//------------------------------// // We All Are Human // Story: The Downfall of Sunset Shimmer: An Anon-A-Miss Story // by redandready45 //------------------------------// "Hey Shimmer," Gilda said, her yellow eyes honed in on Sunset, "we need to talk-," in a panic, Sunset quickly slammed the door. She was met with an angry yell. "SHIMMER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Sunset pushed her weight against the door, but it was no match for the statuesque girl's strength. Gilda forced the door open and burst into the former unicorn's apartment, her face in a red-hot rage. "YOU'RE DEAD!" The white-haired girl fumed before letting out another wail. "I'm gonna kill you!" Sunset was terrified. "I'm not Anon-A-Miss!" "You slammed the door on my fingers!" Sunset's eyes widened in confusion. "What?" "I was here to drop your book off," Gilda shrieked, "and you nearly tore off my fingers!" Sunset looked and saw a book was in Gilda's right hand. Sunset realized it was her political science textbook and she left it there after running out of the school in tears. Gilda let out another wail, dropped the book, and held onto her left hand. Sunset saw Gilda's fingers were throbbing and realized Gilda wasn't yelling in a rage. She was yelling in pain. "Oh Gilda," Sunset said with some remorse, "I'm so sorry. Are they broken?" "No," Gilda hissed in agony, "just...bruised." Sunset went to the first aid kit as Gilda let out another moan of pain. "What did you think I was doing here?" Gilda inquired. The white-haired girl was resting on the couch, her fingers wrapped in bandages and covered in a plastic bag that was being used as an ice pack. Sunset stood near Gilda, acting as a nurse. "I thought you were going to kill me," Sunset admitted shamefully, going over to her fridge and getting a soda for the white-haired girl, which Gilda took. "You thought I was coming to kill you?" Gilda said in honest confusion. Sunset gave Gilda a nasty stare. "Well, you did spend a few days tormenting me." Gilda was completely unapologetic. "You ruined my summer for no reason." While Gilda no longer had it in for Sunset, she showed zero remorse for having bullied Sunset out of revenge. Sunset didn't know if she deserved that revenge, or if it was a well-deserved reality check, but it still left her skittish around Gilda. "You haven't done any shit to me know, so why would you think- "Being Anon-A-Miss," Sunset interrupted. Gilda looked at Sunset with utter disbelief before letting out an annoyed snort."I never thought you were Anon-A-Miss," Gilda muttered with disdain. Sunset looked at the brawler with disbelief. "Really?" Gilda rolled her eyes. "Even if you did do shit like that, I doubt you'd be stupid enough to make it so obvious." A nasty smile came on her face. "I mean, you are stupid, but not that stupid." "Well, that's dandy," Sunset muttered sarcastically, "the girl who dunked my head in the toilet though I was innocent, my so-called friends didn't." Sunset felt tears run down her eyes. "I mean, I worked my behind off to make up to them, I did everything I was supposed to do, I helped them out, and they betrayed me." "Yeah, it's a real pity," "Was I ever their friend, or did they just help me because they felt they had to?" Sunset asked rhetorically, tears running down her eyes. "I save them from the Dazzlings, put up with their snide remarks, help them with their homework-" Sunset's rant was interrupted by Gilda letting out a contemptuous laugh. "What are you laughing at?" "How much of a big baby you are," the white-skinned girl said with disdain. Sunset glared at the girl. "I'm a baby," Sunset replied with anger. "What did you think was gonna happen Shimmer?" Gilda asked, rising from the couch, still covering her fingers with an ice pack. "You fucked over everyone, became a demon, blew up the school, got an innocent girl sent to the joint, and drove that dwarf so insane he attacked you, me, and everyone else." "But-," "Did you really think everyone was just gonna forget all that?" Gilda asked with a raised eyebrow and a disgusted tone. "That you'd live happily ever after in eternal happiness and peace, huh? Did ya?" Sunset let out a shameful frown. "I mean, a week ago, I was gonna get invited to Christmas party. I thought it meant I was