The atmosphere at CHS, Rarity concluded as she walked down the hallway, had seen better days. The hallways of the school was still filled with teenagers buzzing around lockers, but where just a few days ago those teenagers where smiling and laughing, now quite a few were arguing. And those who weren't were not smiling the same way anymore.
Rarity didn't have to ask what they were smiling about. The smartphones in their hands were plenty proof of exactly what the source of their entertainment was. The few glances in her direction, followed by snickers merely topped it off. Either a new post by Anon-a-Miss or scrolling through some of the older posts. Perhaps the ones mocking some of her failed projects, or the embarrassing photo's of their sleepover.
"You holdin' up there, Rarity?" a Southern voice drawled from behind.
"Somewhat, Applejack." Rarity said, turning to face her friend. "I haven't had any direct comments on my fashion sense today, but with all the glances at phones before the laughter starts they didn't really need to. It has grown beyond tiresome. How have you been fairing?"
Applejack grunted, a frown on her face as she matched Rarity's pace. "I got oinked at three times just gettin' to my locker. Ya'd think they'd have found something new to laugh at by now."
"Tempting as that might be, I really do not think we would wish for another to suffer Anon-a-Miss's ungentle care." Rarity scolded lightly.
"So says one of the gossip queens of CHS?" Applejack countered with a raised eyebrow.
Rarity scoffed in reply, resting a fist on her hip. "There is a line between gossip and slander, Applejack. I do take care not to cross it."
"...You're right" Applejack sighed. "Sorry 'bout that" she apologized, lightly tipping her hat.
Rarity accepted the apology with a smile and a shake of her head. "No apologies needed Applejack. We are all rather on the edge lately, this whole situation is hitting a bit too close to home for all of us."
Applejack snorted. "I'll say, it's like Twilight was never here and we're back to where we were before the Fall Formal."
"Yes" Rarity agreed icily. "Sunset has even gone back to pretending to be the innocent little princess, just as she did in those years before the last."
Applejack opened her mouth to add her own retort, but then something caught her eye. "Say, ain't that Flash Sentry talkin' to Vice-Principal Luna?"
Rarity leaned forward to peek past the farmgirl. Sure enough, there in front of Principal Celestia's office was Flash Sentry, a concerned look on his face as he spoke to the Vice-Principal, whose eyes had turned rather stern as she listened with her arms crossed. "Why, yes it is. What ever would the spotless record holder of CHS have to discuss with the Vice-Principal?"
"Maybe Sunset got to him with somethin' serious this time and he's lookin' to see what can be done about her?"
Rarity shuddered. "Oh dear, I hope not. Considering those two had been dating for quite some time I dread to think what kind of dirt she has on him. That little 'I spotted Flash at the bar' was hardly the most mind boggling, but if the gloves are off..."
As they passed the office, Applejack tossed a concerned look over her shoulder. "You think he'll be okay?"
"He's a big boy, darling. He can handle himself." The words were confident, but Rarity paused for a moment before adding "of course, it wouldn't hurt to keep a spot at our table free. Just in case."
Applejack grinned "well ain't you a generous soul."
Rarity tossed her hair with a smile and half lidded eyes. "I do try my best."
"-and that's when she finally went through the portal." Flash finished. "I decided I'd let you know first thing in the morning and headed home afterwards."
Vice-Principal Luna nodded, her eyes still stern as she stared at the young student. "And it took you convincing her that this was for the best before she finally considered going through the portal?"
Flash shuffled on his feet "well, not too much convincing, but-"
"Flash Sentry" Luna interrupted "your chivalry does you credit, but has anyone ever told you you are a terrible liar?" As Flash dipped his head in shame, Luna sighed. "Twisting the truth is not going to help here, Flash Sentry. Not if we want to stop this."
"I'm sorry Vice-Principal. All I wanted to do was give her a little pep-talk, but she was devastated when I found her there. I just didn't want to take the risk of her doing anything... rash."
Luna nodded. "We'll take that into consideration. Did she tell you of a way to reach her?"
