Upon Rarity’s return to the clinic, she heard the commotion of her Alpha (whom she did NOT have a silly “hot for teacher” crush on no matter what Rainbow Dash said) and paused outside the door to arrange her clothing and check her hair. ‘Betas don’t have the abilities of Alphas to own the room,’ her mental version of her mother quoted, ‘One must look their best if one cannot project it the way Alphas do.’ Taking a breath, she put her hand on the push bar and paused, her eyes catching on something out of the corner of her eye. A shoe print, sneakers (though she wasn’t sure of the brand), made with the trailed blood from the Alpha fight. Eyebrows pinched together, not sure why that caught her eye among all the rest of the blood trails on the floor, she pushed the door open and entered the room she had left Sunset.

She was beset by a cacophony of noise. The groans and screams of pain from the challenging Alpha as Redheart treated him mixed with the roaring and snarling of the pack’s two leaders in another bay. Rarity had grown most of her life in Celestia’s territory, so the overwhelming presence of twinned dominance from the principal and her sister was not unknown to her. That said, she still hustled through the common space to the bay she had left Sunset it, her instincts driving her to move as quietly as possible.

“Sunset,” she murmured at the privacy divider, “I have your backpack, I’m going to just…” As she opened the screen enough to see to the examination bed, she saw it was vacant. An empty pit of fear had already started to form in her stomach with the presence of multiple Alphas in close proximity and already highly agitated, it now yawned wide enough to swallow her whole as she took in the empty bay.

Her mind finally connected what had bothered her about the bloody shoeprint outside the clinic, it was sized for a minor and pointed away from the clinic doors. “Oh no…” escaped her lips before she could catch it.

She suddenly felt like the entire planet was suddenly standing behind her and watching her every twitch, and a deep, bass rumble shook her to her toes. She already knew what she’d find when she turned around, and sure enough, there stood Principal Celestia. As tall as the Alpha was, she seemed to fill the small space completely. Intellectually, Rarity knew her perceptions were being altered by the absolute flood of adrenaline being trapped in a small room with an apex predator produced, but at that moment her lizard brain was telling her prefrontal cortex to kindly fuck the hell off.

“Where,” growled the Pack Alpha, “Is Sunset?”

To Rarity’s credit, she did not evacuate her bladder or her bowels in that moment. Certainly, nobody in that room would have held it against her, but she was extremely pleased that she managed to hold her composure together well enough to simply stand there stuttering rather than any of the far less…decorous responses she could have engaged in. “I…I d-d-don’t kn…know…”

Rarity was saved from a response when Vice Principal Luna’s fist slammed into Celestia’s chin, removing the Alpha’s focus from her and drawing it to the pack’s (unofficial) enforcer. “Sister! Your student…Rarity?” the question was directed at her, and she nodded meekly, “Rarity did NOT abduct your cub, but if you stop frightening the giblets out of her might actually be able to give us more information.”

Chastened, Celestia re-oriented herself and sat on the lip of Redheart’s desk, eyes still a fury red, and nodded as she gingerly touched a knuckle to her now bleeding lip. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, Rarity. And Luna, your right hook is improving, you nearly knocked me out with that.”

Luna just snorted in amused exasperation and put her body between Celestia and Rarity, allowing the girl to recollect enough of her wits to be able to actually respond when the Vice Principal asked, “That’s Sunset’s bag, do you know where she might be?”

“She…she was supposed to be here,” she gestured at the empty bay, “She had some sort of panic attack, I think, while we were watching the fight and Ms. Cheerilee had me bring her here. I left her to get her pack and was going to bring it to your office when I realized you wouldn’t be there for a bit and Sunset would probably need some company, so I came here instead.” It didn’t escape Rarity’s notice that Celestia’s eyes fluttered closed and one hand went to her temple as she took in her student’s explanation. She wasn’t sure exactly what the principal was thinking, but if rumor was at all accurate, Celestia had pretty much adopted Sunset and there were some unusual (possibly abusive and/or neglectful) things going on with the Alpha girl’s previous pack, and Celestia’s protective instincts were well known throughout the Canterlot High pack lands. She hurriedly continued, “But I think I can find her! Or rather, I know where to start looking, and if I have permission, I’ll get Applejack and Fluttershy’s help; Applejack is the best tracker on the Hunting Team and Fluttershy is very well known for calming Alphas.”

It was to Rarity’s great relief that she saw some of the tension drain from Celestia. Luna nodded in agreement. “Yes, good, plus you’re all her friends, she’ll trust you…I think. Do you know what classes they’re in now?” Rarity nodded, “Excellent. If any teacher tries to stop you, direct them to Raven.” Rarity nodded, clutching Sunset’s pack firmly as she hurried from the room. They would need it to track Sunset’s scent.

When they found her, Sunset was crying into the cement.

When Rarity retrieved the two Alphas that had joined her in volunteering to help Sunset integrate into the pack, Rainbow Dash had been in Applejack’s Geography class and refused to remain behind while they looked. Rather than argue, Rarity took the liberty of extending Vice-principal Luna’s mandate to Sunset’s other pack members. Somehow Pinkie wound up with them, Rarity had learned better by now than to ask how that had come to pass.

