Sunset felt more miserable in her life than ever before. Her friends were being excessively teased, arguments between people were skyrocketing, and everyone thinks she is the culprit. Even her friends think she was the one who told everyone about their secrets. They said things to Sunset that she thought she would never hear from her very best friends, she even considered them family.
As Sunset walked back to her apartment she couldn’t help but feel more alone than ever. She looked at her feet as she walked in front of an ally. It was there that she yelped when she was grabbed by her arms by two people she recognized from Canterlot High. She had never personally meet them but she had seen them before. They dragged her into the ally and threw Sunset on her face behind a dumpster. When Sunset looked up she finally got a good look at her attackers. One was a boy and the other was a girl. Both were clad in colourful winter coats like Sunset and they looked very angry.
“He never proposed to me and we don’t have tickle fights every night! You just couldn’t resist the opportunity to cause more trouble, could you?” Said the girl.
“But I” Sunset sobbed.
“I know exactly what you’re going to say. It’s the same thing you’ve kept saying since this whole thing started. Well, we don’t believe you. All the evidence points to you and we are going to make you stop” said the girl.
She then stepped to the side and nodded to the boy, giving him a signal. He then proceeded to take something out of his coat pocket and slipped his fingers through it. Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw what the boy put on his hand. They were brass knuckles, and the boy was going to use them on her.
“Hey!” A voice yelled.
The three turned to the entrance of the ally and saw a man. He was dressed in a brown trench coat, blue jeans, black work boots, a brown baseball hat, and a white sweater. He was also wearing a mask that covered the bottom part of his face.
“What do you want? We’re in the middle of something” said the boy.
“Let her go” the man simply said.
“What? Don’t you know what she’s been doing?” said the girl.
“Let her go” the man said firmly.
“How? You think you can stop us because your bigger?” asked the boy.
“No, because I have this” said the man.
He then reached into his coat and pulled out a metallic object. Sunset’s eyes widened at what she saw. She had been in the human world long enough to know what a gun was. Panic was instantly plastered onto the faces of Sunset’s attackers.
“Woah! Woah! Dude! Listen, we-“ the boy began.
“Let. Her. Go” the man said angrily.
“That-that’s no problem” said the girl.
The pair of Canterlot High students scampered off and Sunset’s saviour put his gun away. He then approached Sunset and crouched down so his eyes were level with hers. He might have rescued her, but Sunset was still not comfortable in the man’s presence.
“Are you OK?” He asked.
“Y-yes” said Sunset.
“I know what’s happening to you. I know what happened during the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands. I can and want to help you find your family again” the man said.
Sunset was shocked at what he just said. To her it was impossible, no one but the people at Canterlot High knew of those magical events. She became very afraid and pressed herself against the wall.
“What? How? I-” Sunset said.
“I have seen footage of the events from the security cameras at your school. I have access to the CtOS but you don’t need to worry. I use my access to help people” the man explained.
“Why do you want to help me if you know what I did in the past?” Sunset asked.
“Because I understand you. I understand why bad guys do what they do. Bad guys are people too. People who are troubled by something. I heard what you said to Princess Twilight before you charged her. You were troubled by the possibly that you wouldn’t be special” the man said.
Sunset fell into thought over what he said. He seemed to have a lot of insight into how people think. Also, if he had access to CtOS then he could find Anon-a-miss.
“What’s your name?” Sunset asked.
“I’m Aiden Pearce. Come on, I need to take you to my hideout” he said.
He then helped Sunset up and they began their trek through the snowy streets. Soon enough, they entered an old and partly collapsed warehouse with rusty cargo containers and abandoned equipment. Aiden approached one cargo container with Sunset in tow and put his phone up to it. The phone made a beeping sound and a sliding door opened on the side.
“In here” Aiden said.
One they were both inside Aiden held his phone up again and it made another beep, the door closed again. Inside the container on the left side was a work bench with tools hanging above it and a laptop resting on it. There were also computer servers below the work bench. On the right side was a sleeping bag with a gun cabinet next to it. At the far end was what appeared to be a closet with other trench coats. Aiden then placed his phone into a port connected to the laptop and began typing.
“The username of the perpetrator was Anon-a-miss, right?” Aiden asked.
“Yes. Can you really find them?” Sunset asked.
“First I need to search the web for Mystable. Then I will find the page for Anon-a-miss. After that comes the tricky part. I will input a peice of code into the account witch will, ideally, go undetected by the security measures of the Mystable website. That code will send us the coordinates of the device used by Anon-a-miss when they make a post. This might take a moment” said Aiden.
He then got right to work. His fingers pressed each button on the keyboard with almost impossible speed and precision. Ones and zeros raced across the screen as he did so. He had most certainly done this before. Sunset’s mind began wondering as she waited. She wondered what Aiden meant when he said that he understood. Aiden then pressed the enter key on his keyboard.
“The code is in. We just need to wait for Anon-a-miss to post something” said Aiden.
“What did you mean when you said you understood me?” Sunset asked.
Aiden just sighed. His eyes showed pain, guilt and regret. This intrigued Sunset, she was very familiar with those emotions. After a few moments of not responding Aiden finally worked up the courage to recall some of the memories he wished never happened.