Flash brightened up. "Yeah, she said something about a book in her locker? It's what she uses to get into contact with Twilight."
"I see. Thank you for informing us Flash Sentry, we'll take it from here." As if waiting on a cue, he school bell rang and students began to drown the hallway. "You'd better run along to class now" Luna noted.
"Right. Uhm, I'll be going then!" Flash finished, before turning and dashing down the hallway.
Luna sighed as she watched the blue haired boy disappear in the crowd before she backed into the office and closed the door behind her. "So, what do you think?"
Seated behind her desk, Principal Celestia folded her hands. "I think that this puts the final nail into the coffin of the ridiculous idea that Sunset Shimmer is responsible for all of this."
"This would not be the first time for Sunset Shimmer to be an apparent 'victim' to throw off suspicion." Luna countered.
"Is that what you really think, Luna?" Celestia said, tilting her head "that this is just one more trick of Sunset Shimmer? That everything we've seen of her over the past months was just deception? That she fled to another world as part of a scheme?"
Luna shook her head. "Alright, alright, calm down. No need to go all "High Principal" on me." Luna walked over to Celestia's desk and pulled up another chair, leaning on the other end of the desk and folding her hands under her chin. "I'm not saying this out of malice toward Sunset Shimmer. Like you, I believe she really is trying to change. But you have to remember: We teachers have seen a very different Sunset Shimmer over the years than our students have. She was always very careful to avoid involving the teachers in her tricks."
Celestia frowned. "I know that many things happened under our nose that we should have acted on, but that doesn't mean-"
"Sister, you have no idea what has been happening here since the years Sunset Shimmer has been among us" Luna interrupted. "The few accusations we had heard and dismissed over the years are only the tip of the iceberg. I have been talking to the students, and now that they have gathered some courage after seeing Sunset fall I have heard stories that chill me to the bone. Sunset Shimmer wasn't just a top bully in our school, she ruled this school. Right under our noses."
Celestia leaned back in her chair and reached up to rub her forehead with the palm of her hand. "What are you trying to say, Luna?"
"I'm trying to say that our students are carrying grudges that go back years. Grudges that aren't just washed away with a few nice words and a magical rainbow explosion. If we want to prove Sunset is innocent, we can't just up and say 'we know she's innocent' and expect that to be the end of it. The students have had years of us telling them that, and we were wrong every single time back then. If we want to end this, we will need clear, undeniable proof."
Celestia let out a long sigh and brought her other hand to her forehead, covering her face with both hands. When she spoke, her voice was tinged with sadness. "I hoped so much we could all just move forward after the Fall Formal, and especially the Battle of the Bands. I thought Sunset proved to the entire school how much she changed and that this school was welcoming her."
"It just goes to show how deep the scars run" Luna said sadly. But then her eyes hardened. "But this isn't over yet. If we play our cards right, we can still turn this around and use this to poke at the scars so they can heal properly."
Seconds of silence passed, but when Celestia lowered her hands her eyes shared Luna's determination. "You're right. Sunset left us her journal, which means she hasn't given up on us, and I do not plan to give up on her that easily. Luna, go to Sunset's locker and get that journal Flash Sentry talked about. I want it safe in either your office or mine."
"Do you think someone is planning to try vandalizing Sunsets stuff?" Luna asked warily.
"No, but I don't want to take any risks. That book is the only contact with Sunset we have." Celestia smiled. "Plus, we have to let her know what she missed this week somehow, don't we? Simply letting her grades slip wouldn't be proper for us teachers."
Luna's smile mirrored her sister's. "I will get the journal and let Princess Twilight know she and Sunset can use it to contact us. Hopefully letting Sunset know we are on her side will help calm her down. What will you do?"
"I'm going to call for a faculty meeting" Celestia said. "We are no longer going to take half measures on this 'Anon-a-Miss' nonsense." Her eyes hardened again, seemingly at nothing in particular, but Luna knew her sister well enough that she was reflecting on the past, and she did not like what she was seeing. "If what you just told me is true, Sunset has ruled our school for years, and now her ghost seems to be taking up the reigns. I think it's high time we take our school back."
