Note

Another update. I know it's short, but I wanna hurry and get to the Shadowbolts and Sunset meeting other characters. That one will hopefully be longer.

Adjustment

Back months ago, following the conclusion of the Battle of the Bands, the sirens had run off in fear and shame. The projectiles of fruit, food and drink rained down on them from the audience as they managed to escape. Sunset could remember trying to follow. That even though the others were adamant about leaving them to their own fate after what they had done, she instead felt guilty. Okay, yeah, what the sirens had done was wrong, but surely it could be no more unforgiveable than Sunset’s actions three years prior at the high school. She had explained her reasoning to the other girls as the night wore on. Twilight had already left through the mirror by then, so she couldn’t back Sunset on her decision, but regardless she was shut down, most notably by Rainbow Dash.

So without support from the others (save the quiet encouragement Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie), Sunset had taken it on herself to find the Dazzlings and hopefully extend a hand in assistance and eventually friendship. It went on for weeks. Whatever spare time Sunset could find, she spent looking around the city and asking passers by for information on the three girls to no avail. Her plan upon finding Adagio, Aria, and Sonata wasn’t clear, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Eventually, Sunset just assumed that the three must not have wanted to be found and if that was the case, she would respect that decision. Still, for a time afterward, Sunset felt like a hypocrite. How could she - someone who had tormented a school and so many people be offered a second chance - while they were cast aside and forgotten by everyone else, Equestrian demons or not? She TURNED INTO a literal demon, so Sunset couldn’t say much about who was deserving of forgiveness and who wasn’t.

So to see the Dazzlings before her now, seemingly fine and doing well on their own, and decked with matching Shadowbolt uniforms no less, was absolutely a surprise. Looking into the others’ faces, Sunset could see the spark of recognition in their eyes almost immediately. While the other two appeared confused and - in Sonata’s case - almost fearful, Adagio gazed towards Sunset with interest, a much less predatory smile than she had been known to wear gracing her features.

“Um, girls? Am I missing something?” Cadence questioned as she noticed the lengthy pause.

“Oh, nothing much Dean Cadence. It’s just we’ve met Sunset here before attending this school. I suppose you could say it’s rather shocking to see eachother once again.” Adagio’s wine colored eyes never left their hold on Sunset’s own, but her voice carried a slight hint of amusement.

“Oh! Well then, that makes this much easier than I originally expected.” She clapped her hands together pleasantly. “ Now, I need to return to my office to complete the final process for your transfer Sunset, but I’m sure that your friends here will take care of you. Should you need any other assistance please feel free to ask.” With that she turned down an adjacent hallway leaving Sunset alone.

The redhead girl was stuck. She was hoping to come here with a blank slate, having no one recognize or bring up what she’d done in the past. Despite Sunset’s relief to see that the three were unharmed however, after months of hiding - or whatever the three before her had been doing - they were suddenly face to face. Her body was tense in anticipation for what they would say or do as she turned to face them. Like when they had first met, Adagio was leading the way, her lion’s mane of hair making her look more imposing than someone of her stature should appear. Aria and Sonata stood a little ways behind, the former’s scowl a bit less severe than Sunset remembered, but her pigtails ever present and arms crossed as she gazed at the former unicorn in suspicion. The latter merely looked towards her in interest but her eyes still held the spark of uncertainty about Sunset’s actions. She was leaned forward slightly.

“Well well well. Sunset Shimmer, it has been a while hasn’t it?” Adagio began. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you were playing ‘buddy-buddy-friendship-is-magic’ with your friends last I checked.”

“Yeah, like, what are you doing here?” Sonata asked confusedly.

Sunset’s immediate instinct was to shut down and ignore the question. The mention of the others - her former friends - was still an incredibly sore topic even if she wanted others to think she wasn’t affected. But for now, they didn’t look like they were trying to be overly hostile, save for Adagio’s natural attitude. She cleared her throat.

“I just thought it would be a nice change of pace,” Sunset responded with a nervous glance to the side. “I needed something to challenge me unlike at CHS, so it shouldn’t be a shock that I came somewhere that claimed to be the best of the best,” she continued. “I’m more surprised to see you here. Thought you all might have skipped town with how hard it was to find your after that night.”

“Yeah? Well we wouldn’t have had to be here if you and those Raingoons hadn’t stolen all our magic,” Aria snarled. She was cut off though as Adagio raised her hand to silence her with a stern glare. Suddenly the fire in the purple teen seemed to die out, and she pursed her lips while looking away from them all. “Whatever. Sorry,” she muttered.

“Now, far be it from me to call someone a liar, but even I know that was a lie,” she said casually back towards the amber girl. “Why are you really here? It seems rather unusual that someone like you would want to leave your life behind for this.” She gestured around the hallway they were walking through. For a while, she looked Sunset up and down analytically. “What? Trouble in paradise?”

“That’s none of your business!” Sunset spat venomously to the surprise of the other three. “I came here, for a change of pace, like I said. If you don’t believe me, fine, not my problem - but that’s all you’re getting from me.” Sunset’s fists had clenched at her sides until her knuckles turned white. In the back of her mind, she realized that her back teeth were aching from being ground together. It took some effort, but Sunset eventually calmed herself down. They were stopped in the middle of the long hallway.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

She suddenly felt a touch on one of her clenched fists. Quickly looking down, she saw a blue hand resting gently on her own. Sunset didn’t know why, but she allowed Sonata to slowly ease her hand open once again. It was very calming. Uncharacteristically, the usually oblivious girl had a serious look on her face as Sunset let her continue.

“We didn’t mean that,” Sonata murmured softly. She glanced back at the other two, who still seemed to be in shock from Sunset’s outburst, before Adagio’s face softened in apology.

“Yes. That was...insensitive of me. I’m sorry.” It was strange to see someone like Adagio, who carried herself with such pride, apologizing. But still it happened.

“I didn’t mean to pry. As you can see, we’re still getting the hang of this normal human thing...What?” she asked upon noticing Sunset’s confused stare. Then it dawned on her. “Oh, I suppose this is a bit strange for you isn’t it. You thought we’d still be mad at you over what happened. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

“Um, among other things, yeah,” Sunset replied uncertainly. “Eh - listen...you don’t need to apologize. That was my fault. Sometimes my anger gets the best of me you know.” She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment with her free hand. Sonata still had a grip on the other…

“Hmph. Well it’s nice to know that one of you lot has some bite to you at least,” Aria stated with a smug look. “Consider me impressed.”

“Listen Sunset. While we are still a bit sore from what happened back then, it’s more out of siren pride that we lost than genuine anger at you. Back in Equestria, among our kind, the weak died and the strong survived. You just proved yourself to be the strong ones.” For a while it looked like Adagio’s face was trying to hide real resentment, before the look was gone.

“I know you have quite a few questions about what happened between us after the Battle of the Bands. And we’ll answer them, but maybe another time. Lunch perhaps? If we finish the tour, you can see where all of the classrooms, club spaces, and the like are located. Does that sound alright with you?”

“S-sure. No problem. And... if it’s any consolation, I’m sorry what happened back then. With your pendants. I tried to find you guys after it was over to see if you were alright, but you were gone.” Sunset explained.

“It was probably better that you didn’t find us. Just because we’ve had some time to cool off doesn’t mean we weren’t livid back then. It probably would have been a hazard to your health if you did. We’re centuries old Equestrian sea monsters, and even through the portal, it was only our magic that suffered. We kept most of our strength,” Aria commented with an uninterested glance at her nails. “Would you have really wanted to come across us back then knowing that?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Okay, c’mon! Enough with the gloomy stuff! We’ve spent enough time here. I wanna show Sunshim here the rest of the school already!” Sonata complained by her side, the seriousness having left her tone. Without looking back to see if the other two were following, she all but dragged Sunset through the hall, letting the few that were nearby hear as she yelled in excitement.

Sunset allowed it though. She noted silently that this was quite a change when they all met the first time with Sunset showing them around CHS. Even so, for whatever reason coming to Crystal Prep felt like the best thing she could have done. Despite meeting old enemies (were they even considered that anymore?), it seemed like things would turn out alright. But still…

Sunshim….?

Author's Note

I should probably be pacing myself, but it's just word vomit at this point. :rainbowlaugh: I want to get it all out because I'm so excited to finally be publishing some of my ideas. So I hope you are all pleased with what's been released so far. Last chapter began the second arc at Crystal Prep, and there'll be a few more chapters after this until the next. But until then, hang tight. Thank you! :twilightsmile:

Friends

Turns out that the school’s exterior castle like design also applied to the interior as well. It was huge; even more so than what Sunset had initially believed. She allowed her three tour guides to lead her around the major parts of the school - indead there were parts - ranging from entire buildings dedicated to math and science, engineering, art and theatre, even athletics. If anything, the whole set up reminded her of a small college rather than a high school. Then again, private schools could probably afford enough to maintain all of this.

Due to the vast area of the school, this part of the day went on a little longer than her initial greeting by Dean Cadance. A few classes had already been let out and resumed as the sirens - led by the ever enthusiastic Sonata - walked her around. Quite a few of the other students who passed through the halls on their way to their next classes had stopped to gawk at the new girl. The whispering and collective glances were uncomfortable to say the least. The old her would have probably relished in the attention and her reformed self wouldn’t have really cared, but after what had been going on before she switched schools, Sunset could do without the extra attention. But she handled it as well as she could. Her posture and downturned gaze though whenever some of the students appraised her with curious stares didn’t go unnoticed by her associates, even if the three of them never said anything.

Now it was almost lunch, and with little else to show that Sunset wouldn’t be able to discover on her own, they were on their way to the cafeteria. Sonata skipped ahead, singing something about tacos in the tone deaf way Sunset had last heard from her at the Battle of the Bands, leaving the other three behind as she opened the cafeteria doors.

“And here’s my favorite part of this school!” she exclaimed. On the other side, Sunset stared in awe at the large hall before her. The closest half held isles of food sitting out as the students freely picked their respective meals. Sections that catered to specific tastes supplied vegan, vegetarian, meat, and mixed lunches were lined one after another. To Sunset’s surprise, it all appeared to be freshly made as well. The students merely picked up one item before moving on to another section almost like an assembly line with the continuous stream of bodies. It was amazing that that the room seemed to fit that many people at one time. Beyond that were tables, chairs and stools facing the walls and situated higher that was reminiscent of a bar setting.

“Tch...of course it’s YOUR favorite Sonata. Here, you can apparently satisfy your weird taco fetish.” Aria lightly shouldered past Sunset’s stunned figure to stare down the blue girl in annoyance. “In all the years we’ve known each other, I still don’t know where the hell that came from. But you’re the worst, so whatever,” she sneered.

“Nuh uh. You are!” Sonata shot back. She stuck her tongue out in an action that seemed more akin to that of a five year old child than a couple hundred year old sea monster. Their bickering slightly shook Sunset from her admiration of the school eating facilities. She must have been quiet for longer than she thought though, because Adagio had also stepped forward to pull the two off of one another when they started to slap at each other.

“Ugh, that is ENOUGH. If I have to listen to your petty arguments one more time, so help me…,” she grumbled. “If you want to do something useful, how about you find us a table so we’re not standing around like morons.” With that, she shoved them both by their shirt collars in the direction of the lunch tables, glaring as they went before turning to Sunset, who was watching the exchange in interest.

“Please forgive those two. I know I’ve said this to you before, but they're idiots,” she sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “They’re MY idiots though, so I have to look out for them to make sure they don’t kill each other.”

“Uh, no problem, I guess?”

“Anyway, I suppose we should get our food now, yes? Follow me.” With that, Adagio led Sunset to the food aisles while they chose their own trays as well as two additional ones. She began describing the serving system for all of the food that seemed to be overflowing from the tables. Apparently Crystal Prep made enough money to hire high tier chefs most days of the week, making meals cooked and placed ready before students were even let out for break. Sunset wasn’t going to complain. She stacked her plate high with fruits, vegetables, and even choice selections of meat, which got a strange glance from the older girl.

“Just because I’m a pony on one side of the mirror, doesn’t mean I’m a vegetarian here. We have farm animals there just like humans do. Chickens, pigs, and some non sentient cattle are abundant in Equestria, but we hardly use any of it. Just because most ponies don’t eat meat doesn’t mean we can’t. I suppose you can say even as a pony, I had some interest in what meat must taste like to dragons, griffons, etcetera, it’s just that here it’s more necessary for human survival,” Sunset explained with a shrug.

After that, they continued on looking for the other two members of their party, finding them sitting at a table farther out of the way than most of the others. The less people around to hear their discussion, the better. Especially since there were still some of the other students who would send the odd glance every now and then.

When they were all situated and began eating, a tense silence followed. Or at least tense for Sunset. Here she was surrounded by three girls who were at once people she considered enemies and yet now they sat together, in the same school, at the same table and eating lunch so casually as if nothing had happened between them. From an outside perspective to one who was ignorant of the past they all shared, they seemed normal. Sunset knew otherwise though, and it was grating. But she was supposed to be getting some explanation for how things ended up this way for the sirens and they weren’t giving off any kind of manipulative or dangerous vibes, so Sunset allowed some of the tension to bleed from her shoulders. Someone clearing their throat broke her from her reverie and she looked up and saw Adagio with an expectant expression.

