A time of joy, that's what this time of year was supposed to be. That's not what Sunset Shimmer felt when she was framed, and lost her family. She wasn't the only victim however, friendships were torn to pieces, fights broke out, and people were...scared. Who was to blame for all this chaos? One name popped into people's heads. Sunset Shimmer.
Why wouldn't it be her? She's done it before, so why not? There wasn't much proof it was her, but her supposed friends still pointed their fingers at her. They left her behind without a second thought, no doubts. They said they would protect her.
'We trusted you Sunset!'
Sunset fought down tears as she made her way to Sugarcube Corner, a place she was always welcome to, and felt loved. That was no longer the case, it was made clear to Sunset that she was no longer welcome anywhere near her friends, or that she was no longer wanted. Principal Celestia, had taken Sunset into her own welcoming hands, had not believed her.
She couldn't blame her went she sent Luna to go check her phone though, she did torment Celestia's school for three years. Once she reached the door of the bakery, Sunset intended to erase any doubt that she was Anon-A-Miss, that she was innocent. In Sunset's hands, was the journal she used to communicate to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Twilight had sent a message to Sunset, and it fueled any confidence that Sunset may have had left to go confront the girls.
Sunset pushed the door open, a small little bell rang, and swayed back and forth. Large snowflakes outside plummeted down from the sky. The wind was blowing harshly, but Sunset didn't seem to notice as she walked inside the establishment.
Sunset looked around the café, and saw five familiar faces. Each of them sharing faces of disgust and anger. Sunset turned on her heel to face them, and opened her mouth to speak.
Applejack however, beat her to it. "Yer' not welcome here Sunset!" she snapped at Sunset, causing her to flinch.
"Wait, girls, please," She pleaded them to listen. "Let me prove to you that I am innocent." Sunset said as she held out the journal towards them.
"We already know you are Anon-A-Miss Sunset, so why don't you just get out." Rainbow Dash growled as she moved to stand next to Applejack.
Sunset ignored the warning. "Just look, I have been writing to Twilight about all of thi-"
Sunset didn't get to finish, as she felt where something had connected with her cheek. She was now on the floor, a mark forming on her face where she had just been punched by Rainbow Dash. The journal she was trying to show them fell down to the floor with a loud 'thump'.
"You've been lying to Twilight too!?" Rainbow yelled as she tried to strike Sunset again, only to be held back by Applejack and Rarity.
Sunset stumbled back on to her feet, and looked at Rainbow Dash in shock, and fear. She wasn't the only one who was shocked though. From the table, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy shared the same look of shock and fear.
Rarity was the only one who could speak up. "I think it would be best if you leave, Sunset." She said quietly.
Sunset only stood there, trying not to let her jaw drop. After all they had been through, they wouldn't even let her prove herself. Sunset did not like to lose, but this time, Anon-A-Miss was winning. No, she was going to let Anon-A-Miss get what they wanted. Sunset was going to leave, for a long time. She didn't care for anyone at the moment, not Celestia, not Twilight, and not her friends".
"Fine," She huffed, betrayal evident in her voice. "I'll be gone for awhile, if that's what you want."
Sunset, pushed open the doors of the café, and ran down the sidewalk, leaving the journal communicator behind. She ran and did not stop, no one would stop her. The weather was still ghastly outside, and the wind was blowing in her face, biting against her wet cheeks. But still, she never stopped running, only did she stop to catch her breath.
Finally, after what seemed like forever to Sunset, she paused, and nearly collapsed on a nearby building. She wasn't cold though, the anger of betrayal keeping a fire well lit inside of her. She checked the watch that Principal Celestia had passed down to her, it had been an hour since she ran away from Sugarcube Corner. She felt a tinge of guilt looking at the watch, Celestia was probably worried.
'Would they worry though?' She thought to herself. They all had doubted her, if not accused her of being this cyber-bully. Her guilt changed back to anger at the thought, anger towards all CHS.
Only then did Sunset start to feel the cold snow falling down on her body, piling on top of her. She was in a sitting position, her head buried in her knees.
'Bzzzzzt'
'Bzzzzzt'
Something was buzzing in Sunset's leather coat pocket. She pulled out her vibrating phone and stared at the screen. There, was her adopted mother's face, a green answer button and a red decline button on either side of her picture. Sunset's thumb hovered over the answer button, but decided to let it stop itself. She moved to put it back in her pocket, only to receive another call, this one from her Aunt Luna.
Frustrated, Sunset threw the smartphone to the empty street. She closed her eyes, and became lost in thought. Her caretakers were looking for her, but Sunset was not going to let them find her. She was angry. She didn't know how she could hide from them, but she would find a way. As she began to think of ways to get away from everyone, a truck pulled up beside her.
The driver of the truck rolled down their window, and just stared at the amber-skinned girl. After a few moments, she decided to speak up, "Hey! Uh... Miss, are you alright?"
Sunset opened her eyes and snapped her head up, surprised. The woman was now out of her car, standing in front of Sunset. Her dirty-blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, tan skin, blue eyes, combat boots, and a brown leather jacket. She looked older than Sunset, and more worn.
"Far from alright..." Sunset muttered in response. Looking back down at her feet, the woman stared confused.
