Sunset and I leaned back into the seats of my truck in the parking lot of the Canterlot Police Department as the vehicle warmed up.

"That was exhausting." Sunset said after moment.

"I can imagine. But this should get this whole mess resolved." I replied as I put the vehicle into gear and carefully made my way out onto the slushy roads.

"Hopefully." Sunset replied, eyes closed as she leaned her head back.

"So what do you want to do know?" I asked.

Sunset hummed for a moment before replying.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that despite your height and broader shoulders, you look quite androgynous." She said finally, a sly smile on her face.

As we stopped at a red light, I turned to look at her.

"You just want to see me in a skirt don't you?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Guilty." She said with a teasing smile.

I laughed, glad that she had recovered enough to make such jokes in good humor. However my response threw her off balance.

"Sure, why not. Been awhile since I was able to indulge in some tasteful crossdressing." I replied, laughing at her sputtered response.

"Seriously? I was just joking." Sunset replied when she calmed down.

I shrugged. "I have done it before. I do enjoy being able to do it. Just usually never went out in it. Knew too many people in the area and when I was in the Army, we had this thing called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' which was basically a legal way for the government to discriminate against LGBT personel. It got repealed about a year before I got out, but the military is a very macho environment. Hell, they just started allowing females into main line combat positions a couple of years ago." I said.

"Really? That is a bunch of horse apples." Sunset replied.

I shrugged. "It happens when a society is patriarchal. Hell, women have only been allowed to serve in the military for about a century in modern times." I explained.

"Makes sense I guess. Equestria is matriarchal due to the skewed gender ratios. Mares out number stallions four or five to one in some places." Sunset said.

"So I am guessing monogamy is the exception not the rule there?" I inquired as I turned towards the mall.

Sunset nodded. "We still have gender equality though. And most ponies tend to be bisexual as well, some preferring one or the other as their primary partner."

I nodded my understanding. "I can understand that. I am bi myself, preferring women as a permanent partner while having the occasional romp in the sheets with men."

"Oh, why is that?" Sunset asked.

"Women are nicer to cuddle with." I said with a smirk as we pulled into the mall. "Well, ready to use me as your dress up doll?" I asked

Sunset laughed as we got out of the vehicle.

Soon we were in the first store for women's clothing. The clerk gave us an incredulous stare when Sunset explained that we were there for me.

"Not a pervert. I find women's clothing to be more comfortable than men's and my friend here needs a pick me up after some heavy emotional stuff. That and you will get a commission if we can get some good outfits." I explained, appealing to her bottom line.

Ah, greed. One of the few vices that you can actually make work for you. Lust works as well, but giving that my current age was about fifteen less than the clerks, it wasn't something available to use. Nor would I want to.

Soon enough, my measurements were taken and Sunset whistled.

"42-34-40. Damn you got a backside." She said. "Is it bad I am a little bit jealous?"

I laughed. "Not really. But keep in mind if I was a female and proportional, I would be somewhere around double D cup size. That would be painful at times "

"True." Sunset said as we browsed the racks of clothing.

Soon enough I was in the dressing room with a couple armloads of clothes.

The next half hour was spent trying on and modeling the various outfits, from jeans and blouses to skirts and sweaters, to dresses and sleepwear that we could locate in my size.

"Okay, this just isn't fair. How the hell can you pull off those clothes better than I can?" Sunset asked as we headed for the register with the keepers of the lot.

I smirked as I replied in falsetto, "Oh come on honey, just admit it. You know I look good."

Sunset blushed and stammered before lightly punching my shoulder. "Prat." She said, causing me to laugh.

After that was the lingerie store, though I didn't model any of it for her, teasingly saying that we weren't quite at the point in our relationship, earning another blush from the young woman.

Then we went for shoes, a bit of a task given my shoe size. After shoes, we looked at jewelry.

"Are you sure about this?" Sunset asked. "You have spent quite a bit of money already."

I shrugged as I browsed the cases. "My parents were well off when they died and they had rather large life insurance policies. Add to the fact my trust has been gaining interest for sixteen years with no one touching it, I can probably go for a Master's degree before having to worry about finding work." I replied.

