Live By The Sword...

by redandready45

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Drama, Rainbow Dash (EqG), Other, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Main 7 (EqG), Profanity, Violence, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe
Length: 80520

Sunset learns what it is like to feel helpless and under someone's thumb. Will she stay in Canterlot High?

Featured August 18, 2019

After her six week suspension, Sunset returns to Canterlot High School. Applejack's forgiveness and friendship have given her a new lease on life and a new mission: to try and make it up to the students of CHS.

But to say that her return to CHS isn't well-received is an understatement. Everywhere she walks, Sunset is treated with hostility, scorn, and quite a bit of torment.

Even Applejack's friends are somewhat divided by her return. While Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy are convinced that Sunset has changed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash chooses to avoid Sunset entirely. She even starts hanging out with the members of CHS' track team rather then her own friends. The very team that harassed Sunset during her community service.

However, one mysterious student holds an especially severe grudge against Sunset. With his/her attacks on Sunset being sadistic, cruel, and threatening to her physical and mental well-being.

Will Sunset escape her predicament? Could her salvation lie with the least likely person?

This story is a sequel to Look In The Mirror To Find The Truth, and the second part of my Sunset's Steps series.

WARNING: This story features blackmail, offensive language, sexual assault, fights, and heavy drama.

You can read the other stories in chronological order.

Look In The Mirror To Find the Truth-Completed.

Live By The Sword-Completed.

Working Girl Sunny-Ongoing.

The Downfall of Sunset Shimmer: An Anon-A-Miss Story-Ongoing.

What Happened to Sunset's Family?-Ongoing.

Published 2019-08-18 01:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-10-08 23:36:19 UTC

Hesitation (Edited 7/21/20)

"I've been thinking about transferring," Sunset uttered, glancing down at her plate and the remains of her salad with a sigh.

"What?" Applejack asked in disbelief.

Applejack and Sunset sat in Cherry's restaurant. After Sunset and Applejack's reconciliation sleepover, the two met every Friday afternoon here. The meeting helped Sunset keep up to date on events at Canterlot High and how Sunset's reputation was faring (which had gone from "very bad" to "bad" according to Applejack). The two also talked about girl's stuff and what was happening in their lives.

Sunset cherished these meetings. They gave her some semblance of a social life. But Sunset had come into the dinner looking unusually gloomy, and Applejack gently asked her why.

"I don't think I can make a fresh start at CHS," Sunset said sadly. "I've been thinking about transferring to another school. I mean, I have a vandalism charge on my record. But my GPA is high enough that maybe I can get into a really good-"

"Sunset," Applejack interrupted, "what's gotten into you? A few days ago, you were gushing about how Monday was gonna be a fresh start for you." Sunset looked at her sleeve in shame. "Sunset? What happened?" Applejack asked in a soothing tone.

"I got...an E-mail the other day," Sunset said with a whimper. "The E-mail said....'come back and die'." Applejack narrowed her eyes in anger. "And it had a picture of my head photoshopped onto a skeleton," Sunset continued with a whimper.

"Sunset, whoever sent you that was a troll," Applejack said with a wave of her hand. "Since I've been on the Internet, all kinds of idiots and perverts have said horrible things to me online, but none of them have tried to do anything to me in person. Most of them are just yellow-bellied cowards who hide behind their keyboards."

"Well it isn't any worse than what people were putting on my MyStable after the Fall Formal," Sunset said with a shiver. "The cyberbullying got so bad, I had to close my account." Sunset looked down. "Even your own brother...threatened to kill me."

"Big Mac apologized for that," Applejack said reassuringly. "He admitted he went too far while trying to lay down the law to you, and didn't actually mean it."

"The point is your brother is one of the nicest guys ever and I hurt him badly enough that he made those threats," Sunset said quietly. "If he is was that furious at me, what do you think everyone else will do?"

Sunset once again fell into despair, but her spirits were lifted by Applejack putting a warm hand on hers.

"Sugar cube," Applejack said in a reassuring tone. "People were only making those threats to you when they were fuming at you. Since then, they've stopped fuming at you."

"Because I haven't been at CHS in weeks aside from my community service," Sunset said with dread. "And I've only worked nights where nobody can see. I know the second I put one toe in school, the only thing that might save me from instant death is everyone fighting over who gets the honor to kill me."

"You could try...digging up some dirt on them to protect herself," Applejack said. Sunset narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Even if I wanted to do that," Sunset said with disgust, "it wouldn't help me. I am already on thin ice with the faculty. If the teachers knew I went back to blackmailing people, they would toss me out of the school in a heartbeat." Sunset let out a melancholy frown. "Even if I could get away with blackmail, it would only show everyone that I haven't changed at all." Sunset let out another sigh.

"You got Big Mac to come around," Applejack said.

"Well, no one else has," Sunset said sadly, "including your friends."

"Pinkie Pie did," Applejack said defensively.

"Pinkie Pie doesn't count," Sunset said with a sad smile. "She likes being friends with everybody." Sunset used to think Pinkie Pie's unrelenting magnanimity and cheerfulness were just a façade and that Pinkie was, like herself, a remorseless schemer in private.

Pinkie Pie was working in the school bakery, stirring the batter for the cake the hockey team would eat. A forceful tap on the shoulder distracted her from her work.

"YEEESSSSSS!" Pinkie Pie said. She turned her head to see the frowny face of Sunset Shimmer.

"Shimmie," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. "How's it going?" Sunset Shimmer's frown got even deeper.

"What. Is. Your. Game?" Sunset asked with greeted teeth and balled fists.

"Game?" Pinkie Pie chirped. "Well, my favorite games are hopscotch, trivia, Candyland, bin-" Pinkie Pie's rambling was interrupted when Sunset seized her by her apron, and pulled the pink girl so that both their noses were touching.

"Cut the horseapples!" Sunset bellowed. "You left a vanilla cake in front of my locker!" Pinkie Pie's smile turned into a frown and her lip began quivering. Sunset picked up on Pinkie Pie's mood and let out a victorious grin. "Oh, so you were planning-,"

"I'm sorry," Pinkie Pie said with wet eyes. "I should've known you didn't like vanilla."

"What?"

"You wanted a chocolate cake," Pinkie Pie said sadly. "No wonder you're so...pouty. I promise-"

"Enough," Sunset shouted, releasing Pinkie Pie. "Why did you really bake me a cake?!"

"To congratulate you for winning the Junior Scholars' contest," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. Sunset still looked unimpressed.

"Yeah right," Sunset said with incredulity, "you baked me a cake just for that." She then narrowed her eyes again. "What was in the cake?! Laxative? Nails? Poison?"

"I've never heard of a poison cake before," Pinkie Pie said obliviously. "Poison isn't very tasty. Also, it is very poisonous." Sunset looked at the pink girl with utter disbelief. "All my cakes have sugar, butter, flour-"

"I don't know what your playing at, Pie," Sunset screeched. "But I will find out! I've got my eyes on you 24/7!"

"But if you watched me all that time," Pinkie babbled, "how would you watch TV, or play video games, or do homework, or-" Sunset let another annoyed yell and stormed off in a rage. Pinkie Pie watched her with some confusion.

"Next time, chocolate," Pinkie Pie said to herself. She returned to her bowl and began stirring.

Sunset waited for Pinkie to spring something on her. But when the party girl didn't, Sunset thought Pinkie Pie was just some sentimental idiot and ruined her friendships out of nothing but pure spite. But even that didn't stop Pinkie Pie from being cheerful and kind toward others. Day after day, Pinkie tried to make sure everyone at CHS had fun despite her own personal life taking a nosedive.

Even after turning into a demon, even after Pinkie knew Sunset was the one who trashed her friendships, the pink girl still did something nice for her at her second sleepover with Applejack.

"So what are we doing tonight, Applejack?" Sunset asked the farmer girl as they walked to the girl's bedroom.

"Well," Applejack said with a cheeky smile. "The truth is, it is a surprise." Sunset shrugged her shoulders and opened the door to Applejack's room. To her shock, she saw a smiling Pinkie Pie inside. She was wearing pink pajamas and holding a chocolate cake.

"Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked with astonishment.

"I wanted to throw you a 'thanks for not being evil and turning good' party," Pinkie Pie said. "I baked this cake for you." Sunset stood there, staring dumbly at the party girl.

"But why?" Sunset asked, her voice choked up. "You were nice to me and I was always so-" Sunset paused, trying to control the waterworks. Pinkie Pie set down the cake and walked over to Sunset with kind eyes.

"Because life is too short to be mean and angry," Pinkie Pie said, her silly voice becoming slightly less excitable and more solemn. "Because everyone deserves to be happy and have friends." Sunset began sniffling a bit.

"Even me?" Sunset asked, biting her lip to control herself.

"Especially you."

Sunset finally lost control, and broke down in tears. The pink girl wrapped up the fire-haired girl in a warm hug and gave her several pats on the back. Sunset wept and wept, pausing only to say "sorry." Applejack watched this from outside the room with a happy smile.

Sunset once thought Pinkie was a stupidest person ever. Now Sunset realized that Pinkie was the strongest person she ever met.

"Your other friends haven't said one word to me," Sunset said with some resignation. "And I really can't blame them. Most people aren't like you or Pinkie." Sunset said with a sigh. "You've made me feel like I belong somewhere Applejack. But this E-mail reminds me of the hole I've dug myself into."

"Sunset, remember how hard it was for you to clear that field," Applejack said.

"Applejack," Sunset said with frustration, putting her palm on her face. "Please don't-,"

"It was hard, painful, and backbreaking," Applejack said. "But we finally got it done after four days. Think of going back to school and making things right with everybody as the field you have to clear."

"Applejack, I'm not going into a school full of plants," Sunset said with dismay. "I'm going to a school full of angry teenagers who rightfully hate me-at BEST! Even the teachers hate me! Even the most socially inept people don't have the teachers hating them. Heck, socially inept people like the teachers. How bad to you have to be-"

"OK, now you're just rambling," Applejack said in an unimpressed tone. Sunset ceased her rant and let out another tired sigh. Applejack then gave Sunset a comforting pat on the arm. "Yes, Sunset. I'm not saying it is going to be easy. But you were able to make things right with me."

"Because I paid you," Sunset said bitterly. Applejack narrowed her eyes in frustration. "I don't have enough to pay off the rest of the-,"

"How many times do I have to tell you!" Applejack bellowed, banging her fist on the table. The reaction spooked Sunset. "It's not about money! It was you telling the truth and putting in an honest day's work that made me forgive you! Get that through your thick skull!" Sunset let out a sigh.

"Yeah, but, if I want forgiveness, people have to give me a chance," Sunset said morosely. "Your other friends haven't even given me that." Applejack looked down at her plate, and then looked at Sunset with warm eyes.

"How about this?" Applejack asked in a reassuring tone. "This weekend, Pinkie and I will speak to our other friends. We'll...see if we can get them to let you eat lunch with us."

"Do you think that you can get them to give me another chance?" Sunset said with some faint hope.

"You've helped out around my farm every weekend," Applejack said warmly. "I think that's as good of a case as any." Applejack sighed. "If I can come around, I can get everyone else to."

"Thanks Applejack," Sunset said kindly. Cherry appeared and dropped the check onto the table in front of Applejack.

"Here's your bill ladies," the redhead said kindly before walking away to clean some table. Applejack looked at the bill and let out a fake gasp.

"Sunset," Applejack said with some jest. "Since you aren't evil anymore, could you cover my bills for the rest of the year?" Sunset let out a small snort.

"With the amount you eat, being evil might be cheaper," Sunset said with facetious annoyance. The two girls began giggling. Applejack felt that maybe, just maybe, things might work out.

Back to School (Edited 07/21/20)

"You want Shimmer to sit at our table?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.

"Things are not working out", Applejack thought with frustration.

It was Saturday afternoon. Applejack had invited her friends over for a lunch. Together with Pinkie Pie, they had prepared a delicious spread of apple dishes and other forms of home cooking for their friends. The two hoped the food could make the difficult question easier.

To their dismay, it had not.

Rainbow was shaking with rage at the mere mention of Sunset's name. Rarity wasn't as livid as Rainbow, but she looked annoyed and disappointed at Applejack's question. Fluttershy looked scared and distressed.

"Guys!" Pinkie Pie said with some frustration. "Sunset isn't a meanie-weenie anymore! She deserves another chance!" Rarity rolled her eyes at Pinkie's remarks.

"Sunset sabotaged my prom dresses, spread slander about me, and stole my E-mail passwords just to win Fall Formal and Spring Fling," Rarity said with refined contempt to Pinkie Pie. "Someone who does those things is more than merely a 'meanie-weenie'. They can described in words that a proper lady...cannot in public use," Rarity grumbled. She then looked at Applejack. "Darling, please tell me you didn't already invite her to our table without asking us?" the purple-haired asked Applejack with serious eyes.

"No girls. I didn't do that," Applejack said uneasily. "I...got no right to make those choices for y'all."

"Good!" Rainbow said happily, "because the answer's NO!" Applejack faced palmed.

"Sugar cube," Applejack said pleadingly, "just give this a little more-,"

"No," Rainbow repeated, clenching her fists under the table.

"Come on, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said with puppy-dog eyes. "Don't you want to give Shimmy one more chance?" Fluttershy looked down at her lap and then looked at Pinkie with solemn eyes.

"Well...yes," Fluttershy said softly. "But then I...remember all the times Sunset shoved me...pushed me...told me that liking animals made me a...freak-" Fluttershy looked down at her lap, her eyes on the verge of tears. If she wasn't sitting at a table, she would've been hugging her knees. Rainbow Dash's anger faded as she put a comforting hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. The animal lover gave the athlete a smile of appreciation.

"I know how you feel Fluttershy," Applejack said. "But then Sunset told me about how magic made her see herself doing horrible-,"

"Oh yeah, you told us this story before," Rainbow said with mockery. "Sunset saw some magical slideshow after we kicked her butt and then she went home and started petting puppies and helping old people across the street!"

"I don't believe it because she said so," Applejack said with frustration. "She put in several days of hard work at the farm to make up for what she did. She could make it up to you if you just-,"

"I do not want that...girl," Rarity said with restrained frustration, clearly thinking about saying something even less polite, "near my dresses."

"Or anywhere near the track," Rainbow Dash said with a lot more vitriol. Fluttershy didn't say anything, but let out a scared whimper.

"But guys," Pinkie Pie said pleadingly. "Just give Shimmy-," Pinkie let out a whimper as Rainbow angrily banged her fist on the table.

"I SAID NO!" Rainbow Dash roared. Pinkie Pie whimpered in fright at Rainbow's outburst. Applejack put her hand to her forehead, trying to think of anything.

"Darlings," Rarity said sympathetically to Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "I have no problem with you two being friends with Sunset." Rarity looked down at her lap. "But whenever I think of all the horrible things she did," she paused, trying to control her temper. "I just get so...angry."

"Do you guys trust me?" Applejack asked in a serious tone to the three girls in front of her.

"Of course, darling," Rarity said.

"Then why don't y'all trust me when I say Sunset's changed?" Applejack asked the three girls with sad frustration.

"Well...um," Rarity uttered before looking down sadly. Fluttershy also was stunned by Applejack's question. Only Rainbow Dash's face remained defiant.

"Consider this," Applejack said. "Sunset's on thin ice. If she acts out once, y'all can report her, and she'll be out of the school faster then y'all can say 'Pony Express'." Rarity and Fluttershy both softened up at that, while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "The burden of proof is on her now. Even if she was planning somethin', she's got every teacher watchin' her. So I doubt she could ruin our lives if she tried."

"Well, when you put it that way," Rarity said, tapping her chin with her finger. Applejack smirked as she prepared to deliver the closing argument.

"She owes y'all a favor," Applejack said. "Anything you want, she'll have to give you. And if she complains, you can kick her out." Rarity and Fluttershy perked up at that. "But considering she dug into the ground with her bare hands, I have a feeling she'll deliver."

"I guess I could give Sunset another chance," Fluttershy said meekly.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Rarity said reluctantly.

"YAY!" Pinkie Pie said, confetti flying around her. "Now only Dashie has to say 'yes'!" She looked at Rainbow, who remained livid.

"Come on Rainbow, what do you say?" Pinkie Pie asked her with enthusiasm. The other girls at the table also looked at Rainbow with anticipatory eyes. Rainbow Dash still scowled.

"Please," Pinkie Pie said with a quivering lip. "Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Plea-,"

"Fine!" Rainbow bellowed, annoyed with Pinkie's antics. "I'll..I won't bother...her," Rainbow Dash said reluctantly.

"Alright then," Applejack said excitedly. "Now that that's settled, let's head to the mall." The girls all got up from their chairs and hurried out of the farmhouse, except for Rainbow Dash, who dragged her feet as she walked out of the farmhouse.

"Pony Express," the athlete said to herself.

Sunset pulled her motorcycle into the student parking lot. The chill that went through her body had nothing to do with the early November weather. Even though the CHS entrance was only a couple of minutes away, to Sunset it felt like she was walking a 1000 mile chasm using a rope bridge.

Sunset stared at the entrance with apprehension. She then looked down at her phone, and saw a picture of herself and Applejack working on a barn. This small bit of hope was enough to get Sunset to march into the entrance.

As soon as Sunset entered, however, all the gossip and chatter ceased as everyone noticed the former bully was here. The students all gave her looks that combined fury and apprehension. It was like they were antibodies and they were treating her like a viral infection. The wall of angry glares continued all the way to the principal's office.

As she walked by Flash, her ex-boyfriend slammed the locker he was emptying in and gave her once last brutal look before he walked away. Sunset flinched at the gesture. She knew she deserved Flash's cold wrath, but it still stung.

As she opened the door to the main office, she gave one last hopeful look toward the student body. Everyone continued to stare at her without an ounce of pity. With a sad sigh, she walked in.

Sunset approached the desk of Raven Inkwell, Principal Celestia's secretary. The woman, dressed in some odd red tie and a sharp business suit, usually treated students with professional courtesy. But even this stoic woman couldn't fully mask her contempt for Sunset. She, like all of Canterlot's teachers, probably faced a pay cut due to the damage Sunset inflicted.

"Miss...Shimmer," the secretary said, almost gritting her teeth. "The Vice Principal will see...you now."

"Thanks," Sunset croaked. The secretary immediately turned away from the fire-haired girl to face her computer, as if seeing Sunset for one second longer would make her explode. Sunset walked into the office, facing a particularly stoic Vice Principal Luna.

"Sit," the blue woman said calmly but firmly. Sunset sat in the leather chair reserved for students. The chair was normally comfortable, but Sunset felt like she was sitting on rusty nails.

"Miss Shimmer," the Vice Principal said calmly. "Can you begin to understand my...anger with you?" Sunset reeled back.

"No," Sunset said simply.

"First, you damage a part of the school," Luna said, sounding like a volcano trying not to erupt. "Then, after your suspension, I hear about dozens of accounts of blackmail, identity theft, invasion of privacy, stealing private information, physical threats-" Luna paused, and let out a breath through her nostrils. If she was a dragon, smoke would probably be coming out of them. "Many of these accusations go all the way to freshman year. Are these true?"

"All of them," Sunset simply said. Vice Principal Luna let out a deep breath, as if trying to control her anger.

"If you were a couple of years older, you would have gotten five years in prison for these charges," the blue woman said in an icily tranquil voice. "Do you know why I don't expel you?"

"No."

"Because Princess Twilight begged me to give you another chance despite the fact that you attempted to kill her," Vice Principal Luna said. "I did this more for her then for you. Also, your supervisor, Mr. Mason, said that during your community service you behaved appropriately, always arrived on time, and put in an honest effort." The woman's cold fury died down, but didn't vanish. "Now my sister and I are patient people. But if you ever test our patience...well, you know what will happen, don't you?"

"Expulsion."

"Yes," Principal Luna said, letting out a small blink. "Now we have chosen to give you another chance, but that doesn't mean you get to act as you did before. For the rest of semester, you must follow these rules: you must leave your cellphone and laptop at this office when you arrive at school, and can only collect them at the end of the class, or need them for a specific emergency. You cannot stay past the end of class at 3:30 PM or arrive before class at 8:00 AM, not even for clubs or other extracurriculars. You cannot use any computer in the school, except for the one in my office and only when you are being supervised. Also, you can't be around Snips and Snails. If you break any of these rules, you will be expelled." She let out a deep breath. "Do you want me to repeat these rules?"

"No."

"Do you understand that you must follow them to the letter?"

"Yes."

"Do you consider yourself to be above the law?"

"No."

"Good." Vice Principal Luna gave Sunset a small smile. "You've shown a good amount of maturity and acceptance during this meeting. Which proves to me you want to change. But this only the first step, and you must do more to fully earn back not only my trust, but the trust of the faculty and student body. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"OK," Principal Luna said. "Now please go to class." Sunset got up and left the office, feeling cautiously optimistic. She didn't notice that behind her, angry yellow eyes were glaring at her.

Sunset Shimmer arrived at Mr. Cranky's class. The rest of the class gave her angry looks, which Sunset could almost bear. But Mr. Cranky, rather then looking at Sunset with pride, looked at her with disgust. Even when she was a bully, Sunset respected Mr. Cranky as a teacher. The sight of her him such a foreboding look made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Miss..Shimmer," Cranky said, "today, you will be sitting in front of my desk and facing the class, so I can...keep an eye on you." Sunset flinched at his tone and suspicious look. "Also, you may not raise your hand in my class for the rest of the semester." Sunset let out an annoyed sigh. She timidly walked over toward the row of desks, feeling the angry looks the other students were giving her like a gun pointed to her head. She slowly pulled the desk over, dragging it across the worn out floor. She sat down, facing the students who she treated with contempt.

"Alright class," Mr. Cranky said. "Today we will be learning about polynomials. Let us turn...."

Sunset couldn't pay attention to the lesson, despite Mr. Cranky being directly behind her. All the students were still glaring at her, with only some of them giving small attention to Mr. Cranky's lesson. Sunset nervously rubbed the back of her head, and sighed when she felt something inside her hair.

A spitball.

Sunset let out a small whimper and nervously looked down at her textbook so she wouldn't face other students.

Applejack and her friends sat at the lunch table with differing expressions. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had expressions of anticipation, while Rarity and Fluttershy waited with trepidation.

"So what are y'all going to do when Sunset gets here?" Applejack asked.

"Give her the benefit of the doubt," Rarity said.

"Think about how nice she is, not how mean she was," Fluttershy said.

"See, once you put your mind to it, we can all be friends," Pinkie Pie said. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"She said she was sick and couldn't eat," Fluttershy said with concern. "Oh poor thing. I hope she gets better."

Pinkie Pie looked toward one of the cafeteria entrances and smiled with joy at who was arriving.

"Look, Sunset is here and-," Pinkie Pie paused with a frown. Everyone else looked at Pinkie with concern.

"Pinkie," Rarity asked with concern ,"what's-," she paused and looked at Sunset with horror.

Sunset's long fiery locks had been shaved off. The amber-skinned girl's hair only went down to her ears. This was clearly not a conscious choice, as Sunset looked utterly miserable. And the glares of everyone else weren't helping. Rarity and Fluttershy's cautious expressions were replaced with pity and concern.

"Act natural," Applejack said through gritted teeth. The girls put on happy faces as Sunset sat down, looking utterly drained.

"Hello Sunset," Rarity said, trying to break the ice. "Welcome back to CHS. You look...lovely today."

"Nice...eyes you've got there," Fluttershy said.

"Cool hair," Pinkie Pie said. The others looked at her in anger.

"Thanks," Sunset said with false cheer. "Someone put a backpack full of glue on my head. The nurse had to cut it off." Sunset let out a brittle smile. The other girls looked upset at Sunset's expression.

"So," Rarity said. "Seen any...good movies?" Just before Sunset could answer, a creamy plate of chocolate cake fell onto her lap.

"Ow, I'm sorry," a voice that clearly wasn't said. Sunset and the others looked up and saw Micro Chips looking at Sunset with a vicious smile that didn't seem to fit his normally geeky face. "Did I...do that?" Micro Chips walked away from Sunset with a nasty grin. Sunset's expression got even more bleak. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy looked deeply upset while Applejack looked livid.

"Don't worry Sunset," Applejack said, rising to her feet. "I'll give that little nerd-"

"Don't," Sunset said meekly. Applejack sat down. "Let him...let him have his pound of flesh." Rarity and Fluttershy looked aghast, while Pinkie looked upset.

"Sunset," Pinkie Pie said sadly, "don't let people treat you like this."

"It's fine, let them get their rage out," Sunset said. She got up from her seat, staring with distaste at her chocolate stained skirt. "I'll...I'll clean this off. It is no big deal." Sunset said in a tired voice.

"Darling," Rarity said in a sympathetic tone. "Let me go..."

"No its fine," Sunset said on the verge of tears. She walked out of the lunchroom at a fast pace, ignoring the concerned looks of her friends, and trying to block out the darkly amused expressions of everyone else.

Sunset ran toward the bathroom, and began taking water from the sink and rubbing the chocolate stains off of her skirt with a paper towel. To her frustration, her scrubbing only made the stain worse. She barely noticed the stall door open.

"Can this day get any worse?" Sunset muttered to herself, trying to hold back tears. Sunset was about to leave when she felt on a strong hand clasp her shoulder.

"Hey Sunny," a gruff voice asked her cheerfully. Sunset slowly looked up at the mirror, and felt her veins turn to ice.

Gilda Griffon was in the mirror, looking at her with a happy grin.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Gilda continued with false cheer. "I thought you were gone for good, but like an annoying telemarketer, you just can't stay gone can you." Sunset began breathing heavily. "We've got...a lot to discuss," Gilda finished, her smile becoming outright predatory.

Swirlies and Dress Up (Edited 07/21/20)

Sunset tried to control her trembling, knowing that any sudden movement would just make Gilda attack her.

Gilda was a juvenile delinquent from a broken family who was adopted by an air force sergeant, and was given actual combat training by military professionals. This made her perhaps the toughest girl in her grade, if not the entire school. Sunset had seen that play out when Gilda pounded some perverted jerk into paste.

Her eyes were a scary yellow that seemed to pierce the soul. Her hair, white with purple highlights, was shaved into a boyish figure. She was statuesque, being six inches taller then Sunset (not counting hair), with a well-muscled body, light-grey skin, and massive breasts. Her outfit of choice was a white wife-beater, which showed off her abs and muscled arms. She wore brown cargo pants on her legs, and black military boots on her feet.

All this made Gilda one of the few people Sunset ever feared, and never tried to hurt, at least directly. The fear only grew as the military girl effectively trapped her.

"I don't know if you remember this," Gilda said, strained smile on her face, "but last year, I had to turn in a presentation that was 30 percent of my science grade. On the day of my presentation, my laptop went missing. Professor Turner told me that losing my laptop was my own responsibility. So I got a zero and academic probation." Sunset felt guilt and fear boil in her stomach. "And what do you think happens to students who get academic probation?" Sunset didn't respond, staring dumbly at her own reflection. "Summer school. Instead of spending the summer with dad's military buddies, I was stuck in this dump, doing science homework."

"And a few months ago, I got an E-mail from that nerd Micro Chips. It was full of... perverted words." Sunset began shaking again. "He said he didn't send it, but I ended up belting him in the face anyways to teach him a lesson." Sunset felt another pang of guilt flow through her. "Then...after you left the school, I learned more about you and what they were saying...help things add up," Gilda continued, her smile becoming more and more predatory. "So I went to Snips and Snails, and with some help, I got them to spill the beans." Sunset's jaw dropped in horror. "Yeah Sunny, we know about every little one of your little...schemes. Like having your two idiots break into my locker and steal my laptop, all because I called you a 'teacher's pet'. And stealing Micro Chips' logins just to make him look like pervert because he wouldn't give you his tech." Gilda took a deep breath, but to Sunset, she looked like a dragon about to breath fire. Gilda's grip on her shoulder was getting painfully tighter.

"So I went to Chips, apologized to him, and he helped me arrange this little...meeting between us." Sunset felt a chill run down her spine. The students were working together to get back at her.

"Now, you've been awfully quiet. Do you have anything you'd like to say?" Gilda asked, her mouth so close to Sunset's ear, Sunset could feel her warm breath.

"Gilda look," Sunset said in a shaky voice. "I know I hurt you but p-p-please let me make it up to-" Sunset was cut off when Gilda began laughing unsympathetically.

"You know, Sunny," Gilda said when she stopped laughing, "when you actually showed your face here, I believed, for a moment, you might actually have some stones." Gilda's fake smile faded, turning into an unimpressed frown. "But this little...display showed me that without the teachers protecting you, and demon powers, and people to blackmail, you're just a cowardly little pussy aren't you?" Gilda finished, her voice becoming deathly quiet.

Sunset's fear was replaced by the feeling of shame as she took in Gilda's words and realized how spot on they were. As Celestia's student, she had used her status as an excuse to be a complete tool and avoid punishment, exploiting Celestia's see-no-evil attitude to its limit.

For the first two years at CHS, Sunset kissed up to the teachers and got a nearly-flawless academic record to get on their good side, all the while tormenting people from the shadows and only confronting someone once she was confident she had that person under her thumb.

Because without those things, she would crumple like paper. While she wasn't a weakling, she didn't have the ability to fight a girl trained by the military.

"You're right," Sunset said in a solemn voice. "I am cowardly little pussy. But I'm here at CHS because I want to make it up to everybody. I hurt your academic record, so let me do your homework for-"

"Too late," Gilda said, gritting her teeth. Sunset felt the pressure on her neck increase at Gilda tightened her grip. "Even if you told the teacher, it doesn't make up for me losing a whole summer. You want to make it up to me? Well, we have a whole lunch hour to..." Gilda's grip on Sunset loosened a bit. Sunset used that opportunity to duck under, managing to escape Gilda's grip.

Sunset tried to crawl away. To her confusion, Gilda never even tried to stop her. Instead, all Sunset heard was the snap of some fingers. Sunset saw the door open, and soon the amber-skinned girl was face to face with two sets of legs. Sunset meekly looked up, and her mouth turned dry.

Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder stared down at her with viciously expressions. The two, while not nearly as tall and as powerful as Gilda, were tough athletes in their own right. The blue-green girl was kicked off the track team and took up mixed martial arts, while the purple Sydneigh native was on the wrestling team.

"I knew you'd try and escape like the little rat you are," Gilda said from behind her. "So I had my gal pals come to make sure you don't walk out of our...meeting." Sunset didn't see, but she imagined Gilda looking at her a venomous smile as she said that.

"Y-you called me a rat and then you bring in two people to help you beat me up?" Sunset asked with some hesitation. "Sounds fair." Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder bristled at her words.

"Gilda isn't a coward!" Lightning Dust said with anger.

"Our mate doesn't need our help to finish a ratbag like you," Rolling Thunder said, her thick accent showing her utter contempt for Sunset. "We're just here to make sure no one enters...or exits." The two girls yanked Sunset up by her shirt and pushed her toward Gilda, who looked at her with a cold smile.

"C'mon Sunset," Gilda said in a falsely sweet tone. "If you can hit me once, I'll let you go." Sunset shook nervously. Gilda stood their with arms at her sides. She seemed completely unafraid of Sunset, which filled Sunset with more anxiety. Taking a deep breath, Sunset balled her fists and threw a punch at Gilda, only for the white skinned girl to catch the punch, and use the force to throw Sunset to the ground. Sunset let out a groan as she felt a pain go through her ribs.

The three girls laughed out of contempt. Sunset felt tears flow from her eyes, despite her attempts to control them. She felt Gilda walk over to her, and felt her backpack being ripped off her body.

"What are you doing to my stuff," Sunset said with a whimper. Sunset looked up and saw Rolling Thunder and Lightning Dust take the contents of her backpack and dump it in the sink. "Stop it," Sunset protested in a weak voice as her stuff was soaked. Suddenly Sunset felt herself being lifted up by her ankles. Gilda was carrying her upside down.

"Put me down," Sunset said, struggling as she was carried by her ankles by Gilda. She thrashed and thrashed, but was unable to break her legs out of Gilda's vice-grip. Gilda looked more amused than annoyed by Sunset's feeble attempts at escape.

"What are you-" Sunset said, before seeing where she was being carried: the toilet stall.

"No, no, please," Sunset said desperately. Despite her guilt, Sunset still couldn't hide her disgust at getting her head dunked. "Please, Gilda, I'll do anything."

"Well, this is a good lesson for you," the tall girl said in a casual tone, foisting Sunset over the white toilet. "Don't mess with my shit!" Sunset let out an impotent scream, as Gilda lowered her head into the can.

Rarity sat in science class, her mind thinking about where Sunset had been since lunch.

"What happened to Sunset?" Rarity thought to herself. The bell rung and Dr. Whooves entered the classroom.

"Good afternoon students," the brown-skinned man said, speaking in a posh accent. "Today we will learn about-" Whooves was interrupted by the door slamming open. Sunset enter the classroom. Her clothes had been soaked and what was left of her hair was dripping.

"Detention tomorrow," Professor Turner said simply, glancing at Sunset. "Now get to your desk."

"But sir," Sunset protested in a raspy voice. "I was being-,"

"Young lady," the brown-haired man said with some exasperation. "We are not in the mood for your excuses. Now grab a desk from the back, and bring it over to where I can see you." Sunset stopped her excuses, and with an utterly defeated expression, quietly grabbed a desk from the back and pulled it in front of Dr. Whooves. She sat down with an utterly forlorn expression as she looked at the class, who were almost totally unsympathetic to her plight.

Rarity looked with horror at both Sunset's ruined clothing and her utterly miserable appearance. She knew what Sunset had been subjected too, and while her brain was telling her to let Sunset wallow, her heart was telling her to do something to help the yellow-skinned girl.

Sunset miserably opened the locker, and pulled out the books from her backpack. Gilda had been utterly merciless, dunking not only her head in the toilet several times, but also her textbooks, homework, and notes out of revenge. She quivered her lips, almost on the verge of tears at seeing her work ruined. She silently slammed the locker shut.

"What are you doing?!"

Sunset turned around in fear, and saw a fuming Rarity glaring at her.

"Just...clearing out my locker," Sunset said timidly.

"No!" Rarity bellowed, making Sunset back up in fear. "What are you doing in those filthy clothes?!"

"Uh...I don't having anything else?" Sunset said with some confusion.

"Well, let's fix that," Rarity said. She took Sunset by her forearm and pulled her away from her locker. Sunset, too weak-hearted to resist, let Rarity drag her to where she needed to be dragged.

"Too red, too brown, too light, too dark," Rarity said, looking through various outfits she kept in the closet. She and Sunset were in the sewing room. Sunset was in a small fitting room, hidden behind a velvet curtain.

"Rarity," Sunset almost growled from behind the curtain. "Please make a decision before the heat death of the universe." Rarity chuckled at that.

"In a minute darling," Rarity said. She continued to rifle through her clothing. She smiled brightly as she handed an outfight to Sunset, who reached out a hand to get it. After a minute, Sunset came out from behind the curtain and saw a mirror. Sunset looked in awe at what she saw.

She was clad in a beautiful fall blouse with checkered spots of orange and yellow. Her pants were blue jeans with yellow lines around the ankles. On her head was a red winter cap that covered up her almost-bald head.

"Do you like it darling?" Rarity asked with interest. Sunset looked at her with a forlorn expression.

"Yeah I do," Sunset said in a soft voice. "When do you want me to return it?"

"Keep it."

"What?!" Rarity rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Darling, I have many, many outfits. One given away is no skin off my nose."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Sunset asked, almost on the verge of tears.

"Because, darling, that's what friends do," Rarity said simply.

"Friends?" Sunset asked in a whimpering voice, as if the idea of Rarity wanting to be her friend seemed incomprehensible.

"I will not lie darling," Rarity said with a small smile, "I was bit skeptical to trust you. After all, you did destroy my outfits, steal my data, and spread horrid lies about me to win all the proms." Sunset looked down in shame. Rarity put an understanding hand on Sunset's shoulder. "But Applejack told me about how you've worked hard on her farm to make amends. And faced with all the affronts of today, you've responded not with anger, but with acceptance." Sunset looked at Rarity with watery eyes. "After seeing all this, I see you do want to change. That's enough for us to be friends." Sunset, for once, was able to control her tears. After clearing her eyes, she looked at Rarity with a grateful smile.

"Well, if we're friends, maybe...I can do something for you in return," Sunset said with a sad smile. "I mean, you did give me an outfit for free." Rarity gave Sunset a gleeful smile.

"If you wish to do something for me," Rarity said, her eyes calculating, "then you can come on over to Carousel Boutique after school. You can help me in my goal."

"What goal?"

"Of making things chic, unique, and magnifique," Rarity said, repeating the slogan of her workplace. Sunset gave the fashion girl a grateful smile.

"Sure, I'd like that," Sunset said with a small smile.

Honesty Lectures Loyalty (Edited 3/21/20)

Sunset yelped as she fell down to the floor, grunting in pain as her skull struck the ground.

"Oh man, you're such a klutz!" Sprint yelled in a mocking tone. It was followed by the cruel laughter of the rest of the track team. Sunset felt herself being pulled up by strong arms. She looked up and saw Applejack's sympathetic face.

"Thanks," Sunset said with a whimper. Applejack gave her a warm look in return.

"I'm happy to help," Applejack said with some kindness. She then narrowed her eyes. "Sunset you gotta tell someone." Sunset gave the farmer girl a disappointed look.

"Who am I gonna tell?" Sunset asked with some frustration. "The teachers all hate me. They probably think I deserve it."

"Sunset, the teachers are upset with you," Applejack said in a stern tone. "If they really hated you, you wouldn't be here."

"They lost part of their pay because of me," Sunset said with some despair. "They'll side against me." Sunset turned around ruefully and walked away. "Don't worry about, Applejack. I'm used to it by now." Applejack looked at Sunset with a mixture of concern and sympathy.

Applejack's concern was slightly abated when she saw one of the track members, some short redhead, give Sunset a candy bar and say something that made Sunset gave him a grateful smile. While it warmed Applejack's heart to see one student outside of her circle being nice to her, she knew that if the mistreatment didn't stop, then Sunset could drop out of school, friends or no friends.

Or worse, Sunset could start hurting herself.

"I have to do something", Applejack thought in frustration.

Applejack and Sunset both reached their usual table. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were present, but one girl was noticeably absent.

"Where's Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "This is the third time in a row she hasn't shown up for lunch."

"Dashie sent me text saying she wasn't hungry!" Pinkie Pie said, pulling her phone out of her poofy hair. "I know Rarity is working on some dress for the fashion club."

"Or maybe, she is just trying to avoid me," Sunset muttered with some despair. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked at Sunset with utter sympathy.

"Sunny, that's not true," Pinkie Pie said with reassuring tone.

"Yeah," Fluttershy said soothingly. "I'm sure Rainbow is just-," Fluttershy paused when she saw the track team at CHS coming to a table in the distance. She frowned when she saw that Rainbow Dash was excitedly walking with them. They all were giving each other high fives and pats on the back as they took their seats.

Sunset looked at the blue-skinned girl sitting with her tormentors with no small amount of despair.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at Rainbow with a mixture of dismay and disappointment, while Applejack was giving Rainbow a look of quiet condemnation.

"So, anybody hear about the new Daring Do movie," Pinkie Pie said, trying to lift the unhappy mood by changing the subject. Sunset and Fluttershy joined in, but Applejack continued to glare at the athletic girl.

Rainbow Dash happily walked down the hall with the track team. After a round of high-fives and cheers, they walked away from each other to reach their separate classes. On the way, Rainbow saw Applejack staring at her with crossed arms.

"Hey Applejack," Rainbow said casually. "How's it-,"

"We need to talk," Applejack said firmly. Rainbow looked at Applejack fitfully.

"But Applejack I have to get to-,"

"Now," Applejack said firmly, gesturing to a girls' bathroom so they could talk in private. With a sigh, Rainbow Dash walked into the girls' bathroom.

"OK, what's up?" Rainbow said as Applejack followed her into the bathroom.

"You didn't show up at our table," Applejack stated, shutting the door. Rainbow Dash gave her an annoyed look.

"So what?" Rainbow Dash asked defensively. "I can't hang out with other people?"

"You got a problem with the other girls and I hanging out with Sunset?" Applejack asked with a deep frown.

"No," Rainbow Dash denied, her eyes darting to the floor. "I just like...being with other people".

"Oh, really. Those boys you hang out with are the ones who have been giving her the most grief," Applejack pressed, her eyes narrowing. "Surely you know about it?" Rainbow Dash didn't answer Applejack, angrily looking at the ground instead.

"You know that they're making her life miserable, don't you?" Applejack accused. Rainbow Dash didn't say anything. "They're acting like a bunch of louts, and you're-"

"I'm not doing anything to her," Rainbow Dash said.

"No, but your letting it happen. And that's just as bad!" Applejack yelled. Applejack sighed and took a deep breath. "Look, I know you don't like Sunset, but can you at least get the track team to leave her alone."

"I'll think about it," Rainbow Dash muttered, before trying to walk out of the room. The door, however, was blocked by stone-faced Applejack.

"Oh, so you're not going to do it," Applejack said with some anger. "Because...you think its funny that they pick on her!"

"Get out of my way Applejack!" Rainbow yelled, her composure fading.

"Not until you promise me that you'll get those boys to back off."

"No!" Rainbow Dash spat.

"Why not?!"

"That bitch bullied everybody here and she broke up our friendships!" Rainbow yelled, her veneer of patience utterly gone. "She deserves everything she gets!" She raised her fists. "Now move before I move you!" Applejack just stood silently, her face looking like it was carved from stone.

"Oh, I see?" Applejack said. "You're mad at for her for being a nasty little brat." A mocking sneer appeared on her face. "Because you're just ah perfect little angel, aren't you. How you treated Blossomworth certainly proves-," Rainbow Dash furiously punched the wall behind Applejack.

"How dare you, Applebitch!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.

"Oh, so you're not the only one with skeletons in your closet," Applejack said in a mocking tone. "Maybe I should just remind you of Blossomworth everyday of your life. Since you think that Sunset should be hated forever because of her-," Rainbow Dash furiously grabbed Applejack by her shirt and pushed her against the door.

"You think that one little mistake is the same thing as two YEARS of non-stop-being-a-bitch and turning into demon!?" a red-faced Dash roared into Applejack's face.

"No, its not the same," Applejack admitted, looking down. She then looked back at Rainbow with defiant eyes. "But right now, the only one who is acting like a bitch is you." Rainbow Dash's angry face faded at Applejack's words. "The way your behaving...I'd rather be with Sunset then with you!" Rainbow Dash let go of Applejack's shirt, looking down at the floor with shame.

"I'm sorry Applejack," Rainbow Dash said after a few minutes of silence. "It's just...I'm just...everyday, she hurt Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash felt tears form in her eyes. "And...she made me think that Fluttershy deserved it." She put her face into her hands. "Everyday, I used to think Fluttershy was a lousy friend. Everyday, I laughed when Fluttershy was pushed around and..." she paused as she felt Applejack's warm arms hug her. Rainbow Dash lost all composure, letting her tears flow out of her eyes as she wept

"I know Rainbow Dash," Applejack said in a soothing voice. "And you...have every right to be angry. I was angry at her too for what she did to me." She let go of Rainbow, looking at her with warm eyes. "She hurt my farm and she made fun of me and Apple Bloom." Applejack looked down and up. "But being angry didn't help me. I gave her a chance to make it right and that made me feel better. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity did that too, and they feel better." Applejack took Rainbow's hand. "Please Rainbow. Do it for them. Do it for the Princess. Do it for me!" Rainbow Dash looked down again.

"I'll tell the guys to leave her alone," Rainbow Dash said in a tired voice as she stopped crying. "But...I'm not ready to sit with her yet."

"Like I said, Rainbow. I'm not going to force you." Applejack said. "But please don't let her get hurt any more."

"I won't," Rainbow Dash said. "For you." Applejack got away from the door, letting her Rainbow friend walk out. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. While Rainbow was pig-headed, she still cared about Applejack's opinion. With Rainbow's help, things could get much better for Sunset.

"Maybe Rainbow might sit with us again", Applejack wondered hopefully before walking out of the bathroom to her next class.

Generosity Offers Advice (Edited 03/23/20)

Gym class filled Sunset with trepidation. Out of all the subjects, gym was most indicative of school's social stratification. The weak kids were always picked last for teams, the hated kids were always hit with the dodge balls, and the socially inept kids always ended up sitting on the bench and watching everybody else do sports.

Sunset, while not an athlete, was fit enough to do OK at gym. But her behavior made her the most hated person in school. She was thankful that they were just doing workouts this semester, and even more thankful that she had one friend in class with her.

"...and I told her 'Darling, sapphires don't work with your eye color'," Rarity complained to Sunset as they walked toward the locker room. She sighed and started shaking her head. "I swear, she is either blind or..."

"Don't worry Rarity, I'm sure she'll see the light someday," Sunset said with assurance. "Anyways, let's go get changed." The pair walked into the locker room. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of yellow eyes watched Sunset with pitiless glee.

"OK class!" Coach Harshwhinny yelled. The girl's gym class stood in a circle around the gym coach, wearing t-shirts and shorts. "As usual, we will be doing reps. Please join with your partners." The girls began going toward their partners, usually friends.

Rarity went with Sunset, which she appreciated.

"Hey Rarity!" a voice called. The white-skinned girl turned toward the voice and saw Lyra and Bon-Bon approaching them.

"Hello Lyra and Bon Bon," Rarity said politely. The two, known to be dating, walked up to Rarity with an expression the aspiring fashion-expert could not discern. "How have your days been?"

"Great," Lyra said with a bit of nervousness. "So, what did you with your 100 grand?"

"I'm sorry?" Rarity asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You know?" Bon Bon said. "The one hundred thousand dollars?"

"I don't have that kind of money darling," Rarity said. "What makes you two think I did?" To her confusion, Bon Bon and Lyra narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Whatever," Bon Bon said with a roll of her eyes. "I just hope it's worth dealing with...her," Bon Bon said with a growl, turning to glare at Sunset, who stepped back at their anger. Without another word, the two walked off to another part of the gym. Rarity felt herself clenching her fist.

"Hey Sunset, will you give me 60 dollars if I wave at you," Lyra snarked as she walked away. Sunset stared at them with a mixture of confusion and fear.

"What was that about?" Sunset asked with concern.

"I don't know Darling. The best thing to do is to ignore it," Rarity said in a reassuring tone. Before they could begin their exercises, Coach Harshwhinny stormed up to them.

"Rarity!" the coach yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you 'no heels in the gym'?!" Rarity looked down at a purple heels she wore.

"But Coach," Rarity complained, "these heels go well with my shorts and my eye color."

"Well, hopefully they'll go well with the color of the detention room walls," Coach Harshwhinny snarked. "Because that's where you'll be going if I see you in heels one more time. Now go get your sneakers," Harshwhinny ordered. Rarity let out an annoyed sigh.

"I'll be right back, Darling," Rarity said to Sunset, who watched with some nervousness as Rarity went to the locker room.

"Now where did I leave those shoes," Rarity said to herself as she walked into the locker room. "Did I put them-," Rarity paused as she saw Gilda Griffon sitting on the bench on the locker room. She was sitting on some clothes that looked familiar.

Rarity's concern grew when she saw Gilda holding a box called "itching powder." When Gilda moved her thigh, she saw a familiar leather jacket. Rarity glanced and saw a locker has been-

Rarity gasped in horror when she saw Sunset's notebook in the locker and realized what Gilda was doing. The gasp attracted Gilda's attention.

"Hey Fashion Queen," Gilda said casually. "How's it..." she glanced down at the floor and chuckled. "Did you really wear heels to gym class," Gilda said cackling. She then let out another laugh. "You really are something else, Fashion Queen."

"What are you doing?" Rarity asked with horror.

"I'm starting a dry-cleaning," Gilda said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm preparing to apply-what does it look like I'm doing?! I'm putting itching power on Demon Girl's clothes."

"Cease defiling those precious garments at once, you brute!" Rarity yelled dramatically. Gilda rolled her eyes again.

"Man, you must really wanted that 100 grand," Gilda said. "You're even fighting her battles for her." Rarity narrowed her eyes with anger and confusion. "But, since I'm nice, I'll pretend you weren't-,"

"What are you talking about?" Rarity almost yelled. Gilda's relaxed face was replaced with annoyance.

"I'm not an idiot, Fashion Queen," Gilda barked. "I know Demon-Girl paid you and your dweeb friends $100,000 each to sit next to her." Rarity's face twisted into outrage. "I'm surprised Dash didn't take it. That flip-flop-,"

"Sunset didn't pay me anything," Rarity said. "She paid Applejack back for damages owed. I sit next to her because I want to." Gilda seemed to ignore her, and was preparing to pour the itching powder.

"Whatever you say," Gilda said with disbelief. She ignored the heels walking up to her, and just before she was about to pour the power, two manicured hands knocked the box out of her hands. Gilda growled before looking up at a defiant Rarity.

"What was that for?!" Gilda said with fury.

"Leave Sunset alone you brute," Rarity yelled. "I know your angry with her, but don't start spreading-," Rarity paused as Gilda rose to her full height with a glare. Rarity remembered how physically imposing the white-haired girl was and gulped. With a snarl, Gilda seized Rarity by her shirt and slammed her into a nearby wall.

"OK, fashion queen," Gilda growled, lifting Rarity up so that they were eye level. "You want to fight demon girl's battles, I'll start beating you too," Gilda almost breathed into the struggling girl's face. "I'm gonna give you want last chance to-," without warning, Rarity slammed her forehead onto Gilda's nose. Gilda released Rarity, rubbing her nose in pain. The purple-haired girl rubbed her own forehea

"Why you," Gilda snarled, before lunging at Rarity with an almost animalistic scream. Rarity, with a roll of her eyes, put one of her legs out, then seized Gilda by her arm. Using Gilda's own momentum against her, she tripped the soldier and hurled he headfirst into the bench. Gilda fell to the ground, clutching her head. Without warning, a purple heel slammed into Gilda's throat, filling Gilda with a truly agonizing pain. Gilda brought her hands up to her throat with a gasp, looking up with some fear at the high-heeled girl looming over her.

"Did you think that just because I liked being a lady that I am also a weakling," Rarity said in a casual tone to Gilda, who was chocking and gasping in agony. "All roses have thorns."

"Why are you defending her?" Gilda asked, her gruff voice made even rougher by the attack on her trachea. The disbelief and frustration in her tone was evident. To her confusion, Rarity offered her a hand.

"I would have told you, had you not decided to throw your little...tantrum," Rarity said, as if speaking to a child. Gilda snarled at the attack on her pride, but was in too much pain to act on her anger, and reluctantly accepted Rarity's hand. The two sat down on the bench.

