"Friendship carries on through the ages," The Rainbooms sang. They were doing their usual practice in Applejack's garage, albeit with greater intensity and focus then they had in the past.
"I think that was more amazing than the last time!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I think it's getting late," Applejack said, watching as the sun began to set, "Maybe we should call it a day."
Twilight looked anxious. "I think we should give it a few more tries." Everyone let out an annoyed groan.
"But I'm tired!" Pinkie Pie said in a small daze. "Pinkie needs her sleepy."
"But guys, we need to do this right until we get it per-,"
"Please don't say that!" Sunset uttered forcefully. "I was stuck in a time loop because of two idiots who wanted to get things perfect!" She shuddered, still haunted by the fact that she lived the same day over and over again.
"Twilight's right, Darlings," Rarity said with a stern tone. "This isn't us doing some local concert or music video. We're gonna be performing in front of 60,000 people."
"To think, we'll be doing the opening show for Whinneypeg University's football team!" Rainbow said with her trademark excitement.
"Yeah," Fluttershy said with a forceful smile and an uneasy tone, "singing where...everyone...can watch us...yay?"
"Look, if we want to make a career out of this one day," Rarity said sternly, "then we have to get it right. What happens next week, good or bad, could define us professionally and publicly. Better safe then sorry, am I right?"
"I guess a few more hours of practice couldn't hurt," Sunset said with a happy shrug.
"I could so mah chores tomorrow," Applejack agreed.
"Alright then," Twilight said, "if that's settled...from the top!"
Rarity let out a joyful squeal as they entered their hotel room. The other Rainbooms showed the same awe, albeit in a more composed way, seeing as Whinnypeg University spared no expense in paying for their lodging.
"I still can't believe we got a penthouse at Royal Inn!" Rarity shrieked happily as she dropped her massive suitcase on the floor and took one of the rooms.
"The bed," Rainbow Dash said, knocking her shoes away before lying down in luxurious silk bed. "It's like sleeping on a cloud," Rainbow said dreamily.
"The robes!" Rarity said wistfully, rubbing one of the complimentary bathrobes that hung near the bathroom door on her cheek. "Silk is simply...divine."
"The view!" Twilight said as she wondered over to one of the windows and observed how high up they were. "We can observe the curvature of the planet from up here."
"The snacks!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, opening the minibar, eager to try the delicious goodies that laid inside.
"That costs extra," Applejack said with a stern glare, slamming the small fridge shut.
"Aww," Pinkie groaned.
Fluttershy looked a bit guilty. "Maybe we're asking them for way too much."
"Fluttershy, learn to live a little," Rainbow Dash groused, rising from her nap to look her yellow friend with a stern gaze. "They offered us all expenses paid for, like, a week. Not a whole year."
"Rainbow's right," Sunset said with a happy smile. "We worked hard to get here, and we're not gonna let anything stop us from having fun."
"Except maybe some weird magical thing," Rainbow said with a giddy smile. Everyone turned to glare at Rainbow, silently warning her not to repeat her behavior on the cruise. "Sorry, too soon?" The Rainbooms continued to glare at her. "I'll be quiet now."
"Besides, even if we did face something like that, we'll beat it like we always do," Twilight said happily. "Nothing's been able to stop us."
"Not sirens," Pinkie counting off using her fingers, "not demons, not meanie principals, not crazy camp counselors who transformed into evil lettuce maidens, not-,"
Someone knocked on the door.
Sunset approached the door, being the one closest to it. "I'll get that." Sunset opened the door and found herself face to face with a police officer. He wore a red uniform and flashed him her badge.
"Are you Sunset Shimmer?" The man asked her with a stern voice.
"Yes."
The man's expression became even more stern and distrusting. "Are you really Sunset Shimmer?" Sunset felt a chill go down her spine at the way he emphasized her name.
"Sunset," Rainbow called out, "who's-," Rainbow began panicking when she saw the police officer. "Officer, I swear the handicapped spot was-," Rainbow was muffled by Applejack's hand.
"Officer what seems to be the problem?" Rarity asked the Whinneypeg police officer in a polite tone,
"Did you create a credit card account under the name 'Sunset Shimmer' around September 3 of last year."
"Yes."
"I'm going to have to ask Ms. Shimmer to come down with me to the station."
Everyone looked at the police officer with terror and fear, while Sunset felt her skin go pale and her blood turn cold. She knew someday she might have to answer to a human authority for the bad things she did. It was a fear that dogged her during her first few months in the human world, until she accepted they had no understanding of magic and thus wouldn't be able to figure out her motives. It also dogged her first few months after the Fall Formal, when she dreaded being detained by a human government.
But the fact that she long dreaded this scenario didn't make it any less terrifying when it came true. "What...for?" Sunset chocked out, her mind going blank out of an inability to comprehend her situation. Some of her friends turned toward her with a mixture of pity and concern.
"Ms. Shimmer I swear this is not an arrest," the officer said, his voice softening, "I just wanted to ask you some questions about an identity fraud that...you find yourself at the center of."
Sunset was escorted to a police station in downtown Whinneypeg, her face twisted into serious thought.
She wasn't being arrested for her brief stint as a murderous she-demon, as she originally feared. In the eyes of the public, she had been only guilty of causing a gas leak that blew up a chunk of the school. Because Celestia and Luna went along with that explanation, that meant she only got a vandalism charge on her record, plus a whole boatload of community service. But still, she imagined some government body learning the truth and coming to interrogate and/or dissect her.
She also imagined being arrested for her past as a bully. Aside from the usual mean girl antics, she and Snips and Snails did things drifted into the illegal territory, like blackmail, invasion of privacy, and illegal surveillance. If she wasn't a minor, she wouldn't gotten a few years in jail for those stunts.
To say she was being brought in for identity fraud left her deeply confused. She hadn't created credit cards or written checks under an assumed name (not out of morality or inability, but because she had brought enough gold coins and gems to prevent her from sinking to theft and fraud). She had lived by the name she had been given since birth: Sunset Shimmer.
The officer told her to wait and sit down near some plastic chair for a few moments.
With a bored sigh, Sunset sat down on a plastic chair and started web-surfing on her phone. After a few minutes of rumination, Sunset heard footsteps coming her direction. She saw the officer who had brought her and some middle aged man coming toward her.
The man had bright orange hair that was given a crew cut, yellow skin, and blue eyes. He was dressed in a yellow dress shirt, orange pants, and brown leather shoes. They all looked so familiar to Sunset. But what stunned the former unicorn was how the man seemed to glare at her the second he laid eyes on her.
"Who are you?" The man asked with a severe tone.
Sunset looked confused. "Sunset Shimmer?" The officer and the yellow man's expressions became even more suspicious.
"identity theft is a serious charge," the man said. "You may be a minor, but it still won't look good on your record, so advise you to drop the charade unless you want to be punished more severely."
Sunset looked even more confusion. "Charade? What charade?"
"Why don't you tell us?" a female voice asked with more than a bit of menace in her tone. Sunset barely noticed someone behind the tall man, but her hackles grew as she realized the girl's voice sounded uncomfortably familiar. The girl walked out from behind yellow skinned man and-
Sunset felt the world slow down as a wheezy gasp erupted from her throat.
"I'd love to know what's going on," Sunset Shimmer growled. "I would also love to know why you decided to steal my life!"
