Chapter IV
Inside the parking lot of Canterlot High, a single black-and-white vehicle with lights mounted on top pulled into an unreserved empty parking space. The engine stopped and the lights flicked off, and then the driver's side door was opened by a familiar ivory-skinned law enforcement official with his blue-streaked hair. Lieutenant Shining Armor stepped out of his car, clad in his police uniform, and took a moment to examine the high school from the front. A wave of euphoric nostalgia washed over him as he silently reminisced his days as a student in Crystal Prep Academy, when it and this educational institution were rivals in terms of GPA and sports records.
What he wouldn't give just to participate in the Friendship Games again.
Reverting his focus to the task at hand, Shining Armor locked his car doors and ventured into the school.
As soon as he approached the front doors, he could hear muffled shouts coming from the inside.
When he opened the doors and entered, he immediately found himself stepping into pandemonium.
Students in almost every corner of the foyer and the halls were erupting in outwardly expressions of outrage.
Everywhere he looked he saw students verbally fighting amongst themselves, most of them carrying their cell phones in their hands. Shining Armor suspected that this must've been the work of the "Anon-a-Miss" cyberbully(s) that Thorax reported, and since he was a law enforcer, it was his duty to put an end to the damage done by "Anon-a-Miss," even if it meant breaking up the fights before a high school-sized riot broke out.
Enacting his duty, Shining Armor went to work to stop the students' meaningless quarrels. He ceased their fighting through his authoritative voice and ordering them to get to their next class period, or he resorted to physically prying the fighting students away from each other, to which he still used his authoritative voice to get to their next class period or face charges. It was times like these that Shining Armor wished he didn't have to press any public mischief or peace-disturbing charges on young students, but what could he do? The school was unraveling itself into chaos. He had to be slightly assertive in his position to calm the students down.
After dispersing the students two-by-two, the foyer got quieter, but Shining Armor knew that this was only a small part of the discord that "Anon-a-Miss" wrought upon the school. He'd have to suppress the borderline student riots as he went along, but right now his main focus was to retrieve Sunset Shimmer's school belongings for her and bring them to Thorax's place.
That, and he'd have to break the news to the school principal. She was practically family to him since he married her niece, and he hasn't seen her in forever... not since...
His thoughts changed when he turned around a corner and found himself staring at a hallway of lockers, one of them catching his interest. The janitor, a slender middle-aged man with a mixed choice of fashion, frazzled white hair, and a slightly crazed look in his eye, was busy scrubbing away the graffiti spray-painted on the locker, intended to be directed for its owner, whom the police lieutenant suspected belonged to Sunset Shimmer. Vulgar messages like "SHE-DEMON," "ANON-A-MISS" and other profane messages the janitor thankfully scrubbed off clearly referenced to Sunset's past tyrannical reign and her being set-up as the eponymously anonymous whistleblower, something that the students and some teachers were too ignorant to look past through.
Eventually, he arrived at the door signed, "Principal's Office" and stepped right in. Immediately after he did, he spotted the very familiar face of his aunt in-law sitting on the desk, the vice-principal having her nose buried in her work, typing away at her computer. With a professional cough into his hand, Shining Armor spoke, "Excuse me, Vice-Principal Luna?"
"Yes, may I help...?" Luna turned from her computer to the officer and nearly jumped. "Oh, goodness! Lieutenant Armor! You've given me quite a fright!"
"Sorry about that. That usually happens when I walk in on my sister burying herself in her books," Shining Armor said apologetically, "and those are the times when I'm not wearing my uniform."
"In any case, I am glad to see the CCPD's top lieutenant pay our school a little visit on his own volition," Luna said, her gaze suddenly darkening, "but I can only assume that this isn't a social call."
"No, it isn't," Shining Armor said, shaking his head. "I'm here on official police business. Is the principal in?"
"Yes, she's in there," Luna said, pointing at the closed door with her pen. From behind the door, muffled voices of a teenage girl was heard. "However, she's in the middle of a talk with one of our students. Would you like me to notify her of your visit?"
"Please do," Shining Armor answered. "There's something important that I've gotta talk to her about."
"Alright, I'll let her know." Luna got up from her seat while Shining Armor took his next to the chairs lined up against the wall.
The Vice-Principal approached the door and raised her knuckles up to knock.