"Now believe me darling," Rarity said in an unusually empathetic tone. "I know how you feel. There were times when I also wanted to punch Sunset in her throat. Wanted to make her ache and bruise," Rarity said with quiver in her voice. "When Sunset was suspended part of me wished she never come back." Rarity took a deep breath. "When Applejack starting hanging out with her, I also thought she was being a fool." Rarity looked at the ground, before continuing.

"But then, Applejack told me about how, when we blasted her with that...rainbow laser," Rarity continued. "she had to see all the terrible things she did. She had to see how horribly she treated other people." Gilda gave her annoyed glare.

"How do you know she isn't lying?" Gilda asked with some contempt.

"I had my doubts as well," Rarity said, pulling out her nail file and giving herself a manicure. "But then Applejack told me about how she did her community service without complaint. She could've easily transferred to another school to get out of it, but she didn't," Rarity continued. Gilda looked at her with disbelief.

"Really?" Gilda asked with disbelief.

"Yes, really," Rarity parroted. "And then, she not only paid Applejack back for the damages, but worked on her farm every weekend during her suspension just to see how hard Applejack and her family worked to keep their farm." Gilda's jaw dropped with confusion. "She used her free time to pull weeds, dig holes, lift heavy rocks. All the horrible chores that farmers do." Rarity said with a proud smile. "And when I gave her a nice outfit, she offered to do some of my work for me at the boutique where I design." Gilda's face twisted into contemplation.

"She did all that?" Gilda asked in a quiet, low tone.

"Yes Darling," Rarity said. "And let me tell you something. Ever since I gave her a chance, I felt so much better then when I was holding a grudge." Gilda's eyes drifted to the floor. "I'm not telling you to just forget about what she did and braid each other's her hair. I'm simply saying that giving her a chance to make amends would make you feel better then just taking swipes at her." Gilda's eyes drifted to Rarity.

"Well, demon-girl costed me a whole summer break," Gilda said, some anger returning to her voice. "She can't get that back for me."

"And I agree, it was a horrid thing to do," Rarity said with honest sympathy. "But I have a feeling that if you just give her a chance, she can give you something new." Rarity looked at the clock. "Anyways darling, I must get back to gym class. Please take what I say to heart." Rarity got her sneakers and walked out of the locker room, leaving Gilda to sit silently and brood.

Gilda thought about the fashion lover's words, and felt conflicted. When she felt conflicted, she talked to the one person who could help her out.

After school ended, she boarded her usual ride home. An army truck that took her to Hurricane Air Force Base, a place she considered to be her true home. She walked into the office of Master Sergeant, and her legal guardian, Glider Griffon. The man wore a blue uniform, had dark green eyes, grey skin, and thin-brown hair that was greying at the edges. Despite being in his 50s, he still looked as formidable as a man 30 years his junior. The stern man was looking over documents when he saw Gilda walk in.

"Hello Gilda," Glider said, his stern features becoming more magnanimous. "What can I do-," Glider noticed the contrite expression on his adopted daughter's face. "Gilda, what's wrong?" Gilda sighed and opened up about what Sunset did (leaving out the parts about magic out of respect for Princess Twilight), and how Sunset had been bullying her for the past week. At the end of the conversation, which had moved over to the couch in Glider's office, the military man's face twisted into stone.

"Gilda, I am deeply disappointed with you," Gilda's faced twisted into fear.

"But Sergeant, she started it," Gilda said. "I was defending myself-,"

"And you continued it," Glider almost bellowed. "You know there is a difference between revenge and self-defense. I've told you that a true soldier doesn't live by a grudge."

"She made me lose a summer with you!" Gilda yelled. "I was trying to prove that she couldn't mess with me-,"

"You didn't prove anything except that your a damn fool who will let anyone get under your skin!" He yelled. "I'd rather not spend any summers with you if all you do is end up like your sweet, loving mother!" Gilda got up from the couch in a rage.

"Don't compare me to that bitch!" Gilda yelled. "I'm nothing like her!"

"Oh really," Glider said, rising from the couch. "I remember your mother well. I still remember the last time we saw her as she was carted off to jail." His voice became more quiet. "She wailed about how badly life treated her, and how she didn't deserve this." Glider's eyes narrowed. "Your mother certainly didn't have an easy life. Her own mother beat her up, her husband ran out on her, and she had to work several jobs to survive." His mouth twisted into a frown.

"But instead of trying to better herself, she used her miserable little existence to do nothing but treat you like garbage. She would beat you and call you rude names. And then she would spend all her money on booze instead of the food you needed." Gilda's lips quivered. "She had no problem turning you into another miserable monster who would hurt other people to make up for their own empty, miserable life." His eyes narrowed.

"And it looks like she succeeded in the end. Despite giving you a home and letting you live under my roof, you're using your own misfortune to go back to become like her. An empty, abusive nothing who loves to make other people suffer just to feel good about themselves." Gilda looked down, thoroughly ashamed. "And besides, you certainly aren't innocent. Remember how much of a bully you used to be." Gilda felt her eyes water. "Remember...Blossomworth."

"I didn't want to be her," Gilda said quietly. "I wasn't trying to be her. But...Sunset cost me a summer...and made me look stupid in front of everybody...and made me punch someone who didn't deserve it..." Gilda broke down in tears. She felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her and hold her as she wept.

For a moment, Gilda and Glider didn't look like a tough girl in school and an army sergeant respectively. Gilda looked like a scared girl and Glider looked like a father trying to comfort her child.

"I know Gilda, and you have every right to be mad," Glider said in a soothing tone as Gilda fought to control herself. "But revenge won't help you." Gilda looked at Glider and his kind, nurturing eyes. She was still upset but no longer ashamed or fearful. "If this girl was still bullying you, then I wouldn't blame you. But she sounds like she wants to get her life together. You certainly know what that's like don't you?" Gilda let out a deep breath and silently nodded. "Like I said, you weren't exactly an angel when I found you. But I gave you a chance when it was hard to trust you. Maybe you need to be the one to give someone a chance, despite how hard it was for you."

"OK," Gilda said in a calm voice. "I'll....try."

"That's my little soldier," Glider said playfully.

"Thanks Sergeant," Gilda said.

"Why do you call me Sergeant?" Glider asked with a sad smile. "I've been raising you for four years. Why can't you call me dad?"

"I had one of those," Gilda said with her own sad smile. "He ran out on me when I was four." She wrapped Glider in a happy hug. "You're so much better then a dad." Glider responded with an amused smile and returning the hug as well.

Sunset walked to her locker to take out her science book for her next class, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Gilda glaring at her.

"Hey Gilda?" Sunset said nervously. "How's it-,"

"Your schedule." Gilda said. Sunset's fear was replaced with confusion.

"What?"

"Let me see your schedule," Gilda repeated in a stern tone. Sunset, quivering, pulled out her schedule and handed it over to the tall girl. Gilda looked it over before handing it back.

"You. Me. Library at Study Hall. Don't be late," Gilda uttered before walking away. Sunset watched her Gilda's walk away, confused at Gilda's order. But not that much fear. It didn't seem like she was planning some serious confrontation.

"Nobody has fights in the library," Sunset thought. As she walked away, she felt more nervous then afraid.

Sunset walked into study hall with a bit of trepidation. Her heart thundered a bit when she saw Gilda sitting at the table near the doors. Gilda spotted her with those angry yellow eyes, and silently ordered her to sit down. Sunset came to the table and sat down with a gulp.

"So what do you..." Sunset began cautiously, before noticing five magazines in front of Gilda. Saw that they all were military academies.

"Cloudsdale, Pansy, Firefly," Sunset read aloud. "Aren't these the top-"

"Military academies in the country," Gilda continued in a stern voice. "Yes they are. They want only the top people. Of course if you have academic probation on your record, it is harder to get in." Sunset caught the angry tone and looked down in shame. "Of course, a good application, and some connections, can make people...overlook certain things." Sunset's shame was replaced with interest.

"So, what do you want?"

"If you do my applications for me, essays and everything," Gilda gritted her teeth before continuing. "I'll let everything go." Sunset looked at Gilda with both surprise and a small amount of joy.

"Really?" Sunset asked Gilda in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, I guess," Gilda said reluctantly. Sunset's face twisted into a grateful smile.

"Gilda, you don't know how much this-,"

"Don't start Shimmer," Gilda growled. "Just work."

"That's fine," Sunset said with a small smile, accepting that Gilda wasn't ready to be friends. A small, awkward silence hung over them. "Well, let's get started." She pulled the magazine for Firefly and read the instructions. "Let's start with the essay. It says you need to describe the three things that changed your life the most."

"Well," Gilda said, putting her hand on her chin. "Let's see." She was broken from her daydreaming with the arrival of a blue-skinned athlete.

"Hey Rainbow," Sunset said, trying to be friendly.

"Sunset," Rainbow said coldly as she passed the two. Sunset accepted that. Sunset noticed that Rainbow and Gilda didn't bother to greet each other at all.

"So," Sunset said as Rainbow walked away, trying to break the tension, "what happened between-," Gilda's eyes returned to their burning rage. Sunset took the hint that Gilda was far from ready to share her life secrets with a former bully. "Let's get back to the essay," Sunset said with an awkward laugh. Gilda's rage cooled and the two went back to working on the applications.

Loyalty Steps in To Defend (Edited 3/23/20)

"No," Sprint said furiously to Rainbow Dash.

"But Sprint-,"

"No!" Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration. The two were sitting in Canterlot Corner, some hipster café near Canterlot's best gym. Most of the athletes at Canterlot High often came here to get their caffeine after a hard work out. The two were sitting in a booth in the far corner.

Rainbow Dash brought Sprint here, hoping that treating him at his favorite hangout would get him to loosen up. To her frustration, it wasn't working out.

"I really don't want that bitch in school, let alone near my shit," Sprint almost yelled. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, his mouth set into a thin frown. "And it pisses me off that she just won't take the hint that she's not welcome here."

"But-,"

"Why do you care anyways?" Sprint asked with annoyance, "It isn't like you're sitting next to her at lunch." Rainbow Dash's forehead fell into her hand.

Sprint wasn't wrong. While she didn't want to see Sunset get hurt anymore, Rainbow still wasn't part of the Sunset fanclub. A small, selfish of Rainbow wanted to just throw her hands up in the air and give up on trying to convince Sprint since he still was on Sprint's side. But then she remembered Applejack and her unflinching green eyes judging her.

"Because...Applejack wants me to," Rainbow admitted. Sprint's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Applejack?" he muttered. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you mean the hillbilly," Sprint said with disdain. Rainbow Dash clenched her fist at Sprint's use of the term hillbilly. "I heard that Sunset paid her $1 million to sit next to her. That farmer girl probably needs the income, but I never knew she would be so desperate-"

"Sprint," Rainbow Dash said in an annoyed tone. "Applejack wouldn't let Sunset sit next to her for money. She isn't that kind of person."

"Well, I can't think of any other reason why anyone would want to sit next to Shimmer," Sprint said with disdain. "Rednecks will do anything for some-,"

"If you say one more word about Applejack, I'll break your legs," Rainbow Dash in a voice as calm as a breeze, but as icy as a blizzard. "I don't care how much you hate Sunset. Don't make fun of Applejack just because she lives on a farm."

"OK, I'm sorry," Sprint said with a frown. Rainbow Dash nodded her head, silently accepting Sprint's apology.

"Look... Applejack told me that I was becoming a bitch by letting Sunset beat up," Rainbow Dash said with a small amount of shame. "She said that...I was as bad as her."

"You're nothing like her!" Sprint said in protest.

"Am I?" Rainbow Dash in a serious tone. "We hated Sunset because she loved to make everyone miserable. And now...we love making her...miserable." Sprint tried to object, but found himself looking at his half-finished cup of coffee with a small amount of shame.

"She ruined our fundraiser," Sprint said miserably, his snide tone gone. Sprint was too strong to cry, but he still couldn't hide the pain of what happened. "We all worked so hard. Because of her, we couldn't afford to go to the championship and we ended up blaming each other." He paused as Rainbow put her hands on his. While observers might mistake them for a couple, Sprint and Rainbow's friendship ran so deep, that the former wouldn't be flustered by such a warm gesture.

"I know Sprint," Rainbow Dash in a warm, comforting voice. "And Sunset hurt Fluttershy over and over and made me think she deserved it. And Applejack's farm lost a lot of business because of Sunset." Rainbow Dash remarked, a tone of sadness creeping into her voice. "But...Fluttershy and Applejack are giving Sunset a chance. So why can't we do the same?" Sprint looked at Rainbow silently, his face morose and conflicted. He wasn't objecting, but he wasn't sold on the idea yet.

"If Sunset just said sorry I wouldn't want her here," Rainbow said. "But...Applejack told me that Sunset did more than say sorry. She worked on her farm every Saturday during her suspension to make it up to her."

"Really?" Sprint said.

"Yep. She pulled weeds, shoveled manure, etc." Sprint once felt proud at that, but now he felt some remorse for it. He once again looked down at his coffee cup. "Don't you think if Sunset was still a bitch, she would've done any of that stuff?"

"I guess." Sprint said after a moment of thought.

"I'm not asking you to start hanging out with her," Rainbow Dash said in a reassuring tone. "I don't think she deserves my friendship. Just get the guys to lay off her. Or maybe just, I don't know, give Sunset a chance to make it up to you." A sly smile appeared on Sprint's face.

"I think I figured out a way to...do both," Sprint said mischievously.

"A-Are y-you s-s-s-sure you want to do this," Quick Pace stammered to Sunset.

"Not really," Sunset said with some worry as the furious and vengeful crowd gathered around her. "But...I owe your team for what happened last year...and I owe everyone at least a pound of flash."

"Y-y-your funeral," Quick said timidly.

"Come and dunk the Shimmer," Sprint said into the microphone, sounding like a ringleader showing off an exotic animal. "You all have a chance to take glorious revenge upon the Demon who tormented us."

A dunk tank had been placed in the middle of the gym. Sunset was dressed in a t-shirt, some worn-out shorts, and goggles. She sat on a collapsible seat above a 10 foot tall and 20 ft wide tank of clear water. Above it, ran a sign that said "Dunk the Demon." For $5 dollars, anyone could try and send Sunset down into a watery humiliation.

She watched warily as a large mob gathered with expressions that made it look like there were preparing a lynching. It appeared there was no shortage of people wanting to take some small revenge on her. She imagined she was going to be quite soaked.

Still, she was grateful to Sprint for giving her a chance to make it up for ruining his fundraiser.

"OK," Sprint said into the microphone. "Who's going first." He looked to some blue-skinned girl.

"You milady! Who are you, and what is your grievance?" Sprint held the microphone to Trixie's chin.

"I am The Great and Powerful Trixie," Trixie said bombastically, "and I have come to avenge the talent show, when Trixie's Great and Powerful act was ruined when Shimmer and her goons put itching powder on Trixie's clothes and framed her lovely assistants Fuchsia and Lavender for it." The two girls stood behind Trixie and were giving Sunset a cold glare.

Sunset rolled her eyes a bit at Trixie's bluster. Despite knowing she was wrong to ruin Trixie's act, Sunset won't lie and pretend she still didn't take some joy in knocking the egotistical stage magician down a peg.

"OK," Sprint said. "Deposit your money and you will have three tries." Trixie put the money into a box and took the three balls offered by Sprint.

"Watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the greatest, most stupendous, most fantastic throw ever. Watch as she dazzles everyone as she rights the wrongs made against-,"

"Will you just go already!" Bon Bon yelled from behind her. "We don't have all century."

"You cannot rush perfection." Trixie said as if she was talking to some ignorant child. Bon Bon let out a defeated sigh. Sunset watched with some amusement as Trixie graphically took different poses as she prepared to throw the ball, looking like a deranged interpretive dancer.

"Uh, I think everyone needs a turn, Trixie," Sunset said. "Just throw the-," Sunset found herself suddenly submerged in cold water. Sunset began flailing around in the tank, the shock of being exposed to the cold water making her feel disorientated. She heard applause and cheers from the stunned audience.

Once she got used to the water, Sunset reached the handle, climbed the later, and made her way back to the seat. She found herself looking at the smug Trixie with awe. Everyone else was looking at the blue-skinned magician with some admiration.

"Did you all think the Great and Powerful Trixie was just some limp noodle?" Trixie proclaimed dramatically. "Her dear uncle is a baseball player. Thus, Trixie has had many chances to perfect her throw along with the Dark Arts." She looked back at a shivering Sunset with the eyes of a vulture. "Now then, let us return to the game."

She threw her two remaining balls, dunking Sunset twice. Sunset felt a measure of relief when Trixie's turned ended.

"Alright," Sprint said, "whose-," Sprint paused at a blue hand gave him a 100 dollar bill. "It looks like Trixie wants to go 20 more times." Everyone in the gym let out a collective laugh at that. Sunset looked at Trixie with horror and fear while the magician gave Sunset a vicious grin as she steeled herself for another throw.

"Oh sweet Celestia", Sunset thought to herself.

A Weight Off Her Shoulders (Edited 03/23/20)

Author's Note

A little Christmas Present for y'all.

A Weight Off Her Shoulders (Edited 03/23/20)

Sunset sputtered as she was dunked into the water again. Though she was used to the cold water, the fact that the dunks were few and far between (40-something dunks out of about 300-or -so tries) meant she could never be truly prepared for the more annoying splash.

For some reason, pulling herself out of the water this time was more of a chore then it had ever been before. She felt somewhat tired, but not in the "rest your head" kind of way.

"Maybe all the dunking is making me tired", Sunset thought to herself as she reached for the ladder in a daze.

"OK everybody," Sprint said into the microphone. "We're gonna be taking a break for lunch. You can all dunk the demon in an hour." The students began filing out, a small smile on everyone's faces.

"Finally", Sunset thought. For some reason, she wasn't feeling excited. Maybe she was just so tired. Sunset got off the collapsible seat and lowered herself to the floor of the gym.

"So how much did she make?" Sprint asked Quick Pace as Sunset walked up to them.

"Well, according to my tallies," Quick said, pulling up some paper with tally marks written in pencil, "about 329 throws have been made. We charged 5 dollars a throw. So that would be about..."

"About 1600 dollars?" Sunset asked, feeling her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, that's about right," Quick said. "You've paid off about three-quarters of what you owe us."

"Don't we have to subtract it from the cost of renting this thing," Sunset asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"That's the good part," Sprint said with a sly grin. "The guy I rented this from said since this is being done for a non-profit organization, he can loan it to us for free and get a tax dedication."

"Really?" Sunset said with a small smile. "That's-," she felt herself cough.

"Sunset," Quick asked with concern. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Sunset said, feeling like her throat was being cut with glass. "I'm-," she let out another cough. She started to wheeze.

"No, you're not fine," Sprint said in a serious tone. Sunset felt Sprint put his hand on her forehead. "You're getting a fever," Sprint said with more alarm. "You've been dunked for so long, you're probably getting a cold."

"I'm fine," Sunset insisted in her wheezy voice. "I can handle a few more dunks in the-,"

"No you need to go to the nurse!" Sprint said in a serious tone. "Trust me Sunset! That cold is small now. But it could easily become pneumonia. That happened to me after I fell into a frozen lake during a skiing trip and I nearly died."

"I still have to pay you guys-," Sunset protested, before she descended into a coughing fit. For some reason, she began to feel dizzy.

"You can pay us back later, I don't want you to get sick," Sprint said. "Quick!"

"Come on Sunny," Quick said, "I'll take you to the nurse." Sunset reluctantly let Quick take her hand, who led her down the hall.

"Where's your schedule?" Quick asked.

"Why?" Sunset asked the redheaded freshman in a daze.

"So I can get your homework from the teachers," Quick said. "You're probably gonna be sent home today."

"Sure," Sunset said, handing him the slip of paper. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Quick said. "You're risking infection and death to pay us back."

"I'll do anything to get everyone's trust back," Sunset said.

Quick gave Sunset a proud smile as the two made their way to the nurse's office. Applejack, meanwhile, looked this scene with no small amount of joy.

"Sunset's finally making some friends",Applejack thought happily.

3 DAYS LATER

Sunset returned to Canterlot High after a few days. The worst of her fever had passed and despite feeling drowsy, she still felt healthy enough to return to school.

Her mood improvement significantly as she entered school, because the mood around her changed for the better.

For the first time since her suspension ended, no one was glaring at her or shoving her in the hall. Whenever she walked by someplace, nobody was dropping what they were doing to sneer at her or make some nasty remark.

I mean, no one was going out of their way to wave at her, or ask her how she was. But for the first time in weeks, no one was wasting their energy showing her hatred.

For Sunset, that was a step in the right direction. Sunset felt a small smile return to her face as she walked down the halls.

Sunset entered Cranky's classroom, and prepared to pull her chair to the front to face everyone like she usually did.

"Sunset," Mr. Cranky said. Sunset looked up. His once cold look was replaced with something...resembling approval. "You can sit wherever you like now."

"Really?" Sunset said.

"After what you did, you've proven to me that you can be trusted," Cranky said, a ghost of a proud smile on his face. For Sunset, the feeling was worth more to her than any of the praise he gave her for her grades.

"Thank you sir," Sunset said in a small voice, suppressing a sob of joy.

"Now sit down before I change my mind!" Mr. Cranky barked to Sunset. Sunset let out a small snort, sensing that Cranky was just barking at her because he barked at everybody, and felt a bit of playfulness in the order.

"Hey Sunset," Sunset turned to see Applejack sitting next to her with a genuine smile. "How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, but OK." Sunset said.

"Mr. Cranky is letting you sit where you want now?"

"Yeah," Sunset said. "Its...its incredible. I let myself get dunked in water, and suddenly...everybody isn't treating me like public enemy #1 anymore."

"You know why?"

"Why?"

"Well...it was like when you worked on my farm," Applejack said with a reassuring smile. "Big Mac and Granny didn't trust you at first. But once you did the work of an apple farmer... they saw it was pointless to still be mad at you." Applejack paused, as the meaning sunk in for Sunset. "You humiliated yourself just to pay those jocks back. That proves to everybody you want to change." Sunset was about to comment, but Mr. Cranky began his lesson on polygons.

Sunset didn't pay attention to the lesson. She already knew about polygons. She dreaded that what was happening was too good to be true. That someone was going to attack her when her back was turned. Yank on her re-growing hair. Throw spitballs. Whisper something nasty in her ear.

But after 45 minutes, no one did a thing to her. Or said anything nasty. Using her mirror, she saw no one behind her was paying attention to her.

When the bell rung, she waved Applejack goodbye, and walked out of the room with a spring in her step.

She saw Sprint opening his locker.

"Hey Sprint," Sunset said in a joyful tone. The athlete looked up from his locker.

"Hey Sunset," he greeted cheerfully. "How do you feel?" The genuine warmth in the smile contrasted sharply with the vicious sneer she had been given her since she got back. Sunset felt the joy in her stomach grow even more.

"A little dizzy," Sunset said. "Look, I still owe you money so how about-,"

"Sunset you don't have to do anything," he said kindly. "You've done enough."

"Really?" Sunset said.

"The fact that you were willing to let yourself get dunked after getting sick is enough for me," Sprint said kindly. Then he looked down, his smile turning to a frown.

"Sprint are you OK?" Sunset asked with some concern.

"I'm sorry for treating you like shit," Sprint said, his voice trembling with remorse. "I'm sorry we pulled all those nasty pranks-"

"Sprint," Sunset said with a small smile, "you don't have anything to be sorry for. I was horrible to everyone. I...kind of had it coming."

"Maybe...but," Sprint said, the remorse in her voice clear. "I should've at least given you a chance before...throwing stuff at you."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Sunset said, "you already made it up to me by giving me a chance. Thanks to you, I can walk around without everyone treating me like garbage." She gave Sprint her own reassuring smile.

"Well you suffered enough," Sprint said in a quiet voice. "Truth is, I only did it because Rainbow Dash asked me too."

"Really?" Sunset said, warmth returning to his voice.

"Yeah," Sprint said. Before he could continue, the bell rung. "I got to go," Sprint said, before running to class. Other students began marching to their classes. Sunset, however, stood there, feeling butterflies form in her stomach.

Rainbow Dash walked out of her gym class, feeling energized by the good workout she got. As she walked out, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Sunset giving her a happy look.

"What do you want Shimmer?" Rainbow Dash said, her voice somewhat frosty.

"Thank you so much Rainbow," Sunset said happily.

"For what?"

"For getting Sprint to give me a chance," Sunset said, not noticing Rainbow's disgust. "It means a lot-,"

"I'm not your friend Shimmer," Rainbow barked, interrupting Sunset's spiel. "I did it because Applejack and Fluttershy...tolerate you." Sunset's smile, for some reason, didn't waver.

"Look...even if we don't become friends," Sunset said warmly, "I want to say that you're a wonderful person. The fact that you still hate me but still are friends with Applejack and the others proves that you really do deserve the Element of Loyalty." Rainbow Dash was taken aback by Sunset's words.

"Anyways," Sunset said, the happy grin still on her face. "I'll see you around." Rainbow saw that Sunset ran with such joy that she was practically skipping like Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash looked at Sunset with confusion. Despite Rainbow being less than nice, Sunset still acted...well Sunny. To Rainbow, Sunset was becoming like Pinkie Pie of all people.

"How can she make me like her," Rainbow Dash thought with mild annoyance as she walked away. While she wasn't ready to call Sunset a friend, maybe she could try and sit next to her one day.

....And the Sword Shall Turn On You. (Edited 03/23/2020)

Gilda groaned as she pulled her science textbook out of her locker. While her grades in science weren't terrible, it was a class she didn't particularly enjoy. One of the things she hated about public school was they always made her study things she had no practical use for. How was knowing about photosynthesis going to help her plan a battle strategy.

"Leave the science stuff to the nerds. My destiny is on the battlefield, beating back the Changeling alliance," she thought excitedly, thinking about her dream of becoming a great general. When she closed her locker door, she saw Sunset Simmer approach her.

"Hey Gilda," Sunset said, an unusually happy smile on her face.

"He, Shimmer," Gilda said unenthusiastically. The yellowed-eyed girl raised an eyebrow. "Why are you smiling? Did you spend last night rubbing one out?"

"No," Sunset said, her smile almost wavering as a blush came to her face. "I'm-I've got your applications."

"Which ones?"

"All of them." A small amount of surprise appeared on Gilda's stern eyes.

"Really?"

"Yep," Sunny said proudly. "I was sick, so I used my time to get everything done."

"Essays and everything?"

"Yep," Sunset said, pulling out a gold-colored folder. "Here they are." Gilda took the folder.

"Alright," Gilda said, "I look over them and tell you what you did wrong, OK?"

"Sure," Sunset said. "So how have you been?" the fire haired girl asked kindly in an awkward tone. "Seen any-,"

"Don't you start, Shimmer," Gilda snorted. Sunset frowned in confusion.

"What, I'm not-," Sunset paused at Gilda started looming over her.

"Listen to me very carefully Shimmer," Gilda said, those yellow eyes looking like missiles aimed directly at Sunset. "Just because you did this for me does not mean I want to be your gal pal. Let alone having you anywhere near my shit." She paused to grab Sunset by her shirt. "Your paying me what you owed me, but don't start acting like my friend. Or else-"

"My head goes back into the toilet," Sunset said in a weak, tiny voice.

"I'm gonna glue your head to it," the white-skinned girl growled. Sunset let out a terrified grimace. "Do you understand?" Gilda finished, releasing Sunset from her grip.

"Yes," Sunset stammered.

"Good," Gilda said, "now-," she looked to the side and saw something that made her eyes widen. Without another word, Gilda turned and walked away. Although her posture and speed made Sunset think Gilda was fleeing from something. What could she be afraid of?

"Sunset," a voice said. Sunset turned around and saw Rarity approaching her.

"Hey Rarity," Sunset said.

"How are you feeling?" Rarity asked.

"Good."

"Is that ruffian bothering you?" Rarity asked with narrowed eyes and a bit of iron entering her tone.

"Nah, she was just laying down the law for me," Sunset said with a hint of discouragement.

"Sunset," Rarity said. "What's wrong?"

"Today has been a good day," Sunset said. "For the first time in weeks, everybody stopped attacking me." Sunset bent her back. "But Rainbow Dash still doesn't like me and Gilda said she still doesn't want to be my friend."

"Sunset," Rarity asked with a disappointed tone. "Did you honestly think everyone would forget your slights against them because of a few acts of public decency?"

"Well," Sunset said sheepishly. "I kinda hoped."

"Sunset, life is not a sitcom where you're problems can be solved in 22 minutes," Rarity admonished.

"Aren't sitcoms 30 minutes?" Sunset asked.

"Only if you include commercials, which I don't," Rarity said with some contempt. "Anyways, progress doesn't happen overnight." Rarity noticed the somewhat tired expression on Sunset's face. "But don't let that discourage you. Life is like making a beautiful dress. It's hard, its brutal, sometimes you make mistakes, but the end goal is worth it."

"Well, what's my end goal?" Sunset asked. "I don't even really know what that is."

"People seeing you for the wonderful girl you are," Rarity said with a reassuring smile." Know Rainbow Dash helped you, I just know that blessed day could be around the corner."

"Thanks Rarity," Sunset said.

"Well, I have to do something about your scowl," Rarity said. "It doesn't match your boots." Sunset snorted at that.

"Anyways," Sunset said the roll of her eyes, "let's get to class." The two girls walked off to class.

It was the end of the day and three girls were walking down the hallway.

"You don't want to come to my farming club?" Applejack said.

"Or fashion club?" Rarity asked.

"Sorry, the principals don't want me here after 3:30 PM," Sunset said with regret. The restriction placed on her reminded Sunset that she was still far from being off the hook, dunk tank or no.

"Maybe if you do some more fundraising," Applejack said. "The principals will let you off easy."

"Maybe," Sunset said. She looked at her watch. "I really go to go," the fire-haired girl said, running toward her locker. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," the farmer and budding fashion designer said.

Sunset ran to her locker to pull out some notebook and saw a slip of paper stuffed into one of the openings.

"What is that?" Sunset said. Sunset pulled the paper up. When she saw it, her heart fell into her throat.

It was that creepy picture someone sent her of her head photoshopped onto a skeleton the last Friday before she returned to Canterlot High. Only this time, the eyes were crossed out with X's. A caption written in bright red letters said, "So you came back?" Sunset stared at the menacing warning with terror, the minutes feeling like hours. She felt her hand shaking, until she remembered Applejack's advice.

"Sunset, whoever sent you that was a troll. Since I've been on the Internet, all kinds of idiots and perverts have said horrible things to me online, but none of them have tried to do anything to me in person. Most of them are just yellow-bellied cowards who hide behind their keyboards."

"I'm not getting let some coward get to me," Sunset said with a scowl. She balled up the warning and threw it in the trash. She then proceeded to walk to the stairwell, to reach the first floor.

With school ending, the hallways were practically vacant. The sound of Sunset's heels on the tile floor echoed throughout the building. When she approached the top of the stairwell, she saw her pencil had fallen out of her pocket.

"Darnit," Sunset said, rushing forward to pick it up. Just as she grabbed the loose object, she heard the sound of someone running.

"There you-" Sunset felt something slam into her back. She was shoved so hard, she lost balance. Suddenly she found herself tumbling down the stairs. Sunset yelled as she felt her body each stair. After a few moments of pain, she found herself deposited in the floor, her ankle and other parts of her body throbbing in pain.

Sunset laid there in agony, her body sore, and her ankle throbbing like crazy. After a few moment, she felt something had been placed on her head. With some trepidation, she reached for her head and found a balled up paper. She opened it. This time, it had one simple message written in red.

"I warned you." Sunset quivered her lip in fear

Sunset tried to pull herself up using the rail, but her ankle, probably strained, made it impossible for her to stand. After several attempts at standing, Sunset sat at the foot of the stairs, hugging herself and whimpering in pain and terror. Sunset felt a small tear roll down her cheek.

Author's Note

Sorry, Sunset. Nothing is ever going to be easy.

We Don't Live Alone (Edited 07/22/20)

"Nothing appears to be broken," Nurse Redheart said kindly as she examined Sunset's ankle. "All you need is some painkillers and rest and you should be able to walk again by tomorrow."

"Thanks," Sunset said with gritted teeth as she laid on the bed. Nurse Redheart was unique among the school's staff. The grey-skinned woman was the only person (aside from Applejack and her friends) who hadn't treated her with even a measure with contempt. When Sunset needed the glued-on backpack taken off of her head, Nurse Redheart helped without question, instead of being upset over her lost paycheck and the damage done to the school.

When Sunset asked her why she would care about someone like her, Redheart's response was simple.

"Because it's my job."

The small but firm words showed that the nurse would help anyone who bothered. Even a spoiled delinquent like her.

"Do you need anything?" Nurse Redheart asked empathetically, sitting in a chair in front of her. "Water, juice, something to read?"

"I'm good," Sunset said with a quiver. The woman's kindness was a small comfort, but it wasn't enough to overcome the crippling fear that engulfed her.

Sunset had been attacked before. But this was different.

Someone was attacking her from the shadows. Everyone who had attacked her had at least had the courtesy to air their grievance at Sunset and/or show their face. She didn't know who this person was, let alone their motive. Apparently, her public acts of atonement weren't enough to quench this person of their hatred.

What had she done to this person to make them so vengeful? This made her not only afraid and uncertain, but also ashamed, even though she didn't know what to be ashamed about.

This person's hatred went from vindictive to outright murderous. They were sending her death threats even a month and a half after the Fall Formal. And the fact that Sunset was knocked down the stairs proved that this person was willing to back up those threats.

This person was some kind of sadist. Someone out there dreamed of seeing her in a coffin, if those twisted pictures were any indication. The fact they were knowingly scaring her meant that they loved her pain and misery. They weren't just taking revenge, like Sprint or Gilda did. They were reveling in her suffering.

All these conclusions filled her with cold terror. Never before in her life did she ever feel so afraid. She usually had magic, the Princess, or her reputation to protect her. She had none of these, and her helplessness drove her to tears.

"Sunset don't worry," Nurse Redheart said soothingly, pulling the fired-haired girl into a hug.

"Why shouldn't I worry?" Sunset said in tears. "Someone wants to kill me. And I...probably deserve it."

"Don't say that," Redheart argued back, as if Sunset said some vile slur. "Despite all the mistakes you've made, you deserve to be happy. Don't let some...miserable person make you feel scared." the woman cooed. Sunset thought this woman was a saint. She wouldn't even insult the person who shoved her. "Just get better." The woman kept holding Sunset as she let out a pained sob every few seconds. Once Sunset's crying got under control, Nurse Redheart let her go.

"Do you want me to call your mom?" Nurse Redheart said.

"My mom?" Sunset said.

"Yes, your mom," Nurse Redheart said. Sunset blinked, before letting out an internal 'oh'.

"Nurse Redheart thinks my parents are here with me," Sunset remembered. Officially, her parents were "Solar Flare" and "Bright Corona", and they lived in the Canterlot area for 3 years. In reality, they didn't exist beyond some IDs and forms that she used whenever she needed parents' permission for things.

In Equestria, she had been paying taxes and covering her own expenses when she was already 13.

But in this world, Sunset was still a minor until she reached the age of 18. In order to be allowed to go to school and do other things she had already been doing on her own, Sunset had to invent fictional parents who would sign off on certain things that Sunset couldn't do on her own. In desperation, she turned to a criminal forger to create the parents she needed.

From buying her motorcycle to opening a stock portfolio, her fictional parents had helped her everyday. Sunset would always thank whatever deity existed in this world that she had brought gold and jewels with her, or else she would've been forced to live in a foster home.

Principal Luna and Celestia learned from Twilight the she had done this, but they allowed to slide. Sunset guessed that they hadn't shared that knowledge with the rest of faculty.

"No, don't," Sunset said abruptly. Nurse Redheart looked confused at Sunset's outburst. "Um...she's at...a meeting," Sunset muttered, rubbing her arm.

"Well, OK," Nurse Redheart said with confusion. "Anyways, just rest there for a few hours until you feel comfortable enough to stand up." Just as Sunset was about to continue her pity party, she heard the door slam open.

"Sunny," Pinkie Pie's squeaky voice said. "Are you OK?" Sunset turned around and saw Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie coming toward her.

"Uh Pinkie," Applejack drawled. "That isn't the kind of question to ask someone who fell down the stairs." Applejack calmly walked over to Sunset and sat on the bed next to her.

"How you feeling sug?" Applejack asked kindly. The blond girl's kind, innocent question didn't make Sunset feel better. Instead she just started crying again.

"I'm scared," Sunset said in a weak tone, still sobbing like crazy. She sounded less like a brash teenager and more like a lonely girl. "Someone wants to kill me. And I don't know what to do." Suddenly, she found herself smothered. She saw all three of her friends giving her a massive hug.

"Sunset," Applejack said in a soothing tone. "You don't have to be scared. We're gonna find the varmint who knocked you down the stairs, and we're gonna make sure they never hurt you again."

"Don't let some meanie make you feel terrible," Pinkie Pie said.

"No matter what happens, we're here for you," Fluttershy said in a soothing tone. The warm hug from her friends helped Sunset feel calm down. While her fears didn't go away, her friends helped remind her that there were people she could trust. People who she knew would help her no matter what.

"Thanks guys," Sunset said gratefully. Her friends released her from her hug.

"Do you want to sleep at my house until they catch the loon?" Applejack said.

"Yes," Sunset said, a grateful smile on her face. "Yes, I would love that." Sunset heard the sound of heels and saw Vice Prinicipal Luna march into the room. The woman looked at her with a mixture of anger and concern.

"Sunset, I heard about what happened," Vice-Principal Luna said. "I'm so sorry."

"It isn't like I didn't have this coming for a long time," Sunset Shimmer muttered bitterly.

"Sunset, don't say that about yourself," Principal Luna said in a disappointed tone.

"You're one to talk" Sunset said bitterly. "If Twilight hadn't stood up for me, you were gonna kick me out." Principal Luna looked down in shame. "You hated me like everyone else did."

"I didn't hate you Sunset," Principal Luna said. "I was...let down by you."

"Let down?"

"You know, a lot of students here think of me as the villain,"Luna said with some bitterness. "Because I have to be the one who gives out punishment. Because I'm the one who has to spoil their fun to protect them. While the kids wave at Celestia," Luna said with some bitterness ,"hardly any student ever...comes up to me to say hello," Principal Luna said. Sunset and her friends were downcast at that. "They're afraid that I'll give them detention for the most minor thing. When you first came here, and complimented me for all my hard work, I thought there was one student who understood that I'm just doing my job." Luna's mouth frowned. "Finding out that all you were just brownnosing me, and hurting others behind my back," Luna's lips began to quiver, "tore me up a little bit."

"Luna," Sunset said regretfully. "I'm so sorry."

"I know you are," Principal Luna said with an honest smile. "You've demonstrated to me that you don't just want to get out of trouble. You understand how much you've hurt people and have worked to make amends." Luna put a warm hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Believe me when I say that whoever knocked you down the stairs had no right to do that."

"Thanks," Sunset said. She felt her friends hugging her again which brought her spirits up.

"I came here to ask you if know you somebody who would've hated you enough to knock you down the stairs and send you death threats," Luna asked Sunset.

"Everyone," Sunset said. Luna looked at Sunset.

"Sunset, you have to be exaggerating," Luna said with a forced smile. Sunset looked down at her knees.

"Its true Madam Principal," Applejack said with some anger. "After Sunset cost my farm business, there were times I wanted to-" Applejack looked down in shame, unable to finish the sentence. Rarity and even Fluttershy also indicated they felt the same way about Sunset

"I don't blame you guys for how you feel," Sunset with some understanding. Her friends smiled at her, indicating they didn't feel that way anymore.

"Here's what I'm going to do," Luna said with a reassuring smile. "While I don't have leads, I'll make an announcement saying that the person can't get away with this. I'll also look at the security footage."

"Thank you," Sunset said gratefully. Principal Luna turned around and walked out of the room.

"So when do you think you'll be well enough that we can we go home?" Applejack said.

"Redheart says I can leave in a few hours," Sunset said. "Guys, thanks for checking up on me."

"That's what friends do for one another," Fluttershy said gratefully. Sunset felt both joy and a pang of shame.

"I'm lucky to know these girls," Sunset said regretfully.

Apple Bloom sat on her couch in the living room, texting her friends when she heard the door open.

"Hey sis," Apple Bloom said happily, as she saw her big sister walk into the house. "How's it-," she paused as she saw Sunset leaning on her sister.

"What is she doing here?" Apple Bloom said unhappily. Sunset frowned at that while Applejack looked disappointed.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack said in a scolding tone. "Someone knocked Sunset down the stairs and broke her ankle. I know you don't like her, but don't act rude."

"Really," Apple Bloom said with sadness, looking at the limping Sunset, seeing the bandage wrapped around her ankle. "Its too bad," Apple Bloom said with sad eyes. "It's too bad she didn't break her legs," she then said, her face shifting into a nasty sneer. Sunset frowned at Apple Bloom's cruel remark.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled. "You apologize to Sunset, or I'll get Granny and she'll make you."

"Go get her," Apple Bloom said in a smug, challenging tone. Applejack was about to yell for her grandmother before she felt Sunset's hand on her shoulder.

"Applejack, don't," Sunset Shimmer said with a shake of her head. "Apple Bloom," Sunset said regretfully. "Your brother told me about how your farm was nearly ruined by what I did. And how you couldn't get braces. I know what I did-,"

"You don't know anything!" Apple Bloom. "You don't know what I went through because of you!"

"Apple Bloom," Applejack said. "Stop being so-,"

"SHUT UP APPLEJACK!" Apple Bloom bellowed. Applejack was stunned by her sister's anger and shut her mouth. Apple Bloom turned her angry eyes back to the fire haired girl.

"You don't know what its like for people like me," Apple Bloom said bitterly. "When you talk like this, and live on a farm, people think you're dumber than a sack of hammers and eat mud." Apple Bloom looked down with some bitterness.

"In the seventh grade, after you cost us a lot of business, I had to walk around with crooked teeth and wear cheap, ratty clothes because all our money went to our mortgage," Apple Bloom said. "I looked like one of those poor hillbillies who sat around drinking moonshine."

"Sug, I had to go through the same things to," Applejack said gently. "We all had to sacrifice-,"

"For a whole year, Diamond Tiara and everyone else made fun of me because of how I looked like a stupid hick!" Apple Bloom shrieked. "They called me horrible words like 'hick', 'bumpkin', 'pigfu-',"Apple Bloom looked down in shame, remembering all her painful middle school memories. "They would throw garbage at me, saying they were getting me my favorite dinner," Apple Bloom said, tears falling out of her eyes. Applejack reached out to hug her baby sister, but Apple Bloom pushed her away.

"The teacher didn't do anything about it. After a while, I started believing them," Apple Bloom said, her eyes watering. "My grades got worse, I stopped going outside to play." Apple Bloom sniffled. "If I hadn't made friends with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, I don't know what I would've done."

"Apple Bloom," Sunset said regretfully. "I'm so-,"

"Every time you called Applejack and me names," Apple Bloom said in a shrill tone, "it reminded me of the worst year of my life." Apple Bloom let out another sneer. "So what if someone pushed you down the stairs," Apple Bloom said unsympathetically. "You're getting what you deserved." She clenched her fists and began weeping. "I was made fun of for something...I couldn't control." Sunset looked down in shame.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack said, her eyes full of sympathy. "I didn't know you still felt this way."

"If you really cared about me, you wouldn't have brought her here," Apple Bloom said angrily. "But what do I know? I'm just the little sister. That automatically makes me too dumb for you to care about anything I have to say," she finished furiously before storming up the stairs.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack called to her angry younger sister. "I don't think your an-," Apple Bloom reached her room, and slammed the door.

Applejack looked downcast, while Sunset stared at the door with no small amount of shame.

A Farmhouse Divided (A Rewrite of All Three Parts)

Author's Note

A lot of people didn't like this story arc, so I redid the whole thing.

A Farmhouse Divided (A Rewrite of All Three Parts)

Applejack saw Sunset marching toward the front door with a self-loathing expression on her face and her bag in her hand.

"Sunset, don't leave." Applejack begged

Sunset turned to Applejack, her face wracked with guilt. "Why shouldn't I?" Sunset asked miserably. "Apple Bloom doesn't want me here, and I don't-"

"What happened to Apple Bloom wasn't your fault," Applejack said. Sunset narrowed her eyes. "OK, you did put us in the poor house for a while, but Diamond Tiara was already a bully. She was just looking for any excuse to be mean."

Sunset didn't feel any better. "I was gonna do it," Sunset said, collapsing onto Applejack's couch with a tired expression.

"Do what?" Applejack asked in a concerned voice.

"Trash your farm if you did get in my way. Applejack looked at her with horror. "Break your equipment. Ruin your apples-," Sunset looked down, tears nearly flowing from her eyes. "You and your family had nothing to do with my feud with the Princess. But I was so obsessed with proving her wrong, I treated you and everyone else like an obstacle."

"Sunset I-,:

Sunset's hands fell into her face. "I still don't get why you didn't just throw that pie in my face when I was doing community service?" Sunset said in an angry tone as she looked up at Applejack. "Why you didn't just attack me like everyone else did?! I nearly destroyed your sister's future! I'm the reason your grandma has to work in a cafeteria!"

"I'm not gonna lie," Applejack said. "Part of me wanted to do things."

Sunset narrowed her eyes at Applejack's candor. "Then why didn't you?" Sunset asked. "Was it because Princess Twilight told you to be my friend?"

"No. I know I promised the Princess to be your friend, but when I thought you were expelled, I was really happy. I thought you'd stay gone." Applejack took her hat off. "But then ah saw you after the Formal. You looked so...broken. At first, ah thought you were blubbering to get out of trouble."

"And how did you know I wasn't?" Sunset asked with a curious voice.

"Well, when we had our talk, I thought you were gonna act like a weasel. Beg me for forgiveness, make excuses, get defensive when I said mean things to you," Applejack said. She then took a seat on the couch next to Sunset. "But you didn't do any of those things. You accepted that I hated you, and you accepted I would never forgive you even when you did pay me back, and more importantly, you were honest with me." Applejack put a warm hand on Sunset's shoulder. "And when you worked on mah farm without complaint, that proved to me you weren't the stuck up wench anymore."

"Really?"

"You've taken a lot of hurt," Applejack said with firm eyes. "But instead of getting mad about no one giving you a chance, or getting revenge, you've accepted that people were gonna hate you, and you still tried to make amends. You even feel bad for the person who shoved you down the stairs," Applejack said with soft eyes. "If that don't proved you've change, nothin' will."

"So you really believe in me?"

"Eeyup," Applejack said, sounding like Big Mac. "Also, I've seen what happens when you hold a grudge," Applejack continued. "Granny's family and Momma's family had a horrible feud," Applejack said solemnly. "I can't even remember what it was about, which just proves how dumb it was. My grandpa was so obsessed with the feud, that he disowned Momma over it when she decided to marry Poppa."

"Really?" Sunset asked sadly. "Did they ever...make up?"

"Nope," Applejack said sadly. "My Momma died before that could happen. The first time I ever met my grandpa was at Momma's funeral. I really wanted to hate the man for how he treated us and Poppa, but he looked so...sad. He was upset that he never got to say sorry to my Momma." Applejack looked at Sunset with serious eyes. "My grandpa taught me that hate hurts you more than the person you hate. Forgiving people can be hard sure, but it works better than being angry, and it makes you a better person." Sunset looked down. "Ever since I gave you a chance, I felt better then when I was mad at you. I love hanging out with you Sunset. And Granny and Big Mac love having you here."

"But Apple Bloom doesn't," Sunset said miserably.

"Well, now that you're here, you can do what you did with my friends," Applejack said with an encouraging expression. "Prove to her that you've changed."

"But what can I do for Apple Bloom?" Sunset asked with some frustration. "I can't punch Diamond Tiara in the face or give her that year back."

"Well, it is a good thing you're talking to her sister," Applejack said with a smile. "I know what she likes."

"I don't know, this feels like bribery," Sunset said as began getting the plates out.

"Food is a good way to connect with people," Applejack said as she put the silverware on the table. "As my Momma said, you can get to someone through their stomach." Sunset looked at the spread they prepared of Apple Bloom's favorite foods: jerk chicken, collared greens, sweet potato pie, spaghetti and meatballs, and a bottle of orange soda.

Big Macintosh and Granny Smith burst into the kitchen with hungry smiles on their faces.

"Why this smells mighty fine," Granny Smith said with some pride. "I'm mighty pleased I don't have to do the cookin' tonight." As Sunset and the Apple family took their seats, Applejack blew a horn.

"Apple Bloom, dinner!" Applejack said heartily. After a few moments, Apple Bloom still didn't come downstairs. "Apple Bloom, dinner," Applejack repeated, but the yellow-skinned girl still didn't come downstairs. With a sigh, Applejack walked upstairs to her sister's room.

Applejack got close enough to the door so Apple Bloom would here her. "Apple Bloom, I know you don't like Sunset, but please come downstairs, we've got a really good dinner." The yellow-skinned freshman said nothing. "Please Apple Bloom, come out of there." The young girl said nothing. "Alright, Apple Bloom, either you come out of there, or I'm coming in there on the count of three." Apple Bloom's room was silent. "1...2...3!" Applejack burst into the room. To her shock, no one was there and some of the drawers were empty.

"Apple Bloom," she said with some fear. Applejack came up to the bed and saw a note written in red. Applejack read the note, and felt her face turn red.

Applejack stormed downstairs in a rage.

"What's wrong?" Granny Smith asked as the tanned farmer girl burst into the kitchen. Applejack quietly but furiously handed her the note. Granny put on her glasses and read the note, with each word making her frown deeper and deeper.

"What happened?" Sunset asked with some concern.

"Apple Bloom said she's gonna live with Scootaloo and her aunts as long as you live in this house," Applejack said with a snarl. Big Mac's face twisted into a frown. Granny looked like she was about to have a stroke. But instead of exploding, her face twisted into a calm chill.

"I'm not gonna be angry," Granny Smith said in a quiet, but shaky voice. "I'm not gonna be angry. I'm just gonna call Holiday and Lofty, they'll bring Apple Bloom back here, and then she'll be working her butt off from dawn to dusk for the rest of the year." She went over to the counter to grab the phone and furiously dialed the numbers.

"Make sure to get under the couch too," Lofty said. The blue-haired woman was supervising Scootaloo and Apple Bloom as they vacuumed the room.

"Yes ma'am," Apple Bloom said formally.

"Yes Aunt Lofty," Scootaloo said.

"After you two are done I want you two to help clean the attic," Holiday said in her rough Sydneigh accent. "It was nice of you to help with chores, Apple Bloom."

"My pleasure," Apple Bloom said.

The phone rang. "I'll take care of it," Holiday said, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"This is Malus Smith," a quiet voice said. "Is this the home of Scootaloo?"

"Yes," Holiday said. "Hello Granny Smith, how are you? This is Holiday."

"Is Apple Bloom there?"

