Chapter 1

Sunset shivered as she walked in the doors of the school. The halls may be decently heated, but it still took until half-way through first class for students to defrost. Though perhaps it was just the atmosphere.

The day before, a blog called ‘Anon-A-Miss’ had popped up on MyStable and began posting people’s secrets. It had started with Applejack, the blog revealing an embarrassing nickname with an even more embarrassing origin story. There had been a few more posts, but they didn’t get as much attention. Mostly because they were ‘common knowledge’ secrets, reminders of embarrassing events that everyone knew about, but everyone waited in either anticipation or fear for the next secret.

Sunset had blocked the page when it first came up. She wasn’t one for gossip, at least now that she’d stopped needing it for blackmail. Perhaps, under usual circumstances, she would be curious to see what Anon-a-Miss would post about her. But between the fact that everything posted has been true, and that her life was pretty much an open book, nothing would be said about her.

Still, waking by others snickering at their phone screens did catch her morbid curiosity. She shrugged it off, well, shuddered it off, due to the lingering cold. Her friends were still zipped into their jackets when she walked up. Applejack even had her hood up, which looked a bit silly with her hat on top. It was then that she noticed they were all on their phones as well.

“Hey girls,” Sunset greeted, a little cautious. “What’s going on?”

“Sunset, did you…” Applejack began. “Have you lost your phone recently?”

“No?” she answered, instinctively pulling it out to double check. “It’s right here. Why?”

“Then you need to explain this,” she replied, holding out her own phone.

Taking the phone in her hand, Sunset scrolled through the images. It was them, all the dorky pictures they’d taken at their last sleepover, with Rarity’s Closet of Shame. It wasn’t too bad, but the blog’s caption killed it, ‘OMG… What a bunch of dorks!’.

“What?!” Sunset gaped in disbelief. “How did she get our pictures?!”

“They’re not ‘our pictures’, Sunset,” Applejack said.

“They’re yours!” Rainbow frowned.

“All of those pictures were taken by you,” she said.

“Wait, but-“ Sunset stammered as the phone was taken back. “I’ve had my phone this whole time! How did she-“

“Yeah, how did she?” Applejack asked. “The nickname was one thing, that could’ve been anyone’s fault. But damn it Sunset, the pictures are from your phone! You five and my family were the only ones who knew my nickname, none of my family could’ve gotten your phone. And the rest of us-“

“Aj and Rares had their secrets put up,” Rainbow interrupted again. “Pinks and Shy go nuts if they accidently hurt someone, and while I can be a jerk of a prankster, I wouldn’t do it anonymously.”

“The point is, you’re the only one left,” Rarity said.

“You think I’m-“ Sunset shook her head. “That’s crazy. You guys know me. I wouldn’t do this.”

“That’s what’s confusing,” Pinkie said. “We don’t want to believe it, but there’s evidence against you and we can’t ignore it.”

“Sunset,” Applejack commanded. “Just do one thing. Tell me you’re not Anon-A-Miss. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you wouldn’t do this.”

Despite the anxiety and tears starting up, Sunset did as she was told. Applejack’s eyes were… intense. They looked sharper than normal, perhaps a little more orange than her usual green. She felt the words bubbling up from within as she answered.

“I’m not Anon-A-Miss,” Sunset stated. “I know I can’t explain how she got my pictures, but I wouldn’t. I’ve been terrible before, but you’re my friends and I wouldn’t even dream of hurting you.”

“So there’s no stash of secrets waiting to be uploaded?” Applejack asked.

“Yes and no,” she admitted without thinking. “Honestly, if I was still a bitch I would’ve used my old blackmail material first.”

“Your old blackmail material?” Pinkie asked.

“I thought you got rid of that after the Fall Formal?” Fluttershy asked.

“I did,” Sunset said. “Well, I tried. While I’m better with tech nowadays, I don’t have the trust in it due to not growing up with it. I was paranoid I’d hit a button and accidently delete everything, so I made copies. I had multiple folders on my laptop, a copy on my phone, a handful of online storage folders, and several flash drives that I hid around my house, around the school, and even around town. It’s hard to get them all rounded up and deleted. And I just remembered where another is, so great, have to stop by Sugarcube Corner on the way home.”

