Sunlight rose over the city like a sprout emerging from within the earth as the night turned to dawn. Shadows that stretched across the city streets receded as if scared away by the morning daylight. Within the trees, birds woke, gearing up for a new day while the more nocturnal ones retreated into the dark areas. People within Canterlot joined in as well, going through the same routine. Although they did it with more reluctance than their furry, feathered and scaly-skinned counterparts.

A girl could be seen in the sky of light pink, orange and dusty gray, soaring through the air like an airplane after liftoff. Every several moments, the girl flapped her wings, the feathered membranes gleaming in the sunlight. A few feathers fell, she noticed them falling and swooped downwards catching them before they touched the ground or fell into the wrong hands the girl safely tucked the feathers into her skirt pockets. The girl rose back to the sky as her teal eyes stared at the incoming city. Her hair flew gracefully behind her, her bangs whipping around her face but not in front. She paid little mind to her hair whipping around her ears and lower neck, for the girl had more important and tragic things that were on her mind.

“By the Goddess, I can’t believe this is happening. Of all the things I thought that I’d find while on my nightly flight, I never thought I’d find what I did.” Fluttershy McPherson said softly, her voice filled with sadness. “Oh, why did things have to turn out like this?”

Feeling her eyes watering, Fluttershy lifted an arm to her face, wiping at the liquid threatening to fly out of her eyes. Pulling her arm away, she saw the outlines of what looked to be birds flying towards her, recognizing them as geese. A gasped and a swerve later, Fluttershy quickly moved out of the way as they zoomed past her. Her ears took in their honking and she found herself smiling by its pleasantness as she waved at them. Watching as they slowly vanished into the ever-brightening morning sky.

“My goodness, I’m out of it today? I guess the situation with Sunset left me more worked up than I thought.” Fluttershy muttered as she pushed her hair away from her face. She gave another flap of her wings as she passed by numerous houses, faintly paying attention to the people getting up for the day. “I can’t believe it ended up this way. And right after we managed to turn her back to normal from that horrible monster.”

A frown drew its way onto Fluttershy’s face as the thought back to what had led up to her horrible discovery. She, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash had all been attending the Annual Canterlot High Junior High School Fall Formal said to be going off that night. One of their companions was a dimension traveling girl named Twilight Sparkle. A girl who was from a world where according to her pastel-colored talking equines lived and behaved like humans. From what this girl had told her and her friends, she had come to their world because her crown was stolen by Sunset Shimmer. And Twilight came to get it back before it was used for more sinister purposes.

By some miracle, the Canterlot Five somehow believed her, and even decided to help her get back her crown. Especially after finding out it was one of six important magical artifacts needed to protect her land. As thanks, the princess helped the girls prepare for the Fall Formal while preparing for the inevitable attack. Sometime during the party, Sunset had finally decided to instigate her plan to take over the school. With the help of Snips and Snails, she got Twilight’s crown and turned herself into a raging she-demon. Along with making all the Canterlot Highschool Students as her own personal zombified army.

What happened afterwards was undoubtedly the longest ten minutes of Fluttershy’s young thirteen-year-old life. Watching as the demonized Sunset and her monstrous minions wreaked havoc on the School of Canterlot. Despite this, the girls were still able to activate their magic and defeat Sunset before she did permanent damage.

Victory was theirs, but the damage that had been done to Sunset outweighed any feeling of accomplishment Fluttershy had. She could still remember the broken look on the girl’s face. Along with the despair in her voice when she expressed her doubts about learning to be a friend.

“But… all I’ve ever done is push everyone away from me.” Sunset had sobbed while looking at the six girls with shattered eyes. “I don’t know the first thing about friendship… nothing at all.”

“Yes, it’s true that you don’t.” Twilight had stated as she pulled the bruised and bloodied girl out of her crater, presenting her to the other girls. “But it doesn’t mean that they can’t teach you.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes, feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness as she recalled that tender moment. While elated Twilight had chosen her and her friends to help Sunset, she was not exactly proud of the responses she got. Not from Sunset, but from the rest of the Canterlot Five, who were less than happy to be teachers to the one that bullied them. Fluttershy could still remember the objections from them when Twilight gave them their task. Rainbow Dash most of all, who laid into Sunset about how horrible she was for the atrocities Rainbow thought she had committed.

---

“You are just the worst Sunset!” Fluttershy recalled Rainbow Dash shouting, as the rainbow haired girl towered over the bacon-haired girl as she cowered in fear under the athlete’s magenta gaze. “You pulled off a lot of stupid crap in the past, but this one is just way over the line! Starting a fight with me and my swim team?! What in the hell is wrong with you?!”

“I…I-I’m sorry…!” Fluttershy recalled Sunset whimpering, her eyes darting to and fro in an effort to escape the verbal lashing being given to her. “I didn’t mean to start that fight… I-I was just-”

“You were just what?!” Fluttershy recalled Rainbow Dash demanding, cutting Sunset off with such intensity that she almost fell back into the crater she had just been pulled out of. “You were just jealous?! So jealous of how awesome we were that you just had to ruin something good for us?! Real mature Sunset! Real, real mature!”

“P-please! I’m so, so sorry! I never meant to hurt any of you! Honest!” Fluttershy recalled Sunset pleading with the Canterlot Five as she looked for any means of escape, while the frightened girl fought back the urge to cry again. “I was just so full of myself that I didn’t think about how much I was tearing you all apart! I didn’t think it would end that badly!”

“Well, there’s something that we don’t hear every day.” Fluttershy recalled feeling angry as Rainbow spat; her lips pulled back into a snarl. “Always coming up with excuses and lies to make yourself look like a sad villain! Why don’t you just leave this school and never come back you no good-”

“That is enough!” Fluttershy recalled having finally heard enough from Rainbow as she found herself the once timid scared girl suddenly yelling at her rainbow haired friend. The assertiveness in her tone made Rainbow go quiet as a graveyard while she and the other girls turned to her. “Rainbow Ashley Dash, don’t you dare go yelling at Sunset like that! Can you not see how beaten and broken she is right now?! There is no need for you to go at her so hard! Especially while she’s down!”

“Fluttershy darling, why in the world are you defending her?” Fluttershy thought of how Rarity asked incredulously Fluttershy recalled giving Rarity a scornful stare as her friend spoke her next words. “Sunset is nothing but an uncouth oppressor! And a lady should never defend any that’s as an oppressing and uncouth ruffian such as this!”

“I’m defending her because you four are being cruel to her for no reason!” Fluttershy sniffed trying to fight back her own tears at the memory of her reply, her anger had been steadily but slowly increasing with each second that passed by. “I get that we’ve had things happen to us because of her and she in turn got turned into a raging demon due to us, but you’re all taking it too far! We’re supposed to be helping her to see the error of her ways and become a better person! Not break her more than she already is!”

“If ya ask me Fluttershy, we haven’t broken her enough.” Fluttershy closed her eyes recalling how Applejack had all but hissed at Sunset, spitting on the ground as she glowered at Sunset. “Ain’t nothin’ we can help about that varmint. All she is, is a lyin’ snake in a field o’ grass. The only thing we should help her do is slither back to where she done come from so she doesn’t poison us in th’ head with her venomous lies.”

“Yeah! I’m with AJ on that!” Fluttershy’s eyes tightened and a few tears trickled down her cheeks as she recalled unhappily as her best friend Pinkie had nodded with a harumph. “We had just an amazing party going on and Sunset Shimmer ruined it for us and everyone else! This party pooper has no idea how much I looked forward to throwing a party that big! That wet-blanket should just go back to her party-pooping home and never come back!”

“Speaking of leaving, why don’t I take care of that?” Fluttershy’s hands tightened into fist she recalled vividly as Rainbow added to her already unwanted suggestion. Fluttershy thought of how both of Rainbow’s hands came up to crack at the knuckles. “You don’t have anything to use as a hold on us anymore. And you sure as heck don’t have your little lackies to back you up either. That only leaves one thing to do.” Fluttershy remembered sadly seeing a sick grin of satisfaction spread across Rainbow’s face. She recalled how Rainbow had reached out grabbing Sunset by her jackets lapel and reached her arm back to throw the punch. Upon seeing the petrified look of sheer terroir in Sunset Shimmer's eyes and watching Sunset trembling in fear; it was almost as if Sunset herself was actually expecting to be hit at these words. “But I think I’ll be generous tonight and give you a free pass… if you manage to get out of my sight in the next ten seconds. Otherwise I'll beat your ass till you can't move any longer”.

“Rainbow, don’t you dare hit Sunset Shimmer!” Fluttershy recalled how she finally couldn’t take any more of her friends' unwanted or needed aggression towards Sunset. She recalled vividly that before anyone around her could stop her she marched over to Rainbow Dash and grabbed friends' raised fist. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you need to stop right now before you get yourself and the rest of us in real trouble! or did you forget that we’re still on school grounds?! You know that you could potentially get yourself expelled, right?”

“And what if I do?” Fluttershy remembered how Rainbow countered her question while pulling her arm away. “Whether I get kicked out or not, I would feel a whole lot better off if I was in a place that didn’t have her anywhere there!” Fluttershy recalled seeing Rainbow pointing an accusatory finger at Sunset as if she was coming upon a horrible adventure movie. “Sunset is done, Fluttershy! She’s no longer the self-proclaimed Queen of Canterlot High and Junior High School she always boasted about in the hallways! The sooner we get rid of her, the better!”

“I have no doubt she’ll be punished for her actions, but this isn’t the way to do it!” Fluttershy remembered saying angrily. “If anyone should be punishing Sunset, it’s Principal Celestia not us! Neither of them let anything of this magnitude go unpunished, so I’m sure our principal will be giving Sunset a proper punishment to fit what she has done!”

“I think my sister and I may be punishing more than one student, Fluttershy dear.” Recalling how Principal Celestia finally came to the rescue Fluttershy sighed remembering the angry look Rainbow gave Celestia. “Don’t give me that look Rainbow Ashely Dash! Listen here young lady you are two seconds away from being brought up on charges of assault now leave Sunset Shimmer alone!!”

Fluttershy happily remembered how all four of her friends had paused at the sudden new voice, the sternness behind it prompting them to look to where it was coming from. All but one of them paled at seeing Vice-Principal Luna coming to where they were, her face matching her tone. Her teal eyes scanned each of the girls, looking over them as if she was piecing together an incredibly complicated math problem. Both finally settled on Rainbow Dash, who looked like her cyan skin was just a little bit lighter.

Fluttershy smiled to herself recalling how Rarity had stammered out. “V-Vice Principal Luna!” remembering the worried look that Rarity had on her moon pale colored face Flutteshy remembered Rarity adding “What are you doing out here?! I thought you and Principal Celestia were with the other students?”

Fluttershy stopped flying for a few moments and began to hover just above a few houses recalling Vice Principal Luna’s words to Rarity. “My sister wanted to know where Sunset was, so she sent me out here to look for her while she looked after the other students.” Luna had said so curtly, her voice had become flat and dark and face hard and scornful. “But I’m far more curious as to what’s going on out here.”

Still hovering over the house Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes remembering how her friend who was always so honest had lied through her teeth to the vice principal “Uh, w-we weren’t doin’ anythin’ wrong Vice-Principal Luna!” Applejack tried to deny though it was clear that her fear of looking into Luna’s eyes, gave away the lie that Applejack was trying to spin. “W-way wuz gist makin’ shore thet Sunset wuz okay iz all”.

“Is that so?” Fluttershy remembered, sad though it was that Luna had asked, seeing right through Applejack’s clear lies like she was looking through glass. “I’m assuming that also includes tearing the emotional skin off a student who looks like she was nearly burned alive?”

Feeling that enough time had passed Fluttershy began to make her way back home once more. She gracefully soared through a grey cloud letting the cold moist air molecules slide down her soft warm skin. Flying past a few apartment buildings she recalled that before Rarity, Applejack or even Rainbow could reply, Pinkie had done it for them. “They sure did! Dashie and AJ really let Sunset Shimmer have it! I mean you should’ve seen them when they shouted at her! Heck Dashie was even threatening to beat her up if she didn’t go away! Fluttershy stopped her before she could do anything so that didn’t happen, but oh boy it was just wow!”

Fluttershy remembered how each of her three friends except for herself had all shouted at Pinkie “Pinkie!” causing the cotton candy fluffy haired girl to look at them with a foolish gleeful look in her soft blue eyes.

Landing on an apartment rooftop to catch her breath Fluttershy walked over to the ledge of the wooden rooftop and put her foot to the ledge. Looking out to the city beyond she shook her head recalling how angry Luna was at hearing Pinkie’s words and how Pinkie didn’t seem to notice or care. But mostly Fluttershy recalled how Luna’s eyes had severely narrowed. Fluttershy remembered Luna saying, "Really now? So not only were you girls hurting Sunset Shimmer with your words, you”, Fluttershy remembered Luna had marched over to Rainbow Dash glaring daggers at her and Rainbow stood her ground with her arms crossed just under her chest. “Rainbow Dash, according to your friend, were also planning on hurting Sunset with your fists as well?”

Pushing off from the ledge of the building Fluttershy looked down, noticing a few people walking down the sidewalk towards a bus stop. She smiled while she flew above them watching a little girl in a red dress happily pick some flowers and the girl's mother laughing at the sight of the child waving her hand back and forth. Fluttershy’s mind shifted quickly however back to the Fall Formal and to what a friend had said to Luna that night.

“N-now Vice-Principal, it’s not what it looks like!” Fluttershy recalled Rarity saying as her purple haired fashiondiva friend had been trying to weasel herself and her friends out of trouble, “What Pinkie Pie was saying was just utter nonsense! None of the things she said had really happened! It’s just her imagination! Y-yes, that’s it! Her imagination!”

“I am well aware of Ms. Pie’s wild way of thinking young lady! No one can deny what goes on in your friend's head which I imagine is quite the rollercoaster.” Fluttershy recalled Luna had said levelly. “That being said, you and I also know that whatever she says is usually something she does not make-up. The level of honesty she exhibits is one that can even leave Ms. Applejack to shame, and something tells me what she said just now is not a lie.”