“I believe, Sunset, that our arrangement was that during lunch your were free to ask any questions you had of the three of us. We will do our best to answer, and in return, you answer some for us. Does that seem fair?”

“Yeah, it does,” she murmured uncertainly. “I guess the first question I have then, would be what happened to you three after the Battle of the Bands.”

“Hmm, I thought it would. Well, as Aria said before,” she gestured to the purple girl, “we were incredibly angry with you and your friends after you had defeated us.” Sunset cringed at the term, but tried not to let it be too obvious. “Should you have found us earlier, I can almost assure you, things wouldn’t have ended up in your favor at all. We ran from the stage and made it to our home. Throughout our life spans, we tried to be smart in how we lived so as to not draw attention to ourselves. Or at least, any more so than usual.” At this, she shared a knowing smile among the other two.

“But for a while, we attempted to plan ways to getting back at you. Revenge for what you Rainbooms had done to us and denied what we thought was our right. Nothing ever got very far though. We had no more magic, but our voices returned after that night. We assumed it must have been from the initial shock of the rainbow laser you all had sent towards us that broke our pendants. To a siren, our voices are everything, and to know that we hadn’t entirely lost them was a welcome relief, so it took some of the sting out of our defeat. Siren pride and all that.” she waived a dismissing hand in the air as she said this, and Sunset couldn’t help but grin somewhat. To know that her actions hadn’t caused a complete loss of what must be their only reminder of home lessened her guilt.

“Time passed, and we noticed something additional as well,” Adagio continued.

“And what was that?” Sunset asked in interest.

“Our hunger.” Attention was turned to the side where Aria sat, arms folded as she added in her two cents. “Before, we had to constantly eat. Constantly cause the slightest amount of strife to feed because the amount of nourishment here is far weaker than the magical energy of that in Equestria. But without our pendants, we didn’t have a way of doing that. We thought we would die from starvation eventually. Imagine our surprise when that DIDN’T actually happen.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “But wait. Weren’t those gems a part of you? I thought they were the only way for you to store negative energy.”

“Nope.” Sonata finally spoke. She had been quiet for the longest considering the amount of time she had spoken through the entire day. “Those gems helped to amplify our powers and made it easier, but they weren’t the sole reason for us being able to eat.”

“That’s right,” Adagio finished. “Those gemstones more or less became cursed objects on this side of the portal, rather than pieces of ourselves like how they were in Equestria. They constantly needed a...recharge....so to say, like an inefficient phone battery. Without them, we noticed that our need for negative emotions was nonexistent. We just hadn’t noticed that in the beginning.”

Sunset nodded in understanding. “So what you’re saying is…”

“What we’re saying, is that we owe you Sunset for helping us. Something we held so precious before, slowly corrupted us here because of Starswirl. I assume he wanted us to eventually perish without enough energy to maintain ourselves like we did in Equestria. YOU however saved us from that fate.” Sunset made to interject. “And don’t say that it wasn’t just you. I’m sure we all know that if it wasn’t for your addition to the magic that was used on us before, the Rainbooms never would have defeated us.” Sonata and Aria nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. Besides, there’s no way that a group so easily letting themselves get torn apart by some stupid band war would ever have hope of beating us,” Aria smugly stated.

“I see….well, what happened after?”

“Meh, nothing too exciting. We had to figure out how to do things for ourselves without mindless human zombies to do it for us mostly,” Sonata said. “We got small jobs, and it was only a few months ago that we enrolled here.”

“As anticlimactic as Sonata makes it sound, that is about right. We enrolled here and the rest, they say, is history. Now,” Adagio made show of folding her hands on the table as she leaned forward in interest, something that was somewhat mirrored by the girls on either side of her. Sunset felt a chill run down her spine at where this was heading. “I think what my sisters and I would like to know is what YOU are doing here Sunset Shimmer. Last we saw of you was a happy ending for you and your Rainboom friends.”

Again with that word.

“So, care to enlighten us?” Sunset looked around at the three of the other girls at the table, attempting to stop herself from trembling. Eventually she glanced down at the table surface, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes, but leaving her tight lipped scowl visible. A hand touched hers for a moment, though the yellowish tint identified the owner as Adagio. A slight glance upward showed that she as well as her sisters had varying looks of concern. “I understand if you’re uncomfortable, but tell us as much as you’d like or are able.”

Eventually after calming herself down enough, Sunset let out a small sigh, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to get out of this, or that it would be fair considering what they had shared with her. “They’re not my friends. At least not anymore,” she said finally.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sonata asked.

“I mean that they’re not my friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie. They’re not. And I don’t know if they ever really were.” Sunset then went on to explain everything that had been going on for her in the past few weeks - nearly a month and a half - before deciding to switch to Crystal Prep. Through it all, the other three made no move to interrupt, though by the end of her story Sonata seemed ready to cry, Adagio adorned a look of disgust, and Aria looked downright murderous.

“Oh so they tell US not to cause strife and fighting among their school, but they turn around and do it to the person that SAVED their fucking asses. And with a flimsy ass frame job to fall back on? What the fuck!” she hissed before being silenced with an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Adagio.

“Not the time. Though I do have to share Aria’s sentiment. What we gathered from the school while we were there was that you were Queen Bee, holding the entire student body by the throat. You, unlike this Anon-a-Miss however, were clever in the way you executed your plans. This is just shoddy. I’m surprised they actually fell for something that obvious.”

“I’m not...well, not really. You heard from the school about the things I did all the way to becoming a she demon - yes that was real Sonata.” The blue skinned girl closed her mouth with an audible clack. “You heard about it, but you never experienced it. They did. For three years. Obviousness aside, this does seem like something the ‘old Sunset’ would do,” she finished with her head gazing down in shame.

It was quiet for a while. The surrounding sounds of the cafeteria were the only things permeating the silence for what seemed like minutes, until the scraping of a chair followed by close footsteps added to it. A gentle hand then guided Sunset’s face upward to look at Adagio. Her gaze was firm and determined as she spoke, “Well, we know otherwise. We know that you were reformed. And we also know that you’re too intelligent to stoop to something so low and petty. I mean, you used the elements of harmony, and I doubt anyone can fool a force that powerful. We also know that were you actually guilty, you wouldn’t have put up with all of that drama for as long as you did to plead your innocence. Take it from experience,” she looked towards the other two. Sonata had a watery smile, nodding in agreement while Aria sent a small, but surprisingly gentle smirk. “So you shouldn’t worry about that now. You know you’re not Anon-a-Miss, and now you have REAL friends who know that too.”

Sunset, who was struck and wide eyed by this display, choked up at their admission. All she had wanted was for someone to believe her, someone who would give her the benefit of the doubt. She had just wanted her friends to be by her side through it all. They weren’t though, and it hurt terribly. But now, how ironic was it that a former villain found comfort in the companionship of other former villains - ones who had arguably been worse for a longer period of time. The corner of her eyes began to water, and her lip trembled. Her shoulders began to shake as the first tears fell, but not before a blue blur shot past Adagio and all but tackle hugged Sunset out of her chair. Sonata seemed to squeeze with all the strength of a vice, allowing Sunset to bury her head in the other girl’s neck to muffle her sobs. She was sure some of the surrounding tables were glancing their way in confusion, though none of the current party were paying them any mind.

Huh… making friends out of enemies. Can’t say I saw that coming, but right now I wouldn’t ask for anything different.

Author's Note

I live! Sorry this is much later than normal. I wanted to make sure I got the character interaction right, and this is a longer chapter than what I usually write.

I always like to think that Sonata would be more open to showing affection. Similar to Pinkie Pie. She'd be the one to give out the most hugs, smile a lot, and be more excitable than the other two. I will try to stay as in character as I can however, but please tell me your thoughts on this chapter.

Also, this is just one occurrence in the story. Anon-a-Miss isn't the only thing that this story will be about, though the other plot will happen a bit later once this is hashed out a bit more.

Anon-A-Miss

Principal Celestia looked down at the papers that had been place on her desk. She gazed over the information with a critical eye before addressing the people before her, “Are you certain that this is correct? It’s hard to believe that these people would be responsible, but here you come with proof that I’m not sure even the most tech savvy of individuals in the school would have been able to obtain.” She sat straight, folded her hands and cooly looked over them.

“Snips. Snails. Would you care to explain how you uncovered the identity of Anon-A-Miss?”

The two usually oblivious students shuffled nervously. They cast quick glances around the room in an attempt to avoid their principal’s gaze as long as the could, before Snips finally caved. “You know, even though we were with Sunset when she was a bully, she was never that bad to us. Yeah, she would yell and get irritated when we messed stuff up, but unlike what most people would believe, she had her kind moments. Helped us with our homework, made it so the other bullies that would get to us had to go through her first. That kind of thing.”

He looked over at the taller boy by his side, some unspoken thing between the two that Celestia managed to catch before Snails took over. “When she was reformed, she tried to tell us to stay away from her. She didn’t want what was happening to her to fall on us to make it seem like we were forced instead of helping her do stuff of our own free will.” He swallowed, tears coming to his eyes. “ Boss was always there for us and now we wanna be there for her.”

Celestia closed her eyes, softening her demeanor as she listened to their reasons. It was honestly hard for her to think that these two would go to such lengths for Sunset. But then again, she supposed she never really knew everything about the girl either. “I understand,” she started “But that still doesn’t explain how you managed this.” She gestured to the papers littering her desk.

“Oh, well when we were actually with Boss in her bully days, we were the ones that had to collect info on people in the school for her to use as blackmail. We had to do the sleuthing, and scope out what would be good enough for her to use.” The two winced in shame. “We just used what we learned then for this, so it wasn’t too difficult. Besides, we knew Boss wouldn’t do something like this anymore. Even if she did, she’d cover it up better than this shoddy frame job. And we never had any of our secrets posted. But anyway, Snails and I just split the school down the middle and eliminated who would be the most likely. After that, we gathered information and tried to do some hacking with help from Micro Chips. He owed Boss too and wanted to help us out. We’re not that good at computers like how he is, so I can’t say what he did for sure. But next thing we know, in two days time he had managed to track the site address to these three.”

The shorter boy held up the pile of images to Celestia. She once again looked over the faces of the Crusader trio, barely managing to keep her temper in check. These three would have much to answer for once she called them in. But she took a deep breath and favored being impressed over the amount of work these two students- usually negatively labeled by most of the student body- put into helping Sunset out. She was disappointed to find out the hand they had in helping Sunset to bully other students before the Fall Formal, but when she next looked to them, there was a softer and understanding expression in her eyes when she addressed them. “You two have done something amazing for the school, and I thank you for that. I just wish it could have been helped sooner,” she sighed.

“What do you mean?” Snails asked in confusion.

“What I mean is that it’s already happened that the consequences of this cyber bullying event have come to pass. Sunset came to me a while ago with intentions to ask for a transfer.” She continued despite the heartbroken looks on their faces. “I assume that Monday would have been her first day at her new school. She would have been there for almost a week already. I truly am sorry that this happened.”

“Heh, you know I’m not really surprised. With everything that the other students had been doing to her, I wouldn’t have wanted to stay here either. It would explain why she hasn’t been here in almost a month.” Snips laughed bitterly. Snails merely agreed with a nod of his head.

“Would it be too much to ask where she is now? Or at least know if she’s doing alright?”

Celestia sighed. It would be a complete breach of confidentiality, but knowing how far they went for the girl, it was hard to stick to protocol.

“I might get in trouble for this, but I know how much you two really care. I had been able to get Sunset’s transfer expedited with my niece, who also happened to be the dean at Crystal Prep. Sunset will be there. Of course I don’t need to tell you that no one outside of this office and the staff need to know where she currently is, correct?” her tone shifted to an icy undertone that cause the boys to shiver involuntarily. They just nodded their heads quickly, thanking her before speeding from the office.

The principal gazed after they left and continued to stare at the door for a while afterwards. She eventually grunted, picking up her intercom to call the three girls to her office. She detested to think what the rest of the day would be like once this was said and done.

Oh yes. Those three will have much to explain indeed.

Applebloom snapped her head to attention at the sound of her voice being called by the intercom, promptly followed by the those of her two friends. She looked towards Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, noticing their confused gazes as well. They left their desks and once out of the room, made their way to principal Celestia’s office. For some reason, as Applebloom walked there was a growing feeling of dread that was settling in her stomach, like something bad was about to happen. But nothing’s happened. What could we be called in for...unless...Fear fully set in and the redhead gulped in nervousness. There’s no way. Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to catch her two friends’ expressions morphing into fear as they too seemed to come to a similar conclusion.

Their steps seemed to take them to Celestia’s office too quickly for their liking. No student was ever not terrified of being called by their principal, but normally, Celestia was warm to all of her students. Unless, you were really in trouble, there was nothing to worry about with her. But now, the usual feeling of warmth was gone, replaced with an icy emptiness as they entered the room. The tall woman was at her desk, head held in her hands. The click of the door closing behind the Crusaders was deafening.

“Tell me girls. Was it worth it?” She didn’t lift her head when she spoke.

“Was what worth it, ma’am?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Silence followed her question until Celestia finally gazed at the three young girls and sighed in exasperation. “I see. So that’s how it’s going to be.” She motioned them to sit in the chairs before her desk, waiting until they were seated before walking around with a manila folder clasped in her hands.

