Author's Notes:

In thanks for getting Featherfall featured on pretty much day one I figured I'd punish you all with an early chapter. You'll see what I mean.

Sunset Shimmer stood in front of Principal Celestia’s desk as the older woman looked on with a certain kind of disappointment in her eyes that struck at Sunset. She knew, intellectually, that this Celestia was not the immortal ruler that had formed the basis for the entirety of her formative years, but Sunset couldn’t help but equate the two to a certain extent. No matter what she did, it was the same voice, the same eyes…

“I understand you’ve been spending a lot of time with Miss Grimfeather, Sunset,” Celestia said finally, snapping Sunset out of her daze. “Is everything… alright?”

Sunset could only shrug. “I mean, aside from the entire school blaming me for something I didn’t do, all of my supposed friends dumping me in the middle of the hall in front of Cel-uh-God and everyone, and having to scrub slurs off of my locker on a bi-daily basis? Pretty good.”

Leaning back in her chair, Celestia let out a sigh and nodded along. “I know and, if it matters, I don’t think you’re guilty.” Sunset began to speak up but Principal Celestia waved a hand and spoke over her. “But! Without proof one way or the other I cannot act. You have to admit, Sunset, your prior reputation supports the circumstantial evidence. To any outside party this looks like the student body responding to a bully.”

“It’s a witch hunt is what it is!” Sunset bit out, to which Celestia just gave a short nod. “I can barely step foot in this school without getting something… viscous, thrown at me.” Sunset shuddered at the memory.

“I’m aware, and I’m trying to find a way around the matter, but it’s not that easy. With that said, I would also like to bring up the smell of cigarette smoke hanging about your person today?” Celestia retorted.

Sunset blushed and looked away. “Yeah, well, I hang out with Gilda and she smokes like a chimney, so what do you expect?”

“And yourself?” Celestia inquired with a raised eyebrow. “You’re a bright girl, Sunset, and once all of this blows past I don’t want you picking up any bad habits from unsavory characters.”

Without warning Sunset slammed her palm down on Principal Celestia’s desk, who nearly leapt away from the suddenly furious young girl. “Don’t. Talk. About. Gilda. Like. That. She’s the only one who’s stood by me during this. She’s the only thing keeping me sane right now, okay? She’s… she’s literally my only friend.”

Celestia’s eyes softened and she nodded with a sigh. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Gilda has a very poor reputation that is fairly earned but her actions this past week have been, well, exemplary by her standards I suppose. I can only hope your better nature is rubbing off on her.”

“I think we’re sort of just… picking up each others habits a little,” Sunset answers, pulling back. “That’s what happens when you’re friends, I guess. And, uh, sorry about the desk slamming thing… I’m pretty stressed out lately.”

“Entirely understandable, my dear,” Principal Celestia responded with a gracious smile. “I genuinely wish I could step in and stop this but my actual authority is extremely limited in this situation.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sunset answered with a frown. “I’ll… I’ll be fine until this blows over, I’ve got Gilda, I’m keeping my grades up. Christmas is gonna be a little lonely, but…”

Celestia’s face fell at the mention of the holidays, she hadn’t thought of that. Spending Christmas alone was a miserable thought. A brainwave hit Celestia a moment later and she smiled. “Sunset, how would you feel about spending Christmas with my sister and I? It’s a small affair normally but I’d love to have you.”

Sunset, rather than being excited, looked concerned. “Uhm, sure but…”

“Although, I do understand if spending Christmas with your Principal is too… weird.” Celestia said, feeling a little disappointed.

“Oh, n-no!” Sunset answered, her eyes widening, “it’s not that it’s just… Gilda and I were gonna hang out… I don’t suppose she could come too?”

Celestia frowned, but didn’t immediately say ‘no’ as was her instinct. Perhaps she had been being overly critical of Gilda. It was certainly true that the girl had a temper and a serious disregard for authority, as well as a complete lack of concern for showing up to class. The first, and only, time Celestia had looked into her truancy, though, the truth had come out. Gilda was orphaned and emancipated, meaning she was in charge of herself, technically. While officially still a ward of the state, Gilda’s social worker was an overworked and stressed out functionary that had promised to look into Gilda’s truancy but cited her otherwise good record.

As a career educator, Celestia was perfectly able to read between the lines and what the man had really been saying was: ‘this is one of my less problematic cases, leave it alone.’ Knowing she wouldn’t get any further, Celestia was left trying to do her best to wrangle the fiery and rebellious young woman. Perhaps she had been being too harsh in her judgments, though. If Sunset had been given a second chance, Gilda deserved one too.

“If she’s willing to behave then I don’t see any issue with that,” Celestia finally answered, earning an incredulous stare from Sunset.

“R-really?” Sunset asked, shocked. “O-okay, alright, yeah. I’ll float the idea and if she’s cool with it… uhm, yeah. Thanks, Prince-Principal Celestia.”

“Not a problem, Sunset,” Celestia responded.

Sunset left the room in a significantly better mood than had gone in with. The past week and a half had been… rough. To say the least. Sunset had been spending as little time as possible inside the actual school building and as much time as possible with Gilda, both in and out of school. Anon-A-Miss was ruthless and all the flak fell solely on Sunset’s shoulders; there were shouting matches practically every lunch period, sometimes even fistfights. Sunset tried to avoid anywhere with large groups of people, since her presence seemed to act as a catalyst for a lot of bad blood boiling over. Gilda showed her some routes around the school that bypassed most of the high-traffic areas. Probably used by the smokers among the students given the smell, but they kept her on time to the majority of her classes.

More and more, Sunset was beginning to wonder if this mess would ever blow over. Realistically she knew it eventually had to end but… would CHS ever really be the same? It was this train of thought that was rudely interrupted by a rough shove to the shoulder, knocking Sunset back to reality.

“Heya, Sunset Shitter, howsit going,” the nasal voice of Rover, the leader of the Diamond Dogs, grated over Sunset’s ears drawing out a scowl. “You got some ‘splaining to do.” Spot and Fido moved around to flank her in the hallway and Sunset grimaced as she realised it was empty, and far enough away from the office that the sound of a fight wouldn’t necessarily travel.

“Oh yeah?” Sunset answered, backing up slightly from the trio. “Why’s that?”

Fido leaned in and growled. “You got us in a heap’a trouble, Anon-A-Miss. Something about us cheatin’ on tests. We’re getting held back a grade.”

“First of all,” Sunset grumbled, “I’m not Anon-A-Miss. Second, have you three considered just, y’know, studying?”

The Diamond Dogs laughed, a deeply unpleasant, wet sound. “You oughta think harder about what you say, Shitter,” Rover hissed. “You never know what might… set someone off, y’know? Can’t be held accountable fer our actions and all that.”

The sound of metal bits grinding against one another pulled a smile onto Sunset’s face as a set of deadly-sharp claws looped around Rover to press against his windpipe. “Hey boys, how’s the weather down there?” Gilda chuckled, staring down at the now-frozen-in-place teen. “Heard ya been talkin’ shit, Rover. Pretty sure there’s a shit-talkin’ tax in place around here. About five bucks per offense.”

Shivering, the three teens turned to face the bigger, more imposing girl. The fur of her bomber jacket was flared out to frame her wide, violent grin. After a moment of panicked staring, Rover reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill, handing it over to Gilda who snatched it up with a nasty smile.

Pushing past the three, Sunset scowled at the taller girl. “Gilda! What did we talk about literally yesterday?”

“Hey, these shitstains were shaking you down,” Gilda grumbled. “I think payback is fair in this case.”

Sunset didn’t answer, instead holding out her hand and narrowing her eyes at Gilda who lasted all of about ten seconds under the redhead's glare before huffing in irritation and passing back the five dollar bill. Turning to Rover, she handed the bill back to him. “Here, now scram.”

Taking her at her word, the Diamond Dogs lit off down the hall. Gilda scowled after them. “Not even a thanks, I hate those grimy little fuckos.”

“You’re not making them any more bearable by stealing from them, Gil,” Sunset admonished, softening the words by taking Gilda’s hand. Sunset had learned over the days that the two of them had spent hanging out, that Gilda might talk a tough game but that she was surprisingly susceptible to physical touch. “Seriously, I’m fine. You don’t have to go all ‘big mama bear’ over everything.”

Sheathing her ‘talons’, Gilda gave Sunset’s hand a little squeeze before letting go. “Yeah well, the way the school treats you just be glad I haven’t torn the whole damn thing down, y’know?”

Sunset smiled, for all that she missed her, now ex-, friends, she had to admit there was a certain visceral joy that came from the straightforward and absolute nature of Gilda’s friendship. She either didn’t care at all or had all the care in the world for you. Either she wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire, or she’d set the world on fire for you. Gilda wasn’t really a ‘happy-medium’ sort of gal.

“By the way, I spoke to the Principal, and she wants us to come over to celebrate Christmas with her and her sister,” Sunset said, figuring it would be best to just get that out of the way immediately.

“And… we’re both invited?” Gilda asked, her tone dripping with disbelief.

“Mhm, I told her I was spending Christmas with you regardless, so…” Sunset reached up and bopped Gilda’s nose with her finger. “No worries, we’ll be hanging out either way. So what’dya say, Gil?”

“Eh… okay,” Gilda said a little reluctantly, her formerly clawed left hand going to the back of her head, rubbing the shaved part. “I mean, spending Christmas with your Principal is kinda lame, but it seems like it’s important to you, so… sure.”

Sunset’s smile could’ve lit up the dark side of the moon if Gilda was any judge, and the expression quickly spread to Gilda herself as Sunset practically tackled Gilda in a hug. Naturally, it didn’t even move the bigger girl who wrapped her arms around Sunset in return.

“Thank, Gil,” Sunset said, resting her head at the same spot she always did, just at the crook of GIlda’s left shoulder. “You’re the best.”

“No sweat, Sunflower,” Gilda retorted with a grin. When Sunset didn’t let go though, Gilda furrowed her brow. Then she realised she could feel wetness on her shoulder. Sunset was crying. “You, uh, you alright there, Sunny?”

