//------------------------------// // I Am Anon-a-Miss // Story: Sunset Among Shadows // by RedPegasus //------------------------------// "I see that you still care enough about Twilight," the vice principal commented, not having started the motorcycle just yet. Sunset, clinging to her in the back of the motorcycle, said softly, "What happened wasn’t her fault..." "And you're not upset with her?" "Yes, I am, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her." "It's funny, you don't seem to think the same way about the others." While speaking, the woman never looked at the girl behind her. "That’s different," Sunset argued, annoyed. Luna takes on an almost cheerful tone as she says, "Then, CHS doesn't worry you." It wasn’t a question, but she turns her head gently, seeming to wait for confirmation. "Why should it?" Sunset asked with indifference, turning her head to the side. "No reason," the woman responded, returning her gaze forward. "I was just curious." There was a small pause, until Luna spoke again. "Do you know how everyone at CHS are doing?" "Surely happy that I’m no longer exposing secrets," Sunset spat. "I see you haven't heard," the woman commented in a low voice. "Heard what?" "A lot has happened since you left, and now everyone is quite affected." "Affected? How?" The vice principal turned her head a little, and although Sunset can’t see her behind her helmet, Luna gave a knowing smile. "I thought you didn't care." Surprised, Sunset turned her head away in contempt. "Of course, I don't." "Then, you don't need to know." Sunset plays that conversation over and over in her head as she lies on her bed. She moans in frustration and covers her face with a pillow. “Affected”? What did that mean? Had the truth had already been discovered? Have those three confessed after all? "If they already know, everyone must feel very stupid right now," she thinks to herself. Three little girls had cheated the whole school. Surely, everyone there felt stupid. She removes the pillow from her face and looks towards the ceiling. What would they be doing now? Would they feel guilty? Would they apologize to her? Or would they ignore the matter, forgetting the harm they did to her and just focusing on their lives, like every other idiot in the world. She breathes deeply and exhales a sigh as she thinks on her former friends. She plays over the last few times she saw them in her mind. That meeting outside the school, that cake... the time in front of the music store with Sonata... punching Rainbow... "Hypocrites," she says to herself. Hypocrites. that's what they were. After abandoning her and betraying her, they wanted to come and ask for forgiveness. Maybe she was a bad person in the past, but she never hurt a friend. Mostly because she didn’t have any, but that’s not the point! “Magic of Friendship”? There was no friendship with those five. Frustrated, she lies on her side and tries to sleep. But she finds no refuge even in her dreams. She can see the hilltop she stood on during the Battle of the Bands. She can feel the warmth of the girls as they threw their arms around her. She can hear their voices cheering for her. Sunset’s eyes snap open. Hurriedly, she sits on the edge of her bed and shakes her head. Why? Why was she dreaming about them? "Stop thinking about them!" she commands herself, holding her head. "That's the past! The past is not today!" "And what is today, Sunset?" The question of the vice principal comes back to her mind. Today... What was today...? Today, she has a new life. New friends. She is happy. Really happy. She trusts Sonata, Twilight, Sunny, Lemon, and Flash. Even Adagio and Aria, and there are Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, and that other girl. Suni? No, Suri! That’s it. She has people to trust, and they trust her. Her new life is great, even if it isn’t what she expected at first. That is her today. A better life, with better friends, who really love her. Her head is attacked by the images of her former friends talking to her, the three little girls coming to her house... and Princess Twilight... crying... And a girl... who can’t leave that past behind... Sunset moans and lies onto her back. Her past doesn’t want to leave her. Every time it seems that she had overcome that bad time in her life, there is always something to remind her. The past is not today, but it really wants to be. Sunset sits back up, putting her head in her hands. Her past always comes back to haunt her. She can’t close that chapter, because her past never leaves her alone! That's why she can’t go on; the past is constantly coming back. Sunset gets up and walks to the window. She needs to close this chapter, needs to find the end of this whole affair. Finally find closure, where she can really turn the page, forget... and make everyone—everyone!