in the clear." Sunset frowned in anger. "No matter what I do, everyone here will remember me as the 'School Demon?' Everyone will always wait for me to screw up? Should I even try and stay here?" "I have an answer for that question," Gilda uttered. "But first, we need to go for a good hike." "What?" "A hike," Gilda repeated. "There is someplace I need to show you. Besides, you have a lot of stress, and you need to walk it off." She narrowed her eyes. "And you do owe me for smashing my fingers when I was trying to bring your book home." Sunset let out a sigh. "OK. Where are we hiking?" "Green Hill Park." Sunset panted as she finally reached the summit of the mountain they were climbing. Her shirt and hiking shorts were soaked with swear. She collapsed from exhaustion, much to Gilda's contempt. "Oh suck it up," Gilda said, not showing an ounce of exhaustion. "Soldiers have to climb even steeper hills while carrying 50 pounds of supplies." "Is that why you can do it?" Sunset said, pulling a bottle of water out of her bag to relieve her dehydration. Gilda let out a smirk. "I am planning to be in the army. And I've climbed this mountain since I was a kid. It was hard for me the first time, but what I found at the top is so worth it." Sunset put her water bottle down. "What?" Gilda pointed outward to a cliff at the summit. Sunset could not believe what she saw. The entire city of Canterlot was before her very eyes. All the streets she walked down, all the roads she had driven on, looked so small. The setting sun made the whole city look like it shined like gold. "Wow," Sunset said with awe, "this is so beautiful." The sight of this proud city appearing so tiny helped Sunset's troubles melt away a bit. Gilda crossed her arms, a proud smile forming on her face. "Yep. I bet the hike has calmed you down a bit." "I guess," Sunset admitted. All that exercise helped her feel good. "But let's just say I'm not eager to try again." "Suit yourself." "So what was the story you wanted to tell me? And why do we have to do it here." A wistful smile formed on the white-skinned girl's face. "This place was where the second part of my life began." "Is this about how you were adopted?" Sunset asked with a flat voice. A sheepish smile formed on Gilda's face. "Well, that's part of it. How much do you know?" Gilda said, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, you did spy on everybody." Sunset flinched, remembering how she stole secrets. "I know that you were adopted, but I don't the how." "Well, it started here when I was about 12 years old. As I said, my mom was a wretched bitch." A pitying look came on Sunset's face, which faded as Gilda glared at her. "So I came here. Not just for the hike. But...my mom didn't feed me, so I came here for...food." Gilda hid behind the bush, waiting for some idiot to let their guard down. The growling in her stomach made her increasingly impatient. "This is the tourist season," Gilda muttered to herself, "there's got to be a sucker out there." She paused as someone dropped their bag in front of her. With practiced caution and motion, Gilda crept out of the bush, stole the bag, and dove back behind the bush. Gilda smiled with joy, which only grew when she saw the spoils: a couple of turkey sandwiches and a bag of chips. However, before she could eat them, she found herself yanked out of the bush and knocked to the ground. "Nice try." A female voice said. Gilda looked up from her daze. She saw a yellow face staring back at her with a toothy grin to her growing apprehension. "But I have the ears of a mouth." "That's how you met Spitfire?" Sunset asked with disbelief. Gilda let out an amused smile. "I think I made a great first impression." "So, what happened next?" Sunset asked her. "Well, Spitfire did threaten to call the police on me," Gilda said, "but then she noticed how skinny I was. And then she saw how...bruised I was, and how I cringed when she mentioned my mom. She pretty much figured out my situation in about five minutes." "Really?" A proud smile formed on Gilda's face. "You can never get anything past, Sis. She knew my mom would lie, so she came up with a plan to expose her. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Gertrude," Spitfire said with a reassuring smile to Gilda's mother. Spitfire decided to return Gilda home personally and stood in the poor apartment. The woman wore a frumpy grey dress, her grey hair was matted, and she reeked of an obnoxious amount of perfume. "My daughter was always a compulsive liar," the woman said with a forced smile, "I've tried to get her counseling, but she always avoids my help." Gilda suppressed a frown. "It's a shame," Spitfire said to the woman. She turned to Gilda with a glare. "You stay out of trouble, young lady." Gilda nodded with a frown. Spitfire tapped the wall near the door and then walked out. As soon as she left, Gertrude turned toward Gilda with an unhinged frown. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU LITTLE TRAMP?!" Gertrude screeched. Gilda began panicking. "Mom, I was-," Gilda's pleas ended with a punch to the face. "I WORK MY ASS OF FOR YOU," Gertrude shrieked, yanking her daughter by her short hair. "And this is how you repay me?!" Gertrude repeatedly slammed Gilda's forehead into a nearby wall. "By making me look bad?!" Suddenly, Spitfire burst back into the room, a stern glare in her bespectacled eyes. "Ms. Spitfire," Gertrude said, immediately releasing her daughter. "What are you-," Spitfire silently pointed to the wall. To Gertrude's panic, she saw a tiny camera planted there. Spitfire held up her phone, showing a recording of Gertrude's abuse. The tall woman chuckled nervously. "Ms. Spitfire," Gertrude said with a sheepish smile, "my daughter...never listens to me." Spitfire continued to stare at her silently. "She's always acting out. You believe in discipline, right?" "Your right," Spitfire said in a chilly voice. "Bad people need discipline." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm about to give some you some discipline." Gertrude's face went pale with fear, while Gilda felt a happy smile form on her face. "Spitfire kicked her ass and made her cry," Gilda said with a viciously happy smile. "After that, the police took her away, and I never saw her again." "So when did your stepdad adopt you?" "About a week. I stayed with Sis until then." Gilda said. "Of course, being adopted wasn't all sunshine and lollipops." "Why?" "First of all, living in a military family is kind of like juvie," Gilda muttered, "the rules are stringent. And with my background, Sergeant was on my ass all the time." Gilda ignored the alarm clock when it rang, enjoying the comfort of her new bed. She continued to sleep for a few more moments when an obnoxious trumpet drove her awake. Gilda rubbed her eyes and saw Glider staring at her with a displeased look. "All soldiers must be up at 0600 hours!" Glider bellowed. "But Sergeant," Gilda wailed before a trumpet cut her off. "For your act of insubordination, drop and give me 20," The Sergeant commanded. Gilda muttered angrily, only for a trumpet to cut her off again. "For giving me the lip, you get 30." Gilda silently frowned at began doing pushups. "Yeesh," Sunset said with some horror in her voice, "he seems pretty harsh." "Yeah," Gilda said idly, "the Sergeant could be a jerk. But he was hard on me because he wanted me to succeed. But he did....care about me." Gilda sat in her room, playing her Joy Boy. She had nothing to do on her birthday, as expected, but she was content that she could at least have time to veg out. Her peace was interrupted when the Sergeant burst into her room. "Report to the mess hall at 900 hours, maggot," The Sergeant bellowed. "But Sergeant-," "No butts, maggot," the Sergeant said with an odd frown that looked like he farted and was trying to hide it. With a sigh, Gilda got up from her bed. After a few minutes of walking, Gilda reached the mess hall, and what she saw made her nearly fall over with shock. Spitfire, Soarin, and all the guys were in the mess hall. They were standing around a table, looking at her with a happy smile. In the middle of it was a chocolate cake with a small phrase written on the side. "Happy Birthday Gilda!" "Now that the birthday girl is here, we can all cut the cake," Soarin said happily. Soon, they all began singing 'Happy Birthday'. Glider walked in with a happy smile. Overwhelmed by joy, Gilda pulled the military officer into a hug, happy tears falling down her eyes. "Wow," Sunset said with a cheerful smile, "that sounds nice." "Yeah," Gilda