Sunset just nodded, sniffled for a moment before her shoulder shook with a small sob. “Yeah, I’m… uh… I’m kinda having a little breakdown here… sorry, gimme a sec.”

“N-no problem, Sunshine,” Gilda answered, pushing down the panic that was cropping up. “Take as long as ya need.”

They stood there in the empty hall for several minutes while Sunset silently cried herself out. Finally, she pulled away, drying her eyes on her sleeves. “S-sorry about that, Gil, that uh… came outta nowhere, huh?”

“Yeah, it kinda… kinda did,” Gilda agreed before shrugging, burying her hands in her pockets, and giving Sunset a wry, lopsided grin, “no big, though, you okay?”

Sunset nodded, then took a deep breath. “Mind if we go around back and talk? It’s my free period anyway, I just wanna grab my guitar from my locker.”

“Sure, always got time for you, Sunflower,” Gilda cracked, before reaching out and flicking a hanging strand of hair out of Sunset’s eyes. “Seeya in five.”

Roaming down the hall, Sunset mulled over the realisation she’d had while she was hugging Gilda. It was… terrifying, and a little terrible of her. Still, the more she thought about it the more she knew it was absolutely true. There was no sense worrying about it, she couldn’t turn back time (at least not safely) but the notion that she felt this way still frightened her a little. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn’t notice the eyes watching her as she retrieved her guitar and headed out to the back corner of the gym.

Sunset strummed her guitar, singing around the cigarette in her mouth from where she sat on one of the errant junk piles behind the gym as snow fell just past the awning. Gilda leaned against the wall next to her, arms wrapped around herself and smoking her own cigarette, smiling as she listened to Sunset perform. She sang softly playing into the next line but letting her voice trail off. The music flowed from her guitar but her expression turned thoughtful.

“You okay, Sunflower?” Gilda asked as Sunset picked out the complex chords of the song. “Didja wanna talk about earlier? S’cool if not.”

“No, I do…” Sunset answered after a few seconds. “I just… don’t really know what to think about what it says about me.”

“Hey, everyone breaks down, yeah?” Gilda shrugged, taking another drag. “You’ve had a rough couple weeks. Don’t sweat it.”

“It’s not that, Gil,” Sunset said softly as she ran her thumb along the string, teasing out another chord. “I’m glad it happened.”

Gilda took a drag, her face contorting a few times as she tried to process that. “You’re glad you broke down? I mean, I guess… gotta let it out. I just break stuff when I’m mad so I guess your way is, uh, healthier?”

Sunset shook her head, her fingers flickering over the fretboard as she poured her emotions into her music. “No, I mean everything. Anon-A-Miss, and all that. I’m happy it happened.”

Blowing out a thick stream of smoke, Gilda pulled the cigarette out and eyed it for a moment before turning to Sunset. “Yeah, uh, Sunny? You’re gonna have to lay that one out a little more for me,” she said before pointing to her head. “Thick skull, remember? How exactly is having your life ruined… making you happy?”

Instead of answering Sunset just smiled and transitioned smoothly into another song, this one faster and upbeat, and when Sunset sang there was suddenly more life and happiness in her voice than Gilda had heard all week, her fingers and hands swapping easily between strumming the strings and beating against the well of guitar for impromptu percussion.

Gilda couldn’t help but laugh as Sunset shook her shoulders, dancing in place as she picked out the song in quick, bohemian thrums of harmony.

“So here ya’ll are!” The jovial, pleasant tune cut off with a harsh, twang as Applejack came around the corner, her heavy farm boots crunching through the snow. “Guess it’s true, huh Sunset? Hanging out with Gilda? Birds of a feather’n all that Ah guess.”

Sunset glared up at her former friends. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Applejack. What do you want?”

“Jes figured ah’d come out and confirm the rumor fer m’self,” Applejack replied grimly.

“Oh, really?” Sunset answered caustically, drawing a raised eyebrow from Gilda. “Guess jumping to conclusions isn’t just reserved for anything having to do with me, then. Don’t I feel special.”

Applejack face reddened and she thrust a finger in Sunset’s face. “Those pictures came from yer phone, those secrets came from you. You’re the only one that could’a done it. Don’t blame me for callin’ the sky blue.”

“Yeah, well,” Sunset turned away and struck a harsh, bass chord on her guitar. “Thank for checking in, good talk, let’s do lunch next never.”

For a second it looked to Gilda like Applejack was about to blow a gasket but then she calmed down and just looked… worn out. Exhausted was a better word, really. “Sunset… just… stop okay? None of us like seein’ the school like this. I know ya’ll can’t, ‘specially how the rest of the students been on ya.”

“And what would you know’a that?!” Gilda barked, losing her temper slightly as she stalked forward to glare at the elder Apple sister. The farmer stood eye to eye with the unruly delinquent but Gilda didn’t care. “You haven’t been the one seein’ all the shit being thrown at her, you’ve been avoiding her like fuckin’ plague! Just like everyone else who might’ve given a shit.”

A light touch came to rest on Gilda’s palm, where her hands were hanging at her sides. She looked down to see Sunset looking up at her with a sad smile, her fingers resting gently in Gilda’s palm. “That’s enough Gilda, thanks but just… let it go.” Turning to face her former friend, Sunset just shook her head. “Go away Applejack, I’m sorry it ended like this but I’m done trying to convince you I’m innocent. It’s not worth it anymore… tell the rest of the girls the same. Tell them I’m done.”

Applejack worked her jaw for a second and after a moment a spark lit behind her eyes. Sunset saw her face fall and a stricken look cross her features. “It… it really ain’t you… is it?”

Sunset’s expression hardened. “What does it matter anymore, Jackie?”

Before Applejack could respond, Gilda interposed herself between the two girls and gave the stunned farmgirl a light shove in the shoulder, backing her up a step. “Times up, Hoedown, now get lost. Tell the rest of the Rainbrats to stay clear, too. This is our spot, we don’t need you five stinkin’ up the place. Dunno‘bout Sunflower here, but personally I can’t stand the reek’a hypocrisy.”

There were tears in her eyes, but Applejack just nodded. “Y-yeah, we’ll do that.” Pulling her stetson down over her face, the blonde turned away and sprinted from the gym, not fast enough to stop Sunset from hearing the first sob of many.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Gilda turned to Sunset. “Hey Sunshine, you o-oof!” Sunset tackled Gilda for the second time that day and let out a loud, harsh, wracking cry as she buried her face in the taller girls chest. “S’okay Sunny, do whatcha gotta…” Gilda said in as soft and gentle a voice as her natural rasp could manage.

Sunset Shimmer cried her eyes out in loud, body-shaking cries. Not sobs, but full on wails of grief that were only muffled by dint of Gilda holding Sunset as tightly as she could while the smaller girl let the weeks of sorrow, stress, and anger flow out of her. The depth of her pain was so strong that Gilda felt tears leaking out of her own eyes, it felt like Sunset was hurt so badly that it was spreading to Gilda.

‘Fine, let it, I’ll take as much as she’ll give, she deserves a little peace,’ Gilda thought as she held Sunset close.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Sunset’s sobs drained away and she slowly went slack, Gilda lowered herself down until they were both sitting on the ground, leaning against a pile of junk. More accurately, Gilda was resting against the junk while Sunset was curled up in Gilda’s arms letting out long shaky breaths.

“Gilda?” Sunset said finally, her voice raw and cracked from crying.

“What’s up Sunflower?”

Leaning her head against Gilda’s shoulder, Sunset inhaled what was quickly becoming the familiar scent of leather and cigarette smoke. “Y’know when I said I was glad that Anon-A-Miss happened?”

“Change your mind?”

“Nope,” Sunset answered wearily. “Just… in the hall I realised something.”

“Yeah? What’s that Sunshine?”

“If Anon-A-Miss hadn’t happened, we never would’ve talked, or really met,” as Sunset said the words, she felt Gilda’s grip on her tighten ever-so-slightly. “So yeah, I’m glad it happened. Because now that you’re my friend, I don’t think I can imagine going on without you. That’s what made me break down in the hall. I just had a stray thought, y’know? Like: ‘oh hey, funny thought: if this hadn’t happened we never woulda met’, kinda thing? Except… except then I actually had the thought and it wasn’t… it wasn’t funny at all.” A few more tears leaked out as Sunset curled against Gilda. “In fact, it was so unfunny that I had an emotional breakdown at the thought of never having been friends with you.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Gilda choked on her words as she bit back her emotions. “I guess I never thought about it like that. Guess it did happen that way, huh? If it weren’t for all that shit, you’da been in the cafeteria with the Rainbrats every lunch period til we graduated. No reason to slum it out here and-”

Gilda’s words were cut off by Sunset’s hand coming up to rest on her cheek. “D-don’t… just stop, please. I don’t wanna think about that. We’re here, we’re friends, we’re… together, alright? Nothing can change that, so… it’s just like we promised, right?” Sunset looked up at Gilda, her aquamarine eyes glittered with tears. “We’re never gonna get rid of each other, ‘cause neither of us are quitters.”

The taller girl pulled Sunset a little closer. “Yeah, okay… sorry. I guess I don’t like the thought of not havin’ you ‘round any more than you do, Sunflower.”

“Thanks, Gil,” Sunset said in a choked voice, “I just… really need you right now. I’m not feeling so great.”

Gilda just nodded, not daring to move. “Sure thing, Sunshine… you wanna stay the night again? Start our winter break thing a little early?”

“Mhm, that sounds nice,” Sunset answered, “I’ve been… having a lot more nightmares lately so, uhm, do you think we could…”

“Suplex,” Gilda warned. “Into next week.”

Sunset laughed. “Right, same terms, but uh…”

Gilda rolled her eyes but nodded. “Y-yeah, it’s cool. You need to grab anything from your place before we head to mine?”

“Yeah, my place is down near the docks so it’s a walk, but I’ll be up at your place around six or seven. I’ll probably still steal a shirt to sleep in for tonight, though,” Sunset snarked, before lifting up onto her tiptoes and planting a warm kiss on Gilda’s cheek. “You’re the best, Gil.”