"Yes," Holiday said nervously.

"Bring. Her. Back."

Holiday looked confused. "Mrs. Smith, Apple Bloom told me your home was being fumigated. Why would you to bring her back?" A long, but sharp, paused was heard over the phone. "Mrs. Smith? Mrs. Smith?"

"Put Apple Bloom...back...on." Holiday was scared by the repressed rage, and a bit confused about the situation. With a sigh, Holiday called Apple Bloom over and handed her the phone. To her growing concern, Apple Bloom's face was also twisted into repressed rage.

"Hello Mrs. Smith," Apple Bloom said with a cold tone.

"Apple Bloom," Granny said after a few calming breaths. "I am not asking you, I am telling you to bring your butt back here."

"No."

"Apple Bloom, it would be shame of those video games of yours were to suddenly break."

Apple Bloom showed no fear at her Granny's words. "Go ahead. Break'em. I dare ya."

"Fine, I'm coming to get ya'. And if I have come to get ya-,"

A nasty smirk appeared on Apple Bloom's face. "I hear it is against the law to let senile old ladies drive."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!"

"I mean, you seem to forget about all the bad things that Sunset did. There must be something wrong with your head."

"Apple Bloom, I know yer angry, but this is not the way to behave. Know get yer butt-,"

"Why should I care about what you say!" Apple Bloom bellowed into the phone. "You don't seem to care about what I want!"

"Because you're acting like a spoiled little brat!"

Apple Bloom looked outraged. "Sunset ruins my life, and I'm the brat!"

"Sunset's changed. She cooked you a good-,"

"I don't care what she does!" Apple Bloom yelled, her yellow face a bright red. "I want that little bitch-" Apple Bloom felt the phone being wrenched away from her by Holiday.

"I see there is a family dispute going on," Holiday said into the phone with a calming tone. "And tensions are high. Maybe you can let Apple Bloom-,"

"YOU'LL BRING HER BACK HERE NOW!" Granny bellowed into the phone so loudly that it hurt Holiday's ears. Apple Bloom angrily grabbed the phone away from Holiday.

"LISTEN TO ME YOU OLD PRUNE!" Apple Bloom screamed. "You don't care about what I say! You let that monster back into my life! So why don't you get lost and leave me alone, you old bat!" The youngest Apple sibling angrily slammed the phone down in order to get the last word.

Granny Smith hung up the phone, looking utterly heartbroken. The teenagers in the room looked at the green skinned woman with sympathy.

"Granny," Applejack said. "What's wrong?"

"Apple Bloom doesn't want to live with me." The green-skinned woman looked down, almost in tears. "You know what. You young'uns do what you want. I'm too old for anyone to listen too."

"Granny lets enjoy the nice dinner," Applejack said, trying to cheer the old woman up. Instead, Granny walked out of the kitchen and trudged upstairs in a bitter daze. After a few moments, Applejack and Big Mac, themselves bitter and upset, walked upstairs, too upset to enjoy food. Sunset sat silently in the kitchen, brooding up a storm.

"I ruin everything I touch."

As Canterlot High's students marched into the school, a beep noise signaled that the morning announcements were about to begin.

"Hello CHS," Principal Celestia's voice said. "Before we begin our announcements, there is something we need to discuss: as most of you are probably aware, yesterday afternoon, one of you chose to push Sunset Shimmer down the stairs and sprained her ankle. This person is also been connected of sending death threats to Sunset to her E-mail and planting them into her locker." Some students heard the announcement with a bit of shock.

"However did that I want to say this: you have every right to be mad at Sunset. Her actions at CHS were nothing short of delinquent. But let me be clear: sending murderous threats and knocking her down the stairs goes well beyond an acceptable response. Sending threats and physical assault can cause severe damage in both the physical and psychological sense." Celestia paused for a moment

"Again, I am aware that Sunset has done serious harm to many of you. But Sunset Shimmer has not only shown remorse, but she has worked hard to right her wrongs. During her suspension, she worked for six weeks helping repair the damage she did, and did not miss a night of work. She has also followed the restrictions put on her to the letter. The Apple family told me that she worked on their farm to pay off damages she did to them. She also willingly subjected herself to a dunk tank to pay off damages she owed to the track team." She let out another pause. The other students began feeling even sadder.

"Whoever pushed Sunset down the stairs and made serious death threats to her, I am pleading with you to confess to me by the end of the day. I am not promising no punishment. Making threats and nearly breaking her neck is, again, beyond acceptable. However, I am willing to give you a shorter punishment. And I promise you that whatever grievance you have, I will make sure that Sunset Shimmer makes it up to you. But if you choose to retaliate against her again, and I find out who, you will be severely punished. Anyone else who chooses to retaliate against Sunset going forward will be a suspect." The students and faculty all felt a bit of shame as Celestia ended her warning and returned to the usual morning announcements.

As Sunset walked into school, she noticed that the angry glares from the other students had gone away. Apparently, they felt bad she was attacked. Once upon a time, she would've been jumping for joy at this day. But with the sword of Damocles hanging over her head, and the conflict she had created within the Apple family, any comfort she would've felt wasn't there. Not even Applejack and Rarity acting as her bodyguards could raise her spirits.

"Sunset don't worry," Applejack assured her. "I'm gonna talk to Apple Bloom and straighten her out."

"Sure, that sounds great," Sunset said with false cheer.

"Darling," Rarity said. "I assure you that Apple Bloom will come around. Besides, everyone has stopped retaliating against you."

"Because Celestia told them not to," Sunset said bitterly.

"Well darling, the reason why she did that is because you've worked hard to make amends," Rarity said in a reassuring tone. "Celestia isn't defending you out of pity. She is doing it because you've earned it."

"I guess," Sunset said.

"Hey Sunset," Sunset turned around and saw the warm smiles of Sprint and Quick Pace.

"Hey guys," Sunset said with a small smile, their presence giving her some comfort. She noticed Sprint was holding up a white box.

"We heard about what happened," Sprint said sympathetically. "Which is why we got you this." Sunset took the box, and saw a chocolate cake inside.

"Thanks," Sunset said with a grateful smile.

"It was all Quick's idea," Sprint said, gesturing with his thumb to the diminutive freshman, who smiled bashfully.

"I-I-I-I f--f-figured y-y-you earned from what you d-d-did," Quick stammered. Sunset didn't say anything. Instead, she bent down and kissed Quick on the cheek, to everyone's surprise.

"That was really sweet of you," Sunset said to Quick in a warm, empathetic voice. Quick blushed, and was too stunned to say a word.

"Not as sweet as that cake," Sprint said. "That is like diabetes in a box." Everyone let out a small chuckle at that. "Anyways, I'll see you guys around," Sprint said, as he and Quick walked away with a warm smile of his own. Rarity and Applejack looked at Sunset with teasing smiles.

"Guys, we're not dating," Sunset said with a sheepish smile.

"I don't know," Applejack said with a wry grin. "You did have your lips on that boy's cheek for a bit long."

"I detect a forecast of romance," Rarity said passionately.

"Guys, Quick is a good guy," Sunset said with a warm smile. "He's been one of the few people here who has been nice to me from day one. But I don't have those feelings for him."

"Tis a shame," Rarity said. "I would've have made you the best wedding dress I could muster." Sunset snorted.

"The fact that those two are being nice to you proves you've made a lot of progress," Applejack said. "And if they are starting to like you, I know everyone else will."

"The person who pushed you down doesn't matter," Rarity said. "From here on in, it is up, up, up."

"Thanks," Sunset said. She opened the box, eager to try some of the chocolate cake. She was so entranced by the smell of the cake she didn't notice the world around her. She tripped on a book, accidentally tipping the box forward. Someone let out an annoyed yell. She looked up and saw she accidentally pushed the cake into someone's white shirt, staining it brown.

A mortified expression appeared on Sunset's face. "I'm so sorry. Let me-," Sunset looked up and felt her veins turn to ice. Gilda was glaring down at her, with a huge chocolate stain on her jacket and wife-beater.

"Gilda," Sunset said nervously. "I'm so sorry. I was so happy with getting a cake, I didn't notice you." Gilda just glared at her silently, looking like a bull ready to charge. She noticed the hallway had gotten dead silent, and realized the other kids were looking at her fearfully, like she was a dead woman walking.

A sheepish smile formed on Sunset's face. "Look, let me get a paper towel, and we can get this cleaned up in no time." The statuesque athlete continued to glare silently at Sunset. "Here," Sunset said, presenting the somewhat ruined but still edible cake. "We can split this, 50/50". The white-haired teenager didn't break her vicious gaze. "OK, how about you can-," Gilda walked away with a small frown and a snarl. Her pace and expression were calm, but everyone in the hall treated the bodybuilder like a rampaging rhino and gave her a wide berth.

Sunset looked at the white-haired girl with no small amount of fear, and then fearfully walked in the other direction toward class.

"Oh man," Pinkie said sadly to Rainbow Dash as Gilda walked by. "Gilda is so lucky! I wish I could be covered in delicious chocolate cake." Rainbow rolled her eyes with a grin.

Gilda turned to glare at someone who was staring her. "You gawking at me, Snails!?" Gilda yelled at the buck-toothed redhead, who stammered fearfully. Gilda still hadn't forgiven Snails for his role in her laptop going missing.

"No, Gilda, sir," the redheaded creep said. Gilda punched the part of the locker above the locker, just missing the boy's head. Other students nearby were startled, while Snails whimpered.

"That's what I thought," Gilda growled before storming away.

Near the entrance, Apple Bloom looked up at the intercom with no small amount of scorn.

"Forgiveness, compassion, blah blah blah," Apple Bloom parroted contemptuously. Taking her books out of her locker, she began walking to class when she saw someone in the way.

"We need to talk," Applejack said calmly but firmly, looking at Apple Bloom with crossed arms. Apple Bloom silently walked away from her. Apple Bloom felt Applejack put a hand on shoulder.

"I said we need to talk," Applejack said, barely growling.

"I don't see why," Apple Bloom said coldly. "It's not like you care about anything ah say, Ms. Smith." Applejack's eyes widened in astonishment. The only time Apple Bloom said that was when she was really mad.

"I do care about you say Apple Bloom," Applejack said with some warmth in her voice.

Apple Bloom angrily pushed her sister's hand away and turned to glare at her. "Then why did you let that her near me?"

"She worked on our farm and paid us back," Applejack argued, "if you just give her a chance-,"

"She took a whole year from me," Apple Bloom shot back, "she can never make that up to me."

"That didn't make what you did last night right."

"What did I do?"

"You ran out on us, Bloom," Applejack said. "And you lied to Scootaloo's aunts."

"I left you guys a note," Apple Bloom responded.

"Sunset was hurt by what you did," Applejack said in a scolding tone. Apple Bloom scoffed at that. "So was Big Mac. So was Granny." Applejack looked horrified. "The things you said to her."

"It's not mah fault that the old bag is losing her mind," Apple Bloom said coldly.

"What did you say?" Applejack said, her heckles raised by Apple Bloom's disrespect.

"She threatened to break mah stuff," Apple Bloom said. "She's clearly losing it."

"She was hurt by what you did," Applejack said.

"So that makes it OK for her to break mah things," Apple Bloom said.

"No," Applejack said reluctantly. She put her hand on her face. "Look, Bloom, I'm not gonna argue with you. You are coming home with me today."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm your older sister and I said so!" Applejack yelled. "Because I put food on your table, changed your diapers-,"

"OH SCREW YOU!" Apple Bloom yelled back. "Your supposed to do those things! Your supposed to take care of me! I don't owe you shit!"

"How dare you talk that way to me!" Applejack yelled.

"You think you're so smart, so clever, so wise, so much better than me!" Apple Bloom yelled back. "Well you're not! If you were so smart, we wouldn't have been in the poor for a whole year!" Applejack's face turned red from Apple Bloom's remarks. "If you were so smart, it wouldn't have taken more than five months for you to figure out what Shimmer did! I wouldn't have had to spend a whole year wearing cheap crap!" Applejack's fist clenched. A nasty sneer appeared on Apple Bloom's face. "You think everyone here looks up to you. The only thing they reason to look up to you is to stare at your big. Fat. Apple. Tits!" Applejack grabbed her sister by her shirt and shoved her into a nearby locker.

"Say that one more time," Applejack hissed at her sister as she pinned her against the locker, looking at the young freshman with a pitiless gaze. "I dare you to say-,"

"What's going on here?!" Applejack turned away from her sister and saw Mr. Cranky approaching her with stern eyes. Applejack let her sister go, realizing she was caught by the teacher.

"I'll tell you what's going on!" Apple Bloom yelled with tear-soaked eyes that Applejack only started to notice. "Sunset Shimmer ruined my life, but Applejack's gotta beat me up! All because I told her the truth!" Cranky looked at Apple Bloom with concern on his normally stern features.

"Do you girls want to talk about it in my office?" Cranky asked, his strict voice becoming somewhat sympathetic.

"I just want Sunset Shimmer to go away!" Apple Bloom yelled, before running off in tears.

"Apple Bloom, I'm sorry," Applejack said in a remorseful voice, but Apple Bloom continued to run away. Mr. Cranky walked away, but not before looking at Applejack with no small amount of disappointment. Applejack glanced at the direction her sister ran in and let out a regretful sigh.

"Applejack, its not your fault," Rarity said in a soothing voice. The two were in study hall, sitting at a desk, nominally working on their science homework.

"It kind of is," Applejack said regretfully. "I was so obsessed with wanting to be a good friend, I didn't care how mah sister felt." Applejack sighed. "That year was tough on all of us, but we got through it. But I shouldn't have just expected Apple Bloom to get over it."

"I still remember when Sweetie Belle brought her home," Rarity said with a frown. "The poor thing looked so vulnerable."

Apple Bloom hid in a bush, hoping she could avoid the other kids. She felt like a prey animal fearfully hiding from a predator. After once last look she nervously climbed out.

"Oh Apple Bloom, so that's where you live," a familiar and unwanted voice said. Apple Bloom turned to look at the sneering faces of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Girls," Apple Bloom said fearfully. "Please just leave me-,"

"Oh, Ms. Trailer Trash thinks she can tell us what to do," Silver Spoon said mockingly. With a nasty smile, Silver Spoon took the aged bow out of her hair and stomped on it.

"Stop it," Apple Bloom said feebly, reaching down for it, only for Diamond Tiara to knock her to the ground. Apple Bloom curled into a ball on the ground and closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears from flowing out. The nasty laughter of the two was making it harder.

"Leave her alone!" Apple Bloom looked up and saw some orange-skinned girl with purple hair walking up, glaring at her two tormentors.

"I'm sorry what was your name again?" Diamond said mockingly. "Sarah, or something?"

"Scootaloo," the orange-skinned girl barked.

"Oh now I am remember," Silver Spoon sneered. "You're the girl raised by the two dykes."

"Take that back right now!"

"Make me," Silver Spoon sneered back. "What are you gonna do? Whine to the princ-," before Silver Spoon could finish her sentence, she felt herself knocked to the ground, with a throbbing pain on her nose. Silver Spoon felt her nose and saw she was bleeding to her horror. Silver Spoon looked up and saw the orange-skinned girl looking down at her with a nasty grin and a bared fist.

"Do you want some?" Scootaloo asked a shaking Diamond Tiara. Without a word, Diamond Tiara ran away fearfully. Silver Spoon got up and ran away in tears.

"Mommy," the grey-skinned girl yelled as she scurried away. Scootaloo smiled viciously as the two rich girls ran off.

"Cowards!" Scootaloo muttered. She looked down at the red-haired girl who was still crying. "Don't worry. Those two won't bother you anymore," Scootaloo said in a soothing voice.

"Thanks," Apple Bloom said in a quiet voice, staring at her ruined bow.

"I'm sorry about your bow," Scootaloo said empathetically. "I'm sure your mom can get you-,"

"She can't," Apple Bloom said sadly. "She's-we're poor."
Scootaloo looked at her with no small amount of pity. "Don't worry," Scootaloo said. "I have a friend who can help you out."

Rarity came home from school with tired eyes. Her relationship with her friends was hanging on by a thread. She wanted to focus on other, less depressing, things.

"Now that I'm home, I can return to the world of fashion," Rarity said. To her annoyance, she heard Sweetie Belle's cheerful humming coming from her design studio.

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity said in a scolding tone as she entered the studio. "I told you not to go into my studio without-," Rarity paused as she saw what her sister was doing: fixing some red bow. She noticed that Scootaloo was in the room, along with some yellow-skinned girl who looked mousey.

"Sorry Rarity," her sister said, stopping her threading. "A bunch of bullies ruined that girl's bow. I was fixing it for her." Rarity looked at the girl, and saw that the girl had been crying earlier. She nevertheless looked at Sweetie Belle with a grateful smile, despite the pain that was evident on the rest of her face.

"Never mind," Rarity said with a proud smile. "Carry on. Just let me know when you're finished." Rarity walked out of the room.

"And done," Sweetie Belle said, giving the bow back to Apple Bloom.

"Thanks," Apple Bloom said. "Well, I better go."

"Why do you want to leave?" Sweetie Belle asked sadly.

"Because...I'm a loser," Apple Bloom said sadly, her lips quivering.

"No you're not," Scootaloo said. "I saved you from those brats. Sweetie fixed your bow. That makes you a Crusader!"

"Crusader>"

"Our club. We team up stopping injustice," Scootaloo said dramatically. "Whether it is mean bullies like Diamond Tiara..."

"Or crimes against fashion," Sweetie Belle said.

"And with a third member," Scootaloo began.

"We will be complete," the two girls said in unison.

"So what do you say," Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom. "Are you in? Or are you in?"

"Sure," Apple Bloom said with a grateful smile. Unbeknownst to them, Rarity was watching the scene with no small amount of pride.

"Never before did I ever feel so proud of my younger sister," Rarity said with a smile.

"And I nearly hit her," Applejack said with a disgusted voice. "I, I brought back those horrible memories. No wonder my sister's avoiding me."

"Darling, I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to her."

"The only way I can make it up to her is if I kick Sunset out," Applejack said. "But I can't just kick Sunset out. Not when someone is after her blood."

"I could take her in," Rarity offered. "Sweetie Belle doesn't like Sunset, but she doesn't hold such a grudge against her."

"I'm an Apple. We don't kick out our guests," Applejack said ruefully. "And kicking Sunset out would only make her think that she's a burden, and she already has enough problems. I have to choose between my newest friend or my younger sister. I really wish I didn't have to make that choice."

"I have an idea," Rarity said after a solemn pause. "Maybe you shouldn't be asking me for a solution."

"Who should I ask?" Applejack said.

"You should ask someone who has no stake in this dispute," Rarity said. "An unbiased party. Preferably someone with no emotions, because their perspective isn't clouded by our feelings and biases."

"Someone with no emotions," Applejack parroted. "I wonder who that could be?"

"So what should I do?" Applejack asked Maud. The two were sitting in the corner of an empty commons room. Applejack explained to Pinkie's older sister her predicament. After a few minutes of blank staring Maud picked up her pet rock-Boulder was its name-and put it to her ear.

"Boulder says you should kick Sunset out."

"But, wouldn't that hurt her?" Applejack asked. Maud put Boulder up against her ear again.

"Boulder says you're coddling Sunset too much."

The word 'coddle' made Applejack bristle. "Coddled? Coddled?!" Applejack said in rage. "Sunset has had her head dunked in the toilet, a backpack glued on her head, eggs thrown at her. She's been pushed around, and now someone wants to kill her! And she's had to work for weeks on rebuilding the school. AND she's had to work on mah farm. She's been anything BUT coddled!" Applejack broke out of her rage, realizing she was yelling at the rock and not Maud.

"I actually thought that pebble was alive. I'm losing it too," Applejack thought ruefully.

"Do you think you're protecting Sunset a little too much?" Maud asked at last, looking directly at Applejack with her blue eyes. "Do you think everybody should like her? Do you think she should face no consequences."

Applejack gave the question serious thought. "Well, no, but-,"

"Marble wasn't always so...quiet," Maud said. Applejack knew Marble well. She still couldn't believe someone so shy could ever be related to Pinkie Pie, let alone be her twin sister.

"Marble....loved things," Maud said, using the same minimal language she always used. "But then...these two teenage girls pretended to like Marble," Maud said. While Maud remained stoic, Applejack noticed Maud was gripping the table hard. "They...used her as a piñata at a party."

"What?" Applejack said sadly. "That's why Marble is so quiet?" Maud looked down and looked up. The gesture lasted about a second, but Applejack took it as a sign of how much Maud was hurt. "What happened to those girls."

"Got detention. Lime...dealt with them." Maud blinked twice after saying that. Applejack didn't need any elaboration. Limestone was a vicious, vicious thing. "They said sorry. But Marble was never the same. Now would it be right to force Marble to live with those girls?"

Applejack looked down in shame, realizing what Apple Bloom might have been going through. "I see your point," Applejack said sadly. "It isn't fair to put Apple Bloom with the cause of all that hurt. But...sometimes I feel like Apple Bloom's mad at the wrong person." Maud cocked her head in confusion. "Sometimes I feel like, when we blasted Sunset with that rainbow thing, we made a brand new Sunset who was innocent of what the old Sunset did."

"Is that what happened?" Maud asked.

"Well, Sunset says she was banished to this other dimension, where she had to see all the terrible things she did. She says that she never wanted to kill anyone, at the Elements made her see how all her bad choices led up to that." Applejack paused uneasily. "But sometimes I think all we did was brainwash Sunset into being someone else. Or maybe we killed the old Sunset and made a new one. I mean, the girl I spoke to in the diner after the Formal seemed so different from the one who threatened my family's farm."

Maud gripped her pet rock tight. "Limestone can be nice. Pinkie can be sad. I can cry. Marble can smile...sometimes. Boulder can be quiet," Maud finshed.

Applejack cocked her head, before her eyes widened in realization. "So your saying...people are complicated?" Applejack said. Maud nodded.

"Sunset was bad," Maud said in her minimalist language. "But do you really think she was terrible all the time?"

"Well, there was this waitress who liked Sunset. And not just in the 'I want tips kind of way'." Applejack said. "Maybe deep down, Sunset always forced herself to be bad, and she was secretly good."

"The girl who ruined your farm and the girl who humiliated herself to pay back a sports team aren't two different people," Maud said. "They can be same person. The girls who hurt Marble might pet puppies or be nice to their parents." Maud looked down a bit. "Doesn't mean I want them near me or Marble."

"So your saying that Sunset's good deeds don't erase what she did to Apple Bloom," Applejack said sadly, "and that I should kick her out."

"I'm not Pinkie. I don't think everyone can be friends. I will never forgive those girls for what they did to Marble," Maud said, clenching her fists under the table. "I won't force my sister to forgive them either. Your sister's feelings should come first. If Sunset really has changed, then she'll understand that."

Applejack let out a sigh. "I just want my sister and friend to get along," Applejack said sadly.

"I come from a family of four sisters," Maud said. "We're so different our parents can't always give us what we want. That's life."

Applejack sighed again. "Well, thanks for listening Maud." While Applejack was still upset, the talk was refreshing. Maud nodded her head to Boulder. "And thank you...Boulder," Applejack said sheepishly. "I'll see you guys around," Applejack said, walking out of the commons room. Maud walked Applejack leave the room. She pulled out a thermos and poured some hot chicken soup into a paper bowl. She then dropped Boulder in it.

"Eat up," Maud said with a small smile to the little rock, "you've earned it."

Sunset looked stoic as Applejack explained how she needed to salvage her relationship with Apple Bloom, and that kicking Sunset out was the only way to do it. Rarity assured her that her parents had a spare bedroom she could stay in.

"Don't worry about it Applejack," Sunset Shimmer said in quiet, calm voice, "I get it." Applejack and Rarity expected the amber-skinned girl to cry, but Sunset's quiet acceptance of the situation just made Applejack feel worse.

"Darling you know Applejack is not trying to throw you out into the cold," Rarity said sadly.

"Guys, guys," Sunset said reassuringly with a small smile, "Like I said, I don't expect everyone to forgive me. You guys have already done a lot for me, so you don't have to feel bad."

"What if I threw you and Apple Bloom a nice 'Sorry and Can We Be Friends' Party?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"We tried cooking her dinner," Applejack muttered. "If that don't work, a doubt a party will."

Pinkie Pie whined. "Why can't Sunny and Bloomy be bestest friends?"

"Look Pinkie, sometimes we can't all be friends," Applejack said. "That's just how it is." The very thought seemed to bring Pinkie to tears.

"So Rarity, how is the winter set coming along?" Fluttershy asked Rarity in order to change the subject.

"Why just swimmingly, Darling," Rarity said. While Rarity was chatting about her designs, Sunset noticed her cup was empty.

"I'm gonna get some more soda," Sunset said, rising from her table. "Do you guys want anything?" Everyone nodded. Sunset went over to the soda machine. Just when she was to pour herself some, she felt a cold liquid being dumped on her jacket and shirt.

"Sunset, dude, I'm so sorry," a panicked voice said. Sunset turned around and saw a remorseful looking Sandalwood. Sunset looked down, visibly upset. "Sunset, I swear I wasn't trying to do pour this on you. I felt something shove me and-"

"Don't worry about it Sandalwood," Sunset said in a reluctant voice. "I believe you when you said it was an accident." Sandalwood looked thoroughly ashamed, rubbing the back of his head. "No really, I believe you," Sunset assured the nature lover in a less downbeat voice, accepting that the green-haired teen was too nice to retaliate against her.

"Uh I, like, got some spare shirts in my locker if you need to borrow one," Sandalwood said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Sunset said with a small smile. "I got some in my locker," Sunset said. After a week of nonstop retribution, Sunset remembered to pack extra clothes. "I'll see you later," Sunset said, walking out of the cafeteria.

After getting some spare clothes out of her locker, Sunset ran into the girl's locker room, realizing she also needed a shower. She was so focused on getting changed, she didn't notice the slow footsteps behind her.

"OK students," Dr. Whooves said to his class. "Today, you will present your science projects," she looked to a group of three students in the back. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, you may begin." The three girls rose from the table and walked toward the front.

"I'm finally glad we got this assignment out of the way," Scootaloo said to her two friends.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said,"I was sick and tired of squishing bugs."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. The girl reached into her pants pocket, looking for something. She began panicking when she realized she didn't have it.

"Uh guys," Apple Bloom said nervously. "Did you have the flash drive?"

"You said you had it," Sweetie Belle said somewhat harshly. Apple Bloom gave her crooked smile.

"You lost it?!" Scootaloo shrieked.

"Girls, you need to present," Doctor Whooves said firmly.

"Ah misplaced my hard drive," Apple Bloom said rubbing the back of her head, feeling dumb. Doctor Whooves frowned at her in disappointment, while everyone looked at her with no small amount of scorn.

"F", he said simply.

"Doctor Whooves please," Sweetie Belle pleaded.

"You know the rules," Doctor Whooves scolded. "All assignments are due at the beginning of class, and not a moment later."

"I know ah left it here," Apple Bloom protested. "Just give me some time to find it." The brown-haired science teacher sighed.

"OK fine Ms. Smith," the teacher said sternly. "You have ten minutes to find it. You don't come back in time, or you come back empty handed, you will not only get an F, but you will take remedial Science over the summer."

"Yes sir," Apple Bloom said with a sigh.

"You know where it is right?" Scootaloo asked her timidly.

"A few ideas," Apple Bloom said sheepishly, much to the frustration of her two friends.

Apple Bloom desperately searched her locker, emptying her backpack. With a frustrated sigh, she fell to the ground.

"I'm so stupid," Apple Bloom said to herself in frustration. "Diamond Tiara was right. I'm so dumb, I would fail gym even if ah showed up." Apple Bloom's eyes widened in realization. "That's it, now I remember. I had the drive in mah gym locker." Apple Bloom ran into the gym, opened the locker she used, and happily smiled when she saw the flash drive lying in her locker.

"Yes," Apple Bloom said. She was so caught up in her joy, she didn't notice splashing coming from the showers. Out of curiosity, she followed the splashing to the showers and tubs, and what she saw filled her with terror.

Some tall person dressed completely in black was standing at the edge of the tub, his boots soaked with water from the tub. He or she was kneeling down, shoving someone head's under the water, who was trying to pull herself up, letting out chokes.

Apple Bloom whimpered in fear. The figure released the hair of whoever was being drowned and turned toward her while standing up, revealing him or herself to be very, very tall, and was wearing some skull mask.

"Please don't hurt me," Apple Bloom said to the black-clad person, backing away with a whimper. The figure ran toward her. Apple Bloom screamed in terror, but the figure instead ran past her. Apple Bloom was confused when the figure didn't attack, but her confusion turned back to fear as she remembered the person who was being drowned.

Running toward the tub, she immediately tried to pull whoever it was out. She reached in and yanked, silently thanking her years of farm work for making her stronger than the average girl.

"Sunset," Apple Bloom said, as she pulled the person toward the floor. The amber-skinned girl wasn't conscious. Smothering her panic, Apple Bloom did was she had been trained to do. She laid the unconscious girl on her back, texted the nurse, and steeled herself for the difficult task ahead.

Applejack and her friends began throwing away their garbage in the cafeteria's Northern garbage can.

"I wonder where Sunset went," Fluttershy wondered.

"Applejack, Sandalwood spilled soda on her," Rarity said. "She is clearly freshening up."

"For ten minutes?" Applejack asked with a shrug.

"You can't rush perfection, Darling," Rarity said with a smug grin.

Just as the girls walked out of the cafeteria, Nurse Redheart ran into them.

"Girls, you need to come with me," the nurse said in a serious tone.

"What is it?" Fluttershy said.

"Its Sunset," Nurse Redheart said.

"What happened?" Pinkie Pie said. The nurse looked down and looked up.

"Sunset was nearly drowned," the nurse said sadly.

Applejack and her friends burst into the nurse's office. Sunset was lying on the bed, clad in a hospital gown and a green blanket. She looked like she was in a trance. Apple Bloom was timidly sitting in a chair next to her.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack uttered. To the farmer girl's sadness, Apple Bloom fearfully looked away from her. Looking back toward Sunset, Applejack and her three friends all surrounded Sunset in a big hug. Sunset didn't return the hug, remaining stoic.

"Sunset was really lucky Apple Bloom was there," Nurse Redheart said with a smile as she walked into the room.

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked in confusion.

"Apple Bloom found Sunset while she was being drowned," Nurse Redheart said in a proud voice. "She not only scared the perpetrator, she called me and gave Sunset CPR while waiting for me." The four girls all looked toward Apple Bloom with a mixture of pride and surprise.

"Apple Bloom, I am so proud of you," Applejack said. For some reason, Apple Bloom didn't look happy with praise. In fact, she looked like she was about to cry.

"Darling," Rarity said with a concern. "Why are you-,"

"Its all my fault!" Apple Bloom yelled, before breaking down in tears.

"What's your fault?" Fluttershy asked the sobbing girl.

"Sunset nearly dying-," Apple Bloom said in between her deep sobs.

"Darling how can Sunset drowning be your-,"

"I WISHED SHE WOULD GO AWAY!" Apple Bloom furiously yelled, to the shock of everyone else, before returning to her sob. "I was so mad that Applejack was making me live with her, I wanted to her to drop dead." Apple Bloom looked down at her lap in shame, tears falling on her jeans. "I said those mean things to Granny, I was mean to Sunset, I said those mean things to you, I-," she paused as she found herself enveloped in a hug by her big sister.

"Apple Bloom, I'm sorry," Applejack said sadly, tears dripping down her own eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" Apple Bloom asked with a whimper. "I acted like a mean brat." She looked down, only for Applejack to lift her chin to raise her to her sister could look her in the eyes.

"Yeah you did," Applejack said bluntly. Applejack looked down in shame. "But...I was acting like one too. I wanted to help Sunset so badly, I didn't care about how you felt. And you were right about us losing business being kind of my fault too. I had no right to shove you against a locker."

"Yes you did," Apple Bloom said, still crying. "I'm a monster."

"No you're not." Apple Bloom looked up and saw Sunset had broken out of her trance to look at her directly. "You're not a monster," Sunset said, rising from her bed, leaving her blanket and the comfort of her friends to walk toward the young redhead. "If you were a monster, you would've let me drowned. If you were a monster, you wouldn't have called the nurse. Would a monster have breathed the life back into me?" Apple Bloom looked down, still feeling ashamed. Sunset bent down to look Apple Bloom at eye level.

"You were angry with me, and you had every right to be angry with me. I ruined your life and your family's farm," Sunset said, her voice becoming shaky. "I was the real monster. You're a hero Apple Bloom."

"No I am not," Apple Bloom said, too ashamed to look at Sunset. "I-,"

"Someone...once told me that hero doesn't have to be perfect. They just have to do the right thing when it matters," Sunset said, her voice even more fragile. "I never did that before the Fall Formal," Sunset said, her own voice laced with shame. "All my life, I only cared about what I wanted. You did say mean things to me, but when the chips were down, you put aside your anger because you thought I was dead. That makes you...a better person than I ever was. Even if we don't ever become friends, you'll always be a hero in my book." Apple Bloom got up from her chair and hugged Sunset.

"I'm sorry," Apple Bloom said in tears.

"I'm sorry too," Sunset said, also letting some of her own tears fall down. The two girls held each other and cried. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie also joined in, forming one big hug.

"Um girls," Nurse Redheart said. The girls broke from their hug and looked toward the pale-skinned woman. "I was going through Sunset's locker and I found this...note," Nurse Redheart said. Sunset began shivering in terror.

"What does it say?" Rarity asked Nurse Redheart. Reluctantly the woman opened the note and began reading.

"My first warning wasn't enough for you. Maybe my second lesson we'll teach you you're not welcome here. If not, maybe third time's the charm." Nurse Redheart turned the note around, revealing a photoshopped picture of Sunset with stab wounds in her body.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Apple Bloom looked scared. Rarity and Applejack narrowed their eyes in anger. Sunset began shivering again.

Investigation (Part 1) (07/21/20)

"Sunset," Principal Celestia said soothingly as she strode into the nurse's office. "I am so sorry. Despite what you think, you don't deserve this-",

"Don't I?" Sunset said with a mixture of fear and frustration. "I must have done something bad if they followed me into the bathroom just to drown me."

"Sunset, you're not meanie anymore," Pinkie Pie said in a reassuring tone.

"You may have done horrid things," Rarity said ,"but whoever this person is has crossed a serious line."

"Yes he or she has," the principal said with a fierce gaze. "That's why I'm here. To find out who did this to you."

"Well I don't know," Sunset said with a shrug. "Almost everyone here has it in for me." Principal Celestia pursed her lips.

"Well, lets narrow it down a bit," Principal Celestia said, looking at Apple Bloom."Ms. Smith," the principal asked the freshman, "what do you remember about this person?" The young farmer pursed her lips.

"They were covered in black and had a creepy mask," Apple Bloom said ruefully. "Ah don't really know much else. I couldn't even tell if it was a boy or a girl. All I know about the monster is that he/she was really, really tall. And they must be as strong as an ox and good at wrasslin' to pull shove Sunset down."

"I have an idea of who it might be," Rarity said, her eyes widening in realization.

"As do I," Sunset said with a bit of a whimper.

"The second you tell the truth, you'll feel a lot better," Principal Celestia said empathetically to the suspect.

"Or maybe you want to talk about it in the juvie," Vice-Principal Luna warned with an edge to her voice. To their frustration, their suspect looked more amused than intimidated. The person even had the audacity to lean back in her chair and put her boots on the desk.

"I reserve the right to remain silent," Gilda said with an toothy smile, repeating what she said several times.

"Gilda, I understand you have a history with Sunset, but this doesn't excuse anything," Celestia said sympathetically.

"Maybe a word with your foster father will get you to tell us the truth," Principal Luna warned. Suddenly Gilda started laughing like crazy.

"I reserve the right to remain silent," Gilda repeated. Celestia frowned in annoyance, while Luna menacingly put her hands over the phone. Gilda started cackling like crazy.

"Man you two are so cute," the statuesque girl said in between fits of laughter. "Acting like a bunch of big bad police officers. Playing good cop or bad cop." She ended her fits of laughter. "Scratch that, you two are so pathetic. You couldn't even scare a chicken."

"I wouldn't be so arrogant. There is a lot that points you as the culprit," Vice-Principal Luna said firmly. "Your juvie background, your permanent record, your history of anger and temper issues."

"Not to mention we've been told of several incidents in which you tormented Sunset," Principal Celestia said. "Giving her a swirlie, knocking her books down, and one incident in which you planned to put inching powder in her clothes. There was an incident before the drowning when she accidentally dumped a chocolate cake on your chest, which provides a motive. You also share a lunch period with her." To Celestia's anger, Gilda didn't crumple in the face of such evidence. Her grin got bigger.

"Congratulations on your fine detective work," Gilda said with fake applause. "Or lack off. Now I know why you tried this pathetic little good cop, bad cop routine. You two are so stupid, you couldn't bother to find any actual evidence."

"I assure you, we have-,"

"All you have is circumstantial evidence and some eyewitness testimony," Gilda interrupted. "Both of which are flawed. Those girls could easily be making things up to get me in trouble. Sure you have some mens rea, which would establish a criminal intent, but you don't have any actus reus, or hard evidence that I did that." The two principals looked at Gilda with astonishment. "Surprised? Well I've been in this situation before: idiots in badges who tried to manipulate me into saying things I don't mean because they are too lazy to actually get off their swollen hides to find evidence. But like with them, if you want to keep me here or send me to juvie, you need hard evidence. Do have any proof beyond mens rea? Like the mask or the clothes I supposedly wore. If I did it of course," she said teasingly with a wry grin.

"Otherwise, I can walk out of the room," the grey-skinned girl finished with her eyes becoming catlike. "Or maybe I can call the Colonel's lawyer, and say you're violating my civil rights by declaring me guilty without proof?" A very uncomfortable silence followed. "Well? Any hard evidence?"

"Well...no," Principal Celestia. With that, Gilda jumped up from her chair.

"Nice chatting with you two," Gilda said with a smug smile, before walking away.

The two let out a frustrated sigh as the military brat strutted out of their office.

"Hey Applejack," Rainbow said to her tan-skinned friend, who was emptying things out of her locker, "how's it-," Applejack slammed the locker door in frustration.

"Applejack, what's wrong?"

"You didn't hear?" the farmer girl asked with a mixture of fury and fear.

"Heard what?"

"Someone tried to drown Sunset," Applejack said furiously. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Rainbow said a quietly furious tone.

"Someone snuck up on Sunset while she was in the shower," Applejack said. "Attacked her, and shoved her head underwater. This wasn't just some prank. If Apple Bloom wasn't there to give CPR, Sunset would've died." Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth.

"Do you know who did it?" Rainbow Dash asked, a severe edge in her voice.

"Ah have one idea," Applejack said. "Gilda." The name made Rainbow clench her fists.

"Is she going to juvie?" Rainbow said in a vicious tone.

"She should, but we don't have any evidence that she did it," Applejack said sadly.

"Ok, you and me. After school," Rainbow Dash said in a tone that brooked no argument, "we're going to hunt that monster down and get the evidence we need."

"You want to spy on her after school," Rainbow Dash asked her farmer friend.

"Sounds like a plan," Applejack said.

"Ooh, ooh," Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down. The farmer and athlete turned toward their pink-skinned friend in confusion. "Can I come and be your fellow sleuth?"

"I guess," Rainbow Dash said tiredly.

"Yay," Pinkie Pie said. She ran away then came back with some weird detective hat. "Detective Pinkie is on the case."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack let out annoyed sighs.

"OK Darlings, here are you're disguises," Rarity said. She presented them thick white sweaters, white winter boots, white mittens, white sweat pants, boulder hats, sunglasses, and fake red beards. "This should help you in case Gilda spots you."

"Thanks Rarity," Applejack said a small amount of dismay. The three began putting on their disguises.

"I LOOK AWESOME!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

"What matters is we catch Gilda," Rainbow Dash said with a touch of vicious glee.

"Uh girls," Rarity said sheepishly.

"Yeah," Applejack said.

"Are you really sure Gilda is the culprit?" Rarity said sheepishly.

"Why wouldn't she be the culprit," Rainbow Dash said with burning eyes, "she's a monster."

"Gilda certainly is...brutish and...a bit scary," Rarity said nervously, "but she isn't really a bully. The only time she actually attacks others is when she is provoked. And while I did catch her with itching powder, I was able to...persuade her to leave Sunset alone and give her a chance to make amends."

"And then Sunset accidentally dumped that cake on her and got mad again," Applejack said. Pinkie Pie let out a tear.

"Oh that poor, poor cake," Pinkie Pie said sadly. "You didn't deserve such a cruel fate. You deserved to be devoured, dissolved in the stomach acid, and-,"

"Please Pinkie Pie," Rarity said with disgust, "don't go any further. The point is, Gilda is working on getting into the military. I doubt she would risk her military career and try and drown Sunset over something so petty."

"Oh really. Gilda loves ruining lives," Rainbow Dash said with a growl.

"Well, first of all, Sunset was guilty of far more of that than Gilda," Rarity said. "Second of all, Gilda may have been a horrible delinquent, but nowadays, she keeps to herself."

"You don't know her like I do," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well ah know you better than you do, Dash," Applejack said in a stern tone. "And to me, your just using this as part of your grudge against Gilda."

"No I am not!", Rainbow Dash in a defensive tone. "I-I wanted to help Sunset too."

"Then are you finally going to sit with us again and we then we can become the Super Six?" Pinkie Pie asked her blue-skinned friend. Rainbow Dash looked down sheepishly and rubbed her arm.

"You know, what happened to Blossomworth was also kind of-," Rarity began, before Rainbow's glare deterred her from saying anymore.

"Anyways, let's just get this over with," Applejack said, changing the subject back to their mission.

"Alright bitches, I'm headed out," Gilda said in front of the entrance to the building, giving fist bumps to both Rolling Thunder and Lightning Dust. She was wearing a gym bag over her shoulder.

"Smell ya' later G," the blue skinned girl said in jest.

"Bye," Rolling Thunder said simply. After one wave, Gilda walked to the school driveway. After 15 minutes, Bus 17 for Downtown Canterlot pulled in.

"Downtown," Gilda said to herself. She entered the bus through the door near the driver.

"Hey Mhamiaji [1]," Gilda said cheerfully. The middle-aged bus driver, a striped-Zebrican immigrant wearing an official blue uniform, gave her his own happy grin.

"Hello Gilda, my friend," the bus driver said magnanimously ,"has school come to an end?"

"Yep," Gilda said. "Just headed downtown to run some errands. How's Kupika [2] doing?"

"Oh my dear wife is enjoying life," Mhamiaji said. "She-," he paused as the alarm went off signaling it was time to go. "Gilda, I have a schedule to meet," the man said somewhat sternly. "You must take your seat."

"No probs," Gilda said, moving toward one of the seats in the front. She glanced toward the back and saw three bearded dudes in white coats that weren't normally there.

"Oh my gosh," Pinkie Pie said fearfully as Gilda was giving them an odd look, "has our cover been blown?"

"Pinkie, shush," Applejack said with a harsh whisper, "you'll blow our cover if y'all freak out." The three sat nervously as Gilda observed them with those deep yellow eyes. After staring at them for a few moments, Gilda turned away from them and pulled out her smartphone. The three girls let out a sigh of relief.

After a 12 minute ride aboard the bus, Gilda got off near the somewhat dilapidated downtown.

"OK, time for us to go," Applejack said. The three girls followed Gilda off the bus. They saw the grey-skinned girl was walking toward Clover Community Center. The building, little more than a concrete brick with darkened windows, was an important hub of youth life at Canterlot.

"What do you think she's doing here?" Applejack said.

"Probably spray-painting the wall," Rainbow Dash said as the three girls followed Gilda into the building. They followed her into the locker room. The three girls watched as Gilda removed her jacket, her military cargo pants, and her boots and put them into a locker. She then began opening her gym bag.

"Her disguise has got to be in there," Rainbow Dash said. The three girls looked intently in the bag...

Only for her to pull out some green sweater, a pair of green sweatpants, and a pair of white sneakers.

The three girls let out sighs of disappointment. The sweater itself had "Clover Community Center" written on it in red, bold letters. With an odd smile, Gilda walked out of the room.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity followed the white-haired bodybuilder down the hall toward some place called "The Reading Room." Gilda opened the door and strode in. After a few moments, the three girls followed her in, only to be greeted with the sound of childish applause.

"It's Auntie Gilda," one little girl said happily. The other children in the room, many of them kindergarten age, let out a whole chorus of yays as Gilda entered the room.

"Hello, my little munchkins," Gilda said in a cheerful voice, walking over to a bookcase and reaching for some book. "Today we'll be reading the story of a brave little duck who wanted friends called the 'Tale of Michael McQuack'". Another round of youthful cheering went out as Gilda pulled out the book. Before she took her seat near the door, Gilda noticed someone sitting in the corner. Gilda walked over there with the goofiest smile ever.

"Sweetheart," Gilda said kindly to a girl sitting in a corner, "why are you sitting here by yourself? Do you want to be with everyone else?"

"I dunno," the little girl said, shaking her head cutely. Gilda looked more amused than annoyed at the kindergartener's stubbornness. Gilda bent down to look at the girl at eye level.

"Don't you want to go on an adventure?" Gilda asked her excitedly. "Every time you read, you can go on a journey."

"No," the little girl said simply, shaking her head again.

"Alright," Gilda said with fake disappointment ,"I guess you don't want ice cream." The little girl perked her head up as Gilda got up and began walking away. "Only the good little girls who listen to the story get ice crea-,"

"Yay, ice cream," the shy kindergartener said excitedly, running over to join the group. With that, Gilda sat in a wooden seat in front of the room, and began reading the story.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash stood near the door and looked at the scene with utter disbelief. By putting on a large sweater that covered her well-built body and large breasts, and letting a genuine smile on her face, Gilda had gone from being the semi-delinquent military brat everyone at CHS knew and feared to a motherly librarian who these kids were happy to see.

"Did some alien kill Gilda and steal her body?" Rainbow Dash asked with frustration.

"Maybe she hit her head," Applejack quipped. Try and they might, there was no mistaking it: Gilda apparently read to children in her free time.

"Come on, let's go," Applejack said with annoyance.

"Why," Rainbow Dash asked.

"Even if Gilda was plotting to hurt Sunset," Applejack said, "I doubt she would do it here." Rainbow Dash tried to argue, but she saw that the bodybuilder did genuinely enjoy reading to these children, if the kindly way she was reading it was any indication.

"Fine", Rainbow Dash said with frustration. The two girls walked away from the room. Pinkie Pie, however stayed near the door. Applejack came back to get

"Pinkie Pie," Applejack hissed under her breath, "let's go."

"But I want to know about what happens to the poor duck," Pinkie Pie said happily, eagerly taken in by the story.

"Pinkie Pie," Applejack said with frustration. "I've read this story before. The duck dies."

"THE DUCK-," Pinkie Pie began shrieking, before having her mouth covered by Applejack's right hand and being dragged away from the door.

Author's Note

[1] Swahili for "immigrant."

[2] Swahili for "cook".

Interlude: The Greatest Enemy (Edited 03/23/20)

Sunset was wandering through a hot desert. The oppressive heat didn't bother her, since her fire magic made it easier for her to tolerate scorching temperatures. What bothered her was the emptiness and bleakness of the environment.

"Hello," Sunset said in a panic. "Hello? Can anybody tell me where I am?"

"I can be your guide," a female voice said. Sunset turned around and gasped when she saw who it was.

It was her. It was a perfect copy of her. Same hair, same skin, same clothes, same eyes. Only....

The doppelganger had a nasty smile, cold eyes, and a sledgehammer in her arm. Sunset narrowed her eyes in realization.

"You're the Demon," Sunset growled. The Demon clapped her hands in mock applause.

"Congratulations, Sunny," the Demon said sarcastically, letting the sledgehammer fall from her hands. "It is good to know that you-we-are still as sharp as ever."

"Your not a part of me anymore," Sunset growled.

"Sunny, Sunny, Sunny," The Demon said in a mocking tone. "Of course I'm a part of you. The better part. The Elements can't destroy me or they would have to destroy you."

"Really?" Sunset said, her distrust giving way to cautious curiosity.

"They just sent me on vacation for a few months. I'm back, and better than ever."

"Yeah, if you were so strong, why aren't you in the demon form?" Sunset asked with a mocking grin. The Demon's smile didn't waver.

"As awesome as that would be, I realize that you still have some...bad memories from that night," the Demon said. "I think looking more relatable would make it easier for me to give you some....advice."

"Oh, what are you going to tell me?" Sunset said with a mocking grin. "Friendship has made me weak and helpless? That I should become you again to be strong again? I'm not falling for that old trick." Instead of getting annoyed, the Demon looked a little bit sad.

"You actually thought that's what I wanted," the Demon said, sounding sympathetic and little hurt. "Sunny, I'm here because I feel bad for you."

"Uh-huh," Sunset said in a disbelieving tone.

"I mean, you've tried to make it up to everyone," the Demon said, walking toward her. "You've humiliated yourself in public to pay back those jocks, did Gilda's applications, spent six weeks doing community service, and worked your fingers to the bone on Applejack's farm. And what happens? Some psycho tosses you down the stairs and drowns you. I think that's just...unfair."

Sunset, instead of sarcastically dismissing the Demon's words, felt a pang of sadness flow through her. Sunset looked down for a moment in frustration. When she looked up again, she saw the Demon was now in front of her, staring at her with a contrite expression.

"You've worked so hard to prove to everyone you've changed," the Demon said. "You deserve better. Don't you?"

"Yeah," Sunset said, tears and frustration boiling to the surface. "I've tried and I've tried. But everyone still looks at me like I'm a monster."

"I know right," the Demon said kindly, putting a warm on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset's began crying more and more, until she felt herself being pulled into a hug.

"There, there," the Demon said, sounding like a loving big sister. "Let it out, its OK. I'm here for you." Sunset felt pats on her back.

"See, I'm not so bad, aren't I?" the Demon said. "I care about you. I think you deserve better."

"Yeah," Sunset said.

"I think you deserve to be loved."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about it. Just listen to me, and I'll make sure-," before the Demon could finish her sentence, she felt herself roughly shoved to the ground. The Demon furiously pulled herself back up and turned to face Sunset, who was crossing her arms and smirking at her defiantly.

"I'll admit, that was pretty slick," Sunset said coldly to the Demon. "Manipulating me by pretending to be my friend. For a moment, I was gonna fall for it." The Demon abandoned all pretense of sympathy and glared at Sunset with unhinged fury.

"I am your only friend, you bitch!" the Demon roared, sounding honestly betrayed. "It was thanks to me that you were the greatest person in that pathetic little school! Had that stupid little princess not gotten in our way, you wouldn't be such a weakling that people could pick on!"

