//------------------------------// // Hardly Worth It // Story: Worth Fighting For: An Anon-a-Miss Story // by Teyeson Bee //------------------------------// Sunset whirled around, looking all over as a multitude of colors and sounds spun around them. It was enough to make Sunset dizzy. Then, as abruptly as it had started, it was done. The world was put back into place, and Sunset felt cool pavement beneath her feet. “Whoa! What was-” Sunset stammered. Clark pointed in front of them, and Sunset turned to see a very familiar building. “It’s Canterlot High!” “Yep,” Clark nodded with a smile. “This is the day after you killed yourself.” Sunset just stood in place, marveling at the fact that technically, she just time traveled. She first thought that her friends would never believe this, before remembering that she didn’t have friends anymore. “Shall we go in?” Clark asked, which snapped Sunset back to the present. Nodding, Sunset led the way up the steps to the front doors. Sunset started to reach for the handles, but then remembered that she couldn’t touch anything. Realizing how weird this would feel, Sunset just continued to walk forward, half-expecting to slam into the doors, but passed through them as if they weren’t there.  “That might take some getting used to,” Sunset said to Clark. “That’s what they all say the first time around,” Clark chuckled as Sunset fixed her gaze on the hallways of her school.  From first glance, it looked like nothing was really different from the day before. If this really was the day after her suicide, it looked like no one knew what had happened yet, or may they just didn’t care. To any outside person, it would seem to be just another normal day at school, but Sunset knew better. As she started down the hall, she caught glimpses of students angrily looking at their phones, mouthing what could only be curses to Anon-a-Miss, or who they thought was Anon-a-Miss. Sunset never really noticed how, lately, Canterlot High had turned into a place of distrust and anger. She had been feeling so sorry for herself that she couldn’t see that her fellow students were suffering as well. Everywhere she turned, Sunset saw long-time friends at each other's throats. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, even Lyra and Bon Bon were being driven apart. All thanks to Anon-a-Miss. The thought made Sunset boil with anger, and then even more when she remembered that all these people still thought it was her who was doing this. “So,” Clark said as he casually looked around at the spreading hatred, “where would your friends be at this time?” Sunset winced at the word friends, but chose to ignore it. She looked at the clock on the wall, which showed 12:32.  “We all normally have lunch during this period,” Sunset answered. “To the cafeteria then?”  Sunset nodded, and led the way to lunch, though she wasn’t sure why. The last faces she wanted to see were her so-called friends. Soon, much sooner than she wanted, they arrived at the bustling cafeteria. It didn’t take long for Sunset to spot Fluttershy sitting at a table to the far edge of the room. Groaning slightly, Sunset trudged over to the table. As they got closer, Sunset saw that Fluttershy wasn’t eating, but just poking her food around, her cheek resting on her hand, as she sighed miserably. Sunset would’ve felt bad for her under normal circumstances. She didn’t have long to dwell on this lack of sympathy as she looked up in time to see an equally-miserable Rainbow Dash coming up to the table and taking the seat next to Fluttershy. “Hey, Flutters,” Rainbow greeted softly. Fluttershy stopped playing with her food and smiled joylessly at her friend. “You see the latest in gossip?” “Unfortunately,” Fluttershy responded, glancing at her phone. Sunset took the opportunity to move behind Fluttershy and stare down at the phone. Sure enough, MyStable was open with a post from Anon-a-Miss reading, Make sure to ask Fluttershy about her extensions. What a loser! “You get teased much for it?” Rainbow asked sympathetically. “Just a few people mentioned it,” Fluttershy said. “Then again, it only came out 10 minutes ago. Still plenty of time.” Rainbow sighed and looked sorrowfully at her tray. “What’s happening to this place? Ever since this Anon-a-Miss mess started, everyone’s been on edge. It’s like it was back when Sunset was still ev-” Suddenly looking nervous, Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy, who showed no signs of anger at the mention of Sunset, but instead looked even more glum. An awkward silence fell between the two before Fluttershy spoke up, and she sounded hesitant. “Rainbow, do you really think that Sunset’s Anon-a-Miss?” Sunset’s eyes widened with anticipation as she looked for Rainbow’s