Sunset picked up her guitar and bag and took off towards the main building, turning on her heel to smile back at Gilda again before turning back around, jogging through the snow. Gilda was left watching around the corner, her fingers lifted up to touch the spot on her cheek where Sunset had kissed. Her lips had been so warm and Gilda’s brain was still trying to reboot. When it finally did, Gilda’s only thought was; ‘fuckin’ mood swings, dude. Shit.’

Applejack sat forlornly in front of the Wondercolt statue, knees tucked to her chest and staring at the flat, marbled surface that she knew held a portal to a magical realm as the snow fell slowly around her. She wondered if Twilight was watching her too from the other side, she didn’t know if it was like one of those fancy one-way mirrors on t.v. crime dramas. It certainly felt like it though. Twilight had to know what had happened, there was no way Sunset hadn’t contacted their mutual friend from across the universe.

After leaving Gilda and Sunset she’d considered returning to the lunchroom but couldn’t find it in her to go back. There were too many thoughts in her head and she knew the girls would want an explanation. She wasn’t ready to give it, though. Not yet. She’d sent a text relaying Sunset’s words to them and ever since then, her phone had been blowing up with texts. Enough that Applejack had silenced the vibrating notification function. She’d told the girls she was fine and needed some time, then essentially went dark and walked around the edge of the school grounds. Normally she wasn’t one for skipping but today wasn’t a normal day.

The bell had rung several minutes ago, noting the end of the school day, and Applejack knew she’d have to talk to the girls soon. They’d go to the band room, see it was empty, then come out here and find her moping in front of the statue.

“Applejack?” the familiar voice of the youngest Apple sibling spoke up from behind the elder, and Applejack turned her head, giving Applebloom a sad smile. “Y-ya’ll okay? Ah didn’t see ya in the halls since lunch ended.”

Applejack turned back to stare at the statue again and shook her head. “Reckon I could be doin’ better, Sugarcube. Pretty sure the girls’n I messed up real bad.”

The younger girl walked up to Applejack’s side and sat down. “What’dya mean?”

There was no answer for a few minutes, then Applejack took a deep breath and looked over at Applebloom. “Ya’ll know this whole Anon-A-Miss mess is gettin’ pretty bad, right? Fights’n such happenin’ all o’er the place, friends ain’t bein’ friends no more. All gettin’ pretty ugly. And everyone pretty much blamed Sunset right away, includin’ me’n the girls.”

Applebloom felt a cold weight grow in her gut. “W-well, yeah, but it has’ta be her, right? That’s what you said! All the pictures and stuff came from her phone!”

“Yeah, well-” Applejack started before a high, cultured voice called out from over the crowds that were beginning to spill from the school.

“Applejack, darling, there you are!” Rarity trotted out of the crowd wearing thick woolen purple mittens and matching earmuffs over a long white coat, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash in tow clad in their own cold weather clothes. “Wherever have you been?! We were worried sick!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, walking up, sweeping the snow clear with her boot, and plopping down on the other side of Applejack. “You we’re gonna go see if that rumour about Sunset and Gilda was true right? What gives? Whatcha see?”

Fluttershy and Pinkie joined the others sitting, while Rarity leaned against the marble statue, not wanting to get stains from the snow and dirt on her outfit.

It took a few moments before Applejack finally spoke, but… “Girls, Ah don’t think Sunset is Anon-A-Miss.”

Whatever the girls were expecting Applejack to say, it wasn’t that. Silence reigned for almost a full thirty seconds before all five girls including Applebloom starting talking and shouting over one another. It was a mess of incoherent noise that Applejack only tolerated for a minute or two.

“All ya’ll CAN IT!” Applejack thundered, silencing the five girls and drawing more than a few gazes from the crowd moving around them. “Jus’... jus’ can it, girls. Ah don’t care if’n ya agree with me, but Ah’ll swear on my parents grave that Ah saw it in her eyes when she gave up on us. Sunset ain’t that swindlin’, lyin’, secret-spreadin’ varmint Anon-A-Miss.”

“Forgive me, Applejack but…” Rarity leaned down, setting a mittened hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “...Please understand, work with us here, darling. Why would you say that after all this time? What changed your mind?”

Applejack shook her head. “Dunno that Ah can rightly say what ‘xactly it was, Rares. Just that when she looked at me like she did; told me to ‘go away’ and that she was ‘sorry it ended like this’... Ah felt somethin’ snap. Like an old shoestring tryin’ to hold t’gether a cord’a firewood. Ah think it was our bond. Our… our friendship. Ah think Ah felt it break. An’ Ah thought… if that’s what it felt like, then that meant… it meant Sunset hadn’t ever betrayed us. We betrayed her.”

“Oh… no,” Pinkie finally spoke up, her hair flat and eyes full of tears. “I-I called her horrible things. I called her a secret-stealer! If she didn’t do anything then…”

Fluttershy just stared at the ground with an empty look in her eyes. “I yelled at her… I told her she wasn’t our friend… w-what…”

“H-hey!” Rainbow put in, looking worried. “W-we don’t know that’s actually the case, right? I mean, we don’t have any evidence that she’s innocent of it at all, just Applejack’s gut feeling, right?”

“An’ we abandoned her on a lot less, Sugarcube,” Applejack shot back with a grimace. “Phones can be stolen an’ put back. An’ even if we had good reason when this whole mess started Ah can’t rightly figure where Sunset possibly could’a gotten half these other secrets that’ve come out since she’s been spendin’ all’er time with that Gilda. No’ffense ta yer old friend, Dash, but Gilda ain’t exactly hard ta miss so I reckon she ain’t sneakin’ about.”

“Ugh, Gilda,” Dash remarked, screwing up her face in a grimace, “it’s really weird that Sunset is hanging with G now. She’s a bully but she used to be so cool.”

“Dunno, Dash,” Applejack replied, shaking her head. “Gilda was real protective of Sunset. Ah’m no slouch but Gilda could toss me like a river rock. Sunset wouldn’t let’er though, so instead Gilda just told me ta listen to Sunset an’ go.”

Rainbow crooked an eyebrow. “Seriously? Gilda listened to someone other than herself? No friggin’ way… wonder how Sunset managed that…”

“Not to break in, darlings,” Rarity interjected with a sad tone. “But I have to ask… if Sunset isn’t guilty then what do we do now? We have to atone somehow.”

“First thing’s first…” Pinkie put in, her voice uncharacteristically serious and her face furrowed into a scowl. “We find out who framed Sunset… we gotta find Anon-A-Miss.”

None of the girls had seen Applebloom scoot away from the group and run off during the conversation. She’d heard all she needed to hear when Applejack had spoken about Anon-A-Miss in that low, deadly tone of hers. Applebloom had been feeling uncomfortable with all the strife they’d been causing lately anyway, doubly so because the whole matter had been her idea, now though… now she definitely knew it had gone too far.

She needed to talk to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. This had to stop.

“I’m ho~ome,” Sunset said tiredly with an arid smile as she shouldered open the heavy door to the abandoned warehouse she called home.

Her ‘home’ was at the top of a rickety set of metal stairs on the top floor of an old warehouse, and lately she’d had to be more and more careful about ascending the stairs. They were really creaking lately and there was enough give to the stairs and rails now that Sunset would’ve been surprised if they were being held together by more than four or five solid rivets. Still, it was home, and so far as Sunset knew it hadn’t been used in close to ten years. The office had been a fortunate find back when she’d first come to this world. Relatively insulated with a small, battery-powered space heater tucked away in the corner that she had been able to repair using some manuals from the local library.

The office itself was a tiny, single room. By some great fortune, or more likely by clerical oversight, the office and warehouse were still connected to the utilities. No electricity but the water was running meaning she had a bathroom and a sink. No shower though, but fortunately the school had showers she was able to sneak into every morning.

The entrance and staircase leading to it were in an alley that had no real traffic, and the big steel door leading into the office had a sign bolted to it reading ‘Condemned’ which Sunset had fabricated not long after adopting the place as her own. It was a little bit of security theater that served to keep even the most dedicated riff-raff at bay. Even squatters wouldn’t sleep in a building that might collapse on them in the night when there were plenty of other far more habitable places to tuck away at night.

Setting her schoolbooks down and grabbing her duffel bag from under her desk, Sunset scanned the small room trying to decide what to take. There wasn’t a lot, to be honest. Two old mattresses with questionable stains on them that she’d harvested from a curb one day were covered in a cheap sleeping bag, while another sturdier and more comfortable sleep bag was unrolled and airing out on top of it. The rickety desk had her Journal and papers on it, she tucked those into the bag along with her schoolwork. She’d take her backpack and bag both, Sunset knew for a fact that they both had homework over winter break and she wanted to try and convince Gilda to let Sunset tutor her a little and catch her up on classwork. Pencils and pens went in with a sweep of Sunset’s arm.

On a whim, Sunset also took the bracelet that was sitting in a drawer. It was her last keepsake from Equestria. From her true home. Here, in this world, it probably had staggering value. It was thin but solid gold chased with burnished brass and studded with rubies, opals, and topaz crafted by the Royal Jeweler. It was the last gift that Princess Celestia had ever given her and Sunset didn’t want to take even the minuscule risk that someone would steal it while she was away for the winter break. Opening her duffel bag, she pried open the small secret pocket she’d sewn into it for carrying valuables, and pushed the bracelet in.

Sunset shivered as a cold, biting wind blew hard outside. Even through the insulated walls, she could feel it. ‘Maybe it’s time I find a new place, this one is falling apart’, Sunset thought, glancing sadly around the small room that had been her home for over three years.

Sunset counted herself lucky that Gilda had invited her to stay over for winter break. A warm place to stay during the worst weeks of winter would be a massive improvement, the last couple years had sucked massively. Plus, maybe Gilda would finally ask what Sunset had been waiting for her to ask for almost a week. If she didn’t then Sunset would.

A week in, maybe sooner.

Smiling, Sunset wrapped her arms around herself and giggled as her heart started racing at the thought of the dark-skinned, rebellious girl that had stuck by her, giving her some of the best moments in her life during some of the worst weeks of it. Just thinking about Gilda gave Sunset butterflies and made her smile. Yeah, even if Gilda didn’t ask… that girl was surprisingly shy about emotional stuff… then Sunset would ask. No doubt.