"She didn't ruin my life, I did." Sunset snapped back with a growl. "I wasn't some clever mastermind. I was a privileged little snot who was lucky to be born with magical potential. That was the only reason anyone back home put up with me." Sunset balled her fists in self-loathing. "Gilda was right," Sunset said, upset to admit it, "I was a pathetic little coward who lied to the teachers and blackmailed everyone. When everyone saw what I was really like, I had nothing." Sunset whimpered a bit out of shame, but quickly regained her composure, not wanting to give the Demon an edge. "Whoever's attacking me is someone I probably hurt. I'm getting what I deserved."

"And you'll keep getting it," the Demon said with a demented smile, "as long as you listen to Celestia's little puppet and her wimpy little fangirls. They made you soft, and that's why someone had the nerve to shove you down! Show everyone what your capable of and no one will ever-"

"Applejack and Twilight were tougher than I ever was," Sunset almost yelled back. "They could've dumped me in Tartarus or left me to wallow in my misery. They gave me a chance. And no matter what happens, even if I have to leave CHS, I'll never betray their trust and become you."

"Oh please," The Demon said with a scoff. "Twilight doesn't believe in you. All she wanted was her own puppet she could control. And Applejack. She just wanted your money and free labor. I bet that stupid little sister of her knows who drowned you, but she isn't telling."

"Apple Bloom saved my-," before Sunset could continue, the Demon walked away.

"Tell yourself that," the Demon said in a tone of quiet disappointment, "tell yourself that anyone will ever care about you. But we knew truth from the very beginning: there are no friends. Only power. But you'll wake up someday." The Demon briefly glanced back toward Sunset with a wry grin. "I believe in you."

Sunset burst awake with a gasp. She was in Applejack's room, sleeping in Applejack's bed. The alarm clock went off, signaling it was time for school. While she was never a morning person, she felt especially lethargic, especially as she mulled over the Demon's words.

"Could Apple Bloom really know and she's not telling," Sunset thought sadly. "Is she really in on it? Can I really-" the door slammed open, cutting off Sunset's thoughts.

"Sunset," Apple Bloom said happily, running into the bedroom. "Granny's making flapjacks. Come down before Applejack eats them all." Sunset's thoughts and morose expression were replaced by a small smile.

"Thanks Apple Bloom," Sunset said happily. As she followed the yellow-skinned girl downstairs, she felt a bit of comfort. While her fear wasn't gone, she knew she could always count on the Apple family. Especially since she was finally growing on the littlest Apple.

Investigation (Part 2) (Edited 7/20/20)

The whole Apple Family sat around the breakfast table, eating pancakes. Sunset's pancakes, however, remained uneaten.

"Can I stay home?" Sunset asked fearfully. Everyone stopped eating and looked at Sunset with concern.

"Sunset," Granny Smith admonished.

"It's just one day," Sunset pleaded weakly, her lips quivering.

"Sunset if you don't march yourself to school-", Granny began, but stopped as Sunset again broke down in tears.

"Please, please, don't make me go," Sunset said tearfully.

"Sunset, I know you're scared," Applejack said reassuringly, "but if you stay home even one day, all you're doing is feeding that varmint."

"Really?!" Sunset shrieked with bitter sarcasm "Me going to school didn't stop him from drowning me!" Sunset began breaking down again, only for someone to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sunset looked up and saw Apple Bloom looking at her with a warm smile.

"Don't worry Sunset," Apple Bloom said, "I'll protect you from this meanie." Apple Bloom's kind demeanor, a drastic change from the looks of disdain the young farmer girl had given her, raise Sunset's spirits considerably. Sunset's mood was further lifted by Big Mac and Applejack coming up to her to offer comfort.

"We'll protect you from this monster," Applejack said with determination.

"Eeyup," the eldest Apple sibling uttered.

"I'd protect ya', but I'm just an old prune," Granny Smith gripped playfully from the other side of the table. "But I'll punish this cretin by taking away his grub."

"How could that be a punishment?" Applejack quipped. The other Apple siblings began to chuckle. Granny tried to force a frown on her face, but couldn't hide the amusement in her eyes.

"Say that on this side of the table, I dares ya," Granny Smith bellowed, raising her fists with a falsely challenging expression, causing everyone else at the table to start laughing harder.

"Move out the way," Apple Bloom shrieked to some random student. Apple Bloom walked in front of Sunset, while her older siblings walked behind Sunset, forming a barrier around the fire-haired girl as she walked to her first class. The short eight-grader looked around, skulking the hallway for potential threats. The three other upperclassmen looked at Apple Bloom with no small amount of amusement.

"She's like some puppy that thinks it's a Rottweiler," Sunset said under her breath with a snicker.

"Yeah," Applejack said with a happy smile, "she always gets like this when the people she cares about are in trouble." Sunset's mood was further lifted by Applejack's kind words.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said proudly, watching Apple Bloom act(the key word being "act") like a tough-as-nails bodyguard.

"Move it or lose it," Apple Bloom said to another random student.

"Hey Sunset," Sandalwood said happily while approaching the fire-haired girl, "do you have your school schedule, I-,"

"Beat it, chump!" Apple Bloom said, to Sandalwood's confusion.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack admonished.

"Get out, suspect, or you'll be detained," Apple Bloom ordered the taller teen.

"Never mind," Sandalwood said, giving up and walking away with some confusion.

"Apple Bloom, I know you're trying to help Sunset," Applejack said to her younger sibling. "But you're not helping by yelling at random strangers."

"You know the rules sis," Apple Bloom said, trying to look like an edgy cop. "Guilty til' proven innocent."

"I think its' the other way around, sugar cube," Applejack began with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey you with the lacrosse stick," Apple Bloom said with bared fists to some random student. "Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Applejack let out a frustrated sigh while Big Mac and Sunset rolled their eyes.

For the first time in days, Rainbow Dash was sitting with her friends again at the lunch table. But the circumstances were less than pleasant, and Rainbow was still treating Sunset somewhat coldly.

"We couldn't find any evidence on Gilda," Applejack said.

"Well you didn't want to spy on her in her house," Rainbow Dash threw back.

"She lives in a cotton-pickin' military base," Applejack argued. "What were you planning to do?"

"I had this really great plan to break in," Pinkie Pie said with a mixture, "I would distract one of the military guards with my juggling."

"And then I would use my strength you into the base where you would find information," Rainbow Dash finished with an excitable tone. "I mean, what's the flaw in that plan?" Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose.

"One. The place is thousands of acres. Two. I think they have enough security to find a couple of hoodlums breaking in. Three, we could get in serious trouble for breaking into a military base. Four. It is dumb!"

"I think we ought to take Gilda of the list," Rarity interjected. "For the simple reason that, if she was sending death threats in the mail, she would've acted on them from the beginning. I doubt she would send them over something as ludicrous as the cake incident."

"Besides, she loves little kiddies," Pinkie Pie said in a cooing tone. "What evil meanie would love kiddies?"

"Serial killers can be nice too," Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"Anyways, we've got to move on to other suspects," Applejack said.

"But who else is there?"

"Sprint and his crew," Applejack said furiously, glancing at the gang of frat boys with a suspicious eye.

"Sprint?" Rainbow Dash said with disbelief. "Guys, I know the track team can be idiots, but they're not psychos."

"They've had it in for her from the beginning," Rarity said ominously.

"But I paid them back," Sunset protested sadly. "And Sprint, Quick, Twinkle Toes and the others have been nice to me."

"Well, maybe one of them might still be angry at Sunset," Rarity said, "but has managed to hide it."

"I guess," Rainbow said reluctantly. Rainbow accidentally glanced toward Sunset with a sad look, then abruptly looked away from the fire-haired girl with a frown. Sunset let out a sad sigh, upset that Rainbow was still not cool with her. Pinkie Pie looked at this with upset frustration, but didn't comment on it, knowing she had to let Rainbow forgive Sunset on her own.

"We've got to report them," Applejack said with some resolve, "if it means we can catch the varmint." Rainbow let out her own sad sigh, reluctantly accepting that some of her best friends might be guilty of drowning someone.

"I didn't do it," Sprint protested while sitting in front of Luna.

"You and your friends have tormented Sunset from the beginning," Luna said in a calm but firm manner. "You have to understand how that looks."

"Yeah, I wanted Sunset gone," the green-skinned teen protested with some remorse, "but didn't want to cut off her oxygen supply."

"Mr. Speed," Principal Luna said with even greater resolve. "The way you treated Sunset was still wrong, kill or no kill. You tormented someone in the dark during their community service."

"She blew up the gym," Sprint argued.

"You and your friends aren't guilty of your own shenanigans?" Luna asked with some irony. "What about your little parade stunt?"

"My friends and I never sabotaged a tournament," Sprint protested with some fury, "nor are we guilty of magical terrorism."

"But you have acted out and caused some havoc," Luna threw back. "But even when I punished you, never did I once treat you like a lost cause. Never once did I treat you with hate and scorn. Would it have been right for me to bully you after your many, many stunts?"

"You're right," Sprint said after a few moments of hesitation. "I had no right to hurt Sunset."

"You didn't," Luna finished in a way that couldn't be argued. "And normally I would punish you and your friends for such behavior."

"Why won't you?" Sprint asked softly.

"Because, as Rainbow told me, you did cease your attacks and gave Sunset a chance to make it up to you," Luna said, her voice becoming softer. "And you did it in such a way that much of the hatred toward Sunset vanished."

"Well, not all of it," Sprint said with some fear. "Even at my angriest, I would never drown someone."

"Which is why we need to catch this person before they hurt Sunset or someone else," Luna said. "And I need to know if any of your friends might still hold a grudge."

"I don't know," Sprint said with, "none of them have really talked about Sunset since the dunk tank."

"Mr. Speed," Luna said firmly. "If you're covering up for one of your friends, you're neither helping that friend, nor yourself, nor the student body. If you know something and don't tell, than you are enabling that person, and making them think it is OK to do what they did. That person might not only hurt Sunset, but could end up hurting someone else." She leaned forward to stare directly at the track captain. "Look me in the eye and tell me if you know something."

"I don't," Sprint said, his face carved from stone. "I don't. If I did, I would tell you. Yeah, I've acted like an idiot, but I wouldn't cover for a friend who did this."

"OK," Luna said, "you may go to class now." Once Sprint left the room, Luna let out a frustrated sigh, crossing out several names from a list.

"La la la la," Pinkie Pie sang as she skipped into the girl's bathroom with cake-batter covered hands, "baking is fun and messy." Pinkie Pie ran her hands under the warm tap water.

"Yay," Pinkie said happily, wiggling her now clean fingers. "All clean." She paused she felt someone grab her by the back of her blouse and shove her toward the sink. Pinkie looked up at the mirror and whimpered.

Gilda Griffon was staring at her in the mirror with her meanie-look, while pinning her head to the ceramic sink.

"Pie!" Gilda bellowed.

"Please don't kill me!" Pinkie Pie wailed, before being yanked up and forced to turn around to face the military girl.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't break all your bones for what you did yesterday!" Gilda bellowed, staring at Pinkie with pure hatred.

"How did you get past our ingenious disguises?" Pinkie Pie asked with dismay.

"Yeah, real ingenious," Gilda said sarcastic. "Except for the part where you didn't cover your foreheads, where I can clearly see your skin colors, you buffoon!"

"Rats," Pinkie Pie muttered. "Please don't kill me-,"

"You peeped on me in the girl's locker room!" Gilda shouted. "Why shouldn't I-,"

"What?" Pinkie Pie

"You, Applejack, and...the other one were staring at my butt when I was taking off my pants!" Gilda screamed.

"Oh that," Pinkie Pie said, a goofy smile on her face. "We weren't peeping on you silly!" Gilda glared at the pink girl with disbelief. "We only were following you around because we suspected you of attempted murder."

"Really," Gilda said in a softer voice, "that makes it ok, I guess."

"Really?" Pinkie Pie said hopefully.

"NO!" Gilda lifted the pink girl up by her blouse until they were face to face. "Let me you tell something. I don't care what you think! Your not gonna find a thing on me!"

"I know that silly!" Pinkie Pie said, not remotely afraid of Gilda. "I know you love little kiddies to much to do that."

"Th-That's not true," Gilda said, with some forced bite, her grip weakening on the party lover. "I-I'm just there to keep the brats in line!" Gilda stammered at Pinkie's increasingly large grin. "I'm just doing it for volunteer credit." Pinkie's grin grew even wider. "Listen to what I'm telling you! You better listen to me, Pie!"

"You like being an auntie, don't you Gilda?" Pinkie Pie asked her in the most innocent voice possible. Gilda once again pulled Pinkie up to her face again.

"Whether I do or I don't is none of your business," Gilda growled. "You ever stalk me again, you're last party will be at your funeral. Got it?"

"Can there be cake at my funeral?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently. "And balloons, and streamers, and party hats, and-," Gilda let go of Pinkie Pie and ran out of the room with an annoyed yell.

"Talking to her is like talking to a block of wood," Gilda muttered as she walked down the hall, running her palm along her face. She paused, as if remembering something. "Oh wait. I got to do number 2." She went back to the bathroom. Much to her frustration, none of the stalls had any toilet paper.

"No toilet paper," Gilda muttered angrily. "Does anybody have any matters anymore?!" She ran out into the empty hall, and bumped into some stranger.

"Watch where you're going asshole!" Gilda bellowed to the rude person who had the nerve to bump into. She looked down the hall and saw a storage closet.

"Maybe there's some in there," Gilda wondered aloud. She opened the door and saw someone in the closet, bent over and wearing black.

"Can you move?" Gilda asked impatiently. "I need to get some..." her voice trailed off as the person rose to face her. The person was tall, covered in a black shawl, and had some freaky skull mask on his face. But what was truly unsettling to Gilda was that the weirdo was wielding some bloody knife. And on the ground next to him/her was an unconscious Applejack.

A small pool of blood was forming near her face.

Investigation (Part 3) (Edited 07/21/20)

Gilda, walking in on what looked like some horror movie set up, felt a flurry of emotions.

She felt fear. Not fear for herself. Living in a slum, spending her childhood being tormented by her crazy mother, and her own military training had made her desensitized toward violence. Being face to face with some horror villain didn't scare her. No, she felt fear for one of her classmates, who was unconscious on the ground and bleeding profusely from her cheek.

The next thing she felt was outrage. She may have not liked Apple Girl, but she would never stand for someone being tortured this way. As hard as it was for her to admit, she was horrified when Sunset had been drowned and pushed down the stairs. While Gilda had mercilessly tormented Sunset to get her to leave, she never wanted Sunset to be permanently injured or killed.

Lastly, Gilda felt was disgust. Living under the roof of Glider Griffon, Gilda was raised to believe in notions of chivalry, bravery, and honor. One of the things she was taught is that if you confront someone or bully someone, you should at least do it face to face. And that if you do something wrong, you should be man enough to accept the consequences.

Her hatred for Sunset was not just for getting her in trouble and the pain she caused Micro Chip and the others, but the weaselly way she had done it. She was also annoyed at Sunset's feeble attempt at getting out of trouble. She now accepted that taking revenge on Sunset was wrong. But at the time, she felt she was acting in self-defense, and she had at least had the decency to confront Sunset face to face.

But this..worm apparently sent Sunset threatening messages anonymously, and had pulled sneak attacks on her from behind. She knew how tough Apple Girl was, so it was obvious this maniac had pulled a sneak attack on her too. To Gilda, this idiot was no different than the pervert trolls who insulted her anonymously online. Little cowards who hid their creepiness behind closed doors.

Gilda also believed it was wrong to drag a neutral person into your disputes. Even if she hated someone, she wouldn't hurt someone related to that person. While she hated Sunset, she would never threatened someone who was related to Sunset.

Well, she did attack Fashion Queen in the locker room, but Fashion Queen was interfering in her revenge against the fire-haired girl.

It was obvious why this nut wanted to hurt Apple Girl: to punch Sunset in her heart. It was one thing to attack Sunset. While she now believed Sunset had earned her right to stay at CHS, she wouldn't blame someone for still having it in for her.

But was another thing to hurt someone else to do it. With this final, furious realization, Gilda strode forward, her mouth sent in a thin line.

"So you're the little pussy everyone's complaining about," Gilda said in a low, contemptuous tone as she raised her fists. She said those nasty, dismissive words not only because they were true, but because belittling her opponent was a good way to wage psychological warfare.

She also wanted to take the time get a feel of her opponent. While she had a reputation of being an impulsive hothead, her training taught her to observe her opponent first, and deduce any strengths and weaknesses she could. While she was tough, she couldn't take chances with a knife-wielding sadist.

Even with a mask and a shawl covering his body, the freak couldn't truly conceal his weaknesses. The worm's legs, which had black sneakers, black socks, and black leggings, were already shaking. She felt a bit of trepidation at that the freak's size, but it was clear by his atrocious, almost unstable, stance that he couldn't really fight. Size was only good if it was combined with skill. She deduced she had more than enough training to face an assailant with a knife.. Especially one has feeble as this.

"I prefer my school without freaks like you," Gilda said, her mouth curled into a smile as she prepared to charge. But before she could launch her attack, the freak bent over toward Applejack, albeit without getting in his/her knees.

"Leave her alone!" Gilda yelled. She charged, but stopped when the lunatic lifted the head of the still unconscious Apple Girl by her hair and put a knife near her throat. Gilda's bravado was replaced by anger and frustration when she realized what the freak was doing.

Without words, he was saying "attack me and Apple Girl gets it in the throat." The knife itself looked sharp enough to cut through bone, and the masked jerk was putting it near Apple Girl's jugular. While Gilda was quick, she didn't want to risk the farmer girl getting another serious wound when she was already losing blood. Gilda felt panic, especially as blood continued to flow from Apple Girl's cheek onto the maniac's sleeve.

While glancing at her watch, Gilda had a flash of brilliance. With a smile, Gilda instead backed away and placed herself in front of the door, crossing her arms and putting on an image of nonchalance.

"Go ahead," Gilda said with a carefree tone, while crossing her arms. "Do it. Cut her throat." The freak's head moved in confusion. "But remember this. Class is going to end in about three minutes." Gilda's smile grew wider when the masked figure's head titled in guarded panic. "Once class ends, I'll call everyone over, and they'll see what you did. You could try and get past me," Gilda continued, spreading her arms to emphasize how it would be like trying to go through a brick wall, "but the way you stand, it is obvious you'd trip over a butterfly. When the boys catch you, they might be merciful to the guy who tortured a hot blond girl who bakes pies, but I doubt it." The freak's grip on the knife slackened in fear, as did the grip on Apple Girl's hair.

"Or, you can put your knife down, surrender, and we can go right to Luna's office instead," Gilda said in a much more reasonable tone. "And I promise, I won't hurt you." Gilda imagined the nut was looking at her confusion. While Gilda would love to beat this asshole to a pulp, Gilda didn't want to put Applejack or herself into anymore risk. All the books of war told her the best victories were ones that didn't involve firing a shot, but breaking your enemy's will to fight. Not to mention having a reputation for being merciful, she understood, could be powerful too.

"The reason I'm offering to going easy on you is I understand," Gilda mused, "Sunset was a bitch. I hated her. But someone asked me if making her miserable was worth it." Gilda let out a sigh. "It wasn't. Is being seen as a freak by everybody worth hurting Sunset?" Gilda said in an even softer tone. The freak's grip on the farmer weakened even more.

"I'm giving you three choices," Gilda said in a softer tone. "You can wait here until class ends and be caught by everyone when they get out of class, you can come with me to Luna's office right now and not suffer as much embarrassment," Gilda then frowned, "or, you can hurt that girl again, I beat you within an inch of your life, and leave you to get caught by everyone." A few seconds passed as the masked figure considered the options, while Gilda watched him with a calm expression. "Clock is ticking."

The masked figure finally let Applejack go on the ground after a few moments, taking care to let her head hit the floor peacefully.

"Good," Gilda said with pride, "you actually have some brain cells-," the masked figure charged at her, knife in hand. "I guess not," Gilda muttered. With a calm smile, she used her military training to the fullest. She dodged the knife with a sideway step and slammed her arm down on the knife-wielding hand to slow it down. She then caught the arm in her grip by its elbow. Using her leg and forward momentum, she tripped the nut, who fell out of the storage closet and down on the ground in a heap, the bloody knife falling out of his hand and clattering on the floor.

"What's a matter?" Gilda asked in a falsely calm tone, stomping slowly but ferociously to the creep writhing in what looked like agony. He (based of the sound) let out a pained moan, and a whimper. A kinder person might've been merciful, but Gilda had no mercy left for someone who attacked her. "Feeling under the weather?" She bared her fists, a vicious smile forming on her face. "Well, maybe when you're lying in the hospital bed at juvie, the pain will teach you to be careful who you fuck with." Gilda stood over the creep, gleefully preparing to deal the final blow.

Or she would've had the seemingly helpless creep not suddenly got onto his knees and performed a double-leg takedown. With a whimper, Gilda fell backwards onto the ground. Slightly weakened by the shock of the fall and the pain, Gilda didn't notice the creep climbing on top of her. She noticed some kind of aerosol in his hand, taken from the storage closet, pointed toward her.

"What are you-," a mist erupted from the spray. It felt like Gilda's eyes had been stabbed with a flaming dagger.

"AAAAAHHH!" Gilda screamed, moving her hands to her eyes in a vain attempt to get rid of the pain and clear them. "YOU FUCK! YOU FUCKED UP MY EYES!" She felt the creep climb off of her and run away from her. "GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING COWARD! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" She sat up, tears flowing out as her eyes continued to throb in brutal agony. "Get back here!" She continued to sit on the ground, her screams and threats gradually giving way to pained moans and whimpers. The moans were drowned out by the ringing of school bells. The students all piled out of the classrooms, not yet aware of the commotion that had taken place.

Investigation (Part 4) (Edited 07/22/20)

"Applejack!"

"Applejack!"

"Applejack!"

"Applejack!"

"It is great to hear so many people are concerned about me," Gilda quipped weakly from the other side of the nurse's office.

Both Applejack and Gilda laid in beds on opposite sides of the room and were clad in hospital gowns.

Applejack laid in the bed closest to the door. Her right cheek covered in a thick bandage, and she laid down, a traumatized expression on her face. Gilda sat in the bed furthest from the door, gauze wrapped around her eyes, her mouth twisted into a forlorn frown.

Applejack's friends and the Apple Family laid next to Applejack, holding her tight and crying over what had been done to her. Applejack didn't respond to their hugs, looking like an empty shell. Sunset also hugged Applejack, tearfully apologizing for creating the monster that carved up her face.

"Gilda!" two voices echoed. Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder burst in, running up to hug the blindfolded girl.

"Guys," Gilda said, her morose expression relaxing into a calm smile, as her two best friends embraced her.

"What happened to you?" Lightning Dust asked her blindfolded friend.

"I hurt my ankle," Gilda said in an ironic tone, "as you can tell by my-WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED?!"

"Nurse," Rolling Thunder asked the nurse, her wild Sydneigh accent becoming more relaxed, "is Gilda gonna be OK?"

"Is she gonna be blind for life?" Fluttershy asked with some horror.

"Don't worry, she isn't going to be blind," Nurse Redheart reassured the purple-skinned brawler, "her eyes are too sensitive today, but by tomorrow, she can take off the blindfold."

"Well that's a relief," another female voice said. Everyone looked to the door, and saw a tall, athletic woman in blue military uniform and sunglasses marching in. Her skin was yellow, her hair resembled an orange flame, and she wore a smirk that was both disarming and confident. "For me," the woman continued. "I'd hate to have to do your chores, Gilds." Everyone, especially Rainbow Dash, looked in awe at who entered in the room.

"You're Spitfire!" Rainbow Dash said in an excitable fangirl voice.

"Yes," Spitfire said with a neutral expression. "And the sky is also blue."

"You rescued those hostages from the Changeling Army ten years ago," Rainbow continued excitedly. "Even got the Star of Valor from the Chief Minister [1] himself. It was awesome-"

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity scolded, "I know you're excited to meet a celebrity, but let's not forget the situation at hand." She gestured toward the still shaken and forlorn Applejack. Rainbow Dash's good mood died, remembering what happened to her friend.

"I'm so proud of you, Little Sis," Spitfire said empathetically, climbing into bed with Gilda to give her a hug too. "Doing what you could to protect someone." Rainbow almost asked how Spitfire knew Gilda, but barely remembered that Gilda lived on a military base.

"I guess," Gilda said, her normally manic voice becoming unusually soft as she leaned into the hug.

"GILDA!" A panicked voice said. Everyone turned around and saw Micro Chips coming into the room, breathing heavily and holding some brown bag. "When I heard about what happened, I ran to Barnyard Bargains and got your favorite foods," the tech geek said. "Jelly donuts, beef jerky, chicken ramen, peppermint cookies, and Diamond Princess cereal bars." Gilda frowned in dismay, not wanting her love of Diamond Princess to be known.

"Hey Micro," Gilda said with a forced smile and gritted teeth, "you didn't have to be do this. You really...didn't."

"I didn't know Little Sis had a boyfriend," Spitfire said in a teasing voice.

"We're not dating," the two said in unison.

"Denial," Spitfire said in a fluttery tone, "the sign of true love." The two began blushing in embarrassment. His blushing vanished as Micro Chips noticed Sunset was in the room and gave her a cold look. Sunset flinched, remembering that Micro Chips was still angry over her mistreatment of him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this adorable family moment," Rarity said in a humorless voice, "but can we please focus on what happened."

"That's what where I'm here fah," a weirdly accented voice said. An officer in the Canterlot Police Department strode in, clad in a blue uniform and a hat.. The man had shamrock green skin, red sideburns, a thick red mustache, and an overweight build. His appearance and his accent indicated he was of Capallan [2] heritage. "I'm Officah Garda! "What in the name of Terrah Prime[3] is happening here?" the man asked in frustration, confused at such a large crowd, "Is this some kind of party?"

"Nope," Spitfire said. "Just a lot of concerned citizens." Officer Garda rolled his eyes.

"I need Ms. Griffon and Ms. Smith to tell me what occurred," the man said, pulling out a notepad.

"Is the situation really that bad to warrant police?" Rarity asked with trepidation.

"Young lady, this is no ordinary punk," Officer Garda said with some fear. "He left bloody footprints on the ground when he ran away-"

"Did they lead anywhere?" Spitfire asked hopefully.

"He apparently realized what he was doing and took them off," Officer Garda said. Everyone's jaw dropped in surprise and horror. "This kid is both slick and knows how to cover his tracks." He looked at the farmer and the military brat with a serious and desperate gaze. "Anything you have to offer is absolutely necessary to capture this thug." With a sigh, the two began revealing what happened.

Applejack explained how her cowboy hat had been stolen from her, and the thief, with lightning speed, lured her into the storage closet. Before she could see who it was, a cloth covered in chloroform was thrown over her mouth, knocking her out. Every ten seconds, she would tremble fearfully as she recalled the horrible incident.

Gilda explained how she was looking for toilet paper when she walked in on the freak's torture session, and how the freak managed to knock her to the ground and blind her. Everyone else provided what details they could about the thug, including the threatening notes Sunset received.

"There were a few things that were...odd about this guy," Gilda said with a frown.

"This bogan is a knife-wielding psycho," Rolling Thunder said with bitter sarcasm. "Odd is an understatement."

"Think about it," Gilda said with an uncomfortable expression. "He goes to all this effort to slice up Apple Girl's cheek. He looks like he can barely stand, and he pulls a wrestling move on me." Her mouth set into a thin line. "And even though I was helpless, he didn't bother to slit open my throat, despite the fact that I was a witness. I have a feeling he could've gutted me any time, but was...holding back, for some reason." Fluttershy began tapping her chin in deep thought.

"Could be a pragmatic psycho," Officer Garda mused as he wrote on his clipboard.

"He carved...a word into Applejack's cheek," Nurse Redheart said uncomfortably.

"What was it?" Officer Garda asked the nurse. With hesitation, Nurse Redheart held up a picture of Applejack's face for all to see.

Several letters had been carved into Applejack's cheek.

B I T C

Everyone looked shocked and horrified. A whimper erupted from Applejack.

"Put it away," she yelled, tears flowing down her cheek. Her soft country voice was horribly numbed by the painkillers that had been injected into her face. Granny and Big Mac hugged her again, while Apple Bloom patted her head, the way Applejack would do for her whenever she felt scared, while Nurse Redheart immediately hid the picture.

"And, he left...a note in Applejack's skirt," Nurse Redheart said ominously.

"Read it to me," Officer Garda said. With even more hesitation, Nurse Redheart read the note.

"Hello, Sunny," the note began, "It appears you've gotten yourself some meat shields. Little bodyguards to protect you from the wrath you so deserve. I'm not surprised. You've always hurt people from where they couldn't reach you." Sunset's head bowed in shame. Pinkie Pie tried to put a comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder, but she pushed it away. "To anyone dumb enough to protect the coward. I will give you only one warning: if you choose to associate with vermin, you will become vermin in my eyes. In my eyes, all vermin deserve to be exterminated." Nurse Redheart turned the card around with reluctance.

It was a picture of Applejack and her friends, edited to have x's drawn over their eyes, and nooses doodled around their necks.

Everyone looked at Nurse Redheart with horror. Sunset began shaking with terror.

Author's Note

I know this is a serious chapter, but I wanted to do some world building, which I feel is badly needed for Equestria Girls.

[1] The Chief Minister is the ruler of the nation (The United Provinces of North Terra) where EG is set. Think of an office that combines President and Prime Minister.

[2] Capallia is the EG version of Ireland. It is taken from the Irish word for horse.

[3] Terra Prime is the name of the planet where EG is based.

Investigation (Part 5) (Edited 07/22/20)

"I can't think of anything," Sunset said with some frustration.

"Come on," Rainbow said with annoyance, "there has got to be something you did that could make someone this mad."

"I can't," Sunset said with frustration. "I have a list of things, but nothing I've done to someone currently here could've make them this mad."

Rarity, Rainbow, Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all were walking into the student parking lot, discussing who might've attacked Applejack. Pinkie was somewhat happy that Rainbow was still sitting with them, but she was upset it took Applejack for them to come together. And Rainbow was still cool toward Sunset.

"Perhaps this person is just a sick monster who is tormenting you for amusement," Rarity offered. "It is one thing want revenge, but all this is just plain sadistic torture."

"I don't think so," Rainbow said. "A sick monster would've done more to Gilda and Applejack when they were helpless." Her fists clenched and her jaw set. "Not that will stop me from ripping the psycho's face apart when I get my hands on him." Rainbow's face was calm, but she trembled with such fury, she looked like a bomb about to go off.

"And we don't have any suspects," Sunset said frustration. "All the people who attacked me have alibis. Gilda has...the best alibi of all." Fluttershy walked, her lips pursed in thought.

"Maybe she's lying," Rainbow said with narrowed eyes. "Maybe she's the one who attacked Applejack, and then sprayed her own eyes to not get caught."

"You're saying Gilda would blind herself and leave herself at the crime scene to catch," Rarity said in an unimpressed tone.

"Yeah," Sunset chimed in, "that would make as much sense as Big Macintosh attacking Applejack."

"Even if she was still full of burning hatred toward Sunset," Rarity offered. "I doubt she would risk blindness to do it."

"I'm just saying its possible you know," Rainbow said with frustration.

"Rainbow," Rarity said warningly. "That's enough."

"Gilda's a jerk," Rainbow argued back, "she loves to hurt other-,"

"Rainbow Ashley Dash!" Rarity yelled with anger. Rainbow and the others flinched frustration. "Your behavior is completely abhorrent! Gilda saved Applejack from even worse abuse, and you're still caterwauling about your grudge!"

"But-,"

"Surely all that has happened this past week should teach you where that leads," Rarity said with a hint of frustration, gesturing to Sunset, who looked utterly miserable. Rainbow's face twisted into one of contrition.

"Yeah Rainbow," Pinkie Pie said in a condemnatory tone. "Gilda was a big meanie-mean pants three years ago. Now she's a not-so big meanie-mean pants who reads to little kiddies and protected Applejack from an even bigger meanie." She narrowed her blue eyes. "And if you don't go say 'thank you' to her, you'll be a big meanie."

"Yes Rainbow," Rarity said firmly with crossed arms and a look made from steel. "Gilda helped save our friend. A proper lady would say thank you to that person, even if you happen to dislike that person." Rainbow turned to Fluttershy, who also gave her a disapproving look.

"You're right," Rainbow said with frustration. "I will."

"Pinkie Promise," Pinkie Pie said, holding up her pinky to Rainbow.

"Pinkie Promise," Rainbow said reluctantly, holding up her little finger to her excitable friend.

"OK," Sunset said, "now that that's settled-," she paused as she saw a large crowd gathering around where her motorcycle was. Sunset and her friends wanted to see what the fuss was about.

"What's going on?" Sunset asked. Sunset saw Quick Pace and Sweetie Belle, along with a few other students, turn to face her with sheepish smiles.

"N-n-n-othing," Quick stammered as usual.

"There is nothing you need to see," Sweetie said in a highly nervous voice.

"Really?" Sunset said with skepticism. "You're all gathering around...nothing."

"Yeah," Norman said. The brown-haired 15 year old look just as nervous as everyone else. "Just...run along."

"I wish I could," Sunset said with increasing skepticism. "But, um, you're all in front of my motorcycle."

"We are?" Scootaloo said, playing dumb. "How could you accuse us of such a misdeed!" she said with fake dismay.

"Scoots," Rainbow said in an unimpressed tone, "we're sisters. I know you better than you know yourself. That's the look you got when you broke dad's windshield." Scootaloo looked down in shame.

"Enough," Sunset said in a tone so firm, no one could ignore it. "What are you all hiding from me." With a sigh, everyone moved away. Sunset went catatonic at what she saw.

The motorcycle had been horribly scratched up with keys and the windshield had been smashed. Sunset stood there, looking as still as a stone while everyone watched with trepidation.

"Don't worry Sunset," Rainbow said nervously.

"Yes," Rarity said. "I'm sure the insurance will cover the damages." Sunset didn't respond. As time slowed, she saw a white envelope on the seat. After some hesitation, she opened it.

"I've got myself a delicious slice of apple pie," a caption read. Above it was an image of Applejack, a knife slicing her cheek, with x's drawn over her eyes and a noose drawn on her neck.

"Sunset," Rarity asked with concern. Sunset didn't respond.

"Sunset," Fluttershy asked. Sunset started shaking, the note in her hand.

"What did it-," Rainbow asked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Sunset screamed, mercilessly ripping the note to shreds, before viciously turning to the crowd.

"IT WAS ONE OF YOU, WASN'T IT!" Sunset yelled accusingly to the shocked gatherers.

"Sunset," Fluttershy said. "Stop it!" Sunset, blinded by rage, randomly grabbed Norman and pulled him to her by his shirt.

"You did this!" Sunset screamed to the brown-haired boy.

"I didn't," Norman said with fear.

"LIAR!" Sunset bellowed. "Tell me the truth," she yelled. She raised a fist menacingly. "Or I'll beat you into a-," she paused as someone put a hand on her shoulder. She growled, until she saw the concerned look of Quick Pace.

"S-sunset," Quick stammered fearfully. "Stop it. Y-you're scaring everybody." The diminutive teenager's concerned look and kind words immediately washed away Sunset's fury. Sunset realized with horror what she was doing:

Attacking someone without any proof that they did anything to her. The scared look of Norman made her whimper. The scared and shocked looks of everyone else made lips quiver.

"See Sunny," a cruel voice whispered with glee. "I told you it was only a matter of time." Sunset fell to her knees, bawling her eyes out.

"I'm sorry Norman," Sunset said tearfully, falling onto her behind and started hugging her knees. She cried remorsefully into her knees for a few moments. She felt herself being squeezed and saw Scootaloo and Quick were both embracing her.

"D-d-don't worry about it," Quick said with soothing words.

"We know it's not your fault," Scootaloo said, her scratchy voice becoming softer. Sunset looked up at Norman, thinking he was still looking at her with fear. Instead, all she saw was a reassuring smile.

"It's OK, Sunny," Norman said in a reassuring tone, bending down to give Sunset a warm hug as well.

"I-I'm sorry," Sunset said again to Norman, sobbing even more. Soon, her friends and all the students gathered also bent down to join in the group hug, and assured Sunset that they weren't scared of her. Despite the fear, guilt, and sorrow she felt, Sunset's heart became less heavy.

She had wondered if she would ever be accepted again. But now the people she tormented were now helping her out at a low point in her life. Despite making them cry at one point, they now held her like she was a little girl, and tried to sooth her tears.

All 300 of CHS's students piled into the auditorium and sat in the red velvet chairs. While the time before an assembly was usually noisy, they all walked in with a solemn dignity few expected of high school students. Many of them were more than aware of the reason for the assembly, and for this reason, they were attentive and serious.

After a few moments, Vice Principal Luna came onto the stage.

"Hello CHS," Vice Principal Luna said in a solemn tone. "I wish I could be speaking to you all about a more pleasant subject. But it is clear that we are dealing with a very dangerous individual who has proven he will go some...extreme lengths for revenge. It was my initial hope that we could solve this problem ourselves, but it is clear that this person will not surrender himself peacefully. He has also escalated his attacks and endangered others. So...I have been forced to bring in the Canterlot Police Force. Officer Eamon Garda has a few words to share with you. He'll also be keeping you up to date with the emergency measures we've been forced to set up. Please give him your undivided attention." With that, Luna left the stage, and the portly green man walked up to the microphone.

"First of all," the man began in a low serious tone that kept his Capallan accent extremely light," I want to be clear with all of you about something. The way that some of you-not just our mysterious "friend"- have behaved toward Sunset Shimmer is completely unacceptable." He paused to let the disappointment sink it to the quiet crowd. "I am more than aware of her mistreatment of all of you. I am more than aware of the gas leak she caused. I am aware of how she abused the trust the teachers placed in her, in order to torment all of you."

Sunset looked down shamefully, only to be comforted by Rainbow.

"However, she has paid her dues. She has done her community service. Her reckless behavior had been put into her permanent record. She followed the rules of her probation. She also volunteered to repay the damages she did to the Apple Family Farm." The portly green man's mouth set into a thin line. "However, despite her attempting to make amends, you all still tormented her." His disappointed tone echoed, sending a small chill down the spine of everyone.

"The way you behaved is behavior I expect from the Changeling Empire, not the UPNT," Garda continued. The reference to their geopolitical enemy was a blow to the hearts. "Here in the United Provinces, we are raised to believe in the principles of freedom and justice. And I've seen none of that from any of you." He continued, each word feeling like a hammer to the ribs of every student. "We are taught to believe in progress and advancement, not raised to hold petty grudges over ancient feuds. We North Terrans are not a people that demands pounds of flesh, but offers others a chance to make amends." He paused to take short breath.

"Our national military is built on the principles of defense. Not aggression, not revenge, but defending our shores from aggression and defending our allies from such as well. Section 2, subsection 1 of the Statement of Rights of Responsibilities [1] says that 'The executive shall not wage wars of aggression, and shall only wage wars of defense with the approval of three-fifths of the Great Assembly [2].' You will eventually do the draft once you graduate and turn 20. And my belief is if you behaved in war as you do in school, you would blacken the name of the North Terran Defense Forces." The crowd of students were shamed into even greater silence. "It is only when some of you offered Sunset Shimmer forgiveness that all of you lived up to the ideals of this nation." He grabbed a glass of water, sipped, and went back to his speech.

"This actions of this assailant, from drowning a student, to blinding another one, are merely extreme reflections of your already deplorable behavior," Garda continued. "From here on out, you must not operate by hate and vengeance. It is by hate and vengeance that Gilda Griffon and Applejack Smith were badly injured, and all of you must avoid this dangerous path. Even the person who put them there is entitled to due process and liberties." He paused. "This is why I am offering the suspect one last chance to step forward to get a less severe punishment. Because I do believe in second chances to those who honestly seek forgiveness." No one stepped forward. "Alright," Garda said in a warningly chilling voice. "Well, don't worry. We will catch you. And you will be punished. Whatever Sunset Shimmer has done to you, the punishment you get will be brought by your actions." He took a deep breath. "Before I release you all, I have one more announcement to make. You are going to be handed pamphlets in baskets near the exit, advising you all of what to do and what not do, and what security measures we will implement and how they will effect all of you. Please take them before you leave. Thank you." He left the podium, and the other students began to pile out, reflecting solemnly on Garda's words.

Author's Note

[1] The EG version of the US Constitution.

[2] The EG version of the US Congress.

Interlude: When Fame Feels Wrong (Edited 07/22/20)

"Good job Gilds," Thunderlane said with a proud smile and a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Gilda said, plastering what she thought was a confident smile on her face.

"You da man, Gilda," Hoops said a few seconds later, also patting her on the shoulder.

"Gilda," Rainbow Dash said. Gilda was stunned. This was the first time since Blossomworth that Rainbow had voluntarily spoken to her.

"Yes," Gilda said with a frown.

"Thanks for somehow not dying," Rainbow Dash muttered reluctantly, before quickly walking away from her.

"Whatever," Gilda said, trying to sound indifferent. In reality, the small praise from her former friend was making her feel sick.

Since she came back to class, everyone was patting her on the back, treating like her like a goddess for her "bravery", or asking about her fight with the psycho. Luna and Celestia said the same thing, and Officer Garda asked her to consider a police career after her military service. At home, dad's friends were all showering her praise, and Rolling and Lightning were offering to take her out to celebrate. Gilda would normally savor at this praise, but deep down, each "good job" and thumbs up felt like a knife to her heart, and she didn't know why.

"Wah there she is," Gilda heard someone yell. She saw the school lunch lady come up to her as well, a warm smile and a box in her hand. She was followed by Apple Girl's brother and little sister.

"Who, me?" Gilda said.

"Yes, you," the Apple Family Matriarch said. "The little young'un who saved mah granddaughter." The tall guy's normally stoic face became unusually warm, while the little girl looked her with a mixture of admiration and gratitude.

"Well, it was nothing," Gilda said, trying to sound humble but confident.

"Not to me and the Apple family," the Apple Family matriarch said, handing her a box. She saw it was one of the their trademark pies. Apple by the smell. Normally, she savored the all-natural foods that Apple Family made. But instead, it made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Thanks," Gilda said, forcing another grin on her face. "I always do my-," she paused as she felt someone squeezing her leg.

"Thanks for saving mah sister," the country girl said tearfully hugging her leg like she was afraid to let go. With a hidden sigh, Gilda gave the little hillbilly a pat on the head.

"Just doing my job," Gilda said, sounding like an action hero. She looked around and saw everyone looking at her both pride and amusement. Inwardly she was screaming to high heaven.

After managing to escape the cuddly clutches of Apple Girl Jr., Gilda went to her locker to put the apple pie away for when she had an appetite. She opened it, a pink blur and confetti burst out of her locker.

"What the," Gilda said, and saw that the Pink Menace had been hiding in her locker, wearing a pink cheerleader's uniform and waving pink pompoms around. She looked at Gilda with the most cheerful smile she'd ever seen on the pink girl.

"Who's the bestest person ever~," Pinkie sang, "Gilda. Gilda. Who's the coolest person ever? Gilda. Gilda.~"

"Pinkie," Gilda muttered angrily. She tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her to smack Pinkie with a crowbar. But it was getting harder and harder.

"Who's the hero who in the end, saved Applejack, my bestest friend~," Pinkie Pie sang while dancing around her. "Gilda, Gilda."

Gilda's violent thoughts suddenly vanished and were replaced with guilt. As annoying as Pinkie Pie was, she was trying to express her gratitude. She was always trying to make others feel happy. The pink girl just had no concept of subtlety and restraint when doing so.

"G-I-L-D-A~," Pinkie Pie continued to sing, "when Gilda's here, we all say yay!" Gilda tiredly walked to her next class, with Pinkie following her and singing to her all the way to the door.

"So what was it like," Micro Chips asked Gilda with awe and fascination, "battling that psycho."

The two were sitting at a table, doing their study session in her living room at the base. Ever since she and Micro worked together to get revenge on Sunset, the two suddenly hit if off. Micro Chips found out about Gilda's poor grades and had offered to help. After swallowing her pride, Gilda accepted the help. To her surprise, Micro was actually a good tutor. It was thanks to her she finally got her grade up to a B minus in Science.

"Cool," Gilda muttered, a fake grin on her face.

"Cool?" Micro Chips said, not satisfied with her answer.

"Yeah, it was no big deal," Gilda said, trying to force the discomfort from her face. "Let's just focus on the fractions."

"Gilda, what's wrong?" Micro Chips said.

"Nothing," Gilda said.

"Gilda you haven't touched the pie you got," Micro Chips said with concern, "nor all of the...cakes Pinkie Pie baked for you," gesturing to the dozens of cakes the pink girl somehow baked in one day that were stacked untouched in the corner of the room.

"I'm not hungry," Gilda said.

"Gilda," Micro Chips.

"WHY CAN'T YOU SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gilda yelled. Micro Chips sighed in disappointment.

"I see," Micro Chips said sadly. "You know Gilda. I forgave you for attacking me and calling me a perv, I helped you get even with Sunset, I helped you pass math, and every week I help you study. I thought we were friends. I thought you trusted me enough to confide your darkest feelings. I guess I was a fool to think that." Gilda tried to protest, but she realized she couldn't win against Micro's sincere hurt and puppy dog eyes.

"It's my fault," Gilda said miserably.

"What?"

"The freak getting away," Gilda said, biting her lip. "I had him on the ground. I had him on a platter. I should've just tackled him. But instead, I acted like a cocky bitch." She pursed her lips. "I left myself open to be taken down. But I just assumed he was some wimpy little coward."

"Gilda, you couldn't have known what the guy was like," Micro said in a reassuring tone. "He's managed to outsmart everyone."

"He wouldn't have much trouble doing that to me," Gilda bitterly quipped. "I'm such an idiot."

"Gilda, your not an idiot," Micro said.

"Yes I am," Gilda protested. "I suck at school, I ruined Blossomworth's life-,"

"That was an accident," Micro said.

"I hurt you when you didn't do anything to me, I let Sunset trick me. For once, I tried to do something good by bringing this creep down. But I failed at that too," Gilda finished miserably.

"So you're upset because you lost," Micro said.

"No," Gilda said. "I'm upset that I let him trick me. And I'm scared that if he'd been more crazy, Applejack would've died or suffered more. I would've died," Gilda continued, tears flowing down her eyes. "And now he's gonna hurt someone else. And its gonna be my fault. Because I'm such a failure." Gilda's face fell into her hands, and she bawled like crazy.

Micro Chips looked utterly mortified. It was hard to remember that underneath that muscle, height, and military bravado was a deeply vulnerable 15 year old girl who still felt alone. Micro Chips had first seen it when Gilda uncomfortably apologized to him, and it tore him up to see it again.

"Gilda, you're not an idiot," Micro said, putting a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Yes I am," Gilda said, the last of her tears flowing down. "It is because of me-,"

"Gilda, its because of you that Applejack was saved from something worse," Micro said empathetically. "Not to mention we know more about this guy."

"But I still let him get away," Gilda bitterly complained about. "And now he'll hurt-,"

"Gilda, if he hurts someone, i'ts his fault, not yours," Micro said sternly. "Yeah, he did manage to trick you. But the reason why he tricked you is because he couldn't win a fair fight. You know why?

"Why?"

"You're like the toughest person I ever met, and he's a pathetic coward."

"I don't know," Gilda said, feeling less sad. "As horrible as he is, I have to admit that takedown was...pretty good."

"Well if he's good, your incredible," Micro said with a voice of admiration. "And not just because you could take down an entire Changeling army with your bare hands."

"Really," Gilda said, a smile forming on her face as her mood improved. "What else is incredible about me?"

"Here's what I like about you. After you learned the truth about Sunset, you went up and apologized to me." Micro gave Gilda a warm smile. "Even after most girls learned the truth, they would still keeping treating me like a perv for no reason. You can admit you made a mistake without any BS, and that makes you better than most people."

"I guess," Gilda said, an uneasy but genuine smile.

"And like that Officer said, that creep can't run forever," Micro Chips. "Everyone's looking for him. And even though he beat you, you'll have the last laugh when they cart him off to prison." The thought helped clear away much of Gilda's self-loathing. A bright smile formed on her face for the first time in two days.

"Thanks Micro," Gilda said, putting a warm hand on his shoulder in return.

"What are you two doing?" Spitfire said with a wry grin as she strode into the living room. Micro was startled by her appearance.

"Nothing," Micro Chips releasing his hand from the white-skinned girl's shoulder.

"We were having violent revenge sex," Gilda said with a grin.

"Gilda!" Micro Chips said.

"Good," Spitfire said with a proud smile on her face. "Just like I taught you." The two laughed as Micro Chips whined about how lewd they were being.

"Oh loosen up you little nerd," Gilda said playfully to the blushing bookworm.

Investigation (Part 6)

Author's Note

"Beware the fury of a patient man." -John Dryden

[1] Geldo is short for gelding, a castrated horse. An EG slang term for weakling.

Investigation (Part 6)

"Ok," Rainbow said, pulling out a blue notebook and writing down notes. "So what do we now about the creep."

Rainbow, Sunset, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy used their study time to try and figure out who Sunset's villain was. They sat in a commons room, trying to drum up some ideas.

"He's probably really, really fast," Pinkie Pie commented.

"Girls."

"Tall and strong enough to bring down a girl trained in military combat," Rarity opined.

"Girls."

"Really, really mean," Pinkie Pie.

"He really hates me," Sunset observed.

"Girls."

"Sneaky."

"Girls."

"And crazy-"

"GIRLS!" Fluttershy yelled in exasperation. Everyone at the table, as well as their surroundings, were shocked by the butter yellow girl screaming. Fluttershy realized what she did, forced a sheepish smile to her face, and blushed.

"Sorry," Fluttershy said.

"Its OK Fluttershy," Sunset said to the shy girl. "What did you want to say?"

"Well," Fluttershy said. "I have an idea of who did this."

"Who," Sunset said.

"Someone who is really, really nice," Fluttershy said.

"Is this one of those, 'the one you least suspect' things," Rainbow said in somewhat exasperated tone.

"Well, not exactly," Fluttershy said. "I mean, do you remembering, um...Suri." Rainbow's eyes narrowed, and then widened.

"Oh yeah, of course I remember," Rainbow said with tiredness.

"Suri?" Sunset said.

"Um well," Fluttershy said nervously. "When I was 11, I had this really mean bully named Suri."

Young Fluttershy was playing with her hula hoop in front of her house when she heard footsteps. She turned around and saw the sneering face of Suri Polomare staring at her.

"Well, hello Klutz-ser-shy," Suri sneered.

"Hello Suri," Fluttershy said with a whimper. Without a word, Suri took Fluttershy's hula hoop from her.

"Why thank you," the girl said.

"That's mine," the yellow girl.

"What was that?" Suri said with a nasty grin, before shoving Fluttershy to the ground.

