The bus arrived at its destination in the later afternoon hours, and Shimmer stepped out of its doors onto the sidewalk, setting her gaze on the building in front of her. She was glad that it was already this late. Otherwise, it might have been harder to enter Canterlot High without drawing attention. Now, the surrounding area was empty, not a single student mingling around any longer.
Taking a deep breath and tightening her backpack straps, she walked towards the main doors and tried the handle. Just as expected, the door opened without any trouble, allowing her to enter the halls she had not stepped into for nearly a week.
Shimmer walked past the spacious foyer to stop in front of a specific door.
The door had a small, frosted-glass window on the upper half with the word 'Principal' written across it. Even though it was impossible to see anything clearly through the glass, Shimmer was able to see a shadow moving around.
'Just like always, she is the first to arrive and the last to leave,' she thought before she raised her hand and knocked. There was a moment of silence before she received an answer.
"Yes? The door is open."
Shimmer grabbed the handle and opened the door, stepping into the room.
"Principal Celestia, can we talk?"
"Sunset!" Celestia exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the girl step into her office but got a hold of herself moments afterwards. "I'm glad to see that you are alright. I got worried when I didn't hear anything from you these past few days and couldn't reach you under your phone number."
Shimmer closed the door behind her and took the seat in front of the principal's desk. Judging by the clear relief in her voice, it seemed that Shimmer’s hope proved true regarding Celestia’s stance in the whole Anon-a-Miss affair. "Sorry that I worried you, but I’ve been... busy. I didn't think about calling in absent."
The smile on Celestia's face fell. "Am I right in assuming your absence is connected to Anon-a-Miss?" Shimmer nodded, and Celestia sighed. "I was afraid that would be the case."
"It’s become too much for me to bear, so I left for a few days."
"Understandable, given the witch hunt started by that blog. My sister and I tried to find the one responsible but to no avail."
Shimmer looked into Celestia’s eyes. "So, you don't believe it's me?"
"No, we don't,” she answered with a shake of her head. “In the beginning, we did suspect everyone without bias, but it soon became clear to us that you are nothing but a scapegoat for the real culprit."
"Thank you for trying to help me, but I'm afraid you don't know about everything that has been going on."
Noting the nervous way that Shimmer said that last part, Celestia’s expression grew serious. "Please, tell me everything."
Shimmer spent the next half-hour explaining everything that happened over the last week to the principal. After she finished her tale, she waited for Celestia to process everything.
The woman in question sat behind her desk, her hands buried in her hair while she shook her head in disbelief. “That’s unbelievable. I know that Gilda is far from a model student, but that she would stoop low enough to attempt murder? I gave her so many chances in the hope that she might turn around…”
“None of us could know that she would do something like this, myself included.” Sunset frowned. “This time, she won’t get away with it, that much is sure, and I hope you see it the same way.”
Celestia looked up. ”Of course. She has crossed too many lines now. Even if I wanted, I wouldn’t be able to help her in any way. And I will do everything I can to help reveal Anon-a-Miss.”
Shimmer smiled. “I’m glad for your help. We have a lot to discuss.”
~*~
Shimmer left the school building with a sigh of relief. She had hoped that Celestia and Luna would be on their side, and she was glad that she was right. At least some people believed in her innocence.
Shimmer had told the principal about her assumptions who might be behind Anon-a-Miss, while Celestia had told her about what she and her sister had done so far during their investigation. Sadly, they had not made much progress in that regard. They had even tried contacting the ones responsible for MyStable, but customer service only told them they could not help due to their privacy policy.
Celestia also told her about the assembly that was planned for tomorrow as another attempt to talk sense into the students. She was sure that it would be senseless without knowing the true identity of Anon-a-Miss and any proof, but she would inform the others later.
For the time being, they agreed that it would be the wisest to wait and see what the police tells Sunset and her parents. The principal gave Shimmer her phone number so that they could keep in touch if they got any new information later.
Standing at the front of the school building, Shimmer checked the time and realized that she had nearly an hour left before the time Desert Sunrise told her they would likely be back to pick her up. Not in the mood to wait in the cold, she decided to go to a little cafe that was a few streets over.