It took several more minutes to gather the few other things she wanted, the few decent changes of clothing she had being foremost among them. Sunset had genuinely considered getting rid of one of them… it had been made for her by Rarity to celebrate their defeat of the Sirens and before all this it had once been one of Sunset’s most cherished possessions. Now, though, it only brought back bad memories. Still, Sunset reassured herself as she packed it away too, beggars could not be choosers. She wasn’t so flush with cash and good clothes that she could afford to toss a perfectly good outfit.

Walking to the door, Sunset stopped to glance back at the office with a small smile. ‘Yeah, come this spring I’m gonna start looking. If I’m staying here Gilda will eventually figure it out. That’s not a convo I’m looking forward to.’ Turning her back on the room, she walked out the door and shouldered it shut, shivering in the sudden, icy cold.

Carefully, Sunset made her way down the fragile staircase and onto the landing before stepping into the filthy, snow-caked alleyway. Adjusting the strap on the duffel bag around the weight of her backpack, Sunset let out a tired breath. Maybe she should’ve just told Gilda what was up and asked for her help hauling all this crap. Sunset knew Gilda would’ve done it in a heartbeat, but only after chewing her out over her living situation.

Sunset turned to the exit of the alley, but before she took her first step she stopped, her eyes widening. ‘On the other hoof maybe I should have brought Gilda along…’ Three figures stood block the exit, each one wearing nasty smiles on their faces, the sound of knuckles cracking in the empty quiet of the snowy evening seemed improbably loud. ‘Shit… this gonna hurt, huh?’

“Hey Sunset Shitter,” Rover said, his unpleasant lisp twisting his words. “Let’s finish that conversation we was havin’ in the hall. This time your butch girlfriend ain’t here to interrupt us.”

Dropping her duffel, she kicked it to the side.

Gilda rubbed the sweat from her forehead with her bare arm as she finished sweeping the hall and living room. As soon as school was out Gilda had raced home after saying goodbye to Sunset who had asked her to take her guitar with her so she didn’t have to tote it back home. Since then, Gilda had been furiously cleaning her place until it sparkled. The bathroom actually looked better than when she had moved in, although that wasn’t a particularly high bar.

Still, she was feeling more motivated than she had in months. Years maybe. Being around Sunset was… energizing. Everything seemed brighter, sharper, and more clear. Sounds were richer, even the feel of the wind around her was just… more. The thought made Gilda smile widely. No one was here, so she turned on her music. Low, so that the neighbors wouldn’t hear it. She knew Sunset wouldn’t judge her for her musical taste but still… it was embarrassing. No two ways about it.

Gathering up the bottles and jugs of cleaner she’d been using, Gilda walked back into the bathroom and stuffed them back under the sink in no particular order. Standing up she caught sight of herself in the mirror and grimaced. ‘Damn, I should shower before Sunny gets here, I’m a mess.’

Walking back out and tossing the broom against the wall by the kitchenette, Gilda chuckled to herself. She wasn’t sure how she’d changed this much in the short time she’d been hanging out with Sunset, but she sure did. TIme was she didn’t give a shit how she looked, showers happened when they happened. Grabbing some spare clothes from her dresser, Gilda returned to bathroom and started running the shower, cranking the heat way up before starting to peel out of her sweat and scum-stained clothes.

Climbing into the shower, she doled out a generous glob of bodywash and went to work. It was cheap and came in a red container, and smelt vaguely of pine or something, as she was scrubbing Gilda couldn’t help thinking. ‘I wonder if Sunshine likes other scents… I should ask her. After all we’re gonna be…’ Gilda flushed bright red before pushing the thought back. ‘Down girl, we’re gonna talk to her tonight. Gilda Grimfeather doesn’t back down, ever.’

Gilda was halfway through shampooing her hair when a knock came at her door. Quickly rinsing out the suds, she leaned out of the shower and looked at her phone. Five oh two. Sunset was early. Smiling, Gilda got out of the shower and briefly considered opening the door covered only in a towel just to see the expression of Sunset’s face. ‘Hah, funny as that would be there’s no fuckin’ way I’m opening the door to that kinda cold in my goddamn birthday suit.’ Quickly toweling herself off, Gilda grabbed her clothes and pulled them on. The knock came again, this time louder, harder and more frantic.

Gilda scowled. “Keep your panties on, Sunshine, jeez, lemme get a fuckin’ shirt on will ya?”

The knocking became more insistent. Gilda growled and stomped out of the bathroom, now clad in a sweater and loose jeans. That didn’t sound like Sunset, she’d have stopped or at least said something, grabbing her brass knuckles from the side table by the couch she fitted them and pulled the door open, her fist curled and ready to gut check an intruder. To Gilda’s surprise it was Hoops standing on the other side of the door, shuffling his feet and looking extremely nervous.

“Hoops, what the fuck do you want?” Gilda asked, confused, but relaxing her grip on the weapon in her right hand. “I’m kinda busy.”

“Y-yeah…” Hoops stammered for a moment, glancing around like he was afraid of being seen. “L-look, G, uhm… can we talk for a sec? We, uh, we really need to talk. Inside.”

Grimacing, Gilda let out a long sigh and stepped to the side. “Shit, what’d you fuckheads get up to this time? Get in but make it quick, I got plans tonight.”

Hoops ducked into Gilda’s flat, kicking the snow and dirt free from his treads as he slipped in, his hands tucked in his pockets. As the door shut, Hoops looked up at Gilda. “Hey, G, d’you uh… d’you happen to know where Sunset, heh, y’know, sets?”

The hairs on the back of Gilda’s neck stood up at the mention of the redhead. “No, and you better measure yer next words real good, Hoops, or we’re gonna start havin’ a real different conversation pretty quick here.” Gilda’s left hand contorted, cracking her knuckles and making Hoops flinch.

“Okay, okay! Be cool, G, it ain’t like that, I just…” Hoops backed up a few steps, frowning. “Score was, uh, pretty sore about what happened at the skate park, G. He’s been bitchin’ about it all week. I figured it was all hot air, then, uh… then he told me he was gonna get even with ya. Told me how, too.”

Gilda cackled at that. “Score? Get even with me? He’d have to run me over with a buick to stop me from fuckin’ killin’ him first! That little weasel couldn’t land a single punch… on… me…” Her words trailed off and the wind went out of her as Gilda realised the importance of Hoop’s earlier question, and she went pale. “He’s… Hoops… Score isn’t comin’ after me… is he?”

Hoops grimaced and shook his head. “He talked to the double-D’s, found out they had a grudge against Sunset too. Guess he figured they’d rough her up so he told’em where she crashes. Surprise’d ya don’t know, what with how yer tight with’er.”

“How the fuck does Score know where Sunny lives?!” Gilda hissed, as she grabbed her boots and started pulling them on. “Why does it fuckin’ matter?!”

“Well… we followed her home one time back before the Fall Formal, y’know? Thought we’d get some dirt on her,” Hoops explained, nervously tapping his foot as Gilda got her coat from the hook and grabbed her talons. “It uh, didn’t go so well. We found her place, but she found us. Blackmailed us with some of the stuff we’ve done… graffiti, taggin’, shoplifting… woulda gotten us expelled probably… never brought it up again. Live’n let live, y’know. She left us alone after that.”

Standing up, Gilda, reached her left hand around and slid it into the oiled leather straps of her talon before bringing it up and pulling it tight. “Where… Hoops. Tell me where Sunset Shimmer’s flat is.”

Hoops swallowed dryly and shook his head. “ Not a flat… it’s by the docks, Warehouse Forty-One. Sunset… she’s homeless, G.”

Gilda felt like she was going to throw up, her heart clenched in her chest and her stomach twisted in on itself. ‘Homeless? N-no way… that’s… that’s stupid, how could she be… oh fuck me.’ She remembered how all of Sunset’s clothes looked kind of ratty and worn out. How she was so grateful when she was given a place to stay during the storm. ‘And I let her fuckin’ go back to that? It wasn’t much better the days after the storm. And now she’s… FUCK!’

Turning on her heel, Gilda pulled the door open and shoved Hoops outside before stepping out herself and slamming the door, barely remembering to jam her key in the lock and twist it to make sure she didn’t get robbed. Just as she was about to take off, though, Gilda turned back to Hoops who was starting to turn away, looking miserable. Before he got out of reach, Gilda grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. ‘Shit, Sunny’s rubbing off on me, I guess.’

“Thank’s Hoops, I owe you way more than I can say with this one,” Gilda muttered, before letting him go. “You ever need anything, lemme know.”

Hoops stood poleaxed as Gilda tore off down the street toward the docks. Gilda, the Gilda Grimfeather, had just given him a hug. Shaking it off he yelled after her. “You owe me nothin’ G! We owed Sunset! We’re square you hear me!? We’re square!”

She was out of sight a minute later. Hoops really hoped that they were square or else Score was gonna get got and nobody was ever gonna find his body. You mess with Gilda and that was one-way ticket to the beating of the century, so Hoops had absolutely zero desire to figure out what kind of hell would come down on whoever messed with Gilda’s friggin’ girlfriend.

Down the street, Gilda was beating feet against pavement, making sure she didn’t slip on the sleet and snow as the flurries started coming down stronger. It was getting colder and now with the knowledge that Sunset, her Sunset, was homeless, the cold felt like it was biting all the harder. She wished her ride wasn’t tarped for the season, but there was no way she was riding in this kind of weather anyway even if it wasn’t. Still, it sucked to have to run all the way to the warehouses. Gilda could still hardly believe that Sunset had been homeless this whole time. I mean, she got it, she understood. Sunset was proud and fiery and fantastic and beautiful. Gilda clenched her eyes against the snowfall and the oncoming tears, stuffing the latter back for later. Yeah, of course Sunset would never admit to being homeless. She could take care of herself. Still, Gilda would be damned if Sunset was going back to that place. Sunny was living with her from now on, she just didn’t know it yet, Gilda decided.

It took almost twenty minutes of full bore sprinting that left Gilda less winded than she had expected before she got to the warehouses. “Forty-one, forty-one…” Gilda muttered, scanning the different bulky, nondescript buildings. “Where the fuck is warehouse forty-one… it’s gotta be-”

A thundering crash of metal, deafening in its intensity tore through the air. Something about it put a spear of pain and terror through Gilda’s heart as she spun around, scanning for the source of the sound. “There!” She hissed, seeing dust clouds rising from an alleyway.

