The kidnapping was foiled and Sunset was able to get dressed, thankfully everyone was too preoccupied with the blatant kidnapping in front of a public school to notice that Sunset had changed her outfit. A lot of the students, however, did watch her go after the van that kidnapped Apple Bloom. Some questioned why she did that, but others, say the Apples, were grateful for Sunset trying to chase after them.

The police came, and with them, so did Shining Armor. At this point, the young detective thought it best to respond to anything having to do with CHS. Once they were on the scene, Shining Armor made it a point to question her alone, just in case there was some sensitive information.

“I’d like to think that this was a simple kidnapping, but with you I doubt it,” said Shining Armor.

“Ouch, sounds like you think I’m a magnet for weird shit,” Sunset commented with a smirk.

Shining Armor shrugged. “If the skimpy armor fits.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and then sighed. “Well, you’d think right. The two who kidnapped Apple Bloom were people possessed by Wendigos.”

Shining’s brow furrowed. “What did they do to her?”

“That’s the weird part, she said they didn’t do anything to her. Not that I’m ungrateful, but it’s weird. While I was fighting one of them, the other walked out of the van and tossed her into the air. They knew I’d go straight for her and used that time to get away…” Sunset cupped her chin as she started to think it over more. “Then they torched the van.”

“Was it likely that they were targeting you? Or rather, targeting Witchblade?”

Sunset thought about it, and the more she did, the less she was convinced that that was what they were after. If they just wanted to face her, there were many different ways to get her attention. It wasn’t as if they knew she sent to Canterlot High School, the odds of finding her here were one in a million. Plus, they had no guarantee that she’d care enough to go after a kidnapped random middle school kid.

“No, if fighting me was all they wanted, they would’ve kept fighting me, not run away. I think Apple Bloom was their target, for what purpose though, I don’ t know,” said Sunset.

“Well, whatever is was, you saved her from a fate that was probably worse than death. I’ll interview her and see if she recalls anything. On that note though, good job out there, kid,” said Shining as he gave her a light punch in the arm.

Sunset smiled and gave him a punch back, after that, Shining Armor walked away and to where the Apples were.

}}} Something is not right about this situation. {{{

I know. First some social worker comes around and suspects Applejack and Big Mac of committing incest. Which they are but that’s beside the point. Now Apple Bloom gets kidnapped and the ones who did were Wendigo possessed. I don’t like this, feels like we’re being set up for something.

}}} Trust in those instincts, and be on guard. {{{

After Shining Armor was finished talking to Sunset, Pinkie Pie rushed to Sunset and looked her over. “Are you okay?! Did those guys hurt you?! Are you bleeding?! Are you –?!”

“Pinkie!” Sunset gently interrupted. “I’m fine, a little tired from running after that van, but alright.”

Pinkie Pie quickly hugged Sunset tight, an action that didn’t normally surprise her, but this one did, because she was shaking. “Oh thank god, I-I didn’t know if you were coming back! After what happened last time I was…was…”

Sunset understood what she meant; Pinkie was afraid that she was going to die. The trauma of the night must’ve scarred her, making her afraid that Sunset was going to be taken from her again, and after almost getting choked to death by Lightning Dust, she couldn’t blame her for feeling scared for her. Sunset hugged her pink friend back and rubbed her back with calm and soothing motions.

“It’s alright, Pinkie, I’m not going anywhere,” Sunset assured.

“Please don’t do that again, when I saw you running after them, I thought I’d never s-see you again!”

“I couldn’t just let them take Apple Bloom, not without doing everything that I could to try and stop them.” Sunset parted from Pinkie Pie and looked into her eyes. “But I’m sorry that I worried you.”

Pinkie Pie smiled and said, “I know…and I know that it’s just who you are. I always had a feeling that you were like a superhero deep down. Once you got past all that mean stuff you were carrying around with you, I knew you’d be the kind of person who’d rush in to help someone without even thinking.”

Sunset blushed upon hearing this. “Y-You think I’m that kind of person…? I don’t know about that…”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Please, Sunny, you just ooze bad girl superhero.”