“I have made mistakes in my life too. I had an adventure in Chicago. My niece was killed after a gang hit meant for me. A man named Maurice Vega did it. My sister was broken and my nephew stopped talking. Simply put, I wanted revenge. I found him and beat him up really bad. However, as I learned more about Maurice later I began to pity him. He had tried constantly to get out of a life of crime to be with is new wife. He wanted a second chance. But all his boss needed to do was threaten his wife and he would do whatever they wanted. He messed up when I didn’t die so they took his wife. He was looking out for the one he loved, just like me. I have found that good guys and bad guys have a lot more in common than anyone knows. There’s much more but I’d rather not talk about it right now” Aiden said.
Sunset stood there shocked. She didn’t know what to say. It was horrible what happened to Maurice but what he did was also bad. Aiden did seem to be similar. Something happened to him and he did something bad as well. What else was there? He said mistakes so he made more then one. What did he do? Who is he? Before Sunset could ponder any further a loud bing interrupted both their trains of thought, it came from the computer. It was a post from Anon-a-miss. Along with an embarrassing picture was a message.
“Take a look at this dork” the message said.
“I have the address that matches the coordinates” Aiden stated.
“Wait, I recognize that address. That’s where my friend Applejack lives. Anon-a-miss was squatting right in her own back yard” Sunset said.
“Let’s move” Aiden said.
The two then exited the container and Aiden walked to another. He opened it and drove a muscle car out of the other container, stopping beside Sunset. She opened the passenger door and got in, buckling her seatbelt. The engine roared as Aiden floored the accelerator and drifted onto the road. In about twenty minutes Aiden parked on the side of the road near Sweet Apple Acres. He didn’t pull into the driveway so they would remain undetected. Getting out, they moved carefully and silently so they didn’t raise any alarm.
Crouching next to a wall with Sunset, Aiden took out his phone and began hacking the devices in the surrounding area. He cycled through a few cameras with no one in frame. He stopped when three faces appeared on his screen.
“Hey, I know them. Those are the crusaders. Sisters to some of my friends” said Sunset.
“I think we found Anon-a-miss” Aiden said.
“What?” Asked Sunset.
“The camera we are looking through is connected to the device that posted the message” Aiden explained.
“That would mean-“ Sunset began.
“Well girls, I don’t think that our sisters will be hanging out with Sunset anymore” Applebloom said happily.
“I-I don’t believe it. How could they do this? Why would they do this?” Sunset asked.
“Let’s go in and ask” said Aiden.
“Please don’t hurt them” said Sunset.
“Don’t worry Sunset, I won’t” Aiden assured.
Aiden checked the cameras again to make sure no one was home. Once he was sure the coast was clear he picked the lock on the front door and he entered with Sunset. Soon enough they approached the door to Applebloom’s room. Sunset then opened the door and she barged in with Aiden behind her and a little to the right. The Crusaders turned around with a start.
“Why? Why are you doing this?” Sunset asked.
“We don’t know what your-“ Applebloom began.
“Don’t play innocent with us. It was I who tracked you down, Anon-a-miss. Now…tell us why” said Aiden.
The Crusaders looked at each other nervously, unsure what else to do. It was bad enough that Sunset has found out that it was them who was Anon-a-miss but now she was with some tough guy. Who was he anyway and why was he with Sunset? It didn’t matter, they were on to them and the man looked very intimidating.
“It was because of you, Sunset. Our sisters were having all kinds of fun with you and didn’t want to spend time with us. We are blood relatives to them but instead they seem to care more about you” Applebloom said.
Aiden then slowly approached the three girls. He had assured Sunset that he wouldn’t hurt anyone but Sunset prepared herself to step in if need be. Aiden then crouched down in front of the Crusaders.
“You want to be with your family. I get it. I really do. But doing things like this won’t get you what you. I know what I am talking about. They may have neglected you but if all of you asked your sisters to talk with them alone, I bet they would listen. Besides, is this the kind of thanks you would want if you were the saviour of the school? Would you like to be treated this way?” Aiden said.
“Really, your playing the saviour card? Our sisters didn’t listen to us before so why would they listen to us now?” Applebloom asked angrily.
“OK, let me put it this way. Either you can tell your sisters or me and Sunset will tell them. We do have overwhelming evidence. However, telling them yourselves how you feel will make them feel more inclined to help you. I urge the three of you to talk with your family and work out this problem with them. Something I should’ve done with my family. Taking problems into your own hands won’t help you in the long run” Aiden explained.
The Crusaders looked at each other in thought. Their faces then fell. They knew Aiden was right. Besides, they didn’t think it was a good idea to disagree with him. After all, he did say he would tell their sisters the truth if they didn’t.
“Ok, we’ll talk with them” said Applebloom.
With that, the five of them got in Aiden’s car and made their way to Sugarcube corner. He pulled up next to the bakery and Sunset got out as well as the Crusaders. When they started moving towards the place Sunset noticed that someone wasn’t with them and looked back. Aiden was still in the car. Sunset went back and spoke through the open passenger window.
“Aren’t you coming?” Sunset asked.
“My work is done. Go be with your family” Aiden simply said.
He then rolled up the window and drove away. He came to a stop on the second level of a nearby parking garage overlooking Sugarcube Corner. Aiden hacked into the bakery’s security system and watched the conversation between the Rainbooms and the Crusaders. It went better then he expected. There was some hostility at first but the Crusaders admitted that they were the culprits and explained why. In the end there was understanding and forgiveness. He then turned off his phone and just stared down at the bakery. Behind his mask Aiden smiled. He may never see his family again but he at least he helped keep this one together.
‘They really are a very special group. Maybe I’ll stick around’ Aiden thought.