“I was given something this morning by a couple of students this morning. Some interesting information that finally helped crack this Anon-A-Miss nonsense that’s been going on for the last few months. I’m sure you know of this right?” Applebloom was about to answer before being cut off. “Of course you do. What with all of the fights breaking out recently, friendships broken and lost, and students disenrolling left and right, how could you not.”

“Y-yeah. Shimmer really did a number on the school this time didn’t she. I can’t believe she’d do something like this after convincing everyone she’d changed,” Scootaloo nervously spoke.

“Hmm, yes we all believe it is Miss Shimmer on another of her school wide bullying agendas.”

“Well it has to be her! Look at tha account: it looks jus’ lahk her! I can’t think of anyone else who could’a done somethin’ lahk this” Applebloom argued.

Celestia smiled knowingly before holding up the stack in her hands. “You know, I was inclined in the beginning to believe it was Sunset. However, I began to think. When she used to be a school terror, she was able to effectively cover her tracks. Even if a misdemeanor was caused by her, no one would ever be able to prove her guilty.” She then began placing papers from the stack onto her desk neatly for all of the girls to look over. What they saw chilled their veins.

It was them. Large, high definition pictures of them gazing towards one of the school computer screens as well as several others indicating their virtual footprint, so to say. A virtual footprint that was plain indication of their actions over the course of the past few months. The past few months as Anon-A-Miss.

The older woman let them mull over what they were shown before continuing. “This entire event was too shoddy to be done by someone as clever as Miss Shimmer. I had planned to have a private investigator - a friend of mine - take a look in this matter.” Celestia would never admit that she relished the flinch they all did when she said that.

“Imagine my surprise when a couple of my own students kindly spared me the trouble and was also able to provide solid proof of Sunset’s innocence as well as the identity of the guilty party.” She leaned down over the backs of the Crusaders. “You three.”

She made her way back to her seat and sat primly, steepling her hands. “So tell me girls. Was it worth it?”

Five girls walked together towards Principal Celestia’s office, each confused as to what they would need to be called in for. None of them had done anything noteworthy of attention since this mess caused by Sunset was started. Four were too focused on trying to figure out what was happening. One pale yellow and pink haired girl was gazing down in sadness that none of her friends noticed.

They eventually arrived at their destination, and upon entering, were surprised to see not only their principal, but three girls known school wide as the Crusaders in opposite chairs. They all looked close to tears, some already leaking from their cheeks before Celestia turned to them.

“Ah, girls. I’m glad you could make it.” Her voice was hard, something the girls all felt was strange given her usual bright aura. Something like this was expected of her sister Luna more than herself.

“Eh, Principal Celestia, what’s going on here? Why are our sisters present?” Rarity asked cautiously.

“Yeah! And why are they crying?” Rainbow demanded, going to stand by Scootaloo. She was confused as to why the girl turned away.

“Oh! Well, why don’t you ask them yourselves? I’m sure they can explain much more than I can.” Her tone was slightly sarcastic, still very unlike the woman the girls were used to seeing.

“Applebloom, what in the hay is goin’ on here?” Applejack questioned.

The younger Apple sibling seemed adamant on not meeting her sister’s gaze, firmly looking down towards her feet. She mumbled something, but no one was able to hear.

“...”

“Now, ya know we can’t hear ya when ya talk lahk that. Come on, whatever it is ya know ya can tell me.” Apple Jack attempted to comfort the girl by placing a hand on her shoulders. An answer was eventually given. Just not by her.

“We did it!” Sweetie Belle sobbed. “We’re Anon-A-Miss!” A few beats of silence. The only thing heard was her frantic sobs.

“Now wait a minute! You expect us to believe that you three - you three - are responsible for all of this mess going on in the school?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “Yeah I don’t buy that. Not a for a second. This has Sunset and her dirty lies all over it.”

“Agreed.”

“No two ways ‘bout it.”

“Uh huh!”

The principal sucked her teeth in annoyance, and rolled her eyes before revealing a stack of papers and images placed on her desk. “I’m so happy you think you know Miss Shimmer as well as you do, because maybe these will help clear up those lies you think she is so capable of telling.” She handed the stack to Fluttershy; the girl had been quiet up until this point and accepted them quietly, looking them over as her friends slowly gathered around to see what she was given.

Still, the sound of Sweetie’s sobs prevailed in the room. The other two had their shoulders slumped and heads facing the floor in shame.

All of the girls’ faces had morphed to shock and horror. Rainbow, being the first to gather herself, went over to Scootaloo, knelt down to eye level and grasped her shoulders almost desperately. “Scoots. Tell me this wasn’t you. Tell me what I just saw was a fake, and that...and that Sunset was framing you. She had to be, right? There’s no way you’d do something like this on your own!” She screamed near the end.

Scootaloo gulped. “It was us. It was all on us,” she mumbled. “We’re Anon-A-Miss. We wanted you guys to spend time with us instead of Shimmer, so we made the account, and then we framed her for it.” Tears finally began trailing.

“Why would you three do something like that!” Fluttershy hissed, finally making herself heard. The rest of the people in the room were stunned as she stalked forward, papers tossed to the side, her calm persona nonexistent. “Do you know what we had to go through? What people at this school had to go through all because you and your petty jealousy? Do you know what you did Sunset?” She screeched.

Pinkie Pie, her hair flat and dull, quickly grabbed the other girl by the waist before she could do anything else. “What do you mean Fluttershy?”

Her only response was a slew of sobs, cries and angry shouts that no one could really understand as she struggled against the dull pink girl’s grasp. Celestia watched this exchange with nothing short of sympathy. It was good to see that Fluttershy cared as much as she did, it’s just too bad she was choosing now to stick up for the other girl. Still though, angry Fluttershy was a sight to behold. She took this moment amongst the confusion to clear her throat loud enough for everyone to hear.

“What she means is that Miss Shimmer no longer attends CHS. The actions of the student body towards her, prompted her to request a transfer to another school. Not surprising, as there have been multiple transfer requests as of late, however, Sunset seemed to be as much of a victim if not more so than the rest who blamed her for something not of her doing.” She glared icily at the Crusaders, who shrunk in their seats, and towards the five girls, all rendered to stunned silence with this new information.

“And before you ask, no, I will not reveal her location. I’m sure you all have said quite enough.” She stated upon noticing Rainbow’s attempt to speak. “As of now, only myself and a few select individuals in the school are aware of Sunset’s current location, and it will stay that way. Now as for you three,” she turned to the Crusaders with a hard gaze. “I’m sure the terms of your punishment we discussed before your sister’s arrival will be sufficient.”

“Now hold on. Punishment? What punishment are ya talkin’ about?” Apple Jack asked.

“These girls are guilty of high profile cyber bullying - something I was considering getting the police involved with - which has resulted in numerous cases of physical violence towards other students - mainly towards Miss Shimmer- at least a dozen cases of transfer requests, missing students, vandalism to school property and harassment. If you think I wasn’t going to administer punishment, you are sorely mistaken.”

Applejack didn’t bother trying to argue after that.

“They will be tasked with the cleaning of the entire school property after school for a year of after school detention, four months of at home suspension, disbanding of any school clubs and activities until graduation, and a public announcement of their involvement with this foolishness in a school assembly that every student will be present to hear. Frankly, you lot are lucky I’m not expelling you. But we’ll see how things play out after the announcement. Based on how the students behaved when they believed Sunset was the perpetrator, I would not be surprised if transfers for you three would be the wisest thing to do.” The Crusaders shivered in fear at the thought of what would happen in the near future.

The other five girls glanced away from the principal and each other, too ashamed to meet anyone’s gaze. Save for Fluttershy, who was still kneeling on the floor in tears, they were all thinking the same thing.

We fucked up, Sunset. We’re sorry.

Author's Note

Aaaaaaand, I'm back! So sorry for the lateness. There was some drama and I had a bit of writer's block trying to figure out how to make this chapter go smoothly.

Btw, I know Celestia seems a little strict compared to how we see her in show, but I was going for a more realistic school principal reaction to cyber bullying.

Consequences

True to what the Rainbooms and the Crusaders expected, the confession the younger girls had to give to the rest of the school resulted in nothing short of an uproar. With the entirety of the student body together in the auditorium, there was no shortage of outraged shouts, curses, threats and even a few daring individuals attempting to make their way to the stage in order to get at the three. Despite initial mockery that there was no way such young girls could have done something as bold and cruel as Anon-A-Miss, a quick post on the account courtesy of Applebloom changed their tone quickly.

Currently, the Crusaders still stood atop the stage, Luna and Celestia stern faced as they attempted to quiet the crowd. Their sisters stood off to the side. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked on as the girls stayed in place, tears silently running down their cheeks. As much as they wanted to comfort them, the conflicting emotions currently running through their minds that their own family was the cause of such ugliness in the school, caused them to remain uninvolved. Besides, they said that Sunset was family, and left her to a much worse fate than this for so long.

Fluttershy hadn’t even come to school today. Her guilt was too crushing to be around anyone of the Rainbooms currently. She was supposed to be the element of kindness, but she showed none of it to Sunset when the other girl needed it the most, and the thought sickened her. According to Pinkie Pie, since she was the last person to make contact with the shy girl, as far as she was concerned, she and the others deserved this pain and nothing they could attempt to do would be enough to make up for what they had done.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Vice Principal Luna’s voice flashed like lightning, and the effect was immediate. Whether in shock or fear, the students shot back down into their seats, unwilling to test the more severe of the two sisters. Celestia gave Luna a thankful, if tired look.

“I understand that this revelation has come as a shock to many of you. It has been to many of us at this school to think that something like this would have happened but I can assure you that the discipline of these three is being handled.”

“Like hell it is!” one student shouted in rage. “Because of those three, my chances at a full scholarship to Canterlot U is toast!”

“My friend had to transfer! She didn’t feel safe here because of what everyone knew about her then, and I can barely get into contact with her now,” another cried.

One by one, more students began to voice their complaints until another stern command by Luna quited them once more.

“I believe it pertinent to this discussion that it is not just these three you should be blaming, but also your fellow students. It has come to our attention, that most of what was posted came from other student accounts from CHS. I believe this list comprises them all.”
The confused stares the instructors receive at the beginning morphed into shock, fear, and horror for a few of them as the projector behind them came to life. Clear, black and bold letters revealed a good third of the accounts students used at CHS.

Luna smirked, “So, as you can see, casting the blame here on these girls alone will do you no good. And while your punishment will not be as severe, there WILL be consequences for ALL of the names on this list. No exceptions. Am I understood?” A few quick nods and shameful ‘yeses’ filled the auditorium. “Good. Now given that it is still a school day, you all will return to your classes. I will be calling in these listed individuals over the course of the week, and by the end of the day you will report to either my or Principal Celestia’s office. You are dismissed.”

Little by little the students trickled from the gymnasium, many of them not without sending ugly and menacing glares to the trio who just walked down the stage.They tried meeting the gazes of their elder siblings, and were heartbroken when those faces were turned away.

We really messed up. Scootaloo lamented. With that thought she and her two friends allowed themselves to be led away by Luna. Scootaloo knew their parents had already been called and were currently on their way. She shuddered to think what her parents’ punishment would be. Applebloom was albut confined to the farm when she wasn’t in school and doing homework. No access to any electronics or any mobile device and spending whatever free time she had doing chores around the Apple Family Farm property, even some of those belonging to her elder siblings. Sweetie Belle, unfortunately had it a bit worse and would be moving back in with her parents who were all the way in Manehattan, which was a five day car ride away. They hadn’t even waited when they received the news of their daughter’s involvement with this smear campaign. Sweetie had been packed since yesterday evening after her parents had been informed and would be leaving tomorrow. It was a shame that they wouldn’t be able to see each other together before then, if ever afterwards.

Scootaloo’s parents traveled often for work. It was why she spent so much time with Rainbow Dash. She would check up on the younger girl and help out whenever she had time with homework, sports and most other things that caused Scootaloo to view her as a sibling figure. They loved her and called home regularly, but in lieu of this most recent event, the flat and disappointed tone she heard over the receiver was unsettling. When they had breaks in between their travels and came home, it was wonderful, and she hated to disappoint them, but this…

Yeah. way to go on the not disappointing them thing Scoots. This’ll really win them over.

She sighed. What’s done is done, and she would just have to be ready for whatever was in store for her later. She attempted one last glance back at the Rainbooms, more specifically Rainbow Dash, and when the older girl still avoided looking at her, a small tear fell, before she was finally led from the building.

By the time lunch rolled around, there was still much lingering negativity in the air. While nothing was posted anymore, the wounds of discovering who was responsible for the Anon-A-Miss account, and who contributed to its success still left many splintered relationships among the students. The Rainbooms sat in their usual spot, but not with the usual amount of cheer they felt when together.

One friend too depressed to show her face, the other too depressed to lighten the mood even marginally, and the others so disgusted at their recent actions towards the last missing one seemed to cause a metaphorical storm cloud to form over their group.

Rainbow Dash suddenly slammed her fists down on the table, startling the other girls. “God damnit!”