She was so lost in thought about who Anon-a-Miss might be and the many possibilities of her identity that she nearly missed the barely audible voices that carried over from around the corner. Remembering what happened over the past week, she carefully peeked around the corner to see who the owners of those voices were.
‘Hmm, what a coincidence,’ she thought upon seeing who it was. ‘Maybe I can archive more today than I thought.’
~*~
The Crusaders walked down the street, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walking side by side talking with each other while Sweetie Belle followed them slowly, her eyes fixated on her phone.
On the screen was a picture of a deeply embarrassed Gilda wearing a clown costume at what appeared to be a child’s birthday party. It was one of the latest pictures that had been uploaded to the Anon-a-Miss page two days ago.
With a sigh, Sweetie looked up at the backs of her best friends. "Girls? Do you think we’ve gone too far?"
The other two girls stopped on their way and turned around to face their friend. "What do ya mean, Sweetie?" Apple Bloom asked in confusion.
"I mean this whole mess with Anon-a-Miss," Sweetie Belle replied while she looked into her friends’ eyes. "Do you think we’ve gone too far? You heard those students during lunch break, how they said Sunset had to be suicidal to post that picture of Gilda and that she’ll ‘get what she deserves when Gilda finds her.’" She lowered her gaze to the ground. "I don't want Sunset to get hurt."
"Come on, they were just blowing smoke," Scootaloo said with a wave of her hand. "It's just a picture. There’s no way Gilda would react that way to it being posted."
"Ah think Scoots is right. You don't need ta worry," Apple Bloom added.
Sweetie Belle was silent for a few moments. "If you say so. But how long are we gonna keep it up? How long are we gonna be posting things?"
"Until we’re sure Sunset won't interfere with your sisters and Rainbow Dash again, of course," Scootaloo said. "But how about we take a break during the holiday and see how everything goes from there? We can enjoy the holidays with Rainbow and your sisters in the meantime. If we need to, we can go back to posting when school starts again."
"Sounds good ta me. What do ya say, Sweetie?”
Sweetie thought about it for a minute. It may not be the end of this mess, but at least it was a start, and it was already only one more day till the school lets out. "Alright. I'm okay with that."
"Great!" Scootaloo said. "Now let’s go. They got a new game in the arcade I wanna try."
The other two girls nodded and took off after Sweetie Belle shoved her phone back into her pocket. They rounded the corner and ran down the street in the direction of the arcade.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
All three of them stopped and turned to the figure who had spoken from a nearby bench. It was a girl clad in a jacket with a hoodie pulled over her head to conceal her face. Unnerved, they were about to ignore the stranger and keep walking, when she moved her hoodie back slightly, revealing a familiar amber face.
"S-Sunset!" they sputtered in surprise before taking a few steps back, Sweetie Belle hiding behind Apple Bloom.
Shimmer watched them silently shuffling around until Scootaloo spoke up. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just relaxing and enjoying the quiet for once, when you walked by," Shimmer replied calmly without taking her eyes off the girls. "Sweetie looked like she had something on her mind, so I thought she would like to talk about it with someone, but I can see you also believe I'm the one behind Anon-a-Miss, so forget I said anything."
She slowly stood up and stretched her limbs. "Besides that, I’ve been trying to figure out who Anon-a-Miss is and avoiding the other students who want to beat me up or, in Gilda's case, attack me with a knife." She turned and took a few steps away from them. "See ya."
"Wait!"
Shimmer stopped on her way and looked back over her shoulder. "Hmm?"
Sweetie Belle emerged from her hiding spot behind Apple Bloom and stared at Shimmer with wide eyes. "W-What do you mean they tried to beat you up and attack you with a knife?"
"Exactly that," Shimmer replied while she turned around again to face the girls, her hands buried in the pockets of her jacket. "Some students apparently decided they needed to ‘teach me a lesson' and attacked me a few days ago. Even I can't fend off ten people at the same time."
"Ten at once..." Apple Bloom muttered while she stared at the girl with wide eyes.