reply. She was almost expecting her to snap at Fluttershy, saying “Of course it’s her! No mistaking it!” To her surprise however, Rainbow just sighed and fiddled with her food. “I...don’t know,” she finally said solemnly. “I don’t want to believe it’s her, but if it’s not her, then who could it be?” This answer was not one that Sunset wanted to hear. In fact, Rainbow’s words seemed to reignite the anger within. Rainbow seemed pretty sure of Sunset’s guilt when she was calling her a traitor. If she really wasn’t sure of Sunset’s guilt, then why didn’t she give her the benefit of the doubt like a real friend would’ve done? Because she didn’t see Sunset as a real friend, and maybe she never had. “I know what you mean,” Fluttershy nodded. “I just...have this nagging feeling that we may have been too hard on her.” “Hard?!” said a familiar voice. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Sunset turned around in time to see Applejack, followed closely by Rarity and Pinkie, make their way up to the table and sit down. Applejack had an almost affronted look on her face. “You defendin’ that no-good snake, Fluttershy?” There was the kick in the heart Sunset was waiting for. Leave it to Applejack to ignore the honest truth when she was the victim. Rarity and Pinkie didn’t say anything, but eyed Fluttershy, who straightened up almost immediately. “N-no,” Fluttershy squeaked. “T-there’s no denying that what she did was wrong-” “Darn tootin’!” Applejack interjected. “But,” Fluttershy continued, “don’t any of you think that there’s a possibility that we may have overreacted?” When Applejack’s eyes narrowed menacingly, Fluttershy quivered, but carried on. “I-I-I’m just saying t-that Sunset was our friend, and we didn’t even g-give her a chance to explain why she-” “What’s there to explain?” Applejack snapped, making Fluttershy cower a bit. “She had us fooled this whole time!” “Now wait a minute,” Rarity chimed in. “Was she fooling us when she helped us stop the Dazzlings? Were all those outings and sleepovers just part of her scheme?” “She’s a really good actress,” Applejack retorted stubbornly. Rarity shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think maybe Fluttershy has a point. There must’ve been a reason she went back to her bullying ways.” Another silence surrounded the table as the girls looked at each other thoughtfully. Each one was most likely thinking the same thing. Sunset glanced from one girl to another and gave an irritated huff.  “How about that,” Clark said from behind Sunset, who had completely forgotten he was there. “How about what?” she asked. “For friends who you claim don’t want anything to do with you, they seem to be talking about nothing but you.” Sunset scoffed and turned to Clark. “Just to say how guilty I am! They haven’t changed their minds at all!” “And yet there are some doubts about your guilt now,” Clark responded, pointing to the six, still silent, but no doubt deep in thought. Sunset, however, was not swayed. “If they had doubts this whole time,” she muttered scornfully, “then they should’ve realized that from the beginning.” Clark didn’t say anything, but turned his attention back to the Rainbooms, so Sunset did the same.  After a few more minutes of silence, Pinkie, who was being uncharacteristically quiet, spoke up. “Has anyone seen Sunset today?” “Not a lick,” Applejack grumbled. “We share a math class, and she wasn’t there.” Then she added under her breath, “Probably doing her snooping in peace.” “Well,” Pinkie continued, “maybe when she sees just how much pain she’s causing, she’ll come to her senses and stop.” The others looked curiously at their pink friend. “You think she’ll just stop like that?” Rainbow asked. “Who knows?” Pinkie shrugged. “Maybe all the good memories she had with us will make her realize how good she had it.” Another moment of silence passed around the table before Rarity chimed in. “I suppose we can only hope at this point.” Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. All eyes then turned back to Applejack, who was still looking defiant. After looking at everyone’s pleading eyes, she sighed in defeat. “Fine,” she said bitterly, “but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” After that, the Rainbooms finally started on their lunches in silence. “I think that’s enough for this day,” Clark said. Before Sunset could ask what was going to happen next, Clark clapped his hands, and once again, the world was spinning before Sunset, who tried to stand firmly in place with the hopes of not getting as dizzy this time. Then, just like that, it was over. As the world reassembled, Sunset shook her head and looked around. Surprisingly enough though, they were still in the cafeteria. Sunset looked to Clark for