"Nothing," Fluttershy said quivering.

"That's right," Suri sneered. "Everyone would be better off if you said that. Nothing. K?"

"K."

"Wow, she sounds like...me," Sunset said sadly.

"Oh no," Fluttershy said with nod of her head. "She was much worse." Sunset stared at her. "Well, except for the whole becoming an bloodthirsty demon...thing."

"How?"

"Well," Fluttershy said, "she did all of the things you did, actually."

"Enjoy your new house," Suri said, before shoving Fluttershy into a locker.

"Your lunch is mine," Suri said before stealing Fluttershy's lunch box. "K?"

"Hey Butterbutt," Suri yelled. "Lay off those cookies." Everyone laughed, while Fluttershy looked shamefully in the mirror.

"But there was one thing you didn't do that...well...made me explode on her," Fluttershy said.

"What was that?" Sunset asked Fluttershy

"Hello Mr. Floppy," Fluttershy said to an adorable little rabbit, "I've got your favorite lunch for you," she said, pouring a fresh bag of baby carrots into the glass case. South Canterlot Elementary's animal nursery was her favorite place ever, since she got to care for a bunch of cute critters

"Aww, don't eat so fast," Fluttershy cooed, watching the little rabbit munch on those tasty carrots, "or you'll get a tummy ache."

"Hey Butterbutt," a mean voice yelled. Fluttershy whimpered and saw Suri in the room.

"Suri," Fluttershy whimpered, "what are you doing here?"

"Just trying to check on my best friend," Suri sneered. "K?"

"Please just leave me alone," Fluttershy said.

"Why would I do that," Suri said in her deceptively sweet voice. "You're just too much fun. No matter what I do, you always squirm." With a nasty smirk Suri shoved Fluttershy out of the way, and walked up to the glass case and started shaking it.

"What are you doing?" Fluttershy said with horror, seeing Suri shake the case and scaring the poor bunny.

"Scaring the stupid rabbit because I know it upsets you," Suri said with a nasty grin. Fluttershy looked with dismay at how the poor little creature was shaking with fear. Suri shook the case harder this time, her grin becoming wider. Fluttershy felt something she never felt in her life. She began to feel a bit of anger.

"Leave...leave..." Fluttershy muttered.

"What was that?", the pink-skinned girl said with sneer.

"Leave her alone," Fluttershy muttered.

"Or what," Suri mocked. "Whine to your mommy? Whine to the teacher? My mommy gives money to this school. If I wanted to, I could take the stupid rabbit, feed it to my pet cat, and you couldn't stop me." She began sticking her hand in the case, and began trying to capture the white ball of fluff.

"Leave her alone," Fluttershy repeated a little more loudly, her hands balling into fists. Suri ignore her and began painfully lifting the animal by its ear. The panic of the poor bunny made Fluttershy see red.

"I said," Fluttershy whimpered. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" With a yell, Fluttershy tackled Suri to the ground, freeing the poor rabbit from the purple-haired girl's clutches. For several minutes, Fluttershy wailed on the little brat. Suri, unused to someone fighting back, found herself helpless as the seemingly helpless yellow girl mercilessly thrashed her.

In a final act of rage, Fluttershy climbed onto Suri and began stomping on her head. Despite Suri losing unconsciousness, Fluttershy still continued to stomp on her.

"Fluttershy STOP!" a voice yelled. Fluttershy came down from her haze and saw the science teacher looking at her with horror. She looked down at Suri, and whimpered in shame at what she was doing.

"And then her mom took Suri out of school, and I never saw her again." Fluttershy finished her story, looking down at the table in shame while everyone looked at her in shock.

"Wow, you stomped on someone's head," Sunset said with astonishment. "I really dodged a bullet didn't I?" Sunset said with a sheepish smile.

"It was horrible," Fluttershy said with regret. "I know."

"Fluttershy, that wasn't your fault," Rainbow Dash assured her yellow friend. "Suri was a monster to you and that poor bunny."

"But I could've killed her," Fluttershy said remorsefully. "She was mean to that poor bunny, but I nearly cracked her skull. But I was so angry, I didn't realize what I was doing until the teacher showed up. Maybe the meanie who hurt Sunset is the same way."

"I don't know if it is quite the same thing," Rarity said with some thought. "What you did was on impulse and self-defense. This...fiend has methodically carried out his misdeeds through careful planning. All signs point to being someone who is deeply, deeply unbalanced."

"I don't think so," Fluttershy said. "Think about what Gilda said: the guy was afraid when Gilda came in. He was shaking. He also could've hurt Apple Bloom to silence witnesses, but didn't. He could've hurt Gilda even worse than he already did for getting in his way, but didn't. And I don't think he was trying to kill Sunset when he drowned her."

"Why not?" Sunset said.

"Why would he leave you a note if he was trying to kill you?" Fluttershy said. The question gave everyone pause. "Not that it makes what he did right. But maybe he's like me. A nice person who is so angry, that he doesn't realize what he was doing was wrong."

"My mother always said this," Rarity said. "A bad person would hurt you for fun, but a good person would make you suffer greatly if he believed it was right."

"That's...actually a good point," Rainbow said with a nod of her head. "Maybe Fluttershy's right. Maybe we've got to look for the person who is so nice, so quiet, so timid, we would never suspect them of anything."

"Excuse me," a quiet voice said. Everyone turned around and saw some short, green skilled looking at them with nervous eyes.

"Do we know you?" Rarity asked the girl.

"I'm Wallflower Blush," the short girl practically muttered. "It is OK if you don't know me. I'm only in, like, five of your classes. I wanted to know if you-,"

"So lets see what we know about the nut," Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her notebook. "Really tall."

"I wanted to know if-,"

"Smart," Pinkie Pie said.

"Can you just-,"

"Tough enough to take down Gilda," Sunset said.

"Stop ignoring-,"

"Genial on a good day," Rarity said.

"Never mind", Wallflower muttered with disappointment before walking away.

"OK, so who do we know who meets the criteria," Rarity said.

"Big Macintosh," Pinkie said. Everyone looked her, completely unimpressed.

"Seriously," Rainbow Dash said. "You really think Big Macintosh would hurt his own sister?"

"It is always the least you'd suspect right?"

"Nah," Sunset said with a wry smile. "Big Macintosh quite graphically said he would blow my head off if I ever hurt his sisters again." Everyone looked at her with horror. "It was just an empty threat to put me in my place. If he really wanted to hurt me, he would've done it already."

"Alright," Rainbow said. "Who do we know who is all of those things?"

"You dated Sunset Shimmah did you not," Officer Garda asked Flash Sentry. The two were sitting in an abandoned classroom that had converted into an office for Garda.

"I did. Isn't there a good cop and a bad cop?" Flash asked the portly officer.

"You watch too many movies," Officer Garda said with a smile and a roll of his eyes. "Anyways, others described Sunset as being downright abusive, controlling and shrill to you."

"Well yeah," Flash said with a mixture of anger and sadness. "She basically used to me to take over...to win a school prom."

"Mad to enough to want to drown her right!" Officer Garda abruptly yelled. To his frustration, Flash didn't take the bait, looking at him with a defiant frown.

"I was mad at her. I still kind of...am," Flash muttered comfortably. "But I don't want her gone."

"I don't know," Officer Garda said. "There are a lot of stories involving spouses who lash out at their abusive partners after years of torment."

"I didn't attack her," Flash said respectfully but firmly. "I can prove it. I have an alibi for when Sunset was pushed down the stairs."

"Really?" Officer Garda asked.

"I was doing band practice with my buds in the music room when it happened."

"So your telling me on Novembah 5, when Sunset was knocked down the stairs, you were practicing the drums, or whatever."

"Guitar," Flash said.

"Guitar. Can I have your bandmates number so they can confirm your story," Officer Garda asked.

"Sure," Flash said.

After a few calls, the green-skinned man called the bandmates, and confirmed them, through words, pictures, and their practice calendar that Flash was practicing with them when Sunset was pushed.

"OK kid your free to go," Officer Garda said.

"Thanks," Flash said.

"Stay out of trouble," Officer Garda said as the blue-haired kid walked out of the room. Officer Garda let out a sigh and crossed a name off of the list.

"Are you sure you can't trace the guy's IP," Micro Chips asked Moondancer. The two were in a computer lab, trying to trace the threatening E-mail that had been sent to Sunset.

"No," the red and purple haired girl said stoically. "This guy really knew how to cover his tracks, using encryption." Micro let out tired sigh, frowning over what this madman had done Gilda.

"Hey guys," a female voice said. The two turned and saw Sunset marching into the room.

"Hello Sunset," Micro Chips said with barely-veiled annoyance. Sunset let out a self-pitying sigh.

"Did you find anything yet?" Sunset asked.

"No," Moondancer said. Sunset let out another sigh.

"Listen, Micro Chips," Sunset said sadly. "There is something I wanted to tell you."

"What?"

"I'm sorry about having Gilda punch you in the face and stealing your logins," Sunset said.

"Oh you think one apology is gonna fix that," Micro said.

"What can I do to fix it?" Sunset asked helpfully. "I owe you for the punch-,"

"You think I care about the punch in the face?" Micro asked angrily, startling Sunset. "Do you think I'm some hypersensitive geldo [1] who gets upset over one punch?"

"Yes," Moondancer said without hesitation while working on her computer. Micro briefly glared at Moondancer before turning back to an upset Sunset.

"What made me mad was you making Gilda think I was perv," Micro Chips yelled.

"Micro that was no big-," Sunset protested.

"Imagine if Gilda had told everyone what you sent in my name?!" Micro Chips yelled. "Imagine if she shared that E-mail with everyone! My reputation would've been completely destroyed! Everyone thinks geeks like me are creepy pervs. And your little stunt could made everyone think that."

"But Micro-,"

"Even if you told the truth, many people would still think that of me," Micro said with dismay. "I could've ended up like Tubby Thompson."

"Who?" Sunset said.

"Tubby Thompson. Comedian," Moondancer said stoically. "Successful actor. Highest grossing star five years in a row. Was accused of rape and murder."

"What?" Sunset said.

"Some girl went to one of his parties," Micro said. "And died there. One of the woman there accused Tubby Thompson of raping and killing the person. Despite being completely innocent, his career was completely destroyed."

"What?"

"Yeah," Micro said angrily. "Even after he was exonerated, people still believed he did it. He stopped getting movie deals, his friends deserted him, and he was bankrupted."

"What happened to him?" Sunset said.

"Threw himself off the roof of his house," Moondancer said, still not looking up from the computer.

"That's horrible," Sunset said.

"I don't know how it works in your pony world," Micro said with a sneer, "but in this world an innocent person can have their lives destroyed while being completely innocent, and the person who destroyed them can walk away a free person." He then gave Sunset a vicious smile. "But of course, you didn't think about that, did you? All you cared about was becoming a princess. Heck you were planning to make us part of your zombie army and drag us to your pony world, not caring that our family's would wonder where he were?"

"Micro Chips," Sunset regretfully. "I didn't-,"

"Everyone of us paid because of your selfish idiocy," Micro Chips barked angrily. "And you know what? Were still paying for it. Now we have some psycho running around our school because you had to piss off just about everyone. Gilda got hurt trying to capture the psycho you helped create," Micro Chips said, his face becoming red thinking about how hurt and upset Gilda was. "So no Sunset. It is not OK. It is never gonna be OK. And right now, I just want you to go away and leave me alone!"

"But," Sunset protested, only to turn around and walk out of the room when Micro continued to glare at her.

"How could I be stupid?" Sunset said regretfully to herself as she walked down the hall. Without noticing it, she bumped into Sandalwood.

"Sorry Sandalwood," Sunset said to the tall, green-haired guy. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"I would know," Sandalwood said. "But just chill. I'm sure they'll catch the guy." He then walked away to do some other business. Sunset smiled at Sandalwood's kind words. But then she found herself confused by Sandalwood's words.

"I would know," Sunset parroted. "But why would he say that?" But then her eyes widened in horror.

"Yes," Officer Garda said to some elderly janitor.

"I found something in the dumpster you might be interested in," the old man said.

"What?" Officer Garda said. The man pulled out some black shawl. His interest grew when he saw red.

"Red on the...sleeve," Officer Garda said, his eyes widening. "It was just like the Griffon girl said."

"I also found this in the pocket," the old man said, holding up some folded poster. Garda took the poster and unfolded it.

"Join us for peace, love and understanding tonight," the poster read. "With Sandalwood and the Doves."

Investigation (Part 7)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Interlude: Love and Pain (Edited 07/21/20)

Author's Note

I want to give a small shout out to Velvet Fresh.

His comment made on the last chapter inspired the opening of this chapter.

Interlude: Love and Pain (Edited 07/21/20)

Sunset sat in her bed, unable to sleep.

She had a good day, had a good time, met a good guy.

Why wasn't she happy?

Why was she still awake?

Why couldn't she shut her eyes?

Why wouldn't she relax?

Was she still afraid the maniac was gonna burst in?

Where was she headed with Twinkle?

Did Twinkle really like her?

"Or maybe he's really in on it?" A voice said. Sunset looked her right and saw an annoyingly familiar face sitting at the other end of the bed.

"Oh it's you," Sunset said in a tired voice. The Demon appeared before her, once again in a more normal looking form. Anyone who could see the two would assume The Demon was her twin. A trained eye could see the demon still carried a haughty, snide look.

"How's it going, girl scout?" The Demon said.

"Can't you bug me at a more normal hour?" Sunset snarked.

"I'm not a wage slave, I'm a part of you," the Demon said with a smile. "I'm the one being you can always count on, 24/7."

"Great," Sunset said sarcastically, "get lost."

"Sunny, Sunny," the Demon said, "I'm here to congratulate you. You got yourself a hot hunk of meat right there."

"Yeah whatever," Sunset said with annoyance.

"Whatever?" the Demon parroted incredulously ."The dude has abs and all you can say is 'whatever'?"

"Goodnight," Sunset said, trying to force herself to sleep.

"Your acting all pouty. Like all of this is too good to be true." The Demon said. "Oh, wait, it probably is. Maybe Twinkle isn't as great as we think. Maybe he's the maniac trying to kill you, and your 'date' was a smokescreen."

"Shut up," Sunset said, her eyes glaring defiantly at The Demon, "that's not true."

"Oh it probably is," The Demon enthused. "Why else would he act like such a gentleman to you? You're the most hated girl in school. You sabotaged his team. He and his teammates pushed you around. Everyone is scared to be near you because they'll end up like that dumb hick. He clearly wants something from you. Maybe his team put him up to-"

"He stood up for me in front of everyone," Sunset through back ,"because I paid his team back by getting dunked."

"Maybe he liked seeing your hot tits through the wet t-shirt," The Demon said.

"Dear Celestia," Sunset said with a blush ,"you're the worst therapist ever!"

"At least my advice is free," the Demon said with a smirk.

"Twinkle took me out because I was a having a bad day," Sunset argued back. The Demon just let out a nasty laugh.

"You don't really buy that," The Demon said, still chuckling. "He's probably the asshole trying to kill us." A lustful look appeared on her face. "Or maybe he just wants to get into our pants."

"Stop it."

"You're still thinking about the time held your hand," The Demon said mockingly. "Cute. But maybe he was trying to reach for something else?"

"He isn't like that," Sunset said.

"He admitted that he was willing to give some slut a free ride if she put out," The Demon.

"That's not what he said," Sunset said.

"Or maybe he wants us because he knows no one would ever want to fuck us," The Demon gloated, "and that we'll be desperate enough to give it to him. I bet once we do put out, he'll ditch us for some hotter tramp."

"Shut your Celestia-damned mouth! Twinkle has been nothing but nice to me!"

"Just like those rich little snobs who just wanted us for reputation?" The Demon asked. The question gave Sunset pause. "Don't you remember all those spoiled Canterlot colts? Children of nobility and business. They'd say pretty little words and compare us to a summer day, but we could see that all they wanted was being next to the Princess' student."

"That's not...completely true," Sunset argued weakly. "Some of them might have-,"

"I'm sure they just loved our charming little attitude," The Demon said with a sneer. "No, those brats only wanted us because of our fame and forgot about us when we left. But when we finally escaped those pretentious idiots and ended up here, we were able to get a prize of our own," The Demon said with a hint of nostalgia, "Flash."

"Don't talk about him," Sunset said with a growl.

"He was popular, pretty, and not too bad looking," the Demon waxed. "We knew that being next to him would give us the reputation we needed to bring about our master plan. We knew that no one would suspect the girlfriend of Flash Sentry of any...misdeed."

"Shut up!"

"But then we both began to...develop," the Demon said. "And soon we wanted more from him. His growing pecs, those broad shoulders. We wanted nothing more than to reach into his pants and-,"

"ENOUGH!" Sunset yelled before taking one of her pillows and tossing at The Demon. To her frustration, the obnoxious specter ducked to escape it.

"But then we learned the truth," The Demon said. "Flash Sentry was nothing but a little wimp with puny balls. That's why he couldn't stand to be around us. Because we reminded him of how much of a pussy he really was."

"No, he dumped us because we treated him like shit."

"A real man would've kept us in line," The Demon said with a perverted smile on her face. "Taught us our place once and for all. Smacked us around and asserted his dominance-,"

"You're disgusting!" Sunset growled.

"Oh please," The Demon threw back. "You're telling me you've never fantasized about getting pinned down and pleasured so hard your moans can be heard from space?" Sunset looked down, blushing in shame. "But who cares about Flash. Now we have a new, and better, prize. The co-captain of a sport's team. A former enemy who can prove to everyone we've turned over a new leaf. And with an amazing body to boot. Hopefully, he'll be more of a man than Flash ever was."

"Twinkle isn't a prize," Sunset growled. "He's a good guy who forgave me and opened up to me."

"Oh I'm sure you'd love him better if he was fat as a whale," The Demon said sarcastically. "His washboard stomach has nothing to do with it?"

"I like those abs," Sunset said. "I like them better when the person who has them is not throwing paint at me."

"Speak for yourself. Body paint is pretty kinky-,"

"Goodnight," Sunset said, turning away from the specter.

"Fine. Do what you want," The Demon said in a passive-aggressive tone, "but when that stud either betrays you or dumps you for some other slut, don't say I didn't warn you." The specter vanished in a puff of light.

Sunset tried to sleep, but she found she couldn't ignore The Demon's words.

"Twinkle's got a girlfriend," Flicker said at the breakfast table.

"Flicker," Twinkle said with a growl. The orange-skinned sister responded with a smirk. Twinkle loved her sister deep down. But like all 10 year old girls, she never knew when to shut her mouth.

"You do?" His Mom, Rose, said. The pink-skinned woman gave Twinkle a teasing smile.

"What are her career plans?" His yellow-skinned father, Shock Wave, uttered as he put down his newspaper. His father's time as a logistics manager made him very meticulous. There was no situation where he never sought to analyze for strengths and weaknesses.

Even people were not spared his merciless, bespectacled gaze.

"She's just a friend mom," Twinkle said with a groan.

"Really," Flicker asked with a smirk. "Then why were you coming home looking all lovey-dovey?"

"Shut up," Twinkle said. "Dad, she's 15."

"That's no excuse," Shock Wave said coldly. "You've already made up your mind about being a history teacher."

"Uh, that's kind of up in the air," Twinkle said.

"Good, because a career in the military can always be valuable," Shock Wave said. Twinkle resisted the urge to facepalm as dear old dad once again began his lectures about the benefits of military life.

"Shock, not at the breakfast table," Rose admonished. "So Twinkle who's your new friend?"

"Sunset Shimmer," Twinkle said.

"The tramp who caused the gas leak at CHS?" His father said, iron in his voice. "You want to be someone like that?"

"Shock," Rose said in a disappointing tone.

"Dad," Twinkle said somewhat defensively. "Sunset Shimmer did cause a lot of damage. She messed with my team. But she's worked her butt off to make it up to us."

"You don't need hoodlums like that in your life," his father criticized, "they'll hurt your prospects."

"I thought we believed in Ameliorist values," Twinkle snarked. "Isn't forgiveness something we teach? Or do we forget it when its convenient?"

"I'd rather you not be with a girl who will push you down that road," Shock said. "You did enough damage on your own with Auger's van-,"

"When are you gonna let that go?" Twinkle said with frustration.

"When you have a family of your own," Shock Wave said with a smirk.

"She's just a friend so don't worry," Twinkle said with an angry sigh.

"I have a friend with an older sister who goes to Canterlot High," Flicker said. "She told me Sunset turned into a demon and tried to brainwash everyone."

"Flicker," Rose admonished, "you no better than to spread rumors like that."

"Yeah rumors," Twinkle said with a short laugh. "Listen I go to go," he said, picking up his plate and putting it in the sink.

"Listen to me Twinkle," Shock Wave said. "Boy, you better look at me when I talk to you." With anger, Twinkle turned to face his father. "People like that maybe fun for a while, but when you grow up, you'll learn you need someone responsible. So don't go screwing around with this girl. K?"

"K".

"And if you do, remember to use protection," Rose admonished. "I don't want a grandson this early."

"Whatever," Twinkle said with a sigh as he stormed out of the room.

"So, tell me all about your date," Rarity asked Sunset. Sunset's friends, sans Rainbow Dash (who was doing some soccer practice, and was still cool toward Sunset) sat around their usual table in the cafeteria.

"It wasn't a date," Sunset said.

"You mean, tryst," Rarity said playfully.

"Sunny has a boyfriend," Pinkie said cheerfully. Sunset didn't take the bait. She stared bitterly at her food.

"Sunset," Fluttershy asked. "Are you OK?"

"I think," Sunset said.

"Then why are you so down in the dumps?" Pinkie Pie asked her melancholy friend.

"I don't know," Sunset said. "I had a nice time, met a nice guy who listened to me. Yet, I feel sad. And when I try and feel good, I feel worse."

"Darling," Rarity said. "There's an obvious reason why you feel this way."

"Why?"

"Misery darling," Rarity said. "You've been in its grip for so long, you haven't known any joy to yourself."

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

"You spent two years being a mean frowny-pants supervillain," Pinkie Pie said.

"Followed by several months of community service, isolation, alienation, bullying, and self-loathing," Rarity said.

"And despite being better, you still feel a little guilty," Fluttershy said. "You're blaming yourself for everything this new meanie is doing." Sunset let out a sigh.

"I mean, I've had you guys," Sunset said. "And I don't feel guilty around you."

"But feelings of longing are a bit different than feelings of friendship," Rarity said. "While platonic love is valuable, the romantic kind of love is a whole different creature. And living like a ne'er do well, you've never known it. And now that it is here, you can't believe it, and you probably lament living so long without it."

"You're right I can't believe it," Sunset said. "I mean, only a couple of months ago, Twinkle was throwing paint balloons at me. Now, he's taking me on walks in the park and opening up to me."

"Love is rarely simple darling," Rarity said with a smirk. "Sometimes violence and bullying can be signs of hidden affection."

"I think it is too soon to call it love," Sunset said with a sigh. "Part of me thinks...he's secretly the guy trying to run me out of here."

"Darling that's ridiculous," Rarity said.

"If he really wanted to hurt you like that, he would've done it," Fluttershy said.

"I guess your right," Sunset said. "Maybe I'm just...guilty and in denial." Sunset said. "It is not just that though."

"What is it darling," Rarity said.

"I don't know where my life is headed," Sunset said with a sigh. "Half my life, I dreamed of becoming an alicorn princess. Even when I was stuck here, I never lost sight of that. I never ever considered putting down roots here." Sunset let out another sigh. "When I lost, it was a real low point in my life. Everything I worked for, gone in one night. I spent so long focusing on that idiotic dream, I didn't think about what would happen if I failed."

"Really?" Rarity said.

"Yeah," Sunset said sadly. "I never imagined I would end up staying at CHS. Had Applejack not given me a chance, I would've left Canterlot after I did my punishment and gone to...maybe...Manehattan."

"You were going to leave?" Pinkie Pie said sadly.

"Where would you have gone?" Fluttershy said.

"What would you have done?" Rarity said.

"I don't know," Sunset said. "I didn't have a goal."

"Don't you have anything to return to in Equestria?" Rarity asked.

"Not really," Sunset said bitterly after a long pause. "I was such a jerk to everypony, there was no one that would take me back."

"But you've changed Sunny," Pinkie Pie said.

"I've been gone for so long, they've probably forgotten me," Sunset said sadly. "I didn't become Applejack's friend just because she forgave me. She gave me something to look forward to. A new goal. A chance to make it up to everyone. That's why I put up with so much pain from everyone. Not just because I deserved it, not just because I wanted to get their trust back, but because I had a new goal and wanted to succeed at something." Sunset said. "I guess that isn't very altruistic."

"Maybe not darling," Rarity agreed. "But not everyone does the right thing for the right reasons."

"But now, even more unexpected things have occurred," Sunset said. "The lunatic, me potentially getting a boyfriend." A small tear fell down her eye. "I just feel like I can't control things in my life."

"There is a solution, darling," Rarity said.

"What is it?"

"Parties?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Begging and pleading?" Fluttershy asked.

"You've got to simply seize the bull by the horns," Rarity said.

"What do you mean?" Sunset said.

"In life, you don't overcome things through moping," Rarity said with stern eyes. "You've got to simply force yourself out of your stupor in order to control of your life."

"And have fun," Pinkie Pie said.

"And try to be kind to people," Fluttershy advised.

"If you feel helpless, just think of the things you want to do darling, no matter how much you feel you may not deserve them, and do them," Rarity said. "Eventually, you'll learn you do have the power to control your life, and this pain will cease to control you as much as it does."

"Thanks Rarity," Sunset said.

"Hey Sunset," a male voice said. Sunset looked at saw the tall red-skinned athlete approach her with a tray of food. "I wanted to know you want to...hang out." Sunset looked at Rarity, who silently order her to go with him.

"Sure," Sunset said, rising from her table with her lunch tray. "I'll see you guys later," Sunset said, walking away with Twinkle.

"See ya," Pinkie Pie said.

"Twinkle is truly smitten," Rarity said.

"How can you tell?"

"He didn't acknowledge us," Rarity said with a smirk. Two lovey-duvey smiles formed on Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's faces.

Flash watched as Twinkle and Sunset walked together to sit alone at another table. He was so focused on it, like someone who picks at a painful scar, he barely noticed Derpy talking.

"And that's why they had no muffins," the grey-skinned girl remarked.

"Yeah, it was terrible," Flash muttered.

"I know right," Derpy said. The wall-eye teenager stopped. "Flash are you OK?"

"Yeah sure," Flash said in a somber tone.

"Flash what's," Derpy began, before she noticed Sunset and Twinkle chatting together. "Oh, I see. You're jealous of Twinkle."

"You don't see anything, you wall-eyed moron," Flash barked. He felt guilty when he realized he hurt one of his friend's feelings. "I'm sorry Derpy," Flash said. "It's just-,"

"You're jealous," Derpy repeated.

"No," Flash said. "I know that Sunset was using me. I know she was the wrong person for me. But now she's better. But she chooses him over me," Flash barely held himself back from cracking up. "Was Sunset right? Am I just a little pussy?"

"Flash," Derpy admonished. "None of those things were true. Sunset said those things because she was a big meanie who never liked you. You shouldn't listen to people like that." A reassuring smile appeared on her face. "Princess Twilight liked you."

"But then she left," Flash said.

"Because she has a kingdom to run and no way to get back home for two years," Derpy stressed. "If a Princess can like you, than I'm sure someone else can."

"Then why didn't Sunset give me a chance to start over?" Flash said bitterly.

"Because you weren't really right for each other," Derpy said. "Sunset is a better person, but that doesn't mean she's going to feel anything for you. She probably feels guilty for how she treated you." A kind smile formed on her face. "Just because she dates Twinkle doesn't mean no one will date you." Derpy put a warm hand on his shoulder. "You're a good guy Flash. And there are plenty of people who see that."

"Thanks Derpy," Flash said with a smile. "You're a real pal. And you're right. There are plenty of fish in the sea. If Twilight can feel that way about me, so can another girl."

"More than you know," Derpy said in a quiet and sad tone, watching as Flash ate with renewed confidence. "More than you...know." She turned away, not wanting anyone to see the tear rolling down her cheek.

How Do You Heal A Soul? (Edited 7/21/20)

"So, do want to...hang out later?" Twinkle asked sheepishly. The two sat at their private table, discussing plans for future dates. It was clear the two had an undeniable fondness for one another, and now they sought ways to explore their relationship further.

"Sure," Sunset said.

"Do you want to...see us practice?" Twinkle said.

"Not really," Sunset said. "I'm not really a sports girl."

"OK," Twinkle said and took a bit of his food.

"Normally, if you offer to hang out with someone, you have a second option," Sunset said with some admonishment.

"Well, I would normally let you hang out at my house," Twinkle said nervously, "but...we're remodeling."

"Remodeling," Sunset parroted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, so its not a good time," Twinkle said, scratching the back of his ear.

"I can't bring you to my place," Sunset said. "I don't feel comfortable going to my apartment when this psycho is still on the loose. If he's obsessed enough to plan attacks on me, he probably knows where I live."

"Maybe we could beat this guy together," Twinkle said.

"I don't want to take any chances," Sunset said.

"Where are you staying?" Twinkle asked.

"Applejack's farm," Sunset said. "I'd invite you there, but I don't think its the right time to bring you there."

"Why?"

"Applejack's still in bad shape," Sunset said sadly. "She acts like a robot most of the time. When she doesn't work, she sits in bed all day. She's hardly says a word to anyone, even her own family."

"Have they tried to break her out of her slump?" Twinkle asked Sunset.

"Yeah," Sunset said. "They've tried food, force, distraction, and happy songs. My friends have tried too. Rainbow Dash tried to challenge Applejack to an arm wrestling contest, Fluttershy offered Applejack one of her pet bunnies, Rarity offered Applejack a free dress, and Pinkie tried to give Applejack one of her trademark 'cheer up' parties."

"Did it work?"

"No," Sunset said. Twinkle's jaw dropped.

"How down in the dumps do you have to be to not enjoy Pinkie's parties?" Twinkle asked with some hurt.

"It isn't 'down in the dumps'," Sunset said. "I think Applejack has post-traumatic stress."

"Well," Twinkle said uneasily, "could I try and talk to her?"

"What could you do?" Sunset asked, her face full of intense curiosity.

"I don't know," Twinkle said. "Maybe she just needs...another voice telling her she needs to get out of bed."

"Well," Sunset said. "It couldn't hurt. Why are you so interested?"

"I love Sweet Apple Acres," Twinkle said with a smile.

"Really?"

"If you grow up in Canterlot," Twinkle said with a smile, "the place isn't just a farm, it's an institution. When you're in the second grade, you go there for field trips and learn how to milk a cow. Every festival has a stand selling Sweet Apple Acres pies and candies. For my birthday, I've always wanted Apple Family cakes and pies. Honestly, I'd love to help such a great place."

"Do you just want free food?" Sunset said sardonically.

"Well, I do need some sustenance to sustain my efforts," Twinkle said ironically. Sunset let out a playful snort. "Look, if she hadn't given you a chance," Twinkle said in a serious tone, "we wouldn't have gotten, you know, together." Sunset looked at Twinkle solemnly. "I do owe her for that."

"Well, let's see what you can do/"

"There she is," Granny Smith said, pointing to Applejack, who was working in the barn. Twinkle watched Applejack carry buckets of apples to and from one section of the building to another.

Sunset's sad description of Applejack didn't do the situation justice. On a normal day, Applejack was the girl any guy would want: pretty, tall, fit, charming, blond, and a good cook. While Twinkle was ashamed admit it, but as much as loved Apple family pies, buying things from Applejack also gave him some eye candy.

The Applejack he saw right now bore only a superficial resemblance to the charming farmhand. Applejack had the expression and appearance of a scarecrow. Skinny, hair matted, unkempt clothes, and a dull, empty expression. The bandage on her face added to pain.

Looking at what Applejack had become added to Twinkle's anger at the monster who had hurt her.

"So what are you gonna do?" The green-old lady asked. Based off her sad demeanor, Twinkle was the only one who was upset at what Applejack had become.

"I have a theory," Twinkle said. "The problem with Applejack was this: Applejack tried to do the right thing for Sunset, and her reward was getting chloroformed and scarred. She's moping over how unfair the whole thing was.

"So what's your idea?" Granny Smith said.

"Remind her that she did a lot of good by helping Sunset," Twinkle said, "and not just for her."

"Well good luck," Granny Smith said. With some trepidation, Twinkle approached the Apple farmer. Unbeknownst to him Granny was giving him a look of hope.

"Hey Applejack," Twinkle said in a friendly voice. "How's it going?"

"Fine," the girl said in a voice devoid of passion.

"What you doing?"

"Workin'."

"And."

"Sleepin'."

"That's cool," Twinkle said with an uncomfortable expression. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened to you. And it was unfair. But just remember that you giving Sunset a chance did a lot of good. This one maniac didn't undo that."

"That's nice," Applejack said, sounding like a robot that had been programmed to say certain words rather than a person.

"If it wasn't for you, Sunset wouldn't have paid us back," Twinkle said. Applejack continued to work in a soulless manner. "Gilda wouldn't have been able to do her college applications, You did so much good helping Sunset. You shouldn't let this monster bring you down." Still no dice.

"I'm sorry," he said with disappointment while turning to Granny Smith. "I tried."

"Don't worry," Granny Smith said, "I know."

"Maybe I should go," Twinkle said.

"Why not stay fer dinner?" the old lady offered politely.

"I appreciate the offer ma'am," Twinkle said in an expression that was both polite and melancholy, "but since I couldn't help Applejack, I don't think I've earned it." On Granny's face, a smirk briefly appeared before it was replaced by a more polite smile.

"Well, I can respect that," Granny Smith said," thanks for stopping by."

"Your welcome ma'am," he said turning away, completely unaware of the massive and calculating grin on Granny's face.

"They're not in the car," Twinkle said in frustration as he looked at the floor of his vehicle.

"They're not in the glove compartment," Sunset said as well.

"Where are they?" Twinkle said.

"You had them, not me!" Sunset protested.

"Well, well young'uns what seems to be the trouble," Granny said, approaching the two teens.

"I'm sorry, but I lost my keys," Twinkle said sheepishly. "I knew they were in my pocket."

"Well that's terrible," Granny Smith said. Twinkle and Sunset failed to notice the smirk on the old lady's face.

"It was my only set," Twinkle said with frustration.

"I guess you'll have to stay after all," Granny Smith said.

"What?" Twinkle said. "I can just call some of my friends to pick me-,"

"I mean," Granny said nervously, "it just isn't polite to do that. It is late, and everyone's got something to do. And our truck is still being repaired. You might as well stay the night. We've got a pullout couch you can sleep on."

"That's fine, I guess," Twinkle said with a shrug. "I'll just call my parents and tell them where I am.

"I'll go prepare it," Granny Smith said while wearing a victorious grin.

"Maybe we can get our homework done," Sunset said happily.

"Maybe you young'uns will start multiplying," Granny said under her breath.

Dinner at the Apple family table was nothing like Twinkle expected.

He loved fresh backed Apple family goods. And now he was enjoying them fresh from the oven, prepared by the very owner of Sweet Apple Acres.

But the sight of Applejack eating silently and glumly ruined everyone's mood. A dinner was only as good as the company you ate with. Everyone at the dinner table also ate silently and without passion.

Twinkle lost all apatite after a few moments of this, and only at the food out of politeness.

After dinner, Sunset and Twinkle spent a couple of hours doing homework. The mood was lighter, but Twinkle could see Sunset was still deeply hurt and a little guilty over how Applejack was behaving.

By 11:30 PM, Sunset and everyone else had gone to bed. Twinkle was up on his laptop idly web-surfing in the dim light. He felt empty, having gotten nowhere. It was obvious Applejack needed more professional help, but he still felt ashamed for failing to lift Applejack's spirits.

He heard some footsteps, and the sound of someone walking down the stairs. Applejack's little sister came down stairs in her pajamas. In the dim light of the fridge, he saw Apple Bloom pulling out some leftover pie. Hoping to lighten his mood, he decided to spook the girl.

"Apple Bloom," Twinkle said in a falsely ominous voice, "What did Granny say about midnight-," he paused as Apple Bloom turned around, her face and eyes puffy and red.

"Apple Bloom," Twinkle asked with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Apple Bloom said, her voice breaking.

"Apple Bloom," Twinkle said in a soft voice. "Please tell me-,"

"I had a nightmare," the little farmer said, coming to join him at the table, tears running down her eyes.

"What was it," Twinkle said softly. Apple Bloom hesitated, not wanting to share with a stranger. "If it makes you feel any better, I've had nightmares too. And the best way to deal with them is tell someone. I promise you, I'll keep it a secret."

"OK," Apple Bloom said. "I had this nightmare where the monster who hurt Applejack killed Sunset, Granny, and Big Mac. He chases after me, and I scream for Applejack to help me, but she isn't there." When she finished, she again broke down into tears.

"I see the problem," Twinkle said. "You're not just scared of the monster, you miss Applejack."

"She upstairs," Apple Bloom said.

"I mean emotionally, she...hasn't been there," Twinkle said with a patient smile.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "I know someone hurt her bad, but I miss her, and I wish she would know that. Granny misses her, Big Mac misses her, her friends miss her. Why can't she see that?"

"She's scared too," Twinkle said.

"She's my older sister," Apple Bloom said. "They're not supposed to be scared."

"Everyone gets scared," Twinkle said. "It doesn't matter how old you are. Anyone can be afraid."

"Even you," Apple Bloom.

"Yeah," Twinkle said. "All you can do is try and tell her you love her."

"I tried," Apple Bloom said sadly. "She won't listen to me." The sad look in the little girl's face instilled within Twinkle something. It wasn't urgency, nor was it fear. Seeing Apple Bloom miserable filled him with new resolve. As she patted Apple Bloom to comfort her, Twinkle jaw set as he gained a newfound desire to help the Apple family.

"Don't worry," Twinkle said, forcing a smile to his face. "Tonight, I'll be your big sister."

"You'll be the big sister?" Apple Bloom said with confusion.

"Yeah," the red-skinned teen said. "We can't paint each others toenails and braid each others hair." Apple Bloom began chuckling. Twinkle smiled warmly, having raised Apple Bloom's spirits a little.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a green-skinned lady watched incognito, watching all this with a smile.

Applejack did what she had always done for the past few days when she wasn't working: nothing. She sat in bed, awaiting her work, but without any of the joy she felt. Suddenly Twinkle burst in, his face full of calm rage.

"OK Applejack," Twinkle said sternly ,"this pity party has to stop." Applejack didn't respond. "I know you're scared, but you have to get it together." Applejack didn't respond.

"I know you're upset about what you went through," Twinkle said. "You didn't deserve to have your face cut. You didn't deserve to get knocked out. But your family is hurt because you won't talk to them. Your friends wish you'd come back to school. It is tearing them apart to see you like this, but you don't care. You just want to sit around feeling sorry for yourself." Applejack didn't respond. "The Applejack I knew wouldn't mope. No matter what pain she would go through, she would go through it with a smile. She would brighten up everyone's day. She was kind enough to give a girl who no one liked another chance." Applejack still didn't move. Twinkle let out a disappointed sigh. "You want to sit here? Fine. But everyday you sit here, the more power you give to that monster. He may have gotten the drop on you, but your letting him win by hiding here." Applejack still didn't respond. "OK, fine," Twinkle said as he walked out of the room in disgust, "smell you never."

Twinkle came down stairs with a frown, the Apple family and Sunset looking at him with some hope. But before he could respond, another voice was heard.

"You're right," a country voice said, to the surprise of everyone. Applejack came down stairs. While she had no makeup, and was clad in filthy pajamas, her eyes were the strongest they'd been in days.

"Applejack."

"Sis."

"My young'un."

"I shouldn't let that varmint get to me," Applejack responded in a stern tone. "The reason why he got me is because he's a yellow-belied coward, and I'm not gonna let him bring me down." He looked at Twinkle with a grateful smile. "Thanks Twinkle for helping me get over myself."

"Just returning the favor," Twinkle said in a humble tone. "You helped my team see that revenge wasn't the answer." Applejack gave him a look filled with respect.

"Yay," the Apple Family and Sunset said. They all rushed to hug Applejack, only for the blond girl to back away slowly.

"Sorry, I'm not ready to hug anyone just yet," Applejack said with a shiver. The family looked disappointed. While Applejack no longer moped, she had a long way to go before she could fully recover from her attack.

"So let me call my friend. He'll take us-" Twinkle began before he found his keys dangled in front of him.

"I found them," Granny said.

"Just now?!" Sunset asked with some suspicion.

"Of course," Granny Smith said.

"Where?" Twinkle asked.

"Uh," Granny Smith said sheepishly, "right here," Granny said vaguely. "You must've dropped...'em."

"Uh-huh," Twinkle said suspiciously. Everyone else was giving Granny unimpressed looks. "Well, thanks, I guess," he said while taking the keys.

"Thank you for helping my little Jacqueline," Granny said with gratitude.

"Happy to help," Twinkle said. Sunset and Apple Bloom both gave him a hug, while Big Mac silently patted Twinkle on the shoulder. Applejack went upstairs to get freshened up for the first time in days.

"If only Jacqueline could've met him first", Granny said with some envy as Sunset continued to hug Twinkle tightly. "But at least my granddaughter helped turn that young varmint into a gentleman.

All Truths Come Out (Part 1)-Edited

"C'mon Applejack," Sunset said gently. Applejack, her siblings, Twinkle, and Sunset were in the parking lot, standing a short distance from the entrance. Applejack was standing around nervously, her hand holding Winona's leash. Because of the stress she felt, Celestia and Luna allowed Applejack to bring Winona as a therapy dog.

"It's just a few hundred feet to the entrance," Twinkle said reassuringly. To Applejack, the distance felt like a thousand miles across a horrid chasm.

Apple Bloom gave her sister a warm smile. "You can do it sis."

"Eeyup," Big Mac grunted.

Winona happily waved her tail back and forth. "Ruff!"

Taking a deep breath, Applejack began walking, or more precisely, waddling to the entrance. In a complex cycle, Applejack took a few steps, pet Winona, get reassurances by her friends and family, took another step, and the cycle would repeat. Twinkle, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Sunset formed a human shield around her (albeit with considerable distance, since Applejack still felt claustrophobic). As Applejack approached the door, her pace slackened, and her anxiety grew. She fell to her knees in tears after getting five feet from the entrance.

Applejack hugged Winona , whimpering and crying. She looked less like a confident 15 year old, and more like a scared toddler. "I can't-,"

Sunset approached the farmer girl. "I didn't believe I could ever be good, but you convinced me I could. If I could come back to CHS, so can you."

Twinkle smiled comfortingly. "Just take deep breaths." Applejack started breathing, and slowly, her panic went away. Applejack took her arms away from Winona and pulled herself up, and grabbed the door. She froze again.

"He can't hurt you," Sunset cooed. "We made sure of it."

"How?"

"Trust us."

With one last deep breath, Applejack strode in. She expected to see the usual hallway.

Instead she was greeted by a massive applause, and everyone chanting "Welcome back, Applejack." Her close friends all approached her (but did not hug her), greeting her and welcoming her. The sight nearly brought Applejack to tears, but she suppressed them as she felt her valor return.

"I have the message for the varmint who attacked me," Applejack said. The crowd went silent. "I-I-I am scared of you." This stunned the audience, who were expecting something stronger. "I am very scared. But...at...least I have the guts to show my face, unlike you. You can keep me down, but you can't keep me out. Because I love CHS more than I am afraid of you." Applejack's words were followed by a loud, cheerful applause.

Gilda walked up to Applejack with a proud smile on her face as everyone began to disperse. "Good job, Apples. That was just so...righteous."

"Thanks Gilda," Applejack said. But before she could respond, she was given a pat on the shoulder by the military girl. Applejack collapsed to the ground in panic, shaking and holding her dog again. Everyone turned to glare at Gilda. Gilda let out a sheepish smile.

"Uh, my bad?"

It was around one o'clock. Sunset and her friends-and Rainbow Dash- were piling out of the cafeteria, forming a human barrier around Applejack.

"So are we up for the sleepover on Saturday?" Pinkie Pie asked everyone.

"Sure," Rarity said. "It is imperative as friends we must celebrate Applejack's recovery somehow."

"Y-you guys are the best," Applejack stammered.

"S-s-sunset," Quick stammered as she approached the group.

"Hey Quick," Sunset said. "Do you want to go over the math after school?"

"S-sure," Quick said.

"So you two are study buddies?" Fluttershy asked Sunset.

"He said he needed help in math," Sunset said. "And...well I couldn't turn him down."

"That's...nice of you," Rainbow said reluctantly. Pinkie Pie flinched at Rainbow's tone. Her blue friend was trying, but she still felt cold toward Sunny.

"Hey Twinkle," Rainbow said. They approached the red-skinned teenager as he began to open his locker.

"Hey guys," Twinkle said. "Oh Sunset," Twinkle said, his warm smile. "There's this vegan place that opened up at the mall. Do you want to hangout this weekend?"

"Sorry," Sunset said. "I'm already doing a sleepover with Applejack. You want to do it Monday?"

"Sure," he said idly, turning to face Sunset, as he began to open his locker, "let's-"

Something was heard bouncing off of Twinkle. A moment later, he began grabbing his throat, gasping for air, before collapsing. Everyone stood around in shock.

"T-t-twinkle," Quick said in fear. This broke the shock .

"TWINKLE!" Everyone shouted, struggling to help the unconscious person. Everyone looked afraid, while Sunset and Applejack began to let out small tears.

"Lay him on his back!" Gilda shouted, striding into the cafeteria. Without hesitation, two guys laid the stricken athlete on the ground. Gilda bent down to offer aid.

"The way he chocked, I think something smashed his trachea," Gilda said with a mixture of urgency and confidence, before performing CPR on him.

"Twinkle," Sprint said fearfully, running up to his friend. "I need you to stay with me." Gilda continued to breath air into him. "Please don't choke-,"

"He's not gonna choke," Nurse Redheart said, running up to gathered group. "The shock of the blow and loss of air knocked him out, but he'll be all right. Someone is gonna get a stretcher-,"

"G-g-guys," Quick said sadly. "I found this in his locker." He held up a baseball pitching machine.

"I found this," Pinkie Pie said, holding up a baseball.

"Someone put that in his locker," Rainbow Dash said. "But who-," she paused when Quick presented her with an envelope. A chill went down everyone's spine, as everyone realized it was another act of the maniac. With some hesitation, Quick pulled out the note. He tried to read it, but was already shaking in fear. He stammered so much, he could not say it. He handed it to Nurse Redheart who began reading.

"I see that someone has become enamored with Sunslut," Nurse Redheart began. "That little whore will open her legs for anyone and anything. But you want to fuck that little bitch? You also want to hangout with Appleskank? Well there's a price to be paid. And for anyone dumb enough to be near those two skanks, the price will be very steep."

Nurse Redheart revealed the caption. It showed a smiling picture of Twinkle with his face scribbled out angrily in red ink.

Everyone in the room grew fearful, angry, confused, or a mix of all three. Sunset felt tears roll down her eyes.

"I didn't want this to happen," Sunset said tearfully.

"I know," Sprint said, patting her on the shoulder and trying to comfort her. Sprint, Sunset, her friends, Vice Principal Luna, Rainbow Dash, and the male track team all stood around unconscious teenager, a bandage around his throat.

"Don't worry," Nurse Redheart said. "He'll be fine-,"

"I don't care about fine!" Sprint yelled. "I want the bastard who did this him." The track team all looked equally angry and furious at what had been done to their captain.

"Students," Principal Luna said. "We must all calm ourselves. Yelling and screaming won't do us any good."

"Why?" Quick said in tears. "Who would do this to him?"

"Some nut," one of the track team members, a tall yellow-skinned boy named Sparky, said to Quick, putting a hand on the short kid's shoulders. "But don't worry. We'll catch him." A middle-aged couple strode in, the man looking stern, and the woman looking sad.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wave," Vice Principal Luna said solemnly. "I am so sorry this happened."

"Oh," the woman said in tears, "my poor baby," as she put her arms around Twinkle's unconscious form. The man looked at the assembled group of students with stern eyes. His icy demeanor grew icier as he approached Sunset.

"You're the little brat my son associated with," Shock Wave said with a growl. Sunset stepped back from him fearfully. "I knew you were trouble from the beginning. My son was fine until he associated-,"

"Why don't you leave her alone!" Sprint yelled back.

"Yeah, S-s-sunset d-didn't do this," Quick said.

"Honey," Rose said, looking up from his son.

"Mr. Wave," Luna said firmly. "You can't just blame Sunset-,"

"No that stupid girl is just a symptom of the greater problem," Mr. Wave said furiously. "How you and your sister tolerate delinquents."

"Mr. Wave I do not tolerate-,"

"Of course you do," the military man said. "You allow lunatics to get away with things." Everyone in the room began to bristle at the snobbish man's words. "You allowed that yellow-skinned menace to cause a gas leak instead of putting her in prison where she belongs." Luna began bristling at the man's criticism. "And now, you've given any lunatic the belief they can cause mayhem. I should've sent my son to Crystal Prep. They would've ensured proper safety and discipline." Before anyone could reply, someone else walked into the room.

"Oh that's rich coming from you," a pudgy, middle-aged man in suspenders said with angry sarcasm. "Hey Rose," he said, giving a polite smile to the grief-stricken woman, "sorry about Twinkle."

"What are you doing hear, Auger?" Shock Wave said with distaste.

"So I'm not allowed to see my own nephew," Auger said with a snort. "Yeah, that's family values right there. Of course hypocrisy has always been a part of your life."

"I'm not gonna be lectured by some reprobate," Shock Wave said.

"Honey, Auger," Rose said, trying to defuse the argument.

"You complain about explosions, but you're happy to take blood money from a group that causes destruction for a living," Auger said with some contempt. "And you lecture about Crystal Prep's discipline, when you and your buddies bullied that poor nerd because of 'tradition'."

"I've wanted my son to fit into normal society," Shock Wave argued back. "Not hang out with hooligans," he said, gesturing to the track team.

"We're not hooligans," Sparky argued.

"You convinced my son to smash mailboxes," Shock Wave argued. The whole track team flinched.

"Oh, so you'd rather he learn to obey the criminals in suits and ties-," A loud horn interrupted their argument. They turned to face the principal who held up an airhorn.

"Gentlemen," Luna said. "I know we are in a stressful situation. But you can't let whatever disputes you have get in the way of helping Twinkle." The two men closed their mouths, but the distaste they held for one another still hung in the air.

"I need all of you, except the parents and Auger to leave," Luna said firmly. "I understand your all worried, but the world still turns." Reluctantly, everyone began shuffling out of the room, with everyone giving the teenager a concerned look. Sunset and the track team looked forlorn.

"I'm sorry," Sunset said with a whisper.