said with a wistful tone, "the whole base treated me like I was their kid." A frown formed. "But not everything was perfect in my life, aside from how strict the Sergeant was. Some people didn't...trust me one bit." "Like who?" A disgusted frown formed on her face. "The Sergeant's sister, Phyllis." "Hello, Gilda." The voice felt like a thousand swords stabbing her in the ears. Gilda forced a smile to her face as Phyllis came into the house. The woman's dyed blond hair contrasted sharply with her pink skin. Her brown mink coat that looked like an ugly carcass, covered her entire body. "Hello, Aunt Phyllis," Gilda said with some forced politeness. Gilda struggled not to notice as the woman flinched over "aunt". "How was your day," Phyllis said, "staying out of trouble?" The tone Phyllis used made their conversations sound like an interrogation. "No worries." "Good for you," Phyllis said in a sweetly condescending voice before walking (or fleeing) from the tall girl to talk to the Sergeant in her office. Gilda walked by the office, eager to return to her room when she heard the woman screeching. "That girl is a devil child," the woman wailed, "why do you keep her around? She has no respect for authority or me." Gilda suppressed a sob. The only thing that kept her from breaking down as she walked away was hearing the Sergeant defend her. Sunset shot Gilda a sympathetic look. "Ouch." Gilda let out an annoyed sigh. "Phyllis was one of these nutcases who talks about living according to good Ameliorist values." The military brat let out a frustrated snort. "They groan about how religious they are, and yet they always fall short on the part about tolerance and forgiveness. "Back home, I've met nobles like that," Sunset said. "Really?" "Snobs who talk about Harmony but look down at other ponies," Sunset said with a nasty grin. "Thankfully, she only came around a few times a year," Gilda said, "but one time, about a few months after I was adopted, she came to a barbecue and brought her son." Gilda felt some distaste form on her face. "Cousin Talon. And he was, to put it mildly, a brat." Gilda came up to the boy with an excited look on her face. He had yellow skin, green hair, and a sun-yellow shirt, blue shorts, and red sneakers. "I'm Gilda. What do you-," "Mom told me about you," the boy, Talon, said with a sneer, "about how your a criminal who should be tossed into the streets." Gilda growled at the boy."I haven't been a criminal in a year-," "Criminal, criminal, criminal!" Talon chanted. Gilda was about to raise her fist, only for Talon to wail. "Mommy, the criminal is attacking me!" Talon said. "Man, that kid sounds like a real monster." "To be fair, he was a product of his sweet and lovable mother," Gilda said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyways, that barbecue would be the worst day of my life." Gilda happily took a seat between the Sergeant and Sis. She wanted to dig into her burger, but to her annoyance, she had to listen to a pompous speech by some old general. She felt something brush up against her leg but ignored it, thinking it was some bug. Just as the man finished his speech, the general's wife let out some wail. "My pearls!" the old lady bellowed. "Someone took my pearls!" Everyone started looking around, trying to find the woman's valuable object. "Well, look what we have here," Phyllis said, walking up to Gilda. The Sergeant and Spitfire saw the woman approach them with some distaste. "What are you talking about?" Phyllis bent over to the area near Gilda and picked up a string of pearls. "Those are my pearls!" The general's wife shrieked. Everyone turned to look at Gilda with a glare, who responded confused. Gilda was shoved into her room by an angry Glider a moment later. "But Sergeant, I didn't do it-," Gilda complained sadly. "YOUR GROUNDED!" The man bellowed. "I let you into my home, and you steal from the wife of my commanding officer! I defended you in front of Phyllis, and you rewarded my faith like this. Maybe you should go back into the street." "But-," Gilda's protests died as the door slammed. The white-haired girl fell to the floor, crying her eyes out, tearfully pleading that she didn't do it. Gilda clutched her arm and felt her eyes turn a little wet. Sunset ran over to Gilda