“You know, kid, maybe you should stay at the animal shelter indefinitely?” Sunset fumed at a timid girl backing herself up further and further into a corner to escape Sunset’s anger. Her face was hidden behind lavish pink locks as she avoided eye contact. The girl’s voice could be comparable to a mouse with how squeaky she was.

Instead of an answer, she pulled her body closer together to protect herself, evidently wanting to make herself smaller, perhaps in the vain hope that Sunset wouldn’t notice her if she did so. No such luck though, as Sunset took a step closer and banged her palm against a locker near her. “You know, I really hate it when people intervene in things that aren’t their business.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” the girl attempted to lie, though it was easy to see through.

“Yes, you do. I asked around and you are the one who found it, now tell me what happened to it!” Sunset growled in anger.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about…” The shy girl frowned and hid her face behind her hair.

With another vicious pound on a nearby locker, Sunset yelled. “Stop lying to me! I know you knew what happened to it! So tell me!”

Staring the girl down, Sunset sneered and finally, a crack in her prey seemed to be formed, an easy crack for Sunset to push through and pressure answers out of her. “Talk!” Sunset commanded.

“O-okay…” The girl replied. “I-I…”

“You?” Sunset gave a hand gesture suggesting that the girl should hurry up before crossing her arms in front of her and tapping her foot impatiently. She had wasted enough time on this goose chase as it was.

This girl whom if she recalled correctly was named Fluttershy likely knew the whereabouts of the crown she had stolen from Equestria. Her plan was so simple, so easy. She would switch the crown with a fake, bring it back to the human world and the moment she placed it upon her head she would possess the power that came with it. A perfect and simple plan, or rather it would have been perfect and simple had the crown not gone through the portal first.

Since it arrived only a few seconds before Sunset herself arrived when she returned it was gone, someone had clearly picked it up, and a bit of investigating had told Sunset that this girl was responsible for it. However prying information out of her was like pulling teeth; not because it was safely guarded, but because she was so easily intimidated it took forever for her to stop crying and tell what she knew.

“I… I… I gave it to Principal Celestia…” Fluttershy admitted pathetically.

Blinking, Sunset shook her head. This definitely complicated things further, to steal the crown from Celestia would prove a challenge, and definitely created more work for her. She couldn’t risk anyone discovering its true powers, less they get curious or even tempted to take it for themselves.

She would need to now formulate a way to get it back. “I can’t believe this!” Sunset growled in annoyance

“You did what!?” she asked.

Sinking down a bit more, Fluttershy got even quieter as she spoke, “oh… I’m really sorry… I-I just found it and I thought I should give it to her… I didn’t know you had dropped it.”

Sunset didn’t exactly like the extra emphasis that Fluttershy had put on “you”, and it only angered her further as she retorted.

“Well I did, and I was about to get it before you swooped in and ruined everything!” Sunset waved an accusing finger at Fluttershy. “You shouldn’t pick up things that don’t belong to you!”

Putting a little more distance between herself and Sunset, Fluttershy spoke in an almost whisper, “it doesn’t really belong to you either…”

That comment only ignited the flames that were ready to go inside of Sunset, causing an explosion from her. She cornered the girl and pinned her to a locker, leaving her no room to escape as she growled in her face. “EXCUSE ME!?”

The girl slid down to the floor defeated and trembled. “N-nothing…”

“That’s what I thought, it’s as good as mine and you know it,” Sunset lectured. “You really are pathetic, it’s no wonder your best friends are all stray animals.”

The pink-haired girl frowned and looked to the floor with sad eyes. Clearly, Sunset’s insults cut deep into her, but she said nothing in her own defense. Her face looked like she was ready to cry yet again. Sunset was ready to roll her eyes until she heard a voice from down the hallway calling out to her. A voice that Sunset had no idea would change her life forever.

“How dare you speak to her that way!”

Adjusting a simple lab coat on her elegant figure, Shimmer gently approached Sunset with a stethoscope. She gestured for Sunset to lift her shirt up, which she did without much resistance. The cold touch of the device sent a quick chill through Sunset and caused a visible shiver. Shimmer smiled and looked up at her. “Heh, sorry. Forgot to mention it would be cold.”