Two days had passed, and Sprint was still anxious. He knew Twinkle would be just fine. He was at home resting. He was worried and scared about the maniac and his effect on everyone. All his classmates were anxious, scared, and angry. The police were now checking everyone's lockers and escorting them to school. Without much joy, he walked into a meeting with Mrs. Harshwhinny.

"Madame H," he said without much joy as he entered the office, "what's-,"

"Sprint," a male voice said. Sprint saw Officer Garda in Harshwhinny's office.

"Officer what's going on?" Sprint asked. His confusion grew as Garda walked behind him and shut the door.

"Am I a suspect?" Sprint asked nervously.

"No," the portly man said, "but someone is."

"Who?"

"Our little friend slipped up," Officer Garda said with a vicious smule. "I examined the baseball machine. It turns out there was a label he left behind."

"What did it say?"

"Dick's Entertainment Rental Store," Garda said. Sprint frowned as he thought for a few minutes.

"That's the place we rented the duck tank," Sprint said.

"I called the man," Garda told me. "He told me yesterday, someone tall, covered in a shawl, and in a mask paid cash to rent one of his machines." Sprint said. "He also told me the person was intimately familiar with the store. He got what he needed and walked out in less that 5 minutes."

"What does that mean?" Sprint said.

"I had a hunch, and so I examined the lock on Twinkle's locker," Garda said.

"So?"

"There was no evidence of it being tampered." Garda said. Sprint was silent. "It means someone knew the combination to his locker. The only person who could've learned was-,"

"Someone close," Sprint finished. "Are you saying....one of my own teammates is behind this?" Sprint asked in cold fury. "After Sunset...paid us back."

"This person is clearly someone who is fast and athletic. They also had intimate knowledge of Twinkle locker to plan the attack. There is a good chance that...someone is." Garda said sympathetically. "I need you to figure out who amongst your team is guilty of this."

"I will," Sprint said, his jaw set and his eyes mercilessly frigid.

Sprint assembled Sunset, Gilda, Apple Bloom, Sunset's friends, Rainbow Dash, and Micro Chips to his house. All of them were sitting in his living room, putting all their knowledge together to figure out who amongst his team could potentially be the culprit.

The debate descended into a series of loud arguments within the first ten minutes. Fluttershy looked at the list with confusion.

"E-excuse me," Fluttershy said to Rainbow.

"Hey, Flutters has something to say," Rainbow said, interrupting a shouting match between Sprint and Gilda.

"Why wasn't Quick on the list," the yellow skinned girl.

"Why would he be guilty?" Sprint asked with some amusement.

"That little shrimp," Gilda said with scorn.

"Why would he be guilty?" Sunset said. "He's been nice to me since he got back." Fluttershy frowned sternly.

"But, what if he's been nice...for a reason," Fluttershy said. Everyone stared at her. "I mean, think about it. The meanie is someone who had to have known about Sunset's schedule in order to do this." That question made everyone a bit concerned. "Who else on the track team was trying to be nice to Sunset?"

"You mean the way Sunset used to do? Be nice to get dirt on someone?" Rainbow asked. The question made everyone a little bit on edge.

"What is Quick's schedule?" Sunset suddenly asked Sprint.

"I don't know," Sprint said uneasily. "But I know his study hall is around noon."

"The time when the attacks happen," Applejack said, holding up the notebook which revealed that. Everyone began feeling on edge.

"And," Micro said, "Gilda described Applejack's assailant as nervous and shaking. He also did not attack Apple Bloom despite having the ability to do so. We know the guy is someone who is not likely to be violent on a normal day."

"And Quick is as 'not likely' as it gets," Sprint said. "And the baseball thing...is kind of juvenile."

"Yeah, wouldn't someone who hated Twinkle do something...more deadly if he wanted to get back at him," Rarity argued. "It is clear that as bad as this hooligan has been, he was clearly holding back with his attack on Twinkle. The only reason why he would is-,"

"Quick wouldn't want to permanently injure someone he felt close to," Sunset finished. Everyone began getting nervous. "Gilda, point to the hand he used to hold the knife," Sunset said, rising to the air.

"That one," Gilda said. Sunset held up the hand Gilda pointed too.

"This is the left hand," Sunset with a quiet hand.

"Quick's a lefty," Sprint said with a furious breath.

"And I remember what Sandalwood claimed," Micro Chips said. "He said someone pushed him into Sunset. What if Quick pushed Sandalwood, and his low height was why Sandalwood couldn't see who it was?" The tension in the room grew.

"But is still doesn't make sense," Sunset said. "One: I never said or did anything to Quick. Two-,"

"The guy was tall," Apple Bloom said. "Quick is shorter than me. Heck he's shorter than a table."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything to him?" Sprint asked Sunset with a stern eye.

"Quick was some no name freshman who I never thought could get in my way," Sunset said. "He was beneath me."

"Ha," Gilda snickered. "Beneath you. Because he is so short."

"Maybe we should call it a night," Sprint said with a sigh. "Gather some new evidence before we say anything to Officer Garda."

With that, everyone packed up and left.

"Further to the left," Watermelody commanded. Gilda and other students began moving around a heavy prop, which resembled an old dresser. For many students, this was part of the public service credit. "Not left enough." The students moved it again. "Move it forward."

"Will you make up your damn mind, Beret Girl!" Gilda yelled impatiently.

"You can't rush perfection, my doll," the pink-skinned thespian said haughtily.

"Your birth was rushed," someone threw back. Everyone chuckled.

"Everything must be tiptop for my performance tonight," the girl said, her nose in the air.

"I'm going to take my break," Gilda said, walking behind stage to stretch her legs. He saw Snips and Snails laughing. For some reason, the buffoons looked taller.

"What are you two doing?" Gilda asked them.

"Using stilts," Sprint said.

"So we can look taller," Snails said. She rolled her eyes at their stupidity, before her eyes narrowed as she remembered something.

"I want you to try and walk around," Gilda said. The two looked at her in confusion. "Now!"

"Yes, Gilda, sir," Snails said nervously. The two walked around, and their movements were predictably jerky and awkward. But to Gilda, she suddenly realized why their movements were familiar. They were on the freak himself.

Even with a mask and a shawl covering his body, the freak couldn't truly conceal his weaknesses. The worm's legs, which had black sneakers, black socks, and black leggings, were already shaking. She felt a bit of trepidation at that the freak's size, but it was clear by his atrocious, almost unstable, stance that he couldn't really fight.

Gilda wondered why someone tough enough to bring her down had such a poor stance. Her fists clenched in anger and shock at the last piece of the puzzle came to her.

"Quick was wearing stilts", Gilda thought furiously.

All Truths Come Out (Part 2)

"You can't just hurt him Gilda," Sprint complained. The military girl, Sunset, and Micro Chips sat in the Sprint's basement, which doubled as a personal gym. Gilda was mercilessly punching a punching bag.

"I never said I wanted to hurt him," Gilda said with fake sympathy. "I just want to bash his brains in!" She returned to thrashing the inaminate object.

"We don't even know if he did this." Sprint said.

"Wake up Sprint," Gilda said. "Its black and white, clear as crystal. Your little friend is a little psycho. I can tell by the way he twitches."

"No he isn't, Sprint threw back. "And he doesn't twitch. He stammers. I've known Quick for...months. I don't think he's capable of doing this. Not unless something really, really provoked him."

"I haven't done anything to him," Sunset repeated in a tired voice. She felt more than a bit troubled at the idea that one of the few people who had been nice to her from the beginning was basically stringing her along. "If I did, I would've gone up to him and paid him back."

"All of the evidence points in his direction," Micro Chips said.

"And we'll get more when we make him-,"Gilda began with a bloodthirsty smile.

"We're not gonna act like thugs doing this," Sprint said forcefully. "Because if it turns out he didn't do it, than we'll be violent upperclassman guilty of attacking a freshman." Gilda's bravado died down from the thhought. "Don't start slugging him just because you want to take out your frustrations for getting your eyes sprayed. And don't say I don't care either. Twinkle's been my best friend when we were ten and this nut hurt him. But like Twinkle himself said, we can't innocent people suffer because we're scared." Twinkle's words pushed away the anger and frustration on everyone's faces.

"OK, so how do we do this," Gilda asked. "Do we just hand the information to Garda."

"Quick has a stammer," Sprint said. "I don't think you can interrogate him in a traditional way."

"Could we try and trap him?" Sunset asked.

"No," Micro Chips. "Quick has been smart enough to cover his tracks. Down to covering up his height with stilts. He's not gonna fall for a setup. We need hard evidence pointing in his direction."

"How?"

"I have an idea?" Micro said with a smirk.

"Can you provide us with a tiny camera for what we need?" Micro Chips asked Moondancer in her usual work station.

"Yep.

"With proper visuals and broadcasting?"

"Yep."

"And a good internet connection?"

"Yep."

"Any problems?"

"Nope." Micro began smiling. "Except such small issues like...illegal surveillance, violations of civil rights and privacy, and a host of other laws you might be breaking." Micro Chips began frowning. Moondancer turned from her station to glare at Micro. "I am not going to do something that could get me a mark on my record. And I doubt Officer Garda will go along with this."

"I can't allow you to do this," Officer Garda said. Micro Chips, Sprint, and Gilda decided to approach the man directly with both their suspicions and conclusions. They frowned at what Garda had said. He abruptly got up from his desk.

"And you need to understand that you kids can't just play detective," he continued a little too loudly. "And that your job is to-," he slammed the door, locked it, and turned back to the three teenagers, much to their confusion.

"Let me be clear that what I am about to say must stay off the record," Officer Garda said. "I am going to give you permission to do this."

"Really?"

"However what you record can never, ever be published," Garda said firmly. "You don't share it with anyone but me and amongst yourselves. This information you may collect can never be used publicly. Or I will wash my hands of you."

"Then what's the point of us being allowed to record?" Gilda asked the portly man.

"Officially, I can't use it," Officer Garda said. He then gave Gilda a small smile. "But if I know he's guilty, I can catch him the next time he decides to misbehave or now which direction to look. Besides," he said, lifting up his notebook, "this information you all gathered-very well written and organized-does point in his direction. And frankly, the fact that your willing to finger one of your teammates interests me, Mr. Speed. Most kids would cover for their friends no matter what they did."

"Well," Sprint said sadly. "I think of Quick as my brother. If Quick just pulled pranks, I would cover for him. But I can't do that if he's willing to seriously hurt people. I just wish I knew the 'why'. But since there is no why, and he turns out to be some psycho, he can't be allowed here."

"You've described him as having a troubled childhood," Garda said. "He could be taking his frustrations out on Sunset. Not saying it excuses him, but he could be letting out some aggression." Garda looked at the notebook. "But its too soon to say for sure. Just get what you can, and I'll see what I can do. But let me stress: be as quiet as possible."

"OK," Sprint said.

Sprint pulled up to Quick's house in his father's blocky used sedan. It was the least conspicuous car any of them owned. The home was in lower-middle class part of West Canterlot. An area that was s few short blocks from the much poorer Southwest neighborhood.

"Are you sure he wasn't suspicious," Micro asked, while sitting in the back seat.

"I snuck it under his shirt after gym class," Sprint said. "And one in his locker. Since they are the size of fleas, he probably won't notice."

"Did you act any differently toward him," Gilda asked Sprint while sitting in the passenger seat.

"I held onto the side of me that thinks he's innocent," Sprint said. "So that I wouldn't act coldly toward him."

"Let's hope we can get something," Gilda said tiredly. As they pulled up, Micro Chips waited for the camera to pick up the signal. It activated, revealing Quick eating dinner with some woman, who shared his red hair and white complexion.

"-w-w-wish she would leave," Quick stammered. "But s-she just wouldn't get the message."

"Did he just say that I think he said," Gilda said in disbelief.

"Honey, you're trying your best," an oddly accented woman said.

"Who's that," Micro said.

"Quick's mom," Sprint said.

"I s-s-send her the same message o-over and o-ver, and she just won't l-leave," Quick said in frustration. "I think I might have to drag out of there myself." Sprint frowned and Micro and Gilda smiled.

"Yes, we got that fucker!" Gilda said. She noticed Sprint's downcast expression. "Sorry your friend turned out to be a freak," she said with a shrug.

"Honey, these things take time to recover from," Quick's mom said.

"But s-she's m-missing out on things. I wish she would get out m-more."

"You just have to keep being her friend," Quick's mom said sympathetically.

"He's not talking about Sunset," Sprint said. Both Gilda and Micro were disappointed.

"Anyways, eat your liver," Quick's mom said in a motherly tone, "I want my son to be big and strong." They watched as Quick's mom walked away from the table to do some dishes. Quick suddenly had a sly smile on his face. He took the liver and dropped in the floor.

"M-mom," Quick said as the woman turned back toward him. "I'm sorry, b-b-but y-your delicious l-liver fell on the floor by accident. And b-because of the three-second rule, I c-can't eat it any."

Gilda snickered a bit, while Sprint and Micro also looked a bit amused.

"Don't worry my son," the woman said, pulling out a plastic case, "I have some baklava you can enjoy." Quick smiled, until suddenly the baklava fell onto the floor.

"Sorry son three second rule," Quick's mom said to Quick with a nasty grin, who looked heartbroken. "Don't worry. Tomorrow, when I make you the Brussel sprouts you love so much, I'll watch you eat so nothing falls to the floor."

"Y-yes ma'am," Quick said sadly, acting like his dog died.

The three occupants of the car laughed like crazy.

"The kid is lucky," Gilda said. "When I tried the same trick with the Sergeant, he had me clean the floor."

"Now upstairs, time for homework and bed," Quick's mom said.

"Yes ma'am," Quick said bitterly.

Quick went to the bathroom and pulled out some nozzle thing from the wall. He fired, spraying his shirt by mistake.

"D-damn it," Quick said. With a frustrated sigh, Quick ripped his t-shirt off.

"He's not gonna do what I think he's doing," Micro said scarily.

Quick took the t-shirt off and shoved into a hamper. All they had were pictures of clothes.

"He did," Sprint said.

"Shit!" Sprint said.

"Moondancer's gonna kill me," Micro said fearfully.

"We still have the camera in his locker," Sprint said.

"Let's get out of here," Gilda said. "His mom's gonna put the clothes in the hamper, and I doubt they can tell us anything."

"So who was he talking about," Gilda asked Sprint. Sprint looked reluctant to talk about it.

"A friend of his named Muharib [1]," Sprint said. "She was his best and only friend before he came to CHS."

"What happened to her," Gilda said.

"She was this athletic girl," Sprint said. "Who, according to Quick's mom, fell down two stories and became paraplegic."

"Ouch," Gilda said sadly.

"It really bothered her," Sprint said. "Muharib was like a sister to Quick. Protecting him from bullies, and teaching him to work out."

"Double ouch," Gilda said with sympathy.

"Quick's mom had a strange accent," Micro said.

"She's Ospreyan [2]," Sprint said.

"Is she a refugee from the Olive Island crisis[3]," Gilda asked.

"How did you guess?" Sprint asked.

"A lot of Ospreyans who came to the UP were refugees from that conflict," Gilda said.

"Olive Island Crisis?" Micro asked.

"OK, so the Ospreyans and Helotians [4] have been at each others throats for generations," Gilda said, "They've also divided Olive Island. 15 years ago, the tensions between the two groups erupted into civil war. Massacres and all that." Micro stared at her. "This is the kind of thing you learn if yourfoster dad is in the military."

"So Quick's mom escaped slaughter," Micro asked.

"Gets crazier than that," Sprint said. "She ended up falling for a Helotian man."

"You serious," Gilda asked.

"Yes," Sprint said. "They fled so they could marry here and have Quick. But even here, they were ostracized for their marriage by the respective immigrant communities. And," Sprint's face fell ,"Her husband was killed in a car accident when Quick was 5."

"Man," Gilda said sadly. Micro himself looked sad.

"Yeah," Sprint sadly. "This is why I felt the need to take Quick under my wing. He's had it rough."

"Anyways," Gilda said. "Let's get home. Maybe his locker will turn up new things."

Author's Note

[1] Arab word for "warrior."

[2] Osprey is Terra Prime's version of Turkey. Quick's color scheme is a reference to the colors of the real world Turkish flag.

[3] Olive Island is the Terra Prime version of Cyprus.

[4] Helotia is the Terra Prime version of Greece. The name itself is a reference to the Greek word for "serf." It also references Hellas, which is word Greeks use to describe their country.

All Truths Come Out (Part 3)

"So what's your conclusion, Officer?" Vice-Principal Luna asked the green-skinned official. In his temporary office, Officer Garda was examining and re-examining dozens of stills from the security footage.

"My conclusion is that whoever is doing this is a Vida-damned [1] genius," the portly man said. "I mean, this kid isn't your average punk. He's even managed to fool the security cameras." He showed the stills.

"Can you enhance them?" Luna asked. Officer Garda gave her an annoyed frown.

"The only time 'enhance' works is in movies," Officer Garda said. "I 'enhance' it too much, the picture will get blurry."

"Really?" Luna said.

"Movies are not a good way to learn about being a cop," Officer Garda said with consternation.

"You mean, you don't go on joyrides with felons and leap into the air to shoot the bad guys?" Luna asked in ironic tone.

"Nope," Officer Garda said with a smile. "About 30 percent of my job is escorting kids from bad homes, 30 percent paperwork, 30 percent counseling troubled kids, and the rest is hanging around the water cooler throwing shade."

"So the donuts were a lie?" the blue-skinned woman asked with feigned lament.

"Oh that used to be true," Officer Garda said.

"Really?"

"Bakeries would give away free donuts to cops," Officer Garda said. "Then anti-bribery laws came in and that stopped."

"Stupid anti-corruption campaign," Luna said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Officer Garda said in a facetiously, "bribes are how I put my kids through college. Besides, if it weren't for the donuts, I would be able to shoot through the air," Garda said, patting his rotund belly. "Since I got put on a diet, low-calorie soda has been my only donut.:

"So the cameras are no good?" Luna asked, getting back to the original subject.

"The kid has very much done this with careful planning," Garda said. "He has incorporated the school schedule, student movements, and blind spots into his attacks."

"Really?" Luna

"These were filmed the day he attacked Jacqueline Smith and Gilda Griffon," Officer Griffon said. "He managed to use the blind spots to change, sneak around until he was in costume, sneak up on Smith, and lure her to her closet when the halls were empty." He showed off another arrangement of photo stills. "Even when he was cornered by Gilda, he still managed to once again escape into a blind spot, conceal the evidence, and escape into the crowd just as class ended, and then ditched the evidence from a place where he couldn't be traced to it.

Luna let out a whistle of amazement.

"Yeah," Garda said. "I need you to get me a list of the suspects' lockers and school schedules."

"On it," Vice-Principal Luna said. The blue-skinned woman walked out of the room. Once Garda knew the educator was gone, he crawled under his desk, and sent a text meant only for a few eyes.

"Let me know when you get the bird," the text began. "I'll be the one who finds his nest is."

The end of the day came for the students of Canterlot High. All of them began piling out. The 3:30 deluge was even bigger, as most extracurricular activities had been canceled because of the masked maniac and so everyone had to leave.

Sunset and her friends began walking out of the school, arguing about where they wanted to take their apple farmer friend for dinner to congratulate her on stepping into the outside world again.

"I want to go to Coinky-Dink," Pinkie Pie said.

"I want to go to Lee Ma Café," Rainbow said. "All you can eat egg noodles and chicken puo kand!"

"If it is not too much trouble," Fluttershy said meekly. "I'd like to go to Green Leaf".

"Darlings," Rarity scolded. "As much as I would love to go to Café Sur La Riviere, we agreed to go to where Applejack wanted to go."

"Cheery Jubilee's Country Diner," Applejack said, trying to force a smile, while controlling her tremors by petting her leashed dog. Everyone agreed. Sunset began digging into pocket to pull out her motorcycle keys.

"You finally got your motorcycle back," Rainbow said.

"What I can say," Sunset said. "Torque is one heck of a mechanic.". Sunset mounted her newly rebuilt motorcycle, which had been delivered to her just today. "See you guys at 7:30 PM." Sunset took off and went back toward Applejack's house, while Applejack was driven home separately by Rainbow, who lived closest to her.

Sunset took off and pulled over to get some coffee at a nearby coffee shop. As she took a sip, she went through her backpack, only to panic when she saw her science textbook was missing. While she was frantically searching her backpack, she got a text. She opened it and saw Quick had sent her a message. She began to feel uneasy, remembering how Quick was still the prime suspect.

She opened it, and saw what it read.

"Sorry Sunny. Got your book by mistake. Want to meet me back at school to get it?" Sunset felt the coffee cup fall out of her hand. She gulped, and felt time slow down. It could be an ambush. It could be a plan to finally get her.

"No," Sunset thought. "Quick is a good guy. He would never do this."

"Just like how you played the good girl," a sinister voice mused, "just to get people to cough up their info?"

"Shut up," Sunset said aloud.

"Did you tell me to shut up?" A man asked her, looking at the fire-haired girl oddly.

"No," Sunset said with a blush, walking away from the man toward a corner of the shop.

She needed to think of a way to respond. And soon. Or he might get...suspicious. If he did do it.

"Sorry," she texted. "Can't. Too far away. Want to meet in the study hall. Pick it up there," Sunset texted. This was her test. If Quick insisted on meeting her early, then she would be suspicious. If Quick agreed, he was innocent. Besides, he couldn't do anything to her in a study hall full of crowded people.

After a torturous second, a message came out.

"Sure."

Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. She was being silly. Quick wasn't a psycho.

"H-hey Sunset," Quick stammered in the crowded common room full of study hall kids that was in the center of the room. "G-g-got your b-book."

"Thanks," Sunset said, getting the book back, and taking a seat next to him.

"S-sorry," Quick said. "I m-must h-have taken it from y-you d-during our s-study s-session."

"Accidents happen," Sunset said. He pulled out a laptop. "But I need to get my homework done now."

"I could show you my homework," Quick said. "And while it isn't exactly the same as your class, you can see what material you might need."

"Sure," Sunset said. He opened up the electronic device and pulled up some digital document. But it wasn't science work. It was her...

Sunset let out a silent gasp.

It was her lease for her apartment. Signed in the name of her fake parents. Why was that on his computer?

"Th-There are some m-mistakes," Quick said, his eyes become sharper, even as his nervous smile remained. "S-some errors, some things if caught can lead to...fraud." His eyes became almost predatory. "Y-you wouldn't want this exposed, would you?"

Sunset felt her face go pale. She was surrounded by students, yet she felt trapped in a lion's cage with no one to help her as the frightening realization became clear in her head.

"L-lets go over our work in private," Quick said, his smile becoming increasingly unfriendly. Quick got up and gestured to Sunset to follow her. Sunset got up as well, her legs woozy, and she followed Quick to an area underneath the door where they could talk alone.

"You hacked into my files," Sunset said incredulous.

"N-no," Quick said, his smile becoming more vicious. "Y-you left everything p-plainly l-labeled, including y-your lease f-files which you put under "Lease". Y-you also told me that you were living alone. T-the only way you could do that is if y-you w-were c-committing some k-kind of fraud. S-so I d-dug, and v-voila."

"So you're the psycho?" Sunset said with a whimper. "And you've been pretending to be my friend to-,"

"I'm n-no psycho. I c-consider m-myself p-pest control," Quick said as coolly as someone with a stammer could. "Getting rid of the disgusting vermin-,"

"You hurt Applejack, Gilda, and Twinkle?!" Sunset asked, sounding hurt. Quick looked confused, as if he expected Sunset to be more hurt by what he did to her. "Why Twinkle?! Twinkle was like your brother!"

"Until h-he g-got in m-my w-way," Quick said, clenching his fist. "If you hadn't sp-spread y-your l-legs for h-him, h-he would h-have been O-okay. B-but h-he ignored my w-warning a-and decided t-to m-make y-ou his little slut. Th-this is his fault. H-he d-didn't l-listen t-to m-my hints. N-neither d-did cowgirl."

"But why do you hate me?" Sunset said fearfully. "What did I ever do to you?!"

"B-because your a d-disgusting s-slut," Quick said. "And you deserve to have your throat cut."

"I'm gonna tell on you!" Sunset angrily yelled, grabbing the short kid by the shirt and pushing him against the wall. "But first I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to Applejack!"

"G-go a-ahead, h-hit me," Quick said idly. "I d-dare you." Sunset's nerve faded. "W-what h-happened? D-did y-you l-lose your nerve."

"If I hit you," Sunset said in a weak voice, releasing Quick, "you'll send the forms to the police?"

"Yep," Quick said. "N-not that y-you actually had any chance t-to h-hurt me. If I c-could b-bring that ape G-Gilda to the g-ground, what do you think I could to you?" Sunset felt even more scared. "I m-may be sh-short, but I c-can s-still f-fuck s-someone i-if I h-have to. B-but, I've d-decided to end this c-cleanly. L-leave. Tomorrow. Or, as a c-concerned citizen, I'll alert the s-school about a -certain student's fraud."

"Please don't send in the forms," Sunset said, pleading with tears in her eyes. "I do anything you want!"

"Th-there's only one th-thing I want," Quick said mercilessly. "It is f-for y-you to do the world a f-favor, t-take a g-gun, and b-blow your f-fucking b-brains out." Sunset started to cry even more from fear. "B-but the n-next b-best thing is for y-you to just l-leave and n-never c-come b-back."

"If I did anything to you," Sunset begged. "I'll pay you back." Quick looked stoic, but it was clear he reveled in his power over Sunset.

"Then leave," Quick said, gritting his teeth. "I d-don't care what y-you do. You can strip for all I care. Y-you can do your d-duty and j-jump off a bridge. I want you g-gone. By t-tomorrow. Or else y-you'll not only have v-vandalism and invasion of p-privacy charge on your r-record, but f-fraud. I d-doubt once you're k-kicked out of your apartment, y-you'll get into any d-decent foster care with that." Sunset fell to the ground hugging her knees, tears flowing from her eyes..

"Please," Sunset whimpered.

"But you'll be out of here one way or another," Quick said as he walked away. Sunset turned her head to the ground, tears falling to the floor. The only thing she heard was the sound of Quick's shoes.

"And this conversation never happened."

In a hidden part of the school, three kids wore headphones. Listening intently as they heard a very private conversation. Once it was over, Gilda, Sprint, and Micro Chips took off their headphones, looking at each other with icy eyes.

"Well now we know," Gilda said in a quiet tone.

"What now?" Micro asked in an eerie tone.

"We do this the right way," Sprint said, his voice as cool as winter air. "We send it to Garda, he'll know where to look. Then Quick gets arrested." The green-skinned athlete clenched his fist. "Then when he's released from custody, we make that psycho pay."

"The bird stuck his beak in the cookie jar," Sprint texted, his jaw clenched and his pitiless. Micro and Gilda both looked at him Sprint completed their tasks, their eyes equally pitiless, even as they held hands to comfort one another.

Author's Note

In the words of a certain Supreme Gentleman, tomorrow begins the Day of Retribution.

[1] Vida is the Terra Prime version of the Christian creator god.

All Truths Come Out (Part 4)

Sunset sniffled as the last of her tears faded away. Just because she stopped crying didn't take away the pain. It didn't take away the bile that still brewed in her stomach. She still laid in her bed. Curled up into a fetal position. After Quick's threat, she immediately drove home. Not just because she was scared of Quick acting on his threat. She knew if she stayed in school for the rest of the day, she would've broken down. She didn't have the courage to tell her friends goodbye.

Everything. Everything she worked for was gone. Up in smoke.

On some level, she knew she had it coming. On some level, she knew something like this would happen. Someone would brutally take revenge on her for everything she did. In some ways, it was poetic. She blackmailed others with their dirty laundry, and now someone was using her dirty laundry against her.

But is still wasn't fair. She made amends, she made friends, she got something of a boyfriend. And now it was all gone. Some short monster had ripped them away out of nothing but spite. Was this her punishment? Was this what the Elements of Harmony wanted to do? Force her to make friends only to rip them away to make her see the pain she caused other people? Was this part of her lesson?

She didn't know. She could never know. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe CHS was too good for her. Maybe...

This was just one big mistake. Sunset got up from her bed and saw a familiar face at the door.

The Demon. Sunset wondered what the malevolent creature would think of her now. Her dreams shattered. Her dreams destroyed. The lowest point of her life since her defeat at the Fall Formal. She imagined the Demon would look at her with scorn, mockery, contempt, or a mixture of all three. But there was none of it on her. Not even a hint of meanness. Instead the Demon looked at her with honest sorrow. Like an older sister trying to comfort the youngest.

"I'm sorry, Sunny," The Demon said. Sunset didn't respond. "Sometimes...it hurts to be right." Sunset narrowed her eyes. "Sunny, I am a part of you. I don't like you seeing you fail. I don't like you seeing you get hurt. I wish you didn't have to go through this," The Demon paused, letting a tear fall down her face, " but I guess you had to learn the hard way. Learn that love and tolerance are just...words. They don't matter. They aren't real. The only thing that matters is power." After a long pause, Sunset let out a sigh.

"You're right," Sunset said bitterly. "I tried and I tried. But, nothing worked."

"Then you know what to do," The Demon said with honest joy. "Come back to me Sunny." She raised her arms with a smile, wanting to pull Sunny into a hug. "Do what you know is right." With some trepidation, Sunset slowly, but surely, walked toward the Demon. The Demon was patient, not commenting on Sunset's reluctance. But within a few moments, Sunset was embracing the Demon like she was family.

"There we go," The Demon said, a tear of joy running down her face. "That's a good girl." The Demon patted Sunset on her back, filling her with honest love. "See how great it feels."

"Yeah," Sunset said, in a trance.

"Here is what I want you to do," The Demon said. "Think about what you wanted. Power."

"OK."

"Think about all the things you never got."

"OK."

"Now think about all the things you deserve."

"OK."

With that, a familiar blue light surrounded Sunset.

"What's happening?" Sunset said with a panic.

"Don't worry," The Demon said in a reassuring voice. "It is not gonna hurt. As long as you remember what matters."

Sunset began to remember. Being denied love, being denied what she deserved, being treated as a pawn by a bunch of lazy nobles, being treated like a tool by a so-called Princess, ending up a nobody in some pathetic human world. All those little worms who ignored her greatness. All those little maggots who denied her the greatness she EARNED. And now this new freak was GONNA blackmail HER. SHE wasn't gonna kill him. She was gonna DESTROY him. She was gonna make him WISH for death.

Her claws grew. Her fangs grew. Her skin turned red. Wings grew out of the back of her shirt. She glanced toward in the mirror at her half-transformed state.

"Yes," the Demon said happily, while still hugging her. "Yes. More. More. Don't stop."

This world was HERS. These HUMANS were pathetic. These HUMANS were weak. They had all this power. All this tech. Yet they still believed in fake gods and superstitions. THEY needed someone to unite them. Someone to LEAD them to greatness.

SOMEONE like ME!

Sunset's long hair began to stand up.

"Good," The Demon said, her smile becoming slightly vicious. "Now you need to remove the last weight tying you down. The idiots who dared to bring your hopes up."

Yes. She would forget them. THEY caused this. They robbed her of her power. They wanted this all along. They planned to make her WEAK. They planned to make it so ANYONE could mess with them. Why did she care about them anyway. WHAT good were-

One girl had demanded honesty and proof. In exchange, she had offered not only friendship but a new path.

Sunset and Applejack happily fought each other with pillows.

One girl wanted nothing to bring laughter and joy to the world. She had offered this free of charge.

Pinkie Pie happily gave a cake to Sunset, and offered her nice red-yellow party hat.

One girl sought to make the world, and not just herself, as beautiful as she felt it should be.

Rarity offered Sunset a new dress, and happily shared with her a gourmet salad.

One girl believed everyone deserved kindness, even those who were feared.

Fluttershy helped Sunset up, and offered love and kindness to a fearsome guard dog

One girl believed in loyalty. She may have not yet opened her heart to Sunset, but she never lost her loyalty to those she did care about.

Rainbow hugged Applejack to apologize for her behavior. Rainbow offered Sunset a way to make amends to the track team.

All these thoughts pooled into Sunset's mind. All of them gathered.

"Now dump them," the Demon said.

The smiling image of her friends appeared before her instead. It began to fade away. Sunset opened her eyes, and realized what was happening.

"NO!" Sunset screamed. In a burst of white light, she blew the demon away. In an instant, her transformation had reversed, and she was back to her old self. The Demon laid sprawled on the ground, in shock.

"No," Sunset said. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. I will never become you. Never-,"

"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SLUT!" The Demon bellowed, pulling herself from the ground. "DON'T YOU GET IT! ITS ALL OVER. YOU HAVE NOTHING-,"

"I HAVE EVERYTHING," Sunset said proudly.

"What?" The Demon asked.

"The lessons I've learned, the fun things I've done," Sunset said, her voice as sage as a being hundreds of years older. "Your right. I've lost my chances at being at CHS. That's over. But as long as I remember what my friends taught me, I can never be alone."

"You are alone!" The Demon shrieked. "You have no friends anymore."

"Not now," Sunset said. "But I can always make new ones."

"Ha," the Demon mocked. "Who could ever-,"

"If Applejack could trust me," Sunset said. ,"then someone else out there could. If Twinkle could open up to me, then someone else out there could. There are always fish in the sea."

"When are you gonna get it through your skull?!" The Demon roared. "Applejack wants your money! Twinkle just wants a slut!"

"I've heard enough from you," Sunset said, her voice proving she regarded the Demon has nothing but dirt on her shoe. Sunset was once again surrounded by a white light.

"No," The Demon yelled. Her voice went from angry to desperate. "You need me! I'm your best pal!"

"You controlled me! You made me your puppet!" Sunset said. "But you can't control me anymore." Sunset channeled the white light and obliterated the demon, who let out one last, angry scream.

"You can't destroy me," The Demon yelled as she disintegrated.

"You can't either," Sunset said with a set jaw.

The Next Morning

Sunset began looking at her laptop, searching for a new home. But every time she tried to look for new places, she found herself hesitating. While it was still painful that her time at CHS was at an end, she accepted it. Despite her phone ringing nonstop with voice messages, she chose to ignore him. Letting them forget her was the selfless thing to do. She tried to think of the new friends she would make to make the pain go away. She tried to imagine the new things she could try. But she still kept hesitating every time she saw an apartment up for rent.

Maybe she still held personal attachment to her home.

When she first came to this world, she saw it as little more than a place she could hide out. She had chosen it because it was cheap and in a decent neighborhood. But she resented the obscurity it represented. She never bothered to decorate it, imagining she would one day own Canterlot Castle.

But, now she enjoyed the small size and utility of it. It was easy to clean, easy to organize, and the neighborhood had everything, from stores to proximity to the school. She dreaded finding a place as good. She heard a knock at the door.

She closed her laptop and wandered over to the door. She opened it, and was unsurprised to find a Canterlot Police Officer. He was a tan-skinned man with blue hair. She let out an annoyed sigh. Apparently Quick hadn't kept up the bargain. She should've felt angry, but she only felt disappointment. Maybe her own betrayals made her accept someone betraying her.

"Miss Shimmer," the officer said in a neutral tone. "Your presence in needed at Canterlot High School."

"Don't worry," Sunset said. "I'm already not planning on coming back."

"Miss Shimmer," the officer said in a serious tone, "your teachers and the Canterlot PD insist it is urgent."

"Look, is there anyway I can handle the lease thing by-,"

"What lease?" The man said in confusion. Sunset also stared at the man in confusion as well. Quick didn't tell them.

"Then what is it?" Sunset said.

"I don't know," the officer said. "All I know is that they need you there immediately." Sunset stood at the door with some hesitation. With a sigh, she decided to join the man to see what was going on.

Sunset sat in the police car, her mind going over several scenarios in her head.

Could be they be planning to expel her for her forged papers?

It could be they were bringing her here to collect her stuff?

Or, in the best case scenario, could they have caught Quick, he tried to blackmail her, and his evidence was not seen as credible.

Anyways, she would cross the bridge when she came to it. When the car pulled into the parking lot, she slowly got out. Sunset was escorted down the hall.

As soon as she stepped into the school, something was wrong. Everyone stopped what they were doing and began staring at her. It was like the first day of school after her suspension all over again. Only instead of the pure hatred others stared at her with, they were staring at her with a mixture of trepidation and fear. Sunset's mind fell into a blank. Why were they staring at her like that? What had she done? Did they find out what Quick did and were looking at her with sympathy?

As she walked closer and closer to the principal's office, the anxiety in everyone's eyes grew greater and greater. Sunset felt an urge to turn around, as she dreaded what was going to happen. The only thing that kept from doing that was the officer escorting her, who could potentially turn her around.

When she came to Luna's office, her confusion only grew. The glass window in front of it had been smashed in. In her office, she saw Snips, Snails, Vice Principal Luna, and Officer Garda waiting for her. Her two former thugs were sitting down in confusion, while Luna sat in front her desk, while Officer Garda stood to the side.

"Sunset, sit down," Vice Principal Luna said. Sunset was alarmed by the fear that radiated in the woman's voice. With a sigh, she pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat down. She looked around with shock, seeing the office completely trashed. Luna had her left eye covered by her hair.

"Sunset, Snips, Snails," the blue-woman said. "I need you three to tell me that you didn't plant a bloody knife in a girl's locker." The three of them were confused by the question, but then their jaws dropped as they remembered a not so pleasant memory.

Muharib smiled. It was her first week of school, and the green-colored girl found herself with new friends. Upper class students too. Eating with them too.

"So Muharib," Bon Bon asked, "who would win a fight: Diamond Princess or Daring Do?"

"Daring Do," Muharib said with a voice that indicated certainty, "Diamond Princess relies too much on magic. Daring Do has her wits and muscles."

"But Bonnie," Lyra said. "We all know that Diamond Princess has the Magic of Justice on her side."

"I'm taking about pure fighting skill," Muharib said. "Diamond Princess relies too much on magic, but Daring Do relies on her own talents to save the day."

"You have automatically become my favorite person," Bon Bon said jokingly to the new freshman.

"Fair enough," Lyra said reluctantly.

"Excuse me," a female voice said. Everyone turned around and saw the school's peppy member of the school newspaper approaching them.

"Hey Sunny," Lyra said.

"Hey Lyra, Bon Bon," Sunset said idly, before approaching Muharib.

"Muharib was it?" Sunset said. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"About what?" Muharib said.

"Um," Sunset stammered. "I wanted to ask you some questions about fitness. You seemed quite tough for a girl your age." Muharib smiled, liking the compliment given to her ego.

"Sure," the green-skinned girl said with a smile. She got up, and turned to Lyra and Bon Bon. "Catch you bitches later." The two girls snorted and waved at her as she walked out of the cafeteria.

Muharib followed Sunset to some hallway.

"You didn't fill out my questionnaire," Sunset said with an odd smile.

"Questionnaire?" Muharib asked. "Oh, that red sheet we all got."

"Yeah," Sunset said.

"Well, I felt the questions were a bit personal," Muharib said idly. "Like how you spend your weekends, or had any boyfriends."

"Oh," Sunset said. "Well don't worry. Better late than never I suppose."

"It isn't a requirement is it?" Muharib asked with concern.

"No," Sunset said with a toothy smile. "But it would help me get to know you."

"I don't feel comfortable sharing my info with a complete stranger," Muharib said with a frown.

"But why?" Sunset said with a whimper, "Do you not trust me? Aren't we pals?"

"I just got here," Muharib said with some annoyance. "You said you wanted to ask questions about my workout-,"

"Look, just please fill out the sheet," Sunset said. Muharib was taken aback. The smile seemed forced, and underneath the 'please' was a serious edge.

"No," Muharib said in a firmer tone. "I don't feel comfortable sharing my life with someone I just met." Muharib tried to leave, only for Sunset to block her. Her face was that of someone trying to control their temper.

"It would make things easier for me-I mean, make your life easier if you just-,"

"Get out of my way!" Muharib yelled, shoving the yellow-skinned girl out of the way. "I don't want to fill out your stupid questionnaire!" Muharib stormed away in frustration, leaving behind a shaken and angry Sunset.

"That girl is the first one to dodge my games before I had them under my thumb," Sunset mused in the library angrily, squeezing her notebook over her wounded pride. "I can't have that. She's too big a risk. She's got to go."

With a smirk, Sunset pulled out her phone and sent a text to Snips.

"There's a pig you need to slaughter," it read.

"Hey Muharib," Snips said to Muharib, who was doing pullups in the gym.

"Hey, Clips?" Muharib asked.

"Snips," the rotund blue kid said, pulling out a plastic bag. "I got you a cookie"

"Really," Muharib said, gushing at the pastry. "Thank you. That is so sweet," the girl said. She took the bag and at the cookie.

"I'll throw that out for you," Snips said, taking the plastic bag. Snips smiled as she saw the plastic bag had Muharib's fingerprints.

Muharib was walking with Bon Bon and Lyra when she saw some police officer going through her locker.

"Officer," Muharib asked with concern. "What seems to be the-,"

"Do these look familiar to you," the man said, pulling out a very sharp knife with blood running down the side. Muharib was confused, while Lyra and Bon Bon looked horrified.

"I had to idea how that got in there," Muharib said fearfully. The officer suddenly took out some fingerprint powder. "Please extend your fingers." With trepidation, Muharib did. Her fingers were coated. Muharib's discomfort grew as everyone began watching.

"I got a call about a stabbing", the officer said stoically. "Your fingerprints match the one on this knife."

"I didn't-," Muharib began, before the officer pulled out his cuffs.

"I swear I never met this kid before," Muharib said fearfully while sitting in the vice-principal's office.

"That's the girl who stabbed me," Snails said, showing off the wound on his right bicep. "I was just walking up to her, and she-," he let out a small tear. "Called me freak and tried to kill me."

"Ms. Muharib," Luna said. "If you just confessed to why you did it, we can get you the help-"

"I didn't stab anyone," Muharib protested.

"The evidence points in your direction," Luna said. "I'll have no choice but to expel you."

"Expel me," Muharib said. Before she knew it, some guard was escorting her out, ignoring her pleas that she didn't do anything.

"I'm sorry Snails," Luna said to the yellow skinned boy, before pulling him into a comforting hug.

"Don't worry," Snails said. "I know you didn't do it," he finished with a smirk, watching the girl be dragged out.

Canterlot High Gazette

Knife wielding maniac expelled from school

Written by Featherweight. Edited by Sunset Shimmer

"The students of Canterlot High were terrorized by Muharib Ababi, 13, a young freshman who was soon to revealed to be a closest sadist who expressed her joy by stabbing Snails Crawler, an innocent bystander.

" 'I thought she was nice' " Bon Bon, a young student of 14 who knew said, " 'But I always knew there was something off about her.' "

"So you really did frame someone for stabbing," Luna said, glaring with icy fury at all three of them. The three sat silently in their chairs.

"Why?" Officer Garda said, looking at them with the same icy calm.

"I just," Sunset said with a sheepish smile,"...wanted. .to...be Fall Formal princess."

"And you two," Officer Garda said to Snips and Snails. "What reason did you have for going along with...this?"

"Um," Snips said, "...it..was...funny." With those words, the tension in the room grew.

"Funny," Garda said. "You think that's funny?"

"Look," Sunset said with a nervous smile. "Now that you know the truth, you can un-expel her." The two adults became increasingly incredulous. "Can't you?"

3 Hours Earlier

"Your schedule, your habits, and your appearance all point in your direction," Luna said to Quick. The freshman looked increasingly agitated as he was slowly wound down by Luna's questions. Gradually, all his excuses and alibis had been stripped away. "The shoes we found are your shoe size, you were in a position to get access to the personal information of both Sunset and Twinkle. So please, why don't you spare us the trouble and just confess-."

"Why didn't you e-expel her," Quick said with barely papered fury.

"What?"

"Why d-didn't y-you expel her," Quick said. "She d-destroyed p-part o-of the-the school. She stole people's info. She blackmailed them."

"Because here at CHS, we believe in second chances," Luna said. Quick seemed even more enraged by Luna's answer.

"Th-that's f-funny c-coming from you," Quick said, his face turning red. "You b-believe b-blowing th-things u-up i-is is f-forgivable, but a s-stupid k-knife should g-get y-you k-kicked out." Luna got confused.

"What are you talking about-,"

"Muharib ring a bell," Quick uttered. Luna thought for a moment, before she remembered.

"Muharib had stabbed a student-,"

"No," Quick said in a warningly calm voice. "S-Sunset Shimmer f-framed her for using a kn-knife." Luna looked shocked at the accusation.

"What?" Luna said with concern.

"Sunset planted that knife," Quick said defiantly. "I know. I know she would never do anything like that. S-someone m-must h-have pl-planted it."

"Sunset did that?" Luna said shocked. "Well then we'll bring her down-,"

"It is too late," Quick growled out.

"How could it be to-," Quick stood up chair in a rage than decked Luna in head with his chair.

"You know happened to Muharib?!" Quick bellowed to the stricken educator. "She got sent to juvie!" When the injured educator tried to reach the phone on the desk, it was shoved off along with all her other contents. "She got lost all her friends!" Quick angrily took the computer monitor and bashed the principal over the head with it. "She got RAPED BY A GUARD!" He said, before stomping on the already downed woman.

"SHE THREW HERSELF OFF A BUILDING AND GOT PARALYZED!" Quick said, mercilessly indifferent to the pleas of the principal. "MY BEST FRIEND! ALL OVER STUPID KNIFE!"

"Stop," Luna said, trying to fight back, but too dazed to do it.

"BUT SHIMMER BLOWS UP THE BUILDING!" Quick bellowed, "AND YOU LET HER STAY?!"

Raven looked up from her work, hearing commotion coming from Luna's office. When she looked up, she saw a chair being angrily thrown through the window, breaking into a thousand pieces, by a screaming, red-faced student. She saw Luna lying on the ground, unable to stop the situation

"Security," Raven said into a nearby phone. She panicked as the violently red-faced kid started destroying the office.

"ALL OVER A STUPID KNIFE! YOU LET HER STAY, BUT LET MUHARIB GO TO JAIL! OVER A STUPID KNIFE! PARALYZED! OVER A STUPID KNIFE!" He bellowed the same thing over and over as he proceeded to destroy the office. Furniture was overturned, the bookcase was knocked over, and he proceeded to beat on Luna more. By the time the police came, his screams had deteriorated into whimpers.

"All over a stupid knife," he said softly, a small tear rolling down his eye. "All over a stupid....knife." As he was cuffed and led out of the office, he broke down in tears. He wept as the police escorted him out of school. All the students looked at him with confusion, fear, and a little pity.

"Is this funny?" Luna asked, parting her hair to refused a black and swollen eye. "Is this amusing?" She said, gesturing to her destroyed office. Snips, Snails, and Sunset all looked down in shame. After a few moments, Sunset pulled her head up.

"You got someone arrested because you wanted to be a prom queen?" Officer Garda said, his green face turning red.

"I didn't know she would be arrested. I just wanted her expelled-,"

"WHAT KIND OF FANTASY WORLD DO YOU COME FROM?!" Garda bellowed.

Sunset felt time slow. She barely remembered standing up. She barely remembered having her rights read to her. She barely remembered being cuffed along side Snip and Snails. She barely remembered getting pushed out of the office. She regained her senses as she was escorted down the hall alongside her two former cohorts. She saw everyone looking at her. Not with anger, not with fear.

It was disappointment. It felt worse than anger. It felt worse than a beating. She had ruined everyone's trust. She had ruined everyone's faith in her. The downcast looks from everyone was more painful than anything Quick had done to her before. It was the sad looks from her friends that finally made her breakdown as she was pushed out the front door.

Sunset felt tears roll down her eyes as she was pushed into the police car. Snips and Snails also began to cry as well.

Shared Pains

Sunset sat down in her cell, her mind a complete daze. After she stopped crying, she barely registered anything. She didn't eat ,she didn't drink. She never even asked for the obligatory phone call to her parents.

There was a reason for that though: she never had parents in this world. Her fake parents only existed on paper. As a minor in this world, she needed them for everything. From her apartment, to getting into school, to her motorcycle. When asked, she said they were out of town. She even had notes prepared in case anyone was going to search her apartment, claiming that they were out of town. Only a handful of people knew the truth.

She never even considered calling them though. They would never allow pick her up. Not someone as monstrous as her.

Without some adult who could collect her, she was effectively stuck here behind bars.

But she wasn't bothered by that. The bars suited her. It was what she deserved. She was where she belonged.

She was so lost in her trance, she barely noticed the cells where Snips and Snails were held being opened. She barely noticed the guard announcing that they'll be released until their court date. She vaguely noticed the menacing expressions on their parents' faces that made Snips and Snails wish they could stay in jail.

When they left, she continued to stare at the walls. She didn't how long it was. Maybe it was a few minutes. Maybe it was a few hours. But suddenly the guard came to her cell.

"Sunset Shimmer," the guard said. "You'll be released until your court date."

"Who am I am being released-," she paused as a familiar face reared his head.

"Wait, your Twinkle's uncle," Sunset Shimmer asked in disbelief.

"Who else could I be?" the portly man said with a jovial smile.

"What are you doing here?" Sunset said.

"I'm helping out my nephew?" Uncle Auger.

"Wait," Sunset said, disbelief on her face. "Twinkle knows-,"

"Yep," Uncle Auger said. "And he told me your parents are out of town, so I decided to come pick you up." Sunset turned away from him shamefully. "Come on kid, lets-,"

"I'm a monster," Sunset said, tears coming down her cheeks. "I deserve to be here."

"You're not a monster," Uncle Auger said. "You're a kid who made stupid mistakes, you don't-,"

"Yes I am," Sunset said tearfully. "I ruined someone's life for something so stupid." Uncle Auger let out sigh.

"Your friends don't think you're a monster," Uncle Auger said. "They were upset, sure, but they miss you."

"No they don't," Sunset whimpered.

"I can prove it," Uncle Auger said. He made a wave, and a blue-skinned girl approached.

"Rainbow Dash," Sunset said with astonishment.

"In the flesh," Rainbow said with a proud smile that left Sunset confused. "Auggie, could you excuse us. Sunset and I need to talk."

"Sure," Auger said, walking away from her.

"Why are you here?" Sunset said with narrowed, but still tearful eyes.

"Our friends miss you, and so does Twinkle," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh please," Sunset said with suspicion. "We're not friends. You never wanted to be my friend. You've hated me since I got back."

"I did," Rainbow Dash said with a sheepish smile. "To be honest, I still kind of do."

"Then why are you here?" Sunset said. "I got someone locked up. I got them raped. I crippled them for life. All for a stupid reason!"

"I see," Rainbow said. "We'll I guess I deserve to be locked up forever than."

"What?" Sunset said, confused as Rainbow took a seat next to her on the concrete bench.

"In fact, I'm worse than you," Rainbow said, getting somewhat chocked up. "You hurt some stranger. I crippled my...best friend." Sunset looked at her in utter disbelief.