Seeing a firehouse coming into view Flutteshy banked upwards and hovered for a few moments. Closing her eyes she listened to the Firefighters getting up and ready to begin their morning shift. She could hear one was eating a doughnut with peanuts on it another was cracking eggs over an open gas fire. While a third was making toast and complaining about there not being enough coffee. Fluttershy turned and flew towards the city park knowing she was half way home she recalled sadly her last few memories of the Fall Formal.

Fluttershy flew over the park, looked down and saw a few cats climbing the trees. She recalled how Rainbow flat out challenged Luna’s authority. “Oh yeah, and how do you know that?!” Rainbow, much to Fluttershy’s shock, had regained a bit of confidence. “It was only just a few seconds ago that you came out here!” Fluttershy remembered Rainbow adding quite angrily, “There’s no way you could’ve known that what we said or did was really what happened! Even if one of us said it!”

“That is where you are dead wrong Miss. Dash. You see I have seen all of this on the security cameras as has the security guard Corky” This is why I will be addressing this incident with your families once all is said and done here.” Luna declared, her words making Rainbow pale even harder. “Your curfew is getting closer to its end so you can either leave of your own free accord or stay and get arrested for criminal trespassing.” Fluttershy recalled quite vividly Rainbow balling her hand into a tight fist Luna was unfazed by Rainbows antics “As for you Ms. Dash, we’ll be discussing your punishment for trying to physically harm another student.”

“What?! B-but we didn’t do anything!” Fluttershy recalled how Rainbow had protested but stopped upon seeing Luna’s eyes sharpen. “This was all Sun---”

“It was not a suggestion, Miss. Dash, that you all leave and leave immediately. That was an order.” Fluttershy recalled Luna saying, Luna’s tone of voice was firm but dark. Fluttershy remembered looking into Luna’s eyes. They were cold as ice. The older woman never once took her gaze off of Rainbow who stared back at Luna like a deer in headlights. “My patience is wearing very thin at the moment, and I don’t have nearly enough to deal with this.” Letting the athlete know she was not messing around Luna stepped forward placing herself between Sunset and Rainbow. “So, stop what you are doing right now before the severity of your punishment is increased. Or do you wish to be expelled like Ms. Fluttershy said ``may happen if you continue with this behavior?”

For a moment, Rainbow looked like she wanted to keep arguing with the Vice Principal and fight for her innocence. However, the glare from the Vice Principal and the sound of

Her parent’s car pulling up was the final push Rainbow needed to give up. Growling lowly, she huffed and turned to storm off towards her parents’ car. The rest of the girls left, but not before Rainbow threw a final verbal assault at Sunset. Fluttershy stayed for a bit longer, watching as Sunset sobbed and sniffed while wiping her tears away. Eventually, Fluttershy too went on her way, barely registering the sounds of Luna’s conversation with Sunset while making her way home.

---

More tears filled Fluttershy’s eyes as the recollection of the later hours played in her mind over and over. She could still remember the pain in her chest from seeing Sunset weak and broken as if she had lost everything precious to her. So much did Fluttershy want to take her in her arms and make everything hurting her go away. Sadly, Luna had made it clear that she would handle Sunset, leaving the shy girl with no other choice but back off for now. While walking back home, Fluttershy suddenly found herself wanting to check on Sunset for some reason. Not one to ignore her gut instincts, Fluttershy went back to the scene of the battle to see what had happened to the bacon-haired girl.

From there, she watched the former bully go through various scenarios. Being found by a kind-hearted police officer, defending their Principal’s unjust actions, and running from the only help she was given. Fluttershy felt her heart break the longer she watched. Even more so after making her discovery of Sunset not having a home. She didn’t know how or why her former bully was in such a situation, but Fluttershy cared not for it. What she did know was that Sunset needed help. How that would happen was uncertain, but it had to be done. Or else the former bully was at a risk of being in far more danger than she already was.

‘Easier said than done at this point.’ Fluttershy thought, her brows furrowing. ‘I really wish that the girls didn’t react the way they did. Sunset was already beaten down! They were just being mean to her!’ Her teeth came to bite at her lower lip, her soft hands clenched as if she was gripping tightly to twin stress balls. ‘Rainbow Dash is the guiltiest of all for saying what she said. Even if they were true, it was still a rotten thing to do. Rainbow Dash will definitely be getting a very stern talking to the next time I see her. By the Goddess Danu this has been a horrible night!’

Pushing the thoughts out of her head for the time being, Fluttershy refocused on her flying. Her wings gave continuous gentle beats as they carried her through the sky and clouds high above the city. From buildings to stores, she passed them all, until she made it to a large expansion of houses. As the cool morning wind brushed against her face, she spotted her house coming up within her field of vision. Fluttershy smiled to herself, happy that she had managed to get home without crashing into a tree. Arching herself upwards, she gave a little quick beat of her wings to let herself land on her home balcony.

“Home sweet home.” Fluttershy muttered to herself as she hopped down from the balcony railing onto the wooden floor. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her energy on her wings, feeling as they began to fade. In less than a second, they were gone, leaving two small tattoos where her wings used to be.

Satisfied her wings were well hidden, Fluttershy opened her balcony door and went inside. Her nostrils flared as the scent of flowers whisked its way into her nasal cavities like smoke from a cigar. Her ears were then greeted with the squeaks of her bunny, Angel, who woke up upon hearing her. Smiling, she reached out and gave him a little scratch upon his head, and he closed his eyes at the gentleness of her soft touch. After kissing him on the nose, she went to her closet for a new pair of clothes to change into.

“I have to help Sunset. There’s absolutely no reason for her to be out on the streets. I also want to help her become a better person. I can tell that she wants it as well.” Fluttershy said to herself, silently gathering up her new clean clothing and heading into the bathroom for a nice hot shower. Turning the water on and testing it with her hand she added, “I just wish that the other girls could see it. Although I can’t really blame them, none of us can just leave her like this, especially after Twilight had asked us to help her. Maybe I can talk to my parents about this… they always seem to know what to do.”

With this idea set in her mind, Fluttershy took her shower, washing herself for a half-hour without any issues. Turning off the water and drying off Fluttershy got dressed and headed downstairs. She walked into the kitchen, only for a clattering sound made her pause as a curse followed suit. Entering it, she found herself staring at a young boy picking up some scattered utensils. She looked to her left and saw her mother was at the kitchen stove making her usual pot and cup of tea while her father sat at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. Wordlessly, Fluttershy went to the fridge, the sound of her opening its door alerting the trio to her presence.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite big sister.” Zephyr drawled brassily, setting a large pot on the counter. “Finally decided to be an early bird to get the worm, eh?”

“I don’t have time or the patience for your games Zephyr.” Fluttershy said neutrally, not bothering to look at him. Walking over to a cupboard, she reached inside and took out a medium sized tube of oatmeal and a bowl to pour it into. “I want to eat my breakfast without you getting in the way so please leave me alone”. With that she walked over to the kitchen sink and put some water into the bowl before putting it into the microwave ignoring the worried looks she got from her parents.

“Honey please don’t talk to your brother like that” Her mother softly said, “It’s not very nice and neither I nor your father wants to be, referee this early in the morning”.

“I ...” Fluttershy began but quickly changed her approach upon receiving a concerned look from her mother, “you’re right mom it wasn’t very nice” Turning her attention to her brother she offered him a weak smile not receiving her smile in return she turned her attention to her father, “Good morning Dad, did you sleep well last night?”

Mr. MacPherson, who was reading his newspaper, lowered it to address his daughter. “Oh, I’m so sorry honey, I wasn’t paying attention. Yes, I slept very well last night; thank you for asking.”

“Zephyr accept your sister's apology” Mrs. MacPherson softly said, taking a seat at the table “You know she didn’t mean to be so harsh with you”.

“But mom---” Zephyr tried to protest, stopping when his father lowered his morning paper giving the boy a stern look “Oh, very well”. Clearing his throat Zephyr stuck out his hand to his sister who took his hand into her own “I fully accept your apology sis”.

“Good now there will be no further arguing or fighting within this household” Mrs. MacPherson said adding, “Fluttershy dear did you sleep well last night?” Getting up Mrs. MacPherson headed to the stove, got her kettle and brought it over to the table setting a teacup on the table and kettle down on a hot pad she sat back down picking up the cup taking a sip of her tea she added “Is your back bothering you honey? There is some ointment in my medicine cabinet upstairs if it is.”

“I… didn’t really sleep last night.” Fluttershy replied, somberly softly. “Don’t worry, my back feels fine mom. I’ll be alright.” after turning the microwave on. A sigh left her as she leaned in against the counter while looking at her parents. “I didn’t really get back home until just a little while.”

“Were you out late with your friends last night?” Mr. MacPherson asked inquisitively. “I’m not mad about it, I’m just wondering.”

“You could say that. Something happened between us while we were at school and we, um… got into a bit of a fight.” Fluttershy explained, hugging herself while looking away. “I didn’t want it to happen but … it did.”

“Oh my, that doesn’t sound good…” Mrs. MacPherson murmured, giving her daughter a look of worry. “Did Rainbow do something to make you angry again?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t just her that made me upset.” Fluttershy nodded before quickly adding. “Not this time at least.”

“Ah, so you had a fallout with all of your friends, huh?” Zephyr asked sleazily, curiosity filling him as he leaned in towards his sister. “Come on sis, you can tell me I promise I won’t make this any bigger than it already is”.

“Yeah, sure you won’t.” Fluttershy merely gave him a raised eyebrow as she gently pushed him back. At that same moment, before scrunching her face up, she furiously rubbed at her nose. “Ack, your breath stinks Zephyr! Why do you want to know what happened last night anyways?”

“Oh, come on sis my breath doesn’t smell that bad!” He whined in protest. “I’m just curious as to what would’ve happened that caused you to be upset with all of your friends; Rainbow Dash especially.” Her younger brother replied, giving a non-caring shrug that didn’t do anything to hide his curiosity. “It’s cool if you don’t want to tell me, but wouldn’t it be helpful for you if you confided in me about what happened.”

“As tempting as that is, I’d rather not.” Fluttershy said curtly, listening as the microwave let off a ding. “Every time I do tell you about what’s bothering me, you may make it into a bigger problem than it is. And that is not something that I need or want. Especially in this situation.”

Zephyr held his chest, as if his sister’s words pierced it like an arrow flying into it. “Ouch sis, that hurts. I’m surprised that you have so little faith in me. Do you really not trust me that you won’t even confide in me about your life?”

An urge to shout out a confirmation rose in Fluttershy’s chest that she forced down with a deep calming breath. To say she held no trust for her brother about her problems would be like saying that the wolf was nothing more than a feral version of a domestic dog. For her whole life, there were hardly any times that Zephyr acted as a confidant for the things troubling her.

Each time she felt he could be trusted, he went and did the same thing over and over again, thus breaking her heart. Over the years, Fluttershy learned not to rely on Zephyr with her secrets or anything that was causing her turmoil. Especially when she became a teenager and he turned eleven, and the problems became personal and serious. She loved her brother dearly, but there was no way she could ever see him as someone to open up to.

“…Do you really want me to answer?” Fluttershy’s reply was short and to the point as she grabbed her breakfast and went to the kitchen table. “It’s not like anything good has come of it in the past. You always run off and either tell your own friends about the problems I’m facing or make the problem bigger than what it is instead of keeping it to yourself. That should be an indication as to why I don’t tell you anything anymore.”

“Hey now, I don’t go around telling people what’s bothering you.” Zephyr denied, while crossing his arms. “I’m good at keeping secrets when the time comes! What about that time when you came to me and told me that you had wanted to hang out with Rainbow Dash? I didn’t tell anyone about that, did I?”

“Not to the people we both knew. Those that we know separately. Now that’s a different story.” Fluttershy replied, watching Zephyr smile triumphantly before shattering his pride with her next sentences. “I remember one time you had your friends over and you were all hanging out in your room. I brought you some cookies, and one of them happened to congratulate me on finding some new friends to hang out with” Fluttershy, angry by his words, shot her brother a glare which instantly ended her brother's useless prattle as her mother rubbed her back comfortingly. “I think you can guess who’s at fault for that.”

“Come on sis! You know I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Zephyr said in a feeble attempt at self-defense. “They were just probing me to tell them something juicy and it just slipped out! I really tried to deflect it, but they just wouldn’t let it go! I didn’t know what I was supposed to do!”

“Maybe tell them to stop or walk away when they didn’t get the message? Instead of giving into the peer pressure of others?” Fluttershy suggested offhandedly, biting into her spoon of oatmeal.

Zephyr winced. “I could’ve, but I didn’t wanna disappoint the boys with something boring. I guess I was so desperate to keep the group hyped that your… wanting to hang out with her was the first thing I thought of. Heh, you know me… always doing the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Now there’s an unexpected surprise.” Fluttershy uttered softly, rolling her eyes while eating her breakfast. “And you wonder why I don’t select you as a confidant anymore…”

“I see, so that’s how it’s going to be today huh?” Zephyr asked, his face scrunching up as his eyes well up. “Well, I can see that I’m obviously not wanted here if you’re being this grumpy towards me in the morning. Alright then, I’ll give you your alone time. You always preferred that over me anyway.”

“I wonder why I did…” Fluttershy mumbled sarcastically as her brother made his way to the front door. “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out!”

“Hold it right there.” Mr. MacPherson’s soft but firm voice stopped Zephyr in his tracks as he faced the stern eyes of his father. “Aren’t you forgetting something young man?”

“What? Oh yeah! I almost forgot my backpack…” He replied spinning around to the item that was next to a sliding glass door. Ignoring the scornful look that he got from his sister, Zephyr gave a little wave to his family. “See you guys later! Don’t wait up for me!”

None of the trio said anything in response as the boy exited the kitchen and went straight for the door. It was only when they heard it close did any of them make a move, Fluttershy being the first one to do so. Mr. and Mrs. MacPherson watched as she held her head, gripping her hair as if trying to yank clumps of it out. In an effort to comfort her, Mrs. MacPherson got up and walked over to hug her, giving a soft kiss to Fluttershy’s forehead.

“Feeling alright honey?” The gentle woman asked, breaking the slowly calming silence. “Come with me upstairs honey. I’ll put some ointment on your back before you head out for school. I don’t want you walking around with a sore back and letting the nurse see those scars of yours.”