}}} ………The pink one is scarily perceptive. {{{

Oooooh yeah.

The following day the police were still looking into Apple Bloom’s kidnapping and her kidnappers. Until they were found, Applejack and Big Mac were assigned escort duty whenever Apple Bloom was outside of school, even Sunset was brought into it. Apple Bloom had made the argument that she didn’t need someone looking over her, especially Sunset Shimmer, but Granny Smith put her foot down and that was that.

Sunset was helping out, yet again, at the farm after school. Although, today would not see much work done. When the Apple Family and Sunset arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, they were annoyed to find out that they had visitors waiting for them.

Big Mac parked near the garage of their house, and all five occupants exited the truck with scowls. When they did, the car that was there opened its doors and out popped Flim and Flam.

“Hello, and salutations Apple Family, and girl whose name I don’t know,” said Flim.

“What the hell are you two swindlers doin’ on my property?! At this point, yer trespassin’ and Ah have the right to shoot ya, ya know!” Granny Smith stated.

Flam raised his hands and said, “Now, now, Granny, there’s no need to get violent. We’ve merely come with a proposition.”

“Another one, you two are more stubborn than a couple of mules,” said Applejack.

“Yep,” added Big Mac.

“Whatever it is, all Ah can say is yer better off shovein’ it where the sun don’t shine,” said Granny Smith.

Flim and Flam both had devious looks on their faces. Sunset knew that look, she had the exact same face whenever she had the upper hand in something, either knowing something the other person didn’t, or when she was about to make a power play of some sort.

Sunset put herself between the Apple Family and the FlimFlam brothers and said, “I know that look, what do you know?!”

The twin brothers looked upon Sunset with intrigue, while the Apple Family looked at Sunset with confusion.

“Seems that aggressive girl has some street smarts, dear brother of mine,” said Flam.

“Indeed,” said Flim. “For she is correct, we have with us some pretty damning evidence that your family is engaging in some illicit activities, to be more precise, those two over there.”

Flim pointed directly at Mac and Applejack. The two oldest siblings froze in place, their blood turning to ice. There was no possible way that these two knew about what they were doing, right? They’ve never done anything at school, or anywhere in public. Their activities were restricted to the safety and privacy of their farm, away from prying eyes, where the only people they had to worry about were Granny and Apple Bloom, and both were easy enough to dodge after years of knowing their routines.

Sunset didn’t like this, she could see in their eyes, they weren’t bluffing, but how did they know?

“Hogwash, ya can’t bribe us, now yer resortin’ to slanderin’ us? That’s it, Ah’m gettin’ meh rifle,” said Granny as she began to walk towards their house.

Just then, the sounds of two people having sex filled the air. Everyone paused, as if time had frozen still, the sound of Sunset, Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom’s heartbeats echoed unnaturally loud in their ears alongside the familiar sounds. Their eyes all fell onto Flim’s cellphone, which was currently playing a video of the two oldest Apple siblings having sex. Granny Smith didn’t bother to turn around, she merely just stood there at her stoop.

Applejack began to visibly shake, legs turning to jelly and threatening to let her collapse onto the cold ground. But Big Mac managed to grab ahold of her, preventing that from happening, although, he was just as shell-shocked as Applejack was. Apple Bloom had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with realization, that video on Flim and Flam’s phone, it was hers, even from where she was standing, she could see that it was shot at night, and the angle of which the camera was being held was the same height and angle that was on hers. It wasn’t like she could forget something like that.

“My, my, my, this is truly not a good look for you. A brother and a sister both willingly engaging in sex, oh the immorality of it all,” said Flim.

“As siblings ourselves, we find it greatly appalling, disgusting, just downright wrong! How could anyone allow something like to occur under any roof is beyond me,” said Flam.

“Shut that off, now!” Granny ordered.

Flim turned off the video, he then eyed Sunset, who looked about ready to rush the two men. Flim raised his index finger and wagged it back and forth. “Now don’t go and get any bright ideas, little missy. This isn’t our only copy, you didn’t think that it’d be that easy did you?”

Sunset growled and gritted her teeth, the former Equestrian gave a quick, angry snort, a habit of her pony life long ago.