When they were unable to get a response from Sunset other than the girl curling into an even tighter ball of emotionally expressive Alpha, Fluttershy set about checking her wounds and Applejack ordered Rainbow to get help. Rarity had quickly amended the order to seek out Luna, specifically, and to NOT tell Sunset’s condition in front of Celestia. Rarity didn’t inquire how Dash had managed to achieve her directives, but by the time Fluttershy determined that there was little outward damage beyond a split lip, the Vice-principal was there and picking up Sunset in a cradle-hold.

On their way to the clinic, little was said, even Pinkie was subdued as they made their way through the halls, still empty thanks to class still being in session. The quiet was broken only once when Rainbow leaned close to Applejack, “You scent it, too?”

Applejack didn’t turn to look away from the hall in front of her, nor did her extremely cross expression change at all as she replied, “Gilda? Yeah, she didn’t exactly try to hide her scent.”

“We gonna do something about it?” Rainbow Dash cracked her knuckles expressively.

Before Applejack could reply, Luna spoke up without turning her head, “’We’ are doing nothing. Leave Gilda to me, clearly the previous discipline wasn’t enough of a message.”

That matter having been apparently settled, they were quiet the rest of the way until entering the clinic, their entrance being met with Celestia’s extremely distressed, “Sunset!” The elder Alpha swooped in and lifted the girl from Luna’s arms and almost ran into one of the bays, the privacy screen snapping in place. Rarity noted it was the same bay she had deposited Sunset in, rather than whatever bay Celestia had been ensconced in before.

Fluttershy had gone directly to Nurse Redheart and began reporting the results of her examination. Having spent a good amount of time with the Alpha girl, she knew that Fluttershy had occasionally volunteered to help in the clinic, as well as in the game field to tend to the animals kept there. It made some sense in hindsight that she’d be able to act as a first responder.

Redheart nodded at the delivered information, “All right, glove up, I want you helping with this. You might be the only member of the pack that has a chance of handling Celestia outside her sister, and Luna’s a little too ‘physical assault’ happy for this kind of situation.”

“Hey!” objected Luna.

Redheart ignored her and yanked off the gloves she had been wearing with a ‘snap’ and tossed them into the nearby biologicals bin. She said a brief thanks to Fluttershy as she took a replacement pair that wasn’t covered with another Alpha’s blood. She started tunelessly humming as she tugged on the new gloves and then picked up a clipboard and pen. She double-checked the forms on it hadn’t been used on another patient before handing the clipboard and pen to Fluttershy, then she grabbed a magazine as she walked over to the bay the principal had absconded Sunset off to. Still humming, she rolled up the magazine with her hands as she bumped open the privacy screen with her hip, Fluttershy following her dutifully. Neither the beta nor the younger Alpha flinched at the nearly roared growl that their entrance prompted. The privacy screen swung closed with a ‘snipt’ and a moment later a hollow, ‘THWOK’ was heard from inside the bay. “Knock it off, you big idiot!”

“Ow!” a much more ‘human’ sounding Celestia blurted.

“You’re scaring Sunset, now let me in to examine her.”

This was met with a much more subdued growl, followed by another ‘THWOK.’

“Hey!” Celestia almost sounded whiny, “Stop hitting me with a rolled-up magazine! It’s demeaning!”

“Stop me yourself, princess, you’ll either have to let go of Sunset to take the magazine from me or you’ll let me in to examine her. Either way, I win.”

Pinkie was doing her best to keep her snickering as quiet as possible and Rainbow was grinning wryly and almost staring at Rarity.

“What?!” whispered Rarity harshly.

“Schoolgirl’s teacher-crush gets disciplined in the nurse’s office? I think I…”

Rarity was nearly volcanic now, “Rainbow Dash, if you even THINK about finishing that sentence, I will find a way to END you!”

They both stilled as they heard a throat cleared with a distinct grade of authority, “I think that, for everyone’s sake here, Rarity’s request that you not complete your thought aloud be followed.”

“Ah, right, VP. Sorry.” Rainbow Dash blushed and seemed to shrink in on herself.

Luna gently placed an arm over Dash’s shoulders, “I will not say it’s okay, just remember to be more circumspect. I remember being young and impulsive, too.” The young omega relaxed into the physical contact.

Rarity also cleared her throat, “Ma’am, what happens now? I know you advised us you’d be disciplining Gilda, but what about Sunset? She seems more…traumatized than I would have expected. How can we help?”

To Rarity’s surprise, it was Applejack that spoke next, doffing her omnipresent hat and scratching at the back of her neck with the other. “Bein’ honest, ma’am, I think we all feel a little guilty here, we went and offered t’be Sunset’s pack, and here we are in the infirmary with that same pack member need’n patching up. Feels like we aughta be doin’ somethin’ ‘sides just sittin’ around and twiddlin’ our thumbs.”

Rarity may not have interacted with Applejack much before they wound up in the same basket of helping Sunset, but pretty much the whole school knew her ‘country’ dialect started coming out strongly when she was feeling particularly emotional, and it was very strong now. “Perhaps if, once Nurse Redheart clears her for it, she could join the pack during morning runs? I only participate to keep up my figure, of course,” she waved dismissively, “But I know for Alphas and omegas it’s considered vital for their wellbeing and sense of belonging.”

Luna grinned knowingly at Rarity, “I think you do it for similar reasons, Miss Belle, I’ve led the morning runs often enough to see how much you’ve come to rely on them, too.” The vice-principal thought for a moment, “I believe you’re on the right track, though the runs might be a bit too far out if she’s not cleared right away by Redheart.”

A pink hand shot up, connected to an equally pink girl with cotton-candy hair, “Oooh, ooh! Pick me! I have an idea!”