Getting up from the table, Fluttershy followed her mother upstairs to her mother’s bedroom, leaving Mrs. MacPherson to keep reading his paper. Their footsteps gave soft thumps as they went down the hall towards the older woman and her husband’s bedroom. She opened the door and let Fluttershy go in first, giving a single glance down the hallway before following. Closing the door behind her, Mrs. MacPherson laid her hands on Fluttershy’s shoulders, turning her daughter around. Raising up the back of her daughter’s shirt, Mrs. MacPherson sighed looking at the tattoo-like wings covering her daughter's shoulder blades.

“Honey, tell me the truth. Did you lose any feathers while you were out flying last night?” She asked, making the girl turn to her. “I promise I won’t get angry. I just want to know if you’ve been flying too fast and where people may see you.”

“Y-yes mom I did. B-but don’t worry, I gathered them up right before they hit the ground or fell into anyone’s hands.” Fluttershy replied. “I have them in my room in my skirt pocket if you want to see them.”

Her mother shook her head, letting her know she wanted no evidence of Fluttershy’s statement, instinctively knowing her daughter wasn’t lying. Turning to a large wooden medicine cabinet that hung on her wall above her dresser, Mrs. MacPherson opened it taking out a wooden jar. Placing her hand on the cork stopper, she twisted it to the right, opening it and taking out a small amount of blue gel. Fluttershy smiled softly as her mother applied the gel to her back, the coolness and the smooth texture sending a wave of pleasure down her spine.

“Honey, do you understand why I asked you if you lost any feathers?” Her mother asked.

“Yes, Mom I do.” Fluttershy replied solemnly. “It was because Angelic gave me a gift and I mustn’t abuse it. I also mustn’t let any humans see my wings or let them know that the Angein exist. If that ever happens, it could and more than likely would cause a lot of trouble for us and everyone else that got involved.”

“Exactly.” Mrs. MacPherson nodded, giving a faint note. “Angelic has been telling me that due to what happened, she is trying to keep you out of the war that she is in. She doesn't want you to get involved in matters such as that, and I don't want you involved either. War is not for a thirteen year old girl not now not ever”.

“I know Mom, I know.” Fluttershy agreed, lowering her head. “I’m sorry I did what I had done last night. I knew I was taking a risk when I was showing my wings, but… what went down last night was just so awful that I needed to do something to clear my head. It won’t excuse what I did, I’m aware of that but-”

“It’s okay honey.'' Her mother spoke softly, “Like I said I am not mad. I was just making sure you knew what might happen if you let yourself be seen in your Angein Form.” Mrs. MacPherson interrupted with a gentle head pat as she finished applying the gel. “We Dukán’s kept the world of the Angein secret for nine thousand years with no soul knowing about them, even today. It would be very bad for us if someone were to learn of their existence. What you have admitted to doing last night, while it might have been completely innocent, it was still very risky.”

“I know mom I know and I am sorry” Fluttershy sighed as her mother turned around, helping her to pull her shirt down. “I wasn’t taking into account how it would mess things up for us.”

“As I said dear, I’m not looking for any apologies. Everyone has their bad days, including us, and we will need our alone time every now and again.” Mrs. MacPherson held her daughter’s face in her hands like she was holding a kitten. “I want you to promise me from now on not to use your wings so carelessly like that again. You were very lucky that no one was able to see you due to it being so late at night. But I’d like it if you used other ways to channel your anger that are safer, and not use your wings unless there’s no other choice.”

“But Mom, I-”

“Promise me!” Mrs. MacPherson begged, hugging her daughter’s head tightly to her bosom. “Please honey, promise me this one thing. I felt so scared when I found out you lost your feathers during your flight. If anyone were to discover your identity, I don’t know what I, or your father would do. It’s a lot to ask Fluttershy, I know, but… please… just do this one thing? For me?”

Fluttershy sighed defeatedly, returning her mother’s hug as she gave a mutter in response. “Okay Mom, I’ll do it… I’ll do it for you.”

“Thank you Fluttershy.” Her mother cooed, giving a tender kiss to Fluttershy’s forehead. “Now that we have that out of the way, I want to address another issue. I noticed that you and Zephyr were not getting along very well recently. Did he do something to annoy you again?”

“Oh, right… that.” Fluttershy murmured, pulling her head away from her mother’s chest. “I didn’t mean for you guys to see me behave the way I did a few minutes ago. I don’t know what set me off, but Zephyr was just making me so… angry. I didn’t mean to come off as so snappy in front of you or Dad. It’s just… I really hate it when he acts like that sometimes.”

“I know you do, sweetheart.” Mrs. MacPherson said, leading Fluttershy back downstairs and to the kitchen table. Taking a seat next to her father, she let go of her mother’s hand as her mother continued her talking. “We don’t like it any more than you do. It’s just that Zephyr is in a stage where he’s feeling a little… well, rebellious. It happens with a lot of kids, so it’s not like it’s a big surprise.”

“As true as that may be, it’s no reason for either of you to deal with his antics.” Fluttershy replied adamantly. “It’s even less of an excuse to let him act the way he is acting!”

“Which is why your mother and I are doing our best to lead and guide your brother in the right direction so he can properly grow.” Mr. MacPherson agreed, letting his daughter calm down before he continued. “A lot of our neighbors have come to us and complained about him and what he does. We’ve taken all of it into account and we both realized we need to get more involved in his life. That is a big mistake we made after he had gotten kicked out of Crystal Prep, and one we don’t intend on making again.”

“I hope you’re able to. I’m getting sick of being the one having to clean up after his messes and be the one to apologize for it.” Fluttershy replied, thinking back on the six-hour task she endured with one of the neighborhood cats. “I’m still mad at him for what he did to Professor Zooling’s cat Mr. Squeaky. It took me six hours to clean his coat after Zephyr turned it pink and covered it with glitter! I fully thank Cernunnos, I found him just after it happened. Who knows what the damage might have been to that cat’s fur and body due to what my brother did!”

“Well, we never really know until we try, do we honey?” Mrs. MacPherson asked, holding back a wince at what her daughter said. “Don’t worry. While it may not look like it now, your brother will take things more seriously at some point. It’s certainly not going to happen immediately, but it will if we just give him a push in the right direction. And like we said before, he’s going through a phase. It’ll surely pass soon.”

“If you both say so” Fluttershy sighed and nodded. “I just hope that it’ll happen soon, because I don’t see myself listening to his complaining in the future. The last thing I wanna be is his therapist for the next twenty years. His wakeup call had better come hard and fast, or else I’m going to bury my head like an ostrich in a desert.”

“You and us both, dear.” Mrs. MacPherson said, giggling at her daughter’s last sentence. “Now, run along honey. If you stay here much longer, you’re gonna be late for school. I do believe that Rainbow is supposed to be going to school with you if I recall.”

“Yes, I know, I’m sorry for getting off track like that.” Fluttershy nodded, getting up from her seat and walking over to her backpack that was by the kitchen entrance. Picking it up, she paused and looked back at her parents nervously. “Actually Mom, Dad, before I head off, I wanted to talk to you about something. Something very, um… important and personal.”

Mr. MacPherson, sensing the tone in his daughter’s voice, asked, “And what’s that sweetie? Does it have to do with your friend Rainbow?”

“N-no, it’s not that!” Fluttershy replied, waving her hands as her face heated up. “It actually has to do with my school. Y-you see… I was wondering how you two would feel about me wanting to help someone who bullied me in the past?”

“By ‘helping’, do you mean making them into a much better person?” Mrs. MacPherson asked innocently, giving a slight raise of her eyebrow. At her daughter's soft nod, both she and her husband shared a smile before she went on. “If that’s the case then why even ask dear? I said it before and so has your father. We believe that it’s wonderful of you to help a person become something more than what they were. It isn’t like it hasn’t succeeded before. Like it did with that Dumbbell boy at that Everfree Camp Group you went to for the summer.”

“I’m aware, and I appreciate your support for me while doing this.” Fluttershy nodded, giving her parents a thankful smile as she blushed at the memory. “But… that’s not why I’m asking.”

“What is it then?” Mr. MacPherson asked patiently, his tone soft so as to not scare his daughter.

Fluttershy breathed in deeply. “See, the person I want to help is the same one that was giving me problems not more than six months ago. That one that I talked to you guys about a few times when I first started going to Canterlot Junior and High school.”

It took less than a second for the MacPherson’s to figure out what their daughter meant. Once they did, Mrs. MacPherson was the one to voice it out.

“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Sunset Shimmer, would you?”

“…Yes.” Fluttershy winced, curling her fingers within her hands. “She’s the person that I’m aiming to help right now. T-that was why… I wanted your input on it.”

Neither of her parents said anything for a second, letting their teen daughter’s words sink in like a sponge soaking up water. All the while, their daughter stood silently, confined to her spot like her parents’ lack of response kept her from moving. She was totally expecting them to be upset with what she was planning. To express some disapproval or rebuttal over her genuinely noble actions with reasonable explanations. All of this, along with her fear of their criticism, was why she was all the more surprised by their response. One that came out so small, yet so unexpected.

“Is that all?” Her mother softly asked, her response making Fluttershy jump.

“Honey, are you sure about this? I mean really sure?” Her father asked, his words so soft that they felt like pillows Fluttershy could lay her head on. “Fluttershy, we’ll be here whenever you need us. And if you need our help to help her then please, let us know so we can help.”

Fluttershy blinked, her parents’ words not completely processing in her head.

“W-what?” she asked in a timid whisper.

“Is that all you wanted to know, sweetie?” Mrs. MacPherson asked, smiling warmly. “We already gave you our answer about wanting to help a former bully. Does it really matter who it is?”

“W-well, I guess it doesn’t but… t-this is different!” Fluttershy exclaimed, turning to her parents. “This is not some typical bully that steals your lunch money or trips you in the hallways or takes your books! I’m talking about the self-proclaimed Ruler of Canterlot Junior High and High School! The one person that even the normal bullies are afraid of and back away from! The infamous Flaming Hornet of the school! That Sunset Shimmer!”

“I’m aware of that Fluttershy, and so is your mother. Believe me, we’ve heard plenty of tales from the other kids here in the neighborhood.” Mr. MacPherson nodded, wrapping a loving arm around his wife’s shoulder. “In spite of that, none of us are upset about what you’re doing. And don’t see a reason to be upset about it.

“…Really?” The pink-haired animal lover asked, dumbfounded. “Y-you’re really not upset about what I’m doing or what I want to do?”

“No parent worth their dignity would ever be upset with their children for wanting to do the right thing.” Mrs. MacPherson replied, a firm undertone coating her gentle voice. “It’s just you giving a hand to someone who needs it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

For a moment, Fluttershy was at a loss for words, completely taken aback by her parent’s words like she wasn’t really expecting them. A feeling of silliness filled her at this thought, and she very nearly kicked herself for thinking so. It was no shock to anyone, Fluttershy included, that Mr. and Mrs. MacPherson were some of the kindest and understanding people in their neighborhood.

Very rarely did they get angry, and when that happened, it was usually leveled and controlled, and not really over the top. Judgment was something they hardly displayed as well. Usually for something that was perfectly reasonable, bullying included. Combined with how much Fluttershy suffered under Sunset, she was less than hopeful about gaining her parents’ support. It seemed now that it was nothing more than paranoia eating away at her.

“Oh my… t-this is really a surprise.” Fluttershy muttered after taking her parents' words in. “I didn’t really expect you guys to be on board with this. I thought that you would say something that was opposing… or something along those lines.”

“If we were any other couple with kids and they were having a bully problem, we probably would have.” Mr. MacPherson shrugged. “But we don’t really see it that way. We can both tell that even though you endured a lot with Sunset, you still believe she’s good and can be something better. You also don’t have any grudge against her for what she did to you, nor do you hate her, and you’re not helping her because of obligations. You’re doing it based on choice, and that’s all we need to know to support you in your decision.”

Fluttershy frowned. “In what way did I say that I was helping Sunset because I felt obligated to do it? It’s because my feelings about it are genuine! Not because of pity!”

“Neither of us said that dear.” Mrs. MacPherson stated in a calming voice. “All we’re saying is that it is because you’re doing it out of the goodness of your heart that we’re glad you’re doing this. If we felt you were helping Sunset because you felt pity for her, we would’ve at least advised you to think more on it.”

“O-oh… well, that makes sense.” Fluttershy said softly, her feeling of hurt leaving her faster than a falcon diving upon a duck. “I-I’m sorry for getting upset with both of you like that… I didn’t think clearly on what both of you were trying to convey.”

“No apologies needed dear. We should’ve specified ourselves better there.” Mr. MacPherson waved the apology off. “Just… be careful sweetheart. Like your mother stated, you suffered a lot while being bullied by Sunset and… we don’t want to see that happen again if we can help it.”

“Neither do I.” Mrs. MacPherson nodded, her worried look matching her husband’s own. “Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not that we believe Sunset will hurt you again. It’s just that even if you’re willing to forgive Sunset for what she did, that doesn’t mean everyone that she hurt will. Grudges and spite can run deep, and it wouldn’t make sense if no one held any grudge or some form of spite for Sunset due to her past actions. Your friends also fit this scenario, and I know at least one or two of them would still think she’s a bad person.”

“Yes, that is true. And to answer your questions, yes I am sure about helping her.” Fluttershy nodded, agreeing fully with her mother’s statement. “I’m not naïve enough to think everyone will forgive her just like that. Some of the things she did cut deep in a lot of the other students before the Fall Formal. It’s not like that’s gonna go away, if ever, and I do know many will hold those against her for a very long time.” She looked up as her eyes filled with determination. “Still, that doesn’t mean Sunset deserves to be all alone. One thing that I know that many cannot stand is loneliness and being around those who make you feel you’re alone. I don’t want to be that person. I want to be the one that Sunset can confide in. The one that won’t make her feel alone and believe she has at least one friend. Even if no one else will do it, I really want to be that person. And if that means sharing the backlash with her, that’s what I’ll do.”

“In that case, we both wish you good luck on your task.” Mr. MacPherson said, chuckling at his daughter’s declaration. “All that we ask is that you make your decisions wisely Fluttershy. Not that we don’t believe you won’t do so, but irrational decisions can be bad. If you’re not careful, you might end up doing more harm to Sunset than what you’re really intending. So please make sure that any decision you make will be beneficial rather than consequential.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Fluttershy replied, walking over to her parents and hugging them both. “Thank you so much for this, both of you. You have no idea how happy this makes me.”