"Gilda, on the other hand, was fury itself. I don't even know what riled her up that much—I haven't looked at MyStable since the beginning of this madness—but instead of me, she assaulted a friend of mine in an alley and was about to attack her with a knife when I came along and took care of her."
"So, you two are alright?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying her best to avoid shuddering.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy, but we’re alright," Shimmer said with a smile. "And soon, everything will be over as well. We are close to bringing Anon-a-Miss down. Won't take much longer than a few days."
The Crusaders looked at each other with worry in their eyes. "And how are ya gonna do that?" Apple Bloom asked slowly.
"Sorry, but I think it's better to keep that to myself," Shimmer said with a wave of her hand. "After all, who knows if Anon-a-Miss is listening in on us right now?” Sunset pretending to consider something. “Actually, I almost hope she’s listening. Honestly, if I were in his or her place and knew what was coming, I’d come out and confess everything instead of trying to stay hidden. The only thing that accomplishes is making the fallout worse."
Finished, Sunset turned around again and continued on her path. "Well, gotta go now. See ya later, girls." Giving them a last wave as she walked away, her expression, hidden from the girls, turned from cheerful to serious. 'Please, girls, if you truly are Anon-a-Miss, make the right choice.'
The moment Shimmer disappeared around the next corner, the Crusaders turned to each other.
"This is bad. This is so bad!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "I knew it was a stupid idea from the beginning, but this is much worse than I expected."
"Ah agree with ya, Sweetie. We need ta tell the truth as soon as possible."
Sweetie nodded. "Let's go to Principal Celestia and—"
"No."
The two girls turned to their friend. "What do ya mean 'no'? You heard what she said, Scoots. This is serious!"
Scootaloo crossed her arms. "Yeah, I heard what she said, and I think she’s bluffing."
Sweetie stared at her friend with wide eyes. "What makes you think she was lying?"
Scootaloo held one finger in front of her. "First, who is that 'friend' she was talking about? As far as I know, everyone she could be friends with believes that she’s Anon-a-Miss except for Twilight, and I think we would’ve heard about it if she were back."
She raised a second finger. "Second, why would Gilda go after someone else if she wants to get Sunset? That makes no sense. If that 'friend' had been in the crossfire, I might have believed her, but Sunset said her friend had been attacked before she arrived."
Apple Bloom looked at her feet in thought. "Ya may have a point, but what was the point of lying to us?"
Scootaloo crossed her arms again. "She said so in the beginning. She’s trying to find out who Anon-a-Miss is. I guess she suspects us and told those lies so that we would let something slip or panic and confess. And she almost succeeded.
"I say we go on with the plan and continue posting till tomorrow." Seeing the troubled looks on her friends’ faces, Scootaloo relaxed her stance. "Remember why we’re doing this. We’ll get our sisters back, and Sunset will be punished for everything she did in the past."
Her little speech was followed by a silence that lasted a full minute.
"Yeah, Ah agree,” Apple Bloom finally said. “There’s too much wrong with what she said. Ah'm with ya, Scoots."
Scootaloo smiled and nodded before she turned her gaze on their group’s third member. "Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie was looking down, biting on her thumb while lost in thought, her eyes moving from side to side. Scootaloo's shoulders slumped down, and she sighed before she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Upon feeling the contact, Sweetie looked up into her friend's eyes.
"Look, I won't be mad if you don't want to go along,” Scootaloo said. “You’re scared, and I understand that. So, if you really want, you can step away from Anon-a-Miss. Just don't go and tell anybody about us, alright?"
Sweetie Belle kept eye contact a few moments longer until she smiled and shook her head. "No. We’re in this together. We started it together, and we’ll end it together. I won't leave you behind after everything that happened."
Scootaloo smiled and hugged Sweetie, with Apple Bloom joining soon after.
"Thanks, Sweetie." They let go of each other after a few moments. "Alright, now let's go! There’s still a game waiting for me at the arcade."
With those words, Scootaloo took off in the direction of the arcade, Apple Bloom following her close after. Sweetie Belle stayed in place a moment longer, her smile slowly slipping down into a frown.
'I hope that this is the right choice,' she thought to herself before she, too, ran after her friends.