—forget, too... … Make everyone forget. Yes, that will do. She is going to close this cycle of betrayal once and for all. With a determined look, she looks at her own reflection, observing the treacherous weather, with the cold wind and the depressing snow falling outside her window. This thing had to be finished... and there was only one way to do it. *S*A*S* Monday morning. Classes have already been in session for an hour or so. But Sunset is not at school. When she woke up, she stayed in her bed for a moment, thinking about what to do and how. She knew that she should go, but she had doubts about how to show herself. Notifying Celestia wasn’t an option. She’d surely tell everyone else. She couldn’t call those five either; she no longer had their phone numbers. Maybe Flash, but she didn’t want to use him to fix her problem again. She sent a message to Sonata, telling her that she would not go to class. She knew that her blue friend would spread the word. She just hoped the school wouldn’t think anything strange. She mentally prepared herself for what she was going to do. A part of her told her it was foolishness, madness, that it was not worth doing such a thing. And she can’t say she disagrees. But she wanted to end this. Anon-a-Miss, CHS, them... Everything had to end. It had been a month, and Sunset still remembers. Still resents. It has to stop. She has to move on. After more time than she would have liked, she finally arrives at school. At her old school. Canterlot High’s characteristic splendor seems... muted, the lugubrious climate and icy air making the school look like an old abandoned place, the kind one might see on those “haunted places” shows. Sunset looks back in reflection toward the ever-present representative statue of the school. The impassable steed, firm even in this treacherous environment. With a sigh, Sunset seems to ask that majestic entity to lend her some strength. A quick look at the base leads her to a quick thought of… She shakes her head. It's not that time. She needs to concentrate on the now and on the school. She can give that more thought afterward. Sunset takes a deep breath, feeling her body freeze in the cold air. She walks forward and strides through the front doors. "Holy shit, it’s cold!" is the first thing that escapes her mouth as soon as she puts her feet inside the school. "It's colder in here than outside! What the fuck?!" Sunset rubs her arms and adjusts her coat, holding it tightly to her body, but her current clothes seemed to help little to keep her warm. Trying to ignore the drastic change in temperature, Sunset looks up, seeing... nothing... The corridor is completely empty. There are neither students nor teachers in the halls, and Sunset can’t hear any voices or sounds. "Okay... maybe school’s out after all..." She turns to the door for a moment, as if thinking of leaving, but she snorts in frustration. "I'm already here. I should at least make sure there's no one around." She walks around the place a little, her expression almost nostalgic as she looks over the hallways, the lockers, and the classrooms. Speaking of which... Sunset stealthily approaches a door, looking through the window, and there they are. Several students are inside, all... studying? They look so sad. Their heads are down, and it’s hard to determine if they are reading their books or just looking at them. Sunset looks around the room. Everyone in there is like that. Even the teacher in front, as he teaches, seems… worried about something. After a few more seconds, Sunset turns away from the window. "Okay... This wasn’t exactly what I expected..." Curiously, she walks forward a little, approaching another window, seeing a copy of the same scene. The students look sad, paying no attention to the class. Their eyes seem lost, without shine. Sunset moves along, only finding the same scene in every room. “What is going on here?” Forgetting the rooms, Sunset wanders through the corridors, and that's when, finally, she sees a small group nearby. Three girls are gathered next to some lockers: Trixie Lulamoon and her small retinue. Sunset can’t hear them, since they’re whispering. She sees them talking, sighing, letting their eyes fall. Why did everyone seem so... sad...? Suddenly, she hears something falling to the ground behind her. Sunset turns around and sees another girl standing nearby, her face full of surprise, her eyes a mixture of fear and amazement as she stares at Sunset. The sound had also caught the attention of Trixie and the others, who, upon seeing