Soon a nice set of silver and diamond earrings, silver necklace and silver bracelet, and a nice watch made their way into our bags.

Then we spent a good half hour getting makeup. The clerk was having the time of her life as she helped both of us get appropriate choices that complemented our skin tones.

Heading back to the parking lot, we were soon at my truck, purchases in the back seats.

"That was a lot of fun." Sunset replied. "Thank you. I needed something to pick me up."

I smiled. "Not a problem Sunny. I don't mind at all. Wonder what kind of chaos I could cause if I show up on the first day wearing one of the outfits we picked out."

Sunset laughed. "That I would pay to see."

I laughed. "I might just do it then. Just to see you smile. So where do you live? I can drop you off." I said.

Sunset's expression went from happy to nervous in a flash.

I looked at her with concern. "You do have someplace to live right? Sunset?"

"I can walk. You don't have to go to all the trouble…" She started before I interrupted.

"Sunset," I began as I took her hand. "You do have someplace to live right?"

She nodded.

"Is it safe?" I asked quietly.

She hesitated before nodding, slight but still there.

"Right then. We are going to get your stuff and you are taking the spare bedroom." I replied, cutting off her argument by adding, "No one should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from and whether they are going to have a safe place to sleep."

Sunset sighed before giving me directions to where she lived

Soon enough we were at an abandoned factory. We quickly got out and went inside.

I sighed as we entered what was probably the foreman's office when the place was still in use

An old mattress with thin sheets sat on the floor with only a few clothes and personal effects on a couple of crates.

It didn't take us long to pack up everything and leave.

"How long have you been there?" I asked as we headed back to my, now our, house.

"About four years. I stayed in the school for a while when I first got here, but they installed a new security system so I had to vacate. I brought some gold coins and gems with me when I can through the portal as well as some of my clothes, but I didn't want to arouse suspicion by selling a whole lot at once." Sunset replied.

"Well, now you have a place to live with warm water, central heating and air, and a well stocked pantry." I said.

Sunset smiled. "Thank you Talisman. I can't tell you what this means to me. I would help with groceries, but I can't exactly get a job."

I thought for a moment as I navigated around an accident on the road. "Well given that your principals seem to be adept at keeping things out of the media, they probably have a contact or two that can get you set up with an identity that is legitimate so you can get a job and go to college." I said after a moment. "I have the principal's email in some of the paperwork I have for the school. I can reach out to her." I added.

"Couldn't hurt. But both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna have been at a conference for the past couple of weeks. That is probably why this Anon-a-miss situation has gotten so bad and no one has done anything." Sunset replied.

Soon enough, we pulled into the driveway and unloaded our bags.

"Laundry room is in there." I said gesturing to the door. "That way if you want to wash some of your things before you put them away."

Sunset nodded as she went to her new room to unpack.

I headed to my room and began to unpack my new feminine clothing. I cracked a smile as I removed tags and folded and hung up the clothing. Once that was done I pulled out the paperwork for Canterlot High. Locating Principal Celestia's email, I opened the email app on my phone and sent her a message detailing what had been going on and how I was helping Sunset and inquiring if she could help Sunset establish her identity more firmly.

Email sent, I went to the kitchen and started on dinner, the pair of us not having eaten since breakfast.

Soon, the smell of stir fry attracted Sunset into the kitchen.

"So you can cook too?" She asked as she leaned against the door frame.

"Sure can." I replied as I added chicken breast to the pan. "Saves me money and I can impress my friends." I said giving her a smile before turning back to the stove as she located the plates and silverware.

As I was plating up the meal, my phone went off. Setting the plates on the table, I unlocked my phone and saw that Celestia had responded to my email already.

"So Celestia wants to meet with us as soon as possible. Should I tell her to come by tonight?" I informed Sunset.

"Sure. It would be better to get this handled as soon as possible." She replied.

I nodded and sent a quick reply to the message with my address and an invitation to come by that evening. We then tucked into our meal.

After dinner, Sunset insisted that I model a few of the complete outfits for her while we waited for the principals. Rolling my eyes, I headed to my room and pulled out the outfits.

I spent the next half hour parading through the living room, much to Sunset's amusement.