"I simply cannot believe that Sunset Shimmer would go behind our backs to ruin our perfect images like that!" Rarity vented her frustrations to Celestia, slumping back in her chair in a dramatic fashion. "Everyone in this school is making fun of us now... well, most everyone actually. I just can't set one toe in a single area in this building without a mod of students following me, pointing their fingers at me, and laugh! Even my own disguises can't hide me from their prying eyes! It's a disaster, principal! A complete! Utter! Disaster!"
Principal Celestia nodded once, acknowledging her student's distress. "I understand how difficult this is for you, Rarity, believe me," she sympathized with the aspiring fashionista, "but I also need some closure to Sunset Shimmer's disappearance. Your friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash already gave me their sides of the story, now I just need to hear it from you."
Rarity huffed. "Well, since you insisted, I shall tell you," she said, crossing her arms together with a dramatic scowl. "Ever since Princess Twilight stuck her head out and asked my friends and I to watch over Sunset Shimmer after the Fall Formal, I felt it best to give her another chance, despite all the trouble and torment she subjected me to by driving us apart. I showed her generosity, I made her a stunning outfit for the Battle of the Bands, and I even invited her into my home for a slumber party."
With a deep sigh, Rarity curled her legs up onto the seat, her scowl unchanged. "I've worked myself to the bone to show her my generosity, and now she's wasted it all away, thanks to her and her accursed MyStable page."
"It sounds to me that you feel your generosity was taken advantage of, if I'm not mistaken."
"Of course it was! Have you ever given someone something good out of your own volition only to have them throw it away so callously!?"
Celestia thought for a moment. "I would imagine it's happened to me a few times."
"Exactly! You know what it feels when someone is ungrateful for your generosity, just imagine having a close friend of yours doing so by exposing your secrets on the Internet for all to see! If that doesn't label them ungrateful for all the good you've done for them, then I simply don't know what is."
"Then do you believe that Sunset Shimmer has taken advantage of your generosity?"
"Why not? You know how she drove a wedge in our friendship before."
"Yes, but do you believe that she would go through all the trouble to do it again?"
Rarity scoffed. "It's not that I don't want to believe it, but what can I do? All the evidence pointed to her."
"The evidence being that she was the only one who took that photo of you and your friends on her phone and posted it on MyStable?"
The fashionista's beamed with surprise. "Why, yes. Yes, actually," she said, composing herself in her seat. "I assume that you've had a little chat with the other girls?"
"I have," Celestia confirmed with a nod, "and I have convinced them that Sunset Shimmer is not the culprit here."
"You what!?" Rarity shrieked as she nearly tumbled out of her seat at this. "Forgive me for saying so, Principal Celestia, but why are you siding with her when clearly, she's the one who instigated one of the most horrific crises this school has ever faced!?"
While Rarity's shocked outburst was over the top and unrefined for someone of her glimmer and glamor, Celestia kept her composure cool and her posture straight. "I have a few of my own reasons, Rarity," she answered, holding up a finger to count the reasons. "One: I have every reason to believe that Sunset Shimmer has legitimately changed her ways, so it wouldn't make sense for her to revert back to her wicked ways."
Celestia put up a second finger. "Two: the timing of 'Anon-a-Miss's' first post and Applejack being the first target seemed way too suspicious. No one in their right mind would dare to post your demeaning secrets and failures for all to see, especially since the holidays are just around the corner."
Celestia put up a third finger. "Three: in all the time that she has attended this school, Sunset Shimmer has never missed a single class, even when she did indulge in her wicked ways. He footprints lead up to the statue out front that connects this world to hers, but then the footprints lead away into the city. Now that worries me because since Sunset Shimmer has not been seen since yesterday morning which led me to believe that, according to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, you and your other friends had a falling out that was so bad that Sunset Shimmer ran away and has not come back. My initial thought was that she returned to her world, but after seeing her prints at the statue lead outside of the school grounds, I have come to believe that she could not return home."
Rarity gasped, placing a hand on her chest in shock. "Are you for certain? The last time we saw Sunset, she was falling over with tears in your eyes, but we all thought that she was feigning her innocence at the time before we left her there."
"I am 100% certain of this, Rarity," Celestia answered. "From what Rainbow Dash and Applejack have told me, you and your friends have left Sunset Shimmer in a time when you accused of a crime she never committed and never gave her a chance to explain her case. I can only hope this is not true."