her, are equally amazed. Silence reigns in the hallway. None of the four seems to want—or can—say anything. And Sunset can’t, either. After a few seconds, Sunset continues walking, passing the three, her eyes looking forward. "This... is not turning out like I expected..." The bell rings, even that sounding quieter than she remembers. Walking past the science room, she sees a boy come out. Wiz Kid. He sees her as she passes, the surprise clear on his face. Sunset doesn’t pay much attention. She just keeps walking. While she walks, she can see some students leaving the classrooms, heading to their lockers. She tries to ignore them when she can, but she can’t avoid noticing how their looks fill with surprise. Little by little, the looks turn into murmurs. "Sunset...?" "It's Sunset." "What’s she doing here…?" Sunset tries to ignore the murmurs as she walks, focusing solely on reaching... ... Where exactly is she going? She just came to see the school, but now that she’s here, what is she supposed to do? Talk to them? Should she wait for someone to speak to her first? Sunset turns slightly, noticing how many students recoil a little when she looks at them. "... That wasn’t the reaction I expected, either..." *S*A*S* The door of the classroom opens suddenly, surprising both the students and the teacher. "Sunset’s at school!" exclaims the young man who opened the door. After recovering from the initial surprise, many get up and rush out of the room. The news soon spread. Students forgot their classes and left the classrooms. Students left their things at their lockers and all but ran down the hall, looking for their former classmate. *S*A*S* Lyra hurries to the Bon Bon’s desk. "Bonnie let's go!" "Where?" "To look for Sunset! We have to talk to her!" Lyra exclaims. "Talk about what? She hates us," Bon Bon says, eyes falling. "We have to let her know we're sorry!" Bon Bon sighs. "Do you really think that will change anything?" "I don’t know... but I have to do it!" Lyra doesn’t wait for another answer before rushing out of the room. Bon Bon remains in her seat a moment before following hurriedly. *S*A*S* The vice principal of the school is sitting at her desk as usual, reviewing documents and arranging schedules, trying to keep the school in order. It hasn’t been very difficult lately. Some sounds from outside her office grab her attention. From behind her closed door, she hears some voices and what seem like hurried steps. Curious, she gets up and approaches. When she opens the door, she sees what she already suspected: students running through the corridors. With a deep frown, she gets ready to scold them, but she stops when she hears one of them. "Over here! Sunset went this way!” Hearing Sunset’s name stops Luna’s scold. She watches as they run down the corridor, and after a few moments, she smiles. *S*A*S* Sunset lets out a soft moan. While she walks, she can see how the students begin to approach, looking at her in amazement. They seem to want to talk to her, but none dares to do so. Until Lyra comes running up. "Sunset!" The former equine turns to see the mint-haired girl jogging toward her, though she halts a few steps away from Sunset. "You came back..." "Not exactly true," Sunset thinks to herself, but she does not look away from the other girl. "Sunset, listen." That's what Sunset does. "Sunset... I'm sorry..." Yes, she has already heard that. "I know it's not worth much, but I'm sorry... I'm sorry I thought... it was you..." Sunset doesn’t respond but just keeps her gaze on Lyra. Lyra tries to keep calm, but her voice trembles a little. "I don’t expect you to forgive me... but I wanted... I wanted you to know... I'm sorry..." Sunset still doesn’t answer. The mint-haired girl never looks away from her, does not show embarrassment or sorrow... only sincerity... The fire-haired girl still does not answer. Instead, she takes a look around, seeing how many students look down with... repentance? "… What happened here?" Sunset finally asks. Hearing her voice surprises—and scares—everyone present. Lyra is so surprised that she is slow to realize that the question was for her. "‘What happened?’" she repeats. "Why does everyone here look so depressed?" "Well... it’s because… we all regret what we did, Sunset..." Several students nod in agreement. Bon Bon seems to gather courage, and she approaches, standing with her friend. "Sunset, since you left... it just hasn’t been the same here..." Sunset doesn’t answer, but she does looks with some interest at the candy-haired girl. "Sorry... We were wrong... so very wrong to believe... that you..." Bon Bon cuts herself off with a whimper. Lyra hurries to give her a comforting