“What do ya want?” Granny asked.

Flim and Flam approached her and spoke in unison, “It’s very simple, Granny Smith. Simply sell your property to us, all the land, all the rights, and this video and all its copies will never see the light of day. Unless of course you wish for us to bring it to the local authorities? We’re sure CPS will have more than a few words for you.”

Granny Smith’s eyes widened and then they narrowed into dangerous slits. “It was you two! You called that Social Worker to the school yesterday and had her question my grandchildren!”

The twin brothers feigned innocence, appearing insulted that she would accuse them of that.

“Perish the thought, Granny,” said Flim.

“We have no idea why they would come to see you that day,” said Flam.

“But given what we have here, we can’t exactly blame them,” they said together.

Granny Smith looked as if she was about to break their necks and bury them so deep in the orchard it would take a search team years to find their bodies. Although, right now, Granny was seriously considering killing these two con men, but that also presented its own set of problems for her family.

“We know this is a big decision for you, Granny,” said Flam.

“We’ll give you until the end of the week to make up your minds. If we don’t hear anything by then, we’ll have no choice but to take drastic measures,” said Flim.

Granny Smith only nodded. The two brothers glanced back to the children, The Apple kids were still in states of shock, and Sunset still looked ready to throw down with the twins, like an attack dog that was just waiting to be let off their leash. With that, Flim and Flam entered their car and took off down the road, leaving the farm and the Apples with the biggest decision of their lives.

Nothing was said as the snow fell from the sky, the kids were frozen in place. Sunset was the only one who dared to look in Granny Smith’s direction, but she couldn’t get a read on her. Years had honed the elderly woman’s poker face, wearing a mask of neutrality as she just gazed ahead into the distance, not saying a word.

Sunset knew that Applejack and Mac weren’t going to speak, and Apple Bloom still looked too stunned to do any kind of talking. “Granny Smith, I don’t know what’s going through your mind, but–!”

“Ah take it you knew?” Granny interrupted. She then turned her gaze upon Sunset. “Am Ah right in assumin’ ya did? ‘Cause ya don’t look like you’re bothered too much by what ya saw, much like my two grandchildren, ya look shocked that they knew.”

Sunset knew she couldn’t lie her way out of this one, and in any case, what would be the point? “I did…know, I mean.”

“How long?”

“I…just found out a few days ago…” Sunset answered.

Granny nodded her head slowly. “Ah see.” Her eyes then fell on her two oldest grandchildren, and they could feel the weight of that gaze. “Ah need to speak with you two inside.”

Mac and Applejack flinched, but nodded.

“Sunset, Bloom, Ah want ya to wait upstairs in yer rooms. When Ah’m done, AJ, yer gonna drive Sunset back home,” said Granny.

“Granny, wait, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but just let them explain!” Sunset pleaded.

Granny Smith held up her hand as if to stop her from going on. “This isn’t because of you not tellin’ me. With what’s goin’ on, it’s best that ya don’t get caught up in it. Ya already have enough troubles at school, if people found out that you were here when all this went down, kids at school might think yer responsible. Ah’ll still pay ya fer the week, don’t you worry. Now, all ya, come on in.”

The walk inside was like a death march.

Granny sat in her rocking chair, while Applejack and Big Mac sat on the couch across from her. Both siblings left a gap between each other, although, right now, the only thing that they wanted was to comfort each other. The silence was deafening, neither of the two Apple children could decide which was worse, Granny Smith yelling at them or this long silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Granny Smith released a heavy sigh. “Ah knew Ah shoulda nipped this in the bud awhile back.”

Applejack and Big Mac looked at Granny with wide eyes.

“Granny, you knew?!” Big Mac asked.

“Of course, Ah did! Ah’m old, but Ah ain’t senile, or dumb. Not much happens on this farm without me knowin’, and Ah knew about what you two were doin’,” said Granny.

Applejack ran her right hand through her hair as she asked, “Then…Then why didn’t ya stop us?! If ya knew what we were doin’ that, then why didn’t you?!”