“It’s alright…” Sunset replied as she patiently waited.

After a few seconds, Shimmer removed the device and jotted some information down into a notebook. Looking over her notes she fixed her glasses and sat down in front of Sunset while she studied them.

“Remarkable…” She thought aloud.

“What is it?” Sunset asked, leaning in eagerly wanting to know what her research had turned up.

“Well, it seems you maintain quite a few traits of your Equestrian origin besides magic. Your heart rate is 33 beats per minute, which is almost half of the average human… Your heart rate is closer to that of a horse than a person, remarkable… From the blood tests I conducted you have equine blood as well, my tests returned you’re type Q… Very interesting…” Shimmer explained, her eyes never leaving the notes they were affixed to almost like she was in a trance. It was clear that she was enjoying this a bit more than she probably should.

“However you also share plenty of human traits as well, sort of like a hybrid. According to the tests that I had my private doctor run on you earlier your body functions very much like that of a normal human’s…” Shimmer explained.

“That’s good I suppose? What does it all mean?” Sunset tilted her head in confusion. Shimmer was saying a lot of interesting stuff, but Sunset couldn’t piece together what it meant to her.

“At this point, I’m not sure. However, one thing is certain… Whatever mystery allows you to perform magic isn’t going to be revealed through your biology clearly. So this line of testing is a bust…” Shimmer sighed as she placed the notes aside and leaned her head back looking to the ceiling in defeat.

Awkwardly, Sunset smiled and patted her friend’s knee in a comfort attempt as she spoke to her, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I don’t really quite understand magic myself either, at least not in this world.”

“This could take some time, I’m aware…” Shimmer sighed again before looking over at Sunset from behind her glasses. “By the way, the tests stated you’re a little on the malnourished side, have you been eating right?”

Sunset shrugged in response, she knew that the answer was definitely “no”, but she couldn’t help her situation. “Probably not, unlike you, I’m not loaded with cash.”

With a nod, Shimmer scribbled something in the notebook again and spoke while she wrote. “Right then… I’ll be speaking to my personal trainer on your behalf then. He will send meals to your place of residence after deciding an appropriate diet for you. You'll have to meet with him first, of course.”

Sunset blinked and shook her head, waving her hands in a defensive gesture. “Hey, you don’t have to do all of that!”

“I can’t afford you to fall into bad health, Sunset. You’re an enigma in this world…” Shimmer tilted her head up and peaked at Sunset from under her glasses as she spoke, “even my private doctor who can keep quiet about you might not quite know how to help you if something were to happen… I can’t have you dying on me because you’re not eating right. Don’t worry about it.” Shimmer smiled and winked. “Consider it an apology for getting my angry with you the other day.”

Sunset still wasn’t comfortable with this arrangement as she crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, her simple tank top barely keeping her warm in this incredibly cold lab. Shimmer must have cranked the A/C up to full blast. “Fine… But I don’t really like taking handouts…”

“No handout, just keeping you alive, no shame in that,” Shimmer responded.

“Hey… Before I forget…” Sunset spoke as a thought came to her mind as she tried to find ways to change the subject.

“Hm?” Shimmer blinked and looked to her with genuine interest.

“I asked Princess Twilight to look into this whole magic ordeal… She’s experienced with magic and might be able to explain more for you than I ever could. I figured I should tell you so it doesn’t surprise you down the road…” Sunset gave a sheepish smile, hoping not to set Shimmer off again for keeping secrets.

Shimmer nodded and smiled as she stood up and began to remove her lab coat. Placing it upon a hook near the door, Shimmer turned back to Sunset and spoke, “I look forward to comparing our notes. She sounds like quite the genius.”

“Yeah Princess Twilight is pretty smart, definitely smarter than me that’s for sure…” Sunset admitted.

Closing her eyes, Shimmer found herself feeling quite content. “This all should prove very interesting nonetheless. I do enjoy a good scientific discovery.”

“Glad to be of help.” Sunset gave a thumbs up.