As morning class ended, the lunch room quickly filled up with hungry students and the Rainbooms gathered at their usual table.
"What happened here?" Rainbow Dash asked as she wiped the remains of a sandwich from the table and chair it was spread over.
"An argument broke out between the boys of the computer club and the film club. Food went flying." Pinkie Pie answered dejectedly. "What a waste" she murmured. The normally bright and energy-filled girl was sitting slumped in her seat, a cheek resting on her hand as she poked at her food with dull eyes that completely lacked her usual boundless sparkle.
"Is everything alright, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked, more softly than usual.
"Don't tell me all the teasing got to you too?" Rarity asked.
A ghost of a smile made its way on Pinkie Pie's face. "No, people didn't find me dancing in funny outfits that strange, and I'm used to people laughing at me." The smile disappeared as Pinkie pushed away her plate and propped her other arm on the table as well, leaning on both of them. "I just don't like the way people are laughing. I mean, when something silly happens to someone, you can both laugh at it. It's fun. But this laughing? It's laughing at someone, not with someone. There's nothing fun about it."
"But that's not all that's bothering you, is it?" Rarity pushed.
Pinkie seemed to deflate even worse at Rarity's pushing, lowering her eyes to stare at the table. "...No" she agreed quietly.
"Is it about Sunset?"
Pinkie looked back up, meeting Rarity's eyes. "I just don't understand. We were friends, weren't we? We had fun! We laughed together! We partied together! How did we go from that to... this?"
"Good question" a new voice spoke up. "A better question would be 'do you really believe Sunset Shimmer is Anon-a-Miss?'"
"Flash!" Applejack called out to the blue haired guitarist as she turned to face him. "Good seein' you, we saw you at the Principal's office. Everythin' alright?"
"Yes, do take a seat darling." Rarity pitched in, waving her hand towards an empty spot at the table. "We kept a spot for you in case you wanted to talk about it"
As Flash pulled up a chair, Pinkie Pie turned to him, a small light returning to her eyes. "Whadaya mean, Flash?"
Flash blinked. "Huh?"
"The whole" Pinkie jumped up and shoved her hands in her skirt's pockets, mimicking Flash's pose "A better question would be 'do you really believe Sunset Shimmer is Anon-a-Miss?'" she mimicked, then jumped back on her seat, dropping her head back on her hands as if nothing happened. "That thing."
"I meant just that. You girls looked like you'd grown so close together. You partied, you hung out, hell you even saved the whole damned school together. How did you go from that to believing she is Anon-a-Miss?"
"Uhh, because she posted our secrets?" Rainbow Dash retorted.
"And how do you know it was her?" Flash shot back.
Applejack sighed. "Sugarcube, it's not as if we want to believe it's Sunset. Dangit I thought we'd grown closer than the seeds of an apple core. But the day after Sunset learned of that nickname that's now ghostin' around these hallways, the account appeared and posted it for the school to see. That weren't exactly a nickname the family shares with just about anyone."
"And those embarrassing pictures and movies of us at the next slumber party that were uploaded later that week came from Sunset's very own phone. Without any of the photos of Sunset herself." Rarity added.
"Someone could have stolen her phone, though" Flash pointed out.
Rainbow Dash grunted. "Yeah, but why? They'd have to know those pictures were on that phone in the first place, and the only ones who knew that outside of us was Sunset."
"Plus we did ask if Sunset had lost her phone lately, because we didn't want to believe it either" Pinkie piped up. "But Sunset told us she never lost her phone, so who else could have done so?"
Flash frowned, and the girls felt a spark of sympathy. Even though they didn't want to admit it themselves, it was pretty damning evidence. Circumstantial maybe, but feelings weren't exactly a court case.
"But why on earth would Sunset do this? Why would she abandon the very friendships she built just to mess with you girls?" the young student pressed.