Granny Smith kept rocking as she looked at the fireplace. “To tell ya the truth, Ah figured it was on account of all the stress you two are under.” Applejack and Big Mac’s eyes widened, and Granny knew she hit the bull’s-eye. “Helpin’ me run this farm, havin’ to grow up before yer time. Ya don’t get that many chances to just be teenagers, to be kids. Plus, leavin’ all the way out here don’t exactly help matters.”

“Granny, we don’t blame you fer that!’ Applejack stated.

“She’s right, we love bein’ here with you!” Big Mac added.

Granny smiled. “Ah know ya do, but ya also can’t say that life here’s been easy. The only people here who know how much is on yer shoulders is each other, ya took solace and comfort in that, it made ya grow closer. And then…ya decided to find relief in each other. Now don’t get me wrong, if you two weren’t bein’ as careful as ya have been when doin’ yer deeds, Ah’d ‘ve smacked ya both with the biggest apple tree branch Ah could find!”

The two siblings gulped. That was not an empty threat, they knew very well that Granny Smith would do just that.

Applejack looked down at the floor in shame, gripping her pants as tears streamed down her face. “Ah’m sorry, Granny…we’ve…we’ve messed up real bad…we’ve disgraced the farm, our family…Ma and Pa…”

Big Mac fidgeted in place, he wanted to go to Applejack and comfort her, but was afraid of inciting his grandmother’s anger.

“Go on, Big Mac. Ain’t no shame in comfortin’ yer kin,” said Granny.

Big Mac nodded and brought Applejack in his arms, she cried into his broad chest, letting it all out. The brawny teen wanted to cry too, but right now one of them needed to be strong, because what was coming next was going to be bad, he could feel it. But this did beg the question…

“Granny, why don’t ya look angry at us?” Mac asked.

A sad smile formed on her lips. “Be dang hypocritical ‘o me to pass judgement on you two.”

Applejack stopped crying and looked at Granny Smith, her eyes wide once again upon hearing her grandmother’s words. “Granny…are you…are ya sayin’ you’ve…?”

“Not with one ‘o my brothers, but one of our cousins, yes.” Granny Smith’s expression changed to one of remembrance, to days long past but were still filled with fond memories. “My cousin, Apple Rose and Ah were thick as thieves, we were each other’s favorite cousin. No matter what, ya could never tear us apart. We’d get in and out of trouble so fast it’d make yer head spin. Course, that closeness came with some unforeseen developments.”

Granny looked back at her grandchildren. “Now, mind you, back then, people weren’t as acceptin’ of girls bein’ with other girls, or fer girls who liked both. We were young, tryin’ to understand ourselves, findin’ out that we found ourselves starin’ at girls as much as we were starin’ at boys. So, we came to the smart conclusion that we should just have a roll in the hay and see what we thought. Needless to say, we like it. Probably more than we wanted to admit.”

Applejack and Big Mac were at a loss for words, they had no idea that their grandmother had done something like that. Nor did they know that she apparently swung that way back in the day.

“Anyway…time passed, and, just like you two, we would sneak off to someplace private and have at it again. Now, Ah loved cousin Apple Rose, and she loved me, but deep down we both knew, it wasn’t love, it was lust. But that didn’t mean we cared less fer each other. Ah was kinda afraid of what she’d think when Ah told her Ah met yer grandfather, but during one of our nights together, she said that she was happy fer me, and that she had met someone too. Needless to say, when were engaged, we stopped. To this day, Ah don’t regret doin’ what we did.”

“Granny…Ah had no idea,” said Applejack.

Granny stopped her rocker and said, “Child, there are some things that ya don’t talk about, and other things that you do when ya need to impart some life wisdom. This bein’ one of those moments. Ah’m not goin’ to tell ya to stop, yer both eighteen and old enough to make yer own choices in life. Ah’ll leave it up to you two to decide when ya want to stop.”

Big Mac scowled as he smacked the armrest. “Fer all the good it does us…either we sell to Flim and Flam, or we get thrown in jail, and Bloom gets put in a foster home, and they get the farm.”

“What can we do…?” Applejack asked.