Gilda was almost at it when the three Diamond Dogs came tearing ass out of the alley looking pale and spooked. They got a bare glimpse of Gilda and immediately tore off in the opposite direction.

“Get back here you shithead MUTTS!” Gilda screamed as she chased after them.

Her pursuit came to a screeching halt as she passed the alley. It looked like a staircase had collapsed, there were sections of the wall that had bits of concrete hanging from it and spars of torn metal. The remains of the stairs lay in an accordioned mess in the middle of the alley. That wasn’t what froze Gilda’s heart. Underneath the mass of metal was a flash of familiar red and gold hair. For a second, Gilda stood still, her brain trying to gear up for what it was seeing.

“S-Sunny?” Gilda whispered, mostly to herself. “O-oh, oh no, OH FUCK!”

Gilda sprinted to the collapsed stairs and began clearing away the snow and detritus. Sunset was buried under the girders. “C’mon Sunshine, c’mon wake up, wake up, wake up!” Gilda cried as she pulled away the pieces she could lift.

Finally, she got a good look at the collapse and felt her heart breaking. It was a mess. Sunset was under two or three massive, bent struts of metal, and she could see stains of red on the snow that were definitely not rust or dirt. Lacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles, Gilda let out a sharp breath.

“Okay G, you got this,” Gilda muttered to herself, trying not to panic. She stepped forward gripping the underside of the main body of the bars. “Alright… c’mon, you’re a huge bitch, it’s time to put that muscle to work.”

With a heave, Gilda lifted and the metal groaned languorously. Putting her whole body into it barely inched it upwards. Sunset let out a pained groan as the metal shifted, though. The sound from Sunset sent a jolt of strength through Gilda, it felt like her senses were sharper than ever. ‘Hang in there, Sunshine, I gotcha,’ Gilda swore as she lifted. ‘Is it just me or is this thing getting lighter?’

It didn’t matter, all that mattered was getting this piece of corrugated shit off of Sunny and getting the redhead to the hospital. Gripping harder, she heard the metal groan again as she lifted it up further, enough that it was fully off of Sunset. Throwing her shoulder into the mass, Gilda shoved it backwards and let it drop behind Sunset’s splayed out feet. Rushing forward, Gilda knelt by Sunset and carefully gathered the girl into her arms. She was so light, she was bleeding badly too, the stairs had landed right on top of her, it was a miracle they hadn’t split her head open. From the look of things she had tried to dive out from under the stairs and only made it partway.

“G-Gilda?” Sunset’s voice came out cracked and washed out.

Carefully, Gilda took off her jacket and threw it over Sunset, pulling her close and cradling her. “Yeah, hey, hey Sunflower, I’m here,” Gilda said softly, trying to smile through her breaking heart. “I’m right here, how ya feelin’?”

Sunset coughed and a splatter of blood flecked her lips. “N-not so good, Gil. Can't feel my legs… that’s pretty bad right? Pretty sure I hit my head real hard too, I’m seeing things.”

Gilda felt her heart clench as she stood up, bearing the whole of Sunset’s weight and doing her best not to jostle the smaller girl. “O-oh, yeah? See anything cool?”

“Yeah, I know you’re like an angel, but I’m pretty sure you don’t really have wings, so…” Sunset chuckled weakly, nestling her head into Gilda’s shoulder.

“Y-yeah… that’d be si-” Gilda said feeling sick as she turned her head to see where Sunset was looking.

Gilda’s mouth dropped open.

A pair of massive, brown, feathered wings limned in dark grey light were flared out behind her extending from her shoulder blades. Feeling a twitch build in her eye, Gilda flexed her shoulder experimentally. The wing flapped.

“Gilda?” Sunset said softly, narrowing her eyes. “Are… are those… real?” Sunset’s glanced down and gasped. “Gilda you have a tail.” Craning her head back, Gilda saw that she did indeed have what looked like a lion-like tail extending from the base of her spine. It flicked lazily back and forth like the real thing. “G-Gilda… I think… d-did you just Pony Up?”

“Y’know what,” Gilda said after a second of working her jaw. “I’m gonna pack that shit in for another day. We gotta lotta shit to talk about, Sunflower, but right now I gotta get you to the hospital so let’s uh… let’s see what these babies can do.”

Kneeling down, Gilda coiled the muscles in her legs and let the muscles in her back take over. For so long she’d longed for the sky, it was her hidden secret, her one burning desire. The feeling of flight. She’d even decided to go into the airforce one day just to get a taste of riding the winds. Gilda let that guide her, extending her wings to their fullest and pulling Sunset close.

“Alright babe, hold on tight,” Gilda muttered, “I have no idea what’s goin’ on here, but I’m gettin’ you to the hospital yesterday.”

Gilda flapped her new wings hard, sending a thundering crack of force down as she leapt up, rocketing into the sky. She got a brief glimpse of the concrete under her cracking under the strain of her lift-off. In seconds she’d shot past the roofs of the warehouse. In moments she was nearly a mile above the city, and the wind roared around her as she tore off into the storm. It was cold, terribly cold, but a quick scan of Canterlot picked out the red lights of the hospital and the helpful ‘H’ for the medivac landing.

“Gotcha, hang on, babe,” Gilda said again as she re-angled her wings and lit off towards the hospital. “Shit, right, landing.” Gilda swore as she came in fast, too fast, at the emergency services entrance.

Flaring her wings out of reflex as she leaned backwards Gilda felt herself slow, but not by quite enough. Gilda hit the ground hard, boots first and she felt the asphalt give against the force of her landing. Gilda bit back a scream as pain shot through her body. Her punishing impact had fractured something she was sure, but it didn’t matter.

“Sunny? Sunshine?” Gilda looked down. Sunset’s eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. She felt something wet on her arms. Sunset was bleeding all over her. “Oh, shit, shit, shit…”

Ignoring the bite of pain in her legs, Gilda took off towards the entrance, feeling the weight of the wings falling away. A glance back told her they were gone, probably for the best or she would have had some serious explaining to do. On the other hand she hoped it didn’t have anything to do with Sunset passing out… As she got to the entrance, Gilda caught a glimpse of her eyes in the automatic glass doors before they slid open. Two burning gold orbs with flint-black pits stared back at her.

Hawk's eyes. ‘no wonder it was so easy to spot the hospital,’ The thought filtered through Gilda's mind as the doors opened and she tore in.

“Help!” Gilda cried out cradling Sunset as gently as possible even though she was staggering as her legs started to give out. Looking down, Gilda saw blood staining her jeans. She wasn’t sure whose blood it was. “Help me! Please, somebody help!”

A doctor came out of one of the halls with a concerned look on his face, a face that turned pale when he saw Gilda kneeling in the waiting room cradling a bloodsoaked redhead. He turned and immediately began calling for more, soon orderlies and nurses had streamed out and Sunset was lifted onto a gurney. Gilda feebly tried to follow but fell over as her legs gave out completely

One of the nurses caught her, and lifted her up to one of the chairs. “P-please, let me go with her!” Gilda reached out a gripped the nurse’s scrubs. “Please… I’m all she’s got.”

“I’m sorry dear, we can’t,” the nurse said softly, laying a hand on Gilda’s shoulder. “The doctors need room to operate.”

“S-She said she can’t feel her legs,” Gilda felt tears falling down her face, warming her frozen cheeks. “Ya gotta do somethin’ for her, please…”

Gilda had never begged for anything in her life, but if it was for Sunset she’d go on hands and knees in front of whoever she needed to. The nurse just looked on a little sadly. “Miss, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be patient, the doctors are doing all they can. Now, I’ll be right back to ask a few questions, then a police officer will be here in a couple of moments to speak with you. They need to know what happened.”

Nodding, Gilda just wrapped her arms around herself and leaned back into the chair, doing her best not to lose it. After a moment the nurse came back with a blanket and draped it over Gilda’s shoulders. “Sorry dear, I’m Kindheart, I just need a few things… the patient, what’s her name?”

“S-Sunset Shimmer,” Gilda answered, pulling the blanket close.

Kindheart noted it down. “Place of residence?”

Gilda felt her heart hitch. “She, uh, she kinda got kicked out of her house,” Gilda said, scraping her brain for something that sounded believable. “She’s… crashin’ with me. Uhm, three-one-one-nine, northeast Sable Street, flat fourteen. We go t’Canterlot High together.”

Kindheart nodded thoughtfully, then smiled at Gilda. It was a warm, genuine thing that felt unusual to the rough and tumble girl. “Okay, I’ll contact the school tomorrow and I’m sure I can get most of the other relevant information there. You’re an incredible young woman, you know, getting her here like that. You certainly saved her life.”

Gilda felt her throat close up at the thought of losing Sunset, so she just nodded. After a moment of swallowing she said, “h-hey, can I stay here tonight…? I don’t wanna leave her alone. As soon as she’s in a regular room I wanna be there, savvy?”

“Well, I suppose you could use a room here until then… we’re not full up,” Kindheart said, tapping her pen to her chin. “Actually we should probably get you looked at too, the way you collapsed like that, you look positively hypothermic, dear.”

“Ahem,” a gruff voice cleared its throat from nearby, Gilda and Kindheart both looked up to see a young policeman with azure blue hair standing by. “Sorry to interrupt, Miss-?”

“Uh, G-Gilda, Gilda Grimfeather,” Gilda said, feeling her chest go tight. She did not like talking to cops. “Whadya need?”

“I’ll go see about that room and checkup, dear,” Kindheart patted Gilda’s shoulder reassuringly before bustling off.

“I’m Officer Shining Armor,” the man said, giving Gilda a disarming smile. “Sorry, I know it’s been a rough night, but I need to get your statement. What exactly happened?”

Gilda took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay well… guess it started at the skate park near Saddle and Mane…”

The story took longer than Gilda liked, but the officer was attentive, asked only a few questions and was otherwise a nice enough guy. “I managed to get the metal off of her, but she was bleedin’, so I got her here as fast as I could.”

