//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Confession // by cerealkiller78 //------------------------------// “Will you guys just listen to me for one minute??” Sunset threw her hands up in exasperation, to which Rainbow poked her hard in the chest. “No, you listen to us! It’s old Sunset, everyone knows YOU are Anon-A-Miss, so quit it with the denial already! Either fess up, or shut up, and get out of here!” “If I really was Anon-A-Miss, why would I be trying to get you guys to believe me at all? Would I really care at all if I was really her??” “Maybe! Maybe you’re trying to get us to trust you again so that you can keep getting more of our secrets, but we aren’t falling for it. So make like the demon we all know you are, and go to hell!!” Everything fell silent as Sunset turned her eyes to the floor. Rainbow was right…This was old…This fighting was old. She was sick and tired of trying to convince these people that she was innocent. There had to be some other way to gain them back. She was tired of all this. She couldn’t handle the overwhelming stress of this situation anymore. She felt her eyes sting as the tears began flowing once again, like they had so many times this last two weeks. It wasn’t long before she felt herself begin to sob in front of those she had once called friends. She took hold of a chair for support as she went down to her knees, sobbing pathetically, letting out two weeks worth of built up frustration and stress. She didn’t care that everyone was watching her, she didn’t care about anything anymore. She suddenly felt something embrace her. Soothing words were whispered into her ear. “Oh Sunset…Just give this all up. We are hurting as much as you are right now.” Came Rarity’s soft voice. “If these tears really are real, then just throw this all away. We may not ever know why you felt the need to do this, but I’m sure we can find some way to put this all behind us.” Sunset leaned into her. She couldn’t lose this again. But she knew that if she tried denying again, it would indeed be gone… “….What do you want me to do?” She whispered. “The first step to recovery and forgiveness is to admit what you did. If you really want us to forgive you, then admit what you did, and don’t deny it any longer.” “And if I do that...you will take me back?...” “And you gotta delete the Anon-A-Miss account.” Rainbow cut in sternly, her arms still crossed. “No deletion, no deal.” Sunset wasn’t sure how she was going to tackle that…but even if things did go downhill later on, at least she could gain some sort of respite in the meantime… “Ok…I did it…I...I am Anon-A-Miss.” “Took you long enough to admit that…” Dash muttered under her breath, as she pulled out her phone, and handed it to Sunset. “Now sign in, and delete the account.” She demanded. Sunset’s eyes widened a little. Right…Now?... Of course Rainbow would make her get rid of it right from the get-go…Sunset hesitantly took the phone. This was it…That respite was a lot shorter than she had been hoping it would be. The worst thing was that now she had actually admitted to them herself that she was Anon-A-Miss…so if there was even a sliver of doubt by any of them before…She had herself to thank that it would be long gone now. They would probably hold an even bigger grudge against her now, thinking that she was only refusing to take the account down. If there were even one person in the school that was secretly doubting her being Anon-A-Miss, it would be completely wiped out, now that they would probably go spreading to the entire school that they got an actual confession out of Sunset. Sunset was mentally kicking herself. Why had she confessed to being Anon-A-Miss?? Oh, that’s right…She wasn’t thinking right…She was so broken over this entire thing that she thought she could have ANY sort of respite…She should have known that was just the universe taunting her with a false sense of hope. Only a miracle would help in this situation now…And the world didn’t seem to be giving her too many of those… She went to the MyStable sign in page, if for nothing more than to simply delay the inevitable. She pretended to do stuff with the phone, taking her time. “Well?” Rainbow demanded. “How long does it take to simply delete an account?” “Uhh…right…” Sunset looked back down at the phone, taking a few deep breaths. Sweet Faust, help me… She thought to herself as she finally gave the phone back up to Dash. Dash navigated to the page for proof. Sunset turned her head away. Not just because she didn’t want to see the outcome of this…but because she honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if Dash decided to clock her in the face for this supposed stunt… She waited….and waited. She heard a sigh. She tensed up. “Wow, Sunset…I almost can’t believe it.” Here it comes… “You really manned up.” ....She had to have been exaggerating...she was being sarcastic right?... "And if you're willing to take responsibility, then I guess that's enough for me." With pure confusion, she looked back at Dash, who was holding her hand out to her. She hesitantly took the offered hand, expecting some kind of sudden animosity....But, Rainbow