Anon a miss: family love

Celestia noticed that Sunset was shaking like a leaf, so she tried to reassure her.

"Sunset, I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at myself for allowing you to get to this point. I'm more concerned about your well-being. Are these scars from-?" Celestia cut herself off, already knowing that answer so focused on more pressing matters. "The scars on your back are heavily bruised, and you have a small cut on your back. They look like they might become infected. How much pain are you experiencing on level of one ten?" Celestia asked as she placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder with a look of concern.

Sunset noticed blood flowing down her arm. Thankfully, the bleeding wasn't heavy enough, which Sunset knew was from the cold, to catch Celestia's attention just yet, but Sunset was becoming nervous. Sunset noticed that Celestia was starting to look towards her arms and was worried she would see the cut and made a subtle attempt to hide her arms. She slowly tried to hide the cuts on her arms by hiding them on the side of her legs, but Celestia noticed the movement.

"Sunset show me your arms please," Celestia said seriously.

"I-I can't," said Sunset looking down. She gripped her legs in absolute terror, her knuckles turning white from the force she was holding her legs. If it wasn't for her pants, she did not doubt that she would've broken through her skin.

"Sunset, I won't hurt you. I promise I just want to help you," Celestia said softly.

"N-no no," Sunset trembled. She could feel the cold and biting spikes of a panic attack. Her breath hitched when she felt a hand on her knees.

"Sunset, whatever it is your finding on your arms, it will never change the way I see you. You will still be the same girl that ranks levels above your peers. The same girl that nearly has a 4.0 in all of her honor classes. I need you to calm down and show me your arms. Please? I just want to help you. Will you let me?"

Sunset's eyes were locked on Celestia's hand, with one thought on her mind. When was the last time anyone really cared, as Celestia seems to? Sunset couldn't remember the last time any adult figure seemed to care about her generally. Sunset thought that Princess Celestia loved her or at least cared for her. But she was so easily replaced twice, once by Cadence and once by Twilight. That was when she knew that Celestia never cared for her. Princess Celestia only thought of her as her pawn. No, that couldn't be right. That was old Sunset talking. Old Sunset was just an ungrateful brat that betrayed Princess Celestia when she didn't get what she wanted. She was the one in the wrong. As she looked between Celestia's hand and pleading face, Sunset couldn't help but feel like she owed Celestia for putting up with her for so long. She took a deep breath before she slowly unclasped her hands from her legs. A sigh escaped her as she realized she was holding her breath before slowly showing her arms to Celestia.

When Celestia saw the cuts, she brought Sunset's arms closer to inspect her injuries. Blood dripped down her arm from the multiple lacerations spread throughout her arms. Thinking quickly, she reached under her seat and took out a first aid kit. First, Celestia took out gauze pads and bandages. Next, she pulled out a cloth and reached into a backpack with rubbing alcohol. She soaked the cloth and gently but firmly began to clean Sunset's cuts. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed the gauze pad and antibacterial cream and put them on the cuts since they were the deepest of the cuts on Sunset.

"Sunset, I know this past month has been difficult. However, I can't help but notice that there are older cuts that have already healed. How long have you been cutting?" asked Celestia worried, when Sunset answered her with silence, she moved onto her next question. "These ones look fresh. When did you do this?"

"In the park before you and the vice-principal Luna arrived," Sunset spoke quietly as tears collected and silently dripped down her face.

"Sunset do you have a social security or any ID on you so I can take you to the hospital?" asked Celestia, as her worry increased, she was just a high school principal. She only knew the basics of first aid. Unfortunately, Sunset needed more than basic first aid that she could provide.

"No, why? Sunset responded as she could clearly hear the concern the worry in Celestia's voice, trembling. That was one of the benefits of living with Princess Celestia. She could read her more basic emotions.

"I can't take you to a hospital to get these checked without one. They would discover that you're on your own, and that would cause them to dig into your past, and they could find that you're not from this world. That's a risk I don't want to take, so I'm going to take you to a family doctor to have your arms checked. While you there, we'll see if you have any other injuries that I cant spot, okay?"

"Yes, Celestia," Sunset sighed. She was fine. The cuts weren't even that bad compared to past ones. There was just more this time, making them more noticeable.

Celestia helped Sunset put on her shirt, being careful of her back and injuries on her arm. Celestia glanced over at Sunset as she pointedly looked out the window. Celestia could tell that she was less than pleased about all the "fuss," as she would've put it. Celestia could also tell just how tired Sunset was from the way she leaned against the frosted window of her car. Celestia let out a sigh before she put the car in drive before heading to the private clinic.