Granny Smith stood up from her chair and said, “We get ready. We get everythin’ ready to leave, Ah don’t trust those two rattlesnakes worth a damn. As soon as they get what they want, they’re under no obligation to protect us, they’ll just release it anyway. Today’s Tuesday, we have two days to get some bags ready and bolt the day that we sign the papers. Ah won’t have you two live the rest of yer lives in prison, nor will Ah have Apple Bloom live in a house full of strangers.”

Applejack and Mac stood up as well, both with panicked looks on their faces.

“Granny, if we do that, and they release that information to the police, they’ll put out a warrant for our arrest, they might even accuse us of kidnapping Bloom!” Applejack stated.

“Granny, there has to be another way,” said Mac.

Granny Smith shook her head. “Frankly, children, Ah can’t see one. It’d take a miracle at this point…”

Unknown to them, someone else was listening in. Apple Bloom sat at the top of the stairs, hearing everything that they said. Her eyes watered and her heart felt like it was being crushed, it was her fault, all of this was her fault. But how? How did Flim and Flam get their hands on that video? There had to be someone who can find out, or…

“Sunset…”

Sunset paced the room, her brain was on fire as she tried to figure out how Flim and Flam got ahold of such a video, and how in the world they got in the first place?

“I know I sure as hell didn’t have my cellphone out. Unless those two have a thing about recording themselves......Nah, they’re more careful than that, so then…?”

Just then, Apple Bloom came barging into Sunset’s room, closing the door behind her and locking it. Her eyes were red from crying, and her chest heaved from her labored breaths. “Sunset…Ah…Ah…Ah need yer help!”

Sunset blinked. “W-What?”

“Ah…Ah f-fucked up! Ah fucked up real bad!”

“What?”

“That night that Ah saw them, Ah accidentally recorded everythin’ on my phone!” Apple Bloom confessed.

“WHAT?!” Sunset exclaimed.

“The video that Flim and Flam have is the same one on my phone! Ah went to check on it in my video files, it’s still there, but Ah don’t know how those two got it too!”

Sunset sat down on the bed, trying to wrap her head around what Apple Bloom just told her. “So, wait, you’ve had that on your phone this whole time, and you didn’t delete it?!”

“Okay, first, Ah was havin’ a bit of a crisis that day! Second, Ah was kidnapped, so it was kinda low on my list of priorities,” said Apple Bloom.

“Fair point. But that still doesn’t explain how they got the file, was there any point that you didn’t have your cellphone?” Sunset asked.

Apple Bloom tried to think back, between the night it happened and when she… “Oh my damn…the kidnapper…the one who was in the van with me, he reached into my pants and grabbed meh phone! Ah thought he was goin’ to do somethin’ dirty to me, but all he did was take my cellphone and then put it back…he…he must be workin’ with Flim and Flam! Both of ‘em!”

Sunset cupped her chin as she thought about this. She couldn’t deny that that might be the case, Flim and Flam looked like the type to hire help of that sort, but then again, Sunset was there, did they really have enough time to copy the file? If Apple Bloom hid it away somewhere in her phone, it would’ve taken them a long while to find it, and the second kidnapper came out of the van about a minute later after they stopped and Sunset engaged the first one.

“The video file, is it hidden in your phone?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I made a whole bunch of dummy folders and buried it deep in there, Ah wanted to make sure that even if Ah lost it, no one would be able to see it without knowing how to,” said Apple Bloom.

Sunset kept thinking, they didn’t have much time before the deal, and Sunset needed to find out if her phone was hacked somehow. Might be time to ask Shining Armor for a favor.

“Apple Bloom.” Sunset’s tone was serious enough that Apple Bloom gave the former unicorn her full attention. “You might be right that those guys are working for Flim and Flam, but we need proof. I may know someone who has the resources to find out, but you have to give me your cellphone.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened with fear. “What?! No, Ah’m not given ya my phone! Just tell me where to go and Ah’ll take it to ‘em!”