“You had flash drives with blackmail material hidden around town?!” Rarity gasped. “What if someone finds them?!”

“It’s fine,” she answered. “There’s no point to blackmail if it’s public knowledge, so I had one of the tech guys rig a virus into the drive. Unless someone typed in the password, the drive deletes itself. And since the password is the name of a Phoenix in Equestria, it’s not like anyone can guess it.”

“Last question,” Applejack said before anyone could respond. “Do you have any idea, any at all, on how Anon-A-Miss could have gotten the pictures from your phone?”

“None, which is the weirdest part,” she said. “I’ve had it in my pocket since I left Rarity’s, except when I went home to shower off Pinkie’s pancake palooza, which I really need to question how you got syrup everywhere except yourself. But my phone was in my house on the charger. No one could’ve done it.”

For a few seconds, Applejack just stared at her. Just the look, and Sunset had to struggle to stop talking, to keep from telling everything from the old secrets, to the password, to why she chose said password. As time went on, fear and words stuck in her throat.

“Alright,” Applejack sighed. “You’re telling the truth.”

“Thank you,” Sunset sighed. “Just… thank you for believing me.”

“What were we supposed to do?” Pinkie laughed. “Yell at you and kick you out of our friend group? We have a literal lie detector!”

“What?” she asked.

Instead of responding, they all looked to Applejack. She took off her hat to let her hood fall back, revealing her set of magical pony ears. She shook her head before replacing the hat.

“You used the Element of Honesty on me,” Sunset mused.

“Sorry,” Applejack replied. “It’s not a trust thing but-“

“No, I get it,” she nodded. “Even if I managed to convince you this time, if something suspicious comes up again we’d be back at square one. It’s kind of brilliant. Now you know I’m not lying, so there’s no suspicion on me. Though I could’ve gone without the feeling of words bubbling up in my throat, and I bet you hated having that hood up. Trust me, I remember what it’s like to have something pressing on your ears. Thankfully Equestrian headgear know to accommodate them, but never buy something with a hood from the Griffon Kingdom because-”

“As Pinkie said,” Rarity cut off her Honesty-induced rambling. “We had to address the evidence against you, but we weren’t just going to assume the worst when we could find out ourselves.”

“I mean, come on,” Rainbow said. “Imagine if we did ‘yell and kick you out’, and then we find out later it wasn’t you. We’d be major assholes.”

“So now we just need to figure out who Anon-A-Miss really is,” Applejack sighed.

“Well, I was thinking,” Sunset said. “This started with Applejack’s nickname, and the rest of the posts were things people already knew about, until today with the pictures. Combined with the fact that the blog’s colors are modeled after me, I think whoever this is has it out for us, or at least out for me.”

“To be fair, not everyone’s sure you’re ‘good’ now,” Rainbow said. “None of them deny ‘magic’, but they think you’re only able to use it because you’re a Unicorn, not because of Friendship.”

“But none of them had access to my phone,” Sunset said. “Anyone that would have known about Applejack’s nickname wouldn’t have access to my phone. I’m the only person who could have done it, but we’ve ruled that out.”

“That’s it!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You’re the only ‘person’ who could’ve done it!”

“Was that a joke about how she’s technically a pony?” Applejack asked.

“Please tell me she didn’t mean another magic creature,” Fluttershy near-whimpered. “Does Equestria even have creatures that could post secrets online.”

“Well, hypothetically-“ Sunset began.

“That’s not what I meant!” Pinkie pouted. “I meant ‘what if more than one person is Anon-A-Miss’? Because we already ruled out the six of us, and the only ones who could’ve known about Aj’s nickname are us and her family, unless Maud overheard you telling Sunset. But none of them could get to Rarebear’s house to take Sunny’s phone. Unless they were working with someone in Rarity’s house!”