clarification, and he smiled softly. “It’s now been three days since your suicide.” Sunset looked around. It certainly looked like not a lot of time had passed. Everyone was still just as glued to their phones and bitter-sounding as before. Looking at the table, Sunset saw, once again, the Rainbooms were seated around it. She would’ve almost thought that it was the same day, except for the fact that they were not in the same seats as before. Like the rest of the school, they too were glued to their phones, and looked just as miserable. “Still no signs of her?” Rainbow asked, looking up at the others, who all shook their heads. Rainbow let out a long sigh. “I don’t get it,” Rarity said, placing her cheek in her hand. “How is she able to keep posting secrets every day if she isn’t even here to get them?” “Mah guess is she has inside help,” Applejack replied grumpily. “For all we know, she has spies all around the school sending her secrets.” She then looked around the cafeteria with a scowl, as if sniffing out any traitors. “It could literally be any one of-” “Don’t say that!” Fluttershy snapped. Everyone, including Sunset, jumped at the sudden outburst. Fluttershy’s eyes were wide, and though her tone sounded angry, she looked like she was about to cry. “We can’t start turning against each other! If we start suspecting everyone we see, then who can we trust? We have to stick together, like with the Battle of the Bands!” At once, Fluttershy went silent, her eyes starting to glisten with tears, and she hung her head. Everyone else went silent as well, for they were all thinking the same thing. It was Sunset who encouraged them to stick together during the Battle of the Bands when they were at each other's throats. It was because of her words that helped them find the power to defeat the Dazzlings. It almost seemed like history was repeating itself. Sunset watched the girls with belated breath. Dare she think that they were rethinking their suspicions? Were they realizing that Sunset couldn’t be Anon-a-Miss? Before Sunset could raise her hopes, Applejack broke the silence. “Yer right, Fluttershy. We have to stick together and not dwell on Sunset’s betrayal.” All of the hopes that Sunset was feeling were destroyed in that one sentence. She should have known it was too good to be true. She glared at the others, waiting for them to agree with Applejack, but while Rainbow smiled slightly, the others still looked unsure. Pinkie suddenly cleared her throat, and all eyes turned to her. “I…um…” she stammered. It looked like she wanted to say something big, but wasn’t sure how the others would take it. “I know you guys don’t want to hear me say this, but I can’t hide it any longer.”After a few more seconds, she took a deep breath and said very quickly, “I miss having Sunset around.” The others gaped at their pink friend, as if she had lost her mind. Even Sunset’s mouth had dropped slightly. Looking at her friends’ reactions, she continued. “I mean, I know she posted our secrets, and we told her we don’t want to see her again, but I miss having her as a friend. You can’t deny that it was great to have her with us.” “Aw, come on, Pinkie!” Applejack said sternly. “She’s a lyin’ snake who-” “I miss her too.” Rarity added. All eyes now turned to her. Applejack’s mouth stood agape mid-sentence, but Rarity stood her ground. “The times we all shared after the Battle of the Bands were the best memories I’ve had in a long time. She was a good friend, and it just makes me sad to be avoiding her, even if she did go back to her old ways.” Fluttershy and Rainbow looked at each other, and their eyes said everything. They felt the same way. Applejack, on the other hand, pounded a fist on the table, drawing the other’s attention. “Ya’ll are crazy!” she spat. “Ah don’ care what fond memories we had! Ah trusted- ah mean, we trusted her, and she threw it back in our faces! Ah don’ care if ah never see her again!” She then crossed her arms and looked away from the table, her face set. Sunset had the sudden urge to slap the cowgirl until she could see how stupid she was being, but then she remembered that she couldn’t touch anyone. Fluttershy suddenly straightened up and glared at Applejack, who didn’t look back. “Well the rest of us do care! And you can lie to yourself all you want, but I know the truth! You miss her just as much as we do!” Applejack’s head whipped back around as she scowled at Fluttershy. “What?! That’s ridiculous! Ah don’-” “You don’t miss how she helped your family with the harvest when Big Mac broke his leg?” Fluttershy asked with a raised eyebrow. “How, because of your teamwork, you two were able to beat the rest of us at that Corn Maze Race? Or how she gave you the money to repair your broken