“I think we have a good hunch as to how happy you are right now dearie.” Mrs. MacPherson said, her hand coming to stroke Fluttershy’s soft hair. “Now, I think you’d better get moving now. Rainbow should be here any minute now to take you to school. And something tells me she’ll be pounding on our door if you’re not outside soon.”

Fluttershy gasped, the memory of what she was just about to do hitting her like a swan slapping her with its wings. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot!” Swiftly turning around, she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders as she rushed for the door. “See you two later!”

Barely registering her parents' loving responses, Fluttershy got her scarf hanging on the front door before wrapping it around her neck. She just barely got it around her neck before a loud knock on her door made her pause. From how it sounded, she immediately knew who it was on the other side, and she felt herself turn red. Her head hung low as she slowly opened it, feeling the sympathetic eyes of her parents pressing against the back of her skull as they both silently giggled to themselves. Mustering up all of the willpower she had left, Fluttershy looked up to see the annoyed eyes of Rainbow Dash. Awkward quietness passed between them for what felt like an hour as the girls looked at each other, their eyes telling more than their mouths did. Then, the latter’s eyes slowly furrowed a bit as she spoke, her tone synchronizing perfectly with her face.

“Good morning.” Rainbow all but growled.

A wince left Fluttershy’s lips and face as those words were spoken, the irritation hitting her like a horse’s kick to the chest. Whatever willpower she had vanished while she lowered her head, defeat coating her words as she uttered the same greeting.

“G-Good morning… sorry for being late.” Fluttershy looked up as she struggled to meet Rainbow’s eyes. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”

“Nah, not really… except I was waiting out here for a total of ten whole minutes straight!” Came the athlete’s seemingly calm and now angry response. “That entire time was out here freezing my butt off while you-” She pointed a finger at Fluttershy like she had insulted her most favorite band. “-were in here in your nice cozy cottage doing who knows what! Are you seriously trying to let me get cold until I’m frozen solid?! Not cool Fluttershy! So not cool!”

“No Rainbow, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy replied meekly, repeating her apology as she took her eyes away from her friend’s own. “I didn’t mean to make you stay out so long like that. I had a bit of a talk with my Mom about something serious… I should’ve paid more attention to the time.”

“Darn right you should have! You’d better hope we don’t miss our morning chillaxing with the other girls, or else it’s going to be quite uncool at school if you know what I mean Shy” Rainbow grunted, giving a snort, “Anyway, let’s get going already.”

“C-coming…!” Fluttershy stammered as she followed Rainbow outside. “By Mom and Dad! I’ll see you both after school!”

“So long dear! Have a nice day!” Mrs. MacPherson said back as he and his wife waved back. As their daughter shut the door behind them, Mr. MacPherson turned to his wife and said, “Well, I think we can both agree that was a rather awkward moment.”

“It was. Let’s hope that Fluttershy can make it up to Rainbow for making her wait so long to take her to school.” Mr. MacPherson said quietly, rubbing the back of his head. “Then again, we were the ones who kept her here for longer than necessary, so that’s mainly on us. We’re definitely going to have to make it up to our daughter later when she gets home.”

“We can worry about that later.” Mrs. MacPherson stated, her hands coming to press against her husband's stomach. She smiled, feeling how soft and mostly round his belly was. “While our children are away, why don’t we take this time to fatten you up a little bit? You're getting a bit thin and I want you to get fatter. I want a nice plump, round, fat husband between my legs.”

“That sounds wonderful dear.” Mr. MacPherson cooed. “Come on” Mr. MacPherson said taking his wife by her hand and leading her upstairs to their bedroom “I’ll be sure to get really plump and round for you honey”

Smiling Mrs. MacPherson leaned in, pressing her lips against her husbands as their tongues danced like cobras being enchanted by music in each other's mouths. It lasted for just under a few seconds before they broke away, their cheeks as red as Mrs. MacPherson’s hair as they painted quietly. Ending the embrace, Mrs. MacPherson put her hands on her husband's stomach, stroking it tenderly, licking her lips with each stroke. Getting into bed Mrs. MacPhers headed back into the kitchen returning several moments later with lots of food.

“I’m going to stuff you till you are ready to pop” she softly said, closing the door she headed for the bed setting the food down she smiled patting his round, soft warm belly “then when your fat enough you’ll give me another baby”.

“It will be my pleasure to fill you up till you can’t take anymore and you pass out in my arms” He replied, “I love you so much my dear.”

---

The sounds of crunching leaves filled the ears of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as both girls made their way down the leaf covered sidewalk. Wind blew in their faces, their scarfs helping to protect their necks from the cold yet not totally freezing August air. All around them, other teens and kids ranging between the ages of eleven and seventeen exited their houses.

Fluttershy watched as many of her neighbors were either with their parents or with their friends as they headed to Canterlot High and Junior High School. For the most part, many seemed to be in a good mood. The same couldn’t be said for the timid pink-haired girl and athlete, though it was for a reason in no way related to what the former was soon going to bring up.

“Rainbow, how long are you going to stay quiet?” Fluttershy asked, breaking the rock-hard silence that had been going on for a good ten minutes. “I already said that I was sorry three times now. How many more times do I have to say it for you to not be mad at me anymore?”

“About seven more times, plus twenty.” Rainbow replied, looking in Fluttershy’s direction. “Even if you did that, none of it would keep me from being a little bit mad at you. Not after that move you just pulled back there.”

“For the last and final time Rainbow, I never meant to leave you out there in the cold like that!” Fluttershy exclaimed, doing her best not to feel annoyed. “I know I said that I was going to wait outside for you before you got to my house, and I meant it! It’s just that… Well, some things kept me from fulfilling that promise that I made to you! I did not forget any of it, I swear!”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause your actions today make me believe otherwise.” Rainbow said, giving a small glance towards the other girl. “Look, I get that you had bigger things to worry about than waiting for me so we could walk to school together, that’s cool. But did you have to make me wait for that long? I mean come on! I was getting bored.”

“Which is why I’m saying you shouldn’t be mad at me for what I did earlier.” Fluttershy stated, her frown deepening. “I was already packed up and ready to meet you outside so you could pick me up. It’s just that I was having a talk with my parents about something and I uh, I got sidetracked a little bit. I was on my way outside before that, really!”

“I think the amount of time you made me wait would tell a different story.” Rainbow countered as she pointed to her watch. “Ten minutes Fluttershy! For ten minutes you made me wait while you were fooling around in your home! The first few minutes I can understand but make me wait ten whole minutes for you to finish saying hello and goodbye to your Mom and Dad?! Like, who takes that long to say, ‘I love you’, to their parents?!”

“No one, really. Except for maybe Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy replied, after giving some thought. “And allow me to correct you on your last question: I was not just saying I love you to my Mom and Dad. In fact, it wasn’t just my parents I was with. My brother was there with me as well, which is another reason why it took me longer than necessary to go outside and wait for you.”

Rainbow paused. “Wait, Zephyr was with you too?”

“He was.” Fluttershy nodded, seeing her chance to quell Rainbow Dash’s anger. “I just got up from… sleeping and was making myself breakfast when he decided to give me his usual nonsense. I don’t want to get into it, but let’s just say I was two seconds away from giving him my Stare. I think that should tell you how upset I was.”

The prismatic haired girl froze, her blue skin turning a shade lighter than normal. Since childhood, Rainbow knew that Fluttershy was rather unique out of her five friends. Fluttershy was the only person who could stare Lucifer himself down and not blink an eye. With the exception of Pinkie Pie which was for obvious reasons to anyone who was asked.

One thing that set her apart from them, the party girl included, was her ability to stare others into submission. It didn’t matter if they were human or animal. None were safe if Fluttershy was pushed to the point of doing this incredible power. No one knew how it was possible.

Not even the girl currently standing next to her as they continued their way to their school. It just happened to appear one day, and it stuck with her ever since or so everyone including her rainbow haired friend thought. Whichever way it had originated, no one could deny Fluttershy’s stare was a force to be reckoned with. And while it was very rare for her to actually use it, whoever did fall victim to it had either really annoyed her, or really got on her bad side.

“Y-yeah, I can totally see how upset you must’ve been if your brother nearly made you give him your Stare.” Rainbow agreed, doing her best not to let the nervousness show inside of her voice. “By the way, I noticed him walking down the other side of the street, looking pretty miffed. What did you say to him to get him so mad?”

“Nothing that warranted whatever reaction you saw from him.” Fluttershy sighed, snuggling a bit deeper in her scarf. “It’s just another one of his usual complaints. It’s not worth worrying about.”

“If it’s anything involving Zephyr it’s bound to not be important.” Rainbow snorted dryly, crossing her arms. “Anyway, what was it you were talking to your parents about? Did it have to do with your lazy loaf of a brother getting in trouble for not doing his homework again?”

Fluttershy flinched from the first question. “U-um, no it wasn’t that. My parents and I already laid that topic to rest. It was about something… a bit more serious.”

“A bit?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Judging from the way you jumped just now, I think it’s bigger than that.” Moving closer, she wrapped an arm around the scarfed neck of the other girl. “Come on, Flutters, tell the awesome and cool’ Rainbow Dash' what's going on. If it’s about a bully, I’ll be sure to be the ‘cool’ friend and take care of the issue for you”.

No reply came from Fluttershy, her fear kept her from telling her friend just what she was planning to do. Throughout their lives, Rainbow had proven countless times that she was the most loyal of all their friends. Even when having disagreements, Rainbow still stayed by all their sides in the end. As loyal as she was, Fluttershy knew that even she had her limits and moments. And there were some things that even she would follow her friends in doing. Like not helping someone who hurt them in the past.

While Fluttershy couldn’t really fault anyone for feeling this way, she still felt it should at least be attempted to help that person. She knew that Rainbow held a special hatred for Sunset and didn’t see any reason to help her at this point in time. Regardless, Fluttershy still wanted to try to get her friend to help her with her task, despite knowing it could backfire on her. However, this would go, she knew she had to act now. Sooner rather than later.

“You’re right about one thing.” Fluttershy responded quietly. “It is about a bully, but they’re not trying to bully me. I’m actually trying to help them to become a better person.”

“Oooh, so you’re trying to make a bully into a cooler person huh?” Rainbow asked, her response taking the shyer girl by surprise. “For some reason, I felt that was going to be your response. You always were one for “helping bring the better side out of people”. Or something like that.”

“M-mhm…” Fluttershy mumbled, lowering her head as her heart pounded hard against her chest. “Please, please don’t blow up at me” she muttered.

“So, who is the self-proclaimed tough kid you wanna help this time?” Rainbow asked casually. “Is it that jerk Garble and or any of his goons that like to act like they own the school and treat anyone who says otherwise like dirt? Or did Dumbbell decide he wanted to be an egotistical jerk again?”

Fluttershy stretched out her scarf. “…N-no. I-it’s someone else that we all know. S-someone that I’m pretty sure would be the last person you'd even think of helping.”

“Oh, really now?” Rainbow asked teasingly. “And who is this person that even I wouldn’t think of trying to help one hundred and twenty percent?”

‘Here we go…’ Fluttershy thought, mentally preparing for the heated debate she knew was going to come. Gathering all the inward strength she had, she stammered, “I-It’s… Sunset Shimmer.”

A deep silence washed over the two friends as Rainbow took in Fluttershy’s reply while she herself waited for a response. It wasn’t long before she got one, which was in the form of the athlete bursting out laughing, falling to the ground Rainbow rolled back and forth with tears filling her eyes from her laughter. Ten seconds went by before she finally stopped and got up dusting herself off, looking up just in time to see the disgusted look that replaced the shocked one that Fluttershy originally had. At that moment, Rainbow realized Fluttershy was not joking, and she quickly gained a shock look of her own.

“Wait, hold on… you’re serious?!” She exclaimed; all humor gone in her voice. “Sunset Shimmer is the one you want to help?!”

“Did it look like I wasn’t serious?” Fluttershy asked, not even bothering to hide the disgust in her tone. “I think you heard exactly what I said Rainbow, and you and I both know it was not in any way a joke.”

Rainbow’s face scrunched up. “Um, Fluttershy, you do realize who it is you’re trying to help out, right? This is Sunset Shimmer that we’re talking about right? You know the self-titled Queen Bee and Flaming Hornet of Canterlot High and Junior High School! The demon girl who tormented us and everyone in the school since she first came here! That Sunset Shimmer!”

“Believe me Rainbow, I know who I’m talking about.” Fluttershy said curtly. “Is it really that hard for you to believe that I want to help her?”

“Uh, yes! It is!” Rainbow almost shouted, feeling herself getting upset along with Fluttershy. “In what world would you ever want to help someone who made all our lives miserable?! The very same girl who not only stole a princess’s crown, but also tried to nuke us into next week with her demon powers?! I get it if it was just some normal bully who tries to take your lunch money or mess up your books, but Sunset Shimmer?! Are you crazy?! That-this is so uncool Fluttershy!”

“If I was any other person doing this, I may have agreed with you and probably backed out of this task.” Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head. “But you see Rainbow, I’m not that kind of person. I know that this feels all out of the blue to you. I will admit that Sunset did a lot of horrible things to us over the past few months and that you have every reason to be angry at her for. Still, that doesn’t mean that she should just be left on her own. You saw that look she gave us after we turned her back from that awful demon form of her’s. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so broken in my life.”

“Well, if you asked me, she deserved it.” Rainbow spat with a sneer. “Who cares if she’s suddenly all beat up and sad right now? After all the crap she put us through, the least that can happen is that she gets nuked the same way she did us.”

A gasp left Fluttershy as her repulsed look, and tone, came back with a full force. “Rainbow Dash, how can you say that?! Sunset may have been a bully, but that doesn’t mean what happened to her was something we wanted to happen! We only did it because she was corrupted by the magic of Princess Twilight’s crown! There was no other way to stop and save her other than that! Or … at least I don’t think there was.”

“I get that, which is why I participated.” Rainbow nodded. “I only did it because I wanted to help my friends and Princess Twilight stop someone who messed with her. I didn’t do it because I wanted later on to help Sunset Shimmer out or anything. I would be happy if Sunset left Canterlot never to return again”.