“But… that’d mean Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said. “She was the only one with us.”

“And that implicates Applebloom,” Applejack frowned. “If she were working with one of them, it’d be her.”

“If the two of them are involved, Scoots is too,” Rainbow huffed. “They usually drag one another into things.”

“It fits fairly well,” Rarity admitted. “Except for motive. Why would they want to do this?”

“Let’s ask them,” Sunset said. “Applejack, think your Honesty Power’s staying for a bit longer?”

“I can handle it,” Applejack answered. “But I think a confrontation should be kept to us, Rarity, and Rainbow. Not to be rude, but it’s our sisters, and they tried to frame Sunset, so...”

“Totally get it!” Pinkie chirped. “We can find something to do. Come on Shy!”

Pinkie grabbed her arm and, with a squeak from Fluttershy, dragged her down the hallway and out of sight. The remaining four rolled their eyes and headed to the music room, since it would be empty for a little while longer.

The three girls texted their respective sisters, and waited in anxiety. Rainbow paced, Rarity tapped her fingers along any surface she could, and Applejack stood far too still, staring at a fixed point. Sunset ended up fiddling with things. At first instruments, but then she focused on Applejack’s magic.

Despite not having her horn, she could still feel the magic and all its properties. She’d never paid much attention to it before, but everyone’s magic felt different. Applejack’s , for lack of a better term, felt like Applejack. It was blunt, straightforward, and practical. There was no vagueness or suggestion of feelings, just her. Yet there was something underneath it that was her, but wasn’t. It was the thing that made Sunset want to tell her anything with just a look, with just being in its’ presence. That, was Honesty.

After what felt like forever, the three freshman opened the door. Each looked nervous, but that in itself wasn’t a sign of guilt. As they had already agreed to let Applejack talk, she stepped forward.

“Hey, AJ,” Applebloom greeted. “You wanted to see us?”

“What’s going on?” Scootaloo asked.

“Quite a lot,” Applejack said. “You see, we were trying to figure out who Anon-A-Miss is.”

The three stiffened a little at the mention, but there wasn’t much change.

“What does that have to do with us?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

“Maybe a lot,” Applejack answered. “For a little bit, we thought maybe Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, because of the pictures and my nickname, but we’ve ruled her out.”

“How?” Applebloom asked.

“Long story,” she shrugged. “But see, we’d run out of suspects. Until someone pointed out that maybe Anon-A-Miss could be more than one person. Sweetie’s the only one who could’ve gotten Sunset’s phone. Bloom, you’re the only one of our original suspects she’d work with. And if the two of you are Anon-A-Miss, I doubt you’d leave the third member out.”

“That’s insane!” Scootaloo protested, looking to Rainbow. “You can’t think-“

“Maybe it is,” she agreed, forcing her attention back. “So do me a favor. Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not Anon-A-Miss.”

The trio followed her command, but when they met her gaze, something stopped. Applebloom shuddered, Scootaloo looked as if she were biting her own tongue to keep her mouth shut. Sweetie Belle actually opened her mouth to speak, before she was cut off.

“What makes you think it’s us!” Applebloom demanded.

“I told you,” Applejack replied calmly. “It couldn’t’ve been one person, so it must’ve been two or more.”

“Did Sunset come up with that idea?” Sweetie wondered.

“No,” she answered. “Pinkie Pie said it, after we ruled out Sunset.”

“What makes her so damn special?!” Scootaloo demanded, stomping her foot in frustration. “Why do you believe she isn’t Anon-A-Miss, but somehow we’re the more likely culprit?!”

“I’ll tell you why,” she glared. “Do y’all feel something right now? How’d you describe it before, Sunset, ‘like words bubbling up in your throat’? That’s my magic, Honesty. It’s making you want to tell the truth. I asked Sunset the same thing I asked you, to look me in the eye and tell me you’re not Anon-A-Miss. Sunset said word for word it wasn’t her, even rambled further when prompted and said some things she’d probably wish we’d never known about. You three deflected. You didn’t lie, but you didn’t answer.”