The fashionista felt her heart drop. She placed her hands at her knees and gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. "Actually, Principal Celestia, it is true. I was so angry at Sunset Shimmer that the girls and myself broke apart our friendship on the spot. Even after we did what we thought was necessary, we are still haunted by the students following us and mocking us at every turn."
"And have you had any doubts that Sunset was the culprit behind 'Anon-a-Miss?'" Celestia inquired.
"Not I, no. I was doubting myself because we had to break it off with someone we thought was our friend," Rarity answered, suddenly pondering. "Although, now that I do think about it, Fluttershy was expressing doubts of her own yesterday, but then the gossiping and the teasing got so bad that she cut classes because she was too busy crying her delicate eyes out at the back of the school, the poor dear. I just hope that she's feeling better."
"My only hope today is to receive some closure from each of you so that I would know what happened to Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said. "In addition to confirming her wellbeing and whereabouts, I am also hoping to pick up a trail that may lead me to discovering the true identity of 'Anon-a-Miss' and ending this situation before it gets too out of control."
Rarity exhaled, having new, multiple questions about the recent development of the situation bounce around in her head. It was comparable to that of a toy lawnmower that she used to play with when she a toddler. "Well, I, uh... I'll be more than willing to help you the way I can... but I cannot guarantee that Sunset isn't 'Anon-a-Miss.' I'll take this recent development with a pinch of salt, and only until you find some supportive evidence that proves Sunset Shimmer isn't 'Anon-a-Miss' will I be able fully accept this."
"It is good to keep an open mind, Rarity. Perhaps it may prove beneficial the next time a friend of yours is in dire need of pleading their case."
And just like that, their conversation was interrupted by the gentle rapping of knuckles outside of the door.
The door opened slightly, and sticking her upper torso about halfway in was Vice-Principal Luna.
"Sister, Lieutenant Shining Armor from the CCPD is here to see you."
Rarity jumped with shock, but it was Celestia who had the bigger surprise.
"Shining Armor!? Here!? But why!?"
"A police lieutenant from the city!?" Rarity gasped. "I hope it's nothing too serious."
Not long afterwards, Celestia regained her composure.
"Right, send him in," the principal ordered her sister, whom nodded in acknowledgement before she closed the door behind her. "I'm afraid, Rarity, that we will have to cut our discussion short, but I want you to remember what I said. It's okay to keep an open mind about situations like these, even if the evidence to the cause seems too obvious. If you or your friends are still being subjected to ridicule and you need a place to retreat for some time, then please don't hesitate to come see me in my office."
"I shall," Rarity said, getting up from her seat. "Although, I have my doubts that Sunset Shimmer isn't 'Anon-a-Miss' but I'll take any recent development with a pinch of salt."
"It's not a bad thing to be cautious either, Rarity," Celestia said, "but in this situation, being cautious can also mean being conspicuous."
"I shall remember that once I return to the chaos," Rarity said. In a dignified manner, she stood up and walked out the door she opened. She only glanced at the ivory police officer for a split second before she walked back into the pandemonium, a cacophony of arguments and harsh words blaring into the office before Shining Armor shut the door behind him.
"Lieutenant Armor, this is indeed a surprise," Celestia professionally greeted, gesturing to the empty chair. "Please, have a seat."
"Thanks you, Principal Celestia," Shining Armor politely replied, planting his seat into the cushiony chair.
"So," Celestia said, clasping two hands together, tucking her fingers delicately like a puppy in a blanket, "to what do I owe the pleasure of having my nephew in-law drop by unannounced into my school? Or are you already aware of what's been happening in this school as of late?"
"Yes, I am aware of 'Anon-a-Miss,' Celestia," Shining Armor confirmed. "As a matter of fact, I was informed of this by one of the students that attended this school. A certain girl with red and yellow hair indirectly told me about the cyberbullying and had me come down to retrieve her stuff for her."
Celestia's eyes widened. "What!? You've seen Sunset Shimmer!?" she gasped. "Where did you meet her!? Is she doing okay!?"
"Physically, she's fine, but she appeared to have sustained some form of mental trauma."
"How do you know that?"
"Well, yesterday, I received a call from a friend stationed as a guard in the hospital. He informed me through the radio that an ex-convict, someone who I check in monthly as per the requirements set to me by the parole board, brought in an adolescent female teenager suffering from frostbite. He broke several road laws and caused a scene at the hospital trying to get the girl some medical treatment, so they had to call me down there. When I got there, I interrogated the ex-con and he told me that he found the girl lying in the snow next to the highway without any thermal clothing on."