"When I was ten years old," Rainbow began. "There was one girl who meant more to me than anything. Her name was Blossomworth."

"Come on B," a young Rainbow Dash whined to the other occupant of the bedroom. "Let's go play outside." The mousy, white-skinned girl with watermelon colored hair barely looked up from the book she was reading.

"Later," Blossomworth said. "I've got to get through the third chapter of Daring Do."

"You can do that egghead stuff any time," Rainbow Dash groaned. Blossomworth continued to read. "OK, B, whatever you say," Rainbow Dash said with a sly smile. Blossomworth continued to read in silence, until something came along and snatched her book.

"Hey," Blossomworth said with dismay. She saw Rainbow Dash holding her book up with a mean smile, "give that back!"

"You want it," Rainbow said. She opened the front door ,"you'll have to catch me!" she lept out the door, laughing all the way.

"Get back here Rainbow," Blossomworth yelled, running after her Rainbow haired friend.

"She sounds like Fluttershy," Sunset mused.

"I know," Rainbow said with a cheeky smile. "That's why I loved messing with her so much. We did everything together."

"Drop and give me 60," Rainbow said to her friend.

"I can't even do one," Blossomworth whined, already tired.

Rainbow groaned and face palmed.

"So if you carry the seven," Blossomworth confidently said to Rainbow, "the answer is seven." The two were doing their math work together. "How did you do?"

"Look," Rainbow said, proudly showing off a doodle, "I drew a Pegasus with dragon wings that shoots laser beams through its eyes."

Blossomworth groaned and face-palmed.

"Sounds like you were good friends," Sunset said neutrally. "So what went wrong?"

"We met someone who...we thought was cool." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath.

Rainbow and Blossomworth were walking through Garden Park, enjoying ice cream cones on a hot summer day. They noticed a crowd had gathered around the really tall statue that was the shape of a giant domino.

"What's going on there," Rainbow said.

"I don't know," Blossomworth said.

"Let's go see," Rainbow said excitedly. She ran to the crowd, dragging an unwilling Blossomworth along with her.

Rainbow Dash looked in awe at what she saw:

Some white-skinned girl with white-greyish hair was using a rope to climb up the base of the 30 ft statue. While every kid watched with awe, she did it with the confident calm of someone who was strong.

"She's awesome!" Rainbow said, looking up at the girl with pride.

"She could get hurt," Blossomworth said with fear.

When she reached the top, everyone let out an applaud.

"That's right," the girl gloated. "I'm the best. You know it!" Using the rope, the girl slowly came down the sculpture, as the applause died down.

"Let's go meet her," Rainbow said happily. Blossomworth timidly followed her behind.

"Hey," Rainbow said to the girl. The girl turned to her, yellow eyes looking at her with suspicion.

"Yeah," she said.

"Can we hang out with you," Rainbow said.

"No," the yellow-eye girl said firmly. "I don't let losers into my club." Rainbow bristled a bit.

"We're not losers," Rainbow said. Blossomworth just shook her head.

"Well," she said with a sly smile. "You're gonna have to prove it."

"So that's how you met Gilda," Sunset said.

"Yeah," Rainbow said with some regret. "Say what you want about her, but she would be the best gym coach ever."

Gilda and her club, which included a few kids, went on a brutal jog through the park.

"Come on," Gilda said. "Keep it up."

"I'm tired," Blossomworth said, struggling to keep pace.

"The Changelings won't care if you tired when they're trying to kill you on the battlefield," Gilda said in a mocking tone.

"That doesn't sound to bad," Sunset said.

"Yeah," Rainbow said, "but then Gilda started doing...less...cool things."

"Now you have to break a window with a rock," Gilda said to Blossomworth and Rainbow as they approached an old factory. Rainbow looked excited, while Blossomworth looked nervous. The took the rocks, while Gilda and her gang chanted their names.

"Come on, B," Rainbow Dash said. "Don't think of it as breaking people's stuff. Think of it like a...video game."

"I guess," Blossomworth said timidly. Rainbow tossed first, smashing a window on the first floor. Blossomworth three her rock, only for it to smash into a nearby parked car. Everyone in Gilda's gang looked confused, seeing the destroyed windshield.

"Eh," Gilda said with a shrug. "Close enough." The car alarm was soon activated.

"Run," someone said. They ran away, before the owner of the car could find them.

"I'm guessing Gilda eventually did something really bad," Sunset said with trepidation.

"Not just her," Rainbow said, her expression becoming morose. After some hesitation, Rainbow explained what she had done.

"Alright maggots," Gilda said, "this is your final test." Gilda, Rainbow, Blossomworth, and the rest of Gilda's gang were on the roof of a two story townhouse. She pointed to some thin ledge 15 ft below them, which was only as wide as an adult foot. "I'm gonna lower you down," she said, holding up a bedsheet rope. "And you have to walk all the way down the ledge and all the way back.

"Cool," Rainbow Dash said. Blossomworth let out a whimper.

"Do it," Gilda said. Rainbow went to the edge, grabbed the rope, and slowly lowered herself down. Using her patience and skill, Rainbow walked the narrowed ledge and back in 10 minutes flat. She was pulled back up, to the applause of Gilda and everyone else.

"Nice job, Rainbow," Gilda said. "Now its your turn," she said, handing the sheet to Blossomworth.

"Rainbow," Blossomworth said with a shaky voice, "I'm scared." Rainbow looked concerned.

"C'mom Gilda," Rainbow said, "maybe she can do something el-,"

"No," Gilda said with cross arms. "Either she goes, or she'll be a loser forever."

"But-,"

"Don't you want to be cool Rainbow?" Gilda asked warningly.

"You gotta do it, B," Rainbow said.

"But-,"

"If you don't," Rainbow said warningly, "then you're not my friend. Don't be such a wuss."

"OK," Blossomworth said with a whimper. Using the bedsheet rope, she slowly lowered herself onto the ledge. Which shaking legs, she slowly walked on the narrow ledge.

"C'mon B," Rainbow said, "you can do it. You can-," Blossomworth tripped, causing her to fall. She barely held onto the ledge for dear life.

"Help me!" Blossomworth said. "Help me!"

"Don't worry, B," Rainbow said. "I'll come down and help-,"

"I can't hold on much longer," Blossomworth said with a cry, her fingers getting weaker.

"I'm coming," Rainbow said. But just as she began to lower herself down, Blossomworth lost her grip and fell down.

"B!' Rainbow said. A cool silence hung over the air, as the kids stood silently as they processed what occurred. The silence was broken by Gilda patting Rainbow on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Rainbow," Gilda said. "She was just wimp. You didn't need her."

"What?" Rainbow said in a cold voice.

"She couldn't handle it," Gilda said. Rainbow began clenching. "Now you've got-,"

Rainbow launched herself at Gilda, tackling her with a scream. The two girls went into a vicious brawl that Gilda's other gang began watching like it was a boxing match.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Gilda said, fighting with Rainbow. "I let you into my-,"

"YOU HURT MY FRIEND!" Rainbow said, pulling on Gilda's white hair.

"What are you kids doing here," a male voice said. To their horror, a uniformed officer approached them.

"I found some poor girl lying on the ground," the officer said with a dangerous edge, "did you kids have anything to do with it?" The fight ended. Rainbow stood up, looking fearfully at the man, while Gilda looked annoyed.

"Did Blossomworth….die?" Sunset asked Rainbow in a grave voice.

"No," Rainbow said, tears pouring out of her eyes. "But-," she took a deep breath before continuing.

The doctor jabbed an unconscious Blossomworth's legs. They didn't respond. She jabbed them again. They were still inert. The man turned to Blossomworth's parents with a grave expression.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said, "your daughter is paralyzed from the waist down."

Rainbow stood in the waiting room with her parents, awaiting the news. Blossomworth's parents burst out of the room.

"What-,"

"YOU!" Blossomworth's mom bellowed at Rainbow Dash. "You turned by daughter into a cripple."

"Please," Windy said, "let's all deal with-,"

"My daughter can't walk anymore!" Blossomworth's father said. "There is no "dealing" with this."

"Leave her alone," Bow said. The two adults descended into a vicious argument. Rainbow Dash ignored them and walked up to the door of Blossomworth's hospital room, peered through a window, and saw the unconscious girl. She put her hand on the window, and broke down and cried in shame while her parents and their parents continued to argue loudly.

"Blossomworth never spoke to me again," Rainbow said, a tear running down her eye. "And her parents moved away. That was the last time I saw her."

"Oh please," Sunset said. "That was an accident. I deliberately destroyed someone's life."

"Not exactly the same," Rainbow said, "but like you, I only cared about getting what I wanted. You wanted to be a princess, and I wanted to join Gilda's club. We both cared more about what we wanted than the people around us." Rainbow took a deep breath. "And like you, everyone hated me."

"Hey Rainbow," a voice said to the solitary Rainbow Dash, who was sitting alone eating lunch. She looked up and saw Bon Bon looking at her with an odd smile..

"Want to play with my Joy Boy?" Bon Bon said holding it up.

"Sure," Rainbow said, reaching for it, only for Bon Bon to snatch it away.

"I never said you could play with it," Bon Bon gloated with a nasty grin. Bon Bon's friends started laughing. "You'll probably break it, like you broke Blossomworth." Everyone in the cafeteria started laughing. Rainbow Dash ran into the bathroom, hid in a stall, and started crying her eyes out. She flushed, hoping no one could hear the noise.

"But eventually people got over it," Rainbow Dash said, her usual bravado returning to her voice ,"eventually, people started letting me back into their parties. And eventually I stopped feeling sorry for myself. And even though I could never take back what I did, I could do the next best thing."

"What's that?"

"I learned from my mistakes and did better," Rainbow said with a warm smile.

Fluttershy walked down the streets, cooing over the baby turtles she was allowed to take care off. She walked them home in her box.

"Hey Flutters," a mean voice said. Fluttershy saw Lightning Dust glaring at her.

"Hey Lightning," Fluttershy said with a whimper.

"Give me your pet turtles," Lightning Dust screamed at the yellow girl. "I want turtle soup."

"No," Fluttershy said, holding the box to her chest to protect the adorable baby turtles.

"Give it," Lightning Dust said with a mean smile, "or else."

"Leave her alone," a voice yelled. Lightning turned and saw Rainbow Dash looking at her with bared fists.

"Hey Crash," Lightning Dust said, "beat it."

"Leave her alone," Rainbow Dash repeated.

"What are you gonna do?" Lightning Dust asked, "push me off a ledge." She turned back to a whimpering Fluttershy. "Now give me the-," Rainbow threw a massive fist that sent Lightning Dust to the ground, clutching her cheek.

"Want some more," Rainbow said warningly, baring both her fists. Lightning Dust whimpered a bit and ran away.

"Thank you," Fluttershy said, "I'm Fluttershy."

"I'm Rainbow," the blue-skinned girl said. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said, putting the turtles down before giving Rainbow a hug. Despite being a tough girl, Rainbow Dash accepted the hug.

"But," Sunset said with a whimper. "I did so many-,"

"You're not helping anyone sitting here," Rainbow Dash said. "Our friends miss you. You're hurting them by staying here feeling sorry for yourself." Sunset still looked away.

"Listen to me," Rainbow said. "You're capable of doing great things. The best way you can make amends is by leaving this cell and going back to doing good things." Sunset didn't move. "You sitting here isn't the right thing. It's selfish because our friends still care about you. It's selfish because there's a good guy out there who likes you. It's selfish because you there's a whole wide world out there that needs you to do good things. You're going out there, even if I have to drag you out myself. If I can face the guilt and the shame, so can you. And if you're afraid, I promise, I'll be by your side in case you need me," Rainbow finished with a stern and powerful expression.

"You want to be my friend?" Sunset asked Rainbow.

"Sure," Rainbow said. Sunset jumped up from the concrete bench and gave Rainbow a big hug.

"Yes, your welcome," Rainbow said. "Can you let go," Rainbow said with some annoyance. Sunset, realizing she was holding onto Rainbow for longer than necessary, let her go with a blush.

"Sorry," Sunset said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Rainbow said. "I'm just so hawt," Rainbow said in a steamy, seductive voice. Sunset snorted.

Rainbow and Sunset walked out of the jail. Sunset's optimism crashed when she saw who was there.

Her friends and Twinkle, all looking at her with an odd look. Sunset slowly approached them, her expression becoming more morose as she got closer. Eventually, Sunset fell to her knees in tears. She wept and wept, out of guilt for doing what she did, and out of shame for having let them down.

Suddenly she found herself being hugged. She saw Twinkle wrapping his strong arms around Sunset. She was followed by Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Applejack stood around, still nervous about being touched. But eventually, she overcame her fear and joined in.

Despite the bitter cold of the day and despite her tears, being surrounded by people who still cared about her made Sunset feel as warm as the sun itself.

From a distance, Auger looked at his nephew with no small amount of pride.

"My nephew Twinkle is growing up," he said with a tiny, but proud, smile.

The Price of Indifference (WARNING: Mature themes)

Author's Note

This is going to be the darkest chapter of the story.

Please be advised. There will be discussion of things like sexual assault, prison abuse, and injustice.

If those things make you uncomfortable, turn back now.

“ The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet, is fear; it’s funny then that as common as fear is, we so easily underestimate its power.

Fear of growing close to someone, the subsequent fear of loss, fear of failure; and as more people depend on you, those fears can take on greater power.

Fear itself isn’t worthy of concern, it is who we become while in its clutches . Will you be proud of that person? Will you forgive them? Will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did? Will you even recognize them? Or will the person staring back at you be the very thing you should have feared from the start?

I suppose we all find out sooner or later. “

-Ozpin, RWBY V7.

[1] Aljana is the Terra Prime version of Islam. It is the Arab word for "Paradise."

The Price of Indifference (WARNING: Mature themes)

"So when did you first meet Muharib?" Officer Garda asked Quick. The two were sitting in the Juvenile Offender's Office of the Canterlot PD. Quick expected to be in a jail cell. Instead, he found himself in an office. To his surprise, Garda was also trained a child psychologist.

"W-When I was ten years old," Quick said sadly. "B-being the short k-kid, and having a s-stammer, I w-was always b-being picked on in my n-neighborhood."

"Hey Short Stack," a gruff voice said to a 10 year old Quick who was playing a small video game. The voice filled him with some fear. He looked up and saw 14 year old Garble and his Dragons, a gang of three goons that obeyed Garble, looking at him open disdain.

"G-G-Garble," Quick said fearfully. "W-w-,"

"W-w-w-w," Garble said mockingly. "What's a matter, Short Stack. It takes you 3 years to finish a sentence?" His gang laughed cruelly at him.

"L-l-leave me alone," Quick said with fear.

"OK," Garble said in a polite voice, "we'll leave you alone." Quick looked at the red-skinned bully with some hope.

"R-really?"

"But not before we give you a present," Garble said with a nasty grin. The Dragon gang began digging into trash cans, and throwing their contents at Quick. Quick pleaded with them to stop, but they only kept laughing harder and throwing even more garbage. Unable to take anymore, Quick ran away, hearing the mocking cheers of the Dragons.

"So you had no one to defend you?" Officer Garda said. His face remained neutral, so Quick could not tell of Garda was sympathetic or dismissive of his words.

"W-well, th-there w-was o-one p-person," Quick said.

Quick ran into a dark alley, and collapsed in tears. He hated feeling weak, he hated feeling helpless, he hated feeling alone.

"You know," a female voice, "an alley isn't a good place to hide." Quick looked up and saw some green-skinned girl with brown hair looking at him with an odd smile. "Some strange person could sneak up on you."

"Are y-you h-here to l-laugh at me," Quick said shamefully.

"No," the girl said in an exotic voice. "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to let those idiots pick on you."

"R-really," Quick said happily. "Y-your gonna f-fight them." The girl narrowed her eyes.

"No, you are!" she said.

"Despite being 12, Muharib could take on an entire army," Quick recounted with a smile. "Over the next year, after school, she trained me."

"Come on slowpoke," Murahib shouted to a panting Quick, as they did laps in the parks. "You promised me 10 minutes, its not even been 5, and your already winded. You'll never win at life if you keep doing practice!"

"My grandma could hit better than you," Muharib shouted to Quick, who was hitting a punching bag very lightly, "and she's been dead for five years."

"Tackle me," Muharib shouted to Quick. Quick charged toward Muharib, who quickly took him down with a single-leg take down.

"You can't just run in like an idiot," Muharib admonished. "You've got to plan and think quickly."

"OK," Quick groaned.

"In there any reason why she trained you specifically," Garda asked Quick.

"M-muharib t-t-told m-me she had an older c-cousin who w-was l-like Garble," Quick said. "H-her c-c-cousin w-was spoiled by h-his p-parents and n-never learned discipline. So, she had no choice b-but to l-learn to defend herself."

"She sounded like some mean-spirited drill sergeant," Garda commented.

"M-muharib w-was merciless and h-h-harsh," Quick said with an odd smile. "But her methods did pay...off. Within a few months, I was finally able to take her down myself."

"N-no more," Quick said, panting and cowering as he kneeled on the mat. Murahib, however, had no mercy in left for Quick.

"A true warrior never quits," Muharib said.

"Th-they can r-r-retreat," Quick said. Muharib charged toward Quick, ignoring the smirk on his face. Without warning, Quick put his left foot forward, Muharib tripped. Before Murahib could take advantage of the situation, Quick climbed on top of her back, yanking her arms, and pinning her legs with his feet.

"A-am I a true warrior?" Quick said with a smirk.

"Yes," Muharib with a smile. "But seriously, your hurting me", she said. "Please get off."

"O-of c-c-course you want to me-"

"GET OFF!"

"S-sorry," Quick said, climbing off the girl.

"So she helped toughen you up," Officer Garda said.

"After s-s-six m-months," Quick stammered with a smirk, "I-I w-was finally able to take on Garble."

"Hey Short Stack," Garble said in his falsely jovial voice, as he began his usual routine. His fellow Dragons stood behind him with similarly mean expressions. Quick ignored him and continued to play his video games.

"H-h-how is your video game?" Garble asked. Quick continued to play his video game, almost completely ignoring Garble's existence. Garble frowned a bit. His victim wasn't reacting the way he was supposed. His Dragons were also a little unsettled.

"D-did your mommy make you your favorite-," Without warning Quick got him from his spot, and turned away from him. Garble began bristling.

"Hey get back here you little shrimp," Garble yelled. Quick continued to walk away. Angered at this pride being wounded, Garble charged toward Quick. In one smooth motion, the young redhead brought Garble to the ground using a double leg takedown. Quick took advantage of Quick's shock and climbed on top of the bully. Quick mercilessly began stomping on his head.

"Help me you idiots!" Garble screamed angrily to his gang.

"Hey," one of the Dragons said. "No one messes with our leader." The three other Dragons began charging, only for Muharib to step between them.

"Get out of our way girly," one of the Dragons said menacingly.

"Our what?" Muharib said with a smirk. "This little guy brought down your big, bad leader," she said, pointing with her thumb to Quick, who was still mercilessly attacking Garble. "Guess who trained him? Me." Muharib then raised her fists. "If he can do that to him, what do you think I'll do to you." The Dragons skin went pale. Muharib put her left foot forward, and soon the Dragons all ran away fearfully from him.

"Guys," Garble said tearfully. "Don't leave me."

"Who's t-the b-baby n-now," Quick said with a smile. He then gave Muharib a high-five and walked away to celebrate, leaving Garble to writhe on the ground. Garble screamed impotent threats at the two.

"So you brought down a bully who was 4 years older than you," Officer Garda asked, his attempt at neutrality strained by keen interest.

"N-not a b-big deal," Quick said idly. "G-garble w-was a c-complete idiot. A w-w-week later, I heard h-he g-got a-arrested for stealing a g-game c-c-console. I n-n-never saw him a-again. Anyways, that was the moment when my friendship with Muharib was solidified."

"You don't seem to stammer as much when you talk about her," Garda commented, "at least in a positive way."

"She was l-like the older sister I never had," Quick said.

It was the last day of summer vacation. The last day before Muharib would begin at Canterlot High. Both Muharib and Quick enjoyed a luxurious feast of candy and pretzels at Quick's house.

"Murahib," Quick said.

"P-p-promise m-me that even w-when y-you b-become a high s-school-er-er, y-you'll n-never f-forget m-me," Quick said.

"Oh please, I'm counting the days 'til you can join me," Muharib said with a wave of your hands. "P-promise me you'll never become mean and stupid like Garble."

"D-deal," he said." The two toasted their arrangement with the finest store-brand grape soda from the local grocery store.

"Of course," Quick said, his voice becoming forlorn, "that's n-not w-what h-happened."

"So how did you react when you found out about Murahib's arrest," Officer Garda asked. Quick pursed his lips.

"I was angry," Quick said, trying to control his temper. "I-I-I n-n-never believed Muharib w-would ever d-do something l-like that." He looked down and looked up. "B-but as I discovered, I-I was the only one w-w-who did, b-b-besides her parents."

Muharib, clad in a blue jumpsuit, was pushed through various checkpoints, while being shadowed by an overweight female guard with lime green skin and yellow hair.

"W-what's going o-o-on," Muharib asked the guard.

"Y-You've g-got a visitor worm," the guard said in a snide voice. When the door opened, Murahib let out tears of sadness when she saw who it was behind the plexiglass window.

"Quick," Muharib said in disbelief as she was led to the microphone.

"I'm here," Quick said. "How've you-," Murahib broke down into tears.

"Muharib," Quick said, his voice fulll of concern. "What's-,"

"Nobody believed me," Muharib said in tears. "All of my friends ditched me. They think I'm some freak." Quick felt his heart ache.

"B-but you didn't do anything," Quick said.

"T-that's what I s-said," Murahib continued to break down. "But your the only friend who visited me." Quick wanted to cry, but he suppressed his feelings. He felt he had to be brave.

"F-forget about t-them," Quick said in a strong voice. "I believe you. And no matter what happens, I'll be there for you until you get out." Muharib's tears faded, and she looked at Quick with a grateful, but sad, smile.

"Did you know then it was Sunset who planted the knife in Muharib's locker?" Officer Garda asked Quick.

"N-no," Quick said. "I had n-no idea who it was. I never even thought of r-revenge. All I thought a-at the t-time was helping Muharib g-get better. So for the a few months, I visited her every Saturday, while h-her p-parents visited her on Sunday."

Quick and Muharib were allowed to meet in a more relaxed room that allowed them to interact more directly then the one with the Plexiglas window. The two friends began a great philosophical debate concerning the important questions of civilization.

"Huzzah is a word," Quick complained. They were playing a game of Scrooble. So far, it was 25, Quick, 142, Muharib.

"No it isn't," Murahib said

"Yes it is," Quick argued. "I get 52 points."

"It is not a word," Quick argued.

"Yes it is," Muharib said.

"Visiting hours over!" The overweight guard said.

"But-,"the guard flipped over the Scrooble board.

"Time to go!" the obnoxious woman said, gently moving Quick toward the exit door. Quick lightly frowned at this guard's rude behavior.

"See you next week," Muharib said.

"Huzzah is a word," the uniformed lady said.

"Ha, I kn-knew it," Quick said, sticking out his tongue at the annoyed woman.

"Sounds like you had fun," Garda commented.

"Well, it wasn't all good," Quick said. "F-for one thing, it was jail. That g-guard w-was r-really, r-really mean. I think she's one of those adults who never stops b-being a bully. They call other p-people immature, but th-they like p-pushing o-other people around. I r-r-respected her s-so little, I d-didn't b-other to r-remember h-her name."

"I see those in my profession all the time," Officer Garda said.

"Sometimes the other d-delinquents would b-bully Muharib," Quick said. "A l-lot of th-them came f-from broken f-families who never visited them, a-and th-they would b-be j-jealous of someone who did get visits."

"I see a lot of that too."

"But th-things mostly worked out," Quick said. The anxiety began returning to his voice. "U-until a-about s-six m-months a-ago. A-about th-three months before I showed up."

"Is that when you say the abuse started?" Officer Garda said. Quick looked down, almost on the verge of tears.

"Quick, I know its painful for you, but you have to tell me," Officer Garda said gently. After a few moments, Quick regained his composure.

"A-anyways," Quick said, "the f-fat guard g-got r-r-replaced. I-I think she left a door open. O-or something." He took a deep breath. "A-anyways, a new g-guard came in." His faced turned red. "A-and she seemed n-nice."

Muharib came out, this time with a new guard.

The woman was a far cry from the pachyderm sized woman who came before. She had clean alabaster skin with no blemishes, a svelte figure, and beautiful blue hair that flowed down her back.

"You must be Quick," the woman said kindly. "Muharib told me all about you."

"She did?" Quick said.

"You're the nice boy who keeps my gal pal company," the woman said. "I wish I knew someone as," she batted an eyelash, "as sweet as you."

"Quick," Muharib said happily, "this is Sea Breeze. Our newest guard."

"N-nice to m-meet y-you," Quick said. The woman began petting him on the head.

"Nice to meet you too," Sea Breeze said, slowly running her hand from Quick's head to his neck, before tickling him lightly on his bicep, and giving him a smile that seemed a bit too wide, much to Quick's mild discomfort.

"Well, I better let you two have your time to hang out," Sea Breeze said, before walking out.

"She's really nice," Quick said, with an odd smile.

"She's awesome," Muharib said. "She's not as restrict as the fat lady, and she gives us snacks if we behave."

"Sea B-b-reeze seemed nice," Quick said in an uneasy voice. "L-like Muharib said, sh-she w-wasn't nearly as m-mean. S-she even got us some ch-chips...and....g-g-gave us e-extra time to talk."

"When did you deduce she was a predator," Garda asked.

"I'm getting there," Quick said uncomfortably. "After that v-visit, I t-tried to v-visit h-her a-again. B-but th-they told m-me sh-she w-was sick. H-her parents w-weren't a-allowed to s-see h-her." Quick bit his lip and took a deep breath. "B-but sh-she d-didn't r-respond t-t-to m-my l-letters or ph-phone c-calls." He looked down and then looked up. "A-and th-this w-went o-on f-for three weeks before-," Quick began stammering so much, he couldn't say a single sentence.

"Quick," Officer Garda said sympathetically. "If it hurts to talk, just write it out for me." Quick pulled out a pen and paper and wrote it down.

"M-muharib," Quick screamed as he ran into the jail hospital. What he saw nearly destroyed him.

Muharib was lying in bed, so still she looked like she was made of stone. He saw Muharib's parents were there, also completely destroyed, bawling over what happened to their daughter.

"What happened?" Quick asked, tears running down her eyes.

"She and her friends tried playing on the roof," Sea Breeze said, walking into the room. "And she tripped and fell." She gave a pointed look to Muharib. "Isn't that what happened sweetie?" For some reason, Muharib seemed to shake a little.

"Yes," Muharib said, almost whimpering, "that's...what happened."

"But don't worry," Sea Breeze said, walking over to the now paraplegic girl, "you'll be going to a nice hospital for...good little girls like her." Sea Breeze ran rubbing the inside of one of Muharib's paralyzed leg while looking at Muharib with a kind smile. For some reason, Muharib began shaking further.

"I-I didn't know what h-happened," Quick said, "but I didn't b-by th-that Muharib fell off the roof by a-accident."

"Really?"

"M-my first thought was that Sea B-breeze p-pushed her o-off," Quick said. "Or s-something."

"So when did you deduce it was sexual abuse?" Officer Garda said.

"I was in the 7th g-grade," Quick said,"th-that is when w-we t-take sex ed." He took a deep breath, "A-anyways, f-for o-our s-sex ed course, we h-had a sexual a-abuse s-survivor."

Usually, when Quick's classmates took the sex ed course, they acted like immature idiots. But for once in their lives, they were speechless as the man opened his sleeves.

"I-I slit my own wrists," the man said, revealing the areas he attacked his wrists with razor blades. He was rail thin, with baggy clothes, and he looked he had seen 100 puppies die. "I felt so disgusting, I didn't want to live. That's why you k-kids," the man stopped at he felt himself beginning to shake again, "b-be careful about who y-you accept r-rides from.

"What I s-saw in that m-man's eyes," Quick said, pursing his lips. "I saw in Muharib. The way that poor man's predator behaved, I saw it in Sea Breeze. I knew then that Muharib was raped, and she threw herself off the roof to deal with it."

"Did it ever occur to you to talk to-," Garda began, before Quick started laughing. It was a not happy laugh, but the laugh of someone too angry to yell.

"Y-yes," Quick said with an angry smile. "I d-did wh-what all the cartoons and PSAs taught me to do: I t-told m-my m-mom."

'Why can't we go to the police?" Quick said to his argument with his mom.

"Because you can't," His mom said, without looking from her chores.

"Why not," Quick persisted.

"Because I said so," his mom continued, "now go away, I'm busy."

"You were watching TV when I asked you the question," Quick said angrily.

"Boy, shut up or I take away your TV," Quick's mom.

"Why can't we tell someone! Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Because in Osprey, if a woman was raped, she would be outcast," Quick's mom said angrily. "If she threw herself off a building and survived, she would be outcast. If people find out Muharib was raped and through herself off building, her family would be hated."

"That doesn't make sense," Quick said angrily.

"That how it is?"

"Why?"

"Quick, shut up or you get no dinner!" Quick's mom said.

"But-,"

"One more word, and you sleep outside!" Quick's mom said, her face as red as her hair. Quick pursed his lips and reluctantly.

"Good," Quick's mom said. "Now get out of sight." Quick angrily stormed upstairs, stomping his feet.

"I talked to M-muharib's parents," Quick said angrily,"and they felt the same way."

"Are you serious?" Garda asked Quick, his neutral face strained by some anger.

"Yeah, b-blaming the victim is part of the A-aljana [1] faith," Quick said disdainfully. "Y-you kn-know, p-people say kids are stupid. But a-adults seem to have their own b-brands of stupid too. A kid might b-believe the c-cartoon c-characters on TV are actually talking to him, but at least he won't b-blame a girl is s-someone else hurts the girl."

Garda pinched his nose as he took notes.

"Did you try talking to someone else?"

"Yeah," Quick said with an angry smile. "Teachers, police, reporters. B-but I usually g-got the s-same r-response."

Quick forced a smile as the police officer continued to pat his head.

"Your a brave kid for reporting this, Short Stack," a portly officer said as he stopped patting Quick on the head.

"You did the right thing," the skinny one said in a condescendingly nice tone.

"So wh-when are you g-going to I-investigate," Quick asked them with strained patience.

"We'll see what the boys at the crime lab will say," the fat officer said.

"And we'll let you know," the skinny one said.

"But they would n-never l-let m-me know," Quick said with a growl. "They made promises, and then t-they would forget about me." Quick said.

"Are you serious?" Garda asked him.

"I have proof of all the reports I tried to file, and a-all the ;-letters I sent if y-you d-don't b-believe me," Quick almost yelled, before taking a deep breath. "But n-no one cared what a short, s-stammering kid like me had to say. And no one c-cared about what happens to a bunch of d-delinquents. No one c-cares about wh-what happens to a-an Aljanan ch-child. Vida, when they tell you 'tell an adult', they should add an a-asterisk th-that says 'some adults are shallow idiots who belittle you because your short.'"

"So what did you do about Muharib," Garda said.

"I k-kept visiting her," Quick said. "She's my friend. B-but, s-something in her died that day. S-something tough, s-something cool. Sh-she used to l-love l-life, and now she h-hides in her apartment all d-day and doesn't try to have fun." Quick nearly cried. "That w-woman d-destroyed her. And everyday, I have to see th-that destroyed person. And it h-hurts how she b-blames herself. It hurts how she d-doesn't go out. It t-tears me up seeing s-someone so g-great become a mess.

"When did you deduce Sunset was the one who framed her," Officer Garda asked Quick.

"It was my third day of school," Quick said. "And S-sunset w-was, to put it mildly, a jerk."

Quick looked with horror at what the girl with fire hair was doing. The pink haired girl was lying curled on the ground while Sunset held a pink plastic lunchbox over her head, a nasty grin on her face. To Quick's shock, fire-head poured the lunch over Fluttershy's head.

"Enjoy your meal," Sunset said in a falsely sweet tone, before walking away, leaving the yellow girl crying on the ground. Quick went up to Fluttershy to help her up.

"Are y-you OK?"

"Yeah," the yellow girl said with a whimper.

"Do y-you w-want me to go beat her up," Quick said.

"No," Fluttershy said. "People who cross Sunset will always regret it. Without knowing it, she could make you a laughing stock."

"Really," Quick said, his mind consumed by intense thoughts.

"I already d-didn't l-like Sunset for being G-Garble if G-Garble was a girl," Quick said, "but when I learned about the things she did-,"

"You put two and two together," Garda finished.

"But it was only after the F-Fall F-Formal that I knew for sure," Quick said. "W-When I heard she f-framed that Twilight girl for v-vandalism, there was no d-doubt in my mind that Sunset was r-responsible."

"Did you ever considering your teachers or friends this," Garda asked.

"Well, I figured it worked so well the last time," Quick said sarcastically, "why b-bother. But even then, I didn't care about Sunset. Until my-," he paused, "I went to v-visit h-her that n-night and th-through paint at her."

"And," Garda said.

"And," Quick said. "It just...f-felt good. It felt like....I w-was d-doing something. It felt like...I wasn't u-useless. But I didn't bother her after that. Mostly because I was nearly c-caught. I would've been fine if she was gone. If sh-she w-was expelled, I wouldn't have c-cared." Quick looked down. "But w-when I heard she w-was g-gonna come back, I just got...mad."

"Why?"

"Again," Quick said, "because M-Muharib got sent to j-juvie for f-far less then what S-Sunset did. It just wasn't fair."

"So you felt getting Sunset to leave would've evened the odds," Garda said.

"Yeah," Quick said. "I d-didn't w-want her dead. I j-just wanted her gone. Th-the notes. The p-push d-down the st-stairs-"

"But you did nearly drown her," Officer Garda said with a frown.

"I d-didn't mean to do that," Quick said. "I'm not tr-trying to excuse that. I just w-wanted to intimidate h-her. But...s=seeing the girl who ruined M-Muharib's life and seeing her being a-allowed to get away with so much....I lost it."

"She did get community service and probation," Garda said.

"That's better than being j-jailed, r-raped, and p-paralyzed," Quick said. "And I attacked Applejack and Twinkle because...I w-was m-mad that they gave S-Sunset a ch-chance, but no one bothered to help Muharib."

"I see," Garda said in a neutral tone. "You were angry at the people who failed to help Muharib, you felt powerless, and you took your anger out on Sunset because she was the easiest target. Yyou also attacked your classmates out of jealousy. And you attacked your principal because you resented how she did little to help Muharib while helping Sunset."

"Yes." Quick said.

"Well, let me tell you something," Garda said. "First of all. I'm sorry for what you and Muharib went through. What happened to her was wrong. It was wrong for Sunset to frame her, it was wrong for Luna to punish her the way she did, it was wrong that she got raped-which I will investigate-and was driven to throw herself off a bridge, it was wrong for her to lose her legs, and it was wrong for the adults in your life to ignore what was happening and ignore what you were saying." He then narrowed his eyes "However, your behavior was completely and utterly unacceptable. You had no right to hurt the people around you, and you had no right to attack your principal."

"Oh I'm wrong," Quick said incredulously. "Wh-what do you do when your b-best friend is b-being abused? Wh-what do you wh-when no one listens to you? What do y-you do wh-when an innocent person suffers while a g-guilty p-person gets to make friends?"

"Like I said, life can be unfair, and I wish it wasn't," Officer Garda said. "But you have proven that you are no better than Sunset. In fact, your just as bad as that Sea Breeze woman."

"How?"

"You made life unfair for the people around you," Officer Garda said. The statement gave Quick pause. "You're upset that Muharib was traumatized? Well you traumatized Applejack. She has PTSD and she has to live a long time with what you did. How do you think her family felt about her being too scared to get out of bed?" Quick's bravado faded a bit. "Your upset that Muharib was crippled? Well, you nearly crippled Gilda and Twinkle. Imagine if Gilda gone blind, and couldn't be a soldier like she wants." Quick frowned even more. "Twinkle was your teammate, and if you had been less careful with the baseball, you could've broken his neck and ended his athletic career." Quick frowned even more. "You wailed on your vice-principal. Imagine if you had been less careful, you could've done serious damage to her." Quick's lips began trembling. "You're upset Muharib went to jail for something she didn't do? Well Sandalwood nearly got arrested because of you."

"I didn't m-mean for the poster to be there," Quick blurted out.

"But if he had been arrested, would you have spoken up?" Officer Garda said. Quick let out shameful frown. "See you were so angry about what Muharib went through, you didn't see that you were putting your classmates through the exact same thing. You're no better than a psychotic little thug."

"I'm not," Quick protested.

"Oh really," Garda said. "Listen to this." Garda hit a key on his keyboard and a voice began recording.

"Until h-he g-got in m-my w-way," Quick said, clenching his fist. "If you hadn't sp-spread y-your l-legs for h-him, h-he would h-have been O-okay. B-but h-he ignored my w-warning a-and decided t-to m-make y-ou his little slut. Th-this is his fault. H-he d-didn't l-listen t-to m-my hints. N-neither d-did cowgirl."

"B-because you're a d-disgusting s-slut," Quick said. "And you deserve to have your throat cut."

"Th-there's only one th-thing I want," Quick said mercilessly. "It is f-for y-you to do the world a f-favor, t-take a g-gun, and b-blow your f-fucking b-brains out." Sunset started to cry even more from fear. "B-but the n-next b-best thing is for y-you to just l-leave and n-never c-come b-back."

Quick looked utterly mortified by what he was hearing. He sounded so angry, so insane, so monstrous. When the recording ended, Quick was on the verge of tears.

"I w-wasn't trying to b-become a thug," Quick said fearfully.

"No one does," Officer Garda said, the severity in his voice dying down. "No one likes to think of themselves as the bad guy. That's why you shouldn't hate. That's why you shouldn't take revenge. Because when you do both, you can justify any horrible thing in your mind. And eventually you become horrible."

"I'm sorry," Quick said, finally losing his composure and breaking down. The tears flowed through his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Officer Garda said, rising from the desk to pat his head. "But let me be clear, it isn't enough to say sorry. You're most likely going to be doing community service. You're also going to have a counselor come visit you once a week for the next few months to make sure. I also spoke to your vice principal."

"What did she say," Quick said, steeling himself for the worse.

"She admits that she was wrong to punish Muharib the way she did." Officer Garda said. "So instead of expelling you, she's suspending you for a few months. And your going to have you do chores for her every Sunday to pay off the damages done to the office."

"That's fair," Quick said solemnly.

"Let me say one more thing to you," Officer Garda. "I deal with kids like you all the time. Kids trapped in situations they don't want to be in. Kids who feel helpless. Kids who get hurt. And, like you, they try and lash out because their hurt. But that's never the answer. Hate is never the answer. From now on, if you want to make it up to me, you must always take the high road. You must always be good to everyone. No matter what circumstances you go under, you must always try to be better those who hurt you. Would it be fair if the kids you hurt got revenge on you? Or if they decided to hurt your mom to get back at you?"

"No," Quick said sadly.

"Because if they did, I would defend you," Officer Garda said. Quick looked surprised through his tear-soaked eyes. "Because I believe all of us must care and share for one another. You must not only care for Muharib. You must care for everyone around you. Promise me that you will do as your Vice Principal and always strive to be better. That you will not live by hate. You always strive to be good, no matter what you go through."

"I promise," Quick saidfirmly. "But what about S-s-sea B-breeze? Who kn-knows h-how many g-girls she hurt. I don't c-care what happens to me, as long as that m-m-m-monster goes down."

"I'll do what I can," Officer Garda said reassuringly. "Are you planning some revenge scheme against Sunset?"

"No," Quick said honestly. "-I'm s-still kind of m-mad at her. But, r-revenge didn't help me. I didn't feel better. I w-won't hurt her again."

"Good," Officer Garda said with a smile. "See your already learning. If he helps, she's also in trouble too."

"I don't...r-really c-care m-much," Quick said tiredly. "I j-just w-want th-the g-girl wh-who t-taught m-me t-to f-fight b-back."

"I could get her some counseling," Officer Garda said.

A knock on the door was heard. In stepped Mrs. Pace. Quick flinched away from his mom.

"Mrs. Pace," Officer Garda said, "may I speak to you privately".

The woman gave a simple nod. Nervously, the short redhead stepped out of the room, while his mom and the cop spoke.

It was half an hour, the longest half hour Quick had known, before his mom stepped out of the office, with the same inscrutable expression. The two of them walked in complete silence until they reached the car. They stared at one another before Quick's mother took a step toward him.

Quick flinched, in fear he was going to get beaten. Instead, his mom hugged him.

"I'm sorry Quick," his mom said, tears running down her eyes.

"I'm sorry mom," Quick said, tears running down his own eyes. "I won't ever do it ever again. I p-promise" The mother and son bawled and bawled in the parking lot. When it was over, they still held one another, while Quick's mom rubbed her son's head and assured him he still loved her.

Ups and Downs

Quick stood in the middle of Canter Park, carrying a shovel that was only a few inches shorter than him, wearing a thick red coat and a yellow vest, and hearing the instructions of the police officer sent to supervise him. Normally a lively place in warmer weather, the park was utterly bleak and desolate as winter loomed. The sky was an ugly grey, yet it was just warm enough for the freshly fallen snow to start melting. The ground was slushy, and the trees had been stripped clean of their leaves, making them look ugly and foreboding in the dim light.

The environment was particularly fitting for how he felt.

"Get to digging," the officer bellowed.

Quick knew he brought it upon himself, he knew what he did was his own fault. He acted in revenge. He acted in hate. But it didn't change the pain he felt. Destroying his own reputation, betraying the trust of the friends he had, having a mark on his permanent record. He didn't enjoy the guard looking at him like he was some deviant who would explode.

There were only two real bright spots he had: that his mom owned up to her own mistakes and didn't kick him out of the house like he feared. And Muharib was seeing a therapist. That, and getting a written apology from Vice Principal Luna, had raised her spirits quite a bit.

But that was small potatoes compared to everything else he lost.

After two hours, the guard told him to stop and take his 30 minute lunch break. With a deep frown, he sat down on some soggy wooden bench and began eating his baloney sandwich. He ate his food without much joy. His poor mood stopped him from feeling any taste. He looked around and saw his officer walked away, presumably to take his own break.

After finishing his food, Quick sat still, staring idly at the ground. It took him a few moments to hear the sound of crunching snow. Several people were walking toward him. His mood deteriorated when looked up and saw who it was.

His, former team. And Rainbow Dash. He understood what they were there for. He had betrayed their trust. He had sent Twinkle to the hospital. Rainbow Dash hated him for what he did to Applejack. They were here to pay him back with interest. He struggled not to flinch at seeing the bandage on Twinkle's throat.

With a solemn calm, he decided to walk toward his former friends and face the music. He had stabbed them in the back. He deserved whatever they were about to give him. When they saw him approaching, they looked at him with a calm expression. He couldn't tell if it was disappointment, icy anger, or both.

"G-go a-ahead," Quick said to his former team and CHS's top athelete in a quiet voice. "D-do your worst." It was Sparky who stepped first. Sparky was the tallest and strongest person on the team. If anyone could deliver a good beating, it was the yellow-skinned giant.

"Yes," Sparky said, in what was a deathly quiet voice. "We'll do our worst." Sparky stopped in front of him.

"Close your eyes," he ordered. Quick did. He guessed they wanted to give him some dignity as they wailed on him. He felt his arms being moved and something being place in them.

"Open."

He opened, and...

A box of baklava was being placed in his hands.

"Y-you g-got m-me baklava," Quick said incredulously.

"Yeah," Ozone, a blue-skinned member with yellow hair said in a playful tone. "That is our worst. Instead of getting kanafeh, you have to settle for plain ol' baklava."

"Why?" Quick said, tears rolling down his eyes. "I betrayed you guys. I put Twinkle in the hospital." He looked at Rainbow Dash. "I put Applejack in the hospital."

"Yeah, you did," Sprint said in a serious tone. "And it was beyond fucked up." He looked down. "But the truth is, we weren't much better."

"What you did was your fault," Zip, a runner of average height with blue hair and grey skin, said, "but we set a bad example for you. We hurt Sunset too, and didn't teach you any better."

"And so did I," Rainbow Dash said in a regretful tone. "I knew what you guys were doing. And I let it go on because...I enjoyed Sunset getting hurt."

"And," Sprint continued, "we heard about what happened to Muharib, and how your mom made you not tell." His face twisted into a frown. "How could you not be messed up by that?"

"And you were a good friend," Rainbow Dash, honest admiration in her voice. "You stuck by Muharib when no one else would. Despite everything, you did it because you cared about her. You also didn't reveal Sunset's forged lease documents went you could've."

"And your insanity did accomplish something," Twinkle said, his voice still hoarse.

"What?" Twinkle handed Quick a newspaper, with a certain story circle with a red ink pen.

Sea Breeze invited her newest charge into her office. This new girl, with ivory locks and flawless pink skin, had the looks she rarely got in this dunghole prison. And Sea Breeze felt....boredom that she had to release.

"You wanted to see me, Ms. Sea Breeze?" the 14 year old girl asked.

"Yes Strawberry," Sea Breeze said, affecting a welcoming smile. "I just wanted to let you know that just because you robbed a jewelry store doesn't make you a bad person."

"Thank you," the girl said kindly. This girl seemed way too soft for the crime she was accused off.

"I just wanted to help you begin your first step toward rehabilitation," she said, handing Strawberry a glass of her "special" cherry soda.

"Thank you," Strawberry said, taking a big gulp. Sea Breeze turned around to hide her wide smile as the fool drank it all down.

"So what do you hope to accomplish," Sea Breeze said, waiting for the drug to kick in, "when you get out?"

"I don't-," the girl paused for a moment, got woozy, before collapsing.

"Yes," Sea Breeze said. Almost immediately, she began peeling off the clothes of the unconscious girl, her anticipation grew as she tore away the inconvenient clothes. Then someone knocked on the door.

She let out an annoyed sigh. She prepared to use the usual "they were resisting arrest" excuse she used when she was caught with an unconscious girl. She walked up to the door, only to be greeted by several provincial police officers.

"Sea Breeze," the lead officer, a white-skinned man, said. "By the authority vested in me by the Province of Seaboard, I hereby place you under arrest for the sexual abuse of minors."

"Officers," Sea Breeze said with a fake smile ,"surely there is some mistake."

"No there isn't," a voice said. Sea Breeze turned around and too her shock, and saw Strawberry awake and looking at her with a devilish grin. To her greater confusion, the soda poured down her pants leg onto the floor.

"Magic trick I learned," the girl said as she pulled out a badge and revealed she had a camera and microphone. Sea Breeze felt her entire life crash around her. She barely noticed when the police put her in cuffs, read her rights, and dragged her from the room.

The first true smile Quick had in a long while formed on her face as he read the story.

"While what you did was bad," Sprint said. "We can also forgive you because at least you brought a sick fuck to justice."

"And," Twinkle said, "like I said, were brothers. Brothers fight. But brothers also forgive."

"And if we can forgive Sunset for turning us into zombies and trying to kill us," Rainbow said. "We can definitely forgive you for what you did."

"There's just two things you have to do," Sprint said.

"What?"

"One: Don't ever do this again," Sprint said firmly.

"OK."

"Two," Twinkle said, "I care about Sunset. I care about her a lot. I know you still don't like her. And that's fine. But please respect the fact that I still think she's cool and I can hang out with her."

"OK," Quick said. "I c-can't I-imagine she's h-happy a-around me."

"No," Rainbow said. "But she wanted me to ask you something."

"What," Quick said, his heckles rising a bit.

"What can she do to make it up to Muharib?"

"Tell her," Quick said with strained patience, "that Muharib would rather not think about Sunset right now, and she should stay away."

"OK," Rainbow said, respectfully.

"Whatever you might feel," Sparky said in a softer tone, putting a large hand on Quick's shoulder, "you're not behind hope. We're still your bros to the end."

With that, Quick lost his composure and broke down in tears. He felt Sparkly pulling him a hug that was surprisingly gentle for someone as big as him. As Quick cried and cried, saying the occasional apology, more and more of his friends joined in the hug, assuring him that they didn't hate him.

For the first time ever, Quick didn't feel so alone. He hoped he would never have to be alone again.

Sunset knew returning to Canterlot High was not going to be a cakewalk, but she was taken aback by the fear and hostility that radiated from the students in the courtyard, which was unusually crowded despite the cold weather. The only thing that kept her from packing up and leaving was her friends, Sprint, and Twinkle behind her. Bon Bon approached them with a nasty grin.

"Look, it's Sunslut," Bon Bon said with a nasty grin. "Come back to frame someone else." Some of the other students began looking at Sunset with increasing derision hostility.

"Lay off her," Applejack said with a frown.

"I'm sorry," Bon Bon said. "I'd rather not have a walking disaster area near me."

"Leave her alone," Twinkle growled.

"What if I don't," Bon Bon said mockingly. "Are you gonna frame me too?" Sunset looked down sadly.

"Why can't you lay off her," Pinkie Pie said.

"Because I, and most of us, want this piece of-,"

"You're not a good person!" Rainbow yelled to Bon Bon. Bon Bon looked confused and a bit annoyed by Rainbow's remark.

"What did you say?" Bon Bon asked.

"You're not a good person," Rainbow said. "Your a lazy, little pussy."

"What?" Bon Bon said incredulously. "I'm not the one who got Muharib sent to-,"

"Oh, you think that's what it takes to be a good person?" Rainbow replied an unimpressed tone. "Not framing people for holding knives. I suppose you want credit too for not hitting pedestrians. You also want a medal for not robbing a bank. You know what a good person does? A good person is brave. A good person does the right things even when its hard. And Sunset did that more than you ever have in your entire life."

"You gonna compare me to her," Bon Bon said with some anger, gesturing with her hand to Sunset. "She's the one who got Muharib sent to juvie!"

"let me ask you a question. Did Sunset stop you from paying her a visit in juvie?" Rainbow Dash asked Bon Bon. Bon Bon was stunned by the question.

"What?"

"Did Sunset prevent you from visiting Muharib?" Rainbow Dash asked, crossing her arms. Bon Bon couldn't really answer.

"Well, why would I? I thought she was a criminal," Bon Bon replied. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned to glare at Bon Bon.

"Ever heard of something called loyalty?" Rainbow Dash said. "Loyalty means sticking by someone no matter how hard it gets. Even if Murahib had been guilty, even if Murahib did actually stab someone, a real friend would've stuck by her and made sure she got better. Sunset may have gotten Murahib arrested, but YOU CHOSE TO ABANDON HER!" Bon Bon's pompous expression fell into one of shame.