“Who drove you?” Officer Armor asked, as he jotted down a few more notes.

Gilda swallowed. “Uh, no one, I got her here myself.”

“Try again, Miss Grimfeather,” Officer Armor shot back. “Pretty sure we both know that the warehouses are damn near ten miles from here, and if your timeline is right that means you got from there to here in about… four minutes. Which I’m pretty sure is impossible in a couple different ways. I’m willing to look past the time not lining up right, what happened was traumatic, but there’s no way you got here on your own power. I’m not asking you to snitch, I just need to know who was involved.”

Gilda slumped in her seat and drove the heels of her palms against her eyes, rubbing away the exhaustion that had settled over her in the aftermath of the adrenaline crash. “Look, Officer, I get it, but… I don’t know how to explain what happened. I got here by myself. There was no driver, I swear ta god.”

Shining Armor squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers and let out a sigh. “Look, Miss Grimfeather, what we’ve got here is at the very least a case of aggravated assault of a minor, so I have to pursue that. I’ve got a sister Sunset’s age so I wouldn’t weep over an attempted murder charge either. But if you don’t tell me what really happened then I will have no choice to treat that as obstruction of justice.”

Rocking back into her seat, Gilda stared in disbelief at the Officer. A few moments passed and finally she answered. “Fine, you wanna know what happened? I grew wings and flew us both here.”

The police officer scowled. “Miss Grimfeather, I’m really not in the mood for-”

“Check the cameras!” Gilda shouted, earning a shush from Kindheart who was at the desk. Flinching, Gilda waved an apology to the pleasant nurse before turning back to Officer Armor. “Look, just… check’em. I know for a fact the emergency entrance has security cams, savvy? Just… don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Shining Armor pursed his lips and grumbled but got up and went to the nurse. Gilda had a point and if she wasn’t going to tell the truth he might be able to pull a license number or something. Anything to fill in the box that would mean he wouldn’t have to cuff the girl who had just saved someone’s life.

Gilda waited in her seat for several minutes, rocking back and forth and unable to get her mind off of Sunset. She was alive, at least, but what would happen to her now? Seriously, there was so little she could do it wasn’t even funny. Maybe… Maybe she’d have to call up some of her buddies from Las Pegasus. If Sunset couldn’t live legit here in Canterlot then neither would Gilda, and they’d need somewhere to go. She’d left the Brujah on good terms, her old boss even promised her work when or if she ever came back… Sunset was smart, she was sure that crazy witch could find her some work too.

“Miss Grimfeather?”

Shining Armor’s voice broke Gilda out of her musing and she looked up to see the officer had peculiar expression on his face. “Y-yeah?”

“I’m… not going to even try and parse out what I just saw back there,” Armor said in a stunned voice. “My report is going to read that an unknown good samaritan gave you a ride. You never got his name and you’ve never seen him before, got it? Because if I write down that a critically injured patient was flown to a hospital by an angel I’m going to be sectioned.”

“Heh, yeah, sorry,” Gilda rubbed the back of her head, chuckling. “If it helps, I’m kinda with you on that. I got no clue what happened. All I know is that girl I brought in… she’s something special.”

“I’ll take your word on that,” Armor said wearily. “Now, if you don’t mind I’m gonna go file this… whatever this is… and then drink to forget. Have a good night, Miss Grimfeather, and I hope your girl makes it through this okay.”

Gilda flushed, but nodded. “S-sure, thanks for bein’ cool about all this.”

Officer Armor sketched a playful salute and then left, occasionally staring down at his notepad and grumbling. Nurse Kindheart came up a moment later and set a hand on Gilda’s shoulder. “Dear, we’ve got a room ready and Doctor Tourniquet is going to look you over. You’ll probably have to get out of those jeans, too. They’re not exactly sanitary.”

Glancing down at her pants, Gilda grimaced. She’d forgotten she was stained with blood. She looked like she’d just escaped one of her favorite slasher villains. Nodding, Gilda followed Kindheart out of the waiting room and down one of the halls to an adjoining examination room. Kindheart left Gilda with a long hospital gown that nonetheless barely went to the tall girl’s knees, and left her to get changed. Peeling out of her stained clothes, Gilda prayed she could recover most of it. She’d just ask for it back, it wasn’t that hard to get bloodstains out of clothing. Tossing them to the side, Gilda pulled on the ill-fitting gown and sat on the table. It was drafty and annoying but with her pants off Gilda winced as she saw the damage she had done to her legs.

There were fine splits in the flesh that were bleeding slowly but freely and everything south of her waist hurt like a bitch. It was a chore not to try and scratch at the wounds but GIlda knew from experience that’d just make them worse. Instead she sat on the table and impatiently tapped her foot, willing the doctor to get her faster even though she knew that Sunset wouldn’t be out of wherever they had her anytime soon and if she was… that was probably bad news, not good.

“Miss Grimfeather?” An older man, forties maybe, stepped into the room. He had a tired but pleasant enough smile. “I understand you were involved in some trouble tonight is that correct?”

Gilda scoff. “Yeah, not really. I got there way too late…” Scowling, Gilda did her best not to drive her fist into the table. She wanted to hit something. She really, really did. But that wouldn’t help anyone. “Sunny was the one who got the worst.”

“Hm, I see, well I’m sure the nurse mentioned but for the sake of introductions, my name is Doctor Tourniquet,” he held out his hand and Gilda shook it, for lack of anything else to do. “Now, let’s see where we’re at here…”

Crouching down slightly, he pulled on a pair of clear gloves and gently lifted one of Gilda’s legs. His eyes narrowed as he examined the damage, and Gilda winced as he poked and prodded a few different spots before moving to her other leg and repeating the awkward process. Finally he stood up, removed his gloves, and tossed them into a waste bin marked with a hazard symbol.

“Well, Miss Grimfeather,” the doctor began with a wry look on his face. “Those are some very odd wounds you’ve managed to incur. I’d say they looked self inflicted but they’re not. They’re almost like pressure wounds. Fortunately the damage is superficial, I’m only concerned about infection at the wound site. The bones in your legs are strained, but not fractured or broken, but you’ve managed mild sprains on both ankles and pulled practically every muscle in your legs.”

“Heh, so not as bad as I was expecting,” Gilda replied wearily as she looked down at her legs. “I’ll back to normal in a few days then, right?”

Doctor Tourniquet crossed his arms and shrugged, a long-suffering smile on his face as he nodded. “Most likely, yes. Such is the recovery rate of the very young, I suppose. Still, We’re going to apply some antibiotic gel to your legs and bandage them. I’d like you to stay overnight just so we can check the damage in the morning. Any serious infection will have presented itself by then, if all looks well you’ll be discharged with instructions. Do try to move your legs as little as possible until tomorrow so as not to strain or stretch the wounds or dislodge the bandages, alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’ll try,” Gilda answered. “Say, Doc, d-do you know how the girl I came in here with is doing? I, uh, I’m kinda freakin’ out here.”

Doctor Tourniquet shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but I’ll go see what I can see. Until then, Nurse Kindheart will help get you situated and apply the gel and bandages.”

He left moments later, quickly followed by Kindheart bustling in with a wheelchair and helping Gilda into it, much to the taller girl’s consternation. Once she was in her room, the process of applying the gel to the entirety of her legs followed by a comprehensive bandaging was both long-winded and humiliating and left Gilda relatively grumpy on top of being worried sick over Sunset’s condition. She spent the next couple of hours staring at the t.v. which was playing some watered down police procedural that was badly over dramatized. Gilda barely saw any of it though. She couldn’t relax. She wanted to pace but she knew her legs wouldn’t support her for more than a few minutes.

‘Shit, this is my fault,’ the thought was passing through her brain for the fortieth time and none of the sting had left it. ‘I’m the one who pissed off Score. I’m the one who got Sunny wrapped up in this. If I’d just kept my fuckin’ temper she’d be fine. Why am I such a stupid goddamn failure?’

A knock on the edge of her door snapped her attention up and Kindheart poked her head in. “Miss, I had a quick question… do you mind?” Gilda just shrugged and waved her in. Kindheart walked in and settled down in the chair by Gilda’s bed. “If I may ask, and feel free not to answer, but… what’s your relationship with the girl you brought in? I just need to know for privacy reasons.”

Gilda swallowed and for a moment she was lost for words. If she said ‘friend’ then they probably wouldn’t tell her much, then again she didn’t want to lie. But… was it a lie? Really? Gilda wasn’t an idiot. She was laughably bad at hiding how she felt about Sunset. The redhead was an order of magnitude smarter than her, there was no way she hadn’t noticed. And then there was what she’d said the night they’d spent watching movies, the night Sunset had fallen asleep in Gilda’s arms.

‘However long it takes.’

Closing her eyes, Gilda let out a breath. “She’s my girlfriend. I… I’d appreciate that bein’... y’know…”

Kindheart smiled. “Not a word, dearie. Besides, you’ve just won me a bet, two other nurses said you were friends but I knew. Seven years ago I broke my leg in a bad fall, and the car was in the shop, so my husband carried me all the way here and I swear he had the same look on his face that you had on yours. The kind of look you have when the person you love most is in danger.”

Gilda blushed furiously, and Kindheart chuckled. “Sorry dear, I’ll stop prodding. Here, this has been going off for almost an hour and a half. Seems some of her other friends are worried.”

Kindheart sat Sunset’s phone on the bedside table and stood up. “Miss Shimmer is still in surgery but I’ll let you know the moment she’s out. It’ll be our secret.”

Smiling gratefully, Gilda nodded before picking up the phone. As soon as Nurse Kindheart had left, though, she scowled. Sunset didn’t have any other friends, but Gilda had an idea as to who might’ve been messaging her. Poking the button on the phone, the password screen came up and Gilda groaned. It was a five letter password. Laying back in the bed, GIlda held up the phone.

“Huh, okay G, let’s see…” Gilda punched in a code. “Magic? Nope… damn. Uh… Frien- nope, too many letters… Ugh, it’s probably just a random set of letters.”

Rolling over onto her side, Gilda poked the hint button even knowing it’d probably be pointless. Only an idiot actually used that function. Hers just read ‘fuck off’ when you touched it. Sunset’s wasn’t much better.