Stepping off of a train, the young filly, Sunset stretched as she looked about through the large crowds at the Canterlot station. She had just finished another semester at her boarding school in Trottingham and was ready for a Summer at home. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents that she had applied for the Canterlot Magic Institute. With lots of training and practice during the school year, Sunset had set her hopes on taking the star student exam so that she could train directly under Princess Celestia. She couldn’t help but be filled with excitement as she was eager to tell her parents the good news.

Her mind raced on thoughts of how proud of her they would be the things they would say when they saw how far she had come in only a short time. She had been attending Trottingham School for Fillies for two years now, and she was ready to prove she was worthy of the next step forward. Long nights were spent with her nose in one of her many spellbooks, and while the other kids went outside on the weekends and played, Sunset found herself in the library studying vigorously. Free time during the school days were spent meeting with teachers to gain extra insight, and shadow under them in the hopes of acquiring a bit more of their wisdom.

The routine was exhausting, and she often found herself without much sleep, but she knew it would pay off. Her love of reading and poor social skills may have made her friendless at Trottingham, but unlike public school, ponies didn’t bother her. The young girl had accepted her position of being virtually invisible at the school shy of her appearances on the honor list. It was a huge step up from being picked on every day or getting into fights.

The only difficult part about it all had to be when she would lay in her bed and find nothing else to do. With her books finished, she couldn’t curl up and read until she was fast asleep, and she had no one to talk to. It had eventually dawned upon her that she was lonely, though she never wanted to admit it out loud. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt a connection with another pony.

At least the promise of being home soothed that sting just a little. She hadn’t seen her parents in months, and they seldom wrote to her as they didn’t want her getting distracted at school, but now she was home, on a break ready to show them what she had accomplished.

The girl took a breath and began the short walk from the station to her home. The pathway there was engraved in her head as she had walked this path so many times in her dreams in the weeks leading up to this visit. She would walk the stone path with confidence and pride as she finally reached her abode after a few minutes of trotting gracefully.

With a little magic, the girl adjusted her hair clip that was keeping her wild mane out of her face. Taking an inhale then releasing an exhale she opened the door to her house and triumphantly stepped inside calling out to her parents.

“Mom? Dad?”

No response.

She stepped a bit further in and before she knew it, she could hear two adults conversing. Poking her head in the kitchen she witnessed her parents speaking and frantically running about like they were late for something.

Her mother adjusted a tie on her father’s neck. “Don’t forget you have to pick up the dry cleaning when you get back, otherwise I’m not going to have a suit to wear tomorrow, this is my last one,” she reminded her husband.

He nodded and coughed as she pulled his tie far too tight. “Y-yeah, got it. Do you have my proposal? I can’t find the thing…”

She sighed and brushed off her suit jacket as she levitated a paper from the counter over to him. “I swear you’d lose your head if it weren’t screwed on.”

“You know me too well.” He smirked as he levitated a comb through his thick mane and brushed it back. His brown mane went well with his light tan coat, all nicely put together with a nice looking three-piece suit that he was wearing.

“Well enough to know you’re going to be late if you don’t leave now!” She scolded as she began to shoo him out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah…” He rolled his eyes as he followed the direction she was shooing him to.

Coming out of the shadows, Sunset’s face lit up with a huge grin as she approached the kitchen. “Mom! Dad! I’m home!” She exclaimed.

Her father trotted past her and gently ruffled her mane before heading to the front door. He didn’t say anything, but gave a gentle kiss on his hoof and blew it in her mother’s direction.

Sunset turned to her mother who smiled at her and nodded. “Hello, darling. Mommy has to run, stay out of trouble, dear,” she said as she touched Sunset’s cheek briefly before bolting for the same door that her father had run to.

Within a matter of seconds, Sunset stood in the kitchen by herself. She frowned and sat down at the table. Removing her saddlebag she dumped its contents onto the table and looked at her report card she had received. All A’s, she had been a straight-A student for as long as she could remember, as per her parent's request. They always said that she had no excuse for not getting the best grades.