Luna tried to surreptitiously roll her eyes, though if she caught the action, Pinkie didn’t say anything, “Yes, Miss Pie?”

“We could have a party!” Luna’s eyebrows practically skyrocketed, and Dash clapped her palm to her face. Pinkie rushed to continue, “Skeptical Luna is Skeptical; hear me out. So she needs social contact, right? And as soon as possible? What’s the one thing all Alpha’s need after a fight?” At the confused expressions around her, she replied in a, ‘duh, it’s so obvious’ tone, “Sleep! Lots and lots of rest. Lots of slumber, one might say. And what goes well with anything? A party, of course!”

Rarity felt a bit of consternation that it actually took more than a moment for her to connect the dots Pinkie Pie was laying out, and Luna seemed to be taking the same amount of time to come to the realization. The vice-principal’s eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, “You…want to have a slumber party?”

“Ding-ding-ding!” exclaimed Pinkie, “You got it!”

Celestia was so completely focused on Sunset and Redheart’s care thereof that she was intellectually aware that there was a conversation outside the privacy gate, but no understanding of what was being discussed. As her Alpha receded and her less feral mind once again took control, she also was devoting no small amount of her mental processes to analyzing her own behavior.

Luna and Redheart had been right; she was being ‘mom’ to this alien cub. Awareness of her years on the other side of the portal be damned, in every way that mattered in this world, Sunset was a child. She was unfamiliar with how the world worked, unsure of her own body, and probably felt more alien than ever after witnessing the Alpha challenge unprepared. She was reminded of a book series by an author, a Trottingham gentleman who served in The Holocaust War on the Allied side, who wrote about a group of siblings that went through a magical portal and lived a whole life on the other side, only to return and become children again. She had originally read that story as a child, herself, and had often wondered through the years what it must have been like for those characters, to be adults in one moment than a child all over again the next.

I suppose I have my answer…’be careful what you wish for,’ as they say… Sunset had almost not moved since Celestia had scooped her up and pulled her into the darkened medical bay. She was curled tightly, eyes closed against the world outside her head. She was responsive, though, when Redheart asked a question about her condition she would nod or shake her head in clear comprehension. She allowed the nurse to open her eyes and mouth for examination and showed awareness of the world around her.

Any attempt to get her to talk to Celestia, however, was met with a cringing, followed by a renewal of tears. What most greatly concerned her was what she scented from Sunset, or more accurately, her lack of understanding of what she sensed.

Shame.

It was practically dripping from the young Alpha, a disappointment in herself so profound that Celestia could practically taste it in the air. “Sunset,” she began quietly when Redheart had finished her preliminary exam, “Are…are you disappointed you didn’t do better in your fight with…” she paused and sniffed the air, only not rolling her eyes thanks to her concern for the girl in her arms outweighing her exasperation with her recalcitrant student, “Gilda?”

Sunset’s eyes squeezed tighter and she shook her head almost violently back and forth. Celestia repressed a sigh of frustration and cast her gaze around the room, as though something there could identify the source of Sunset’s anguish. “Are you…ashamed of being afraid? I…I’m sorry if I did a poor job of preparing you for what you saw…”

Some of Sunset’s tension eased and she was still for a moment, but shook her head again, though less forcefully this time.

Celestia bit her bottom lip absently, then turned to Redheart, who had been patiently waiting. “Can you please clear the clinic? I think Sunset might need privacy for this.”

Redheart nodded silently (for once) and gestured to Fluttershy to follow. Fluttershy paused briefly to reach out to Sunset and gently squeeze the other girl’s arm. Sunset’s eyes opened finally, her tears reflecting the light from the doorway as she cast a beseeching look to the pink-haired Alpha. Fluttershy merely gave a small smile, “It’s going to be okay. You’re afraid of what’s inside you, but you have the best…” Fluttershy flicked her eyes up to Celestia, then back down to Sunset meaningfully, “…mentor…” the word was said with special emphasis, and if Celestia though her hearing was bad she would have questioned whether she actually heard ‘mother,’ “…a girl could ask for.” With that enigmatic reassurance, she left to help Redheart clear the clinic.

It took some time, the challenger Alpha (Celestia never did get his name) being bodily dragged out on Redheart’s orders taking up the bulk of it, but soon Celestia and Sunset were the only two beings in the infirmary.

Celestia stayed quiet for a while, opening her mouth twice to continue her questioning, but closing it again as she realized she didn’t really know what to ask.

Finally, she simply asked, “Sunset…my little cub, why are you ashamed?”

Sunset’s face twisted up in some sort of emotional agony as she gasped out a renewed sob. As much as Celestia knew about running a pack, she was somewhat lost with dealing with this sort of thing. She loved teaching, certainly, and as the undisputed most powerful Alpha in the region she had her pick of jobs, and being the head of a school made the most sense with her educational background, but she’d never had to fill the role of ‘mother’ so completely as she was finding she needed to do with Sunset. She fell back on her usual; she let Sunset cry.