“Rainbow, wha-”

“What the fuck were we thinking! We should have known...Sunset tried so hard after the Formal and we were told to give her a chance! She helped us when we needed it the most, and look what we fuckin’ did to repay her,” she ranted breathlessly. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. “What kind of friends are we? What kind of friend am I! We never gave her a chance, and even in Celestia’s office, were still so quick to blame her with the evidence looking us right in the fucking FACE!” With a keening groan, her head hit the table into her arms as she sobbed.

The others looked on in shock. Rainbow Dash was never one to show emotion so easily, especially when it came to tears. Seeing her broken like this was unnerving to say the least. Applejack squared her hat after a minute and looked over the other girls.

“Well then. Ya know what we gotta do don’cha? We have tuh apologize.” She stated.

“What do you mean apologize. Even if we could find her since she left CHS, she’ll never listen to us!” Rarity argued sadly.

“We were supposed to be her friends. And we couldn’t even do that right,” Pinkie mumbled. The flat pink curtain that was her hair covered most of her face, but her reddened cheeks and recent tear tracks were indicators enough that she was torn up over this.

“Then we fahnd her an’ make it raght. I aint gunna lie. We fucked up badly, but if’n we want to prove tuh ‘er that ‘er friendship means somethin’ tuh us, we have tuh fahnd her an’ show ‘er that much. Even if she don’t listen, at least she’ll know.” Her speech trailed off into silence as she looked over her friends. Rainbow Dash had stopped her crying, but tears still leaked. Rarity’s mascara was leaking as well and Pinkie was still silent. Then, as one, they nodded in determination.

“Then it’s settled. This weekend, we fahnd our friend. And this tahm around, we won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Author's Note

Oh, but girls. You fucked up so bad you don't even know. LOL.

Hey everybody. Another chapter for you all to enjoy. There may be another out at the end of today and if not, tomorrow.

The Start of Problems

When Sunset made to arrive at school this morning, she had no reason to believe anything that went against her new routine would occur. Since beginning her attendance at Crystal Prep, she had done the usual; get up, fix herself in the bathroom, eat breakfast, then begin the 30 minute trek from her ‘home’ to the campus. It was a bit farther than CHS was and therefore required more time to get there, but it was nice. Nice in a way that Sunset hadn’t felt since the issue with Anon-A-Miss. But that was where the normal part of her day seemed to end.

That thought made her stop. Towards the end of the previous week and leading up to this morning, her phone had been abuzz with new notifications. She ignored most of them, and held out far longer than she would have thought, being curious to know what could be so important that her phone was constantly vibrating. Most of them were from the MyStable page, others long and frantic texts from her former friends, whom she promptly blocked on her phone. They all had the same content though: that Anon-A-Miss had been found out, that they confessed their sins to the entire school, and that those who had harassed Sunset while she was still at CHS and others were also punished for submitting secrets to be posted in the first place. The thought filled the red head with a rage she hadn’t felt since her days as a former bully.

Those fucking hypocrites! They decided to give me grief for something I never even did, and then were the ones who contributed to it in the first place.

Her school campus was prominent in the distance. She wasn’t too far, but she paused her walk. With everything that happened, and what she just found out, it caused one persistent but no less worrying thought to reverberate in her head. Was I ever really forgiven? Despite saying that they would give me a chance, and help me understand the magic of friendship, was it ever real or just a favor to Twilight?

She wanted to believe it was real; their sleepovers, parties, and group activities together after the Battle of the Bands. But then Sunset remembered: it was only after that incident had they truly included the girl into their group. Fluttershy and Pinkie, sure had been more genuine and maybe serious before then, but the others were abrasive at the best of times, and almost downright aggressive with her at worst. She clenched her fists tightly enough that they began to draw blood and her hair began to cast a shadow over her eyes.

It was all just a trick in the end, she thought. Just waiting for me to make a wrong move to kick me to the curb again. Not like it would be the first time.

Sunset sighed quietly, her anger at the situation quickly being replaced with sadness. Deciding to not focus on such a sad subject, she continued the last of her walk to the school lawn.

“Yo! Pony girl!” A deep yet feminine voice shouted to her. Looking further ahead, the former unicorn spotted the Siren trio heading her way, Aria giving a rather amused smirk at the use of the chosen nickname. Adagio, who was in the lead as usual, rolled her eyes, while Sonata smiled widely at her. But once they approached closer, they seemed to notice her sour mood.
“Hey, what’s the big deal? You don’t normally have this intense of a look for anything other than school work. What’s up?” The purple girl had wrapped an arm around the taller girl’s shoulders to bring Sunset down to eye level before getting in her face. Looking around at the three’s faces, she saw varying expressions of concern, which still never failed to amaze Sunset even after a full week of being around them. It was just crazy to think that the once feared Equestrian monsters of old could even display care for another person that was not among their own, and even that seemed to have been limited among them as Sunset had observed when they were enemies.

But now, with Sunset seemingly confined between them like a chick among mother hens, as they were expectant for an answer, it was hard to deny them an explanation. “It’s nothing. Really. Just...this mess on MyStable and Anon-A-Miss, you know.”

“I find it difficult to think that this is nothing, if it was the cause of you leaving your school and friends to attend another.” Adagio countered.

“And why you were crying in the cafeteria the first day you got here,” Sonata added causing Sunset to blush. “What, is whoever that jerk is still posting that junk?”

“Quite the opposite, actually. It’s, uh...the school finally found out who the account belonged to. It’s still being talked about all over the website. It’s just...I don’t really know how to feel about what I found out. Apparently it wasn’t just one person, but three - the Crusaders - and the younger sisters of my...old friends.” It was harder to talk about out loud than she expected, even more so to follow up, and she rubbed the back of her neck to relieve some of the awkwardness she was feeling. “It also turns out that they were getting help from people in the school to post secrets. Others were sending in things for them to use, and they were found out at the end of last week too.”

It was quiet for a moment until Adagio spoke. “So, what you’re telling us, is that the assholes that were making it difficult for you at Canterlot High were the ones exacerbating the issue.”

“And that your friends - who called you family - had their own siblings betray them and the rest of the school, framing you in the process.” Sonata finished quietly. It was disturbing to see the most bubbly of the three become so serious.

“Those FUCKS!” Aria yelled. Sunset jumped in surprise and a little fear. The purple girl was the closest to Sunset in proximity and her arm around Sunset’s neck and shoulders had tightened in her rage until she realized her mistake. Letting the former unicorn go - Sonata quickly took the spot, gripping her arm and intertwining their fingers lightly- she still went on, “Hell, I know we were bad, but we just wanted people to hear us sing and survive, maybe grovel before us a bit. We never hid the fact that we were manipulative or what we wanted. What these fuckers did though. That’s just...GAH!” She stormed off to the side a bit, never fully leaving their sight, but mumbling and grunting out her anger.

“Hmmph. That girl needs to get a handle on that anger of hers. I swear she’s always been like this.” Adagio mumbled, loudly enough for Sunset to hear though. “On to more pressing concerns, Sunset, are you okay?” That question caught her off guard, and she struggled to find an answer.

“To be honest, I don’t know what to feel,” she sighed. “On one hand, I’m absolutely furious with the Crusaders, the girls, the whole school - but, then I think I should have seen it coming from the beginning. That there was no way they would have forgiven me for all of the things I had done to them. I feel betrayed, and still that I deserve what happened to me. I was pushed aside and left alone when things went wrong, but then it’s not like it hadn’t happened before…”

Lost in her own thoughts, Sunset missed the worried glances Adagio and Sonata exchanged with one another. The former Siren leader though, grasped Sunset’s chin lightly with her fingertips, guiding her downtrodden gaze to the girl’s own. Sunset for a moment was lost at how vibrant they seemed to be up close and swallowed thickly.

“Never believe that you deserve what happened to you Sunset Shimmer. No one ever deserves that, and least of all you. When we came to your school and heard of all that you had done to the student and teachers, yet also how far you had come from then, they should have known you were willing and desperately trying to change.” She smiled sweetly. That, coupled with the intensity of those eyes caused an unbidden blush to rage across the girl’s cheeks. “But then, had it not happened, you wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t have gotten a chance to thank you, and something worse may have come down the line. At least now, I hope you know that you are with people who truly care for you, not as a favor to some other person.”

“That’s right! Now you get to be friends with us, and we’re tons better than those Raingoons were,” Sonata exclaimed. Sunset gazed again at the three, Aria finally joining them. She walked over to stand beside Adagio, supportively looking Sunset over and giving her a confident grin.

Heh. Good listeners, genuinely concerned for my well being, and how could I forget - humble too. Sunset chuckled. Her mood over the course of Adagio’s speech had greatly improved, and a smile found its way to her face.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I can’t say that I won’t think about it at times, but I like where I’m at now. My past isn't today, and while I appreciate everything Twilight did for me, I can accept that it just didn’t work out. And yes, Sonata, you guys are way cool.” Sunset was rewarded with a delighted squeal from the blue girl attached to her arm. If possible, she clung even tighter.

“You bet your ass we’re cool,” Aria growled playfully. “Now let’s go. While this sappy crap was going on, I forgot to tell you that the bell rang twice already.”

They all froze, realizing that while they had been talking, the entire courtyard had been emptied of students.

“Shit! Aria, why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Adagio shouted. She turned and ran towards the building closely followed by the other three.

“I figured Sunny’s emotional state could come before a boring history class of shit we’d already been through, and that the teachers and books know jackshit about.”

“...Point.”

The group of four sprinted towards the main building, unaware of the fact that they were being watched. Two pairs of eyes were wide in surprise seeing the whole event take place. Snips and Snails hid in place across the street. Originally intending to meet with Sunset before her school began - a whole hour before CHS - they rethought that decision seeing her with the Sirens. It’s not that they were afraid per se. To be honest, after being with Boss and knowing her temper, as well as already having experience with mind controlling creatures from Equestria, the supernatural and once menacing nature of the girls didn’t bother them.

In that description though, was the fact that the three girls no longer exuded the menacing nature they once presented while attempting to take over Canterlot High. The three of them, cuddled up to Sunset like they were, and apparently giving her some form of comfort was still surprising. That Sunset was comfortable enough with them to allow them to be that close to her was even more so.

They wanted to talk to Sunset and let her know that she still had friends back at CHS, and that they as well as some others had been and always would be on her side. That she had friends who cared. But - seeing the taller girl with the Sirens, and how they seemed to be well together - like friends even - left the two boys with some sense of relief that the girl they considered an older sister wasn’t entirely alone like they feared.

Turning away from Crystal Prep Academy, Snips and Snails made their way back to the other end of town, and back to Canterlot High. They resolved to let Sunset be for now. Maybe they’d see her another day. After all, CHS classes were let out earlier. They could probably wait for Sunset when she finished.

Back at CHS, school had already begun. Mondays were usually slow, meaning few cars, or people walking by, and unless it was lunch or designated breaks that were in effect - no chance of the school students or teachers roaming the grounds. Snips and Snails had arrived late; walking from halfway across town in only an hour’s time meant they had needed to run the rest of the distance to arrive without too much of a reprimand from Luna or their teacher. It was because of this urgency, they completely missed bright white flash and subsequent swirling rift forming at the horse statue’s base.

Author's Note

Hey! Meant to post this a day earlier, but it was another feels scene, and I wanted to get the character interaction right.

BTW, any subtext you're getting in this story between Sunset and the Dazzlings - it's all true. :scootangel: I am a hardcore Sunset x Dazzlings shipper - either as poly or separately. For some reason, they all just seem like they would work well together, and are so cute in the fanfics I read.

Nightmare

The swirling and flashing lights finally disappeared and left behind a feeling of sickness as the thing was left sprawled on the ground. It lay there prostrate, before finally rising on its four legs - though it noticed something seemed off. It normally never felt the wind - not as deeply as this, and the once hard surface of its body felt...soft?

The creature growled in irritation. Looking down, the glowing gaze fell on its forelegs and paws. Where there was once wood, fur now stretched over. Its body was not unlike that of the pony prey it would hunt when they came too close into its territory, though far bigger, darker - less colorful - and much more wild. Hmph. Fitting for a beast of its stature, if unfamiliar. Flexing its new body experimentally, the creature began to stalk forward.

So focused on itself, the creature only now noticed the strangeness of its new surroundings. Gone was the darkness of the forest it would hide in to follow its prey. The night was dark, but the pony like settlement stretched before it, providing little cover. The beast used its nose - always a trusted companion - to chart its course. There was a dense area that smelled vaguely of the home it hailed from further in the distance. That meant shelter, protection...food.

Its old body required little sustenance. A purely magical being meant that it did not abide by the laws most Equestrian creatures followed. But it seemed that this was not the case in this new place it now found itself in, and its stomach voiced its complaint with a keening groan, painful and echoing.

Intent on quieting the hunger, the creature broke in a sprint, tracking the first smell of prey in the distance. It smelled warm...alive, and currently wandering in the direction it had originally been heading. Time seemed to blend in the quickness of its travel, and before long the beast found its prey not more than thirty tail lengths before it. A strange thing that it had never seen before in its old territory, but identifiable as female, with bright two toned fur on the top of her head, and not that scrawny. It would be enough to quell the hunger before it retreated into the wooded area beyond.

Its prey was unaware, simply walking about its way as it crept closer. An old structure was in the distance and it was sure that was where she was headed. It needed to act now before it lost the first sighting of food since arriving in this place.