Trotting over to the door she sighed as she went to retrieve the mail to put on the counter so that her forgetful father didn’t miss it. Upon setting the set of letters upon said counter though, Sunset noticed one standing out addressed from Canterlot Magic Institute. Curiously she retrieved the letter and hesitated for a moment. Finally, she tore it open and retrieved the letter inside.

Dear Mr/Mrs. Shimmer,

It is with great pride and honor that I send this letter today personally as I do with all of my potential star students. Your daughter’s application to take the Star Student Exam and come study at the Canterlot Magic Institute has been accepted. I have personally looked over her records and your daughter, Sunset is an exceptional student with a bright future ahead of her, you should be very proud.

We are requesting she come to sign up for the exam and the institute over the next few weeks during her Summer break. Given her records, we have opted to offer her a full scholarship to the Institute. I personally look forward to meeting what I believe will be my next star student. Congratulations, and thank you for your application, it fills me with great joy to see such bright young minds looking to their future with such determination.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Sunset fell back onto her haunches as she sat on the floor with wide eyes. She actually got in. Quickly she hugged the letter and exclaimed to the empty house. “Mom! Dad! I got i-“ She stopped as she realized she was speaking to no one.

“Oh… Right…” She frowned and drooped a little.

With a sigh, she placed the letter on her father’s side of the table where he would be sure to read it when he got home. With a shrug, the girl decided it would be best to retreat to her bedroom and study a little bit to prepare for the upcoming exam.

The shame and humiliation of defeat almost overwhelmed Sunset. Her plan had fallen apart all at the hands of one girl and her five friends. She was humiliated and beaten. To add insult to injury, she was required to fix the damages she caused to the school and even do various other punishments by the Principal.

Weeks of laying bricks, cleaning toilets, and mopping floors had left the girl sore and haggard. Sunset hadn’t slept properly in three weeks, and nights were filled with feelings of somberness, and just downright self-hatred. As she laid in her makeshift bed after a long day of punishment, she let her thoughts go back to Flash. While she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, it still hurt that he had left her to her own devices. In her mind, it clicked that her parents had done likewise as well.

Everyone in Sunset’s life always abandoned her when she needed them. Her own stubbornness was to blame half the time, but being left alone was all she understood, it’s all she knew.

Why does no one want me?

Tears started to stream down her face as the reality of her life started to dawn upon her. She was a mere seventeen years old and yet she had nothing, no one. She was on a path to nowhere, she had no friends, no family, and if anything happened to her no one would notice. She was nothing to anyone, just a waste of space, a useless creature that existed only to be forgotten.

She had spent so long fighting tears that she lacked the strength to stop them now. Silently she let her eyes leak as she contemplated the point in anything anymore. Twilight had spared her, but why bother? She had apologized for what she had done but it didn’t seem to change much. No one cared, no one believed she was truly sorry, at least that she could see. They only saw a girl who got caught and was forced to admit wrongdoing. Princess Twilight promised her that others would come around, but they hadn't.

With shaking hands, she reached to a shelf she had created to store various useful tools and picked up a pocket knife she uses for making arrows. A quick flick and the blade was visible to her. Examining it, she could tell the blade was exceptional given that she sharpened it often to improve its usefulness.

Her eyes fixated on the shining steel, her thoughts beginning to melt away. She forced herself to sit up and sit at the edge of the bed just staring at the knife. This tiny piece of simple craftsmanship could have been the answer to her problems. It would have been so simple, so flawless of a plan, it would take almost nothing. One quick motion and the rest would be in nature’s hands.

Everything in her body was telling her to do it, except a small voice that made her hesitate. She saw no reason to keep going, not the way things were, she knew that happiness was out of her reach, that acceptance had no paths for her to walk, the bridges were burned long ago. She wanted to just finish this once and for all, but it seemed as though fate had other plans for the girl.

As she stared at the tool of sweet release her phone began to vibrate. She blinked, unsure of who would be calling her. Seeing the name of the school on her phone, she quickly figured out it must be Principal Celestia, probably telling her what she was to do tomorrow. Sighing she answered the phone with a monotone voice. “Hello?”