and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Gilda, I'm so sorry." That memory so hurt Gilda, she didn't push Sunset away over and complained about not needing pity. "I know," Gilda said with an uncomfortable expression. "It...sucked a lot. Everybody I came to see as a family just...assumed I would go bad again...and didn't bother to hear me out. Even my own adopted dad...saw me as a criminal. It...just hurt." "So, what did you do?" Sunset said in a soft tone. Gilda's lips quivered a bit, but she managed to rein in her emotions with a sigh. Using a bedsheet, Gilda was able to climb down the second floor. As soon as she reached the ground, she ran away from the house, tears running down her eyes. She didn't even bother to look back. Since they thought she was evil, she wasn't going to give them a second thought. "So you ran away?" Sunset asked, herself on the verge of tears. "Yeah," Gilda said, "I figured if they weren't gonna believe me, I wasn't gonna stick around." "So when did you prove you didn't do it." "I didn't," Gilda said. "It turns out Talon was the one who planted the pearls on me." "What?" Sunset said with disgust. "Yeah," Gilda said with some disdain, "he did it because he thought it was funny. But after I ran away, he confessed because he felt guilty about what he did." Gilda felt her lips quiver again. "So...everyone started looking for me. And eventually, Spitfire found me..." Gilda paused, struggling to remember a painful memory. "What?" Sunset asked in a soft voice. "You can't tell anyone about this," Gilda said in a sad, grave voice. "I never even told this to Chips, Rolling Thunder, or Lightning Dust." "I won't," Sunset assured. With a hard swallow, Gilda continued. Gilda reached the summit of Green Hill. It was beautiful, unique, and the perfect place for her to end it all. Gilda hesitated, but then the words of her so-called mother came in, reminding her of how worthless she was. Then she remembered how no one cared for her opinion, how they'd treat her like a criminal without even letting her speak in her defense. Soon she was able to walk closer and closer to the edge. In a few moments, she would be taking her last dive. She remembered Rainbow Dash attacking her, Blossomworth paralyzed, all the people she robbed, to remind her why no one loved her. Suddenly, jumping seemed to be enticing. She put one toe forward and took another deep breath. This was it. One more foot forward, and she wouldn't have to worry about anything, anymore. "GILDA! STOP!" Gilda turned around and saw Spitfire coming toward her. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Gilda bellowed. "Don't jump," Spitfire said in a pleading tone, "please!" "Why shouldn't I?!" Gilda yelled. "You all think I'm a monster!" "I don't," Spitfire said, "we know it wasn't you." Spitfire got closer, only to stop as the white-haired girl inched closer to the edge. "YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!" Gilda accused, angry tears falling down her face. "YOU THOUGHT I WAS STILL A THIEF!" "You're right, I did," Spitfire admitted with some regret. "I made a mistake. But that doesn't mean I think you're a monster!" "YOU HATE ME!" Gilda yelled, her face stained with tears. "NO, I DON'T!" "YES, I DO!" "If I hate you, then why am I looking for you?!" Spitfire threw back. The question gave Gilda pause. "If I hated you, why would I be begging you not to jump?" Gilda saw sad tears flow down Spitfire's face. "Please, Gilda, don't do it." Gilda stood still as a statue, not knowing what to do. "I'm sorry, Gilda," Spitfire said regretfully. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. But just because we make mistakes doesn't mean we don't love you." Gilda ran away from the ledge and into Spitfire's arms with a deep breath. "I love you, Sis," Gilda said, tears flowing down her eyes as Spitfire pulled her into a hug. "I love you too," Spitfire said, tears running down her eyes as she patted Gilda on the head. "And I'm sorry." Sunset felt herself crying. Gilda herself was on the verge of tears too. Sunset put another warm hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid of crying. I won't judge you for it." Gilda composed herself and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Gilda sounded sincere. "It's