//------------------------------// // Ch 9 - Breakdown (rewritten) // Story: Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fanfic // by hattafan2593 //------------------------------// Sunset ran. Ran faster than she had ever run in her life. But she couldn't out run the voices. "You secret stealer!" "You're not our friend!" "How could you do this? After all we’ve been through together?" Ignore it. Block it out. Just keep going. "I’m sorry, but you did this to us. Tell whatever secrets you want. But we don’t have to listen." NO! Don't think! Push it back! But the harder she tried to deny the voices, the louder they spoke. And soon other voices joined in. "Now there's the bad girl we all love to hate!" "The real Sunset is back!" "I knew she hadn't changed!" Shut up. "I was just trying to help." "Yeah well, you didn't!" Shut. UP! "You will never rule in Equestria. Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart." "SHUT UP!" Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were all walking down the street, idly discussing when they would start the next Rainbooms' rehearsal. When suddenly - "SHUT UP!" A red and yellow blur sped right past them, and it took them all a moment to realize what just happened. "...Was that Sunset?" Rarity asked alarmed. "She looks really upset." Fluttershy said, concerned. "Guys." Four heads turned to Rainbow Dash, who was wiping a speck of red off her cheek with wide eyes. "She's bleeding." Without any prompting, the five friends took off after their distressed and injured friend. "Sunset!" "Sunset, stop!" "Darling, PLEASE slow down!" A few feet behind them, a small dog curled around his companion's legs, letting out a sad whimper. The girl picked the dog up, an equally concerned look on her face, and then took of after the group. Locking the door to Fluttershy's bathroom, Sunset went over to the sink and began splashing water on her face. The voices continued. "...not our friend!" "...bad element..." "...love to hate!" Please. Please be quiet. "...secret stealer!" "Freak!" "Evil!" "Demon!" "Demon!" "DEMON!" "...please stop." Sunset begged, raising her hands to her ears. A ring of maniacal laughter stopped her. Scared, Sunset slowly raised her head to look in the mirror. A demonic version of herself, the same one from the night of the Fall Formal, stared back at her, a maniacal grin on it's twisted face. Sunset's irises turned to pinpricks as she let out a whimper. "Shoot! That girl can sure run fast!" Applejack huffed as she and the others struggled to catch their breath. They were all standing in front of Fluttershy's house, after chasing Sunset all the way here. Suddenly, they heard the most awful, despair-ridden scream, and the sound of shattering glass. "That came from my room!" Fluttershy said, horrified. The girls immediately got their second wind and charged into the house and up the stairs. As they opened the door to Fluttershy's room they saw that Sunset wasn't in it, but they did see that the bathroom door was closed. Loud, heartbroken sobs resonated from within. "Sunset?" Applejack tried the doorknob, and then cursing her stupidity - of course it was locked - she knocked sharply on the door. "Sugarcube, it's me. Can ya open the door, please?" "Go away!" "Sunset, we insist you let us in." Rarity said, coming to stand next to Applejack. "We heard a scream moments ago and, needless to say, we're very concerned about you." "LIAR!" The girls flinched at the accusation. "You don't care about me! I'm just a charity case to you!" "That's not true!" Fluttershy cried, struggling to hold back tears. "We're your friends, Sunset!" "You're not my friends!" Sunset wailed. "If you were, then at least one of you would've believed me!" Fluttershy took a step back, wounded. Steeling herself, Rainbow stepped forward and shouted, "Sunset, either open this door or we're breaking it down!" No answer, save for the sound of weeping. "Right." With a good, firm kick, the door gave way to Rainbow's foot, and she marched inside, the others following. What they saw made them want to vomit. The bathroom mirror was completely shattered, a few pieces missing from the frame. In the center were three significant bloodstains, one large one in the middle, and two smaller ones on each side. There were drops of blood and mirror shards on the floor, and slowly, reluctantly, they followed the trail to its source. Sunset Shimmer was huddled in the corner, crying like a small child. Her bloodied hands covered her face, and from what they could see there were pieces of glass sticking out from her fingers and knuckles. Rainbow eventually found her voice. "Sunset...are you outta your mind?!" Slowly, Sunset's crying morphed into laughter, and she lowered her hands. Her forehead was completely red, blood dripping down her face and intermingling with her tears. But what disturbed the the most was the look on her face. Sunset's eyes were wide and her pupils were shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and she was smiling. A small, sad, crazed smile. "Heheheheheh. That's right! I'm outta my mind! Sunset Satan strikes again! Better watch out or I'll enslave you all!" More tears began to streak down Sunset's face as she continued to laugh. The girls had never seen anything more disturbing or heartbreaking in their lives. "Sunset, you're hurt." Fluttershy said, stepping forward timidly. "You need help-" "And you're gonna help me, right? How? By firing your rainbow beam of friendship at me?" Sunset snarked, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Sorry. Been there. Done that. Wound up in a crater! Which really hurt like hell by the way, not that any of you give a damn!" "Sugarcube-" "Don't you 'sugarcube' me!" Sunset snarled, her face twisting in anguish. She began to sob once more. "I tried, you know? I tried so hard. And it's never good enough!" She placed one hand on the wall for balance as she lowered her head in despair. "I don't belong in Equestria. I don't belong here. So why? Why can't you just....." Sunset couldn't finish her sentence as her despair overwhelmed her. Fluttershy couldn't bear to watch anymore. Holding back tears she slowly reached out a hand, to hold, to help, to comfort, something. "STAY AWAY!" Sunset screamed suddenly screamed, slapping Fluttershy's hand away. "Sunset...." "I mean it!" Sunset screamed, her face now a mask of fear. "Just." She leaned down and picked up a shard of glass. "Leave." She waved it at them, her hand shaking. "Me." The others stepped back, frightened. Without thinking, Sunset lunged forward. "ALOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!" "Sunset, stop!" A purple hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Another clamped around her shoulder. Sunset stopped immediately, the glass shard falling from her limp hand. "T...Twi..." Princess Twilight Sparkle gazed back at her bloody and broken friend, her eyes filled with concern. "Please, Sunset." Twilight begged, shaking Sunset's shoulder slightly. "You've got to get a hold of yourself! This isn't you!" Sunset's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell forward. The last thing she heard was Rainbow shouting, "Call an ambulance!" before everything went black.