“Sunset, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” the voice of her principal spoke.

“It doesn’t matter; I can do what I was about to when I get done with this,” Sunset replied.

“I know this is sort of last notice, but I need you to come in right away,” the principal stated.

Sunset pulled her phone away from her ear to check the clock on it. Sure enough, it was past six o'clock. Celestia is still in her office at this hour?

“Isn’t it a bit late?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, however, this is important; I need you to come in right away. I’ll leave the staff entrance open for you, but I would like you to get here as soon as humanly possible. There’s something we need to discuss right away.” Celestia’s voice sounded almost worried.

The only thing Sunset could think of is perhaps somehow her magic stunt had caused more damage than anticipated. With a groan, she closed the pocket knife and slipped it into her jacket pocket. That could wait, she needed to see what other damage she had to fix before she could slip out of existence. “Yeah, I’m coming, give me a few minutes. I’ll be right there.”

Looking outside, Sunset saw that it was raining fiercely. With a sigh, she grabbed her jacket and zipped it up as tightly as she could. She lacked a hood for it, and she regretted not owning jeans or pants over a skirt. Her legs were freezing, and stepping out into the violent rain only made it worse. The water must have been at least ten degrees colder than the nighttime air.

Crossing her arms and huddling her body together as she walked, she made her way down the trail to the school. Keeping her eyes open, she looked around to see if anyone was watching, and sure enough, she was all alone, as always.

It must have been a good ten minutes of trudging through the rain and muddy pathway. Reaching the school, Sunset placed her hand upon the staff entrance on the side. It had occurred to her that she had never walked in through this entrance before. The principal must have really wanted to see her if she was going to allow her to enter the school through such a private entrance. Her mind became filled with curiosity.

Opening the door, Sunset noticed that she was standing in the teacher’s lounge. She had never seen the inside of this room before, but she could identify it by the smell of coffee, the refrigerator, and a sign on the door that lead back to the hallways.

Standing near the outside exit that Sunset entered through was a very serious-faced, Luna holding a cup of coffee in her hand. Sunset frowned and shrunk as she looked to the woman. She was always so intimidating, far more so than her sister. Sunset was surprised though to see a smile crack her face. She gestured her head to the other side of the room to get Sunset to look that way.

There sitting atop of a table with a coffee in her hand as well was her principal. Interestingly enough, she had taken her blazer off and was sitting there in a striped T-shirt with her legs crossed. Sunset never noticed before how womanly Celestia was. Her face, however, was contorted to one of concern as she gestured with her finger for Sunset to approach.

Sunset took a few steps forward, hearing the sound of her wet boots make squishes in the carpet, water dripped from her as she shivered, but she was thankful that this room was properly heated.

The principal gave a head nod to Luna who left for a small bathroom within the lounge and retrieved a towel for Sunset. Taking it, Sunset quickly ruffled her hair from being wet to a “damp” state instead. It was an improvement, but she was more concerned with her body which was freezing. Wrapping the towel around herself, she raised a brow in confusion as to what this was all about; before she could even ask a question though, Celestia asked one of her own.

“Did you walk here?”

Sunset nodded. “I don’t have a car…”

“Why not take a bus?” Celestia asked.

Sunset gave a shrug. “They don’t run where I live…”

“You walked here the entire way… In the rain? With just that on?” Celestia’s voice seemed a bit shaken as she looked Sunset's soaked outfit up and down.

“Y-yeah… Well… You said it was important…” Sunset frowned, feeling like she had done something wrong.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you needed a ride? I could have picked you up, you didn’t need to risk your health…” Celestia frowned.

“Not like it matters… Who cares what happens to me…” Sunset frowned and looked away, disgusted with herself more than anything else.

“Someone does apparently.” Celestia smiled and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Sunset blinked and tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Another student informed Luna and myself that you’re living in…” Celestia placed a hand on her own chin as she thought over how to word this elegantly, “well… Subpar conditions; I didn’t believe it myself, but seeing you here now definitely makes me lean more towards it being credible… Is it true though?” She asked.