Several false starts later, Sunset finally gained enough control of her diaphragm to blurt out, “I’m so stupid!” Her bunched fists scrubbed at her eyes, and she dug her fingers through her hair, leaving them there as though to block out the world with her forearms. “’Oh, look, there goes Celestia’s favorite little pony, such a good student even the princess agrees she’s the smartest pony in all Equestria and beyond!’ Soooo fucking smart! Smart ponies learn from their mistakes! Smart ponies don’t do the same dumb things over and over again!” Celestia was about to ask what that all meant, but Sunset continued unprompted after a few choked sobs, “Celestia says, ‘go make friends!’ I say, ‘noooo, friends are stupid, I’m gonna study, ‘cause a fuckin’ book can find you when you’re beat up by a bully. Celestia says, ‘You should ask that filly out instead of just pining, I saw her at a function the other day, I could probably introduce you,’ I say, ‘What? Noooo, I’m too busy doing Important Student Stuff. I don’t have time for silly things like maybe actually talking to the absolute hottest mare of my generation. What’s the worst that could happen? Like she’s gonna marry some crusty old guy from an ancient family that my orphaned flank couldn’t POSSIBLY compete with!’ I just go hide in the library stacks instead. ‘Sunset, you should try to at least be friendly to Cadence, she’s going to be my niece and it’d be nice if you could…’” At this Sunset choked off, unable to continue for a bit as her breaths heaved with an unbidden ferocity that spoke of a hurt deeper than the offhand statement would belie.

When she was able to continue, she was more subdued, most of her energy seemingly spent on…whatever the issue with the pony version of Crystal Prep’s youngest dean since its founding had been. Sunset lowered her hands and just stared at them for a moment before saying, “Princess Celestia tells me to stop pursuing the restricted subjects, that it’ll have consequences. I do it anyway, and then run away from the consequences.” She closed her hands into fists, clenching them hard for a moment before a deep, shuddering breath shook her frame and she sagged against Celestia, for the first time since the fight allowing herself to be supported by the older woman rather than just held. “And then I get a fresh start…one I don’t deserve. I land in a pack that just takes me in, accepts me even though I’m a complete fuckup and they would have every right to turn me out…or kill me…and…and I see something that scares me, something that is just the way it is here…I used to have dinner with Saddle Arabian princes and helped negotiate a peace accord with the Dragonlands…but one stupid fight scares me and I run.”

Sunset finally seemed to have completely deflated, unconsciously nuzzling against Celestia’s shoulder, using an instinctive motion to transfer scent between parent and child.

Celestia realized later that this was finally the moment when she truly accepted that Sunset was her daughter. Alien origin or not, expecting to leave in two-plus years or not, Celestia was Sunset’s mom, for better or for worse. The sight of a cub so unconsciously turning to her for love and comfort seemed to fill a hole in her heart that she hadn’t realized she was protecting.

“Well, my little sun,” the new endearment slipped out without a thought, “I believe you may be ready to stop running.”

Distantly, since there was not speaker for the ‘bell’ in the clinic, Celestia recognized the sound of what was probably the final bell for the day, and this was born out a moment later when she heard the rumble that was the sound of hundreds of students all scrambling to get home after a full day. She waited until after the sound of the controlled chaos to subside before squeezing her cub gently in a loving hug and setting her on her feet. “Let’s get home. I think we could both use some rest after today.”

Both Celestia and Sunset were quite surprised when it wasn’t just Luna that was waiting for them at home, but all of the girls who had self-identified as Sunset’s friends. Once Luna explained the girl’s proposed solution of support, Celestia put her full backing behind it. Sunset balked momentarily, but the principal gently put her hands on Sunset’s shoulders and leaned down to quietly say, “I believe you were upset about your habit of running away? It seems you have nearly the perfect environment here to take the first step. Luna and I will be right here if you need us.” The young Alpha took some time to process this, mulling it over like a new flavor or scent.

Sunset took some time to observe the activity in the house that had become her home only recently. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had planted themselves in front of the large screen TV and booted up one of Luna’s older video game consoles (“Vintage, thank you!” Luna had barked when the age of the systems had come up), Fluttershy had pulled out what looked like some form of needlecraft and was nestled in a corner as her fingers worked with the yarn connecting the needles in her hands to her backpack on the floor next to her, Applejack was perched on one of the breakfast bar stools keeping an eye on everything happening, and Rarity was almost dithering next to Luna as they debated dinner options (Rarity was pushing for something Asian, whereas Luna was leaning toward the simplicity of pizza).

Finally, the girl nodded and moved to join Applejack at the breakfast bar.

Celestia smiled, a little pride sneaking in. Luna clearly saw and they locked gazes across the room for a moment, Celestia flicked her eyes over to Sunset and then back, nodding in a surrendering salute. Luna merely got the smug look she enjoyed whenever she’d successfully defeated another gamer in a PVP game and returned to dinner planning.

The night had proceeded fairly well, Sunset using the skills she had developed dealing with the social functions required of Princess Celestia’s star pupil to keep up with the conversations at first, then finding herself settling in quite nicely with the other girls. Fluttershy was quiet but supportive, nearly always. Applejack had a competitive streak but never seemed to let it go too far…unless Rainbow Dash got involved, in which case Fluttershy would often be required to reign them in. Rarity always gave the impression of just being happy to be included, though in Sunset’s opinion, she was often the easiest to just talk to. She gave clear visual cues to what she was thinking and wanted to say, whereas the other Alphas and the omegas often seemed to rely on scenting and learned body language (a dialect that Sunset was woefully uneducated in).

Pizza was consumed, during which Sunset discovered the spicy wonder that was pepperoni. She almost made it quite obvious she’d never eaten the meat product before but caught on from everyone else’s lack of reaction that it was just an everyday thing for them. Before she knew it the whole party had retired to her room, which had apparently once been a room for visiting Pack Alphas, so it was plenty spacious enough for a gaggle of six girls to gather for the night.