Silence reigned at the table as his answer. If Flash was hoping he was getting through to them, the atmosphere at the table was trying hard to prove him wrong. It had gotten even more frosty, if anything.
"Because she's done so before" came the answer.
Even as quiet as the voice was and as noisy as the cafeteria was, it was like a pin dropped in a silent room, and the whole table turned to the source of the voice. Fluttershy's eyes were caught between both a sad tearing up and a glare. "I'm not sure if you remember Flash, but Sunset did that friendship documentary a few years back. She got very close to all of us, learned everything there was to know about us and our friendships and then used that to tear us all apart."
Rarity grimaced at the memory, but straightened her face as she turned to Flash. "You should know yourself how she was, Flash Sentry. She used you even worse than she did us. She pretended to actually love you just to raise her own status, abusing even your own feelings for her, just as a stepping stone for her own popularity."
That got a much sharper reaction from the blue haired guitarist, and the look of hurt actually caused a stab of guilt to lance through Rarity's chest. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she continued. "We have all been tricked by Sunset before, and while I would love to believe she is innocent, the evidence and her past do not speak in her favour. She has pretended to be innocent before, and it cost us dearly. Once bitten twice shy and such, and we have already been bitten twice now. I think we would rather cut contact altogether than face yet another betrayal."
Flash sighed. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about that for a while."
The girls looked at each other in confusion. "What do you mean 'we don't have to worry about that for a while?'" Rainbow Dash asked.
Flash levelled his gaze with Applejack and Rarity. "You two remember that talk I had with Vice-Principal Luna in front of Principal Celestia's office?" At a nod from the two, he continued. "That was me explaining to them that Sunset has gone home for the time being."
"Huh. That explains why I didn't see her at science class today" Rainbow Dash said.
"Is she alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"Does it matter?" Flash answered sharply, but as Fluttershy winced and tried to hide behind her pink hair, he sighed and scratched his head. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. But you did just say you wanted to cut off contact with her."
"We don't want to be involved with whatever she's planning" Rainbow Dash shot back as she crossed her arms. "That doesn't mean we want anything to happen to her. So what's up? She got sick?"
"She's fine, physically" Flash answered "but she's been under a lot of stress since this whole anon-a-mess started."
A snort came from Pinkie's corner of the table and the group turned to see a small smile back on the pink-haired girl, which in turn made all the others at the table perk up a little as well.
"Anyway" Flash continued "last evening I wanted to talk to her, just to let her know she has someone on her side."
"Wait wait wait" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "You're on her side? You? The guy who broke up with Sunset Shimmer and lived?"
Flash blinked. "Wait, you think I broke up with Sunset?"
"That is what the running story in the school is, darling" Rarity confirmed. "Why, before Twilight arrived many here thought you would be the one to pick up the torch against Sunset."
Flash sighed, reaching up with a hand to slowly rub his face. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I wasn't the one to break up with Sunset. She broke up with me. I mean I wish I had the kind of guts to do that, but she had me pinned so badly I might as well have worn a collar. I know I got a pretty good reputation here, but even I have secrets that would make me want to dig the deepest hole I can and never get out."
"So why did Sunset break up with you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Not for some sort of maniacal purpose" Flash answered "I was just too much work at that point. She'd gotten more popular by hanging out with me, but there was nothing more to gain from dating me. We were starting to become old news, and the Sunset back then didn't care for putting effort in things that didn't help her."
"So she dated you until you had no use, an' then she dumped you like a half-eaten apple core when you weren't." Applejack summarized, crossing her arms and letting her left leg rest on her right. "So how's that tie in to you bein' on Sunset's side now?"
Flash sighed. "I'd like to think that I know her. I mean I've dated her for the better part of a year before she broke up, and at the end of it she started sharing things with me. It started with me seeing the real Sunset, the one you girls didn't get to see until last year when she went full tyrant mode. Then she started talking about her motivations, her plans. I think she wanted to recruit me, or something. Convince me to help her. It didn't take, and when she broke up with me she made sure I knew what kind of Sword of Damocles she had dangling over my head should I think about moving against her."