"What!?" Celestia nearly yelped in an undignified manner. "How did that happen!? Did someone just leave her there!?"
Shining Armor shook his head. "No, Celestia. Her body never showed any signs of lacerations. This was far worse. This was an averted attempt of suicide."
At this, Celestia's entire body froze for a split second. Her body was overwhelmed by a sadness that she could barely contain as she held her hands over her mouth and her eyes leaking tears.
"No."
"Yes, I'm afraid so," the police lieutenant answered ruefully. "According to the ex-con, Miss Shimmer told him that she wanted to die because she lost the trust of the only people who meant the world to her because of 'Anon-a-Miss' and she had nowhere else to go or anyone else to turn to. She was spotted along the highway trying to freeze herself to death, even though she had some clothes on. Now keep in mind that this attempt was averted thanks to the actions of a man who happened to be there at the right time. If he hadn't been there when he was, we would've stumbled upon Canterlot City's first teen suicide case in years."
"Oh no!" Celestia buried her face, little sobs muffled in her hands while she shook her head. She dragged her hands apart across from her face and wiped her eyes. "Shining Armor, you have to tell me and you have to tell it to me upfront. Is she really doing okay? Is the hospital placing her under a suicide watch or something?"
"Like I said, she's okay physically," Shining Armor assured the principal, "but I think the trauma of being rejected by her friends is lingering inside her. I was about to advise the hospital to place her under suicide watch, but we're instead releasing her this afternoon under legal custody. I came here to share the news with you so you would know the status of your missing student."
Celestia finished wiping her tears, but kept her head drooped. She didn't even feel like lifting her head up.
"This is even worse than what I had imagined earlier," she said, heaving an emotionally shaken sigh. "I knew something had happened to Sunset Shimmer when I saw her footprints leading into the city, but I just stood by and watched. As the principal of this school, I had an obligation to prevent this outrage from growing and spreading through this school and I should have consoled Sunset in her greatest time of need, and yet, while I was cooped up here reading piles after piles of paperwork and detention slips, one of my brighter students attempted to take her own life!"
"Celestia, what happened to your student was not your fault," Shining Armor assured his aunt-in-law. "Anyone party to drive her to is to blame, especially the 'Anon-a-Miss' users. They're the ones who created a mess so big that it was beyond even your control. If anything, you should be thankful that she's still even alive."
"Alive, yes, but not well," Celestia responded, wiping her eyes dry. "Sunset Shimmer has been a troubled youth ever since I met her. She was so full of desire that she would resort to manipulation, blackmail, and verbal abuse to get what she wanted. Despite all that, I did think that she deserved a second chance after the incident during the Fall Formal, but now all hopes of that was completely destroyed by another one of my students and she nearly died because of it. I'm responsible for what goes on in this school, and I've let things in this school happen all the same, but now that I know the full extant of what 'Anon-a-Miss's' influence can do to my students, I refuse to sit idly by while the school's student body tears itself apart."
Shining Armor's eyes leveled into an agreeable scowl. "So what are you going to do?"
Celestia pondered this for a moment. "Easy. I'll have to send an email to the parents of our students about this craziness and make an announcement to the teachers and students that all school clubs and extracurricular activities will be suspended indefinitely until the real identity of 'Anon-a-Miss' is revealed. No one, not even 'Anon-a-Miss' themselves can resist the temptation to render this school apart by themselves, but soon they'll have to realize that all they've done up until now is hurt their fellow students to a degree where they're forced to give up their identities out of guilt or fear."
The police lieutenant was initially skeptical of his distant relative's plan. "Sounds like you're overstepping your boundaries as school principal, Celestia."
"Maybe, but if it's the only way to end 'Anon-a-Miss's' reign over this school and further prove that Sunset Shimmer was not the criminal, then I have to do whatever it takes in my power to ensure that it happens. No student of mine will try to end their lives because of someone's selfish decision to post one's personal secrets on the Internet."
"I might be able to help you with that," Shining Armor offered. "I have someone at the station who can hack into any suspicious websites, gain access to their history browsers, and trace it back to the computer of origin. If there's one person I can rely on preventing cybernetic crimes, it's Hacksaw."