hug. "Sorry, Sunset," Lyra says. "Really... We're all sorry...” Both friends fall silent, and Sunset hears some murmurs around her. Very soft, apologetic murmurs. The Equestrian girl looks towards the ground. "This... wasn’t what I expected at all..." Without saying anything, she resumes her walk, leaving behind all the group that had gathered. Bon Bon watches her leave. "Sunset..." "At least... we told her..." Lyra mutters sadly, still holding her friend. *S*A*S* Luna walks hurriedly, knocking on the door but not waiting for an answer before opening it. "Celestia! You have to—" Luna cuts herself off as she gets a look at her sister, who is shaking as she hurriedly shoves something in one of the drawers in her desk, accompanied by the sound of glass thudding against wood. "Celestia?" "L-Luna... What's up? The cafeteria catch fire again?" Celestia’s question has a nervously comical tone, but Luna ignores it. "What are you doing?" "My... My work, clearly. I'm the principal. I have... forms and things... requests... students..." Luna looks skeptical and approaches the desk. Celestia, looking nervous, rushes to get up and around her desk to be between it and her sister. "What did you want, Luna? Is there a problem? Something... we should attend to?" Celestia's smile shows her nerves. Luna looks at her, and then looks at the desk for a moment. She seems to think for a moment, then sighs through her nose. "We have a special guest today. I thought you would want to know." "… Guest?" *S*A*S* "Well, so far, this didn’t turn out as expected..." Sunset thinks for the umpteenth time as she walks down the hall. “Not that I expected that they’d be happy and celebrating—not after what Luna said, at least—but I certainly didn’t think the school would end up like this...” After the encounter with Lyra, many seemed to decide to return to their classrooms. Those who remain in the corridors try to focus on their affairs, but all turn to watch Sunset whenever she’s nearby. "This is ridiculous!" It was one thing for them to regret it, even feel guilty, but this was too much. "Even I wasn’t so depressed at the time..." The school was so... quiet, the air so solemn. Suddenly, Sunset has a thought. "Now that I think about it... Where are they...?" Sunset feels a wave cold air pass over her as she searches. "Faust! When did it get so cold?!" Sunset picks up the pace, reaching the music room. "If they’re gonna be anywhere in school, it’ll be in here." Sunset hesitates for a moment, snarls in frustration, and slowly opens the door. “We have to finish this.” *S*A*S* A tap to her cellphone, and the video plays once more. Her pink eyes watch the video closely, concentrating on the way the fire-haired girl plays with them. Her southern friend, sitting at a nearby table, watches her. "You've been watchin’ that all mornin’, Rainbow..." The chromatic girl doesn’t seem to hear her, reclining on the cold floor, with her cellphone held high, her eyes fixed on the screen. "Rainbow..." There is silence for a moment, but finally, she speaks. "Those were us, Applejack. Those... were us..." "Come on, Rainbow... Yeah, she was a great addition to the band, but... we gotta move on without her." "Who cares about the band...?" Again, silence. Rainbow keeps her eyes on the video, watching herself, her friends, and Sunset transforming with the Magic of Friendship. "Sunset... is happy... without us..." The words depress the farmer, who lowers her hat a little as she looks downward. *S*A*S* Sunset can see them both, as well as the others, from the now partially open door. Pinkie is sitting motionless on a chair in the corner looking at the ground with a somber expression, her hair flat. It’s so unlike Pinkie that Sunset doubts for a moment that it even is Pinkie. Rarity and Fluttershy are sitting at a desk. The former is disheveled, her clothes wrinkled and dirty, looking nothing like the prim and proper fashionista she is. Fluttershy, though, just looks... empty. Her red eyes are completely dry, and her facial expression is blank, as if she were merely a lifelike doll instead of a person. It was strange. The last time she saw them, she only felt repulsion. She wanted to get away, have them as far as possible, and not even talk to them. But now, seeing them in that state... Suddenly, Sunset remembers the day that the three younger sisters went to her house, where they told her about the condition of their sisters. Frustrated by the sight and the memory, Sunset made a quick movement, and opened the door completely. Except for Rainbow, everyone looks toward the door, where they freeze, surprise on their faces. For a moment, there is silence. Sunset remains standing, without