“She probably knew how to counteract your magic!” Applebloom said.

“Or she’s resistant since she is magic!” Scootaloo added.

“One last chance,” Applejack said. “Just say the words. Say you’re not Anon-A-Miss and we look for other suspects.”

The three opened and closed their mouths, trying to say something. But nothing came. As time dragged on, Applejack’s stare got more intense than before. Though it wasn’t aimed at her, Sunset could still feel the magic forcing her thoughts forward. It was no longer a matter of ‘if’, it was ‘who would break first’.

“Fine!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Scoots, don’t” Applebloom began.

“It doesn’t matter Bloom,” Sweetie shook her head. “If you can see a way out, be my guest!”

“I-“ she glanced around before stomping her foot in frustration. “Fine! It was us. Are you happy now?!”

“Really?” Rainbow asked, keeping a lid on her anger.

“Why would you post those things?” Rarity asked.

“Let’s start with your sleepover,” Sweetie answered.

“All this because you didn’t get invited to our sleepover?” Applejack asked, backing up her gaze. “That’s-“

“No it’s not over one dumb sleepover!” Applebloom screamed. “It’s because you’re never around anymore! We don’t see each other at school, then after school you hang out with your friends for hours! By the time you get home you’re only around long enough to do your chores and then go to bed!”

“The same with you!” Sweetie Belle glared at Rarity. “You come home and lock yourself in your workshop. Sometimes you don’t even come down to eat! Yeah, I’m old enough that you don’t need to feed me, but I’d like to see you for more than half an hour!”

“I don’t even live with you!” Scootaloo shouted at Rainbow, tossing her backpack to the floor. “But you have school, soccer practice, band practice, and just general hang out time with them! And your few free days are days I have my own appointments! Most of the time I see you it’s because everyone’s at the farm, but it’s hard to hang out with one person when there’s nine of us!”

“And I tried that too,” Sweetie added. “I thought maybe if your friends were my friends too, then we could all hang out together. But any time I’m around them you shove me out of the room!”

“Did you try talking to them?” Sunset asked.

“Of course we did!” Applebloom said. “Aj said she’d set aside a day for us to hang out, especially with the holidays coming up. But it never happened.”

“I asked if we could hang out over break,” Scootaloo frowned. “You said you’d have to see if you’d be too busy with ‘family’.”

“You thought I was worried about how little you ate,” Sweetie pouted.

“So why involve Sunset?” Applejack asked. “Sure, passive aggressive teasing online is some petty revenge. But what does she have to do with this?”

“Because she obviously used some kind of brainwashing magic on you!” she said.

“Sweetie Belle, that’s ridiculous,” Rarity laughed. “We’re not brainwashed. She’s our friend.”

“Really?” Applebloom scoffed. “Then how come when Aj finally scheduled a day for us to hang out, suddenly she has to go to a sleepover for Sunset? And all she’d say was ‘this is important for her’, but what does that even mean?!”

“And Rainbow said we might not hang out over break” Scootaloo said. “Because she might be busy with her family. But suddenly her schedule is free for a week of sleepovers and the Apple Family Party because of Sunset? If Rainbow really wanted me gone, she wouldn’t be passive-aggressive about it, she’d tell me to fuck off!”

“Language!” half the group warned.

It was then that the younger girls’ words sank in to their sisters. Now it was their turn to open and close their mouths while looking for an explanation. Thinking quickly, Sunset decided she should get a handle on the situation. Stepping forward, she knelt down in front of the trio, a little sad to see them back up from her.

“I promise you,” Sunset said. “I’m not brainwashing your sisters. I know you’re upset, and it’s easier to believe that than think they might be capable of screwing up, but I’m sorry it led you to think the worst of me again.”

“Then what’s so important?” Scootaloo asked, beginning to break a little. “What is it about you that makes you so special that they’ll just drop everything to see you, but not us?”

“Well, I can’t speak for every time,” she answered. “But as for the last few days, I’ve never had a Christmas before.”