After 20 minutes in the car, they arrived at the clinic. Celestia quickly parked the car before walking around to get the car door for Sunset. She reached in and grabbed her car once Sunset got out of the car and the two entered the clinic. As Celestia spoke with the receptionist, Sunset sat in the waiting room and carefully leafed through the magazines on the table. Minutes later, Celestia sat next to her.

"It's only going to be a few minutes before Doctor KindHeart can see us," she informed before seeing Sunset nervous "are you feeling better?"
Celestia asked Sunset.

"Yea, I guess. But how come you want to help me?" Sunset asked, genuinely confused as to why someone wanted to help her. It seemed that everyone she got close to was hurt in some way. Having Celestia wanting to help was confusing Sunset more than she would like to admit.

"Sunset, you are one of my students, meaning that even if you were the Sunset before the Fall Formal or even at the Fall Formal, I would do the same thing if I found out you were in this level of distress. One that I appreciate very much, and I want to help you, will you let me?" Celestia asked kindly.

"You already are, aren't you? I suppose I should thank you for wanting to help me, huh," Sunset smiled as small tears gathered in her eyes.

"You do not have to thank. I'll always be there for you. Speaking of you need someone to watch over you. I want to be that person, and which is why I want you to come live with me. Though if you're going to live with me, I ask that you call me by my name, not Principal or Miss, please," said Celestia kindly.

Sunset nodded and was about to say something when she was interrupted by a voice over the PA system.

"For Sunset Shimmer," called a speaker.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" asked Celestia

"Yes, please," Sunset said shyly. Sunset was starting to realize that Principal Celestia was not like the Princess at all. Where the Princess was stricter and at times very stoic and would only show emotion in private. Principal Celestia was kinder, more gentle, openly compassionate to everyone she met.

When Sunset walked into the office with Celestia, the doctor ran some blood tests. Once she was finished with that, the doctor began asking her questions on all the basic information.

"Sunset's age?" Dr. Kindheart asks.

"I just turned fifteen," Sunset replied.

"Do you do any sports?" Asked the doctor

"She's on the school volleyball team, plays middle blocker, I believe," Celestia replied.

"Do you drink alcohol, like wine or beer?" Dr. Kindheart asked as she types away on the computer.

"Sometimes, the lady next door gives me some as a gift for my parents. I only have some when it's too much, you know," said Sunset lowering his head.

"Well, there won't be any more of that for at least six years, young lady," Celestia replied in a firm yet gentle tone.

Sunset nodded as she played with her fingers. She continued to answer questions on her basic health and other questions. Once the doctor was finished with the question, she was quiet for a few moments as she looked over the data and continued typing in some fields. She then stood up and checked the eyes and ears. Once completed, she stepped back towards the computer before she turned around and asked Celestia to leave so she could finish her checkup on Sunset.

Celestia had nothing better to do in the waiting room, so she ultimately decided to call Luna. She paced as the phones dialed the number and began to ring after what felt like ages but was in reality only one fifteen seconds she heard the typical greeting from Luna.

"Yeah, was up? Did Sunset get home safely? Did you talk to her parents? How is Sunset? Luna asked.

"Hello, Luna. I'm at the family clinic. Oh, Luna, she was riddled with injuries, some on her back and self-inflicted cuts along her arms. All this time, she has been living on her own. So I talked it over with her, and she will live with me."

"And her parents, why aren't they take care of her?" Asked Luna.

"Her parents both in her world and in this one died. I'll be looking into their death once Sunset feels comfortable enough to give me their names. I'm just happy I found out at least now she does not have this alone," Celestia sighed.

"Well, at least she has you. You alright if I will swing by your house later," Luna said, worried about Sunset.

"At what time?? Celestia asked .

"How about seven or eight, and I'm right in the middle of things, and it sounds like you have everything under control on your end, like always," Luna said.

"Don't stay up too late, goodbye Lu, I'll see you later," Celestia said.

"Bye, Tia," said Luna before the line cut dead.

It wasn't that long until the doctor came out and informed Celestia of some exams and small surgery that Sunset would have for her cuts. Sunset was given anesthetics before the doctor and nurses cleaned her arms and gave her the tetanus shot before her back and arms were bandaged before holding her for observation for thirty minutes.

After the exams, the doctor called Celestia.

"How are the results, Dr. Kind?" Celestia asked the woman when she left Sunset's room.

"Well, they are not as bad as we feared, given her condition. She is extremely malnourished, which is why we think it has taken her back so long to heal, though, with proper care and nutrients, it should heal nicely. She will need to be extra careful with her wrist will need care. She cannot hold heavy things for at least two weeks and make sure she doesn't move them around too much. I'm concerned with stitches popping. They will at the least take two weeks before the stitches can be removed, though, given her current state, I would like to keep them on for longer, but that up to her. Ultimately it's up to her so long as the cuts have closed, thankfully there will be no long-lasting injury," Dr. Kind explained in as much detail as possible.