Celestia felt a sense of relief, knowing that there was at least one other person willing to aid her in ending this social media snafu. "I appreciate the help all the same, Shining Armor," she thanked graciously, "but this something that I have to do on my own. I've considered watching over Sunset's reformation as a part of my duties, and I am not going to let this ruin everything that she worked hard to achieve."
Shining Armor stood up. "In any case, Celestia, if you need help in finding who 'Anon-a-Miss' is, you know how to reach me."
"Shining Armor," Celestia called out before the lieutenant stepped out of her office. "I have to know. The person you've given legal custody of Sunset Shimmer to. Who is it?"
Shining Armor was reluctant to answer; he knew she wouldn't like it.
"The person who's taking her in this afternoon is the same person who saved her. You'll remember him as Thorax."
This perked Celestia's head up with another shocked look of her own.
"Thorax? You're leaving her with Thorax?"
"That's right. He's the closest thing to a friend that she could ever have now than her former friends here ever were."
Celestia was initially speechless. "B-B-But... but... but why him? He had ties to the city's biggest organized crime family! Just being around him could put anyone in danger, especially Sunset Shimmer! How could you let someone who served his time in prison take in a teenage girl that he's barely met and hardly known for almost day!?"
"Celestia, please listen to me," Shining Armor interjected firmly, bringing her worries to a screeching halt. "Thorax was part of a criminal organization, yes, but he's the only member of the family who actually grew a conscience. You remember how he stopped his family's attempted takeover of the CCPD during the wedding, right? He's the one who pointed out the head of the family in exchange for witness protection. He's helped the CCPG make the biggest arrest this city's ever seen, and for that, I was assigned to him as his parole officer to check in with his rehabilitation one per month. He's the only person with a criminal record who made far better progress with it than any other criminal who tried and failed, so I know he is willing to do more good than harm.
"Miss Shimmer, on the other hand, is an entirely different case. She's a girl who wanted to end her own life because a long list of social media slandering caused her to lose the only people she called her friends, and now she felt that she had nothing else to live for. She felt there was no place for her to go, nobody to turn to, and no way she could move past this incident. Thorax saved her life and somehow gotten through to her how killing herself would never solve her own problems. He's the closest thing to a friend than the ones who left her behind. That's why he asked to gain legal custody of her. That's why I was able to convince the judge to allow Thorax to go through with the custody gain. That's why I'm entrusting Miss Shimmer's life to him."
"Shining Armor, I know he's a reformed criminal, but I am not comfortable letting Sunset stay with someone who's a complete stranger to her," Celestia said with a worrying pace in her tone.
"I know, Celestia, I know," Shining Armor replied, "but what other alternative do we have? Have a sixteen-year-old endure a daily routine of scheduled meals, meetings, and bedtimes? Put her in a psychiatric ward? Those won't help her in her condition. She needs someone she can relate to, someone who knows what she's been through and is willing to listen to them when things get tough. Do you really think I would've let Thorax gain custody of her if he didn't get through to her?"
Shifting uncomfortable in her chair, Celestia groaned inwardly, but did ponder the police lieutenant's question. "I suppose not. I remember that he was an outlier amongst his family, so he does have a bit humanity in him," she thought aloud before sighing. "Alright, Shining Armor, if you think that's for the best, then I suppose I'll hold you to your word, but I am allowed to see Sunset Shimmer, right?"
"You are allowed to do so."
"Perfect. I can't thank you enough for informing me about Sunset Shimmer's condition, lieutenant," Celestia said, feeling gracious and relieved at the same time. "If there is anything that you need from me..."
"No, actually, but thank you," Shining Armor said. "I was mainly instructed to bring Miss Shimmer's school belongings back to her, but I couldn't in good conscience lave without informing you of your student's condition first."
"I can't thank you enough for that," the principal said as the police lieutenant stood up. "I'll write you the number and combination for Sunset's locker."
"Thanks for that, Celestia, but I only need the combination for her locker door, seeing as it's the only locker vandalized with obscene graffiti."
This caught the principal off-guard. "Someone spray-painted obscenities on Sunset Shimmer's locker? This is the first I've heard of it."
"It usually is."
Celestia took out a piece of paper and a pen, quickly scribbled the combination, and handed it over to Shining Armor.
"Here. You might want to get to her locker quicker just in case someone tries to break into it and steal her stuff."
"Don't worry, Celestia, as long as I'm around, no one is going to land one hair on her stuff." Shining Armor folded the paper in his hands. "In case you ever need our help in cracking the 'Anon-a-Miss' case, all you have to do is ring me up. Until then, I'll see you around."