“That’s not helpful,” Gilda grumbled. “What’s ‘If I forgot, then I broke my promise’ supposed to…” Her golden eyes widened as she sat bolt upright in the bed. “N-no way… Sunshine… you didn’t.”

Sitting up, Gilda stared down at the screen and opened up the password again. Her fingers shaking a little, she punched in ‘G-I-L-D-A’. The password screen closed, opening Sunset’s home screen, and Gilda swallowed back a choked cry. “Sunflower you stupid… sweet… fuckin’ terrible password-making… ugh. Anybody’d fuckin’ guess that shit.”

Gilda prodded the message button. It’d been blowing up; there were over a hundred missed texts and a dozen missed calls. All from the Rainbrats. They were looking for her, apparently they’d come to the conclusion that they were wrong, or something. She skipped through most of them but they had definitely changed their tune. All of them were texting apologies and begging to talk to Sunset.

“Huh, too little too late, shitheads,” Gilda growled. Scrolling up she scowled, narrowing her eyes as she got past the new messages into the old ones. The ones from when Sunset was still being accused of being Anon-A-Miss. Gilda felt her fury building with every single text as she tried to read through them with some difficulty.

Dashie: //she-demon! You really didn’t change at all!//

Rarity: //I regret ever accepting a thing you had to say, Sunset, you should be ashamed of yourself. Never come to my boutique ever again!//

Jackie: //Yer a damn varmint, Sunset, and if ya don’t cut it out me an Mac are gonna come have a talk with ya.//

Closing out of the messenger before she crushed the phone in her increasingly tightening grip, Gilda set the phone down. Sunset hadn’t mentioned any of those texts and some of them were as new as two days ago. Gilda… on a deeper level… understood why Sunset hadn’t said anything of course. If she had then Gilda probably would have done something violent, stupid, or (most likely) both. They both knew Gilda had the worse temper between the two of them.

Threats and worse were hurled at Sunset every day and Gilda had watched the beautiful, intelligent, and patient girl she’d fallen head over heels for weather every single shot. Gilda had protected her where she could but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

Another knock interrupted Gilda’s thoughts and she looked up to see Kindheart looking in on her again. “Gilda de- oh no, what’s wrong dearie?!” the nurse moved in and sat at the edge of Gilda’s bed and pulled out a tissue, holding it out.

Gilda blinked in confusion at the offer before realising her face was wet. Had… she been crying? Taking the tissue she rubbed at her face and it came away soaked. She’d been crying… a lot. After a moment of drying her face, she looked up at Kindheart and felt her heart sink at the look on the nurse’s face.

“I’ve got good and bad news, dear,” Kindheart said slowly, reaching out and resting her hand on Gilda’s. “Your Miss is out of surgery but not out of the woods. She lost a lot of blood and there were complications. The doctor says her prognosis is good if she makes it through the night but… that’s not a guarantee that she will.”

She was choking. Gilda felt like her whole body was seizing up and at the same time her world was falling away from her. Sunset was… no. No, no, no. Not a chance. Sunset couldn’t just die like that. Not…

“Doctor Tourniquet took over her observation,” Kindheart continued, “since he treated you. He’s a good man, and he gave you permission to see her, if you’d like. Since… well…”

“Don’t,” Gilda choked out, “please don’t say it. I-I… I can’t lose her. She’s my whole world.” She’d never said it before, or even thought it, but the moment the words came out of her mouth Gilda knew they were true. What else did she have? A shitty flat in a shitty part of town, a beat up ride, bad grades, no family or real friends. What did she have except Sunset?

Kindheart nodded. “I’ll help you along then,” she went out to the hall, pulled in the wheelchair, and helped Gilda into it. The tall, powerful, and normally confident girl could feel her whole body shaking. She was staring down at Sunset’s phone as Kindheart wheeled her down the halls towards the ICU

As they approached the Intensive Care Unit, Gilda said: “S-stop, sorry, I need to… to call someone real quick. Is that okay?” She looked up at Kindheart who just smiled down at her and nodded. “C-cool, I’ll be ready in like, half an hour?”

Kindheart wheeled Gilda to to the side next to a bank of chairs. Gilda patted herself down for her phone for a moment before realising she’d left it in her jacket in the room. “Shit… I…” Gilda’s eyes settled on Sunset’s phone and she just sighed. She didn’t have any of their numbers anyway.

Picking up the phone and punching in the password, Gilda brought up the contacts. She knew there was at least one person who definitely believed Sunset wasn’t Anon-A-Miss, even if it was way too late. All the others might be tricks or worse, but…

Gilda hovered her thumb over the contact named ‘Jackie’. Should she? Why? None of the Rainbrats were willing to give her the time of day. They didn’t deserve to say… to have the chance to… Tears began trailing down Gilda’s face again, warm and bitter. No, Sunset would want it like this. She’d forgive. Even if Gilda didn’t, it wasn’t about her right now. It was about Sunset. Gilda thumbed the ‘Call’ button, and it rang for only a second before the call connected.

//SUNSET?! That you Sugarcube?//

“N-no….” Gilda answered wearily. “It’s uh… it’s Gilda. L-listen…” she hated how choked up she sounded. Her voice was wet with tears and pain. “Y-you got half an hour to get down to Canterlot General Hospital, the ICU. That’s it. Got it? Half an hour. Just you and no one else. If I see another Rainbrat with ya I’ll tell security to throw all of you out. Okay?”

//G-gilda why… what-//

“She’s dying,” Gilda spat. “Now get here or don’t. Alone!” Pulling the phone away Gilda hung up and turned it off. She’d wait half an hour. No less. And then she was gonna see Sunset.

Twenty minutes later the blonde, stetson’d teen appeared at the end of the hallway looking frantic. Spotting Gilda at the end of the hall, Applejack sprinted down, only to be admonished by a passing nurse. Slowing to a quick trot, she stopped next to Gilda and stared down at the normally fierce, white-haired girl.

Before Applejack could say anything, Gilda spoke, her eyes unfocused and staring at the door to the ICU. “The Diamond Dogs attacked her over that Anon-A-Miss bullshit. There was an accident… some… some real heavy stuff collapsed on her. I got there in time to pull her out and get her here but, uh… turns out I might not’ve been in time ‘cause the Nurse said Sunset might not make the night, savvy?” Applejack’s hands had gone up to her mouth and there was a look of horror in her eyes. “So uh… the Nurse… she said I could go and uh…” Gilda’s throat locked up and her vision blurred as she tried to say the words. Finally she managed to choke them out. “She said I could s-say… g-good-bye… y’know, just in c-case. And, uh… Sunshine… she’s a softie. So, I f-figured… even after all the shit you assholes put her through, she’d want at least one’f ya to be there too.”

“T-that’s… that ain’t… that can’t be true,” Applejack choked out, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Y-yer tellin’ me that, past that door,” she pointed at the ICU, “S-Sunset is… she’s layin’ in there and she’s… she’s gonna…”

“Don’t,” Gilda spat out, fixing Applejack with a furious, burning glare. “Don’t say it. She’s a better fighter than any of you shitheads, okay? But… but I know’er, she’d want this much at least. Just in case. So we’re gonna go in there and then we’re gonna leave, and then you and your stupid band are never gonna speak to her ever again, savvy?”

Kindheart came up moments later, she saw the state of distress the two girls were in and knew there must be some kind of baggage between them, but she’d seen this scene far too many times. She didn’t interject, she just moved around Gilda and began pushing her towards the ICU. Gilda gestured for Applejack to follow, and thankfully Kindheart didn’t question the matter. Applejack walked silently beside them, pale and sick-looking as they walked past the beds finally stopping at one that had the curtains drawn.

“I can only give you fifteen minutes or so, dearies,” Kindheart said softly. “We can’t risk getting in the way of the doctors in case something happens.”

Gilda just nodded numbly and rolled herself up to the curtain and pulled it aside. It was like ripping off a bandage. Best to get it done with and not waste any time. What she saw past the curtain almost killed her. Sunset was laying on the bed, an oxygen mask and tube over her face, IV’s dripping medication into her veins, the EKG machine beeping out a metronome that seemed too uneven to be healthy. Her red hair was sweat-stained and bundled in a halo around her head and her eyes were clenched closed.

As Gilda rolled closer, Kindheart cleared her throat. “Try not to jostle her, the doctors said she’s very tense right now and it’s not helping her condition.”

Gilda let out a choked cry. “Of course she is ya idiots,” she said as hot tears started falling freely down her face. “She gets night terrors if she doesn’t have someone next t’her, okay? She barely sleeps ‘cause’ve it. Watch.” Reaching out against Kindhearts words, Gilda stroked Sunset’s face, petting her hair and scalp softly as she pulled herself closer and laid her forehead against Sunset’s arm.

Almost immediately, Sunset seemed to relax, her breathing became more steady. The EKG evened out a little more as well, settling into a far healthier rate. Her eyes wide, Kindheart watched for a moment before rapidly moving away and heading down the hall.

Applejack walked to the other side of Sunset across from Gilda, she tried several times to say something, anything, but nothing seemed worth giving a voice to. What could she do? Apologise? Sunset wouldn’t hear it and it would only be for Applejack’s own benefit. She didn’t even feel worthy of touching Sunset at that point. No, she’d rather live with the-

“Say it,” Gilda muttered, she’d looked up from Sunset and fixed Applejack with another glare. “Even if she can’t hear it, I can, so say it. Sunshine deserves that much.”

After a moment of staring, Applejack nodded and turned to the unconscious girl. “A-ah’m so sorry, Sugarcube. Ah can’t ever say it enough. Ah could say it the rest’a mah damn life and it’d never be enough ta make up fer leavin’ ya alone. Ah’m an awful friend, and an awful person. Ah don’t think ah’ll ever fergive mahself fer that. But Ah’ll… Ah’ll try’n be better fer it. Just like ya always did. Ah know ya never fergave yerself fer how ya treated us all back then… Ah know ya always beat yerself up fer it. But ya tried to be better anyway, an’ Ah fergot that… all cuz’a mah own fool temper. Ah love ya, Sugarcube, we all do. We messed up bad, an’ we understand if ya never wanna hear from us again, but we love ya.” Choking back a wave of tears, Applejack reached out and brushed a strand of red hair from Sunset’s face. “A-an’ just in case this all goes south, g-good-bye Sunset… you’re the best’ve us. All’o us.”

