//------------------------------//
// Ch 6 - Denial 
// Story: Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fanfic 
// by hattafan2593 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy and Sunset walked down the street in silence. Sunset had started getting up early and was usually gone before anyone in the Shy household had woken up. Fluttershy normally took the bus, but today she decided to join Sunset on the way to school. Sunset made no protest and simply started walking, Fluttershy following close behind.

She knew Sunset was purposefully avoiding them. She couldn’t blame her after the way they had treated her. Her own hateful words echoed in her mind as she remembered how she had screamed at Sunset, telling her she wasn’t their friend.

I’m so sorry, Sunset, she thought miserably. You are my friend. I wish I knew how to make you believe that.


As they continued on, the silence was beginning to become unbearable, so Fluttershy decided to try to break the ice. Key word being “try”.

“So…um….did you, uh……look on Mystable last night?”

“Nope.” Sunset said, not looking at her. Sunset had deleted her Mystable profile over a month ago, and if she had had it her way, she’d have nothing to do with that thrice damned website ever again. She’d give up the Internet completely if she didn’t need it for research for class assignments.

“Oh.” Fluttershy cringed at Sunset’s bluntness, but continued, “Well, there was this really cute picture of a litter of kitties. They were in a basket, and they had sequined bowties on them.”

“Sounds cool.” Sunset said lightly.

More awkward silence. Fluttershy tried one more time.

“So….were you able to do the math assignment?”

“Yep” Sunset said. She turned and smirked. “Why? Wanna see it?”

Blushing, Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no no. No thank you.”

Smiling shyly, she continued, “Of course, I don’t really know why I asked. You’re smart, Sunset. You certainly did far better than I did.”

Sunset stopped and turned, her brows furrowed. “You’re having trouble with the homework?”

Realizing what she had just said, Fluttershy’s blush deepened. She waved her hands in quick denial. “No! No no no no no. Nothing like that. It’s just…I mean…I don’t…”

Sunset crossed her arms and gave a pointed look.

“Well….I did have a little trouble on the last two problems…” Fluttershy admitted, rubbing her arm.

Sunset gestured for her to let her see, so she opened her backpack and produced her homework.

They sat down on a nearby bench as Sunset looked over the paper with pursed lips.

“Ok. I see what happened.” Sunset said, nodding in understanding. She showed the paper to Fluttershy and pointed to the error on the bottom of the page.

“See, you were supposed to use a cosine, not sine. You also forgot to subtract on both sides, see?”

As Fluttershy listened to Sunset’s explanations, she couldn’t help but smile. Sunset was speaking to her informally, helping her with her homework, and even joked with her at one point. After nearly two months of awkward tension, she was finally having a comfortable moment with her friend. It was as if nothing had happened.

“Yo! What’s up?”

Sunset didn’t look up as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie approached the two. Apparently they had had the same idea as Fluttershy.

“Just helping Fluttershy with her homework.” Sunset said. She handed the paper to Fluttershy. “Does that help?”

“Mm-hm.” Fluttershy nodded, her gentle smile still in place.

Sunset stood up and brushed some of the snow from her skirt. “Well, let’s trek onward, shall we?”

As they walked towards the now visible school building, her five friends shared an optimistic look. Maybe there was hope after all.











Sunset opened her locker and began pulling books out, thinking on her earlier interaction with Fluttershy.

Maybe this isn’t so bad, she thought. Maybe I’m not good enough to be their friend, but…I can still be useful. I can help them with assignments and, when they start practicing again, I can still be their band member.


Yeah. I think this is gonna work out.




…..You don’t seriously believe that, do you?


Sunset groaned. She’d heard this voice shortly before her confrontation with Trixie two days ago, and ever since it had just kept getting louder and louder.

Do you ever shut up?


I’ll shut up when you quit deluding yourself! Quit acting like everything’s all hunky-dory! Just admit you’re still mad about Anon-A-Miss so you can move on and quit all this friendship martyr crap!

I am NOT being a martyr. I’ve just learned my place, that’s all. And I am NOT mad about Anon-A-Miss! I’ve moved on and I’ve forgiven my friends!

Then why do you keep making excuses to avoid them?

………

Why do you only speak to them when they ask you a question? Why do you only use the phone they gave you – which they paid for out of their own pockets to replace the one you broke – when they call you? And why won’t you wear that outfit Rarity made you? The one she probably busted her ass making for you? You’ve got like, what, four outfits? Three of them are old prom dresses, and the one you’re wearing is ratty as shit. You can’t really afford to be picky.

…I ….I don’t wanna be a burden….

Bullshit. You’re just scared. That’s why you don’t wanna talk about it. You’re scared they’ll reject you again if you show even the slightest bit of anger. You’re scared that you’ll turn into a raging she-demon again.

Ok, that’s just crazy!

Says the girl who’s arguing with a voice in her head.

…..Touché.

“Sunset?”

Sunset let out an uncharacteristic “eep!” as she was startled out of her thoughts. She turned to Vice Principal Luna, an amused and apologetic smile on her face.

“Am I…interrupting anything?” she asked.

“No just….thinking…” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her head. “Does Principal Celestia need to see me?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Luna said, gesturing with her arm. “After you.”

Sunset sighed inwardly. What did she want now?