"Well, I'm not sure what to do here kid," She sighed. "Either I take you home, or I can call the authorities."
Sunset stood up, glaring up at the taller woman. "No! Wait, please, don't call anyone!" Sunset snapped back, worry rising inside of her.
The lady raised a brow in suspicion, and stared Sunset in the eyes. As much as Sunset wanted to look away from the gaze, she couldn't pull away. Her eyes looked into Sunset's soul, like they were looking for something. After one full minute of awkward staring the woman pulled away and walked to her truck.
"Look kid, I don't know what you're doing, but you're going to freeze out here." She paused, and opened the passenger door. "So, if you want, come home with me, or I call the cops."
Sunset looked at the truck, and the woman looked at her expectantly. "How can I trust you? I don't even know your name."
The woman groaned childishly. "My name is Ray Woodlands, Command Sergeant, what's yours?" Ray answered.
Sunset blinked. "Sunset, Sunset Shimmer.... I'm not in the military?"
Ray chuckled. "I was in the military, now, it's cold outside, do you want a ride or not?"
Sunset looked at the truck, and back at Ray. This could be her chance to get away from Canterlot, away from Celestia, away from the Rainbooms. "Fine."
She made her way to the passenger seat, and luckily for her, the car was warm. Ray closed the door behind Sunset, and climbed into the driver's seat. As both doors were shut closed, Ray reached up and turned on the car light, and stared at Sunset.
The older woman shuffled around and dug in her coat pocket. "So, Sunset do you want to tell me why you threw this?" Ray said as she pulled Sunset's phone out of her leather coat pocket. "And were sitting alone, in the cold?."
Sunset's eyes widened as Ray held her phone. She made an attempt to grab it from her, but Ray pulled away quickly. Seeing that she wasn't going to get it back until she explained, she grumbled, "It's a long story."
"Well Sunny, it's going to be a long ride, and I have hot cocoa, so get to explainin'."
Sunset sighed, and Ray moved the truck into drive, and began to talk and explain everything.
One Hour Later, at Sugarcube Corner
Five teenage girls sat around the table after Sunset had left. Still in shock, and anger. Shocked, because Rainbow Dash had punched Sunset, which they were fairly upset about. And angry that Sunset for not admitting she was Anon-A-Miss. Lying to Twilight, and reverting back to her old ways.
"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I can't believe her!"
Rarity huffed. "I can't believe you punched her in the face, there was no need to stoop down to her level." She said in disbelief. "Though I do agree with you."
"Well I just thought she needed to be taught a lesson." Rainbow Dash growled.
The girls continued with their normal talk and gossip after cooling down and having another round of cocoa, and their conversations faded into joked and laughter. Forgotten, on the floor was Sunset Shimmer's leather bound book, with her split sun cutie-mark on the cover. They hadn't even spared a glance at it after Sunset left.
The Rainbooms started gathering their things, Fluttershy's phone rang. Quickly shushing her friends, she answered the call.
"Hello?" She answered, in her usual soft voice.
"Fluttershy? This is Principal Celestia. Have you seen Sunset at all? She was supposed to be home an hour and a half ago." Celestia's voice was void of her usual calm tone. Fluttershy clicked the speaker button.
"Well...um...she was here about a hour or so ago."
Fluttershy heard Celestia sigh in relief over the phone. "Where did she go after that?"
Fluttershy grimaced, and answered. "She said..she would be gone for awhile.."
There was a pause. "What?!" Panic evident in Celestia's voice. Fluttershy gave concerned looks to all her friends, they returned the concerned glance. "Okay, thank you Fluttershy, I need to go look for her." Before the line clicked off, she head Celestia yell to Luna to start the car.
Silence filled the Sweet Shoppe, before Pinkie spoke up. "Should we be worried?" she asked quietly. Rainbow Dash walked to the abandoned leather book on the floor. As she flipped through the pages, her eyes widened.
"Guys, something is telling me we really fuc-" Rainbow Dash began, only to be interrupted by the store door slamming open.
Three small middle-schoolers in the door's place. "It was us!" They synchronized. "We're Anon-A-Miss!"
"So now that you know I'm..not really from here, and why I almost froze to death." Sunset finished with a huff.
"Won't your guardians be worried?" Ray asked, receiving a shrug from Sunset.
"I don't know, maybe.." Sunset looked away, wondering what Celestia was thinking, a pit of guilt forming in her stomach. "But I am done with being doubted all the time, I was considering moving far away from here but..."
Ray's eyes widened. "You want me to hide you away from your parents, and the cops? You know how illegal that is, right?" she said incredulously.
"I know, but you live really far away, and in the Everfree!" Sunset shot back.
"Fine, esta no es una buena idea.." Ray sighed. "Let's set some ground rules."
End Prologue
Author's Note
OKAY! Don't yell at me. Too many stories at the same time. Buuuut to be fair, I already have most of this story written down on paper, so it's just a typing game from here on out.
I will keep uploading chapters to "Hero from Tartarus", don't worry. I plan on making chapters for this story every week too.
OH By the way, here is a sneak peak, and a look at Ray Woodlands! Drawn by me.
Peace,
Solly