Sunset shot up from her bed, standing to her full height and towering over the young Apple. “Apple Bloom, if there’s one time where this Anon-A-Miss bullshit needs to be put on pause, it’s right fucking now!” Sunset advanced on Apple Bloom, making her back up with each step. “Your home, your family, all of that is resting on whether or not you can trust me enough to let me do this! Do you think I want AJ to be put in jail?! For any of you to be put in jail?! Besides, Flim and Flam already threatened to release it if Granny doesn’t do anything, what could I possibly gain from outing you all before they do?!” Apple Bloom’s back hit the wall as Sunset pressed her index finger into Apple Bloom’s chest. “I won’t let that happen; I will not lose a part of the only family I have here! So one way or another, either you give me that cellphone, or I’m going to turn into the Old Sunset Shimmer, and take that thing from you!”

Apple Bloom was once again at a crossroads, on her phone was the video, but also the incriminating evidence needed to reveal to Sunset that she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were in fact Anon-A-Miss. If Sunset found that evidence while she was looking for who hacked the phone, everything that Sunset said would be thrown out the door. Because, why would she help one of the people who was making her life a living hell right now? Even if Applejack, Mac, and Granny were put in jail, Sunset could still get her revenge by letting it all happen and just watch them burn. However, that part of Apple Bloom that cared about her family was steadily overriding her fear that Sunset would find out the truth, and reasoned that if it saved her family, it was worth whatever hell fury that Sunset would rain down on her later.

With a bit of reluctance, Apple Bloom raised her phone to Sunset. The flaming redhead sighed in relief and happily took ahold of the device, but then Apple Bloom wrapped her other hand around Sunset’s and made her look the young girl in the eyes.

“You promise me! Promise that no matter what, you’ll save them! Promise me, Sunset!” Apple Bloom demanded.

Sunset gently put left hand over Apple Bloom’s and gave it a confident squeeze. “I will, on my life.”

Apple Bloom stared into Sunset’s eyes for a long minute before she finally released the grip she had on her cellphone.

“Alright, head back to your room, I need to make a call.”

Apple Bloom unlocked the door, took one more look at Sunset and then left the room.

Now that she was alone, Sunset took out her cellphone and brought up her list of contacts, once she found the number she wanted she dialed. The phone rang for a couple of seconds and then was picked up.

{Sunset? What’s up?}

“Sorry, I don’t know if you’re busy – what am I saying, you’re a homicide detective, of course you are. Anyway, I need your help, I need to see you tonight, ASAP,” said Sunset with a serious tone.

{Whoa, that bad? Is it “you-know-what” related?}

“It might be…that’s kind of why I need your help. I’d rather talk in person; can you meet me at my place? I’m going to be dropped off there here after a bit.”

{No problem, I’ll head that way now.}

“Thanks, Shining Armor.”

The car ride back to Sunset’s was bleak, Applejack didn’t say a word to her the whole time, and the cowgirl looked as if she was already dead. They had just gotten back into town and were now in the neighborhood where Sunset lived.

“AJ, I don’t know how they got that video, but I promise I’ll figure it out,” said Sunset.

“Sunset…Ah…”

“You don’t have to believe me, but I didn’t take that video of you and Mac.”

“……Ah do believe you. Despite all that, Ah still do. If Ah let myself go down that rabbit hole again, Ah’m sorry to say it may take me down a dark place Ah don’t want to go. You don’t have to promise me anythin’, we’ll…we’ll figure somethin’ out.”

Applejack pulled up next to Sunset’s home and parked. Sunset got out and pulled out her suitcase from the backseat, along with Ray’s terrarium. “AJ, try to get some sleep at least. The girls will worry tomorrow if they see you like this.”

Applejack nodded and bid her goodbye before heading back down the road. Once she was gone, Sunset spotted another car pulling up to the sidewalk. She recognized it as Shining Armor’s car, once he was parked he got out and walked around to the other side.

“Guessing it’s worse than I thought?”

“Good guess…Mind helping me get my stuff back in?” Sunset asked.

Shining Armor offered her a hand, carrying her bags into her home. Sunset walked up her stairs and put Ray back at his normal spot. The little lizard gave a quirky smile, happy to be back home, and admittedly, Sunset was too. Shining Armor took a moment to look over Sunset’s home, noticing that she did indeed live alone.