"Alright, take care of yourself," Celestia replied, "and be sure to tell Cadence that her Auntie Cellie says hello, okay?"
"Don't worry, I won't forget," Shining Armor said, walking out of the office, shutting the door behind her.
When Celestia was the only person left in her office, she had only a moment to be with herself as she suddenly buried her face in her palms, letting her long hair sway over the front of her shoulders. She dug her perfectly manicured nails into her face in a mixture of both anger, frustration, and outrage towards "Anon-a-Miss" for driving one of her brightest students to attempt suicide, but at the same time, feeling the same mixture to herself for not doing anything to stop her from doing so. While she was grateful that Sunset Shimmer was alive, she felt a heaviness on her shoulders that she hadn't felt in such a long time, and it was something that she thought would never feel again until today.
No sooner had Shining Armor stepped out that the vice-principal walked in plastered with a concerned visage, noting her sister's distress.
"Sister, is everything alright?" Luna asked, closing the door for privacy.
Celestia sniffled as she wiped her eyes and brushed her hair back over her shoulders.
With a deep sigh, she fully composed herself.
"I don't know, Luna," Celestia answered. "Shining Armor just informed me about the whereabouts of Sunset Shimmer."
"So she's okay, then, right?" Luna inquired. "Is she alright?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, sister, she's not. Physically, she is in health, but from what I can gather, the trauma brought on by her abandonment from her friends drove her to attempt suicide last night. "
Luna gasped, the shock and moisture in her eyes clearly exhibiting. "Oh no!"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Luna. She tried to freeze herself by walking along the highway without any thermal clothing on her back," Celestia recounted what her nephew in-law recounted. "She's in the hospital as we speak, but she's being watched over by someone very unlikely who saved her life."
"Who is this person? Is it someone that we know?"
"Yes, it's Thorax."
At this, Luna slammed her hands on her sister's mahogany desk.
"Are you crazy!? Is our extended family leaving the wellbeing of Sunset Shimmer into the hands of a con!?"
"To be clear, he is an ex-con," Celestia gently reminded her. "And yes, this is the only recourse to seeing her get the help she needs. Shining Armor said so himself."
"To hell with what Shining Armor said! This is a matter of life and death!" Luna barked a retort, her body going stiff with outrageous disapproval. "I can't believe that the justice system would let a con take in Sunset Shimmer like she was some kind of charity case! You don't know the kind of danger that she would be in if Thorax's criminal family finds out where he's been hiding!"
"Ex-con," Celestia firmly reminded, "and yes, I am aware of that as well, but Shining Armor told me this was for the best. Sunset tried to kill herself because she felt she had no other friends here, and even though she is a friend to Princess Twilight, she could not return home because the way back has been blocked somehow, and it's through that thought that became the catalyst to her suicide attempt. Right now, the only person that Sunset Shimmer can fully trust is Thorax, and he's the only one who saved her from her own fate. Do you really want to object to having the same man who prevented the incident at our niece's wedding taking in a girl who feels like there is nothing else to live for?"
Luna felt her stiff body loosen up, deep in thought.
"No, but I can't bring myself to trust that man," she replied, looking uncomfortable and uncertain. "Even with how he helped Shining Armor and Cadence during their wedding, I always can't help but feel distrustful for being part of the biggest criminal family this city has ever known... but if Shining Armor can vouch for his humanity and willingness to help Sunset Shimmer, then I'll just have to sit back and wait until this whole mess is sorted out."
"I am glad you thought of it that way, Luna," Celestia assured with all the comfort a woman of her position could offer her sister. "Now, I will have to inform Sunset's, uh... friends of her wellbeing and detail them on the matter at hand, and I believe the the only two people left to talk is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Luna, would you be so kind as to call either one of them up to my office?"
"Certainly," Luna said, nodding her head once, "but what will you do about Sunset?"
Celestia breathed deeply, her hands brought together and her eyes deep in thought. "Sunset Shimmer has had it rough, sister, maybe too rough. Given her news of her suicide attempt, it's fair to say that she should be given some time away from school until she is well enough. I'll personally see to it that I drop by Thorax's place soon so that I can see if she's okay with my own two eyes, but for now, I have an email to write and another of her... uh, former friends to meet with."
