Expectations of Reality

Sunset sat in the back of the car with her bag, looking out the window at the passing streets and cars. Luna sat next to Celestia, fiddling with her phone and occasionally looking back at Sunset to make sure she was OK. Celestia kept her eyes on the road as the sound of Celestia's phone ringing filled the silence.

"Luna, could you answer that for me?" Celestia asked as she turned down another street. Luna nodded, leaning to space in between them to dig into Celestia's purse. It took her a moment but she finally pulled out a phone with a blue case and a sun on the back. Luna entered in Celestia's password that Sunset was surprised she even knew and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello? This is Luna Eclipse speaking." Luna said. Luna suddenly brightened up with a smile. "Crysalis? Hey! Oh, sure. Hold on, I will put you on speakerphone." Luna lightly placed down the phone, soon a woman's voice that Sunset never heard before began speaking.

"Thanks Lulu." The woman said before clearing her throat. "I assume Tia is driving?"

"Yes, I am." Celestia replied, keeping her eyes on the road. "Is there a problem? You usually don't call us this late unless something big has happened."

"Yeah. Something big happened alright. A couple of big things happened. For one, I had to learn that my son was stabbed from the hospital instead of my two friends! Explain to me why you didn't call me that one of my baby boys was STABBED!"

Luna and Celestia quickly shared a look of alarm and surprise.

"Stabbed? Which one of your boys was stabbed?" Luna asked with concern.

"The only one that goes to Canterlot High currently, knucklehead." Chrysalis snapped back. "Wait, do you guys not know? I thought it happened at school..."

"Of course we don't know!" Celestia said. "Is Arone alright? Is he going to make it?"

"Yes. They are putting him in a room now. He is pretty weak. I tried getting answers to what happened from his friends that brought him in but they aren't saying anything. All I know is that it either happened when school ended or sometimes an hour after it did. He should be fine physically. Emotionally I am not so sure." Chrysalis explained. "Which brings me to another problem. Do you know who Sunset Shimmer's parents are? You need to contact them."

Luna quickly gave a questioning look at Sunset before looking back at the phone.

"Um...No. I can't say I know them off the top of my head. Why?" Luna asked. Sunset relaxed, happy to know the sisters weren't going to reveal her current living situation.

"Bini Filters, one of Arone's friends who brought him in. You probably know her, she was talking with Sunset earlier today but fell asleep in Sunset's room. When Thorax found her, she started freaking out that the Sunset girl was gone and came to me with Thorax begging me to call you guys to contact her parents. Did she keep rambling about something like a broken mirror? I don't know. Doesn't matter. The point is, someone has got to tell her family."

"Um...We will handle it." Luna insisted. There was silence, then a sound of a long irritated sigh.

"You are hiding something from me, Lulu. Is Tia involved with this? If so I can get Discord to figure out what is up. Very bad idea to lie to one of your oldest friends and a very bad idea to hide information from one of your oldest lunatic friends."

"He isn't a lunatic," Celestia mumbled, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the wheel tighter. Luna used her hand to cover her mouth, trying to stop chuckling.

"Well you would know about that wouldn't you, sister?" Luna said, removing her hand to give her a cocky grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Celestia snapped back.

"He has asked you out five times!" Chrysalis said on the phone. "There must have been at least one time where you gave in. Come on! Tell us!"

"Shouldn't you be focusing on comforting your son, Arone?" Celestia snapped at the phone when they pulled into a quiet neighborhood. "My love life is-"

"Non-existent." Luna interrupted, making Celestia swat her on the back of the head.

Chrysalis started laughing when Luna yelped in pain and shot Celestia a death glare.

"Someone hit a nerve," Chrysalis said through chuckles as they pulled into a driveway of a modern-looking house. Sunset gazed up at the modest house. It wasn't much. It could certainly use a new paint job. Sunset looked towards the sisters. Not sure whether or not to trust them.

"No." The demon echoed in her mind. "They are trying to get on your good side to use your magic. Just like the Princess. The Principal won't be any different. She is her counterpart after all."

"OK. Discord is our friend and he works at the school! I am not going to date someone who I...Luna...What's that look for?" Celestia stared back at her sister, who was raising her eyebrow, trying to stop smiling.

"So you have thought about it? That's the message I am getting here." Luna teased.

"LUNA!" Celestia started blushing and looked away in embarrassment. Sunset rolled her eyes and looked out the window to watch the street. Not that anything was really happening out there anyway since it was so late. "Quit it!"

"Guys, as much as I would like to stay and grill Celestia about her tragic love life or lack of any, to be honest, I have to go comfort my boys. The nurse just came to tell me they got Arone in a room. I will call the school tomorrow to give him a few days off but his friends seem pretty eager to get back to school. They are literally discussing homework assignments right now as we speak."

"Right, of course. Give our best wishes to your family and his friends, alright Chrissy?" Celestia said as she turned off the car and grabbed her purse and keys, followed by Luna picking up her own purse and Celestia's phone.

"I will be sure to do that. Right after I grill him on how the hell he got stabbed in the first place." Crysalis replied with restrained anger. "Bye."

The call ended and the sisters relaxed before Celestia turned to give Sunset a weak smile.

"Sorry, about that, Sunset. Come on. We have a spare room. Let's get you into bed for the night. You probably really need the sleep." She said. Sunset mutely nodded. She silently got out of the car with the sisters and started to follow them to the dark house. Why would they be so nice to her, she wondered.

She hated to think it but there was a chance she was being used. She couldn't ignore that valid fact just because she hated who suggested it. It was a valid point. She had to keep her guard up no matter what.

---Chapter Twelve---