“Not a bad place, Sunset,” said Shining Armor.

“Thanks, but it’s mostly paid for by Principal Celestia, I’d like to repay her, but as you know, I’m not exactly a legal citizen, even with the papers I have, so finding a job is kind of hard,” said Sunset.

“That sucks.” Shining Armor sat down on her couch and asked, “So what was so important that you needed to talk to me?”

Sunset at down in the opposite chair, her expression changing into one of seriousness. “Someone is blackmailing one of my friends and their family, and threatening to take everything away from them unless they get an answer by the end of this week.”

Shining Armor sat up straight as his cop mind began to kick in. “Has your friend’s family contacted the police regarding this?”

“No, the information they have on them is…bad, to say the least. If they did go to the police, it would just bring it to light and in the end, they’d lose no matter what,” Sunset explained. “And just so you know, it doesn’t involve anything like murder or anything that you see on the cop shows.”

Shining Armor took a moment to ponder Sunset’s words. Something that wasn’t bad enough to be a high crime, but still bad enough that if it got out, it would destroy the family even if they went to the police. “That’s a big problem, Sunset. Whatever this secret is, it can’t be worth losing everything that they have.”

“It isn’t, but they have no choice. Worst part is, the ones responsible are sleazy enough that they just might release the information anyhow.” Sunset’s fist tightened, turning her knuckles white from the anger of this situation. “I think that they might’ve hacked one of their phones, and that there might be a clue on it as to where the file went to, as well as maybe finding a way to destroy it so that they can’t use it against them. I came to you because I was hoping you could do something off the books, or new someone who’s good at hacking and computer stuff?”

Shining Armor did know someone, but was weary of getting them involved in something like this. But, he definitely couldn’t take it to any of his tech guys in the unit, if what Sunset said is true, even if they did find out how they did it, it would end up harming the people she’s trying to help.

“Sunset, before I even think about doing this, I need you to be honest with me, who’s in trouble? You don’t need to tell me what happened, but I need to know I’m not helping someone I shouldn’t be, even if it’s you asking,” said Shining Armor.

The flame haired girl sighed, she knew that there was no way of getting this to happen without dropping a name, but at least she tried. “It’s the Apple Family, Applejack, my friend. Apple Bloom forgot something, but remembered it when the people we think are responsible came to their place today. She said that the kidnappers, the driver, took her cellphone away from her for a minute and then gave it back before he transformed and tossed her out.”

“You think those guys are working for ones who are blackmailing your friend’s family?”

Sunset knitted her brow. “I know they are, but I need your help to make sure. If your guy can find out if Apple Bloom’s phone was hacked, and find out where the information leads to, if it’s who I know it is, then I’ll know it was them.”

Shining Armor thought about it some more, someone went to a lot of trouble to kidnap Apple Bloom, and then release her just as quickly to Sunset during their battle. Something was fishy about this whole thing from the start, and now Shining Armor’s instincts were telling him to follow this lead and see where it goes.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll contact my guy, but I can’t guarantee that they’ll do it, I’ll try, but no promises,” said Shining Armor.

“Please try, and if you can get it done by tomorrow, it’d better, we only have two days,” said Sunset.

Sunset reached into her pocket and took out Apple Bloom’s cellphone, she paused for a minute before taking her cellphone out as well. “Say…can you see if your guy can look into my phone as well?”

“I can, were you hacked too?” Shining Armor asked.

“Mine’s more related to the Anon-A-Miss thing. I’m wondering if my phone was hacked, if it was it would explain how Anon-A-Miss learned about AJ’s story, and how the pictures of one of our Slumber Parties got taken off my phone and put onto her page,” said Sunset.

Shining Armor reached out and took both phones in his hands. “I’ll have them look into it.”

Twilight managed to survive another day at Crystal Prep. She couldn’t wait to get into the Everton Independent Study Program, once there, she’d be alone, alone to do whatever she wanted, research and develop whatever she wanted. However, the end of the school year was still a bit off. For now, she’d have to endure it, the snide comments, the open abuse of being shoved around in the hallway, ignored and/or getting targeted.