bass?” Applejack’s eyes suddenly started to soften as she started to think back on those fond memories. “Well,” she said hesitantly. “Ah mean-” “Remember the time at Sugarcube Corner,” Pinkie chimed in, “and she made Rarity laugh so hard that milkshake shot out of her nose?” This memory made everyone, even Applejack, start to chuckle reminiscently. “And then she helped me pick out a new outfit,” Rarity added with a small smile. “How about all of those days spent down at the lake?” Rainbow said with a chuckle. The atmosphere at the table had suddenly changed as the Rainbooms sat with smiles on their faces, silently remembering all of the good times spent with Sunset. Sunset, who hadn’t taken their eyes off them, couldn’t help but feel frustrated, despite the situation. How could they casually remember all the good that she did, and still think that she was Anon-a-Miss? It just didn’t make sense to her, and because of that, she still felt a lingering anger towards the five girls she once called friends. After a while, the Rainbooms looked at each other again, and, slowly, each of their smiles faded as realization kicked in. “We can’t just do nothing anymore!” Rainbow said suddenly. “We have to do something!” “Well,” Rarity said thoughtfully, “we could have an intervention with Sunset.” “You wanna give her a shot?” Pinkie asked confusedly. “Not injection, Pinkie,” Rarity sighed. “Intervention! We go to Sunset’s house, and talk to her about why she should stop this Anon-a-Miss business and say how much we miss her friendship.” “That’s not a bad idea,” Fluttershy nodded approvingly. “We could personally remind her of the good times we had together. Maybe seeing us will remind her how much better it was before and we could shut down Anon-a-Miss once and for all!” Around the table, each of the girls sounded their approval. All except Applejack, who, despite having a softer expression, still looked unsure. But as she looked at her friends’ hopeful faces, she sighed and smiled. “Ok, Ah’m in,” she said. “When should we do it?” “I say let’s give Sunset one more day to come to her senses on her own,” Rarity answered. “Then, if by after school tomorrow the rumors still haven’t stopped, then we go at dusk.” “Agreed,” the others said together with a nod. As the Rainbooms sat down and finally started on their lunches, Sunset continued to stare at them, unsure about how to feel. She only snapped out of her thoughts when Clark spoke up beside her. “Now do you see, Sunset?” Sunset sharply turned to him with a scowl. “See what? That they still think I’m Anon-a-Miss?” “Oh come now, Sunset!” Clark said imploringly. “They said how much they miss you. They showed that they want you back in their lives. They are willing to go so far as to try and persuade you to stop with the cyberbullying and be their friend again.” “BUT I’M NOT-” “Let’s just pretend for a moment that you were Anon-a-Miss,” Clark quickly remarked, raising his hands slightly to calm a fuming Sunset. “Wouldn’t you feel touched knowing that the Rainbooms were missing your company, and wanting to get you back on their side?” Sunset paused and relaxed her anger for a moment. Her mind didn’t automatically go to an alternate life where she was Anon-a-Miss, but she did suddenly remember how she was before the Fall Formal incident. No matter how she wrapped her mind around it, she couldn’t hide the lingering fact that “Sunset the Bully” would’ve been happy knowing that five people whom she had done wrong wanted her to be their friend. “You had said before that everyone would be better if you ended your life,” Clark continued, “but from what I’ve seen, what we’ve seen, that just isn’t the case.” He then gestured to the Rainbooms, now eating in silence. “You’ve made more of an impact on your friends than even you care to admit. The greatest of friendships can overcome almost anything, even if it doesn’t look like it at the time. And it looks like your bond with these five is stronger than you think.” A feeling of doubt washed over Sunset like hot water. Could it really be true? Could she have been wrong about the girls’ feelings towards her? Just as she thought this though, the memory of how they talked to her, how they treated her when they first accused her filled her mind. “How could you do that to us?!” “Never talk to us again, snake!” Immediately, the warm feelings iced over, and Sunset stiffened her expression again. “If they really do feel this way,” she muttered, “then why didn’t they believe me from the start? Even after I begged them to believe me.” “Like I said before,” Clark answered, “they were hurting and were thinking with their emotions. I’m not condoning how they acted, but even the best of humans had let their feelings control their