“W-what?” Fluttershy sputtered, the careless words hitting her like a tail slap from a territorial alligator. “I-I…”

“What?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. “You seriously thought I did it because I wanted to help her? Come on Fluttershy, get with the program! You know my feelings about Sunset Shimmer! If there was any other way to stop her that didn’t involve us, then I wouldn’t have even bothered! I would sooner give up trying to be an athlete than be involved with someone like her.”

“You… you c-can’t mean that?” Fluttershy breathed, appalled. “You don’t honestly feel that way about her? Do you Rainbow?”

“I’d be an even worse liar than Sunset Shimmer herself if I didn’t.” Rainbow replied coldly. “Sorry Fluttershy, but you’re wasting your time if you think there’s any chance Sunset demon girl Shimmer can be cool. She’s proven time and time again that she will never change how she is. Trust me when I say, it is not worth even trying.”

Fluttershy stopped in her tracks completely speechless, barely able to comprehend the callous words she just heard from her friend's mouth. She didn’t even think she was breathing as she stared at Rainbow, utterly horrified by what she had heard. It only lasted for nearly a minute, but Fluttershy felt it was longer than that while she tried forming some response. Soon, another feeling came over the kind girl; one that she rarely ever felt unless she was quickly pushed to that point.

Anger.

“So that’s it then…” Fluttershy murmured as she lowered her head. “You’re really not gonna do anything for Sunset? Even after showing how much she regretted her actions?”

“The day I believe that demon girl regrets her actions is the day that I hear someone saying that the Canterlot Sliders aren’t awesome, and I don’t sock ‘em in the face.” Rainbow replied, seemingly oblivious to how hard Fluttershy was currently shaking. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if her not knowing anything about friendship was another way to make us feel sorry for her. Not that I ever would feel sorry for anyone like that.”

“I see…” Fluttershy said as she slowly looked up, finally letting Rainbow see the hurt she was beginning to feel and the tears in her eyes. “If that’s honestly how you feel about Sunset, then… I’ll just help her by myself! Some friend you turned out to be, you traitor!”

“Traitor?! Wha-hey!” Rainbow cried as she watched Fluttershy take off down the sidewalk. “Hey Fluttershy! Where are you going?!”

“To do what I should’ve done sooner that you see no need to do!” Fluttershy shouted back, her words every bit as harsh, if not a little harsher, than she intended. She then stopped long enough to turn her head and give Rainbow such a glare that it made her flinch. “And don’t even think of trying to stop me! Or I swear to all Divinity that I will give you such a Stare that you’ll be blind for a week!”

With those words, Fluttershy continued on her way, letting her tears fly behind her as they fell on the snowy sidewalk. Behind her, Rainbow stood feeling a mixture of confusion and shock at what transpired. Something that she could not help voice out with a single sentence.

“What the heck just happened?”

---

Exhaustion was the first thing Fluttershy felt by the time she reached her school. She didn’t know how far she ran, but she knew her lungs burnt like fire when she finally stopped. It meant nothing to her, for the physical strain on her body was nothing like what she was feeling in her heart. The Jr highschooler’s face glistened with sweat as her breaths came out hard forming into a fog of mist each time she exhaled. While she tried to catch her breath, recaps of the conversation began to assault her mind.

“I can’t believe it… I just can’t believe it! For such things to be said about Sunset… and by Rainbow Dash of all people!” Fluttershy thought, feeling herself becoming angry again as it mixed with the sadness throbbing in her chest. She began heading towards the school entrance, barely noticing the looks given to her by the other students. “I knew her dislike for Sunset was bad but to be at such a level. Did Sunset bully Rainbow in the past really affect her that much?! What am I saying?” Fluttershy muttered to herself, “of course it did! I just didn’t think she’d be so… heartless about it!”

Groaning disdainfully, Fluttershy wiped her sweat away and made her way to the school’s front doors, taking notice of the messiness of the entrance. Her frown deepened upon seeing the large crater next to her, and the splits where the stairs to the entrance were. For just a split second, Fluttershy felt herself at the scene of the night prior. Bearing witness to all that happened up to her finding out about Sunset being homeless. Something that still left a horrid taste in her mouth and feeling unable to do anything about it

“I almost forgot how much of a mess we made of this place when we turned Sunset back to the way she was.” Fluttershy mumbled, speed walking from the crater like it was something creepy and crawly. She made her way towards the stairs, taking care to not walk up them too quickly lest she got a bruise or worse. As she made her way inside the school, she felt her mind wander back to her current situation.

“I suppose it was foolish of me to think that Rainbow would give me a hand in making things better for Sunset.” Fluttershy murmured, feeling her eyes start to well up as her tears plopped onto her boots. “Still, I can’t let that be a reason for me to give up. Even if Rainbow is right about Sunset, the pain and suffering she’s getting is still not okay. It looks like I’m on my own for now at least.”

“So, you want to help Sunset, do you?”

A mousey squeak flew out of Fluttershy’s mouth as she whipped her head to see who decided to speak to her. Her jaw dropped upon seeing a red-skinned boy leaning against one of the lockers with a grin so sly only he could produce it.

“G-Garble?!” The pink-haired girl sputtered, the urge to run away vanishing like the pellets of a dandelion. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just decided to get here a bit early for once so I don’t miss all the stuff going on right now.” Garble replied, giving a shrug. “But enough about me, what’s this I hear about you wanting to help Sunset?”

“Wait, you know about that? Did you hear what I had said?” Fluttershy asked, too surprised to get upset with Garble for eavesdropping. “Oh, I’m so embarrassed”.

“Not all. Only the last thing that you said.” The boy replied casually, sliding back his Faux Hawk blond hair. “Before you ask, I wasn’t eavesdropping on your self-conversation. You just happened to come at the right time for me to hear it and what was bothering you.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh… so you did, huh? I guess I was talking a bit louder than usual then…”

“More like a lot. And that is saying a lot coming from a girl who’s so quiet that even a mouse is louder than you.” Garble chuckled, making his fellow teenage peer look away bashfully. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I just wanna say that whatever you’re planning on doing for Sunset, I’ll give you my support however I can.”

“Y-you want to help Sunset?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “But…I thought you didn’t like Sunset? She did bully you and your friends in the past, didn’t… she?”

Garble’s sly grin turned into a serious frown. “She did but not as bad as some, and let’s be fair here, I wasn’t really that good myself.” An embarrassed look of his own formed in his eyes and a slight red tinge came to blend in with his scarlet cheeks. “All that aside, I don’t think it’s cool that she’s going through all of this, even if others think that she deserves it. Which is why I wanna help in any way that I can to, you know… make her cool again.”

Fluttershy did not give any response right away. Mainly because of how right Garble was with his first statement. It was indeed surprising, at least to her, that he’d be willing to help someone that caused him to have some trouble before. Being a former bully himself, Fluttershy felt he’d be one of those people not wanting anything to do with the task of helping Sunset Shimmer. She could now see there was some she was not giving enough credit for when it came to putting personal grudges aside. Especially if some of those people used to be bullies themselves.

“My goodness… I have to say Garble, I’m surprised at you right now.” Fluttershy admitted after taking some time to process his words. “I never thought that you would want to side with Sunset after all she put us through… I know she didn’t put you through that much but, well still.”

“I was pretty much a total dick a few months ago, so I don’t blame you for not trusting me right away with this.” Garble nodded, crossing his arms. “But it’s not like I care about that. I do, however, care about how much Sunset’s going though, a lot. I don’t know what Sunset is going through right now but I’ll be here when you need me to be.”

“So… you want to work together with me to get Sunset the support she needs?” Fluttershy asked, watching as the former bully gave a nod. “I see… Well then, if that’s what you’d like to do, then I’ll let you aid me Garble. Besides, I'll take all the help I can get at this point.”

“I’ll do my best.” Garble confirmed, giving a little thumbs up. “So, are you gonna go meet up with Sunset then?”

Fluttershy paused. “That… was my original plan, yes. I wasn’t planning to do it alone though, but the last person I talked to about it wasn’t too keen on it. But if you want to fill in that role for me, I’d appreciate it very much.”

“In that case, lead the way, Fluttershy.” Garble agreed with a smirk.

Fluttershy straightened her dress and headed to where Sunset’s locker was. Garble followed close behind her, making sure to walk by her side, rather than behind her as to not raise too much suspicion. A few looks were shot their way in spite of this, but one glare from the blond fauxhawk haired boy was enough to stop them from going any further.

It didn’t take long before they made it to Sunset's locker, pausing when they saw an all too familiar girl right in front of it. A slightly gasping wince left both of them upon seeing the dirty state Sunset Shimmer was in but it wasn’t too surprising given what she went through the previous night. Fluttershy gulped watching Sunset put away her books, the somber girl feeling her feet stick to the ground as her fear returned tenfold.

“What’s the matter? Getting cold feet?” Garble asked, taking notice of the girls’ trembling. “Here I’ll take the lead and you follow”. Taking a step he stopped feeling Fluttershy’s hand coming to rest on his shoulder, looking over his shoulder a grin etched over his lips “oh, you want to take the lead alright that’s cool with me.”

“I…I-I’m sorry, I’m just feeling nervous is all.” Fluttershy replied, trying to calm her nerves. “I’m wondering how Sunset will feel at the prospect of me wanting to help her. I was a part of the group that embarrassed her when I and all of my friends defeated her last night.”

“I feel the same way… odds are pretty low she’d be willing to accept your help. Let alone believe that you want to help her at all.” Garble added, hands sliding in his pockets. “I still think you need to give it a try. You came this far, so it won’t really make much sense for you to suddenly back off at the last second. After all, you did come here for a reason, didn’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I did… I guess I’m just really scared about how it’ll go. And if it’ll be like how it was during our battle.”

“In that case, go on and talk to her. Don’t know if she will be willing to listen, but you should still give it a shot.” Garble encouraged. “I’ll be right here if you need any help, and if it doesn’t work, there’s always another way.”

Smiling gratefully, Fluttershy inhaled and let it out slowly, preparing herself for what she hoped was a smooth operation. She slowly walked up to Sunset, making sure to make her footsteps loud enough for her to hear. The results came in the form of the bacon-haired girl turning to her and pausing in surprise.

“F-Fluttershy?” Sunset stuttered, her voice seemed to crack at the first letter. “I-I, erm-uh”

“Hello Sunset,” The aforementioned shy girl greeted gently, albeit bashfully. “How’re you doing this morning?”

It took a moment for Sunset to realize that Fluttershy was actually being kind to her. Once it sunk in, she found herself stammering out another response. “U-um… I’m o-okay, I guess. Sort of.”

‘Sort of… right.’ Garble thought, knowing that statement was a bold-faced lie.

“Is that so? Well, I’m glad that your morning is going somewhat well.” Fluttershy said, giving the former bully the best smile that she could. Fluttershy began to think ‘Goodness, what a ridiculous thing to ask! I literally saw her only a few hours ago sleeping in that shack she must call home! Of course she’s not doing okay! If she was, she’d be having a much better morning right now! Oh, why must I ask the silliest things?!” Fluttershy thought.

“Was there… something that you needed Fluttershy?” Sunset asked warily, her question helping to snap Fluttershy out of her internal self-scolding. “I’m not trying to sound rude, but you’re kind of making me nervous right now.”

“What? Oh I uh…” Fluttershy held her hands up. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you! Don’t worry, I’m not here to take revenge or anything.” Thanks to the sincerity and the gentleness filling her voice, Sunset visibly relaxed, much to the other girl’s relief. “I actually wanted to know how your night had gone is all… and if you needed any help.”

“L… last night?” Sunset asked with a flinch. “It was uh, fine yeah it was fine”.

“Mhm… I didn’t know where you had gone after Vice-Principal Luna had us go home after the… verbal assault Rainbow gave you.” Fluttershy said, holding her hands together while giving Sunset a sympathetic look. “It’s also why I wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing after that.”

“I… I-I’m fine. I was hurt by what was said to me, but I’m okay. It’s not like I didn’t deserve it. Not after what I did last night.” Sunset replied, sounding like she did not want to bring it up. “It doesn’t really matter anymore. I just want to get through this day so I can go home.”

“But Sunset-” Fluttershy protested only to be interrupted by Sunset. “I just---”

“I said it doesn’t matter!” Sunset yelped, the sharpness behind her words caused both Fluttershy and Garble to flinch. A few other students stopped to look at where the shout came from, but a look from the red-skinned boy quickly sent them on their way. Realizing what she did, Sunset collected herself and breathed deeply.

“I’m s-sorry… I didn’t mean to make you upset.” Fluttershy said meekly. “It was wrong of me to ask you about something that you didn’t want to talk about.”

Sunset held her hand up to her. “No, I’m sorry. Me yelling at you like that wasn’t okay… I guess all that happened last night messed with me more than I thought.” A sigh left her as she gathered a notebook and pen, putting them in her backpack, slinging the worn

out bag over her shoulder. “Forget about it, I need to head to class. I promised Snails last night that I’d do his homework and I need to get it done so I can turn it in for him. Otherwise, he’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“Sunset, wait, there’s something else I need to-” Fluttershy said before pausing to take in what the other girl had said. “Hold on, did you just say that you were going to do Snail’s homework?”

A ringing sound suddenly echoed through the hallway, making Sunset look to where the entrance was. A frown pulled the corner of her lips down seeing a small crew of construction workers were pulling up on the street.

“Uh-huh… I promised Snails I’d do his homework. Look Fluttershy I know you want to help but I really wish that you wouldn’t. And don’t expect me to say why I made that promise to Snails, just understand that I made it.” Sunset admitted absentmindedly, not noticing two people walking up to the trio. “It’s not anything that’s important, just a person helping out another person is all.”

“Just a minute Ms. Shimmer.” A familiar firm voice suddenly said just as Sunset was walking past them. All three students turned around to see Principal Celestia and her sister Luna standing right behind them, their faces neutral, if not a bit suspicious.

“P-Principal Celestia! Vice Principal Luna!” Sunset said as she backed away from the duo as if they were two growling rabid dogs. “Is… is there something that you needed?”

“More like something that we heard.” Celestia replied, her tone calm yet firm. “Did we just hear you correctly? Were you really planning to do the homework of another classmate?”

Sunset paled. “Y-you heard what I was saying?”