I had just put the kettle on for tea when the doorbell rang.

I headed to the door and upon opening it, I was met with the sight of a tall leggy woman with pastel colored hair and pale white skin and a shorter blue skinned woman with two tone blue hair.

"Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna I presume?" I asked.

The taller of the two blinked a couple of times before responding.

"Yes, I am Principal Celestia and this is my sister and co-administrator Vice-Principal Luna. Talisman Stryke, correct?" The now identified Celestia said.

I nodded. "Please come in. I had just put the kettle on so we can have a cuppa while we talk." I said just as a whistle sounded in the kitchen. "Please, head to the living room while I get everything." I added before heading to the kitchen.

In short order I was in the living room, passing out mugs and allowing everyone to make their tea to their tastes.

"So, I am to understand you had questions regarding Sunset's legal status?" Celestia said after a moment.

I nodded. "Given the fact that you have been able to keep the media and certain undesirable elements of the government from swooping down on your school, I figured that you must either have a contact high up in the government or you yourself are higher in the government rather than some lowly school administrator. I figured that you would be the person to talk to about getting her a legal identity, that way if she makes the choice to stay in this world that she can live a good life."

Celestia nodded. "Then it is a good thing that I have already taken care of the necessary paperwork. I was going to wait until graduation, but it seems that waiting won't do." She said.

Sunset's and my eyes widened. It seems that Celestia is the master of the long game.

"Took quite the chance then, given how Sunset was when she first showed up in this world then." I replied with a small smile at the red and gold haired girl next to me.

"I hoped and rightly so, that she would find her way." Celestia said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, well that is all well and good. But how are we going to handle this Anon-a-miss situation?" Luna asked.

"Well on that front, I contacted the CPD's Cybercrimes Division through a contact my case worker has. We have our suspicions, but we did not give them a name on the off chance that we are wrong." I replied.

"And who do you think it is?" Luna inquired as she took a sip of her tea.

Sunset spoke up. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle we are more certain on after looking at some events more closely and since the three of them are always together, Scootaloo might at least be knowledgeable about the whole thing."

Before either administrator could respond, there was a hard triple knock at the door.

Quickly going to the door, I opened it to find Aegis standing outside, looking emotionally drained, eyes puffy and red.

"Aegis, come in. What's going on?" I asked as I took her jacket and led her to the living room.

"I just left the scene of an attempted suicide and before that I was at the scene of a successful one." She said, her voice rough and hollow. "They were students at CHS and both girls were outed by Anon-a-miss a few hours ago. The one who died had very strict religious parents who took great offense to their daughter being a lesbian. She jumped from a thirty story window. Her girlfriend tried slitting her wrists. Her parents got to her and got her to the hospital in time."

Damn it all to hell. Save one life and still a life is lost. Guess a balance must be kept.

Sunset gasped, her hand in front of her mouth, tears in her eyes.

I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her.

"Have they been able to track down the users behind Anon-a-miss?" I asked.

"They have and currently the team handling it are getting warrants to pick them up. I think that Sunset should avoid going to school for a few days, just to be safe." Aegis replied.

"We can arrange for it. Let your superiors know that we will assist in any way possible." Celestia said.

Aegis nodded. "Thank you. Now if you all will excuse me, I need to go home and hug the ever loving crap out of my girlfriend." She said.

I smiled. "Go on and get out of here then. I'll catch up with you later." I said.

Aegis nodded and stood up, pausing for a moment. "Why the hell are you wearing a skirt?" She asked, a puzzled look on her face.

I chuckled. "It made this one smile." I replied, gesturing to Sunset.

Soon after, Celestia and Luna took their leave as well to prepare for the fallout of this weekend.

"Come on Sunset. Let's get some sleep. We can deal with things in the morning." I said pulling the girl up from the couch and guiding her to her room.

As I lay awake in bed contemplating the events of the past few hours, I heard the door to my room open.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked.

"No. Can I…?" Sunset asked.

I merely flipped the covers back, and she climbed into bed, burying her head in my shoulder and sobbing.

I said nothing and just wrapped my arms around her and ran my fingers through her hair until both of us passed out from exhaustion.