"Can I go in to see her? Celestia asked.

"Yes, that won't be a problem; both of you can leave in about an hour once we're finished with observation," Dr. Kind nodded as she wrote something on her notepad.

Celestia entered Sunset's room and saw the girl sleeping. Though considering the stressful day she probably endured, it was a given that she would be exhausted. After thirty minutes, Sunset began to stir.

"Celestia? Wha- Oh, that's right. Umm, how did the tests go?" Asked Sunset.

"You're malnourished, they bandaged your wrists and back, but I'll help you along the road to recovery, I promise," Celestia said with a motherly smile as she stroked Sunset's hair.

"Are you going to go?" Sunset asked. She didn't want to be alone right now.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to stay here until you're cleared to go. I can take you home in half an hour." Celestia said as she gave Sunset's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you," said Sunset quietly

"Now I'll be back, Sunset. I need to make a call. Should take too long, and I'll be back," Celestia smiled at her.

"Okay," Sunset nodded.

Celestia smiled at her before she left the room. After dialing the number, Celestia waited before a formal voice answered the phone.

"Hello, Chrysalis speaking."

"Hi Chrys, how are you?" Celestia answered.

"Hello, Celestia. I am doing good, and you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, Chrys; I need a favor. Can you help me out?"

"If it is within my power to do so, yes. What do you need?"

"Can you do some adoption papers for me, please?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, but for whom?"

"Well, you see, one of my students is living alone in a dilapidated building that looks like it was one brick from collapsing. Well, I got her out of there, but she doesn't have any legal guardians. So I'm taking her in so that I can help her out in her time of need, but she doesn't have papers."

"It's okay, Celi. I'll see what I can do. Don't worry. See ya," Chrysalis said before she hung up abruptly.

"See you later," Celestia said quietly to herself as she pocketed her phone and reentering Sunset's room.

Celestia reentered Sunset's room to see her playing on her phone.

"Interesting game?" Celestia asked in a soft tone.

"Just puzzle game," Sunset smiled

"Well, Dr. kind will be discharging you soon," Celestia smiled as she sat down next to Sunset.

They didn't have to wait long before Dr. Kind discharged Sunset. Repeating everything, she told Celestia to Sunset before she wished them safety on their travels. Celestia helped Sunset in the car and head home. It was 7:00 p.m. when they arrived at Celestia's house. The house was located in a condominium that looked like it belonged to a millionaire. It was large, with two floors with a large entrance and a yellow gate to enter the house.

"You live here?!? Sunset asked surprised

Celestia smiled at her, "It's not just my house. If your living here, that means this is your home too. Do you like it?

Sunset nodded, "It looks amazing."

Celestia helped Sunset bring Ray inside, where she placed Ray's enclosure on her coffee table.

"Let me show you around the house," Celestia said as she closed the door and began to show her the house. "Here is the living room and this bird Philomena in the cage. She is my parrot and one of my oldest friends," said Celestia pointing to the bird in a steel cage. "This is the kitchen. You can eat and drink anything but alcohol. You are still underage, and in this world, it is illegal for you to drink it. The bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left. The door to the right is the library inside the library. I have a study. You can enter to study or when you need me to help you do your homework."

Sunset nodded. As Celestia continued to give her a tour, Sunset began to feel a warmth in her heart that she hadn't felt before. Unannounced to her that warmth was the warmth of a family. One that she had forgotten a long time ago.

Celestia then took Sunset upstairs and gave her the tour of the floor.

"Over here is a bathroom. Next to it is your room which is connected to my room," Celestia said as she gestured to the closed door. "It used to be Luna's room before she moved out and bought her own place. Maybe she'll take you to it one day. I think you'll like it. It's far more modern with all the fancy gizmos and such. I prefer the more classic look, oh the stories these walls could tell if only they could speak. Oh, there I go again, remember if you need my help at night, you can always knock on my door. Everything in the house is open to you. All I ask is that you respect my privacy. So please don't go into my room without me being there, understand?"
Sunset nodded.

Celestia walked to the nearest door to the bathroom before swinging open another door, "Good. Now, this is your room. Sunset, you can decorate it however you like." the room was blue with basic furniture, a bed, a closet, a nightstand, and a dresser.

"Thank you, Celestia," Sunset replied as she walked over to the bed.