But in its eagerness, a crack sounded from beneath its heavy paw - a broken branch - causing the prey to look at the creature’s hiding spot. It must have seen the glow of the creature's eyes, because with a fearful shout, it turned and sprinted away quickly. Quick for prey, but an easy chase. It leapt from the bushes with a guttural sound and gained in a few strides before leaping. The strange creature seemed to sense the act, and rolled out of the way, avoiding a killing bite, but not a graze from the teeth down the length of its forearm. A cry of agony sounded from its lips blood leaking from the wound and only further enticing the beast. The taste of blood was not something it had been able to come by recently and it lost itself in the euphoria of the taste, however slight.

That mistake cost. Breaking from the temporary haze, the beast did not notice its prey - still very much alive - desperately fleeing into the dilapidated structure. The doors were of metal, and it did not see an easy way for its large body to break through. Prowling for a time, it did not appear as though it would get another chance to gain a kill tonight; the sun was not far off. Irritated at its missteps, the beast released another growl, teeth gnashing, before finally retreating to the wooded place not far beyond it.

The girl, safe from her pursuer, finally addressed the leaking wound that ran down her arm - outer bicep to wrist. It seemed to burn with unholy fire. Fetching her meager first aid kit, she tended to it as well as she could, hissing all the while. Once finished, she made the trek to her bed, dropping like lead onto the surface. She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion take over. Not to deny what her body needed, especially after what had just happened, she closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

Author's Note

Here's a little treat for you guys.

And thus, does this chapter mark the intro of the next little arc I had mentioned in the beginning chapters. If you think you can guess what will happen, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time!

Rise

After her talk with the Dazzlings, Sunset had taken a bit of a brighter outlook on her situation. Yes, she was still understandably hurt over what had happened, but no longer allowed that part of her thoughts to take center light in her mind. Like what she had told Adagio, Sunset loved where she was at. She had friends - true friends - and was able to build herself up in a new school, where apparently she became the cream of the crop in regards to most scholastic aspects. Sunset, with her charm and abilities, became popular once again.

Things were similar to how they were when she was school bully, but this time with students revering her in admiration instead of the fear and hatred for her underhanded tactics at maintaining her position - save for a few bitter souls that were upset at having their academic status usurped. Being older on the other side of the mirror and being chosen as a personal student to the Princess meant that she had years of experience beyond most of what was being taught here at Crystal Prep, despite being top school in the district. Her studies hadn’t been purely magical, but also based on mathematics and the sciences, arts and other subjects that Sunset assumed were expected of a princess. So with the girl’s dedication to her studies, she became kind of a teacher’s pet with her instructors, and with her latent physiology being truly a pony - she excelled in many of her physical classes. Over the weeks, she had even managed to befriend a few other students besides just Adagio, Aria and Sonata as well and was confident enough to say that they were closer than when she had been a student at CHS and as a member of the Rainbooms.

Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest became like a second family to her. Including Sunset and the Dazzlings, they made a much larger group than what she originally had at CHS, but were no less dear to her. Sunset tried not to project her past into the relationships she was making now, and while she was initially wary of the girls, happily integrated well with them. It helped that the three former villains were friends with some of them anyway. Aria’s competitive streak with Indigo was always entertaining to behold; Adagio and Sugarcoat both had no issues with saying what was on their mind; Sonata and Sour Sweet got along scarily well together with their common interest in home ec activities.

Overall, Sunset could say that she was thankful to Anon-A-Miss in a way. She wouldn’t have had as rich of a friendship with these girls had she not transferred here in the first place. Wouldn’t have had as fulfilling of an existence as a normal girl without magical problems every other month. Speaking of magic, she remembered the most recent letter she sent to Princess Twilight. The purple pony princess had been heartbroken in her responses to Sunset’s plight. She repeatedly apologized over not being there to fix the issue earlier - that the political crisis in Yakyakistan couldn’t have been finished early enough for her to respond. She was also understandably furious with the Rainbooms and threatened to come over to set them straight, but Sunset intervened. In the end, Sunset understood, and since then, they had been sending a receiving regular entries to one another almost every day.

Of course, the teen hadn’t exactly told the princess about who she had first met upon transferring schools. No need to give her friend a heart attack by saying she was friends with the Sirens. All she really needed to know was that Sunset was happy. Looking over her friends, as they sat together now at their conjoined tables in the cafeteria, each member interacting with another, Sunset couldn’t even complain if she wanted to.

“And in other news, police have discovered yet another victim of what is assumed to be a wild animal attack. This marks the fourth mauling in as little as a month. Wild life specialists are warning people not to go out after dark, as this animal is assumed to be an ambush hunter that works primarily at night. No one is sure as to why this activity is happening now, but investigations on the surrounding forests of Canterlot’s suburban homes have yielded results that the timberwolves common in the area are not responsible for these acts. Here’s officer Shining Armor with additional information.”

“Thank you. As a member of this police force, I want to remind citizens not to panic. Our department has been meticulously working with the Wild Life Task Force to get to the bottom of what’s been plaguing our town in recent weeks. Results still remain inconclusive, but we are hoping that -”

“Hmph. Guess now I have to worry about crazy animals around here. As if human threats weren’t trouble enough.”

Sunset Shimmer turned off the small radio with a huff. It being one of the few luxuries she owned, it was treated mush more delicately than most other things, and she was glad that it hadn’t been destroyed in her fit almost two months prior. She resumed her nightly ritual, brushing her teeth and combing out her hair before she turned in for the night. Something she would forever be grateful for was the fact that despite her home being a shit shack, it had decent plumbing facilities. Along with her meager collection of electronics, she took her grooming very seriously, even when she was a pony. After all, her hair wasn’t naturally this neat. It required work that she was glad her facilities could take care of it.

Once she was done, the amber teen dropped onto her mattress, exhausted but feeling fulfilled after a good school day. The exhaustion was more of a concern for her though. It wasn’t much, but her bed did prove much more comfortable than sleeping on the hard floors. She eagerly dropped her head onto the pillow, covering herself with the thin layer of blankets she owned, before passing out in blissful slumber.

It prowled in the night in search of much needed food. Its stomach loosed another painful growl, spurring the beast onward to the scent trail. Powerful muscles coiled beneath, foul breath bellowing from its mouth. Other than the light pounding of its footfalls, the beast was silent. The many wild and human smells that permeated its senses in one smorgasbord of smells drove the beast insane in the beginning, but it managed to reign in the disgust to focus on the hunt. The forest provided little in the way of a suitable meal, but these creatures - these humans, at it learned the term - were more than enough. It had only managed to hunt one though. Every other opportunity had been tainted with the smell of an opposing predator. The scent alone was enough to have the beast stay clear. But the fear of these humans in recent time, meant that more stayed inside where it was safe from its hungry gaze. If it could not find another option soon, it may just have to take the risk.

Suddenly, it came upon a sound crashing noise in a darkened area to the left, followed by another inhuman sound. Curious, the beast stopped its run, slowly stalking into the narrow space. It knew the danger, but this smell; it was familiar. The beast must have wandered too close to the other’s hunting grounds this night. To show fear though would not do, so with a challenging grunt, it squared away at the large shadow that was slowly becoming clearer in the night, though the figure did not turn.

Closer still, the beast saw that the other - a beast similar to itself - was preoccupied with a fresh kill, the warm scent of blood splattered against the walls, the ground and the strangely vibrant colored coat of the other creature hunched over and tearing into the remaining carcass of one of these humans. Dead eyes gazed through the beast , but that was all that was recognizable. Hideous claw marks and open flaps of skin disguised anything that might have once been recognizable as a living being.

The sound of the beast’s approach soon alerted the other and it slowly raised its blood covered maw to issue a warning rumble. Following that, to the beast's surprise, the thing raised on its hind legs, standing similar to the humans that it had initially been hunting. Its broad shoulders heaved with every heavy breath and misted when it escaped through clenched fangs. Glowing yellow eyes narrowed dangerously though most of the body still hidden in the darkness and casting an imposing figure. The hairs on the back of the beast’s neck raised in alarm, sensing a coming danger and it backed away slowly, head bowed.

It was not worth it. Intent on turning tail and fleeing, the beast was stopped when a weight bashed into its side, sending it careening into an adjacent wall. The shock of impact stunned the beast, unused to something more powerful than this opponent. Before it could regain its senses however, there was a sickening crunch and splash, followed by unimaginable pain in its throat and middle.

The other creature had a large clawed paw impaled into the beast’s belly halfway up to its forearm, while teeth were still sinking into its throat. Life slowly drained from the glowing green eyes, blood oozing from both fatal wounds. Impossible to think that the once proud beast of Everfree Forest would fall to a newborn welp, but unable to do anything about its impending death.

When the body eventually ran cold and the blood now longer flowed smoothly, the killer victoriously raised its large head, and howled to the darkened sky.

Author's Note

Okay, so....yes, this is a werewolf story. I was trying to do something a little different from the 'Sunset gets abandoned , then has friends, and then everything is okay' Anon-a-Miss stories, even the tragic versions of those stories.

I was inspired by the story Sunlight by Albinocorn, though that one was a vampire Sunset tale. I never find any good werewolf stories though, and my favorite mythological monster with my favorite EG character was too good to pass up. I did say in the description that there was going to be another arc in this story that wasn't just regarding Anon-a-Miss, though.

Anyway, for those who want to know the how and the why, it will be explained in later chapters. Right now, I'm just getting into the beginning stages of this arc and building up tension. So you'll have to hang tight if you're still interested. if not, oh well, you do you beau :moustache: and I hope you find another story that fits your interest.

For those who are, I thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing more of your comments on future chapters! :twilightsmile:

Worrying

When Sunset woke the next morning, she immediately attempted to return into blissful slumber. After trying to open her eyes the first time, she deeply regretted the action when almost white light from the small hole serving as her window seared her eyes shut. Moving was no better; her body felt like lead, too heavy and uncooperative to move properly, and even the slightest motion made the persistent pounding in her head become borderline skull splitting. No position was comfortable--though how one even could be in such a place made the point moot--and her stomach roiled in agony. Trying to hold the thin sheets closer to her body, Sunset was vaguely aware of the fact that it was still a school day and she would be expected to attend. If not out of necessity to keep her perfect record untarnished, then for the girls, who Sunset was sure to be worried for her absence that day.

Sunset had never been ill before, or at least not to this extent, so the immense fatigue she was feeling upon finally leaving the bed was somewhat worrying. Though slower than normal, she managed to get herself together despite a few stumbles here and there. Being up and moving seemed to make things a bit better, though not by much and she resolved to finish through the day. She was sure she been through much worse during her training as a unicorn before and during her time training under Princess Celestia. This would be nothing, she thought.

But another stumble had her questioning herself slightly.

Adagio sat elegantly on the front steps to Crystal Prep, her two sisters on either side focusing on their own activity. Aria had taken to reading a magazine about mechanics, motorcycles or something, while Sonata--in all of her childish innocence--seemed rather occupied with a butterfly that flitted lazily about her younger sister’s head. Snorting with amusement at the look of concentration on the blue girl’s face, Adagio returned to gazing outward while they waited for their fourth.

Indeed, since Sunset had joined the school and the former villains had had a chance to apologize and make amends, it still came as a slight surprise that the once unicorn had fit in so well with the three of them. They all complemented one another rather well if she was being honest, Sunset having something and more to relate to with each of them and as a group. All four originally coming from Equestria was a plus too. It was because of this closeness, that it became a silent agreement for the four of them to meet in the mornings before school began in order to talk and hang out.

Which was why it was slightly worrying for the siren that the girl had yet to show. Normally, Sunset was incredibly punctual about school time--save for the occasion that nearly caused them to be late, which she still had yet to forgive Aria for--but it was nearly ten minutes before the first bell, and Sunset was still not here.

“You know Dagi, staring any harder won’t make her magically appear,” Aria snarked, placing down her magazine briefly.

“Oh, do shut up, Aria.” A blush followed the command. “You and I both know this isn’t usually like Sunset to almost miss the first bell. I’m just worried that Sunset’s record will take a hit should she not arrive on time, especially given how much if a good influence she’s been on this school recently.”

“Hmph. Still as tsundere as ever I see. Well whatever. But I still get what you mean. The girl shoulda been here by now.” As if to mock their conversation, the first bell rang, signalling the rest of the students arriving in the courtyard to make their way to their first classes.

“Well, maybe it’s just an off day. She’ll be here sooner or later,” Sonata suggested. She stood and brushed her skirt clean before turning to head inside. “She’ll let us know when she gets here, right Dagi? Ari?”

“Yeah, you’re right. For once.” Aria also turned to head inside, but not before ruffling her younger sister’s fringe, resulting in an indignant squeak of frustration.

“Break it up you two. It’s far too early in the day to begin one of your squabbles.” With that, both girls walked through the front doors, leaving Adagio on the steps for a time. She looked back once more, feeling a pit grow in her stomach, though why, she didn’t know before she also headed inside.

But the day was nearly over--past lunch with only two more classes--before the sirens saw Sunset for the first time. They had noticed the taller girl’s distinctive red and yellow curls in the crowd of students and upon catching up, were stunned at what they saw.

“He-hey, guys,” she weazed.