Having never participated in a slumber party, Sunset was unaware of what sort of activities occurred after the usual party niceties she had experienced when she kept ponies at a distance. She assumed that at some point they actually did sleep, but once pajamas were put on (Sunset did see the logical sense in wearing clothing even while sleeping for humans, they didn’t really have fur the way ponies did, but it was still something she wasn’t quite used to) the party didn’t seem to really be winding down. She sat on her bed, back propped up against the wall by her pillow and feet under the covers, feeling confused by the continuing conversations carrying on around her.

“I just don’t see the point,” Applejack was saying to Rarity, “I’m an Alpha, Alphas just don’t do silly frou-frou things like makeup and fashion.”

Rarity tch’d and waved in Fluttershy’s direction, “Oh, I beg to differ! Fluttershy here has a natural knack for fashion and even preferences. She’s an Alpha that understands the soft and feminine things, I’ve even helped her with her makeup on occasion. And you can’t tell me that you haven’t seen Principal Celestia or Miss Cheerilee without makeup. Why, I believe I spotted some slightly smudged mascara on Celestia’s face after the fight.”

Sunset thought back to her trip home and remembered seeing the smudge on Celestia’s right eye but didn’t really think anything of it at the time. “Yeah, she had some smudged makeup. I think she fixed it after we got home, though.” Her sentence was punctuated with a yawn she couldn’t quite hide.

Applejack blushed, “Yeah, okay, you gotta point. But my granny don’t wear makeup, and there aint no question about her ability t’attract a mate.”

Rarity sputtered, “It’s not just about attracting a mate, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash cackled at her indignance, but the beta girl soldiered on, “Sometimes a girl just wants to look nice, just for herself! I’m sure if you just tried…”

Applejack shook her head firmly, “Nnnope! Not gonna happen.”

Rarity huffed and crossed her arms, “Well, perhaps I can convince Sunset to wear some.”

Sunset snickered, “No thanks, I already tried makeup, I hate scrubbing it out of my f…” she caught herself just in time, or so she hoped. The strain and depression she’d managed to shed since the party began came roaring back, and the feelings she had been almost drowning in as Celestia held her in the darkened medical bay flooded over her. Tears pricked at her eyes as she realized she felt comfortable enough around these girls that she almost forgot to watch her words.

What am I feeling? came the thought. She almost automatically began the process of cataloging her experience, something she had been trained in Celestia’s school from an early age as part of the advanced curriculum that the princess had created for her benefit. ‘There are creatures in our world,’ the princess taught, ‘And even ponies with special talents who can infiltrate your mind and manipulate your emotions. You need to be able to sort out what is truly you and what is being inflicted upon you from an outside source.’

Anxiety, depression, fear… Those were obvious, and totally in line with what she experienced before, and she could probably have stopped there and just moved on, covered up her slip of the tongue and been done with it.

She stared down at her hands, which she was absently clasping and unclasping, more to experience the sensation than for any reason she could choose to name. Anxiety, she began again, depression…fear… she hesitated, knowing there was more but fearing the identification of it, like there was something awful on the other side of that realization that could ruin her forever.

…homesickness, and…loneliness…

That was it. She was lonely…and realized she had been all her life. If she got to know ponies, made friends, got close enough to them, they could leave her. They could abandon her like her parents (whoever they were) had, they could make fun of her like her classmates had, they could reject her like the princess had. So, it made more sense to leave. Leave first, before they could, so it wouldn’t hurt so badly when the rejection came.

‘I believe you may be ready to stop running.’

It was her voice, the mare she first looked to as a mother figure, even knowing how unlikely it was she would ever be accepted as the princess’ daughter, but the one who spoke the words wasn’t the princess, it was a woman who hadn’t required she prove herself or pass some test, she just needed to be who she was, and now she actually had a chance to choose who that was.

She was startled out of her introspection by a white hand clasping over one of hers. She looked up to see not just Rarity, but all of her friends looking at her with concern. She could even tell from their scents that it was genuine concern, not something faked or manufactured for appearance’s sake.

“Darling,” began Rarity, almost carefully, “Are you all right?”

Sunset wrapped first one, then both hands around Rarity’s. She was quiet for a bit, then said, “I need to…no, I want to tell you all something, but…it’ll sound crazy. Please…please don’t laugh at me when I tell you.”

It was Pinkie, surprisingly, who bounced up her bed and pulled over the hand on the opposite side from the one Rarity was left holding so she could clasp Sunset’s, “Laughing at a true friend is a sign of a bad friend when that friend is telling a secret. And just to make sure…” she turned to face the room, left hand still holding Sunset’s and right hand held up like she was swearing an oath, “Everyone here understands and agrees that they won’t laugh at Sunset and will keep her secret no matter what. Repeat after me; ‘cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’”

Rainbow Dash snorted, “Seriously, Pinkie?”

“Yes, Rainbow, seriously!” and for once Pinkie looked genuinely as serious as it would be possible for her to get, “You never break a Pinkie Promise.”