simply pulled her back to her feet. One thought was reeling in her mind... How?... "Guys...Do you think we might be going too far with this?" Applebloom asked quietly as she and her friends made their way down the street. "Ah mean...Sunset seems really torn up these days...I feel like we may be going beyond the realm of payback, and entering into what is just plain cruel territory. We only wanted our sisters to stop spending so much time with Sunset, but I feel like its gone beyond that now. Sunset isn't just an outcast now...People avoid her like the plague. And those who do approach her, do so in the kind of way that one would with the intent of wiping said plague out." "Not just that...But now the whole school's at each other's throats." Sweetie Belle agreed. "Well...what do we do about it?" Scootaloo asked. "Ah...ah don't know...maybe...maybe it's time to shut it down..." Apple Bloom spoke quietly as she opened the door to Sugar Cube Corner. “Will you guys just listen to me for one minute??” Apple Bloom's eyes fell on Sunset by a table where the other five were sitting. She was begging them to listen to her, but Rainbow Dash just got up in her face telling her to fess up, or get out. She continued trying to reason with them as the three girls quietly went to a table far from them, but still close enough to hear what was going on. "We're not falling for it. So make like the demon we all know you are, and go to hell!!” All three girls tensed at that. Scootaloo put a hand to her mouth in shock of what she had just heard Rainbow say. Sunset didn't say anything for a long moment...She didn't do anything...and what she did do next, broke all three girl's hearts. She began crying, which grew into sobbing. Sunset was having a complete breakdown in public, in front of her frie-....ex friends... Scootaloo could practically feel the eye rolling coming from Rainbow Dash as she watched her with no sympathy whatsoever. The three friends felt sick to their stomachs. This...was wrong. Sweetie Belle had tears in her eyes, and Apple Bloom wasn't far behind. After a while, they saw Rarity slowly got up, as she actually went over to Sunset and embraced her. Sweetie Belle felt a surge of pride that Rarity would do that, but then overwhelming guilt clouded that thought over in realization that she had taken part in putting Sunset in that position in the first place. They couldn't quite hear what Rarity was saying to Sunset. It looked like Sunset said something back to her. Then they were able to catch some of what Rarity said next: "admit what you did, and don’t deny it any longer.” Sunset said something else they couldn't catch. "And you gotta delete the Anon-A-Miss account." Rainbow spoke harshly. "No deletion, no deal." The three girls knew what was coming next...She would again try to reason, and they'd drive her out..." “Ok…I did it…I...I am Anon-A-Miss.” The three girls froze at the confession from Sunset. That...was not what they were expecting at all. Apple Bloom gulped. Had they really broken Sunset so far that she would admit to being guilty of a crime she didn't do, just to gain her friends back?...Just to gain some shred of dignity back?" Apple Bloom absentmindedly opened up her phone to the Anon-A-Miss accout. She...she had done this...All of this. Dash pulled out her phone, and handed it to Sunset. “Now sign in, and delete the account.” Apple Bloom saw Sunset visibly tense up at that demand, and for good reason too...There was no way for Sunset to access the account at all. But nonetheless, Sunset took the phone, while everyone waited. Sweetie and Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom. "We've gotta do something..." Sweetie whispered. Apple Bloom looked down at her phone displaying the Anon-A-Miss account. Like her hand was on auto, it tapped on Account Setting, then to Account Status, with the option "Terminate Account" staring at her. She tapped it, and a warning message came up. You are about to terminate account "Anon-A-Miss" Please confirm that this is the intended action you desire. Terminate Account Cancel Apple Bloom paused, she looked back to Sunset, who looked as if she was just pretending to do stuff with the phone. Though it may have gone unnoticed to the others, she could practically feel the panic rising in Sunset. "Well? How long does it take to delete an account??" "Uhh...right." Sunset said nervously. Apple Bloom looked back at the message on her phone. She took a deep breath. Ah'm sorry Sunset...I hope I can tell that to your face someday...Until then, this is the least I can do... And with that, she tapped the "Terminate Account" option, as Sunset gave the phone back to Dash in defeat. She turned her face away from her, obviously expecting another outburst by Dash. But no outburst came. Instead, after checking to make sure the deed had been done, Rainbow offered Sunset a hand up, to which Sunset hesitantly, and confusedly accepted it as Dash pulled her back up. Apple Bloom sat back and sighed. "Well, that's that..." "Things...will get better for Sunset now...right?" Sweetie asked hopefully. "Course they will..." Apple Bloom assured. They have too...