After seeking refuge in Equestria during the Anon-A-Miss fiasco, Sunset Shimmer is stranded in Equestria. Convinced that she's just not cut out for friendship, Sunset throws herself back into her studies. Unfortunately for her, all the magic around CHS has attracted the attention of a certain spectacled scientist. When her device accidentally pulls the mysterious energy from the statue in front of the school, she is shocked when an amber unicorn was pulled out with it. With the portal not working, the two must work together to gather the energy needed to send Sunset home from the only magical source left to tap: Sunset's former friends, all while dealing with the overbearing principal of Crystal Prep as the Friendship Games approach.

Anon-a-Miss succeeded. Sunset Shimmer no longer hangs out with her loved ones. One day, the creators of the account realize that Sunset doesn't show up for class. Worried, they went to her house and discovered sad news.

Sunset is all alone.

She no home, no Friends and Especially no Family.

All because the user called Anon-a-Miss who has been using other student secrets to turn them against her. The school hates her. Her friends have abandon her. And she had no family to turn to.

She was all alone.

Or was she? When walking in the cold, she would soon be taken to the home of the people that would change her life forever. And perhaps give to her, the greatest Christmas gift of all.

Cover image belongs to edCOM02 on Deviantart

[description slightly updated 10/10/22]
What if Applebloom hadn't admitted to being Anon-a-Miss when she did? What if Sunset took the situation to extreme measures? And what if the Crusaders never stopped posting…?

This is the story of the aftermath of what might have happened, Sunset's recovery from the trauma of abandonment and resulting depression, and the road towards healing and forgiveness. This is also the story of why Anon-a-Miss continued to function long after the intended purpose was completed. There will be roadblocks, detours, and maybe even engine troubles, but through friendship, Sunset's wounds may yet be mended. However… as the one behind the wicked veil of anonymity continues to wreak havoc, who else will be hurt due to her desire for vengeance? Why does she seek it, and for what is it sought for? When the collateral damage inevitably collapses under its own weight, Sunset will not be the only one bearing scars.

[END OF PLOT SYNOPSIS & HOOK]

/x/x/x/

Third person. Present tense (flashbacks are in Past tense). Rated T rather than M as there is no explicit sex or graphic violence. Profanity tag may be pushing the rating a bit (frequency of F bombs was reduced in editing). Sex tag for discussion of sexual activity (both heterosexual and homosexual) and implied nudity. Suicide / Self Harm tag for failed suicide attempts, mentions of past attempts, discussion of cutting, and for descriptions of scars. Contains cannabis mention and implied use (not enough to justify tagging Narcotics but enough to mention). Also contains minor character death (of an OC, in a flashback, off-screen), medical trauma, mental illness, and some depictions of homophobia and the usage of slurs.

TL;DR reader discretion is HIGHLY advised. Feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions about exactly what method of suicide attempts are depicted in case certain types may cause you harm. I don’t want to trigger anyone if I can help to prevent it. (I am using ‘trigger’ here in its medical context.)

It has been pointed out to me that there are some inconsistencies concerning the timeline and canon. I will mention that here to spare you further confusion. This takes place in a light AU I call my EEGC (Extended Equestria Girls Chronology) which consists of multiple fics set in the same universe and timeline. In it I have changed, among other things: Twilight gave Sunset the journal in the events of the first film, the Anon-a-Miss incident occurs within weeks of the first film and long before the second, the OTHER Twilight & Sunset are ‘altered’ and ‘taken care of’ respectively, and the Human World and Limbo are now the same location. These changes were made because the EqG canon is literally impossible otherwise, given the events of the show (and has only grown MORE impossible in time).

Thank you all for getting me featured repeatedly!
Thank you for the likes, comments, and favorites!
Thank you especially for the constructive criticism!

Losing her friends was the start of a self-destructive spiral for Sunset Shimmer. Convinced that she will never escape the echoes of her past, she tries to take her own life.

The attempt leaves her severely injured and she falls unconscious. In her dreams, she is visited by Princess Luna. They have much to discuss, whether Sunset likes it or not.

TV Tropes page
Drawing of Sunset used in cover art is by Xaztein

After the slumber party at Rarity's, the humane 5 are shocked to discover that the pictures that were taken during the slumber party have been posted on Anon-A-Miss's page for the whole school to see. pictures that were taken using Sunset's phone.

Naturally the girls assumed that Sunset was Anon-A-Miss and when she didn't show up at School it further proved her guilt. But when they visited her apartment using the spare key Sunset gave Rainbow Dash in case of an emergency, they discover a very ill Sunset resting on her bed.

Pushing their anger aside to aid their sick friend the girls soon discover that Sunset is not Anon-A-Miss as whoever it is made a post while they were watching Sunset.

Now as they figure out who Anon-A-Miss could be, Sunset's fever continues to get worse and when her body starts flashing red, they realize that whatever Sunset has is beyond their world's ability to treat.

Betrayal always hurts, especially when it come form those you love and trust the most. When Anon-A miss brings Sunset’s world crashing down around her, she turns to the one pony she knows she can truly trust, only to find she’s not the only one who’s been betrayed by her friends. Plagued by betrayals old and new, Twilight and Sunset began to walk the road to recovery and as they do, they discover that while the road may be painful, it’s also almost as beautiful as the pony walking next to them.

Romance tag is for SunLight as well as some Starlight/Trixie that will occur in the final scene of most chapters as a background story.

Sunset Shimmer has ended up wasting both of her previous oppotunities to find a new home in both universes, and with Anon-a-miss looming, will she ever get another chance?
Will she finally find somewhere to go?
And now, she is facing more of her past than ever before. But are things really as they seem, despite an all too familiar face telling her it isn't so?

Self harm is limited to Prologue, but mentions of it will continue through story.

And fair warning, the first half of this story is fairly badly written. I promise it gets better!
Edit from author over a year later: it does get better, but not by that much. Really not that well written overall, so be warned!

Burning Sunset's "A Second Chance to Find Home" is dead, and while I certainly don't want to copy their work, I wouldn't mind to see it have an ending.
Please bear in mind that this story will be substantially different, so it is by no means a replacement, or a copy of any kind. Maybe think of this as an AU to the original story.

21/10/18: Thanks for 100 likes! And 2k views somewhere along the line; I honestly didn't notice!

After the events of Anon-A-Miss, Sunset is alone. Her friends don't trust her. Her own friends, who she thought loved her, so easily cut her off. She realizes the she is once again living her worst fear; being alone. With this comes feelings that Sunset had thought left her long, long ago.
(TRIGGERS: Suicidal thoughts and attempt, mentions of self harm, being alone.)

THIS STORY IS BEING REWRITTEN. PLEASE LOOK AT MY PROFILE FOR THE NEW VERSION, I WILL NOT BE UPDATING THIS ONE!

It started off simply enough, Applejack's embarrassing childhood nickname. Everyone had one, Sunset's was Little Firestarter. The group ignored it, even when students take it a step forward and start teasing the farmer about it.

However the next day, after a sleepover at Rarity's involved all of them dressing up in silly costumes the fashionista had made, things got worse. Those pictures were posted online, and the poster, Anon-A-Miss, also left derogatory comments.

Those pictures came from Sunset's phone, but she doesn't remember posting them. What's going on?