Luna immediately knew which student she wanted to call up next. "Yes, sister, I'll find Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's assigned class periods and see if they actually showed up for attendance. Meanwhile, I will be eagerly awaiting to reply to the outrages of students, teachers, and parents for you, like usual."
With that little mutter, Luna turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
When she was alone once more, Celestia turned to her computer to type in the opening to her letter.
But for some reason, she could not find the words to begin her letter.
She felt like she didn't have the heart for it.
"You guys heard that, right?" Scootaloo whispered, unplugging the stethoscope from the wall and out of her ears. "Celestia almost had a cop on our case."
"No, she said she was going to crack the case on her own," Apple Bloom corrected. "Ah can't believe she's gonna go through all the trouble ta weed us out like that."
"I can't believe that Celestia's nephew is a police lieutenant."
"I can't believe that Sunset tried to kill herself."
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to face Sweetie Belle.
She almost looked like she was about to throw up from what she had heard.
"This is so wrong. We tried to separate our sisters from her with a few posts and pictures, and now she's n the hospital because of us."
"What are you saying, Sweetie Belle? Aren't you glad that we got rid of Sunset Shimmer for good?" Scootaloo asked.
"W-W-Well, of course I'm glad we got rid of her!" Sweetie Belle answered back, suddenly shushing herself in case there were any eavesdroppers around. "I just... I know we set up the account because we did what was for the best for our sisters, but I never imagined that it would end up with Sunset Shimmer trying to kill herself. That's almost like committing murder!"
"But there's no reason for us to worry about it," Scootaloo said. "Sunset Shimmer is still alive, isn't she?"
"Yeah, but..."
"But nothing!" Scootaloo laid a hand on the frightened girl's shoulder. "Look, as long we keep a low profile and keep our mouths shut, we won't get caught and we'll be as good as gold. If someone is sniffing about in our business, then all we have to do is keep our cool, play our innocence game, and they'll leave us alone. Remember, this is only temporary, so once everyone gets out for the Holiday Break, we'll shut down the account and no one will suspect us. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Apple Bloom said, looking her horrified friend. "Sweetie Belle?"
The ivory middle-schooler nearly jumped in her seat and quickly caught on to their plan, nodding her head fervently. "Yeah, we're agreed!"
"Good." Scootaloo stuck her head out and scoped the area, seeing the students bustling about the hall all none the wiser of the presence of the three girls. "Okay, the coast is clear. Come on, we'd better get to class before someone starts to get suspicious."
In the growing activity inside the hallway, the girls slipped silently into the growing crowd of students, blending in perfectly like humanoid chameleons. Like they had practiced some time ago, they had applied a mask of innocence on their faces, an act that would help them pass through the clamor of students as the true culprits hiding in plain sight. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wore their innocent faces perfect, but Sweetie Belle's mask was starting to slip.
Sweetie Belle never meant for Sunset Shimmer to try and take her own life. She never meant to drive a person to suicide. All she ever wanted was to drive Sunset away from her sister because the latter had spent more time hanging out with her friends and that sunny-scalped bully, time that Rarity should have spared with the younger member of the family. At first, the plan went off without a hitch: create a fake profile with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo on MyStable that was designed to post the secrets of the people closest to them on the Internet, divert the suspicions of every student in the school to Sunset Shimmer, use the latter's phone to send the last group picture of the girls and slander it with an insulting caption to MyStable, and sever their friendships with just a click of a button.
But then, ever since they heard the news of Sunset's suicide attempt, Sweetie Belle's world was switched upside-down. She hated the thought of death, hated the concept of it. Ever since her and Rarity's maternal grandmother passed away a few years ago, she had become afraid of death and dying. She especially hated hearing the stories of how people her age committed suicide for whatever reason; they were too young, and that thought alone wanted to make Sweetie Belle break down and cry. Even with her most impressive attempt to keep her innocent face on, Sweetie Belle had this strong urge to cry, not just because of how Sunset Shimmer tried to end her own life, but because she felt intense guilt for enticing their target to make that attempt.
There was another worrying thought: the thought of Sunset's suicide attempt and how she was partly to blame for this. She thought back to the police lieutenant earlier, about how he offered to help take down 'Anon-a-Miss's' account and bring the real villains to justice. She didn't want to be branded as a criminal! She had dreams! She had a future! She had everything waiting for her, and if that police lieutenant found out she was involved, everything she dreamed and hoped of becoming would be thrown away! She didn't want this to happen, but it did, and then she knew that the consequences to her actions would be dire and inevitable.