“Not all of it. We just happened to be coming down the hall after finding out the construction crew had come to fix the front entrance.” Luna explained coolly. “Now, back to my sister’s question. Were you or were you not planning to do someone else’s homework for them Ms. Shimmer? Yes, or no?”

“I…I-I… yes, I was.” Sunset admitted, hanging her head in defeat. “I know it’s wrong, but he did a favor for me a few weeks ago.”

“While your intentions may have been somewhat noble, your actions tell a different story. I don’t doubt that whatever Snails helped you with had to be of great importance, but that doesn’t excuse trying to go against one of the rules this school upholds.” Celestia lectured. “We will be sure to have a talk with you about this after school, but for now, I think it’d be best if you get to class.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Sunset nodded, turning tail and speed walking to her class. As she vanished in the crowd, Fluttershy and Garble looked at each other and then to the principals, who already had their eyes on them.

“That goes for you two as well.” Luna added, giving a gesture with her head. “We both apologize for interrupting whatever you were talking about, but it will have to wait. For the time being, you should both go to your classes before you’re tardy. You can meet back up with Sunset and go on with your talk at lunch if you’d like.”

“O-okay.” Fluttershy stammered, giving a bow to both principles. She looked at Garble, passing on a silent message to him in a way she was sure he’d be able to get. He gave a slight nod himself before they both walked away for their classes. Celestia and Luna watched them go for a few seconds.

“I’m going to stay out here to make sure that all of the students here are headed for their respective classes.” Luna said to her sister watching her make her way towards the front entrance. “I take it you’ll be with the construction workers?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I want to know how much the repairs will cost. I’ll get back to you once I’m done there.”

“Very well, I’ll see you at your office when you're done.” Luna replied, waving her sister off “I have a report to file with the district lieutenant so it might be a few minutes before I get to your office”.

Celestia made her through the school’s broken and battered entrance to meet with the construction crew. Sixteen men were seen making their way through the rubble as they assessed the situation and the damage. Upon seeing the principal, they stopped all activity as she carefully made her way down the stairs, being sure not to trip over the piles of desbri .

“Hello everyone.” She greeted warmly, putting on her best cordial smile. “I am Celestia Sunrise, the Principal of Canterlot Jr High school and High School. It’s nice to meet you all this morning. I would like to chat with you all, but I’m quite pressed for time so I’ll make this meeting quick. Which one of you is in charge here?”

“I am ma’am.” A stern voice made her look to her right. She saw a rough heavyweight man with a yellow hard hat and black wire frame glasses step forward. A red and black flannel shirt hugged his muscled body while a pair of blue dirty genes and boots covered his legs and feet. Reaching a handout, he let Celestia shake his hand before continuing. “I’m Thunderhoof, the foreman.”

“Yes, I’d imagine so.” Celestia nodded, “Did you and your men have a chance to assess the damages here yet?”

“We’re still working on it, but we should be done within a few minutes.” Mr. Thunderhoof replied. “As for the damages, do you want us to start fixing them after we finish our assessments? Or do you want us to wait for a little bit?”

“You can start after your assessment is completed if that is what you’d like.” Celestia said, taking a look around at the devastated front yard. “I assume you’d like to have this area to yourselves for the time being?”

Mr. Thunderhoof nodded. “Yes, we will need to block off the entrance here, so we won’t have anyone getting in the way. Do you have anywhere else that the students can enter the school from?”

“There’s a back entrance I can let the students use until the front entrance is fixed.” she replied as she pointed to where the hallway was. “Classes won’t be starting for the next five minutes, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay outside so I can direct the students that will show up late to head to the back entrance.”

“Alright then. We’ll set our equipment up and I’ll have my men get to work after we finish our assessments. We should have that hole filled by the time school ends.” He replied as he finished placing the steaks into the ground and tying safety tape to them. “The rest of the damage will take a bit longer to fix. You're looking at about six weeks’ worth of work at least.”

Celestia frowned. “Very well.” She grumbled, trying her best not to sound too annoyed. “Just remember, you are working around teenagers, and some of them might want to help others might try to get in the way. I don’t want anyone getting hurt while you're out here working.”

“Understood.” Mr. Thunderhoof nodded, giving Celestia a reassuring nod.

Satisfied with the response, Celestia quickly moved down the sidewalk, ushering the students that were showing up late for school towards the back entrance. Some gave her angry looks, others muttered under their breath. A black Toyota Mercedes Benz pulled up to the sidewalk. Watching the car from where she stood Celestia paid its driver little mind, continuing to usher more students to the back of school. Once she was sure no other students would be showing up, Celestia headed inside quickly making her way towards her office. Mr. Thunderhoof, who had noticed where the woman was looking, took a look in that same direction, and froze.

‘Oh boy…’ He thought grimly as the driver side door slowly opened. “Not him again”.

An individual stepped out of the car dressed, in a black suit, that made him look very professional. A Black three button dress coat hugged the upper half of his body, while sunglasses matching the color of his suit covering his eyes. Mr. Thunderhoof watched as the man stopped briefly, scanning the school before letting out a soft whistle.

“Wow, this is worse than I thought.” The man said, expertly hiding the shock in his tone while he took a phone out from his inner coat pocket. As Mr. Thunderhoof stood nearby keeping his eyes on him while the businessman dialed a number before speaking into it. “Hello? It's me again. Yes, she is in trouble again. Big, big trouble. Thank you, you can leave it on my desk when I get back. I will remain here for a little bit until my… business is concluded.”

Putting away his flip phone he pursed his lips together as Mr. Thunderhoof continued to watch him closely trying not to arouse his suppositions. Realizing Mr. Thunderhoof had not taken his eyes off of him; the businessman slowly walked over to him, giving Mr. Thunderhoof a deep frown causing the foremen to gulp slightly. Looking around Mr. Thunderhoof tried to ignore the uneasy feeling he was getting as the businessman stood a few feet from him staring coldly at him through dark black sunglasses.

“Is there a problem Mr. Thunderhoof?” The man growled out.

“What are you all standing around for?” Mr. Thunderhoof yelled to his men in annoyance.seeing none of them were working “Get back to work now!”

Watching the foremen's men quickly get back to their duties, the businessman approached him saying, “Mr. Thunderhoof I asked you a question. I ask only that you answer it.”

“N-no problem at all sir I can promise you that” Giving the business man a slight nod, the foreman gulped in his reply, “May I ask what brings you out here today?”

“You may not.” The man's reply was as cold as ice as it was’ relaxed’ . At those words Mr. Thunderhoof was clearly visibly tense and pale, knowing that this could either be very good or very bad for him. “You do remember me correct Mr. Thunderhoof and you do know what I do for a living. Am I correct in that assumption as well?”

“Y-yes Mr. Varnas you are correct in both assumptions” 'He replied, taking his hat off and wiping away a few beads of sweat from his forehead. “I wasn’t trying to interfere with your work sir but I really don’t see why you had to come all the way out here.”

“Why I am here is none of your business do you fully understand Mr. Thunderhoof?” Varnas replied coldly “get back to work and make sure your men do a good job here less you want to deal with me directly”.

“No thank you I’ll be sure to have my men do their best work I promise.” Before he could say anything more, Mr. Varnas took out a checkbook, writing down what looked to be a rather large compensation. Handing it over to the foreman, the businessman watched as Mr. Thunderhoof gasped as his hands began to give little shakes. “I don’t understand why you are paying me this amount”.

Varnas’s jaw tightened slightly and his sunglasses prevented Mr. Thunderhoof from seeing his eyes; the man's eyes were cold and empty. “This money is to go to you and your men; it must be split evenly amongst you.” putting away his checkbook and pen he finished, “The payment that you will get from Principal Celestia is to be given back to her and you are to use this payment instead to pay your men and it is to be done by tonight” Mr. Varnas sternly explained. “If it is not, there will be…. consequences. Do I make myself clear Mr. Thunderhoof?”

“Y-yes sir.” Mr. Thunderhoof nodded once he got over his shock. “C - Crystal clear.”

“Good.” Mr. Varnas nodded as he walked past the foreman, making his way towards the school's entrance stopping briefly to shoot Mr. Thunderhoof one last stern cold look. “Now back to work and have this cleaned up by the time this school lets out. I have some other business I need to take care of.”

---

Firm knocking on her office door was the first thing Principal Celestia heard as she sat at her desk. The pen in her hand stopped in the process of writing paperwork as she set it down and got out of her chair. Reaching the door, she gently opened it up to be greeted by the face of Mr. Varnas, his expression was nothing short of stern and cold.

“Please pardon me for the interruption,” He said, keeping his tone polite, yet firm. “But are you the Principal of this school?”

“Yes, I am Celestia Sunrise.” she replied with an inquisitive look. “How may I help you?”

“I am Varnas, and I am from the Canterlot Bureau of Investigation.” He replied by flashing his badge at her as if he was using a flashlight in a dark room. Ignoring the wince that the woman gave, he put his badge back in his jacket pocket and continued “I am here to talk to you about what took place last night.”

Celestia gave the slightest of flinches before her face contorted into a serious one. “This wouldn’t happen to be about what happened the previous night, would it?”

“I wouldn’t be here if it was about anything else.” Mr. Varnas replied. “I’m not here to do anything major. I just want to get your rundown of what actually took place here last night.”

Sighing, Celestia moved to the side to let Mr. Varnas in her office before shutting her office door and returning to her desk. She sat back down in her chair before closing her eyes momentarily and slowly reopened them as she silently collected her thoughts. Placing her hands on her desk Celestia sighed, watching him carefully for any sign of falsehood. Seeing no lie in his eyes, she let in an inhale of breathing, before slowly letting it out.

“Look, I am aware that things don’t look the best right now, and I admit, it has been quite a hassle to deal with.” Celestia began as calmly as she could. “That being said, I do not appreciate what you are doing right now. If you think you can just come in here and tell me or my faculty how to run this school, then you are sorely mista-”

“If you are worried that we are going to take you, Ms. Moonrise and Shimmer away, you needn’t think that.” Mr. Varnas interrupted, setting his briefcase down. “All I want to do is talk about last night, nothing more than that. I also want to make sure you get the payment that you made to the crew outside back with an extra ninety thousand added to it.”

“Y-you’re not?” Stumbling back into her chair, Celestia blinked in disbelief, watching him take out a checkbook. He jotted down the amount and signed the check before handing it to her. “W-what do you want to talk about then if I may ask?”

“What I need to know is this. Has Sunset displayed anything similar to what happened last night before now?” Seeing her shake her head, Mr. Varnas added, “How many others know about what happened last night other than yourself and your sister?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she set the check down. “And why do you want to know that?”

“I think you know exactly why Ms. Sunrise.” Mr. Varnas said calmly, brows furrowing. “To make a long story short, I had gotten a call from the police department about you having a few young children working in a rather dangerous area. While I don’t doubt that they did something in need of punishment, I feel that there is something about this whole thing that isn’t adding up. I’d like to hear how it was that such a situation had taken place.”

Sighing, Celestia fell silent as she crossed her arms, considering the options she had. There wasn’t any way that she could tell the man sitting before her of what transpired leading up to today. While Sunset’s punishment could easily be explained, how it led up to it was something Celestia knew would not be. Her mind wandered back to the confrontation with Officer Starknight and she wondered if she called Mr. Varnas to her school. As unsurprising as it would have been, none of it made Celestia any less annoyed by how things were turning out. Especially after how hard the policewoman grilled into her and Luna while they were still at the school. It looked like she would have to remind the man before her who was in charge here.

“I’m afraid that I cannot in any way give you that information Mr. Varnas.” Picking up the check in front of her she handed it back to him. Watching him take the check back she coldly, and very sternly added, “I may be breaking the law, but I will not give you that information without a court order or permission from the parents of those that attend this school. While this is a generous amount of money, I cannot accept it. Nor will I ever accept it.”

“Are you sure about that?” Mr. Varnas asked, tilting his head. “You do realize that by doing this you could be facing trouble in the future. It would be in your best interest to inform me of all that went down last night so you can better resolve this situation.”

“I am aware that I may face consequences should I do this.” Celestia replied resolutely. “However, with how things are right now, the violent incident that occurred last night just can’t be said. If it were any other situation with any other student, I would be more open. But right now, this is not the time, and most certainly not the place.”

Mr. Varnas was unmoved. “And just what is it about this incident that’s so crazy that you cannot say it outright? You don’t have to worry about not being believed if that is the case. I can tell that you are someone who doesn’t lie. We’re willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“As I said, I am choosing not to say anything at the moment.” Celestia rebutted, grabbing at the sides of her office desk. “Everything that’s happened up to this point is something that no amount of proper explanation can do. I want to say what happened. Believe me, I do… but this is just too much to give out all at once. Maybe some other time it will come to light, but for now… it’s best to just leave it unsaid.”

“Is that so… and you’re certain that’s your decision?” Mr. Varnas asked softly, feeling Celestia’s eyes burn into his like two miniature suns. Her nod ended less than a few seconds before he let out a sigh of resignation. “Alright then, it looks like my business here is done … for now.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a business card and set it down on Celestia’s desk for her to look at. The man then got up and grabbed his suitcase, putting his glasses back on his face as he straightened his suit.

“That is my business card. You can use it to contact me should you decide to come forward with what you know.” Mr. Varnas said as he headed for the door, casting one last glance at her. “The check I wanted you to take is good for at least five months, so please call me before the end of that time and I’ll make sure you get the money. In the meantime, you should know that from today, the bureau will not interfere with anything that happens here at this school. Have a good day Ms. Sunrise.”

After he closed her door, Celestia let out a tired sigh before taking out a coffee mug from her top left desk drawer. Turning to her right, she opened a small mini refrigerator and took out a bottle of water filling her cup with water. She then placed it into her office microwave setting the timer for how long it would heat the item inside. While Celestia waited for her cup of water to heat up, she took out a tea bag, setting it on her desk.

‘This cannot be happening! Why are the Canterlot Bureau of Investigations looking into Sunset Shimmer? Did Officer Starknight call them here under her suspicion of us abusing our power?’ She thought to herself, placing a hand on her head. ‘I know that she doesn’t want us to use Sunset to repair the school but honestly, she wasn’t here to see what Sunset did. Still, we should take her warning seriously. We have enough on our plates with how the student body is treating Sunset. The last thing Luna and I need is to be branded as criminals. Let alone child abusers. I wonder how she’ll feel about this when I tell her. Knowing her, she’ll certainly not be happy about it. But, as things stand, it's either listen to Starknight, or sleep inside a prison cell.’