saying anything. They do not speak either. Sunset and they just stare at each other. Sunset looks to the side, spotting the band’s instruments stacked haphazardly into a pile. Rainbow is finally overcome by curiosity, and when she turns her head, she barely manages to see something, someone at the entrance. When her eyesight focuses a little better, she almost jumps, dropping her phone. "Sunset..." Finally, it is Fluttershy who breaks the standoff, jumping up, her chair clattering to the floor. Without a second thought, she runs to the former equine, throwing herself at her in a desperate embrace. Sunset grunts from the sudden tightness. The girl’s scrambled pink hair is the only thing she sees from her perspective, and Fluttershy’s blubbering pleas for forgiveness, accompanied by her sobbing, is the only sound in the room. For a moment, Sunset does not react. She just remains with an unreadable expression, looking at and feeling the girl crying into her chest. Finally, Sunset raises a hand, and she gently caresses that pink hair. The fire-haired girl looks up, seeing them all. She sees their tears falling, the despair in their eyes. Fluttershy falls to her knees, her words devolving into a repeated, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…" as she cries. Sunset did not know what to do, or even what to think. Sunset never imagined... Yes, she knew that they would see that they were wrong. She knew that the school would feel guilty, but this… Sunset gently pushes the girl away, realizing the tears that fall from her own eyes. She moves back a few steps, looking down and to the side to hide them. Sunset had also felt guilty for her dark days, but she never reached this level. She never would have believed that they... or the school... "There are times... that we hurt others without realizing it." Luna’s words ring loud and clear in Sunset’s head. Rainbow manages to clear her head enough to speak. "Sunset..." The sound of her name makes her look up. The other five girls are all standing now, looking at her with those eyes full of pain and misery. "Sunset... We..." "We know ya hate us... but..." Applejack tries to help. "Sunset... we're sorry..." Rarity finishes. "We love you..." Fluttershy speaks with pain in her voice. "We miss you…" The neutral, emotionless voice everyone was used to from Diane had disappeared, replaced with a tone laced with sorrow. Sunset doesn’t answer. She turns her gaze away again, noticing a familiar face. Flash stands a few meters behind, nervous about the scene in front of him. When Sunset sees him, he approaches, making Sunset herself even more nervous. "Sunset... what a surprise... to see you..." The guitarist tries to smile. For a moment, she does not respond. She swallows hard, her eyes moving in all directions as if looking for a way of escape. "Flash…" "Y-Yeah? " "What happened to the school?" "Well... it's..." The boy is slow to respond, but Sunset just stands there, waiting patiently. "Since... Well, you know, since Anon-A-Miss..." He pauses, worried that mentioning that name will bother her. She just waits for him to go on. "Since then, everyone has been... um... worried...a-and sad…" Sunset looks at him seriously. "When I left, they weren’t like that." Flash takes a breath. "Yeah... It's like, after you left... and after Twilight told us everything, and..." "Twilight?" "Just… we're all so, so sorry..." Sunset seems surprised at that. "Flash, you don’t have to apologize..." Sunset turns her head a little, looking at the five girls still looking at her. She moans, frustrated. This was too much. She had come to school with a plan, but she doesn’t even remember what that plan is after all that’s happened. "What the hell was I thinking? I never should’ve come..." Grabbing her head, she moans again and turns away from the place, walking away. Flash watches her, worried. "Sunset..." He doesn’t stop her, though, nor do the five girls. Oh, how they want to try, though... *S*A*S* Sunset rushes through the halls, trying to ignore the looks of everyone. When the front door is in before her, she stops. The last time she went out that door, she was full of hate, a hatred of those who betrayed her and abandoned her. She thought that she would never be on this side of the door again. And now... she did not even know what she felt... Except cold... The treacherous cold that froze the corridors... Suddenly, the girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jumps in surprise, whirling around. Her eyes meet the dark lenses of Vinyl Scratch. Her glasses hide her eyes, but even so, her face seems to reflect concern. "Vinyl..." The DJ gives a gentle squeeze to Sunset's shoulder, a sign