“How can you have never had a Christmas before?” Applebloom asked. “Don’t they have that in your magic dimension?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “We have a similar holiday, called Hearth’s Warming. It has a lot of the same traditions and themes as Christmas. You know, family, togetherness, presents under a tree and such, we even have our own version of A Christmas Carol. Though our Santa doesn’t have flying Reindeer, he is a flying Reindeer. Not sure if he exists, but knowing Equestria….

“Anyway,” she said, shaking her head. “Since I’ve been in this dimension, I haven’t had anyone to spend Christmas with. Even when Flash invited me to spend Christmas with him, I didn’t want to spend hours on end pretending to be romantic with him, so I made up excuses and stayed home. And I’ve been in this dimension for six years now.”

“Six years?” Sweetie asked. “But you’re still a teen!”

“Yep,” she nodded. “I was your age when I ran away. And before that, well, I wasn’t the best Pony, so I really didn’t care about the holidays by the time I left. So I haven’t had anything Christmas-like in about seven years. So when I told Applejack about that, she got the group together and decided to make up for lost time.”

“That’s… A good reason,” Scootaloo admitted, tilting her head. “If they told us I’d probably have been cool with it. Now I feel like an ass for almost ruining your first Christmas.”

“Me too,” Sweetie and Applebloom chorused.

“That said,” Sunset looked over her shoulder. “You three need to work on time management and communication. Yes, you have a duty to be there for your friends, but you need to remember to be there for all your friends, which includes your family.”

“We really screwed up, didn’t we?” Applejack sighed.

“I’d say,” Rainbow nodded, looking away.

“It’s a bit of an understatement,” Rarity agreed.

Sunset wisely decided to not make a sarcastic comment.

“So, it really was just you guys messing up?” Sweetie asked.

“Yes, it was,” Rarity said. “And I’m sorry for that. I know it’ll sound a bit empty, but I promise I’ll make sure to have time with you.”

“Same here,” Applejack nodded. “I don’t know what to do about the other sleepovers though, but I’ll think of something.”

“Hey, we can always invite them to the sleepover,” Rainbow shrugged. “Just tone down the activity from R to PG-13.”

“The only thing R rated is your mouth,” Sunset said.

“I think we can compromise on that,” Scootloo laughed. “You want to do something gross, just tell us and we’ll figure something else out.”

“But again,” Sweetie added. “Tell us.”

“And if you need help figuring out schedules,” Sunset said. “I know a purple pony princess who’d love an excuse to visit.”

“So, is everything cool?” Rainbow asked, running a hand through her hair.

“Almost,” she said. “For now, you three need to do something about the actual Anon-A-Miss account.”

“Oh, right,” Applejack said. “Are there any posts scheduled to go up?”

“Not right now,” Applebloom said. “But there’s…. a lot of stuff we could’ve posted.”

“How many people have a flash drive of blackmail material?” Rarity sighed.

“What?” Sweeite asked.

“Long story,” Rainbow said. “What kind of stuff is left on there?”

“Again, nothing we’d post,” Scootaloo said. “But, considering the blog name and its first post, people thought it was a ‘share your secret’ blog and started submitting stuff. We only put up stuff we knew everyone knew, since it couldn’t hurt anyone. Okay, it wasn’t ‘right’, but if you were the only targets it’d be suspicious. Some of the submissions looked like their own confessions, and others were just stirring up old drama, but others were…..”

“Revenge,” Sweetie said. “They were complete rumors, or people trying to prank their friends, or embarrass people they hate, and there were more than a few ‘X is cheating on Y with Z’ messages. We though about posting the cheating messages, but we had no idea if they were true, and if it wasn’t we’d ruin someone’s relationship. Speaking of ruined relationships, there were, uh, some people wanted us to post pictures of their ex. As in, like, naked pictures.”

“That is disgusting!” Applejack gagged a little bit. “Who in the right mind- please tell me you didn’t open those!”

“Well, you can’t tell until you open the message……” Applebloom trailed off.