Just as that last sentence finished going through her head, another knock on her door shook the tired woman from her trance. Irritation filled her as a sigh matching it left her, thinking that it was Mr. Varnas coming back again. She was quickly proven wrong when she saw the familiar face of her younger sister coming inside.

“’Tia!” Luna began, pausing in her steps. “What’re you doing back here? I thought that you were still with the construction crew.”

“Not anymore. I just finished talking to them about the school’s repairs. Was there something that you needed?” Celestia said, her irritation melting away as relief filled her.

“I just came to tell you that I need to check on the rest of the school to see if there is any other damage that was caused by Sunset and Twilight's battle.” Luna replied, looking back outside as if she was expecting Mr. Varnas to come back. “Who was that man in your office just now?”

“Oh, no one Luna. Just someone who wanted to discuss some business with me, that's all.” Celestia replied, taking out a clipboard from the top right drawer of her desk. “I’m ready now; let’s get to looking around the rest of the school.”

“Alright then.” Luna conceded, letting her sister walk past her as she closed the door. As they headed down the hallway, the Vice-Principal suddenly brought something up. “By the way ‘Tia, I have been wondering about something…”

“And what might that be?” Celestia asked curiously, holding her clipboard firmly in her hands.

“It’s about the incident with Officer Starknight. Are you sure that it is wise to go along with what officer Starknight said to us last night?” Luna asked skeptically, as if she was trying to sort out the holes in a fishy story. “Not letting Sunset do such manually laboring work I mean.”

“Is that a question that even needs to be thought about?” Celestia asked dryly. “You heard what she said Lu. From her point of view, it looked like we were abusing our power as school principals by having Sunset do what we made her do. Despite the fact that she wasn’t there to see Sunset turn into a demon or her battle with Twilight, that doesn’t change the fact that to her, we were breaking the law.” She stopped as she carefully considered her last words. “Actually no, what we did was certainly breaking the law.”

“You mean by having her and two other students work in an environment that was clearly not a safe one?” Luna asked, fighting back a cringe at how the two of them had acted towards Sunset, Snips and Snails.

“Exactly.” Celestia sighed. “We could have both gone to jail for keeping Sunset here past curfew and making her repair the school without proper training or showing any regard to her safety. It would’ve been worse if she had stepped on that electrical wire. She could’ve been seriously hurt, or worse.”

“I agree. How we acted last night was completely unacceptable. It’s a miracle that neither of us are in jail already. Officer Starknight really was being lenient on us; something that I know won’t happen a second time.” Luna nodded, mentally kicking herself for her unjust behavior. “Still, just because we went over the line with punishing Sunset, doesn’t mean she should get away with what she did. That won’t sit well with the student body, and I’m too busy to be constantly trying to protect Sunset from any reprisals that the other students might want to do to her. And in case you didn’t notice, there are many who want to dish out their own form of retribution.”

“Rest assured Luna, I have no intention of letting Sunset off scot free.”

Celestia said sternly “But you heard Starknight last night. If we do anything other than teach Sunset, we’ll both get in very serious trouble. We will have to find another form of punishment for her that does not involve her getting harmed, which we have plenty of. But we must make sure that nothing we choose will threaten her life in any sort of way. We just have to figure out which type of punishment will be good enough is all.”

“That’s reasonable enough. Just as long as she faces some sort of punishment for her actions.” Luna murmured, running a hand through her hair as they neared a classroom with the number two-o-six. “Hold on, I need to check something for a moment.”

Walking past her sister, Luna peered through the window of the class, scanning the students that were inside. It took less than a second for her to see who the person she was looking for was, and what they were doing. In the middle row of the desks Sunset sat, her head was slightly bent downwards and a pencil was seen in her hand as she jotted down answers on the paper on her desk. Snails sat across from her, taking glances up at their teacher like he was trying to make sure the teacher didn’t see what they were doing.

“Sunset really is doing another students' homework. This must have to do with that favor she said she owed to Snails the night before. No matter… she will still be given quite the firm talking to by the both of us when she comes to our office.” Luna murmured to herself as she silently observed the girl. As she went to leave, she caught sight of a student putting a small note atop Sunset’s desk, making her flinch. “Wait, was that a note just no-”

“Luna, are you coming?” Celestia asked, her question making Luna turn to her. “If you’re wanting to talk to Sunset, we can do it when this period is over. We still have damages that we need to look over.”

“Oh, y-yes! Coming ‘Tia!” Luna replied, quickly catching up with her sister as they continued down the hallway and both entered the library.

---

“Principal Celestia! Vice-Principal Luna!” Cheerilee said, her kind voice leveled as the two women entered the Canterlot High and Junior High School Library. “Nice to see you two this morning!”

“We could say the same about you Ms. Cheerilee.” Celestia said, giving her best warm smile that still held some tiredness to it. “How are you doing today? Is everything going well in the library?”

“Oh, it’s fine... well, as fine as it could be anyway.” Cheerilee replied, her smile faltering a bit. “If you’re wondering if the library suffered any damage from what happened last night, everything is fine. Some books were scattered all over the place at best, but nothing too bad. Other than all of that, it’s as quiet as always.”

“Glad to hear that someone's day is going well.” Luna commented enviously. “Celestia and I are stuck with the task of looking over the repairs that need to be done. And that’s not even getting into the amount of money those repairs will be going into.”

“My, you two have it quite hard, don’t you?” Cheerilee asked sympathetically. “Well, I don’t think you should worry too much. The school’s been through lots since we’ve been here, damages and all. It’s not the first time it’ll be like this, and it definitely won’t be the last. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it was the other night after… that happened. But given how this school is, the chances of that aren’t very good.”

“More like they’re not very bright.” Celestia snorted. “With the money we have right now, there’s nothing left to spend it on other than books and supplies. The school board will throw a fit when they see this, and I am not going to like it.”

“Correction. We aren’t going to like it, ‘Tia.” Luna paraphrased.

“I have no doubt that you will.” Cheerilee said, giving them her most comforting smile. “By the way, do you guys have any idea where Sunset is? I was sort of wondering where she’d got to”.

These words made the principals stop and give each other confused looks. They then looked back at the librarian with looks telling Cheerilee of all the confusion they had.

“She’s… in her homeroom class right now with her friend Snails.” Celestia replied slowly. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing, I was just wondering why she wasn’t inside the library last night.” Cheerilee replied, looking to the side. “I normally find her sleeping at one of the desks near the computers, but I didn’t see her this morning. Is she alright?”

Celestia’s confusion gave way to shock.

“Sunset actually sleeps here in the library?” The Principal breathed incredulously, not noticing the look on Luna’s face. “We thought she’d have a home to go to whenever she left school.”

“I did too. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but it started to happen more and more often the more she came to this school.” Cheerilee replied with a look of concern. “I was starting to suspect she may be homeless, but I never asked her because I didn’t feel like it was my place to ask her something like that.”

Celestia looked down at the ground in thought. “This… this is troubling. Very troubling indeed. It never occurred to me that Sunset was without a home. I was wondering why she was always one of the students who stayed the longest out of all the other students. I’ll have to look into this more and-”

Anything else that the main principal was going to say was cut off when the school bell gave out a ring, signaling the end of homeroom period. Luna, who looked to be deep in thought, snapped out of her trance as she and the other two women looked to where the sound was coming from.

“It looks like, homeroom period is over now.” Luna muttered. “We’re sorry Cheerilee but we’ll need to continue this conversation later. Thank you for telling us this important information. We’ll be in touch with you later.”

“…Alright, then. Have a good rest of your day you two.” Cheerilee nodded. “When you see Sunset please tell her that I’m here if she needs me. And if she ever needs somewhere to sleep, well… it’s available.”

Neither principal gave a reply to that. A nod from both was all they gave Cheerilee before they exited the library. The librarian’s words echoed in both of their heads as they headed to the class they saw Sunset in. In the entire time while coming to Canterlot, Celestia and Luna did not once think that the teenager was homeless. Not ever did those thoughts ever cross their minds. Sunset certainly didn’t look like she was homeless, having always come in clothes that gave her the look of someone who was very well off. The sisters could now see that wasn’t the case, and they both intended to investigate it further. First, they needed to confront the subject of their thoughts.

Just as they reached Sunset’s homeroom classroom, they saw the familiar bacon-haired girl come out in the hallway. Her cyan eyes widened when she saw the principals approaching her, and she stopped in her action of going down the opposite way. Lowering her head, she bit her lower right lip as she stammered something out.

“If the two of you are here to tell me to meet you both in Principal Celestia’s office”. The shame she had felt earlier had returned like waves crashing on a seashore. “I promise that I won’t forget, in fact I’m headed there now.”

“We saw you getting a note passed to you in class Sunset.” Luna said pointedly, ignoring Sunset’s statement as if she didn’t even hear it. Her hand shot out towards her as if she was pointing a gun at a suspect. “Hand it over.”

Sunset looked back up, her mouth opening to probably ask Luna how she knew that, only to close just as quickly. Looking down again, she sighed and put a hand in one of her pockets, taking out the note and handing it to Luna. With Celestia standing just next to her, Luna opened it and saw a phrase that made her blood run cold.

‘If you think you got all that you deserved last night, you’ve got another thing coming, Sunset Shimmer. Just wait until school ends, you’ll get what’s coming to you eventually.’

Handing the note to her sister, Celestia read it, gaining a look of horror herself before looking at Sunset. With the gentleness of a mother trying to soothe a frightened child, she asked, “Sunset, who gave you this note?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She replied, not bothering to look the principals in the eye. “It was someone who just wanted to get back at me for something that I did to them; nothing more.”

“All the more reason why we must know who it is that is bothering you.” Luna pushed firmly, her hands on her hips. “We’re your Principals Sunset. As such, it is our job to protect students who are being harassed by people in this school, child or adult. Bully or not, this is not something that you should be going through. Nor should you let yourself go through it either.”

Celestia nodded, backing her sister up. “That’s right, Sunset. We’re here to help you, not to make you more of a scapegoat than you already are. If there is something wrong, then we must know, or else we won’t be able to-”

“You can’t!” Sunset suddenly interrupted, her anguished cry washing over the principals like ice cold water being dumped upon their heads. “You can’t help me… no one can. Not after all of the things that I did at this school. It’s not like I don’t deserve it anyway.”

A brief moment of silence passed between the trio as Sunset shook, using all of her inner strength not to break down. Luna and Celestia stood wordlessly, trying to come up with something to say that could soothe Sunset’s worries. Unfortunately, this time was not given to them before Sunset looked at them, her eyes of twin skies gleaming with tears.

“I… I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me, who it was that gave me that note. But… it just doesn’t matter right now.” She continued, her voice quieter but by no means any less empty. “It was something that was coming for a real long time… something I knew deep down would. I just didn’t want to believe it until it hit me right in the face. And now that it has, it’s going to continue, until I eventually just go away.”

While wiping away her tears, the school bell from earlier vibrated, expanding through the hallway as it rang. Footsteps slowly filled the silence of the hallway as students exited their classes, filling the area where Celestia, Luna and Sunset were. Sensing her chance to get away, Sunset quickly collected herself before looking at the principals again.

“I’m sorry I can’t meet you both at your office Principal Celestia like I said I would but the bell just rang so I need to get to class.” Sunset kept her gaze down adding just above a whisper. “I am also sorry, very sorry for yelling at you both like that. I just got a little triggered by everything that’s happening.” She mumbled. “I’ve got to get my next class now. My first period teacher will be angry if I don’t get there on time. I’ll meet you again at your office.”

Adjusting her backpack, she whirled around and ran down the hall, blocking out the calls of the two principals. Students left and right cried out in surprise and shouted at her as she ran, but it was barely registered. Thanks to her eyes being closed, Sunset failed to notice the student that was in her path until she ran right into him. Falling to the floor, she let out a yelp as she landed on her butt with a hard thud. Rubbing at her right hip with her hand she heard a voice speak to her.

“Whoa, sorry! Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry for running into you like tha-” Sunset stopped apologizing as she saw who she had run into. “G-garble?”

“Yeah, it’s all good. You didn’t really hurt me, so it’s not biggie.” Garble replied casually, wiping at his green striped short-sleeve flannel shirt. After straightening out his dark blue jeans, he held a hand to her, the chain on his left belt loop swinging along with his movement. “Are you heading off to class too?”

“Uh…y-yeah.” The fiery red head said, cautiously accepting the help. “My next class is Math, which will be with Mr. Cranky Doodle. A-are you heading there too?”

“Yes I am.” Garble replied, giving a scratch of his blue bandana. “You wanna head over there together?”

Sunset looked at him, a little surprised at the sudden request from the person who used to be a bully himself. A part of her wanted to refuse him, if not to keep from causing him any more trouble than she probably already did. This was soon shot down when she noticed some of the looks the other students were giving her. Looks only given to those who were the targets of someone’s act of revenge. In a few seconds, Sunset’s mind was made up, knowing what may happen should she refuse Garble’s offer.

“Actually… I think that’d be a good idea.” Sunset replied, unable to bear the looks. “I can see how the others are looking at me right now and… I really don’t like it. I just wanna get through this day so I can go home. If I’m able to.”

“I can tell…” Garble nodded with a frown of his own as they both went down the hall. As they neared their next class, the boy found himself asking, “By the way Sunset… I was wondering about something. Do you want to hang out together sometime?”

Sunset nearly tripped over in the midst of her walking. “W-what?”

“It’s cool if you don’t want to.” Garble said quickly, holding one of his hands up. “I just wondered if you wanted someone to hang out with since you were all by your lonesome. You looked like you needed a friend, and I wanted to know if you wanted to, you know… do something together?”

“You… you really wanna hang out? With ….me?” Sunset asked after making sure she wasn’t hearing things. “An-and you're sure ab-about doing this?”

“That’s what I said wasn’t it? And yes I am sure about hanging out with you”. Garble asked and stated with a raised brow. “I’m not the only one either. Your other classmate that was with me earlier wanted to know the same thing. She wanted to ask you herself, but she couldn’t really bring herself to do it. Plus, she had a different class, so only one of us could come to see you.”