actions. Remember what I said before?” Sunset’s head cocked slightly in Clark’s direction as he spoke. “Extreme emotions lead to extreme reactions. It happens to everyone at some point. Why do you think Anon-a-Miss is doing what they’re-” Sunset nearly cracked her neck as her head whipped around to look at Clark, who had instantly shut his mouth and was looking more worried than he had since Sunset had met him. “What did you say?” she asked with widened eyes. At once, Clark started to look everywhere except at Sunset. “I-I-I didn’t say anything!” he stuttered. “Forget it.” Sunset wasn’t buying it as she got right up in his face, hers lit with the need to know. “Are you saying you know who Anon-a-Miss is?” “D-did I say that?” Clark said nervously, “I don’t think I-” Clark was instantly pulled forward by the scruff of his collar by Sunset, who was inches from him. “Clark, who is it?” she asked. “I-I’m not supposed to tell you!” Clark replied. “Clark, please!” Sunset begged as she pulled Clark closer. “I need to know! I need to know who’s been framing me! Please!” “You’re not gonna like it, Sunset.” “Who is it, Clark?” Clark stared at the desperate look in Sunset’s eyes for a few seconds, and then groaned miserably, “Oh I’m gonna get in so much trouble.” Then, without another word, he clapped his hands, and the school disappeared. Sunset was ready this time as she mounted her feet firmly on the ground, or what used to be the ground, and didn’t move until the world reassembled itself. Once she knew it was safe, she looked around. Clark had moved them to a house, and it was a house Sunset knew rather well. “This is…” Sunset mouthed as she let go of Clark, “this is Applejack’s house.” From the look of it, they were in the upstairs hallway of the Apples’ house. She looked back at Clark. “Why are we here?” Clark, looking gloomy, pointed towards a door to the right. Sunset knew this one too. It was Apple Bloom’s room, and voices could be heard from inside. A horrible realization hit Sunset like a bag of marbles to the stomach. Fearing what she might see, and praying that she was wrong, she walked through the door. When she appeared on the other side and looked towards the far end of the room, Sunset felt her insides turn to lead. There was Apple Bloom, along with her friend Sweetie Belle, typing away on the computer, and the screen was showing the MyStable homepage of Anon-a-Miss. Shaking from both disbelief and anger, Sunset got closer, and saw the profile picture of Sunset’s silhouette, as if they wanted to make sure it looked like her account. Looking closer at the page, Sunset saw a photo of Micro Chips, clearly not noticing the camera, in an empty storage room, sword fighting nobody using a broom handle. In the caption box below, Apple Bloom was typing, Hey look, everyone! It’s the Return of the Dork!  “Good tagline, AB!” Sweetie giggled. “Thanks,” Apple Bloom beamed proudly. “Ah just came up with it.” Sunset couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She knew that Apple Bloom didn’t trust her after the Fall Formal, but she had thought that after the Battle of the Bands, Apple Bloom had warmed up to her. And yet here she was; posting secrets online and making it look like it was her. And Sweetie Belle was happily helping. Sunset was about to wonder if Scootaloo knew about this, but her wonders were immediately put to rest as the door opened, making all three of the girls whip around.  “Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom gasped, her eyes looking worried for a second. “How many times do we have to tell you to use the secret knock?” “Sorry,” Scootaloo said sheepishly. “I was in a hurry.” “Does that mean you got some new stuff for us?” Sweetie asked. “And how!” Scootaloo replied as she put down her backpack and pulled out her phone. “I got a photo of Sandalwood kissing Sweetie Drops-” “Isn’t she supposed to be dating Lyra?” Sweetie interrupted, suddenly looking scandalized. “Yep,” Scootaloo continued, “and I got from an anonymous tip that Diamond Tiara is a bra-stuffer!” “Oooh!” Apple Bloom piped in, obviously reveling in the gossip. “I’ve been looking to stick it to that stuck-up bimbo for some time now!” Shen then turned back around and clicked the post button, making Micro Chip’s secret go public.  