“Okay, change of plans,” Sunset said, grabbing a notebook out of her backpack. “You’re going to write the login information down for me, and I’m going to give it to Principal Celestia.”

“Why you?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Do you really want to face her and Luna?” she asked. “If I give it, then I can keep them from knowing you were involved.”

The trio nodded, taking the notebook and pen. Yet Applebloom’s hand hovered over the page, not wanting to write it out. Neither of her friends tried to push her to do it. They hovered, just as she did.

“Still don’t trust me, huh?” Sunset said.

“No!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Well, yes, but not-it’s-“

“We’re trying,” Sweetie interrupted. “We know you’re a better person, and we know you helped when those Sirens showed up, and we definitely owe you for thinking you were still evil and trying to frame you.”

“It takes more time when we don’t have some sort of ‘friendship magic’,” Applebloom said. “My sis, her friends, they all said there was some kinda magical connection. But we don’t have it. And honestly? Without that, I’m scared of what would happen to Aj if you had actually been brainwashing her.”

Sunset thought over that fact. It did make sense, after all. Even her friends hadn’t completely trusted her before feeling her friendship through their magic. And stars know that the rest of the school was at varying levels of forgiveness. She wondered how she could make it up to them, to prove she was really a good person now. And she realized, she couldn’t. At least, she couldn’t as long as she kept herself from them.

It was then that she felt their stares. There was an oh so familiar feeling of Honesty, but not from Applejack. Looking in their eyes, she saw its source not in Applebloom, as she expected, but in Sweetie Belle. Applebloom’s gaze, however, was fierce and burning, but protective, much like Rainbow’s. On the other hand, she couldn’t place Scootaloo’s for a moment. It felt firm yet soft, like a gentle shove that could become something to stop you in your tracks. It was then that she thought of the few times she saw Fluttershy pushing someone toward what they need. Loyalty and Kindness.

Smiling softly, she walked back to the side of the room, and poked at the keys of a piano. As she checked its tune, she started to talk.

“Here’s what I’m going to do,” Sunset said. “I’m going to be your friend.”

“What?” Scootaloo asked.

“Exactly what I said,” she stated. “One of the reasons others don’t trust me yet is because I haven’t reached out. At first it was because I was sure no one wanted it, but I was scared too. Helping the Sirens was a step up, but I need to actually, you know, talk to people. Maybe make more friends so I don’t hog your sisters.

“And sure,” she shrugged. “You might not have Magic like them, and maybe ‘Friendship is Magic’ isn’t literal here, but you can still feel it without actual Magic. So, to prove it, I’m going to show you one of Equestria’s Holiday Traditions, the Heart Carol.”

All six looked between one another as she began to find the pitch. Hoping she remembered the words, and hoping she could sing it despite being one person, she began.

“As dawn shines on us every morn,

The Fire of Friendship is reborn.

And all the friendships that we have made,

We cherish in every way.”

She moved toward the older trio first, locking arms with Rainbow.

“Loyalty binds us and makes us strong”

She pulled her to the side and dragged Applejack down into a hug.

“Honesty shows that we belong.”

Letting go of them, she spun to Rarity and took her hands, apologizing in advance that the lyric doesn’t quite fit.

“And Kindness Shared will unite us through each day.”

She stood in the center, projecting her voice as much as she dared. Magic was all around her, all around them. And it felt wonderful.

“The Fire of Friendship lives in our hearts

As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart.

Though Quarrels arise, their numbers are few.

Laughter and singing will see us through.

We are a circle of Pony friends

A circle of friends we’ll be to the very end"

Despite technically missing an Element, Sunset could feel them all. No, they weren’t missing any, she could feel Pinkie and Fluttershy listening at the door. With a gesture from Sunset, Sweetie Belle opened it for her, letting the two sheepishly shuffle in. She just smiled and rolled her eyes, inviting them to join.

“Though winter brings all its cold and storm

The glow in our hearts keeps us warm.

The friends we now call our family

Will always see us through”

Sunset could feel all the Elements working as her friends grabbed instruments and joined in as best they could, though Pinkie seemed to have it down. Magic surrounded her, and she could feel it all.