“So Sunset, how are things?” Celestia said warmly from behind her desk.

“Good, I guess.” Sunset said.

“I’ve been speaking with your teachers. Your grades are phenomenal.”

“Thanks.” She said, then added, “Ma’am.”

“And how are your friends? Miss Pie, Miss Dash, Miss Shy-“

“They’re all fine.” Sunset said more curtly than she intended. She really wished Celestia would just get to the point so she could leave. Luna, who was sitting in the chair near the wall adjacent to Sunset, gave her sister a pointed look.

Celestia sighed, and then leaned forward. “Sunset….I know that these last few months have been very hard on you. And I want you to know how proud I am at how far you’ve come. You’ve turned yourself around, and made five wonderful new friends.”

She reached for Sunset’s hand and held it. “I want you to know that if you ever need help…if you ever need someone to talk to….I’m willing to listen.”

Sunset just sat there for a full minute. Then she pulled her hand away and asked, “Is that all?”

Stunned, Celestia withdrew her own hand.

“Because if it is, I really need to be going. Bye.” Sunset was already at the door and turning the knob.

“Sunset, I mean it.” Celestia said, standing up. “If there’s something bothering you, I will be there to help. Me and Luna.”

Sunset’s hand dropped to her side. The room seemed to get colder, and the sisters shared a concerned look when she let out a bitter chuckle.

“ ‘Perhaps Miss Shimmer is trying to make someone else out to be a bad element so that we will forget her own past misdeeds.’” Sunset quoted coldly. The two women paled.

Sunset turned and gave a bitter smirk. “The Dazzlings. I tried to warn you about them. And you blew me off.”

“In our defense, we were under their spell at the time.” Luna said defensively. “We were not in control of our actions.”

Sunset chuckled again. “You know, in any other circumstances, I might have believed that.” Her grin slid right off as she glared at them. “But you forget; I grew up in a world where magic is commonplace. I spent years studying magic before I came here. One of the things I learned was about mind control and mental suggestion.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “The spell the Dazzlings used merely ensured your loyalty to them and that you would carry out their orders. How you did that was all you.”

Luna reeled back as if struck. Celestia struggled to say something that would defuse the situation, and failed.

“That’s why you didn’t put a stop to Anon-A-Miss, isn’t it? You thought I was the culprit and deserved whatever flak I got.”

“What?” Luna cried, gazing at Sunset as if she had grown a second head.

“No!” Celestia yelled, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Sunset, we never….I thought…I didn’t-”

“Didn’t know? Is that what you were going to say?” Sunset asked, her voice becoming thick with emotion. “You didn’t know that my friends were being teased and harassed? You didn’t know that there were students who were so embarrassed by what was posted that they refused to come to school? You didn’t know that there were full blown arguments breaking out in the cafeteria and the hallways? You didn’t know that I had been cornered by nearly every student in the school and screamed at until I ran out in tears?!

“You had to have noticed something was off! You could’ve had the website blocked from the school computers! You could’ve had the IT department do an investigation to trace the profile back to its source! You could’ve called the police and gotten them involved! Or hell, you could’ve suspended the use of the school computers and banned the use of cell phones altogether! Something!

“But no! You did nothing! And because of that the students of Canterlot High, the students you’re supposed to protect, had to suffer humiliation and torment at each other’s hands! For crying out loud, what kind of princess ARE you?!”

Sunset didn’t realize she had gotten in Celestia’s shocked face until it was inches away from hers. The room rang in eerie silence as it began to sink in what she had just said.

“Principal. What kind of principal….are you….” Sunset ran a hand through her hair as she processed how out of control this had gotten. “I….I gotta go.”

As Sunset whirled towards the door, Celestia managed to recover from her stupor and reached out a hand towards the distraught girl. “Sunset-”

“Please.” Sunset begged, her eyes brimming with sadness. “Save your false pity and empty promises. I’ve heard enough to last a lifetime.”

As the door clicked closed, the principal of Canterlot High gripped her hair in her fists, wondering, not for the first time, how things had gone so wrong. Luna just stood there, looking from the door to her sister, unable to think of anything to say.





Ok. Calm down. You just screamed in Principal Celestia’s face and accused her of negligence. And got her mixed up with your old mentor. No big deal. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.

As Sunset tried to walk nonchalantly to class, she realized that she had forgotten to ask for a note to excuse her tardiness. Frustrated, she punched the nearest locker as hard as she could.

Suddenly, she felt someone tapping her shoulder. She spun to tell them off, only to find herself face to face with one of the last people she had expected.

“I come in peace!” Flash Sentry said, waving his hands in surrender.

Sunset blinked. Her ex was talking to her. Her ex. After a year of avoiding her.

“Um…if this is a bad time, I can come back later.” Flash said, nodding towards the slight dent in the locker.

“…..Why aren’t you in class?” Sunset asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Flash smirked, then shrugged sheepishly. “Buuuut…to answer your question…I got here late.”

“You’re never late.” Sunset pointed out.

“First time for everything.” Flash replied.

Both stood in awkward silence for a moment. Then Sunset sighed, and asked, “What do you want, Flash?”

Flash rubbed his arm and said, “Okay. I know this is weird coming from me, but…are you doing anything after school today?”

Sunset blinked, then pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a loooooong day……