"You're most welcome. Now, you get comfortable while I get the rest of your things. I'll throw some of your clothes in the laundry, so you have warm and clean clothes. In the meantime, while we wait for your clothes to get clean. You can borrow some of my old clothes. They might be a little big, but they're clean," Celestia went to her room and opened the drawer where she had clothes; she took out an orange long-sleeved shirt, red pants, and a blue jacket. She folded it and threw it over her shoulder before she came out of it with her clothes to Sunset's room and passed it to her.

"Thanks," Sunset smiled softly.

"You're welcome. How about I'll go downstairs to make you something to eat? Oh, and Luna will be coming over to have dinner with us, but that isn't until seven."

"Okay... Does she knows I'm staying with you?!?" Sunset asked as panic set in.

"Yes, everything will be fine, don't worry, you'll be fine," Celestia reassured Sunset as the panic slowly left her body.

Sunset slowly calmed down as exhaustion set in before she nodded at Celestia. Once Celestia was sure Sunset wouldn't have a panic attack, she left to make dinner. When Celestia left, Sunset changed her clothes. After she changed her clothes, she started checking the messages she had.
One was from Rainbow Dash saying that she should have stayed in that crater the night of the Fall Formal and that she was a useless friend for betraying their trust like that.

Seeing the message caused Sunset to have tears overflow, and she hugged a pillow for any type of emotional support. Celestia went downstairs and noticed that down there was ray with her house, Celestia smiled at the lizard before taking the house and taking him up to Sunset's room.

"Sunset, here is Ray I forgot we left him downstairs," Celestia opened the door and saw Sunset crying. " Sunset, honey, what's wrong?" Celestia asked as she sat on the bed and brought the girl's head closer to her chest

"Nothing, just a message that I didn't like. That's all," Sunset sobbed.

"Sunset could you show me the message, please?" Celestia worried about Sunset, and whatever someone sent her must have said something awful for her to get this upset.

Sunset silently passed the cell phone to Celestia. Celestia's face became devoid of emotion as she read the message. Various thoughts raced through her head about what to do with Rainbow Dash, but she would have to focus on that later. She had more important matters to take care of than an arrogant student. Celestia placed the phone face down before she hugged Sunset and helped her calm down while the poor girl kept crying.

"Sunset, honey, everything will be fine. I'll take care of you, and above all, I will protect you, okay? Don't let them get to you. You know you are innocent, and you know me and Luna believe you, and that's all that matters. I will always be here for you, 'kay?" Celestia smiled gently at her.

"Yes, Celestia," Sunset cried on Celestia's shoulder as Celestia caressed Sunset's hair. It only took a moment before she calmed down enough for Celestia to take her downstairs to the kitchen, leaving the phone behind on the floor. Celestia put the TV on, and they sat on the couch waiting for Luna. Celestia popped a bag of popcorn as they watched a show about archeology.

"Sunset, you're a vegetarian, right?" Celestia asked gently.

"Yes, but I eat chicken and fish. They're pretty good," Sunset said with an embarrassed expression.

"Perfect, I already have something planned that I think will be to your liking," Celestia said as she hugged Sunset before standing up to prepare dinner. It was five minutes from eight when Luna showed up.

"Hi Sunset, how are you?" Luna saluted as she approached the girl.

"Hi vice-principal-" Sunset said before Luna interrupted her.

"Sunset, just call me Luna outside of school, please," Luna smiled at Sunset.

"Okay, Luna," Sunset smiled back.

Celestia set the table and served the food

"What are we eating, Tia?" Luna asked.

"Tonight's dinner is Teryaki chicken with stir fry," Celestia replied smugly.

"I hate when you rub that in. It was one time, sister! One time," Luna said as she stomped off to the kitchen.

A questioning look from Sunset had Celestia chuckling. "When Luna wanted to move out, I was worried she wouldn't look after herself. To prove she could, she tried to cook some ramen. Ironically, she got distracted when one of her guild members DMed her about a rare loot drop that was happening. So she rushed off to secure it. Unfortunately, she forgot about dinner and began looting runs with her friends. That is when I came home to a smoking pot. The pot was on the stove for so long that the water evaporated, causing the pot to weld itself to my stove. The noodles she stuck in before rushing off were nothing but a black and charred puck stuck to the bottom of the pan. I had to replace both my stove and a pan that day. I was so angry with her, but looking back on it, I can't help but tease her about it."

Sunset and Luna helped Celestia set the table. Every time Sunset looked at Luna, it was hard to contain her laughs, especially when Luna found out Celestia told the story. With a less than pleased Luna, they all sat down to eat. The meal had Sunset twisting in her seat and happily wolfing down the food. Once they were finished with the meal, Luna washed the dishes as Celestia helped Sunset bring the dishes to Luna and put away the food. Afterward, the trio sat in the living room and began to watch a movie about a girl that could turn into a cat.