Honesty shifted, becoming trust and the feeling of confiding your dreams and fears in another you care for.

Kindness was care, like hot soup and holding someone close as they cry on your shoulder, and a belief in others.

Loyalty softened, feeling like family. Warm and soft and above all, safe in their presence.

Generosity always felt like a holiday or a birthday, presents given of love in the form of time and energy, and far more than can ever be said.

Laughter was the song itself as it resonated in their souls, tastes and smells that filled the senses and made them smile. It calmed fears and chased away sadness.

Friendship was everything at once, a Spark that lit a Fire within her. It’s love of all kinds, of friends and family and romance, and the potential every stranger brings. It was a bond that transcended Time, Space, and Dimensions, and it was Magic.

Her friends began to ‘Pony Up’ as they sang. Going for another round, Sunset decided to dance with the younger girls this time. She playfully bowed and took Applebloom’s hand.

“Loyalty binds us and makes us strong”

She switched and grabbed Sweetie Belle, picking her up and twirling her as she laughed.

“Honesty shows that we belong”

Going for simple this time, she finished off with a hug and ruffling of the hair for Scootaloo.

“And Kindness shared will unite us through each day”

Sunset wasn’t sure, but she saw that everyone was glowing, even those that shouldn’t be. Shrugging it off as an effect of the Holiday Spirit, or at least an effect of Magic, they continued to dance and sing.

"The Fire of Friendship lives in our hearts

As long as it burns we cannot drift apart

Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few

Laughter and Singing will see us through

We are a circle of Pony friends

A circle of friends we’ll be to the very end!"

They descended into out of breath giggles as the song finished. A few students had ended up gathering around the door, and now applauded their impromptu performance. Of course, that was when the bell decided to ring and everyone groaned as they had to go to class.

Once Applebloom had written down the sign-in information for their blog, Sunset promised she’d be along to class as soon as she met with the Principal about this. Along the way, she remembered another flash drive taped to the bottom of the water fountain.

The halls were strange with no one in them. Any sound seemed to echo off the walls. Yet nothing could bother her. Sure, the day might’ve started out horrible, but a song sequence and the Magic of Friendship could fix a lot of things. Besides, it was kind of hard for her to be mad when she had pony ears that actually felt functional instead of like a ridiculous decoration.

Thankfully, when she knocked on the door of the Principal’s office, Celestia’s voice immediately allowed her to enter. Sunset walked in and, perhaps too cheerfully, greeted the Principal and Vice principal. Though neither looked particularly like celebrating the holidays.

“Please tell me ‘Anon-A-Miss’ isn’t another Magical Emergency,” Luna deadpanned.

“You’re the second person to ask that today,” Sunset answered. “And no, I’m here to tell you that Anon-A-Miss is taken care of.”

“Forgive me, it’s the ears,” she said.

“What do you mean, ‘taken care of’?” Celestia asked.

“Exactly that,” Sunset answered. “My friends and I found out who set up the account, talked it out, and now there won’t be any more posts.”

“And who was ‘Anon-A-Miss’?” she wondered.

“Can’t tell you,” she said.

Both sisters looked at one another, then back to her. Deciding to tone back the cheeriness, she tried again.

“Look,” Sunset began. “Anon-A-Miss was the result of a lack of time management, miscommunication, and the fact that it’s easier to believe I’m still terrible instead of thinking certain people can have faults. And the message has gotten through, so there won’t be any more posts.”

“Why would you want to protect the blog’s creator?” Celestia asked. “Judging from your comments and the design of the blog, it’s pretty clear they tried to frame you.”

“Many reasons,” she shrugged. “But mostly it’s because I know what happens when you go too far trying to get through to someone, and end up getting punished for being desperate. Those involved don’t deserve detention.”

“They made posts antagonizing students,” Luna said, ignoring the fact that she agreed quite a bit. “Good reasons or not-“

“Depends on your definition,” she said. “Most of the posts were common knowledge. They got maybe two minutes of laughter, and were the equivalent of a passing comment of ‘remember this happened?’. Appplejack and Rarity were the only ones with new information, and both of them agree with me about keeping the blog creator from punishment.”

