This story is a sequel to Look In The Mirror To Find the Truth

Featured August 18, 2019

After her six week suspension, Sunset returns to Canterlot High School. Applejack's forgiveness and friendship have given her a new lease on life and a new mission: to try and make it up to the students of CHS.

But to say that her return to CHS isn't well-received is an understatement. Everywhere she walks, Sunset is treated with hostility, scorn, and quite a bit of torment.

Even Applejack's friends are somewhat divided by her return. While Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy are convinced that Sunset has changed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash chooses to avoid Sunset entirely. She even starts hanging out with the members of CHS' track team rather then her own friends. The very team that harassed Sunset during her community service.

However, one mysterious student holds an especially severe grudge against Sunset. With his/her attacks on Sunset being sadistic, cruel, and threatening to her physical and mental well-being.

Will Sunset escape her predicament? Could her salvation lie with the least likely person?

This story is a sequel to Look In The Mirror To Find The Truth, and the second part of my Sunset's Steps series.

WARNING: This story features blackmail, offensive language, sexual assault, fights, and heavy drama.

You can read the other stories in chronological order.

Look In The Mirror To Find the Truth-Completed.

Live By The Sword-Completed.

Working Girl Sunny-Ongoing.

The Downfall of Sunset Shimmer: An Anon-A-Miss Story-Ongoing.

What Happened to Sunset's Family?-Ongoing.

Featured from 8/9/2019 to 8/10/2019.

After the Fall Formal, Sunset Shimmer's reign over the school had come to a shattering end.

Everyone at school no longer feared the cruel girl, and some chose to torment her at every opportunity.

Even the Rainbooms, despite the orders given to them by the Princess of Friendship, were reluctant to befriend the former bully.

While delivering her goods one early morning, Applejack encounters Sunset doing her community service. Despite her own anger toward the former Queen Bee, Applejack can't help but notice the complete shift in Sunset's demeanor: her pride and arrogance have been replaced by sorrow and shame.

Driven by her own curiosity, paranoia, her promise to the Princess of Friendship, and a small desire to extend an olive branch, Applejack approaches Sunset during her community service, asking her why she's acting so broken up. Sunset tells her that she went through the most painful thing imaginable: being forced to see oneself with objective clarity.

Will Applejack befriend Sunset, or will her anger toward Sunset overwhelm her compassion?

This fanfic is my own take about how the Elements of Harmony work, and why they managed to change Sunset so quickly. This is partly inspired by Fallowsthorn's Time.

This is the beginning of a series I call Sunset's Steps. I wanted to explore Sunset's redemption a bit, and use the series to see how she got to where she was by Rainbow Rocks.

Here are the rest of the stories, in chronological order.

Look In The Mirror To Find the Truth-Completed.

Live By The Sword...-Completed.

Working Girl Sunny-Ongoing.

The Downfall of Sunset Shimmer: An Anon-A-Miss Story-Ongoing

What Happened to Sunset's Family?-Ongoing

Rated T for language and depictions of bullying.

[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!

The White Star Line remains today one of the most remembered shipping companies, for all the right and wrong reasons. Most notably, the sinking of the Titanic. What would happen if the Titanic sank but was transported to Equestria but no one knew that happened until it arrived in Manehattan two days later. Would the ship and its passengers ever return home?

Chrysalis might be one of the most evil, vile, and dastardly villains that Equestria has ever known. She might have been responsible for nearly destroying the world more than once, she might even be a soul-sicking, shapeshifting monster, but she is still a mare.

She had never been given a genuine, honest compliment from someone that wasn't under threat or stuffed into a feeding pod or mind controlled. Today that is going to change.

Cadence really hasn't happy about the whole thing.

Artist is llamacheesecake

One lonely night, Starlight decides to release Cozy Glow from her stony prison, and plans to let out some of her frustrations on the vile filly until she discovers that Cozy Glow can't seem to remember who she is anymore, or much of anything else from her past.

Could this be yet another trick conjured up by this scheming pegasus? Can she really be trusted?

The cover art was done by VectorVito. The account on DeviantArt has been deleted. The cover art was used with permission.

Click this Soundcloud link if you wish to listen to music inspired by the story.
The music was made by Vector_Monster.

Sunset Shimmer is devastated since her friends abandoned her because of Anon-A-Miss. While she tries to figure out what to do a new girl arrives in town, not knowing that she will be involved into an event she doesn't know about or has control over.

Sunset Shimmer never really had a childhood or someone to teach her what she needs to know. So, after the fall formal, Sunset is faced with changes she is not yet ready for: friends and family who are willing to show her just what she's been missing. Will she accept accept this newfound solace or will her fears and insecurities get the better of her? Will she even have a choice?

Current cover done by MichaelNight

Sometimes, life goes on. Even when it doesn't.

In which everyone must learn to cope.

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Cover art created by the wonderful Scampy. Many thanks, friend.

Alternate ending to "Forgotten Friendship". The Memory Stone has been destroyed and everyone's memories have been restored. Except for Sunset Shimmer's.

Now, teams on both sides of the portal must work together to discover what happened to Sunset's memories, where they went, and how to get them back.

Other character tags include: Moondancer, Princess Celestia, Sunburst, Trixie (EqG).