Dash turned to Applejack, who then looked to Fluttershy, who simply shrugged and held up her right hand. This prompted a shrug from Applejack, who also raised her hand. After a moment she cleared her throat with a meaningful look at Rainbow Dash, who rolled her eyes and raised her hand, too. Rarity raised her hand as well and they repeated in unison, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

To her surprise, Sunset found herself giggling, “Thanks, Pinkie.” She paused, trying to collect her courage again. Finally, she blurted out, “I’m not human.” Into the silence that followed, she waited for someone to object, or point and laugh, but all she got was confusion. “Well, I didn’t used to be…and maybe I’m not entirely human now? I’m not 100% sure on this, but until I walked onto school grounds the first time I was…a unicorn.”

This finally got a reaction; Rainbow Dash started to blow out a prolonged snort, when suddenly her face was plastered with a pillow and not one thrown gently, either. Dash pulled the pillow off her face with a, “Hey!” only to be met with Pinkie’s incredibly stern glare.

“Pinkie…Promise!” snapped the other omega.

Rainbow flinched, “Okay, okay! Sheesh!” she tried to be casual about tossing the pillow back over to Sunset’s bed, but everyone heard the, “Wow, she can be scary when she wants to be…” that Dash muttered to herself.

Rarity gently squeezed Sunset’s hand, which the Alpha chose to interpret as a prompt to continue. “I know you girls know about my…claws, and my fangs…”

“And your eyes,” interjected Rainbow Dash. At Sunset’s confused look, she said, “They’re gold when you’re in fury. Every other Alpha I know has red eyes when they’re fury’d.”

Sunset processed this new information with a, “Huh,” before continuing, “I was born in a parallel world where humans don’t exist. There’s dozens of sentient species, not just one, and that includes equines, cows, sheep, bison, griffons, dragons…there’s even a few species I haven’t found any reference to, or at least that you’d recognize. Changelings are pony-like insectoids that can magically mimic just about anything they want, the only description humans have for them is some sort of human-like species that pulls a magpie with their children.”

She shook her head, “Anyway, I was born to…somepony. I really am an orphan, that part I didn’t make up. But I was born a unicorn. My first years were spent in an orphanage in Canterlot, which is the capital of Equestria. When I was old enough to test into a school, I…kinda blew out the test. As in, the wall behind the test area was gone.” This earned a few surprised looks, “I was particularly gifted, and apparently the princess had been looking for a student, because when I showed how strong my magic was, she took me into the palace as her personal protégé.”

Rarity now had stars in her eyes, “Oh my! Did that make you royalty?”

Sunset snorted, “No…well, maybe? Not really, even if the position came with a lot of baggage and political duties.”

From there, she told her story. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t already told Principal Celestia, and though she felt like she’d gladly walk through broken glass for the Pack Alpha already, telling these girls…her friends, not because she’d been caught out or because she was being forced to, it was a different experience. It felt…close. The more she revealed the more she wanted to tell them. She found herself wandering off topic several times, but each time was natural, organic. The girls wanted to know about the culture, the food, the fashion, the races and people. Sunset held little back, only limiting information for time and returning to the topic of how she came to live with humans as one of them.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” interrupted Rainbow Dash, how did Principal Celestia get to this magical unicorn land?!”

Sunset paused, realizing as she did so she was actually smiling a bit and having a good time. “Oh, that wasn’t Principal Celestia, that was Princess Celestia.”

A chorus of confused, “Huh?!” and “What?!” came back at this.

“Oh, sorry, I guess I didn’t really explain that part well. My world and this one are…well, not quite mirror images, but there’s a LOT of people who have like-for-like counterparts between here and there. Celestia’s secretary, Raven? She’s a unicorn back home, seneschal to the throne.”

While there was mostly confounded silence as a response to this, Pinkie snickered. At Sunset’s confused look, she chirped, “If I had a nickel for every time you became Celestia’s student, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened twice!” The entire rest of the group was absolutely nonplussed, none of them had a clue what she was talking about beyond the obvious and were even further confused when Pinkie collapsed into a giggle fit.

As bewildering as Pinkie’s behavior was, Sunset knew there was no malice to it, so she just shook her head and soldiered on, “Anyway, I think that was when Princess Cadence showed up…”

“Oh!” Rarity gasped out, clapping a hand over her mouth. Sunset glanced over at the beta, who shook her head, “It’s nothing, just another person with an apparent doppelganger. Please continue, darling.”

Sunset raised her eyebrows and continued, even managing to keep herself from breaking down during the retelling of her self-imposed exile from Canterlot…to a semi-permanent exile from her home universe.

“…and so, here I am,” an echo of her earlier emotional storm washed over her. “And I’m…alone.”

Almost before the sound of the last syllable of ‘alone’ left her mouth, Pinkie crashed into her in a bear hug and Rarity squeezed her hand tightly. “Oh, darling, you’re not alone!” Using her free hand, Sunset pushed Pinkies enormous poof of curls out of her face to see Rarity looking downright stricken, “I don’t know how things work in pony-world, if you have herds instead of packs or whatever, but here in this world, especially in Canterlot High pack, you will always have someone there for you. Even if Celestia hadn’t taken you in, any of our families would have…”

“Heck, Grannie’d challenge a lesser Alpha for the right t’make you her fourth grand-child,” chimed in Applejack.

“Oh, and my mom and dad would love to have you…but you’d have to put up with my brother, so maybe not.” Added Fluttershy, even as the rest of the girls visibly cringed at mention of the mentioned sibling.

“My folks’d take you for sure, but you’d have to deal with mom ‘n dad being, like super embarrassing,” piped in Rainbow Dash.