Despite the friendly smile Sunset tried to send their way, it was obviously forced, shadowed by the pain and exhaustion swirling in those lidded, teal eyes. Her amber skin, usually vibrant with a healthy glow, was worryingly pale. Her shoulders were pulled in as she hunched into herself, like she was keeping warm, but Adagio noticed the shivers the girl was attempting to hide, and when Sonata put a hand on a glistening forehead, it was immediately yanked back with a pained hiss.

“Fuck, Sunset, What the hell happened to you?” Aria, in a rare display of obvious concern, rushed to the teen’s side and wrapped an arm around her waist to hoist her up. It was a good thing too; Sunset could feel her legs nearly go limp before finding her footing.

“N-nothing. I-I-I’m fine,” Sunset stammered weakly. That turned out to be a mistake, as her sore throat protested by causing her to choke on the rest of her sentence.

“This is not nothing! My goodness, Sunset, you look awful!” Adagio protested, while joining her sister in keeping Sunset stable.

“Oh gee, thanks...just what every girl wants to hear..” came the weak bit of sarcasm.

“Hmph. Sonata, take my keys and start up the car, we’re taking Sunset home.” She tossed the item to the younger girl, who promptly caught them in the air before hurrying in the direction of the school exit.

“Wh-what? Wait, no! You guys--don’t have to do this!” Sunset began to struggle, though it was nowhere near enough to dislodge her from the two’s hold. They had begun making their way after Sonata, but at a slower pace to accommodate for Sunset’s slowed gait.

“Well tough tits, pony girl. I mean, hell--you show up like this and expect us not to do anything?”

“Agreed. We were wondering why you were so late to join us this morning, but seeing you now, I suppose this answers our questions. If you were feeling unwell, you should have stayed home. Pushing yourself will do you no good.”

Eventually, they made their way outside to the school parking lot, where Sunset noticed a sleek, black Honda Civic R waiting for them, with Sonata at the wheel. Seeing them arrive though, she jumped out and proceeded to open the doors and assist in slowly bringing the sick girl in.

“Didn’t...want you three...to worry.” Sunset’s chest heaved with each breath. She could feel an immensely relieving cool hand lay itself on her forehead and begin combing through her hair, pushing her bangs aside and causing a grateful sigh to escape.

“You don’t think this is having us worry? Our friend sicker than anything we’ve seen finally showing up and almost fainting?” Sonata’s voice while gentle, was incredulous.

“Heh, yeah. Probably...should have thought that out better. Thought...you’d be mad...and leave me alone...like they did.” Sunset hadn’t even finished speaking before her head lolled to the side in unconsciousness. If she’d stayed awake longer, she might have seen the worried and sympathetic looks being shared among the other three.

Once they made sure Sunset was settled--Sonata chose to stay in the back seat, with Sunet’s head on her lap as she stroked through her hair-- Adagio drove back towards their home. She knew they would probably get grief for leaving school so early, but honestly, this took precedence over most things right now, so she couldn’t find much to care about future troubles. In the end, they chose to drive to their home in Hoovington Heights--more because they would be sure to provide Sunset with the comfort she needed while recovering, and also because they didn’t know where their friend currently lived. You would think it would have come up in conversation at one point, but whenever they tried, Sunset deflected the question to another topic or found an excuse not to answer. Also slightly worrying, but that could be addressed at a later time. Turning to the side, Adagio noticed Aria was clenching her jaw and nervously tapping at her legs. Looking in the rear view, she saw Sonata with Sunset. She was looking down on the unconscious girl in affection, still combing through read and yellow hair, but she noticed there was a large amount of sadness there as well. With a sigh, Adagio continued their drive onward.

Oh Sunset, what are you doing to us?

Author's Note

New chapter--yay! I love fics where Sunset can be taken care of and lavished. I feel that she's had a pretty tough background and didn't get enough love when she was younger, so I made a fic where she can be given that love three fold. By no means does it consider her to be weak, but just in those moments, you know, where she can be vulnerable. Granted, this is because she was sick, but I want to do more chapters where there's openness between the four of them.

It was also fun for me to write things from the Sirens' (Adagio's) pov. I may do more of this in the future.

Care and Circumstance

When Adagio finally pulled up in their driveway, the three of them wasted no time in hurrying their companion inside. There wasn’t any argument over whose room Sunset would stay in while she recovered; despite it being on the second floor, Adagio’s room was by far the largest and most comfortable to her tastes, as even reformed she still preferred to live in luxury.

While Aria went to get their medical supplies, Sonata left downstairs to prepare food for whenever their guest would awaken--though they didn’t think it would be any time soon. Adagio, meanwhile, went about getting Sunset some more comfortable clothes. She was a bit smaller than Sunset (much to her chagrin) but found something for the teen to wear that wasn’t too revealing and began to switch out her attire.

Up close, Adagio was able to see that even though Sunset was unconscious, her sleep appeared to be fitful and uncomfortable, if her clenched teeth and distressed face seemed to be any indication. She placed a hand on Sunset’s head briefly before pulling back. Still burning. She sucked her teeth in annoyance, wondering what was taking Aria so long. Adagio had never seen an illness this severe, save for some instances of the flu and old illnesses in history that had since died out. She was frankly lucky that she and her sisters had never been unfortunate enough to catch any of them when they were banished to this world; without the abundance of magic to enable their quick recovery as it had in Equestria, they would have surely perished.

Thank the goddess for modern medicine.

Still, this looked nothing like anything she’d seen before. She would have acted upon her first instinct and taken Sunset to the hospital where she knew the girl could be checked over thoroughly, but a past conversation with Sunset about being a person in this world that didn’t legally ‘exist’ reminded Adagio of the possible consequences of taking her sick friend to one.

Approaching footsteps alerted Adagio to her sister finally returning. Aria’s arms were laden with towels, a bag that she knew carried varying cold and flu medications and ointments, bottles of water, a large bowl and other items she couldn’t make out.

“How is she?” Aria asked upon setting everything down.

“Not well,” she sighed in return. “Honestly, how this girl managed to get through most of the school day like she did is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that no one noticed her condition before we did, is even more appalling.”

“Hmph. You know Crystal Preppers always have their heads up their own asses. Doesn’t surprise me they wouldn’t have cared or noticed what another person was going through.” The purple siren had poured water in a glass to set on the side table, while wetting another that Adagio then used to dab at Sunset’s forehead. It seemed to have an immediate effect on the teen when she leaned into the cool dampness with a sigh, before letting out a series of hacking coughs.
“Damn. Whatever the hell Sunny’s caught looks bad. Are you sure we can’t take her to a doctor or something?”

“As much as I know it would help, we can’t be sure what would happen should it be discovered that Sunset is not from here, let alone not originally human. What they would do to her. You remember the Trials. Humans are so quick to resort to hatred and violence against things they don’t understand--that’s why it was so easy to feed. We don’t do that now, but…” Adagio continued to lightly dab at reddened cheeks, forehead and neck.

“Yeah, I know,” Aria grunted. “Still doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. But whatever. I’ve followed you for this long Dagi. I’m not gonna throw a fit over this.” She looked down at Sunset’s prone figure with a huff.

“Hmmm? What’s this? My rough and tumble, argumentative sister isn’t going to question me for once. My my, you really are different now,” Adagio teased. She heard Aria chuff annoyedly, and her expression softened. She folded the small rag to set on Sunset’s forehead before reaching to Aria and bringing their heads close enough to lightly bump against another. They both closed their eyes and savored this rare moment of affection between the two before Adagio finally broke the silence.

“Go help Sonata with dinner. I’ll follow you down soon.”

“Alright. Don’t take too long though.” Aria turned to leave, but right before exiting the room, turned with a cheeky smirk and added, “By the way. You can play the good doctor all you want. Just don't think you’re gonna hog her all to yourself while she’s here, ‘mkay Dagi. You know how jealous Sonata can get,” she teased before ducking out.

A furious blush was all Adagio could muster.

Sunset groaned quietly and she slowly woke. She didn’t open her eyes to look around just yet--the last time was lesson enough. Instead, she tried to feel for her surroundings first, noticing the plushness of what she was currently resting on. Thick yet conforming pillows surrounded her head and upper back providing more comfort than she had ever felt on her brick back home, and she could feel a heavy blanket draped up to her shoulders and chin. Already she knew that this wasn’t her bed or her room for that matter. There wasn’t an ever lingering smell of must and old wood, but of cinnamon. She almost lost herself in the comfort of her environment, only slightly worried that she didn’t know where she was currently, only acknowledging the fact that wherever she was, felt amazing.

Speaking of feeling things, Sunset was surprised to find that she actually wasn’t feeling as ill as she had been earlier. Her headache had toned down tremendously, her temperature--that had fluctuated wildly between hot and cold over the course of the day-- was finally normalizing, and she no longer felt like hurling the contents of her empty stomach. Deciding it was safe to, she opened her eyes and smiled when the light proved little more than a dull annoyance--still there but not as oppressing.

Looking around at the room she was currently occupying, Sunet found herself on a large, king size four poster bed. Placed in the middle of the room, the ceiling above held a hook that suspended a sheer purple canopy. Slowly moving her still sore body, more of the room became visible. Slight burgundy and purple paint coated the walls--an elegant mix--that matched with much of the space’s antique style furniture. There was a mahogany dresser, makeup station with mirror, and even a fainting couch in the corner. The only thing that seemed out of touch with the rest of the set was the large flat screen television mounted on the opposite wall. A bay window was to her left side that overlooked rows of nice houses in the distance, and on the right was what looked like a bathroom.

Whoever this is really likes to live in style. How did I get here anyway? I remember getting to school, and the rest kinda blurs...I know I was talking to--

“Sunset!”

Jolted up by the exclamation of her name, Sunset had little time to prepare for the collision that all but knocked her back into the mattress. Though she was unable to put up much of a struggle against her assailant, a brief glance of light and navy blue hair identified her ‘attacher’ as the youngest of the siren trio.

“S-Sunset! You’re finally awake,” Sonata wailed. “We were so worried when you didn’t wake up for days and then it looked like you got sicker than you already were--but you’re okay! You’re okay, right?” She stopped nuzzling into the stunned red head’s shoulder and looked up with large, watery eyes, still sniffling. Sunset was at a loss for how to proceed at first. She was still unused to spontaneous and emotional displays of physical affection despite hanging with Pinkie Pie at one point, and the girl was known for them. Eventually though, Sunset relaxed and brought her arms around the sobbing girl.

“Heh, I’m fine Sonata. Still not great but, fine. I have to know though. This is your place? How did I--wait. Days?”

“Yo! I heard shouting up here, what the he-oh! ‘Sup pony girl. So you finally decided to get your ass up.” Aria Blaze stood at the door’s entrance, her annoyed grimace turning into one of shock, relief and finally into her usual cocky smirk.

“Uh, I wouldn’t say that I can control waking up from a fainting spell.”

“You know what I mean. And Sonata, you wanna think about letting her go sometime soon,” Aria directed to her younger sister. Said girl had taken to once more burying her face into the crook of Sunset’s neck and shoulder, small hiccups escaping every now and then. She sighed before addressing Sunset, who was still on the bed. Aria’s gaze hardened slightly.

“You know you had us worried right? What were you thinking showing up to school as bad as you were?”

A guilty feeling spread through Sunset’s stomach and looked down shamefully. She really hadn’t meant for this to happen. Quite the opposite actually. She hated feeling like a burden to other people and their emotions. Staying home in Sunset’s mind would have lead to these three worrying about her then and she had wanted to avoid that. But it looked like she did it anyway.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Hey hey. What’s with the dejected look. You were sick--still are--and what you did was majorly stupid,” she smiled, “but what are you apologizing for. If you think you’re inconveniencing us or something, don’t worry about it. We wanted to help out.” Aria over the course of her little speech had made her way closer to Sunset’s position on the bed. The girl surprised Sunset by kneeling before her and gazing up at her with a soft look, reaching around Sonata and laying a comforting hand on Sunset’s arm. “ Besides, it’s not like we’re learning anything else from this school. We’ve got more life experience and booksmarts than most people can ever claim to.”

Sunset supposed that alleviated her guilt a bit. So she focused on asking, “Where exactly am I? I’m guessing this must be your house, but I can’t remember how I got here. I think I was too out of it and fainted before noticing anything else. Also, Sonata. You said I’ve been here for days! What happened to me? And where’s Adagio?”

“Well,” Aria began, “as soon as we got you in the car, you started mumbling some stuff--about us being mad at you or something--before you knocked out. We drove you here to our home here in Hoovington Heights where over the course of three day--yes, three,” she added at Sunset’s incredulous look, “we’ve been taking shifts looking after you. You were pretty bad Sunshine. I almost freaked and ended up taking you to a hospital.” Aria slowly began peeling her koala of a sister away from Sunset who had stiffened in anxiety after hearing that. Sonata provided little struggle and began wiping her eyes while the purple siren slowly stroked the girl’s hair in a calming motion. “Adagio left for school awhile ago. She’s gonna be back, but just went to explain the situation and get our assignments for the next week or so.”