just...the first time someone I've told someone about this, outside of Spitfire and the Sergeant." "Did he ever make it up to you?" Sunset asked with some concern. "Yeah," Gilda said with a smile. "How?" "I'm sorry, Gilda." Talon looked honestly ashamed. Gilda responded by spitefully turning her head away from the boy. He looked at Glider, hoping for some mercy. "And I'm sorry, Uncle Glider." "You should be," Glider said, coldly furious. Spitfire and Soarin were also thoroughly angry. "And it will be a long time before I ever invite you-," "Don't blame him," Phyllis crooned, coming into the room. "If it weren't for the criminal," Phyllis said with a glare to the white-haired girl, "being a bad influence on him, he wouldn't have-" "GET OUT!" Glider bellowed. Phyllis looked confused. "Glider, how could you-," "You've done nothing but badmouth Gilda, and I've had it!" "But-," "You may be my sister, but that doesn't give you the right to badmouth my daughter," the man said, gesturing to the door. Gilda felt a warm smile form on her face. "Even when she's done nothing wrong, you keep belittling her, when it was YOUR son who was stealing. And this is the last straw! Since you can't accept her, leave and don't come back!" Soarin and Spitfire also gave her glares, warning her to leave as well. With a sigh, Phyllis stormed away, taking Talon by his arm. Glider turned toward Gilda with a regretful sigh. "Gilda," Glider said, his eyes wet. "Could you ever-," Gilda ran to Glider and pulled him into a hug. "You called me your daughter," Gilda said, "I already have." Glider happily returned the hug. "What?" Soarin' said with silly dismay. "No hug for us." "They're having a moment," Spitfire said playfully, "don't ruin it." "So, you're saying that even though your adopted family made a mistake, that didn't mean they didn't care about you," Sunset surmised. "Pretty much," Gilda said. "So you're saying that...while my friends did a stupid thing, I should just forgive them," Sunset said as well with some discomfort in your voice. "I see what you're saying," Sunset said. "My friends aren't perfect, and they did something stupid, but they have forgiven me and have done a lot for me. And if I didn't forgive them, I'd be a hypocrite." "I'm not trying to tell you what to do," Gilda said. "The Sergeant told me this: that if I wanted to call myself a good person, I had to do the hard thing and give you a chance," Gilda said with a stern look. "The dweebs and your boyfriend did the hard thing. Maybe you got to do the hard thing for once. Besides, I think someone who stands up to me to defend you deserves a second chance." Sunset's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Gilda's eyes twinkled. "Oh, you don't know?" "Know what?" "I was going to put itching powder on your shit, and Fashion Queen stood up to me to protect you. Even kicked me in the throat." Gilda looked more amused than insulted. "Really?" Sunset said with a smile. "Yeah," Gilda said. Sunset frowned a bit. "I get what you're saying. But...they were telling me how they saw me as family...and then they told me to scram. Doesn't that mean they never really forgive me?" An odd smirk formed on Gilda's mouth. "How about this? I have a way you can prove that if your friends do care about or not." Sunset noticed the smirk and felt one form on her own face. "What are you planning?" "Depends," Gilda said, her smile becoming more mischievous, "can you get your boyfriend on board?" "Depends on what it is?" Gilda told Sunset her plan, and by the end of it, Sunset was cackling. "All I have to do is get Micro Chips on board, and the plan will be all set," Gilda said with a cheeky smile. "You want to help me out?" Sunset asked the military girl in a soft voice. "Does that mean we're friends?" Gilda let out a frown. "Well, I used to think you were revolting." "And now?" "Well, since you started taking a shower, not so much." Sunset started laughing like crazy. After a day of misery, her spirits felt lifted. "You did help me with my essays, and while your E-mail scam with Chips was messed up...without it, I wouldn't have dated him. So yeah, we're cool." "Thanks," Sunset said. While Sunset was still upset, Gilda's advice and offer of help lifted her spirits. Now she needed to get Twinkle on board.