“However,” she continued before either could speak. “How about we refrain from naming names, but their punishment is Community Service?”

“We’d need a name to assign their tasks,” Luna said.

“Again, depends on the definition,” she said, pulling out the notebook. “I asked for the sign-in information to the blog, originally so you two could have proof it was deleted. However, apparently, other students submitted various things. I haven’t actually looked, but word has it that some people were sending in things to start various dramas or confessing things they did, which may give you proof you need for other cases of bullying. And there’s also the fact that some people sent in ‘interesting’ photos of their ex, hoping to get some revenge.”

Both sisters winced in disgust at the idea. Taking the notebook, Principal Celestia attempted to log in, surprised when the computer let her through. Despite her pokerface, she was not nearly as practice as her Pony Counterpart, and visibly stiffened when she saw the number of messages.

“We will launch a proper investigation,” Celestia said. “But as your request, we will leave the blog’s creator alone. Community Service, as you mentioned.”

“Another thing,” Sunset said, pulling out the flash drive. “This is from my time being, well, terrible. It was all of the material I had gathered as potential blackmail.”

“Potential blackmail material?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not a crime to plan it out,” she said. “And I’ve already paid for my actual crimes. But it has a handful of things you might find interesting. Nothing that would get me in trouble, but it could get a few others in trouble. Oh, and it’s password protected, so when the screen pops up type in ‘Philomena’.”

“Why are you turning this in now?” she asked. “You could have just destroyed this and we’d never know.”

“Trust me, I tried,” she said. “Paranoia made multiple copies, and I can’t keep track of all of them. But I’ve realized that I need to do more to make it up to people, to get them to trust me and see me as a good person instead of a disaster waiting to happen. You know, make some more friends than the one group. And helping you find people who are as bad or worse than I was seems like a good step. Though, I would suggest waiting until after break to investigate properly. Wouldn’t want to ruin Christmas for any families.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Celestia nodded. “I’m glad to see you really getting into being a better person.”

“I am too,” she laughed, picking up a sticky note and a pen. “Last thing though. I don’t know if there will be any other Magical Emergencies, but if there are, you should be able to contact me. I’m a pretty good Magic Expert.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Hopefully it’s not needed, but considering how this school year has gone, I wouldn’t rule out something happening at the Friendship Games.”

“Great, that gives me two months to prepare,” she said, heading to the door. “Anyway, Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah or Yule or whatever you celebrate. Or even a Happy Hearth’s Warming!”

“Hearth what now?” they both asked as she closed the door.

Sunset hummed the Heart Carol to herself as she walked to her class. Thankfully, her teacher knew better than to question the ears by now. Not that her lateness mattered too much, since no one was doing any teaching this close to break.

Instead, Sunset thought over potential presents. She’d already bought some for her friends, but with new friends she needed to go shopping again. At the very least she needed gifts for Sweetie, Scoots, and Bloom, but maybe she should get a little gift for the Principals. From there, her mind wandered back to Flash, thinking that she really should start over with him. Maybe she could even get something to be a peace offering in her snark-off with Trixie.

Her thoughts were broken by Pinkie, bouncing near her desk. Oh well, gifts would have to wait till later. Who’d have thought that such a lonely Christmas could turn into the best Hearth’s Warming she’d had in years?

Author's Note:

Yeah, this ended up very cheesy and fluff. Fluffy cheese. I don't care. Want to see how much I don't care? I'm posting something Christmas-y in October.

11,870 views

272

Comments ( 56 )

Viewing 1 - 50 of 56
- Newest First
- Oldest First

The Bricklayer

The Bricklayer #1 · Oct 3rd, 2017 · 3 · ·

After all the cynical stories about this particular subject, nice to see something that takes an entirely different route with this, frankly, old and tired story genre and actually makes it a kinda Christmasy story, or at least one that feels happy.

Jlargent