“You guys, this--it’s too much. Thank you for what you’ve done for me, really, but I don’t want to intrude on you. You’ve done more than you really need to. I can go…”

“Go where exactly?” The abrupt addition to the conversation had all three girls turn to face Adagio, who had seemed to suddenly appear in the doorway, arms crossed and hips cocked to the side in her confident pose. She made her way over to the stunned group. On her face was a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. As a matter of fact, their wine red color seemed even more piercing than they normally were. Sunset could feel a shiver run down her spine, but not from her sickness.

“Where were you thinking of going Sunset? Home? We could have brought you there in the first place if you would have preferred, but the fact that you fainted on us earlier, and that even if you hadn’t, we have no idea where you live limited our options if you can imagine.”

“Uh-um, I-,” Sunset tried to speak,

“You know, when Dean Cadance was helping me get our work together, and yours, I asked if she wouldn’t mind sharing your information to bring some of your things over while you recovered. All I was able to get was that there was nothing on file--just that you live alone, which I thought was odd. I mean, you come to school everyday from somewhere right? But as I understand, you told us you didn’t have a family in this world and preferred to live on your own whenever we asked.You were more dodgy than anything whenever this particular topic was brought up.”

Sunset began to shake in fear, She couldn’t have known, could she? Sunset noticed Aria and Sonata also looking at her in confusion as the story was told and gulped.

“I also know that you don’t have a job. You told us as much in another conversation, so that means no source of income and you aren’t a part of any needs programs that I’m aware of.” she leaned closer to Sunset’s stunned face. Her expression had thinned out from the hard mask of annoyance and was almost sad. “So I’m going to ask again Sunset. Where were you planning on going--if you even could considering you still aren’t well enough to be doing much currently.”

“I-I...I mean, I have somewhere to go, if that’s what you’re asking--”

“It’s not. I asked where were you going.”

Okay, so this situation wasn’t ideal. Sunset had done all she could to avoid this conversation as well as she could. Otherwise, she knew questions would be asked and she’d at worst be pitied by others. If there was anything Sunset Shimmer hated more than feeling weak, it was being pitied. She’d being doing well on her own. She didn’t like where she was but it was enough for what she needed. She’d been fine, slowly doing better since she first came here. Unbidden, a wave of annoyance began to rise in her. What the hell did it matter to these three where she lived? It wasn’t any of their business.

“Why do you need to know, huh? I don’t need anyone worrying over me.”

“Well it seems as though that worry has been well placed. Otherwise you’d still be unconscious, at school and with no one really caring that you were unwell. Myself, the girls and Dean Cadance care though, and whether you like it or not, we want to help. We can’t though if you won’t let us,” Adagio argued, ignoring her attitude.

Sunset grit her teeth, trying not to lose anymore of her cool. These girls--she loved them. They were close to her. Closer than most people she let in throughout her life. Definitely more than the Rainbooms ever were or made an attempt to be. She supposed she could trust them, but she was so independent. It was hard to let people in after being left alone so many times since she was a filly on Equestria and even as a human.

Breath in. Breathe out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

For some reason, it was harder than normal to control that anger. To reign in the emotions she so desperately wanted to let out at times. But the sirens, her..friends. They seemed to want nothing more to help her. Taking in one last calming breath, she answered, though it was low and resigned.

“I guess you can say I don’t have a traditional home..per se…”

“What does that mean. The hell do you mean traditional home--”

“Aria. Let her finish,” Sonata hissed. Rarely did the bubbly girl get mad, so sensing the weight of her words, the purple siren shut her mouth and crossed her arms with a huff. Sunset looked up briefly at the three of them, before continuing.

“What I mean is, coming into this world from Equestria, I didn’t have much. I was kicked out of the castle for my insolence and escaped so quickly...I-I didn’t have time to bring any of my possessions really. The term nothing but the clothes on my back could definitely apply to me when I came here.” She swallowed thickly. “No money, no food, no way to get a job--as I quickly found, you can’t get far in this world without legitimate identification, and being for all intents and purposes an illegal alien made this harder than it needed to be.” She could feel the eyes of her three companions bore into her head as she poured her heart out. “Well, back then I was cruel, an all around asshole, and incredibly stubborn. There was no way it was going to bring down Sunset Shimmer. So I walked around for a bit. All through the city. Eventually, I found an abandoned warehouse and basically turned it into my base of operations. It had basically everything I needed at the time. And with my delusions of returning to Equestria with an army to get my revenge, I didn’t think I’d be here long.”

A tear slipped passed her eye, but she felt a hand wipe it away. Adagio was giving her a look of encouragement, but Sunset could still see heartache, and a bit of anger there as well.

“But then, the Fall Formal happened. I got the sense knocked back into me and felt that if anything, I didn’t deserve to return after what I’d done. I resolved to stay here, maybe work on myself a bit. That was when Twilight assigned her little watchdogs to be my friends--and you know what happened with that. But anyway, I had nowhere else but that warehouse. The money I got was from when I was a bully and extorted it from people. Even then I gave it all back afterwards. I used the school for most of my needs like food. But there was still plumbing and heating--not new by any stretch of the imagination--but I made it work. I’ve been there since. It was why I didn’t want to share where I lived. I knew it would cause too many questions. I was fine on my own, and I knew it wasn’t ideal but it’s all I’ve known since coming here…” By now, tears had slowly begun to fall. She had made to wipe them away but more kept falling, and she gave up after the first few times.

The sirens were quiet. What they just heard was almost unreal. Their friend always seemed so put together that there hadn’t seemed any need to worry. But this recent incident made them think otherwise. As one, they embraced the crying former unicorn. She was still sick, so her so sobs were interrupted every now and then by a congested cough. They stayed that way for a while, but unbeknownst to Sunset, the trio met eyes above her head, seeming to come to some kind of unspoken agreement. Adagio took the initiative to say it out loud though.

“You know, Sunset. Now that we are aware your situation, we’re hesitant to let you return to that place.” She could feel the girl stiffen beneath her, but her cries refused to stop. So the eldest among them just rubbed her back in a comforting gesture. “We can’t have you there, especially with how you are now. Regardless of your independence, I think we would all,” gesturing to herself and the girls, “would feel better if you had someone to look out for you. We have the space so...we would like it if...you’d take us up on our offer.”

“What offer. What are you talking about?”

“We’d like it, Sunset Shimmer, if you would live with us.”

Author's Note

Another little treat for you all. Slowly but surely getting there. I'm trying to find a good in between of progressing the plot, but not rushing it. So here's more good Siren x Sunset fluff. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Leaving the Past

Things seemed to come to a halt after Adagio spoke. The question was so clear and simple, yet Sunset wasn’t sure if it had even been asked. So great was her surprise. The redhead stared wide eyed at Adagio, then at Aria and Sonata who were giving her kind smiles in return.

“Are...you serious?,” Sunset stammered. Widening smiles met her question. “You want me to live here...with you three.”

“I really don’t know why you’re surprised,” Adagio huffed, rolling her eyes. “If you thought we were going to let you continue living the way you were after you told us all of this, you must be crazier than I initially thought.”

“For realzies,” Sonata added. She punctuated this by hugging Sunset even tighter.

Aria said nothing, but patted the girl’s shoulder in an affirmative gesture.

Still within the trio’s embrace, Sunset lowered her eyes, allowing her bangs to shadow her eyes. Tears had again gathered in the corners of her eyes--not from sadness--but she refused to allow them to fall. A warm feeling began to fill Sunset’s chest. Light and airy, it rose through her chest and throat, escaping her mouth in a series of choked laughter.

This was almost unreal. Like a classic rags to riches story, and she was the main character. But this wasn’t a movie, and the girls before her--their touches and affirmations--were very much real. While battling a large part of herself that was the independent and stubborn half, Sunset raised her head to meet Adagio’s searching eyes. The fear that lay dormant in the back of her mind was telling her that the sirens would abandon her like the others, but recent events and her closeness to the three squashed that thought as quickly as it arose. There was no deceit, no underhandedness in that wine colored gaze.

“Well, I guess turning down such an offer is considered rude here, right?” Turning so she could address all three of the sirens, a small side smile grew on Sunset's face, and a mischievous light sparked in her eyes.

Her only warning before once more being glomped was a piercingly happy screech near her left ear, courtesy of Sonata, that brought Sunset and the rest of her sisters down with her in a multicolored pile on the bed. Breathless at the sudden release of air from their lungs, they stayed that way for a moment, Aria giving the blue girl an annoyed glare. None of them made a move to disentangle themselves however, simply basking in the closeness of one another.

Sunset couldn’t help another round of laughter from escaping, before coughs replaced it.

“U-um..as happy as I am right now, I think I’d feel better with medicine.” A thunderous growl from her stomach caused Sunset to blush. “And some food too. Food is good.” The other three chuckled in amusement.

“Comin’ right up Sunnybun!” Before anyone could stop her, Sonata was already on the move, having removed herself from the tangle of limbs and darted out the door, seemingly in one motion. The others stared after her blankly.

“Goddess, where does that girl get her energy? Over a thousand years old, and she still acts like she’s a hundred.” Adagio slammed her head back against the sheets, blinking her eyes in exasperation.

“Hmph. You can never say that she’s boring at least. That’s for sure,” Aria grunted.

“I suppose,” the poofy haired siren drawled out. With some reluctance, the eldest siren removed herself from the other two girls, who looked at her questioningly.

“Don’t look at me like that. Someone has to prepare to get Sunset here settled, and it obviously won’t be you.”

Aria scoffed in response. Adagio turned her attention to the bed’s other occupant. “As for you, love, we’ll get your things later on when you’re well enough. I’m sure the others told you I brought all of our school work for the next week and a half, depending on your recovery. We’ll go over everything in detail later.” With a tiny smile, she left the room. “And don’t get comfortable in there, sister of mine. The rights of being in my room only extend to Sunset. You mess anything up in there, I will come for you,” she called back.

Said girl scowled in annoyance. Out of spite, she kicked her legs about, messing up the primly made sheets with the motion, and then stuck her tongue out at the door, despite knowing Adagio couldn’t see.

Sunset laughed lightly in amusement. It was funny how the three interacted with one another. Even if they acted like they hated each other, it was obvious the amount of care they had for their sisters. And it’s being extended to me as well. The thought brought a giddy smile to Sunset’s face, and she wrapped her arms around the purple siren in a hug. The response was immediate when Aria responded in kind, though she looked away, with what Sunset assumed was a blush, judging by the heat radiating from her face.

Sunset sighed contentedly. Yeah. She could get used to this.

And so the week went on in a kind of rhythm. Sunset remained in the sirens’ home while she slowly but surely recovered from her bout of the flu--or whatever it was she had come down with. The girls continued about with their routines as well, alternating shifts taking care of their guest/new housemate, and proving to be a constant source of amusement for Sunset. She had seen them together at school, but their little squabbles and brief annoyances with one another seemed to amp up to another level while home, even with Sunset present. She had lost count of the amount of times that Sonata and Aria, or the two with Adagio had broken out in a brief yet light hearted prank war, yanked hair, or even locked the other out of the house until they either begged--in Sonata’s case--or threatened bodily harm.

When Sunset had been well enough to actually leave bed without almost succumbing to another fainting spell, she had been taken on a tour of the house that led to what she had been pleasantly surprised contained what would become her room. She had already passed Aria’s and Sonata’s respectively, but from what the redhead teen could see, there was much of the house that she had yet to even explore, and what she had seen was already nearly twice the size of a normal house--on the second floor.

Of course, with all things positive that Sunset had been experiencing, there always seemed to have to be a shadow hanging over it all. For whatever reason, her sleep had been far from restful. She wasn’t puking her guts anymore, and her body was no longer sore. As a matter of fact, she felt physically better than she could remember in recent memory, but mentally, she was exhausted. Her dreams were haunting, filled with color and sounds that upon waking she couldn’t recall. Couple that with feelings of fear she had been hearing from people over the radio regarding whatever it was that continued heinous attacks across town, she had to wonder if they were connected.

Maybe they could have been magical in nature somehow. Afterall, it wasn’t uncommon that unicorns had precognitive visions in Equestria. Sunset may not have been a unicorn in this universe, but she had held onto some semblance of her magic when she had first arrived, and the growing amount of it since she had initially introduced it with the incident at the Fall Formal could have been the cause of her ability resurfacing. Sunset could remember as a young filly when visions like these caused her many sleepless and fearful nights. She hadn’t understood then what it meant, until Celestia had explained and calmed her down with tales of her own and a quick nuzzle of reassurance. Those had been better times…

Sunset shook her head roughly to expel the memory. She didn’t need to think about that. That was in the past, and she was concerned with the present. She’d find out if the animal was actually another Equestrian monster that needed to be dealt with. She’d just have to use the elements...and then--

Wait, no. She couldn’t do that. Not anymore. The contemplative look on Sunset’s face fell to a full on frown that her companions immediately took notice of.

“What’s wrong Shimmer. Haven’t seen you look that upset in a while,” Aria spoke up from beside her. Glancing to the left and meeting purple eyes, Sunset had almost forgotten where she was with how deep in her thoughts she became. The spacious interior of the car she was riding in, as well as the other three girls around her had seemed to fade in the background. Well, at least she was conscious to enjoy it this time.

“Oh, it's nothing really. Just thinking about all the crap that’s been going on in town. You know about those animal attacks happening in Canterlot, right? It’s crazy to think one thing is causing so much damage. You’d have thought that the authorities would have the issue under control by now.”