‘He must be talking about Fluttershy.’ Sunset thought as they both entered their next classroom. “I sort of have a lot of stuff I’m going through right now, so I don’t know”.

“So that's ‘a maybe later’ then?” Garble asked with a casual head tilt. Before Sunset could reply, a loud and very cranky voice cut through the classroom.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Mr. Cranky shouted as he slammed a ruler atop his desk, making both teens turn to him. “Just what do you think you’re doing?! Are you trying to hold up my class?!”

Sunset shrunk back. “N-n-no Mr. Doodle, I wasn’t! I was just talking with Garble and we-”

“I don’t care what you two were yapping about! What I do care about is that you’re holding up the class!” The middle-aged man interrupted snappily. “Now take your seat so I can begin the lesson! Or else you’ll both be looking at a good long detention after school!”

“Y-yes, of course!” Sunset squeaked, quickly getting in her seat with Garble doing the same. “I’m sorry for making you wait Mr. Doodle. I won’t do it again I promise...”

“You’d better not do it again or else you’ll be really sorry.” Mr. Cranky growled, walking in front of his desk as he began to organize some papers. “Same goes for the rest of you too! I expect you all to pay attention or you will all get detention! Just like Mr. Shimmer!”

“Mr. Cranky Doodle!”

Another sharper voice burst through the class as both Mr. Cranky Doodle and the entire class flinched in their seats. All eyes looked to see Celestia standing just outside of the doorway, eyes narrowed into a glare with her hands on both her hips. Just behind her, Luna stood, looking to be just as displeased as she shot daggers at the math teacher.

‘Oh no, they followed me here?!’ Sunset thought, dread consuming her as her hands clenched on her desk. ‘I thought that I already left them behind in the hallway! For Centauria sakes, why can’t they just take the hint and leave me alone?!’

“Just what do you think you’re doing assigning detention to students for not being in their seats?!” Celestia all but demanded, her voice dripping with scorn. “You know that is an improper use of power, and of authority as a teacher!”

“B-but Principal Celestia, Ms. Shimmer was holding up the class!” Mr. Cranky protested, the anger in his voice completely replaced by fear. “She knows when she comes to my class I fully expect every student to quickly and quietly take their seats and she didn’t take her seat as expected of her or any other student! I did nothing wrong, I was only calling Sunset out on this subject nothing more”.

“Maybe from your perspective, but it is clearer than the day your actions are telling a different story.” Luna interjected, her commanding tone cowing Mr. Cranky like a disobedient puppy. “As my sister stated, giving students detention simply for not being seated is abuse of your authority. It is also especially not becoming of a teacher to threaten detention for not paying attention in class!” She gestured to the hallway with her head. “Please see us in our office after class. We will need to have a thorough talk about your misuse of power.”

“What?! B-but-” Mr. Cranky started, but stopped at the cold glare Luna gave him. “I-I”

“I was not asking you Mr. Doodle.” Luna hissed; her voice still very calm but by no means any less stern. “Please be in my and my sister’s office as soon as your class is over. If you are not there, I will personally bring you there myself. Do I make myself clear?”

“I… y-yes, Vice-Principal Luna…” Mr. Doodle stammered, hanging his head in defeat. “I’ll be there as soon as school lets out”.

“Good. We’ll leave you to your lesson now.” Luna murmured, giving a satisfied nod as she and her sister exited out of the classroom. As they walked away, both looked directly where Sunset was, giving her looks that told her all she needed to know. Sunset grimaced while they did this, holding their gazes until they vanished completely out of sight. Sighing, the girl turned back to where Mr. Cranky Doodle was now teaching, ignoring the several dirty looks she was receiving from several other students including one student called ‘Lightning Dust’. .

---

Sunset could not remember a time where she was more thankful to hear the school bells ringing than she was now. It seemed like forever that first period went on, even though it only went on for a little less than an hour. When it finally ended, she got out of her seat so fast that she almost made her desk fall over; something that Mr. Cranky admonished her for. It barely reached her as she rushed out of the classroom, making a beeline for her next period before it happened to her.

‘Thank Centauria first period is over! I thought it was never going to end! If I had to go through one more minute of my classmates glaring at me, I was gonna lose it!’ Sunset thought to herself, swerving her way through the increasing number of students. ‘I just hope that the second period isn’t as bad as the first. I just wanna get through this day and go home! Let me make it through this day!’

While Sunset silently walked through the crowd, she suddenly felt a very ominous presence from behind her. Suddenly feeling a cold shiver run down her spine Sunset almost stopped in her tracks feeling as if death had its icy cold fingers around her neck she closed her eyes silently hoping no one was there. The girl’s eyes snapped open and she looked back to see who might be behind her, only to see nothing but students going their own way. For a split single second, Sunset could have sworn she had seen an orange haired girl in the crowd, looking right in her direction. As quickly as she was there though, she was gone. It was like she was a blast of lightning that was there for one second and gone the next.

‘That’s strange… I thought that I saw someone glaring at me just now.’ Sunset internally speculated as she continued her walk. ‘Of course, it could’ve been one of the many students that aren’t too happy to see me. I really hope they don’t do anything to me until after school. Not that I don’t deserve it…’

As if to tell her she would not be that lucky, Sunset felt a hand grab her by the back collar of her coat and pull her backwards. Metallic steel collided with her face as she felt her face hit one of the lockers with such force that she almost lost consciousness. Trying to stand up, she barely managed to turn to her attacker, as a fist slammed into her right eye. Whiteness filled her vision like tipped-over paint. She held a hand to her right eye, feeling it swell under her fingers. Using her remaining good eye, she looked to see who had struck her, and found herself gasping at seeing the girl she thought she saw earlier.

“Well, if it isn’t the famous Flaming Hornet of Canterlot.” Lightning Dust growled out, while cracking her fist. “Or should I say the former Flaming Hornet?”

“L-Lightning Dust” Sunset shrunk back. “Pl-please don’t do this”.

“Huh, so you remember who I am huh? Then you must know why I’m here then.” Lightning Dust said, reaching up and grabbing Sunset by her shirt. “Don’t think that I’ve forgotten what you did to us; what you did to me while you were running this school like you owned it! You thought that you could just slink away and not get any payment from us for it?! Well too bad! No way you’re getting off that easy!”

“Please I don’t want to fight with you just let me go” Sunset pleaded, shaking under the wrathful gaze of the athlete that had a hold of her. “I-I know what I did caused you pain and anger, a-and I’m sorry! I really am! I’ll never hurt any of you again! I promise!”

“As if I’d let a demon like you get off the hook after all that you did to us!” Lightning Dust spat, pulling the scared girl closer to her face. “You’ve been avoiding your just dues for way too long! It’s time you finally get some payback you bitch!” A stomach-churning smirk crept up on Lightning Dust’s face. “And I know just the way to do it.”

With speed that was worthy of her name, Dust shot her fight fist forward connecting with Sunset’s jaw. Sunset’s head swerved to the side, feeling her jaw burn with agony Sunset spat a glob of blood on the floor. As she reeled from the blow, Sunset felt the air in her lungs fly out as the other girl kneed Sunset in the gut, making her gag. Dust then let her fall out of her grip, only to grab the back of her head and slam the front of her head against the floor. A sickening crack split through the air as stars exploded within Sunset’s eyes, feeling her head begin to throb from the impact. Ringing soon formed in her ears, muffling the cheers of the other students she was hearing.

“Yeah, Lightning Dust! You go!” One of the students yelled out. “Show that demon who’s boss!”

“Mess her up good!” Another shouted out as the beating intensified. “Make her feel the pain she made us feel for all these months!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” The rest of the crowd jeered, fists thrown in the air. “Beat her, beat her, beat her, beat her”.

Through the ever-increasing violence, Sunset stayed where she lay, beaten and bloodied as Dust continued with her relentless assault. Sunset made no attempt to defend herself from the onslaught, and not because she couldn’t do so. In Sunset’s mind, this was the just dues she was getting after all the bad things she made happen while at this school. Sunset did not expect it to get it like this, it wasn’t really a surprise at this point. All she hoped was that they didn’t kill her; not really any reason for them to have their lives ruined.

As unconsciousness took Sunset, something yellow and fast flew out of the crowd, making students cease their movements. All eyes in the ground widened in shock as Fluttershy stood over Sunset, blocking the kick Lightning Dust tried to give to Sunset’s face. The other girl stared at her in utter surprise at the interference before her anger returned.

“Well, look who it is? It’s everyone’s favorite Little Timid Butterfly…” Lightning Dust sneered, shifting her anger from Sunset to the girl standing protectively over her. “Come to protect the demon bitch of Conaterlot huh? I'm surprised after all she tormented you the worst of all of us so why not help me get us all some much needed payback?.”

“No Sunset may have bullied me but that is no reason to act like a bully yourself Lighten Dust”. Fluttershy said. “You and the other students here are all ganging up on her like a pack of jackals after a dear! She hasn’t done anything to you guys! I knew that you could be petty Lightning Dust, but this is a new low! Even for you!”

“Petty? How is dishing out some well-deserved karma petty?” Lightning Dust asked incredulously. “Sunset Shimmer is a bully Fluttershy. She always has been, and always will be as long as she’s here. If you ask me, I’m doing her a favor by showing her just how much of a monster she is! I’m sure the others can agree with me.”

“The only thing that I see is someone picking on someone who wants to change!” Fluttershy shot back, her sharp voice making Lightning Dust step back. “I don’t know what Sunset did to you, for you think it’s okay to do this, and I don’t care! Do you even realize where you’re doing this?!”

“Yeah, I do.” Lightning Dust asked as she regained her composure. “You think I care that this is in school? I could care less what the principals do to me as long as that bitch gets what’s coming to her. Speaking of which, you’d better get out of my way, or else you’re gonna get it too.”

Fluttershy pursed her lips, crouching down and hugging Sunset’s body close to her. “If you want to hit her again then, you’re gonna have to get through me to do it. And trust me when I say I am not going to make it easy for you.”

“Tch… so you wanna join your little friend in her comeuppance huh?” Lightning Dust hissed as she grabbed Fluttershy by her shirt. “Fine then! If you want me to beat your ass as well then I’ll be happy to do so”. Raising her fist to strike Fluttershy in her face Lightning spat out, “I’ll beat you till you pass out you fucking whore I’ll only stop when you beg me for mercy!”

“As if I’d expect mercy from a cum sucker like you.” Fluttershy spat, leveling her gaze with the other girl she added, “Leave or I swear I’ll---”. Just before Lightning Dust could land a blow, a loud commanding voice exploded through the crowd.

“ENOUGH!”

The silence that followed held such thickness, that all the students who heard it could’ve been passed on for statues rather than actual beings. Each of them parted away as Vice-Principal Luna, with a look of utter fury, stormed her way through the crowd. Her eyes held such anger that, if looks had any sort of power, each teenager there would’ve been frozen solid.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna demanded, her voice every bit as loud as she intended as she cast her gaze upon the group. Upon getting no answer, she focused on Dust, who looked to be moments away from wetting her pants. “Lightning Dust, what in god’s name do you think you are doing to Fluttershy and Sunset?!”

“I… I… I wasn’t doing anything!” Dust replied, saying the first thing that came to mind. She dropped Fluttershy and backed away from her, like she was a girl who suddenly turned into a vampire. “I saw her getting into a scuffle with Sunset, a-and I was just trying to stop her! Really, I was keeping her safe!”

“Were you? It looks to me that you were doing anything but that.” Luna replied, not falling for Dust’s made-up story. “No, I take that back. You were doing the exact opposite of that given the evidence I’m seeing here.”

“N-no, I wasn't, I swear!” Lightning pleaded, still trying futilely to explain her case. “This is all just a misunderstanding! It’s not what it looks like!”

“Tell that to anyone who’s naïve enough to believe it.” Luna said harshly. “Be in the Principal’s Office no later than five minutes after your last period. My sister and I will give you your punishment after we take care of things here.”

“But-” Lightning Dust began, only to whimper as Luna’s glare became sharper than a razor. “I just---”

“I am not asking you Ms. Dust.” Luna interrupted, “I am telling you.” her tone synchronizing with her look. “Meet us in the Principal’s office as soon as your final period ends, or else you will face a punishment even more severe than what we will have planned. Am I clear?”

Lightning Dust lowered her head in submission. “Y-yes ma’am.”

“Good, now get to your next class.” Luna said, her anger diminishing slightly as she turned attention to the other students. “That goes for the rest of you! Get to your classes, now!”

None of the other students wasted time in getting out of the halls as quickly as possible, leaving Luna, Fluttershy, and Sunset alone in the hallway. As soon as the last student was gone, Luna turned to the two girls. For a moment, nothing was said between the woman and the gentle teen, both of their gazes telling each other everything.

“Please head to your next class Fluttershy.” Luna instructed, her voice firm but carrying an air of gentleness. “Do not worry about Sunset, I’ll take care of her from here.”

“Are you sure she’ll be alright?” Fluttershy asked, looking at the unmoving girl at her knees. “I mean she’s been hurt rather badly”.

“She does appear to be rather injured.” Luna said, inspecting Sunset’s injuries. “But most of them don’t look to be life threatening. I cannot say the same about this head injury though…”

“Please let her be okay, Vice-Principal Luna.” Fluttershy pleaded, her voice soft and shaky. “Sunset has been through more than enough… She needs help. So, so much help…”

“And help she will get.” Luna declared, taking Sunset’s head and putting it in her lap. “Now please head off to class. You’ll be late for your next lesson if you don’t.”

Casting one last look at Sunset, Fluttershy nodded before quickly walking to class, doing her best not to start crying. Luna watched her go for a moment before reaching for the radio on her belt and speaking into it.

“Nurses Office, this is Luna! I have a student in need of medical attention in hallway sixteen” She said into the speaker. “I repeat, I have a student in need of medical attention in hallway sixteen”.

Swiftly setting the radio back on her belt, Luna turned her attention back to Sunset, keeping her body close to hers. As she looked at Sunset’s bloodied and bruised face, a sigh of frustration left her, the hallway’s silence helping it to echo.

‘This is going to be a long year.’

Next Chapter: Chapter 3 - Shimmering Solitude Part 2 of 3, August 2nd, Tuesday 3:00 PM Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 50 Minutes