Applejack wrapped her arms around herself as she walked around to the Gilda’s side. “G-Gilda, we ain’t had the best relationship, but Ah can never thank ya’ll enough fer what ya done here, fer her and fer me. Whatever happens, yer always, always welcome at the Apple family farm. Whatever ya need, whenever ya need it. Even if ya hate me, Ah’ll welcome ya with open arms.”

Gilda bit back an acidic response. She was not going to start a fight here. Now. With Sunset on a hospital bed. “Whatever,” Gilda answered bitterly, “you wanna do me a favor? Punch Rainbow Crash for me when you see’er next. She called Sunset ‘she-demon’ in a text. Sunshine’s real sensitive about that, and if I take a swing at that pastel loser I figure I won’t stop ‘til the cops pull me off her. Now beat it.”

Scowling at Gilda’s report of Rainbow’s words, Applejack nods. “Sure thing, sugar. Is it okay if… can ya let me know if she… if she makes it through okay?”

Did it make her a terrible person that Gilda wanted to tell Applejack she could just spend the rest of her life wondering? Probably. Sunset would never, ever have stood for that one though, so Gilda just nodded. “Don’t expect a fuckin’ text block. It’ll be two or three words. One way or the other.”

The apple farmer just nodded. That was honestly more than she expected. As she walked away, Applejack stopped and turned back to Gilda. “If… when she wakes up. Tell’er we figured out who Anon-A-Miss is, an’ we put a stop to’em… tell’er it was mah sister and her fool friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

Gilda’s eyes widened at that. “Yer fuckin’ with me.”

Applejack shook her head sadly. “Nope, wish’a was, darlin’. Mah own kin started this whole mess and Ah plan to tell’er exactly where it lead. If it helps, Ah ain’t never gonna let Applebloom live this down.”

Narrowing her eyes, Gilda brought her hand up to the bridge of her nose and squeezed. A moment later her voice came out in a low, deadly, emotionless tone. “You’d better not… and if your idiot sister got my… my Sunshine killed, then you better fuckin’ move her and her little shithead posse to another fuckin’ city.” Raising her eyes, Applejack flinched at the black and gold fury in Gilda’s gaze “That’s the only warning you’re getting, Jackie. Because if I lose Sunny, I won’t give a shit about jail.”

She wanted to respond. Applejack really did. To bite back about threatening her family. She couldn’t though. Looking at Sunset and knowing her sister had been even partially responsible was sickening. Seeing the fury and pain in Gilda’s face she knew the girl wasn’t joking. Applejack knew for a fact that if she ever lost someone like that and knew who was responsible… she didn’t want to admit it but she’d probably be making the same threat as Gilda. Instead of answering or saying anything at all, Applejack just nodded solemnly and left.

Gilda spent the rest of the time just… holding on. Stroking Sunset’s hair, holding her hand, bring the pale, weak fingers up to press her lips against them. There were a million things she wanted to say and not one of them mattered anymore except the one thing that it might be too late to voice.

“Miss Grimfeather?”

Looking up, Gilda realised that Doctor Tourniquet and Nurse Kindheart were standing at the foot of Sunset’s bed. Both of them were looking over the charts hung at from the bar at the end.

“You see, Doctor?” Kindheart said quietly, “the difference is-”

“A marked improvement, yes,” Doctor Tourniquet. Looking back up to Gilda, Tourniquet smiled. “Miss, this is a bit unusual but there is precedence, how would you feel about staying by Miss Shimmer’s side tonight?”

Gilda worked her jaw for a moment before nodding dumbly. A second later she asked. “W-why? The Nurse said I’d hafta leave.”

Doctor Tourniquet shrugged. “It’s still a subject of debate among medical professionals, but there is quite a body of evidence that suggests the presence of a loved one can significantly soothe even unconscious or comatose patients. Normally it’s not particularly meaningful in the short term, but Nurse Kindheart mentioned you saying something about night terrors?”

Nodding, Gilda reached out and stroked Sunset’s hair again. “Y-yeah, i-if I’m not next to her she gets’em. Thrashing around, crying in her sleep’n stuff. It’s pretty bad. She calms down when I, uh…” Gilda blushed but fought through it and continued. “When I hold her. So long as I’m holding her she… I guess she feels safe.”

“I see,” the Doctor said with a relieved smile. “Excellent, I would like you to stay here then. Her abnormal stress reaction was affecting the medication’s efficacy but I have a feeling that if that settles down then that might push her over the edge to stability. We still have to monitor for potential internal bleeding but the surgeon assured me there was little likelihood of that.”

Gilda was nodding the entire way through the Doctor’s explanation. “I’ll do it. Just… whatever it takes. I wanna be here anyway,” Gilda said, feeling a flicker of hope as she held onto Sunset’s hand.

Doctor Tourniquet smiled. “Good, I’ll make the arrangements. There are further complications but nothing life-threatening. I can’t go over them with you, unfortunately, due to confidentiality, but when Miss Shimmer wakes up I’m sure she won’t object to you being present when I speak with her. Now, let’s get you some blankets and a pillow.”

It didn’t take long, and soon the staff had a small bundle taken to the ICU bed where Gilda was waiting with Sunset. The Doctors and Nurses who passed by couldn’t help but smile at the sheer devotion shown by the white-haired girl. Despite looking like a delinquent she dutifully stayed by the young redhead’s side all through the night; holding her hand, stroking her hair, and whispering softly to her.

Sugarcube Corner Cafe was surprisingly quiet, given that there were quite a few customers. None of them seemed particularly conversational, though. One section of tables near the back was taken up by four older teens, with three younger girls sitting across from them. The rest of the cafe kept a distance from them, there was a pall hanging over them ever since one of their number had sprinted out of the cafe with a haunted look on her face.

Since she’d left, the girls had texted Applejack multiple times each, wondering what was wrong. All they knew was that Sunset had apparently called and said a few sentences and then Applejack had torn out of the cafe like she’d been told her house was on fire. There’d been a few half-hearted attempts at conversation, mostly by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but Applejack had told them all to stay put until she got back so that’s what they had done.

It was barely an hour later that Applejack returned, her features grim, and took her seat back. Taking off her hat, she stared at it for a minute, scowling, before clenching her eyes shut, hurling it to the floor, and slumping over onto the table to start quietly crying.

The other seven girls just stared at her as she wept into her arms. Fluttershy moved to comfort her, followed quickly by Rarity. It took almost twenty minutes for Applejack to pull herself together enough to speak.

“Girls… Ah got some real bad news,” Applejack began. “But ‘afore that, Rarity, Rainbow, ya’ll might wanna make arrangements fer Sweetie and Scoots to stay outta town fer awhile, Ah called the Oranges on mah way over.”

The three youngest girls looked shocked. “W-why wouldja do that, AJ?” Applebloom asked, teary-eyed. “Ah… Ah apologised! We all did! Y’all’re… sendin’ us away?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at their respective sisters with pleading eyes.

“Ayup, if’n things go real bad, tha’s the plan.” Applejack said grimly. “Ah just got back from the Hospital. Sunset got jumped by the Diamond Dogs and got hurt real bad. She’s laid up an’... an’ the doctors ain’t too sure she’s gonna make it through the night.”

All of the girls stared on, shell-shocked by the news that Applejack had just delivered. “An’ furthermore, Gilda had the presence’a mind and courtesy to let me go an’... an’ say mah, our, g’bye’s in case the worst happened.”

“No…” Fluttershy whispered, her eyes wide. Rainbow Dash just stared, and Pinkie Pie almost visibly deflated.

“As’ta why Ah’m tellin’ ya’ll to arrange things,” Applejack continued, steepling her fingers in front her face. “Gilda warned me off that if’n Sunset… if she didn’t make it… that she’d gladly go t’prison on account’a makin’ sure the one’s that ‘got her Sunshine killed’ got what was comin’ to’em. Ah told’er I Ah appreciated the warnin’.”

“B-but…” Sweetie Belle looked up at the five older girls. “That… that means we’d all get split up and…”

Rarity let out a long, trembling sigh as she mastered herself. “To be honest Sweetie Belle, I’ve already been speaking to our parents about it. I didn’t know how dire things had become, and I will never forgive myself for my own part in this, but given how many people you three have hurt, I was worried that retribution may fall on your heads if you stay at CHS.”

“Honestly, Ah was countin’ on it,” Applejack replied. “Teach ya’ll a lesson ‘bout the wages’a bullyin’ and what happens when ya hurt other folks,” she said before turning to Rainbow Dash. “Speakin’a which.”

No one was prepared for the hard, brutal punch that Applejack landed directly across Rainbow Dash’s jaw. The strong farmer laid out the sporty girl, knocking her from her seat at the table directly to the floor drawing shocked gasps from all around the cafe.

“That was from Gilda and Sunset, Dashie,” Applejack said darkly, shaking the stinging numbness from her knuckles. “Ah made mah own threats ta Sunset that Ah ain’t never gonna live down, but callin’ her ‘She-Demon’? Really? Tha’s goin’ a step’n twelve too far, Sugarcube.”

Pinkie and Fluttershy were at Rainbow’s side in moments, but the young soccer captain just waved them off, rubbing her jaw that now made an audible clicking noise. Rainbow grabbed a napkin and spat blood into it before turning to Applejack with downcast eyes. “Yeah… yeah it was…” she muttered, “and uh, I deserved that… so thanks.”

“Always happy ta knock your head back on straight, Sugarcube,” Applejack said with a tired smile before pulling Rainbow into a hug. “Ah’m sorry Ah hurt ya, Dashie. Ah love ya, you know that.”

Rainbow Dash held on to Applejack tightly for a moment before she started shaking and a soft, raspy sobbing started coming from the brash young athlete. That set off a chain reaction from the other girls, and tears fell in earnest. All they could do now was wait for news from Gilda. Good or bad, their lives would never quite be the same again.