Expectations of Reality

Celestia yawned as she shut off her computer. Having been able to finally complete the last of her work. The construction company agreed to start working tomorrow and accepting the help of Snips, Snails, and Sunset Shimmer for two hours a day.

She rubbed her eyes. Hearing the sound of Luna locking up her office before knocking on Celestia's door. She cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

"Come." She said. Luna entered with a tired smile.

"Hey, Tia. Ready to go home?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded and slowly got up from her desk. Taking a moment to stretch before she grabbed her light yellow trench coat from behind her chair.

"Yes. Lulu. Construction crews should be able to start fixing the doors tomorrow and then work extra time during the weekends." Celestia relayed. "Do you still want dinner? I know it's pretty late but I forgot to do groceries on Saturday."

Luna nodded as she put on her own coat, holding her purse close.

"Sounds good. Maybe I can even get you to pl-"

Celestia held up her hand to silence Luna before she could continue.

"Don't even start with that, Luna." Celestia said with a chuckle as she met Luna at the door. She flicked off the lights to her office. They continued to talk as they closed up the main office then entered the main foyer. Their footsteps echoed across the floor as they walked through the broken main doors, inhaling the cold air when they started to head towards the facility parking lot.

"You would not believe who I caug-" Luna started to explain when Celestia grabbed her sister's arm and pointed towards the Wondercolt's statue. They both saw a familiar girl sitting at the base with some sort of book in front of her. Her body shook from crying.

"Luna, does that look like...Sunset Shimmer?"

They started to head towards the statue with growing concern.

"I thought you took her to the hospital, Tia!" Luna said as her voice grew in panic when the moonlight hit a sharp object in her hand as she raised it up to her throat.

"Oh, dear faust, I did! Run, LUNA!" Celestia ordered. Luna broke into a full-on sprint, followed by a slower Celestia. Sunset raised her chin to press the glass against her throat.

"Sunset, STOP!" Luna yelled, she tackled Sunset making the glass slip from her hands and clatter to the pavement. Luna held her to the ground as Celestia picked up the glass, making her hand get cut in the process. She hissed in pain as her blood dripped onto the book in front of Sunset.

"I am not going to let you kill yourself, Shimmer!" Luna yelled as Sunset struggled to get away from her.

"Let me go! Leave me alone!" Sunset yelled out. Luna grunted as Sunset tried to use her upper body strength to push Luna off of her. "I should be dead! I should have died years ago!"

"She has a death wish!" Luna yelled at Celestia, who nodded, trying to hold back tears as she looked at the glass in her hands. "Sunset, stop struggling! Please stop!"

Sunset grunted as she slowly began to stop resisting. Celestia closed up Sunset's journal, then packed it into her bag. Luna looked over to her older sister with questions and many many concerns.

"S-Sunset..." Celestia stammered. She knelt on one knee to look down at the poor girl, who had tears going down her cheeks. "Sunset, it's going to be OK..."

"NO!" Sunset screamed. "No! I am so tired! I am just so tired. I just want to sleep forever. Why is that so hard for people to accept?"

"I know everything seems a bit down..." Luna said, getting a look from Sunset and Celestia. "OK, it is very bad but it couldn't get worse."

"It almost just did." Celestia pointed out with a raised eyebrow to her sister before she turned back to Sunset, who was still being held down by Luna. "You are coming with us, Sunset. We can't let you live on the streets, especially in your condition."

"I don't need any help! I am fine!" Sunset growled through gritted teeth as she clawed at Luna's arms. "I have been living alone since I got into this world. I don't need help now!"

"You are suicidal! I am pretty sure that qualifies as you needing HELP!" Luna argued back. Sunset groaned as she finally relaxed against the ground. Knowing that the battle was over. Luna and Celestia won. Sunset Shimmer lost. Celestia put Sunset's belongings in her bag before picking it up.

"Are you ready to come with us, Sunset? We promise you will have your own room, good food, warmth. Just please try to trust us." Celestia pleaded. Sunset looked at them with an uneasy expression, then slowly nodded as some tears went down her cheeks.

"Alright." She whispered. "Alright, I...I will accept."

Luna slowly got off Sunset, making sure to watch Sunset's every move. Celestia helped her up, she realized that Sunset wasn't making eye contact with her. She decided it was her embarrassment of the situation. She handed Sunset her bag and then gestured towards the lone car in the facility parking lot.

"Our car is over there. Come. Let's go. This may a school neighborhood but it can be dangerous at night." Luna warned.

"Hey! Hey, Filters! Wake up!"

Bini groaned as she felt her shoulder being shaken. "Come on! Wake up already!"

Her eyes fluttered open to see Arone's brother Thorax staring down at her in wide eyes. She screamed in alarm, making Thorax jump back making him stumble into an empty medical bed.

"Bini, what the hell?" He yelled. Bini clutched her chest and took in deep breathes.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Bini said before her eyes started dropping again. "Why are you so bright?"

Thorax took a moment to looked at himself. He was wearing bright green and yellow clothes with a pair of fake orange horns on his head and a glowstick attached to a string around his neck.

"Um...I might have been at a rave party with Pharynx when we got the call from mom to meet her at the hospital." Thorax admitted with a blush. Bini raised an eyebrow towards him as she shifted in her seat to be more comfortable, then she gestured to the horns.

"What's with the horns?" She asked. Thorax cleared his throat and leaned against the empty bed, running a hand through his orange and black hair that he recently dyed.

"Pharynx got me them at the party. He said they would look cool." Thorax revealed before looking around the empty room. "Why are you in here anyway?"

"I was sitting with a fr-" Bini paused when she realized that Sunset was gone. She slowly got up and looked around the room. There was no evidence that Sunset was there other than a discarded IV at the bathroom door, a messy bed and...Bini slowly approached the bathroom to make sure Sunset wasn't in there, being closely followed by Thorax out of curiosity.

She pushed open the door to see a smashed mirror, glass laid scattered around the small space with a few droplets of blood. Bini and Thorax gasped. Bini honestly didn't think her day could get any worse but damn, she was wrong for the second time in a matter of hours about something of great importance.

"What happened?" Thorax thought out loud as they couldn't seem to take their eyes off of the mess. Bini gulped and looked back at Arone's brother with wide eyes.

"Sunset Shimmer was here...I don't know who her family is but...Arone once mentioned that your mom has Principal Celestia's number right?" Bini asked. Thorax nodded.

"Yeah. They have been friends since high school. Or course she has her number. Why?"

"Well we need to tell someone that Sunset is missing, don't we? Why not tell the Principal of the damn school Sunset and I go to? She might have a way of contacting Sunset's family to let them know."

"Right, right. I will go get my Mom." Thorax said before running off to find his mother Chrysalis. Bini groaned and leaned against the door frame, staring at the droplets of blood on the floor. Praying to a God, she didn't believe that Sunset Shimmer was OK.

---End of Chapter Eleven---