“Meh. We’ve lived a long time, and in that, we’ve learned humans--no matter what age--are all incompetent,” Aria nonchalantly spoke. Rolling her eyes and humming in thought, she added, “Then again, it’s been ongoing for a while.”

From the driver’s seat, Adagio glanced back in the mirror. Her eyes were slightly narrowed. “Why would you be thinking about that now?”

“It’s...I-I don’t really know,” Sunset stammered. She debated revealing her recent sleepless nights and supposed visions. “I guess, the whole situation is a bit odd, I mean-there have been some incidents already with Equestrian Magic being let loose here. It would explain why human authorities haven’t been able to do anything about it yet.”

“You really think that what’s been going on is magical? C’mon Sunny, you can’t be that lucky to have another monster magic fight to save everyone from,” Sonata said.

“Well, no, I guess not. But, it couldn’t hurt to be sure. The things I’ve heard about whatever this is has done to people...it doesn’t seem normal.”

“You make a good point, Sunset, dear. But we can come to that point once we finish here. We came to retrieve your things, and it’s best we worry about one thing before another, correct?”

“Right! Yeah, uh,” Sunset looked out of the window, scoping to recognize the landmarks that would lead to her place. Driving from such an affluent part of town, Sunset was fully aware of just how low she had been living. The buildings in disrepair, with garbage lining the sides and overgrown with foliage was a stark contrast to the new vehicle riding through the old streets. “Just turn up here on the right, and it’ll be straight down.”

“Damn, pony girl. I have to admit, living here like you were and not going crazy from that alone gives you hella respect from me,” Aria whistled. Sunset just let a small side smile grace her expression.

It was silent the rest of the drive. Even when they finally arrived at a large, grey warehouse and parked. Even when Sunset led them into the side entrance she used that she had deemed safe and they began packing what little possessions she held dear into the trunk of the car with room to spare. Sunset only had the bare necessities in this world. Whatever small recreational items she had were from her time at CHS with the Rainbooms, and in starting her new chapter on life, chose to leave them behind. The mere thought of their faces just seemed to piss Sunset off, and she didn’t want to hold on to those toxic feelings, when she was now genuinely in a much better place.

While Adagio, Aria, and Sonata brought the last of her things with them to their car out front, Sunset cast one last glance around what used to be her home during her stay in the human world. There were a lot of memorie here, good and bad…

Her teal gaze landed on her journal sitting alone on her desk. The thought of the magic within reminded Sunset of the issue she had brought up with the others. And guiltily, that it had also been a while since her last correspondence with Princess Twilight. Walking over, she lifted the tome and added it with the other items in her arms before leaving in the direction of the building’s exit.

The entire event had been done in silence. It wasn’t awkward of upsetting. It was just comfortable, as there wasn’t much that needed to be said amongst them. And when the four returned to the car and drove off, none of them commented on Sunset’s gaze returning to look back nor when her sudden blank stare was directed to the scope of trees leading to the dense forest beyond.

Author's Note

It's been a while. Sorry 'bout that. Some personal issues needed sorting out.

Transition

Time for Sunset seemed to fly by. After her transfer papers were given to her by Celestia, all Sunset could do was wait to attend her new school. Classes had already been in session for a bit longer than Canterlot High, but Sunset needed to wait for her uniform - surprisingly provided for in full by the school - among other things. She didn't really need school supplies, but to stock up on some extra paper and pens wouldn't hurt. Sunset hadn't needed to return to her locker for anything when she visited CHS for the last time. She had taken to keeping all her belongings on her person and coming home with them once the second break in and graffiti started to make it unrecognizable.

Sunset pushed a lock of hair out of her face looking out of the shoddy window beside her wondering how people were reacting to her absence. Even as a bully, Sunset had never missed a day of school and kept a spotless attendance record. Surely, people would have already noticed her absence, and although Sunset had few people who would actually care, the only thing she was sure of was that people would still be outraged with her. Her phone was still connected to Mystable and she had noticed that Anon-a-Miss had been rather busy over the last few days. More gossip articles had been spread left and right, leaving no one safe in the school.

But this was no longer her problem. Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. It had been about a week and a half since her meeting with Celestia, and tomorrow would be her first day at Crystal Prep. Before Anon-a-Miss, she had heard rumors of the rivalry between the two schools, and of the callousness of the students who attended. Cold and almost detached, but with a heavy focus on sports as well as academics. For the first time in a while, Sunset felt an excited jolt run down her spine in anticipation. As much as she had once loved Canterlot High, Sunset herself had never felt truly challenged. Math, science, art and all other classes came with such ease that it was almost laughable. And she had, once. Many of the subjects being taught she had learned in Equestria’s equivalent to elementary school, so the fact that these humans had just begun to teach such information was surprising to the former unicorn when she had first arrived and ingrained herself in the school hierarchy.

Sunset removed herself from the window sill to flop lazily on her mattress. The thing smelled of must, but she didn’t mind at the moment. Tomorrow, would be hopefully a new chapter in her life. One that she would be able to choose for herself without the interference of others. Sunset still appreciated Twilight and the gift of friendship that she helped her to experience. But in the end, it didn’t work out and now Sunset was paying for it.

She looked to the side at her journal which sat closed on a nearby, makeshift table. Actually, she hadn’t touched it since Twilight’s last letter of finding her family. It had been a while. She must have been worried by now, but Sunset hadn’t noticed any glowing or buzzing to indicate any follow up messages. Not that Sunset could blame her. Twilight was a princess after all, and didn’t have time to focus on just one person. She was probably out saving Equestria again or something. With a frustrated groan and a promise to message the purple pony princess another day, Sunset turned over and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Wow. So this is Crystal Prep Academy. Sure does live up to its name.

Sunset stood before the double doors of the main entrance. Observing the building itself, it all looked like an old style castle. Two flags were proud and waving in the front lawn, one blue with a symbol of what seemed to be a white snowflake, and the other a rich red with a yellow stylized s. The multi level main building seemed to tower even higher than Canterlot High’s had and Sunset suddenly felt very small. A blue, crystal statue also lay in the middle of the courtyard over a swirling symbol. Probably where the school gets its name, Sunset reasoned. She had wondered what the fabled Crystal Empire back in Equestria looked like since Twilight had written to her of its return. She continued forward, and noticed a light pink skinned woman exiting the doors. Her hair was a mix of pink, yellow and purple and purple eyes scanned the area. Wait a minute. She looks familiar…

The aforementioned woman noticed Sunset’s presence and smiled pleasantly, waving a hand in greeting as she approached. “Ah, you must be Sunset Shimmer. My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, though I’m known to the Students as Dean Cadence. It’s a pleasure to have you enrolled here.” Throughout it all, her smile was still present.

Of course. That’s why.... Back when Sunset had been Princess Celestia’s student, before her descent into megalomania and revenge, she had introduced her niece Cadence. Previously a pegasus, an admirable act of love and selflessness to save her hometown had caused the pink pony to ascend into an alicorn. Celestia had adopted her and then began her training as a princess, and that was what made meeting the other mare so difficult. Sunset could never say that she hated Cadence. At all. If anything, contrary to what most would believe, despite Sunset’s callousness and attitude with nearly everyone else, she’d held Cadence in high regard and tried to treat the other as part of a family that she’d never really had. With the pink mare being older by a few years, she had originally made time for Sunset similarly to the way an older sibling would, but was eventually preoccupied with her training. Similarly, because Celestia was overseeing it all, Sunset saw her only when a new lesson was being given.

It was almost ironic, that the person Sunset had once felt was responsible for her feelings of loneliness then, was to help her now, regardless if it was just her counterpart. Shoving those memories to the side though, she attempted a small but hopefully genuine smile. “It’s nice to have the chance to attend Dean Cadence,” she said respectfully.

The dean’s face softened. “You know, Celestia informed me of what has been happening over at Canterlot High.” Sunset’s eyes lowered at the mention of her former school, memories once again returning with an unpleasant sting. “However, here we believe in new chances. At least I do anyway. Looking before me, I don’t see a girl who would stoop to something as petty as cyber bullying. I’m glad you chose to leave when you did - if what I was told was any indication - but while you finish your schooling at Crystal Preparatory Academy, my office is always open should you need to talk.” Cadence followed this with a firm but gentle hand on the stunned girl’s shoulder but continued after a time, letting Sunset shake herself of her surprise. She guided the amber teen through the main doors, where she noticed that on the inside, the walls seemed to actually be made of crystal. The high ceilings were lined with small chandeliers that reminded Sunset of Canterlot Castle. The opulence was nearly suffocating. Cadence cleared her throat softly to get the younger girl’s attention. “Now, please follow me Sunset Shimmer. I hope you enjoy your time as a Shadowbolt.”

It went by pretty quickly. In the span of only thirty minutes, Sunset had received her schedule, been guided to her locker and received her locker combination. Dean Cadance had said however that she would receive a tour of the actual school grounds by another student once she had met the principal. They were actually on their way there currently.

“A word of warning. Principal Cinch isn’t the most...empathetic of individuals. She is good at what she does and has done great things for the school, but can come off as a bit...cold,” Dean Cadance eased out somewhat hesitantly. “However, should you follow the school rules and apply yourself here as you have at CHS, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

As the older woman finished, the two came to a lone door with a blurred glass screen. ‘Principal’ was printed on its surface in bold, black ink. Knocking softly, Cadence opened the door, announcing their entrance as Sunset followed silently behind. The room was dark - disturbingly so - and opened to a wide space. On either side were stacks of book shelves and file cabinets. A large window was the only illumination, but was obstructed by the table and high chair facing away from the two women. It was like looking at the office of a stereotypical movie bad guy. How anyone gets work done here is a mystery, Sunset thought. All that’s missing is the villain turning in the chair and stroking a cat on their lap. Seriously, how cliche can you get? Sunset was proven partially correct with the slight creaking of the high chair as its owner turned to face them. The woman was thin. Her mulberry hair was in a tight bun. She wore a blue business suit from what Sunset could see and had a long, stern face adorned with half librarian classes. Sunset felt as if her pink eyes were trying to gaze through to her soul, but while she wasn’t stroking a cat, her steepled fingers definitely gave off plotting mannerism vibes. Yeah. definitely a villain.

“Sunset Shimmer. What a pleasure it is to have you amongst the students of my school. I am Principal Cinch, and you shall refer to me as such should we see each other here. Am I clear?” The light green skinned woman’s voice was sharp, commanding, and Sunset could do little else but respond in kind.

“Y-yes ma’am,” she stammered.

“Excellent. Now, I have received your transcripts and information from your previous school, Canterlot High. I must say, I was and am very impressed, which doesn’t happen very often. Yes, as a school, we excel in all things from sports and extracurriculars to academics, but very rarely do I come across someone with your talents.” She began to recite off the papers covering her desk, “Top of your classes, achievements in extracurriculars on and off of campus, athletic prowess, votes in consecutive years for something called the Fall Formal Queen...My my, you must have been rather popular.” She eyed the girl suspiciously.

“Um, yeah...I guess you could say I was pretty...well known...around the school.” Understatement of the year, but whatever.

“Mmm, so it would appear. Which makes me rather confused as to why a girl with your statistics would chose to transfer not only towards the end of your high school career, but also in the middle of the school semester. Care to explain?” The principal steepled her fingers once more while continuing to direct her gaze at the nervous form of the amber teen.

“Well...I suppose, I just never felt very challenged at CHS. Yeah...I was at the top academically and socially...but I decided that I wanted a real challenge. I heard that Crystal Prep was one of the best schools if not the best schools to achieve my goals, so I felt a change of pace was in order,” Sunset replied with an off hand shrug. Yeah, lady there’s no way I’m gonna tell you my life story. Guess again.

They remained like that in silence for a while. It was incredibly awkward, especially with the principal continuously glaring at Sunset as if not believing her story. That didn’t matter though. It wasn’t the whole truth, but that doesn’t mean it was a lie. In no way was she ready to tell people - much less this woman - the cause of her transfer. Cinch finally closed her eyes and sighed. “Well then, I suppose you’ve come to the right place then miss Shimmer. Dean Cadance,” she sternly addressed the other woman who had been quiet during the whole exchange, “please guide her to the group who will lead her around school for the day. I'm sure they should be here by now.”

“Of course, Miss Cinch.” She motioned for Sunset to follow.

“They? There’s more than one?” Sunset was confused. She thought only one person showed new students around school.

“Yes. Originally, we were going to have a single student show you around, however with the promise of extra credits to their record, a few more decided to join,” Cadence explained.

“Really? Huh, I guess even in a school with a reputation like Crystal Prep, there are those kind of students.”

The dean laughed quietly in response and motioned to open the door. But on the other side was a certain someone - someones - that she didn’t think she would end up seeing again. They were instantly recognizable though. “Sunset, I’d like to introduce you to Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. These three will be your tour guides today.”

The only response to the dean’s introduction were shocked expressions shared among them all.

Oh, fuck.

Author's Note

And FINALLY we introduce three of my favorite characters in the MLP:EQG universe. I promised a longer chapter, and I have delivered. So hopefully the pacing felt natural even though I wanted to speed through the meeting with Cinch. There will be more to come, and if you liked what you read, please leave your comments down below. Thank you guys!