Sunset frowned and looked to the ground, unsure of what to say, but ultimately going with the truth. “It’s true… I live in the woods… I get by, I’ve learned to fend for myself, after all, it’s what I’ve always done, my whole life…”

“Well, it’s not going to be how it goes anymore. We can’t do much, but we’ve made… Arrangements for you…” The Principal spoke before taking a long sip of her coffee.

Sunset raised a brow in confusion. “Arrangements?”

“What my sister means to say is that we have figured out that you’re not documented here. We didn’t want to reveal your secret to anyone for fear of what might happen, but we have requested a more suitable living arrangement for you. We asked around and we’ve acquired an apartment for you. Don’t worry the individual who runs it doesn’t ask many questions and requires no proof of identification. My sister and I will pay for your rent; however,s that’s all we can spare at the time.” Luna interjected and placed a hand upon Sunset’s shoulder.

The girl blinked and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “F-for real?”

“It’s true,” Celestia spoke from behind her mug, a smirk playing her lips.

“We have seen how much you’ve done to atone, and apparently someone else has too. They personally followed you home one day and requested we step in. I must say, you owe a lot of thanks to this person,” Celestia explained.

Not a single person came to mind to the girl. Everyone seemed rather nonchalant and even unbelieving when she apologized for her actions at the Fall Formal. Weeks had passed, and it seemed like nothing had changed. Who could possibly have cared about her well being enough to do something like this?

“I thought everyone hated me…” Sunset replied.

“Looks like some people are more forgiving than you think,” Luna replied with a genuine smile. Sunset probably hadn’t seen the woman smile more in a single day than that day.

“Tell them I said thank you.” Sunset bowed happily.

“I think you’ll be able to do that yourself. She’s waiting out in the hallway.” Celestia’s smirk was only growing; clearly she got some kind of amusement from all of this.

Rubbing the towel wrapped around her a bit, Sunset tried to dry herself off as much as she could before taking a deep breath and offering the Towel to Luna, realizing she wouldn’t get much dryer. Luna accepted the towel and placed it on a nearby table and nodded as Sunset looked to her for approval. Exhaling, Sunset opened and stepped through the door to the hallway and after taking a few steps out, she found herself staring at a teen with long pink locks twirling a strand of her majestic hair in her finger nervously.

With a moment of silence, the two’s eyes met. Sunset examined her face, she had seen it many times before but never was she more surprised to see those big blue eyes staring at her. With a sheepish smile planted on her face, the girl bowed her head a little in acknowledgment of Sunset.

Sunset found herself stuttering in pure astonishment. “B-but… I was always mean to you… I picked on you more than most other kids… Why?”

The girl looked away shyly before looking back. “Well… I saw how you fixed a lot of the school and apologized to a ton of kids… Twilight told us to give you a chance, and the others just hadn’t warmed up to you yet, I thought I would be the one to break the silence.”

Coming from a girl like Fluttershy, that took probably more bravery than she could normally muster.

“Why though?” Sunset asked, still not convinced.

“I… I remember how you said you didn’t know the first thing about friendship… That meant you never had friends… And…” She paused and placed a hand on her chest, gripping her shirt tightly as if her heart hurt.

“And?” Sunset leaned in with interest.

She closed her eyes briefly before she responded. “I felt sad… I thought about how that must have felt not having anyone in your life… I realized that must have been why you were so mean…”

Sunset blushed at how spot-on she was but said nothing.

“That’s why… I was hoping I could be your friend…” Fluttershy’s face was completely red, clearly more embarrassed than Sunset was. “That is… If that’s okay…”

With no more words to say, Sunset leaped in her direction and squeezed the girl in a tight hug. She was damp and clearly making Fluttershy’s clothes damp in turn, but she didn’t care; Fluttershy returned the embrace and squeezed the girl in the tightest hug she could muster. She said nothing as she could feel Sunset shaking and then noticed the girl was sobbing as she was held.

“Thank you…” Sunset said.

Another week down! Crazy to think we're already 10 weeks in.

Behind the Scenes: The suicide contemplation scene was originally a lot more detailed and darker.