"And so you didn't" Rarity said.
"And so I didn't" Flash sighed. "It wasn't until Twilight that I worked up that kind of courage. But anyway, I know the kind of tricks the old Sunset used to play. If this really was her, she would have made sure I would never even think of looking to Twilight for help. Instead, she ran straight to Twilight."
"Hold on there!" Applejack interrupted. "You're saying Sunset ran off to Equestria?"
Flash blinked "Uh, yes? I did say she went home, didn't I?"
"We figured you meant she went back to her apartment! Why in tarnation would she go back to Equestria?"
"Because she truly started believing she had nothing left here! All she got in this place was glares, accusations and dismissal. If I hadn't damn near shoved her through that portal, who knows what would have happened!"
Rainbow Dash slammed her palm on the table. "You could have sent her to us! If we'd know things were this bad we could have- I don't know, done something!"
"She went to you before, remember? You sent her away."
A silence settled over the table as everyone let Flash's words sink in. Applejack drummed a beat on the table with her fingers, Dash one on the floor with her foot. Pinkie Pie's smile had vanished again and Fluttershy was now completely hidden behind her hair.
It was Rarity who first broke the silence with gentle cough. "Forgive me for playing devil's advocate, but should Sunset's return to Equestria not be more concerning? The last time Sunset went to Equestria she did so to steal Twilight's crown."
Flash shook his head. "Yeah, but I doubt that's the case now."
"How so?"
"I haven't talked with Sunset much after we broke up. Even after the Fall Formal talking with her was just awkward. But I did talk to her about Equestria once or twice when asking about Twilight."
Rarity almost reared back in shock. "You asked your ex about your current crush? Flash Sentry!"
"I know! I know!" Flash said, waving his arms in front of him as if it could ward of the fashionista's glare. "I don't exactly have a lot of options when it comes to asking about Twilight, okay? The point is, I talked to her about Equestria, and she was always nervous when I asked about the idea of going back. "
"Why would she be nervous about her own home?" Fluttershy asked.
"She never told me. Maybe it has to do wit the whole 'trying to invade with a zombie army', but that's just guessing. Whatever it is, it has her scared."
"But now she feels abandoned enough here to risk whatever she's afraid off there." Pinkie's voice started to crack as she finished her last words.
"Yeah" Flash sighed, before getting up from his seat and pocketing his hands. "Well, that's what I came here to say. I'm not going to claim you guys don't have good reason to suspect Sunset, but from where I'm standing there is no way she would have done this, then ran back to either the one girl that still cares for and would be royally pissed at her for doing this, or the thing that's made her too afraid to return earlier. Goodbye girls."
As Flash walked off, the Rainbooms were left with their thoughts. All of them had already felt uncertainty gnaw at them over the supposed guilt of Sunset, but Flash's story had blown those uncertainties wide open. Now the girls had to face the distinct possibility that they had led old grudges blind them to the truth.
And it may have cost them a friend.
Meanwhile, a few tables down the cafeteria, a trio of kids huddled close to one another.
"Did you hear that?" Apple Bloom whispered. "Sunset's gone!"
"That's good, isn't it?" Scootaloo whispered back. "I mean, wasn't that the entire reason we started this in the first place?"
"Yes, but, did we really have to take it this far?" came Sweetie Belle's nervous whisper.
Scootaloo bit her lip. "Maybe not, but it worked, right? Sunset's back in Equ-whatsit place and can't steal our sisters from us anymore."
"Yeah..." Apple Bloom replied, but her heart wasn't really in the answer.
"So, what do we do with Anon-a-Miss?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well, mission accomplished. We really don't need it anymore." Apple Bloom replied.
"And posting now would just alert our sisters that Sunset had nothing to do with it" Scootaloo added.
The girls looked at each other, silently communication through their bond as childhood friends.
"Freezer?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Freezer" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded.
Anon-a-Miss would take an early holiday.