“And I’d TOTALLY love another sister and momma and pappa would absotutely-rootely love you! You’re such a hard worker and they love hard work but they love me too which shows that they love a whole range and…”

Rarity put the index finger of her free hand on Pinkie’s lips to silence her, “The point is, darling, that you are never alone in a pack, and especially this pack.”

“I reckon,” said Applejack, “That what you need is a pack bond. More’n what ya got with your moth…er, I mean with Celestia.”

Sunset felt like something was happening. It was just as important as when the girls first invited themselves to sit with her and probably meant a whole lot more from how everyone in the room suddenly sat up or stood straighter. “I…don’t understand. Aren’t we already in the pack?”

“Well, sure,” drawled Applejack, “But that aint the same as having a pack bond. Y’can have packs like Celestia has, where y’have the Pack Alpha and lots o’ Alphas under that and plenty of beta families and, if your like Celestia, plenty of omegas with the freedom and agency to pick their Alphas based on suitability and whether they treat their omegas right. But that’s more of a…” she paused, looking for the words.

“Social contract?” supplied Rarity.

Applejack snapped and pointed at the beta girl, “That’s the one. Now a pack bond, that’s something special. Y’get a bunch of people together, they mean a lot to each other and care about each other, they want to show everyone that you mess with one, you mess with all of ‘em. And if you treat one right, the whole group’ll have your back. It’s a bit like family, but a family you’ve picked for yourself.”

The cowgirl Alpha blushed a bit, “Now I reckon we kinda chose for you, but so far you aint told us to pound sand, so I don’t think I’m wrong that you like us. And you trusted us to tell us your secret, one I think Celestia even told you not to tell anyone if’n I recall right,” Sunset blushed lightly and nodded, “And sharing a secret and caring for someone lost and lookin’ for a home? Well, that’s what being in a pack is all about.”

There was a reverent silence for a few breaths in the room, until Rainbow Dash said, “…wow, AJ normally doesn’t string that many words together in a week!”

Warm laughter filled the room as Applejack almost pounced on Dash, the pair clearly not actually fighting but more play wrestling, and it didn’t last long. The pair stilled and the room quieted and everyone focused on Sunset. Unexpectedly at the center of attention, she blinked owlishly. “So…what do I do? Is there some sort of ceremony?”

“Sorta,” answered Applejack, “We jess gotta scent mark each other. Instinct plays a big part of it, once we start you’ll probably know what to do.”

Sunset swallowed nervously, “Oh…kay…so how do we start?”

AJ and Dash gave each other sidelong grins and, competitive as ever, played a quick round of rock-paper-scissors. When Rainbow’s rock beat Applejack’s scissors, she scooted herself closer to Sunset, Pinkie and Rarity moving back to allow the omega space. Rainbow carefully leaned in, cognizant of Sunset’s reaction as she invaded her friend’s space, and gently rubbed her temple across Sunset’s, then twined her wrists around the Alphas. She repeated the motion on the other side of Sunset’s head before leaning back and releasing Sunset’s hands. Applejack chose to be next, basically repeating exactly what Dash did, though this time Sunset started reciprocating the motion.

As the physical contact continued, she started to feel…almost bubbly. She felt safe, she felt like she belonged, and most of all she felt loved. Not the sort of love she once entertained as a fantasy for a peer who didn’t even know she existed, but the kind that she imagined the most loving siblings felt for each other. By the time Fluttershy was waving Pinkie forward to go next, she was purring lightly. That purr, to her mild embarrassment, only grew louder as Pinkie scent marked Sunset, then again when Fluttershy did the same.

To Sunset’s surprise, Rarity wasn’t immediately behind Fluttershy, but standing off to the side watching the proceedings. “Rarity…?” she left the interrogatory hanging, not quite sure to word her question.

Rarity almost winced, her fingers wringing together as she said, “Oh, no, it’s quite alright darling. Betas don’t participate in that sort of thing, it’s for Alphas and omegas. Betas don’t have scent glands, you see, so…”

“Tarnation, Rarity, I thought we managed to get rid of that kind of thinking?” exclaimed Applejack. “You should know as well as any member of the pack that yer allowed to participate in a pack bond. Wouldn’t be fair if you weren’t.”

Rarity stood for a moment, clearly stunned if the nearly slack jaw were any indication, “Really?” she almost squeaked.

Sunset almost surprised herself when she said, “I don’t know about pack bonds, but I know I wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t join the rest of our friends in this.” Her purring underlined every word, even getting louder on the word ‘friends.’

At first hesitant, Rarity sat down in the space that Fluttershy had just vacated. She and Sunset twined wrists and clasped hands and then they paused, Rarity apparently not having the instincts for the act and Sunset still new to listening to said instincts. The purring Alpha quirked a grin and said, almost intimately, “You know, you’re probably going to be the most valuable member of my pack to me for quite some time.”

Rarity blinked in astonishment, “What? Really? How could a beta be the most valuable member of a pack?”

Sunset leaned forward slightly, gently thumping her forehead against Rarity’s, “Ponies don’t have Alphas and omegas. For all intents and purposes, we’re all betas. I’m newer to being an Alpha than literally anyone but a few babies. You’re basically going to be my interpreter, diplomat, and confidant while I figure out this whole mess I’ve stepped in.”

It was like she’d given Rarity a more valuable gift than all the gems in the world. Her face lit up with a huge smile, her eyes glistening a bit, and she awkwardly moved to nuzzle Sunset, trying her best to mimic her friends. Sunset let her instincts and earlier experience pick up the slack, moving her scent glands to glide along the right spots on Rarity’s head. Sunset’s purr rumbled inside her, and she could feel the beta stifle a giggle as she leaned back and let go of each other’s hands.