"And do you know why you did that?" Rainbow said in a quiet voice. "For the same reason you accused me of pushing Blossomworth off the ledge, for the same reason you spread a rumor that Sunset paid my friends into sitting next to her, for the same reason your putting her down now. You're a lazy, selfish, stupid, brat!" Bon Bon's face fell even further. "You may not be a supervillain, but your not a good person, because you'll do what's only good for you." Rainbow took a deep breath.

"You know why I hated Sunset," Rainbow said in a calm voice. "Because she tricked me into hating Fluttershy. And because of that, I let Sunset bully and pick on Fluttershy all the time. But if I were a good person, I would've defended her anyways. I would've stepped in, and pushed Sunset away. Maybe its Sunset's fault for making me hate Fluttershy, but I chose to abandon her in her time of need. No good person does that." Fluttershy put a warm shoulder on her arm.

"Sunset did horrible things, but you know what? She stayed here to try and make amends. She could've transferred to another school, or skipped town, but she stayed to make things rights, even when people were throwing things at her, and calling her names." Bon Bon looked down shamefully, and rubbed her arm. "Would any of you have the guts to do that? No." She took another deep breath.

"And you know what else? Quick is a better person than you." Bon Bon looked even more stunned and ashamed. "Yeah, what he did was beyond messed up. And I'm still angry at him for what he did to Applejack, but he was at least trying to help his friend in his own way. That's more than I've seen from you," she said to a forlorn Bon Bon, "or any of you," she said, yelling to entire assembled crowd.

"The easy thing would be to ditch him for the horrible things he did. But you know what? I'm not gonna ditch him. I'm gonna help him, and so are Sprint and Twinkle," she said, looking happily toward the two track team captains, who looked at everyone else in defiance. "Twinkle has every reason to hate Quick, but he's not gonna abandon someone he considers a little brother."

"And if you think Sunset should leave, maybe I should too," Rainbow Dash said in quiet, but firm voice. "Because of what happened to Blossomworth, I should be hated for the rest of my life? Right. If your gonna treat Sunset that way, treat me that way." The whole crowd went silent. "But your not gonna treat me that way. Not because is the right thing to do, but because I'm useful to you. You love me only when I win championships. That's not being good, that's just caring about yourselves."

She took another deep breath, before continuing.

"I'm not saying you all don't have a right to mad at Sunset," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm not saying you have to be her friend. But you try to push her around, don't ever think any of you are good. The reason why you're hurting Sunset is because your lazy idiots who'll do only what's easy. Because any idiot can hold a grudge. Any idiot can kick someone when their down. But being nice to someone, even when its hard, is the bravest thing ever. And I've seen more of that from Sunset, my friends, Princess Twilight, the track team, and Quick than the rest of you combined."

The crowd hung their heads in shame. One by one, many of them shuffled into the school, feeling like garbage. Bon Bon gave Sunset a somber look, before turning away and walking shamefully into the main building.

Rainbow saw her friends giving her a look of pride, before rushing into to give her a group hug,.

"Rainbow, that was incredible."

"I'm so proud of you."

"You're the bestest friend ever."

"Eloquent and excellent."

"Thanks," Sunset simply said, "for standing up for me."

"Well, I find you mildly tolerable," Rainbow said with a fake frown. "And the truth is, I want to beat your butt at Soccer Time, and I can't do that if you skip town."

"Can't wait to see if I can," Sunset said, recognizing that Rainbow was trying to be friendly in her own way. "Anyways, we'll find out after class." The six friends marched to class.

"Hey Sunset," Twinkle said. The fire-haired girl turned back to the red-skinned athlete, who was looking at her with a warm smile. "You still up for Saturday?"

"Sure," Sunset said with a smile, :well, after my court date," she said sheepishly, before walking back with her friends. Sprint began chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Twinkle said.

"I remember you used to have these really thick braces in the 6th grade?" Sprint said.

"And,"

"All those punks were calling you a nerd and I acted treated you like my sidekick," Sprint said. "But you have more of a romantic life than me or any of those jerks."

"Don't worry," Twinkle said with a grin. "You could always join us for a ménage a-," Sprint playfully punched Twinkle with a grin, telling him to shut up.

On a park bench, a lonely green girl watched the events with confusion while enjoying her freshly made salad.

Wallflower Blush normally did not feel strong emotions. She normally did not get angry.

But for some reason, she felt...perplexed...angered even. Seeing Sunset being defended and hanging out with friends filled her with...she don't know how to describe it.

Maybe it was because she wanted friends. And Sunset having friends filled her with...

She gripped her fork tightly watching Sunset joining in a group hug.

"How come a monster like her gets friends, but I end up alone." Before realizing it, Wallflower snapped the plastic fork in two, gritting her teeth in frustration.

Sunset and Twinkle walked out of the juvenile court with mixed feelings.

"100 hours of community service ain't so bad," Twinkle said uneasily.

"But because I'm still in school," Sunset said, "I can only do it on weekends."

"What about afternoons," Twinkle said.

"Too busy," Sunset said sadly. "Which means I'll only have a weekend free in...two months."

"Do you get a lunch break during your community service?"

"Yeah," Sunset said.

"We can have our dates then," Twinkle said.

"Sounds like a plan," Sunset said with a smile. "Want to make the most of my last free weekend for a while.

"Sure," Twinkle said, taking Sunset's hand into his own hand.

Sunset walked into the bakery. Many of the customers looked at her with distaste, most likely aware of her horrible crime against Muharib. Rainbow's speech may protect her from abuse, but they hadn't healed her reputation completely.

Normally, such looks would make her feel even colder than if she was standing outside. But having a boyfriend who cared about her despite her bad history helped her endure it. If the looks she was getting were cold, it just made Twinkle's warm smile even warmer.

While she still dreamed of the day when everyone would wave to her rather than look at her with fear, Twinkle's smile would have to do for now. And for Sunset, that was A-OK.

Well, as long as she got some of those delicious all natural donuts.

Author's Note

Well, this is the last chapter of the story. Because of my impending internship requirements, I have to take a break from writing. I wanted to get this out now while I still had time.

As of today, I am going on hiatus again. But if all goes well, I shall publish the sequel to this story, and the third story of Sunset's Steps, in the fall.

Working Girl. The story of how Sunset got a job at a sushi restaurant.

Thank you so much to all the people who read, reviewed, followed, and watched. You all gave me the strength to keep writing.

Deleted Scenes/What Could've Been (Warning:Mature)

While my next story in Sunset's Steps isn't going to be out for a few months, here is a bonus chapter, exploring some ideas I nearly put into the story, but took out for various reasons.

Sunset felt her anxiety grow as her mysterious enemy pulled down her hood. And-

Sunset gasped with horror, as the face before her made Sunset think she was looking in the mirror.

Only instead of the shock on her face, what was on the other face was anger. Not the selfish, bratty anger Sunset showed during the Fall Formal when she tried to steal Twilight's crown. It was anger born out of desperation that was on this Sunset's face.

"Let me tell you something," Human Sunset said in a falsely casual voice, "you know what you need to live in this world? A credit score."

Sunset felt her fear grow at the smothered anger.

"A credit score helps with everything from buying a house, to getting a job," Human Sunset continued, while walking around the bound Sunset the way a predator circles around their prey. "A good credit score helps you. A bad credit score-," she paused, trying to control her anger. "It is a good thing to have." She then marched straight toward Sunset. "But what do you think happens when someone else steals your identity," Human Sunset said, approaching the tied up pony-turned-human, "and buys things like motorbikes and apartments?" Human Sunset finished, getting into the pony girl's face.

"Maybe I can-,"

"IT RUINS YOUR LIFE!"

"Please-," Sunset began, before feeling something metal and sharp slice up her cheek. Sunset felt red running down her face, and throbbing pain to go with it. Sunset let out a scream that combined pain and fear.

"You ruined me," Human Sunset said with vindictive sadism, holding up the knife, freshly caked with Sunset's cheek blood, "so now I am going to ruin...you."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sunset asked Quick tearfully. Quick looked utterly merciless.

"Because," Quick said coolly. He then ran up to Sunset and grabbed her breasts.

"I love playing with these titties," Quick said with a perverted smile as squeezed Sunset's breasts. Sunset felt shock at what had occurred. But that shock soon gave way to anger. Sunset felt her vision go red, as Quick continued to give her a demented grin.

Quick fell to the ground, blood coming from his nose.

"You perverted little shit!" Sunset screamed, her fist covered in blood. "When I'm through with you-," Quick held up his phone and took a picture, while Quick took a picture of himself, looking sad.

"Thank you so much Sunset," Quick said, a victorious grin on his face. Sunset's fury was replaced with confusion.

"What did you-,"

"I have a picture of you attacking me for no good reason," Quick said with a nasty smile. Sunset felt her blood run cold. "I think it would only be fare to warn everyone at CHS that the Demon Girl assaulted an innocent freshman." Sunset lunged for the phone, only for Quick to jump away from her.

"You could try and catch me," Quick said, his stance showing he could get away, "but I already saved it to my E-mails."

"Please don't send that," Sunset said pleadingly.

"Then leave," Quick said, a cold, merciless grin. "Leave, or I'll ruin you."

"Just give me-,"

"The only thing you could do for me is leap off a building," Quick said with a growl. "That would be the best thing you could do for the world. But instead, I'll give you the chance to go away. Don't, or everyone will find out you've gone berserk again."

Sunset fell to her knees, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I hate you," Sunset said with angry tears in her eyes.

"Insults won't help you," Quick said while walking away. "Leave...or else. And this conversation never happened," he finished, leaving behind a tearful Sunset.

The masked maniac chased Sunset with a chainsaw. Sunset tried to run, but the maniac seemed to faster than her.

"Help me," Sunset said screamed. Out of panic, she ran down a dark alley. She looked around, but saw no one to protect her, and panicked when she realized she was now trapped. The maniac, releasing that, strode toward her slowly, chainsaw at the ready. Sunset stammered with fear, especially when she realized the maniac was moving slowly because she was reveling her in her terror.

"Please," Sunset said. "Please don't kill me." The maniac instead moved closer to her. Time slowed as Sunset's life was down to its last seconds. Something fell from the air and tackled the maniac. When Sunset was broken out of her trance, she realized was she saw.

Gilda had brought the masked maniac to his knees. The chainsaw fell out of his hands as Gilda managed to twist the person's arms. Gilda tripped the person so that his head would smash into the pavement, knocking him out.

"Gilda," Sunset said, having regained her composure.

"Sunset," Gilda said.

"You...saved me," Sunset said.

"I guess," Gilda said. She then narrowed her eyes. "Don't think this is because I like you. The Sergeant says that a soldier protects everyone."

"Thank you," Sunset said.

"You can thank me later," Gilda said, motioning to the stricken person. "Let's deal with the freak." Gilda rolled the freak on his back, and pulled off his mask. Sunset looked with horror at who it was.

Twinkle. Sprint's co-captain. She now knew the who.

But she still needed to know the why.

Sunset still couldn't believe it. A week ago Gilda was knocking her books out of her hand. Now she was enjoying a movie night with her, in Gilda's own house.

"So you like horror movies," Sunset said.

"Yep," Gilda said with a twisted smile. "The suspense, the blood, the terror." Gilda shushed her as the horror scene came on. "He's gonna cut that bitche's intestines out," Gilda said with demented. Sunset looked at the scene, not with joy, but with terror as the machete-wielding maniac closed in the helpless damsel.

"Kill her, kill her," Gilda chanted. Sunset let out a horrified scream as the movie's heroine was gutted.

"Ahem", Gilda said with annoyance. Sunset realized in fear that she grabbed Gilda's hand for comfort.

"Sorry," Sunset said, pulling her hand from Gilda and turning away from her with an embarrassed blush.

"Don't touch me," Gilda growled. Sunset heard Gilda's voice, but didn't see the blush also forming on Gilda's face.

"Twinkle," Sunset pleaded, "I swear I'm in a-,"

"How many other people did you frame," Twinkle growled. "Did you paralyze other people too?"

"No, I never meant for that to happen." Sunset said with tears in her eyes.

"You got Muharib sent to prison," Twinkle said with quiet anger. "What did you think was going to happen?"

"Please," Sunset pleaded. "How can I make it up to you?"

"You want to make it up to me," Twinkle said. "Help Muharib walk."

"I can't," Sunset said regretfully.

"Then were done," Twinkle said with a quiet, disappointed tone, before turning away from Sunset. The quiet anger and rejection hurt Sunset worse than the paint balloons or Gilda's bullying. Seeing Twinkle despise her made Sunset fall to the ground with tears in her eyes.

Boutiques and Butterflies (Edited 03/19/20)

Sunset Shimmer was walking in the student parking lot, her expression somewhat more hopeful then it had been.

"Maybe things will finally look up," Sunset said to herself.

Her peace was broken when she felt something was thrown at her cheek. Using her fingers, she determined that her face was covered in egg yolk.

"Hey Sunset," a loud male voice said. She looked up and saw the entire male track team looking at her with cold eyes and holding egg cartons. Sunset shrunk back. "Cool outfit," Sprint was directly talking to her, shaking the carton in his hand back and forth. "Hate for something...to happen to it."

"Sprint...guys... look," Sunset said sadly. "I'm sorry about the whole...fundraiser."

"Your little stunt made us lose our funding for a whole semester," Twinkle Toes said with enormous contempt. "You think one little apology makes up for that?"

"No," Sunset said sadly. "But I know something that can. Let me help you-," Sunset's pleas ended as she was hit with a barrage of thrown eggs. Each egg felt like a bullet in her soul as they ruined the outfit Rarity gave her. The whole team began laughing at her, while she struggled to hold back tears.

"Let's get out of here," Twinkle Toes said once they had enough "fun". The group began walking away from her, except for some short redhead who looked at her with sad eyes. The kid approached her.

"Please don't throw anything at me," Sunset said with a whimper.

"A-a-are you OK?" the freshman asked with a stammer. Sunset calmed down once he saw how the freshman wasn't looking at her with vindictive intent. The redhead was several inches shorter then her, and was craning his neck to look up at her. He was so short, he looked like he belonged in middle-school or even elementary school.

"No," Sunset said tearfully. The kid pulled something out of his shorts. It was a smalll napkin.

"I-I-I k-k-now this won't clean up all those eggs," he said sadly. Sunset gratefully took the napkin anyways.

"Don't worry about it," Sunset said with a sad smile, using the small thing to wipe the yolk off her cheek. "It's the thought that counts."

"N-n-name's Quick Pace," the redhead said with a warm smile.

"Why are you helping me?" Sunset asked. "They probably told you what I did at the fundraiser."

"W-W-Well," Quick Pace with a sad smile. "K-k-kids used to things like that to me. I-I-I don't like seeing those things." He looked down in shame. "I-I-I want to tell my team to stop, but-

"No," Sunset said ruefully. "Don't bother. I don't want you to risk your friendship for someone like me." Quick Pace was about to respond, but he was cut off by a loud voice.

"Short Stack," Twinkle Toes shouted. "Stay away from the demon bitch," Quick Pace looked nervously at track team, then at Sunset. She gave him a reassuring nod, telling him it was OK to leave. He left to join his teammates, but not before giving her a look that showed he had the decency to feel bad about giving into peer pressure. As Sunset saw them leave, her mood crashed a bit when she saw Rainbow Dash enthusiastically coming up to greet them.

With a heavy sigh, Sunset walked over to her bike and rode off.

Carousel Boutique was quiet on a typical weekday, when most of Canterlot's teens went home or did their extracurriculars. That suited Rarity fine, since it allowed her get a lot of her work done. She sat dutifully in front of the sewing machine, carefully stitching some dress she was working on. She her a tap on the wall and looked up from her work.

"Yes," Rarity said. She looked up and saw Sweetie Belle giving her an annoyed look.

"Yes Sweetie Belle."

"The demon is here," Sweetie said with annoyance, "should I chase her out with a broom?" Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Sweetie," Rarity said with some disappointment. "Sunset is here to make amends."

"Well, let her make amends elsewhere," Sweetie complained. She then sighed at Rarity's disapproving look and walked away. "Fine. But don't let that demon's claws anywhere near my stuff," Sweetie said, before walking away. Rarity sighed and pinched her nose before getting up to welcome Sunset.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique," Rarity said, "where everything is chic, unique, and-," Rarity paused as she saw Sunset, her new outfit soaked with egg yolk.

"Sunset," Rarity said with horror, "what happened to you?" Sunset looked down in shame.

"Track team," Sunset uttered miserably. Rarity got up to Sunset and put a warm arm on her shoulder, which helped Sunset relax a bit.

"Don't worry, Darling," Rarity said sympathetically. "I've got plenty of outfits." She then took Sunset by her hand and led her somewhere. "Let's get you changed and then you can get to work." As Rarity led Sunset to another changing room, Sunset looked around, struggling to find a topic for small talk.

"So," Sunset said idly,"do you own the place?" Rarity let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, I wish darling," Rarity said cheerfully. "No, Carousel Boutique is operated by a family friend. You don't expect a 16 year old to be running her own business while in high school, do you?"

"Well, actually, in my world, 16 year olds are actually self-sufficient," Sunset said. Rarity looked surprised by that.

"Really?" Rarity asked with curiosity. "How does education work in your world?"

"Well, school education in my world traditionally lasts for about 12-14 years," Sunset said. "By that time, ponies discover their special talents. After which they usually pursue apprenticeships related to their mark."

"So there aren't universities or trade schools?" Rarity asked.

"There are, but it is mostly for advanced subjects like magic and engineering," Sunset said idly. "Most ponies just go from school to an apprenticeship to a job in about three years." Rarity led Sunset into some kind of closet and helped her pick a new outfit.

After Rarity got Sunset a more plain outfit of jeans and a white blouse, Rarity led Sunset into a darkened backroom.

"So," Sunset drawled. "Will I be stitching, or sewing, or designing?"

"No, Darling," Rarity said simply. She flipped the light switch, revealing a room full of dozens of boxes filled with fabrics. "Your first chore is to bring all these boxes to my workroom for me." Sunset swallowed at the amount of work she had to do.

"Chop, chop, Darling," Rarity said, leaving an abashed Sunset staring dumbly at her workload. She began lifting one of the heavy boxes up.

"These clothes are even heavier then they look," Sunset said, gritting her teeth, as she carried the box out of the room.

An hour later, Sunset finally got the last of the boxes into Rarity's workroom.

"OK," Sunset said tiredly as she brought the last box to Rarity's work station. "Done." Rarity gave her an unimpressed look.

"On second thought darling," Rarity said in an unimpressed tone, "these boxes don't match well with the décor. I'm gonna have to ask you bring them up to the roof." Sunset looked at Rarity with horror, before she noticed Rarity trying to stifle a laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHA," Rarity said with obvious jest. "I am just kidding darling." Sunset looked at Rarity her mouth agape. "You actually believed I would make you carry those boxes up to the roof? Darling, I am not that cruel." Sunset allowed a sheepish smile to form on her face.

"Yeah, you got me," Sunset said with reluctance.

"OK, darling, your next task is to clean up the bathrooms," Rarity said, handing Sunset a mop. Sunset let out a sigh and she walked into the bathroom.

"I don't want to see another toilet again," Sunset said with exhaustion and disgust as she pulled off orange rubber gloves, walked out of the bathroom, and met up with Rarity.

"OK Rarity," Sunset said to the white-skinned girl. "The toilet is clean."

"Very good Darling," Rarity said with honest gratitude, rising from her work station. "Come with me, Darling. It is time for your next task." Rarity turned to walk away.

"What is it?" Sunset asked.

"You'll see," Rarity said in a sly tone as she led Sunset to some room. Rarity opened the door, and saw inside that it was some kind of break room, with purple-painted walls and floors, a white fridge, and some wooden table in the middle.

"So what do I need to do here?" Sunset asked Rarity.

"Your next task is....," Rarity said, walking over to the fridge and pulling out two tinfoil containers, "to celebrate a job well done with a nice dinner." Sunset let out a small smile.

"Really?" Sunset asked with happy disbelief as Rarity put the tinfoil containers down, revealing them to be two salads.

"Yes, darling, that's what friends do," Rarity said, placing some silverware on the table. "Anyways, sit down and let's eat".

"Why are you giving me this chance?" Sunset asked in a serious tone as she took her seat. "I made you look like idiot in front of everybody. Is it because the Princess told you to?"

"No, Darling," Rarity in a serious tone. "In all honesty, despite what the Princess told us to do, a part of me hoped you would never return to Canterlot High." Sunset let out a sad sigh. "But then," Rarity said in a reassuring tone,"Applejack told me about how you spent every weekend during your suspension breaking your back doing farm labor." Rarity paused, taking a small, polite bite of lettuce. Sunset, herself feeling hungry, followed along. "The Sunset who tormented me would never do that." She then paused to take another bite of her salad. "The old Sunset would also never accept such bestial treatment from other students," Rarity continued. "You've endured prank after prank, and you still want to make amends with others when a weaker person would've transferred or thrown a fit. All that makes me conclude you want to change and be better." Sunset's eyes began to water.

"But, I was such a spoiled little brat," Sunset said sadly. But before Sunset could ruminate further, Rarity put a warm hand on Sunset's own.

"Darling, you think you're the only person who acted like a brat," Rarity said with some exhaustion. "I can tell you that I wasn't so refined or well behaved."

A young Sweetie Belle walked up to Rarity, holding up a tea set. Rarity was reading a fashion magazine without a care in the world.

"Rarity," Sweetie chirped. "Want to have a tea party?"

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity yelled, giving her little sister a nasty look. "I have far more important things to do then to stoop to such immature games!" Sweetie Belle gave her sister puppy-dog eyes.

"But Rarity-," Sweetie Belle said.

"ENOUGH," Rarity said. "Here is a game you should play: GROW UP!" Rarity exclaimed, before returning to her magazine. She ignored her sister's whimpers as the little girl walked out of the room.

"I can't believe you could ever be so mean," Sunset said with disbelief. Rarity seemed to play the Queen Bee stereotypes to a hilt: fussy, fashion-obsessed, snobbish. But Rarity had always been generous and helpful. It was one of the reasons why Sunset hated Rarity: she had Sunset's flaws, but always tried to be kind. "And to your own younger sister no less."

"The point is, Darling," Rarity said. "We've all let our selfishness cloud our judgement once. You came here without parents and all the money you needed, so it is no wonder you behaved as you did." Sunset again looked down in shame. "Darling, look at me," Rarity said. Sunset raised her head to look up at Rarity's sympathetic look. "But you've begun to change that. You've convinced Pinkie Pie and Applejack that you want to be better. You've convinced me. And I'm sure with enough time, others will see your newfound beauty." Sunset gave Rarity a grateful smile. "Now let us enjoy our dinners and not dwell in the past." Sunset and Rarity both ate the salads the latter bought. Sunset, due to her equine origins, enjoyed salad more then most other humans. But to Sunset, the feeling of forgiveness and earning it made the food taste better.

"Whoops, sorry," Gilda said in a cruel tone, smacking Sunset's books out of her hand for the second day in a row. Sunset looked around and saw the unsympathetic and somewhat vindictive looks of everyone else. Sunset let out a small sigh as she saw no one coming to help her. Only thinking about the nice night she shared with Rarity helped her hold back tears.

"Need some help?" a timid voice asked. Sunset turned around and saw Fluttershy looking at her. Usually Fluttershy looked at Sunset with fear, even after being allowed to sit at her table. This time, Fluttershy looked at her with real compassion.

Sunset looked at Fluttershy's kind eyes with confusion. Fluttershy, more then any other student, had been her favorite punching bag; Knocking books out of her hands, shoving her into a locker, and making fun of her love for animals.

She remembered with shame how much she loved making the butter-yellow girl whimper, squeak, and even cry. Sunset remembered how powerful she felt making the pink-haired girl squirm. And that was after she destroyed her friendships with the others.

Sunset had done everything to make Fluttershy feel small and weak. Fluttershy didn't forget that, obviously, since she was still visibly uncomfortable sitting near the amber-skinned girl. Which is why Sunset was stunned seeing Fluttershy suddenly offer her help after Gilda began bullying her.

"Uh, what?" Sunset uttered. Fluttershy bent down and picked up Sunset's books. After a moment's hesistation, Sunset took them from Fluttershy.

"Uh, thanks," Sunset said in a confused tone. Fluttershy looked as bashful as ever. "So, what's going on?" Sunset said, trying to make small talk.

"Well," Fluttershy said, still looking profoundly uncomfortable. Sunset wasn't sure if it was Fluttershy just being her shy self, or if Fluttershy was trying to work past her fear of Sunset. "I was wondering if...you want to come by the animal shelter today at 4 PM?" Sunset stood there stunned. She felt a mixture of emotions: confusion, sadness, and a little bit of guilt. But being in public, only one emotion came out that felt appropriate: honest joy.

"Sure, I'd like that," Sunset said gratefully. Fluttershy's shy face turned into a earnest smile.

"Great," Fluttershy said happily. The bell rung, scaring Fluttershy into letting out a startled squeak. "Got to get to class," Fluttershy said, running away. Sunset turned around and walked away with new resolve. Everyone else still gave her dirty looks, but the image of Fluttershy giving her an honest smile helped Sunset endure it.

Sunset poured some corn into the feed lot. Suddenly, the chickens in the enclosure began swarming the area, much to Sunset's amusement. The chickens were followed by the little baby chicks who were following their mothers around.

"Awww," Sunset said, watching the little yellow darlings peeping and wondering around.

"Aren't they cute?" Fluttershy cooed, walking up to Sunset and holding a bottle of water.

"I never imagined an animal shelter would have a petting zoo," Sunset said, looking at the adorable animals and the little kids petting them.

"It was Mrs. Tree Hugger's idea," Fluttershy said. "We would get more business by letting other people pet all the cute animals."

"What do you do in the winter time?" Sunset asked. She looked around and saw how the trees were almost all barren of their leaves. This meant winter time was just around the corner.

"Don't worry," Fluttershy said with the wave of her hand. "We have room indoors so these critters don't freeze."

"Fluttershy," a reedy but laid-back voice uttered. Fluttershy turned around and saw Tree Hugger approaching them. The normally calm woman looked a bit nervous.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy said.

"Roofie's acting up," Tree Hugger said. Fluttershy gasped.

"Who's Roofie," Sunset asked, but the question was ignored.

"Where is he?" Fluttershy said, sounding unusually serious.

"The lobby," Tree Hugger said. Fluttershy, looking unusually stern immediately ran insde, with Sunset following after her.

As soon as the got into the building, Sunset heard extremely loud barking. The source was immediate: the very large, very angry dog.

The dog was one of the biggest Sunset ever saw. It looked almost as large as a lion. And it was barking like crazy and looked ready to attack anyone. The employees and visitors here were all terrified of the vicious beast.

"Fluttershy," Sunset asked nervously. "Do we need to get a tranquilizer? Or a muzzle? Or-," Sunset paused as she saw Fluttershy directly approaching the enraged beast.

"Fluttershy," Sunset asked. "What are you-,"

"Aww, you poor little baby," Fluttershy said in a soothing tone, feeling no fear from the angry dog. The dog got even more defensive and furious as Fluttershy approached. "Don't worry, I'll make you feel better." The dog leaped to attack Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" Sunset said with a panic. But just as the dog leaped for Fluttershy, Fluttershy stepped out of the way and tickled the dog on the ears. The dog's rage abated for a bit, and it fell down in a docile form.

"There, there its OK." Fluttershy said. The dog let out a sad whimper. "Let's see what's wrong," Fluttershy felt behind the dog's neck. "Don't worry, this will only hurt a little." Fluttershy plucked a small spike collar out of the dog's neck and held it up for everybody to see. "See, one of the spike collars caught stuck in his neck. He'll be fine." The dog got up and gave Fluttershy a grateful lick for getting rid the source of its pain. Everyone in the room began applauding, while Sunset looked amazed.

"Fluttershy," Sunset said, walking over to help up her yellow-friend. "That was incredible. How did you know?" Fluttershy looked unusually wise, even as she smiled at Sunset.

"Sometimes, anger is just another way of saying your upset," Fluttershy said, her voice soft but not weak, petting the now calm dog. "Being kind is the best way to help people who are upset." Fluttershy got a leash and began calmly leading the dog back to its cage. Sunset looked at the yellow girl with a proud smile.

Interlude: A Date Across Worlds (Edited 07/21/20)

"Man, this is really good," Sunset Shimmer, said munching on her donut. The two were sitting in Canterlot Café, enjoying some freshly baked pastries. While Sunset still enjoyed Pinkie's pastries, the pink girl's was overtly sugary. The food here was more refined and sophisticated.

The clientele, with their odd fashion and somewhat haughty demeanors, seemed to be hipsters.

"This is artisanal bakery," Twinkle said with a smile, a plate of fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookies in front of him. "Everything is freshly made," he said, gesturing with his thumb to the bakers who were kneading the dough directly behind the glass near the register. "Even the flour is directly ordered fresh from the mill."

"Wow," Sunset said. "It is pretty delicious, but expensive," Sunset said, looking at the prices with astonishment.

"Well, its a good thing we live in the 1950s [1]," Twinkle said with a smirk. "In this day and age, the progressive thing to do is for the man and the woman to split the check. Or the woman should pay entirely."

"I'm seriously reconsidering not shooting you with the tranquilizer dart," Sunset said with a smirk on her own. Twinkle chuckled a bit at that. "Twinkle, thanks for taking me out."

"You've had a rough past few weeks," Twinkle said. "I figured you needed a break."

"It isn't like I had it coming for a really long time," Sunset said with a sigh.

"You really got to stop dumping on yourself," Twinkle said with some exasperation.

"I'm not trying to," Sunset said bitterly.

"Look, I want to tell you a story," Twinkle said with a reassuring smile. "To make you understand that you are far from the only one who's acted like a selfish idiot."

"OK."

"A year ago, I got my learner's permit to start driving," Twinkle said. "When you get your learner's permit, it means you can only drive when there's an adult present." He let out a smile. "My dad, who works for the army as a logistics manager, spent that year on the West Coast doing training missions. So it was my uncle Auger who taught me how to drive."

A 14 year old Twinkle struggled to control the wheel of the car he was anxiously driving through the parking lot.

"Easy, Twinkle," Auger said. He was a portly man with copper red skin and silver hair, "this is not a race. You just have to park the car."

Twinkle, with sweat pouring down his forehead, kept hitting the brake several times.

"Twinkle," Auger said patiently, "you can't keep hitting the brake."

"I'm scared of crashing," Twinkle said fearfully.

"OK look," Auger said with a sigh. "I'll tell you when you need to brake." Twinkle looked at his uncle with some trepidation. "Trust me," Auger said with a reassuring smile. With some renewed confidence, Twinkle began moving the car again. Instead of compulsively breaking, Twinkle moved at a calm, albeit slower pace with Uncle Auger's help. With a cathartic sigh, Twinkle successfully parked the car.

"See, you even got it between the lines," Auger said reassuringly, "you just need to keep a level head when you're at the wheel, and you can accomplish anything."

"Thanks Uncle Auger," Twinkle said.

"Your Uncle Auger seems like a cool guy," Sunset said.

"He could be too cool," Twinkle said with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the thing about Auger was this: he had a marriage with this really horrible woman who would humiliate him and throw things at him," Twinkle said. "The marriage ended when the women threatened him into taking her to dinner with a knife."

"Ouch," Sunset Shimmer with sympathy.

"My mom, who was his sister, let him live with us while he recovered from that horrible time," Twinkle said. "My mom figured he would be my parent while my Dad was out West. But he was a good guy, but...he kind of...spoiled me to make up for his loneliness."

"What are you guys going up?!" Yelled Rose as she saw Auger and Twinkle were downstairs watching a movie. "It is 10:50 PM! You need to be in bed Twinkle." She looked at the bowls of candy and popcorn. "And it's too late to have junk food."

"Loosen up mom," Twinkle said.

"Yeah loosen up mom," Auger said with a mocking smile.

"Bed," Rose yelled, pointing to the door that led to the stairs. Twinkle went upstairs with a sigh.

"Auger, I know you like being the cool uncle," Rose said with exasperation, "but you can't keep spoiling him."

"Let a kid have fun," Auger said.

"His father is a few thousand miles away," Rose said with consternation, "and you need to be that for him. Not be his best bud."

"Sometimes my uncle behaved like he was a college kid more than an adult" Twinkle said. "And because of that, I took advantage of his trust."

"How," Sunset asked.

"He worked as a plumber, and he had to do a plumbing job near the beach. He decided to take me for a practice drive along the beach." Twinkle let out a regretful frown. "This was when I was still on my permit, and I did something incredibly stupid."

"See you're making progress," Uncle Auger said as Twinkle pulled in next to a wooden building in the middle of Seaboard Beach. "You managed to drive along the scenic road." Once Twinkle parked the car, Auger got out of the passenger's seat carrying a tool set.

"Keep down the fort," Uncle Auger said. "I'll be back in a few."

"I will," Twinkle said. He sat in the passenger's seat for a few minutes until he heard a voice.

"Excusez-moi," a Champaignian voice said. Twinkle turned his head and saw a pearl white-skinned beauty with long light-pink hair in a bright pink one-piece swimsuit.

"I am, how you say, sorry to bother you," the girl said. "But can you, comment dit-,"

"Give you a ride," Twinkle said, his jaw almost hanging from his mouth.

"Yes, s'il vous plait," the girl said. "To ze...other side of the beach."

"Sure hop in," Twinkle said. The girl got in.

"Zank you," the Champagnian girl said. "I am Fleur."

"I'm Tinkle...I mean Twinkle," the red-skinned teenager said.

"You are a such beau mec," Fleur said with an appreciative smile.

"I don't know what that means," Twinkle said as he adjusted the manual transmission. His focus remained on the girl giving him a pretty smile, and he didn't pay attention to where he had moved it. "But I'm sure it was the prettiest thing I've ever heard." The girl let out a cute laugh that made the red-skinned teenager turn even more red.

"Anyways lets-," Twinkle put his foot on the gas, and before he realized it, his car rapidly went into reverse. Unable to maneuver, he backed into the locker room.

"I thought with my hormones not my brain," Twinkle said sheepishly. "And I ended up damaging a locker room, made my uncle lose my a lucrative contract, costed him thousands of dollars, nearly got myself and some poor girl killed, and got my uncle nearly kicked out of the house by my mom."

"Ouch," Sunset said with a wince.

"I was grounded for six months, and barred from learning how to drive nearly that time," Twinkle said simply. "I spent every weekend being my uncle's assistant during my punishment to make it up to him. I know what's it like to do something stupid and work hard to get back my family's trust."

"How's that the same?" Sunset asked. "That was one stupid, impulsive decision. I spent years hurting people."

"Do you think I deserve to be hated forever?" Twinkle said.

"No," Sunset.

"Then neither do you," Twinkle said. "I've done a lot of....idiotic things besides that," Twinkle said solemnly. "And if my teachers and parents treated me...the way I treated you, I'd have been kicked out of the house or kicked out of school a long time ago." Sunset still looked downcast. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. It really pissed me off to learn that this pretty girl from the school newspaper who pretended to be interested in my team turned out to be some creepy supervillain who sabotaged my team's hard work. But if I deserved forgiveness after doing the grunt work to make up for it, then so does that girl who worked nights lifting and moving heavy stones." Sunset let out an empathetic smile.

"Thanks," Sunset said with a warm smile. Her eyes widened. "Wait, you thought I was pretty?" Sunset said, a toothy smile forming on her face.

"I never said that," Twinkle said nervously, his already red face blushing.

"So you're saying I'm ugly," Sunset said dramatically.

"Oh please, that's not fair," Twinkle said with a mixture of exasperation and humor. "Anyways, it was wrong to prank you like that. And I should've been more grateful to you after you let yourself get dunked to pay.."

"Well you already made it up to me by standing up to Micro when you didn't have to," Sunset said. "And you also stood up for Quick." A grateful smile appeared on her face. "That was really sweet of you."

"I care about Quick," Twinkle said firmly. "The kid is like a little brother to me. Sprint and the rest of my team sees him the same way."

"I do to," Sunset said. "He's the only other person besides my current friends to be consistently nice to me since I got back."

"He did throw those balloons at you," Twinkle said sheepishly, "but mostly because we wanted to...indoctrinate him." Twinkle frowned shamefully.

"Don't worry," Sunset said. "I kind of did the same thing with Snips and Snails. I promised I'd make them popular if they did everything I said. And they always obeyed me."

"Were you going to give them power once you became this magical princess," Twinkle said jokingly, "or would you be like 'you are no longer useful to me', and drop them through some trapdoor or something?"

"You think I'd do that," Sunset said defensively.

"You were like some kind of supervillain," Twinkle said plainly. "That is part of the supervillain playbook."

"I imagined myself as an honorable supervillain," Sunset said. "No I was planning to make them a member of my court. Even the Demon was nice enough to give them some powers, instead of destroying them once she no longer needed them."

"So why did you stop hanging out with them?" Twinkle asked.

"Well, Luna told me not to," Sunset said. "But I realized...the two weren't really the friends I needed. I mean, they're loyal, but in the way that a robot is. They never question anything you say, and they never offer any differing opinion. I realize that being around them was preventing me from growing up." Her mouth set into a frown. "But Quick isn't like that. In a quiet way, he still tried to be nice to me while you guys were hurting me."

"Really," Twinkle said.

"Quick is a sweet guy," Sunset said with a small smile. She then frowned. "But...to tell you the truth... he seems to be...not all there. He's shy and stammering. Is there...something going on with him?"

"Look Quick isn't crazy," Twinkle said. "He's not dumb, he's really fast and really tough. But...he's had a hard life."

"Can you tell me more," Sunset said.

"I may have forgiven you, but I'm not close enough to share my friend's secret with you," Twinkle said with narrowed eyes.

"Fair enough," Sunset said. "But why would he tell you them?" Twinkle looked down shamefully. "Twinkle what's-,"

"Let's just say that Sprint and I haven't always been nice to Quick," Twinkle said with disgust. "When he came to the tryouts, we didn't always think the best of him."

"Are you maggots ready to train?!" Sprint said to prospective members of the track-team.

"Yeah!"

"Are you gonna work hard?!" Twinkle yelled.

"Yeah!"

"When we say jump, what will you ask?!" Sprint.

"How high!"

"Alright then," Sprint yelled. "Get your butts to the field!" The group of students ran to the field to start their warmups.

"Exc-c-cuse me," a voice stammered. The two captains of the track team watched some sweaty redhead dwarf with pale skin approach them.

"I'm Q-quick Pace. I-i-is this the tryouts," the kid stammered looking somewhat timid. The two athletes looked at each other, silently communicating an idea, before looking at the kid with fake smiles.

"Sorry," Twinkle said. "We're actually...uh...full."

"Full?"

"We have too many people trying out today," Sprint lied as well. "But we can have a special tryout for you Short Stack at...5PM tomorrow."

"O-o-K," Quick Pace said. "S-s-s you guys tomorrow." The diminutive kid walked away.

"S-s-see you...never," Twinkle said mockingly under his breath. He began laughing alongside Sprint.

"You sent him on a goose chase and made fun of his stammer?" Sunset asked with disbelief and a little anger.

"Like I said," Twinkle muttered regretfully. "You're not the only one who's acted like a jerk. But yeah, I did look down on Quick for his height and stammer."

"What made you change your mind."

"Quick told on us,"Twinkle said. "Mrs. Harshwhinny dragged us into a meeting with Quick's mom. His mom told us about what he went through...and how Quick really needed a friend." Twinkle looked sad remembering what he learned. "Sprint and I felt horrible for being such bastards, so we at least gave him a chance to tryout. He turned out to be like...lightning on his feet. So...we took him under our wing."

"Can you give me an idea of what you learned?" Sunset said.

"All I can tell you is that he has a tumultuous family history, he's been picked on a lot for being short, and he was badly bullied for being left-handed."

"What does being a lefty have to do with anything?" Sunset said.

"Well let me put it this way," Twinkle said. "You ever heard of the Ameliorist Brotherhood?"

"How could I not," Sunset said with a smile. "600 million people around the world follow it. All these politicians in North Terra ever talk about is living according to 'Ameliorist Values'."

"Yeah. I had to spend my childhood learning those values," Twinkle said with a sheepish smile. "My mom would drag me to Temple every Friday night. It was one of the most boring things ever. Anyways, in the Great Text, there is a book called "Regeneration." It talks about the great battle between Vida, the Creator God, and Mortem, the Destroyer God that the Great Text claims led to the creation of the universe. One verse goes like this: 'I will strike you down my left hand/ With this gesture, wickedness shall triumph.' "

"So?"

"Because of that one line, some Fundamentalists believe that left-handed people are born evil," Twinkle said scornfully, "and that being a lefty is a sign that you are possessed by Mortem."

"Really?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah," Twinkle said. "Quick had one of those people as his third grade teacher."

"Ouch," Sunset said.

"Ouch indeed," Twinkle said. "The woman kept berating him and calling him an abomination, and told him he had to write with his right hand or else he'd end up Down Below."

"Did he learn," Sunset said.

"Yes," Twinkle said with a frown. "But forcing a lefty to use their right hand is like mental torture, because your forcing them to act against their own brain when you do that. A lot of his stammer is because of that."

"That's horrible," Sunset said with sympathy.

"Yeah," Twinkle said.

"I kind of can relate to what he went through," Sunset said in a sad tone. "I know what its like to have a part of you suppressed."

"How do you mean?" Twinkle asked Sunset.

"You know about how I'm actually a unicorn, right?" Sunset said. Twinkle started to chuckle.

"What's so funny," Sunset asked.

"After you turned into a demon, I originally thought you came from some hardcore demon world," Twinkle said, "it was kind of funny to learn you came from some pony world my ten-year old sister might see in a little girl cartoon." Twinkle started to chuckle some more. "The idea of being conquered by a pony-," Twinkle began chuckling some more.

"Anyways, in my world, magic is everything," Sunset said. "We live it, breath it, and play with it. When you're a unicorn, that's even more true, since we can directly wield it with our horns. My magic potential is why I was selected to become a princess' student."

"Wow, that must've been a sweet gig," Twinkle said.

"Yeah," Sunset said. "But then I ended up here, and I suddenly had no magic."

"What was that like?"

"It felt like a...limb had been cut from my body," Sunset said, shaking a little, "but my brain didn't get the message. My instincts told me to use my magic, but then I remembered I couldn't do it. I was like a runner who lost his legs, but kept forgetting it went he went to bed, and discovered it by falling out of bed the next morning."

"Ouch," Twinkle said sympathetically.

"And...also," Sunset said sadly. "It felt like a huge part of my identity was gone. At home, I was somebody important. Here...I was just some random kid. I felt," her eyes watered for a second, "useless."

"Is that why you were always hurting everyone?" Twinkle asked empathetically. "Because you felt worthless and had this mental block in your brain? I mean, you said your plan was to weaken us emotionally, but were you also just taking out a lot of pain and frustration."

"I guess," Sunset said sadly.

"And was controlling everyone and winning all those crowns your attempt to feel important and strong to make up for your own feelings of inferiority."

"After ruining my own life...I guess to make myself feel better, I had to ruin everyone else's."

"Well that's over," Twinkle said with a kind smile. "You stop doing that, and you're choosing to move forward. And if you can do that, so can everyone else."

"Thanks," Sunset said.

"So what was this pony world like," Twinkle asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

After leaving the café, the two walked around a small park, while Sunset answered all of Twinkle's questions about Equestria.

"Out of all the things that stood out to you about Terra," Twinkle said, "what was the thing that stunned you the most?"

"The size," Sunset said.

"The size?"

"Terra Prime has 4.5 billion people. The United Provinces has 240 million people. In my world, the total number of sentients is 15 million. About 7 million are ponies. The rest are dragons, hippogriffs, centaurs, minotaurs, zebras, cows, and others."

"Wow," Twinkle said with amazement, "we really dwarf your world."

"Let me put it this way. This version of Canterlot has about 50,000 people here. By United Provinces standards, it is a pretty mid-size city. But in Equestria, it would be one of the top ten cities. Heck, your version of Manehatten has 6 million people. 80 percent of my whole species could fit into one North Terran city."

"Wow," Twinkle said. "I can see how that can blow your mind."

"Yeah," Sunset said.

"This is a bit of a silly question but did you ever consider conquering this world?" Twinkle asked.

"Yeah," Sunset said. "But I didn't have any magic, let alone a spell that could subjugate billions. And well..."

"What?"

"I kind of think you're world is.... kind of scary," Sunset said.

"How?"

"Well, it just there's so much death and destruction that has happened through Terra Prime's history." Sunset said with a frown.

"Um, your kind of one to talk," Twinkle said with a frown. "You were a supervillain."

"I know," Sunset said. "But here in this world, wars and atrocities happen in scales that a pony in Equestria can't imagine. The two Meridian Wars separately killed more people than there are ponies in Equestria."

"Yeah, I can see how shocking that is," Twinkle is.

"But it isn't just wars. It was also...genocide," Sunset said with a shiver.

"Genocide doesn't happen in your world?" Twinkle asked.

"No," Sunset said. "Wholescale destruction of groups has never been the goal of the most evil villains in Equestria's history. My demon self might murder rivals or torment prisoners, but she would never consider slaughtering whole groups of people for something as arbitrary as language or culture." She shivered. "The Genocide of the Yehuvian people was a horror story not even the most twisted pony could write."

"I still can't believe it either," Twinkle said sadly. "Millions of people slaughtered like they were insects. But things are better than they were."

"Can you really say that?" Sunset said. "Your world has been locked in a struggle with the Changeling Alliance for generations. And the UP government spends a lot of money in the military."

"Well, we have the right to defend ourselves against the Changelings."

"Yeah but why do so many people live and work for a place so horrible," Sunset said. "When I first came here, this world seemed like a science fiction utopia. Yet people waste knowledge and money to find ways to kill one another. They waste it to defend old grudges, to fight for deities that no one can prove are real, and to suppress and control others. Why though?" Sunset sat down tiredly.

"Well, let me put it this way," Twinkle said, sitting down next to Sunset. "Why are some kids bad?"

"Because they dream of conquest?" Sunset asked cheekily.

"In your case," Twinkle said ironically. "By why else."

"Because they have bad homes," Sunset said.

"Yes," Twinkle said. "You say that Terra Prime is some science fiction world. But for the vast majority of world history, human beings didn't have that abundance. We had to compete for our food with other animals. We didn't have Pegasi that could bring us rain, nor Earth ponies that could make the soil grow food. It was harder for us."

"I see your point."

"If you wanted food, you had to hunt to get it," Twinkle said. "Our cavemen ancestors had to fight to gain control over hunting grounds."

"But then you guys learned agriculture" Sunset said. "Why didn't things get better?"

"That wasn't always perfect," Twinkle said. "Things were good when weather was good. But if you were an ancient civilization, and you had a drought, you were done for. Remember, they didn't have pegasi that could bring them rain. You couldn't farm if there wasn't much rain. Would Equestria be as great for ponies if there was no magic? You became a jerk partly because you lost magic."

"Good point," Sunset said.

"Nowadays, food and other stuff are easier to get," Twinkle said. "Whenever there is a drought in Savannah, you can just bring in food aid from a place that has plenty of it. But that abundance hasn't erased our competitive instincts that precede our modern industrial society by millions of years. Nor has that abundance reached everybody."

"That is a good point," Sunset said. "But imagine what could humans do if they could live together in peace and harmony like ponies do."

"Do ponies really live in peace and harmony?" Twinkle asked Sunset with a smirk.

"Yeah," Sunset, even knowing the question might be loaded.

"You told me that ponies united because they needed to fend off these evil ice demons."

"Yeah the windigos," Sunset said. "Only by learning to live together in Harmony can ponies fend them off."

"Are they really learning to accept each other," Twinkle asked, "or are they being forced to tolerate one another or else face a frozen death?" The question gave Sunset pause.

"I never really...thought about it that way," Sunset said.

"Would the pony tribes ever have worked together if there were no windigos?" Twinkle asked. Sunset was more or less speechless. "This isn't a world where gods and spirits have guided us to make the right or wrong choices. Human beings didn't know the things we know now. When we couldn't find answers, we invented our own myths, and our competitive instincts made us fight over which was the correct myth."

"In other words," Sunset said. "This is a hard world."

"Yep," Twinkle said. "But things have gotten better over time. And I personally believe the people after us will live better." Sunset smiled at Twinkle's optimism.

"How do you know so much?" Sunset asked.

"I want to be a history teacher after I do the draft," Twinkle said.

"That's cool," Sunset said.

"I'm glad you think so," Twinkle said with some frustration. "My dad thinks I should stay in the military, like 'real men' do."

"Really?" Sunset said.

"Yeah," Twinkle said with a roll of his eyes.

"In my world, we celebrate when a pony discovers what they want to be," Sunset said.

"You mean the 'Cutie Mark' thing," Twinkle said.

"Yeah," Sunset said. "You're right that ponies may not be perfect and we have it easier. But nevertheless, we feel that you should be happy doing what you love, and you should celebrate someone's passion, no matter what it is. Don't listen to your dad. Do what you makes you happy." Twinkle gave a warm smile.

"See, you're not useless," Twinkle said.

"What?"

"You said you felt useless not having magic," Twinkle said, "but you just helped me. By giving me good advice. And you didn't need magic to do it. Even if you never use magic again, you'll still be perfect the way you are."

Sunset couldn't help but feel one of the happiest smiles form on her face.

"So how's Applejack," Twinkle said as he pulled into Sweet Apple Acres, steering with his left hand.

"She's finally doing chores," Sunset said sadly. "But she's like a robot, and hardly talks to anyone." The car stopped in front of the house.

"Don't worry," Twinkle said in a low quiet tone with pitiless eyes, "we'll catch the punk who did that to her. And when we do, he'll be lucky if Garda finds him first."

"Uh, you're grabbing my hand," Sunset said with a small smile. Twinkle noticed his right hand had unconsciously reached Sunset's.

"Sorry," Twinkle said with a blush, removing his hand.

"Don't worry about it," Sunset said with a wave.

Sunset got out of the car and went to the door, while Twinkle followed close behind.

"Thanks, I had a great time," Sunset said as she reached the door.

"Good enough not to tranquilize me," Twinkled said with a smirk.

"Almost," Sunset said with a faked sneer. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya," Twinkle said, watching Sunset as she entered the house.

"So how was yer date with your new beau," Granny asked Sunset with a smirk as she came into the living room

"Twinkle's just a friend," Sunset said.

"Friends don't usually escort a lady to the door to make sure she's safe," the green-woman mocked.

"Good night Granny," Sunset said, turning to walk up the stairs. As she walked up, she felt something she never felt before since she came here. It wasn't the joy she felt when Applejack became her friend. It wasn't the relief she felt when Apple Bloom finally forgave her.

Being with Twinkle made her feel something different. Something she never got from Flash. She felt...warm and fuzzy.

Sunset didn't know what it was, but she knew she didn't want it to go away.

Author's Note

[1] In my headcanon, EG has a different calendar then our own. The year for EG, when Twilight Sparkle came over, is 1957.