of support. A couple of shy footsteps approach, and Sunset turns to see a girl with blond hair and cocked eyes. "Ditzy..." The named girl smiles at her with kindness but wariness. She carries in her hands a basket of homemade muffins. She holds one out for Sunset. "Muffin...?" she asks in a soft, innocent, worried voice. Sunset stares for a moment, realizing she hasn’t eaten all day. She smiles softly and, with the same gentleness, takes the muffin. Ditzy smiles with joy and hops in place. Sunset keeps her smile as she eats. Strange. She felt much better... Happy, almost... A sigh helps her relax. Vinyl gives her another pat on the shoulder, and Ditzy gives her another muffin for the road. Feeling somehow better than when she arrived, Sunset leaves. No one in CHS is sure of what had just happened. *S*A*S* The principals observe the departure of the girl from around a corner of the corridor. "Sunset... She..." "Hm, it worked better than expected." Celestia looks at her sister in disbelief. "Luna... What did you do?!" Luna just smiles. "My dear sister, you are a great guide to encourage and support certain students, but when it comes to the rebellious youth, you should know that I am the expert." The older one tries to answer, but she simply can’t. "Moving on to something equally important, what have you been hiding in your desk?" The question is loaded with demand and expectation. Celestia can’t answer that, either. *S*A*S* Twilight walks worriedly through the corridors of Crystal Prep, staring at her phone. More specifically, at her friend’s number. "Should I call her...?" Sonata had said earlier that Sunset sent her a message that she would be absent for the day, and Twilight was worried sick; Sunset is not the kind of person who skipped classes for no reason. Is she sick? Is she injured? Is she… something worse? And why hasn’t she told them anything? She just sent a vague a message saying that she would be absent. After a moment of doubt, Twilight pockets her phone, sighing heavily. Suddenly, someone grabs her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist and clamping a hand over her mouth. The aggressor lifts her off the ground, and no matter how much Twilight struggles, the captor is too strong for her. Her captor takes her, at an amazing speed, to a nearby bathroom, where she drops the scientist, who falls onto her knees with a thud. Terrified, Twilight whirls around to identify the assailant. Lightning Dust stands over her, looking at her seriously. "L-Lighting Dust?" Lightning narrows her eyes and says menacingly. "Alright, Sparkle, I want answers, and I want them now." "Answers?" Twilight crawls a bit in an attempt to retreat. She doesn’t know what else to do. Lightning Dust terrifies her, and Sunset isn’t around to protect her. The blond girl glares at her a moment, before she pulls her backpack from her shoulder and pulls out a book. "What’s this book, and what do you and Shimmer have to do with it?" Twilight looks carefully at the book, but she doesn’t recognize it at all. The symbol on the front is somewhat familiar, but… "Answer me!" Lightning demands, startling Twilight. "What does this book have to do with Sunset Shimmer?!" The demand in her voice only scares the scientist more, and she can’t find the words to answer. "Answer me or else! I know your girlfriend isn’t around to defend you this time!" "I... I don’t know what you're talking about. I don’t know that book..." Twilight squeaks in fear. Frustrated, Lightning Dust stomps toward her. Twilight tries to back away, but her retreat is useless. Lightning grabs her by the collar and yanks her upward until they’re eye-to-eye. "Don’t lie to me! I know that you and Shimmer have been writing things down in this book. What is it, some kind of cheesy shared journal?" "What? I don’t know what you're talking about." Lightning gives her a shake before looking back at her, furious. "Stop pretending! There are notes signed by you, Shimmer, and by some lady named Celestia in this book! What is it? Tell me!" Notes signed by her? But if she never… The image of her twin comes to her head. "Do they have… a shared diary?" Twilight mumbles. "Answer me!" Twilight looks down, her bangs covering her eyes. Lightning's patience was clearly coming to an end, judging by the vice grip she has on the scientist’s shirt. "I don’t know..." Twilight says. Lighting grunts at that. "I don’t know what it is... but even if I knew... I wouldn’t tell you!" Twilight exclaims, looking at her aggressor in the eyes. Lightning flinches, surprised, as Twilight continues, "You don’t have the right to pry into Sunset’s life! I don’t know what it is, but if that book is Sunset’s, it's