For a moment, there was another reverent silence as they all processed the act they had just performed. Sunset looked to Rarity, then the others, then asked Applejack, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but since Rarity doesn’t have scent glands like we do, unless we’ve basically done what she and I just did, you won’t be carrying her scent, right?”

Applejack was clearly trying to figure out what Sunset was implying, but then finally caught on even as she started nodding automatically. The corner of Sunset’s mouth turning up impishly was probably the clue she needed, and she grinned back at Sunset conspiratorially. “Oh…oooooh! Yeah, that’s right!” She put her hands on her hips and turned squarely to face Rarity, “I do reckon we can’t rightly call you a member of the pack unless the whole pack is marked by you.” So saying, she stepped forward and gently, but firmly, tucked her hands under Rarity’s chin and leaned forward the rest of the way, scent-marking the beta. If Rarity might have been starting to tear up before, it was a sure thing now as her smile returned with full force and she leaned into Applejack’s stropping.

As they were twining wrists, Pinkie Pie shouted, “SNUGGLE PUDDLE!” and tackled them to the bed. Sunset started chuckling as she yanked her legs out of the way as the trio crashed into the mattress.

“ACK! PINKIE!” blurted Applejack, “Y’don’t go…the pack bond is sacred…”

Not releasing from her full tackle-grade glomp, Pinkie craned her head up to look directly at Applejack, “Isn’t that the triangular bone at the base of the spine?”

AJ was now just plain poleaxed, but Rainbow Dash apparently could pick up what Pinkie was putting down; she leaped onto the bed next to the pile and started rubbing her forehead against Rarity’s, “Nah, that’s a sacrum. ‘Sacred’ is what you call a plank of wood with four small wheels attached to it.”

“Psshsht, silly Rainbow, that’s a skateboard. A sacred is a suspension of salt in water used for medical purposes.”

Ooooh, word games! That is my JAM! Thought Sunset, “No, you’re thinking of Saline,” she said as Applejack’s confusion turned to mild betrayal as the Equestrian girl joined in, “It’s what you call a vessel powered by the wind using a sheet of cloth mounted on a framework bolted to the deck.”

Fluttershy was trying to hold back her giggles as she joined the cuddle puddle, Rarity was a giggling, grinning mess and couldn’t even open her eyes without a tear spilling out so was just letting it all happen. Rainbow Dash continued the game, “That’s a sailboat. Sacred is the character from the cartoon about the animated sea sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea.”

“No, silly!” said Pinkie, “That’s Squidward.”

“What’s a squid-word?” grinned Rainbow, clearly realizing they were nearly at whatever punchline Pinkie was steering them to.

“Cephalopod!” chirped Pinkie as she popped herself out of the cuddle puddle and landed on the floor with a cheerleader’s pose.

Sunset’s barely contained chuckles blew out into all-out belly laughter, her arms gripping her torso as she rolled around on her bed, barely able to keep from pounding the bed with her fist to express her humor.

Applejack’s quietly moaned, “What have I got myself into…” finally set off Rarity, who began laughing in the most undignified (but joyous) way, and while she’d deny it until the end of her days, giggle-snorted several times.

You hearing all this?

Why do you think I’m playing Tetris with the sound muted? The walls aren’t that thick. I can probably hear it better than you, you’ve got two doors and a hallway between your bedroom and hers, I’ve just got the one wall.

In fairness, you could have had your headset on.

You know you’d be hearing me give orders to my squad mates even over that racket they’re making in there.

Should we do anything about it?

Like what? They’re pack bonding, nothing wrong with that.

I just feel like I *should* be doing something. Supervising or…I don’t know.

That’s just your new ‘mom’ instincts kicking in. Just keep an ear open and try to relax. Keep calm and mom on.

I still feel like I was tricked into being her mother, and if I thought there was ANY way you could have arranged it, I’d be pointing fingers right now.

Sister, you’ve got Big Mom Energy, as the kids say. Just accept it, the universe was going to make it happen for you one way or another. If anything, you can blame yourself. Well, the pony version, anyway.

Oh, she and I are having words when the portal finally opens.

No! Bad Alpha, no challenging the leader of their free world to a dominance contest! Don’t make me sick Redheart on you with a rolled-up magazine.

I’m never living that down, am I?

Like I’d let you! ○( ＾皿＾)っ Hehehe…

Think we should tell Sunset that we can hear everything they’re doing through those walls?

She’ll figure it out on her own…but if she does bring someone over for some…happy naked fun time, we should probably say something.

BEFORE they do anything, right?

…and there you go ruining my fun.

Author's Note

Yes, I'm back, and with a new chapter of Deviation, too!
The observant will notice I'm adding chapter titles, and yes, there's a theme and intention behind how they look and what they mean. Throw your guesses in the comments for me to confirm, deny, or slap a spoiler label on.
That's not all, I've also got the start of a new fic I've been working on for nearly a year posted on AO3. It's not a pony-fic (though will it crossover with our favorite girl-horses/horse-girls at some point? With me involved it would be silly to assume it wouldn't... )
I'll be posting to my blog here on FiMFiction.net with what my future plans are and what to expect from me, as well as a bit more on what's been going on to slow down fic activity lately, so check me out there.