As Sunset looked between the three girls, she just couldn’t understand why they were enjoying this so much. Not only hurting herself, but hurting innocent students in the process, including, Sunset’s insides leadened again, their own sisters! What had Sunset done to them that caused them to hurt their family just to get at her? After a few minutes, Sweetie Belle spoke up, and her voice wasn’t as happy as before. “Hey, do you guys think we’ve taken this far enough?” The other two, who were busy with the computer, wheeled around to look waringly at their friend. Sweetie, who went red, carried on. “I mean, we did what we wanted to do. Our sisters aren’t hanging out with Sunset anymore. Shouldn’t we stop before getting too deep?” “It may seem like we won fer now,” Apple Bloom said as she straightened in her chair, “but what about down the road? What if our sisters try to get Sunset back, and then we’re back where we started. Ah happened to hear AJ talkin’ with the others today reminiscin’ about that sister-stealin’ she-demon!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s eyes widened and their mouths opened in shock. Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah know! Which is why we need to make it so that Sunset is so far into the hole, that our sisters won’ even want her back!” “AB’s right, Sweetie!” Scootaloo chimed in. “Sunset started this, and we’re just ending it. It’s what she deserves.” When Sweetie Belle still looked unsure, Scootaloo continued, “C’mon, Sweetie! You hated Rarity hanging out with Sunset just as much as us with Applejack and Rainbow! What’s with the sudden cold feet?” Sweetie Belle looked down at her feet when she spoke up again, sounding hesitant. “Well, I just feel kinda bad that we’re practically betraying the whole school. It’s bad enough that I did that to my own sister. And if they find out-” “They’re not gonna find out!” Apple Bloom interrupted. “We’ve taken every measure to make sure all suspicions lead to Sunset.” Another patch of silence filled the room as Sweetie just nodded and didn’t look up from her feet. All the while, Sunset followed the conversation with a rising anger at the three girls before her. They were doing all of this because she, Sunset, was hanging out with their sisters too much? How long had they been planning this? And more importantly, did they even consider how much they would be hurting not just her, but the others as well? It was because of them that the entire school had turned against her. It was because of them that she had almost jumped off a bridge! At that moment, Sunset hated the CMC more than the Rainbooms. Then again, came a thought in the back of Sunset’s mind, isn’t this what she would’ve done when she was still a bully? Didn’t she try to blackmail Flash after he had dumped her? No, Sunset thought, this is completely different! Wasn’t it? Looking back at the scene, Sunset saw that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s expressions had softened slightly at the sight of Sweetie Belle’s continued concern. Apple Bloom sighed, walked over to Sweetie, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sweetie looked up at the touch. “Ah get it,” she said sympathetically. “Ah don’ like doing this to AJ either. So how about this; we keep this up for one more week. That should be enough time to get our sisters back permanently. Then, we’ll delete the Anon-a-Miss page and everything associated with it. It’ll be like it never happened.” Sweetie Belle seemed to cheer up a bit at these words. “You mean it?” she asked. “Absolutely,” Apple Bloom replied with a smile. The two turned to Scootaloo, who nodded. “Agreed,” she said. The three then put their hands together in the middle and raised them (a typical CMC gesture), and turned back to the computer screen. Sunset blinked stupidly and then turned to Clark, who was still looking rather guilty. She opened her mouth, but no words came to her (or at least, no words that were appropriate in front of an angel), so she closed it. Clark seemed to get the gist though and nodded. This helped Sunset find her voice. “Jealousy?” was all she could say. “That’s where this cyberbullying is stemming from?” “I’m afraid so,” Clark sighed. “Like I said,” he gestured towards the CMC, “extreme emotion, extreme reaction.” Sunset couldn’t help but start to feel that Clark had a point. For as long as she had known Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, she never saw a desire to humiliate others in any of them. Apple Bloom, helpful and sweet, Sweetie Belle, caring and empathetic, and Scootaloo, loyal and always ready to defend someone in need. They seemed so genuine after the Battle of the Bands, wanting to be better friends to her. The only way Sunset could see them doing something so drastic was a powerful motivator. And the more she thought about it, the more Sunset could see a parallel with how the Rainbooms had acted. She could’ve never have seen them going against their elements so hastily if not for… “Let’s move on, shall we?” Clark said abruptly. “Hang on.” Sunset had only a second to brace herself as Clark clapped his hands again, and the scene sped away in a blur of color. In a few seconds, they stopped once again.