Around ten o'clock, Sunset had just about enough for the day. She could barely keep her eyes open, and so she stood up and said goodbye to Luna. Then, she made her way to her room with Celestia behind her. Celestia helped her get her pajamas on and helped her to bed. As she did, Celestia hummed a lullaby her mother would sing to her as she moved around inside the room. When she went to wish Sunset a good night's sleep, she saw Sunset had already passed out. Smiling softly, she kissed her on the forehead when she saw Sunset sleeping. She carefully opened the door to the hall and gently closed it behind her. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief before she made her way downstairs.

"How is Sunset? Luna asked, her previous mood being replaced with a serious one.

"She's in a lot of pain, mentally, physically, and emotionally. She cannot hold anything in her arms more than two pounds," Celestia sat on the sofa next to Luna.

"That must be tough for her. Fortunately, she has you in this moment of need," Luna with a slight smile.

"I'm just happy I can be there for her. I love her, Luna. She's like the daughter I never had. I asked Chrysalis to do adoption papers. I plan to adopt Sunset," Celestia smiled softly at her sister.

"That's wonderful news," Luna smiled back.

The two talked a little more as she relayed the information that Dr. Kind gave her before talking about steps to take at school to help her. After the talk, Luna went home, and Celestia went upstairs. As she passed the girl's room, she peeked in to see how Sunset was adjusting. She opened the door and smiled as she looked at the girl. Sunset was in her bed, sleeping peacefully with a small smile pulling at her lips. Celestia smiled at the girl before she closed the door and went to her room. When she entered her room, she got ready for bed and lay down before falling into a dreamless sleep.

At Luna's house.

Luna arrived at her apartment. She left her keys hanging and sat on the couch to play video games. After a while, she began to get ready for bed, but she stopped as she dialed Chrysalis' number.

"Hi Chrys, how are you??" Luna asked as soon as Chrysalis answered.

"Good love, I miss you, but I have a lot of work. So I won't be home until after 3 a.m.

"Don't worry, babe. I understand. I love you. Take care of yourself, yea? I'll see you tomorrow before I go to work. Are you are doing the adoption papers for Tia, right?" Luna asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I'm working on them right now. I love you, Lu. Good night," Chrysalis said softly.

"Good night," Luna said goodbye to Chrys before she hung up to go to sleep.

At Apple Bloom's house.

"Scootaloo, how is the plan going? If we continue like this, we will get our sisters back in no time," Sweetie said happily.

"Hey Sweetie, how's the plan going so far, Bloom?" Scootaloo smiled at her.

"Well, as you can see, all the students haven't said anything about Anon-a-miss. They are too busy taking it out on Sunset. It's perfect with them so focused on making Sunset suffer it makes it super easy to get dirt on them and keep it hidden from the teachers. Not even Principal Celestia or Vice-Principal Luna know about it. And with her track record, Ah doubt they would believe Sunset even if she does tell them. A pity our sisters abandoned her like that, huh? Ah do hate that we had to hurt them, but it will be worth it. She shoulda never tried to steal our sisters like that," Apple bloom smiled.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Scootaloo asked

"Tomorrow, we do the same thing. We post more secrets on mystable for everyone to see. It's going to be great," Apple bloom said.

"Yea, let's do it," Scootaloo smiled.

The trio set their alarms and settled down to go to sleep.

At flash sentry's house

Flash threw a bouncy ball at his wall and caught it before repeating the action. His mind was stuck in the times when Sunset was the queen bee of the school.

"Sunset can't be anon a miss even when she was an awful and selfish person. She never went this far," Flash thought aloud.

"Even after everything, I still feel a spark, it's small, but I don't think I'll get a chance with Twilight. Maybe she still feels the spark too?" Flash reflected.

"When she was a bully, it was to keep herself safe to keep others at arm's length from her. But I don't think it's that anymore, or at least it doesn't feel like that. I'll find her tomorrow. I will tell her that I love her and that I want her to get back together with me. I've seen how others treat her, and it is not fair. she deserves to be happy too, and even though I'm not a "prince charming," that doesn't mean that I can't save a girl who needs me."

Flash grabbed his guitar and started playing and writing a song about Sunset to sing to her on Friday after school. After working through a few lines and a melody, Flash put his guitar on the stand and got ready for bed. Before he closed his eyes, he made a promise.

"Don't worry, Sunset. I will be there for you. I will protect you, and I will be there for you. I promise I will be a rock for you to cling to in the rough waters that are to come."