her business, not yours, and you're nobody to meddle in her personal life!" Lightning clenches her teeth and thrusts her face into Twilight’s, their eyes a mere few centimeters apart. "Go ahead, beat me up if you want, but I don’t know anything, and I'm not going to help you hurt Sunset!" Her fear is evident in the trembling of her eyes, but even so, Twilight doesn’t look away from Lightning's. The blonde girl is silent for a moment, before she clicks her tongue and throws the girl to the floor painfully. "Tell Shimmer I'll wait for her tomorrow at the track before school starts," the athlete says gravely. "And tell her that if she doesn’t show, you will be the one who pays the price." Without another word, Lightning turns around and storms out of the bathroom. Twilight is motionless for a moment, lying on the floor. The courage that showed a moment ago is gone, and she ends up hugging herself and crying on the bathroom floor. *S*A*S* Before she knows it, Sunset is already home, not even bothering to take off her coats or shoes before dropping herself onto the bed. With her eyes tightly closed, she tries to calm her head. The images were repeated constantly, stirring with the voices she had heard. Sunset growls, turning face down and sinking her face into the mattress as much as she can. This was so annoying! Canterlot High was... It wasn’t a school anymore. It was... She didn’t know what! A cemetery? Because it certainly didn’t seem alive! But worst of all, Sunset just couldn’t get their gazes and sobs out of her head! Raising both hands, she begins to bang her head with her fists, as if hoping that would take away her thoughts. Why did they act that way? Did their stupid mistake affect them so much? It wasn’t that they were the first or the last to accuse an innocent. She herself had done that a hundred times, and for worse reasons. They were manipulated. In the most stupid way possible, perhaps, but they were manipulated. It wasn’t their fault. So why? Why did they look so dead inside? Sunset herself had had her fair share of misery, all of it deserved. She was so much worse than they were—blackmailing, hurting, insulting, demeaning, anything to satisfy her childish whims—and even then, she never reached that level of emptiness when she was finally defeated. “It’s because you were forgiven.” Sunset pauses as she hears her own voice speaking to her. “You got the forgiveness you sought. They haven’t. They feel they never will.” She struggled to get it, and she succeeded. She was forgiven for her sins, and she was received with warmth and open arms. But... didn’t that make all this worse?! After forgiving her and giving her a place among them... they just took it away. For nothing! They didn’t even give her an opportunity to talk to them! It didn’t even cross their minds that she could be innocent. They just blamed her and happily treated her as the scapegoat she was. The images of some people suddenly rise to her head... Flash... Vinyl... Ditzy... Well, not everyone blamed her. Sunset knew that a small part of the school believed her. Or, at least, they had not attacked her for everything Anon-a-Miss did. Sunset gets up and sits on the edge of her bed, shoulders and head drooping. Still, all those who attacked her... Why would they deserve forgiveness? They tossed her aside. Even after what she did for them and for the school. She was a demon for a long time. But, they... They were no better. “But they forgave you.” She holds her head tightly to dispel that annoying voice. "Yeah? Okay, they forgave me. So what?! Does that mean I should do the same?!" she exclaims loudly. "I have to ignore their betrayal and smile and forgive them like in some stupid children’s show?! I have nothing to regret!" She jumps to her feet. "Anon-A-Miss is the bad guy in this story! Not me!" Anon-A-Miss was the one who tore down friendships! Who betrayed everyone! Anon-A-Miss is a selfish person! She’s cruel! She doesn’t care about the feelings of others! She doesn’t care if others cry! She doesn’t care about the harm her actions do to others! Anon-A-Miss was just thinking about herself, about what she wanted! About her happiness! She did what she wanted to satisfy her own wants! And she didn’t realize or care about the damage she was doing to others! Anon-A-Miss only acted for herself. Anon-A-Miss never saw or thought about others... She just... She just focused... on herself... without caring... about others... Anon-A-Miss... Anon-A-Miss did... “Exactly what you did?” Silence. There's only silence. No sounds from her voice, or her mind, or her surroundings. Everything is soundless as Sunset's tears fall to the ground. "I am Anon-A-Miss..."