Today was one of those days where she was targeted. The school’s top female athlete, Indigo Zap, got real handsy with her. The girl didn’t know that “no” meant “no”, and would constantly flirt with her. When she didn’t reciprocate, Indigo would grab her by the rear and force her tongue down Twilight’s throat. In all honesty, Twilight wasn’t sure how to feel about her, if she liked her, why couldn’t Indigo just come out and say it? But then again, Twilight doubted that’s why she did it, a girl like Indigo wouldn’t waste her time with a mousy, smart girl like her. The last thing she wanted to was to embarrass herself by presuming that Indigo wanted a relationship, not that Twilight was adverse to a same sex relationship, but she also didn’t want to find out that the only thing that Indigo wanted from Twilight, was something that she wasn’t prepared to give her.

The school didn’t reel as much from the death of Suri Polomare, Twilight will admit, she felt bad for her parents, but – and she hated to say this – she didn’t care for Suri at all. The girl was just one of many students at CPA who decided to take pleasure in tormenting her. Suri was a good seamstress, so she knew exactly how to tamper with Twilight’s uniform.

More than once did the uniform come undone while she was walking in the hallway, exposing her to the rest of the students. Despite not attracting any male attention, they were certainly eager to snap pictures of Twilight in her half naked state. Now that Suri was dead, Twilight no longer had to worry about that happening, no more checking her uniform to make sure it wasn’t going to fall apart, nope, not now, not ever again.

Although, Twilight had to admit, this business of people turning into monsters was…strange. She didn’t know how to process this, a lot of people were saying that they were some government experiment, some said aliens, others say it was a virus that mutated people, and a few said it was evil spirits possessing people. Twilight relegated most of them to fiction, about the only one she gave any credence to was the virus theory. There were instances of viruses causing physical mutations, but the scale in which Suri was transformed was on a whole different level.

If I wasn’t still trying to locate the source of this strange energy, I’d probably be looking into this, thought Twilight.

Then there was the person who killed Suri, Witchblade. Twilight had to admit, she was grateful to her for getting rid of bad person like Suri, but she didn’t really approve of her choice in wardrobe. However, from the footage, it showed that this Witchblade person was able to conjure weapons from the armor, and in fact, it seemed as if the armor was reacting to its bearer.

Truly fascinating…Canterlot City’s becoming a hotbed for strange phenomena all around!

Twilight paused, she looked at her phone and saw that her brother was calling. The gloom of today vanished as she happily answered the phone. “Hello, Onii-sama!”

{Twilight, what did I say about doing that?}

“Right, right, sorry, I know you prefer onii-chan,” Twilight corrected.

There was an audible groan coming from the other end. {That’s not any better…}

“Oh, but Twilight love’s calling onii-chan 'onii-chan’.”

Twilight could already see her big brother squirming on the other end of the line. It was no secret that the two were big comic books and anime nerds, when Twilight learned of those anime shows with the brother and sister as the main focus, she would always tease him like that, and still does.

{Twi, please, I really need to talk to you right now.}

Twilight stopped her little giggle fit, noting that her brother’s tone was serious. “O-Okay, what’s wrong?”

{*Sigh*……Look, I need your help with an unofficial case, off the books.}

Twilight practically shot out of her desk chair when she heard that. “Y-Y-You want me to help?! With one of your cases?!”

{Shhh! Don’t let Mom and Dad hear you!}

Twilight clamped her left hand over her mouth and waited to see if she was heard. She was not. “Thank you, thank you! I promise I’ll do everything I can to help!”

{Now hold one, just listen. This isn’t an official case, I’m kind of doing this one under the table.} Shining Armor explained what the situation was, keeping some small details out so as to not arouse suspicion, but just enough to make sure Twilight was interested. {That’s about it, do you think you can do it?}

Twilight blew a raspberry. “Please, it’s not any harder than hacking a defense satellite to get a better view of a comet………Not that I’ve ever done that…”

{I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Thanks again, Twily.}

“Anytime, Shiny.”