Sweetie Belle wanted to cry, but she didn't know what to cry about more.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- chris the cynic · 4.6k words · 272 14 · 9.3k views
- SilverWind14 · 9.2k words · 268 26 · 9.9k views
- Frozen Feathers · 10k words · 282 20 · 19k views
- ManicQuill · 4.4k words · 242 15 · 12k views
- Witchrblizzad · 2k words · 267 43 · 23k views
- Iamsorry · 28k words · 457 38 · 15k views
- Blazeblast4 · 13k words · 280 10 · 13k views
- Snowflake Dissonance · 6.7k words · 127 11 · 4k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.146 seconds
Total duration
900 users online
506,192 hits today, 2,073,628 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hope sweetie decides to come clean if shining does t find them first
Wonder how the cmc will react if they try and keep everything up but with everyone reacting to the suspended privileges
Well, this got slightly more interesting. Why do I get the feeling that Shining's just going to investigate it anyway?
Actually, better question, how will Chrysalis fit into the rest of this?
Oh, and IT'S ALIVE!
(Not that I thought it was dead. But it's still nice to see a new chapter.)
Oh you want evidence? How about the fact that your ex-friend is in the freaking hospital right now, completely broken up after you and your friends thrown her away without giving her a chance, while the real Anon-a-Miss is still slandering everyone over the internet right now! Was that convincing enough!?
Someone better figure out that CMC is the real Anon-a-Miss soon and get punished afterwords because they're now pissing me off!
in one reality:
Sweetie Belle enters Principal Celestia's office.
Sweetie: Principle Celestia, I'm Miss. I'm pretty sure you can tell who Anon and A are from that.
I hope the girls realise that Sunset isn’t Anon-A-Miss soon
Well shit, I completely forgot about this story until now.
A.) Scootaloo is an ass right now haha
B.) For some reason I'm imagining thorax in this story looking like Clark Kent from the 70s, and I imagine him sounding like one of those old fast talking comedy figures, kinda like "Singjn' In The Rain" kinda guys. Somehow makes the story better in my head. Hah.
C.) While the whole Sunset suicide cliche is used for like every other anon-a-miss story, you actually tackled it really well. Instead of rolling my eyes at a boring attempt at tear jerking suicide attempt, I'm actually enjoying it so far.
D.) I like that whole crime family thing you threw in, it's a good way to portray the counterparts of the changelings. Adds another end to the story that gives us more than the usual gist.
Anyway yeah it's good
8925249
at least the police know about it now and thus it can't be swept under the rug.
according to the internet act, anon-a-miss is now guilty of attempted manslaughter (they inadvertently pushed sunset to the point where she was going to kill herself, this kinda thing has resulted in manslaughter charges before so there is president), and the police are aware of the issue, celestia can't let the CMC off if she wanted too.
the CMC are looking at juvy/jail time.
you better have Sweetie Belle confess
8925249
I agree but to be fair, Rarity doesn't know yet that Sunset is in the hospital, once she learns about that and Anon-A-Miss posts again, well checkmate.
it should be simple you should have Applejack come to the realization of who it is, the only other people who know her nickname is her family, how did not connect
8925474
It's surprisingly easy to overlook the obvious when you're not thinking clearly to begin with; Applejack is so focused on the reveal, and who she thinks is responsible, that such a small--but very important--detail slips right past her notice.
*get the newspaper* Bad Celestia, bad! No turning down help! This isn't your pride on the line, but Sunsets life! And the lives of all the poor children! They deserve this over ASAP, be it from you or hacksaw!
Also "lave" should be "leave".
Loving Lt. Armor though!
Rarity didnt make sunset an outfit for battle of the bands since she wasnt in the band. But other than that im so happy to see more of this!
8925238
hope so, and i guess all we have to do is wait
By God, this was worth the wait! Anyone have the urge to slap the piss out of Scootaloo the most? Yes? Yeah, me too.
Sweetie Belle, you gotta do the right thing. Your grandmother would be very disappointed with you if you let this continue, do the right thing.
i hate these little brats
hope at least one is redeemed though
come on sweetie! do the right thing!
that would be heartbreaking if as she's about to confess they get found out and it's too late.
Thorax for the WIN
I may not have done a comment about your story yet, but I think this one will tell how I feel about.
If a story is good enough for me, then it's worth waiting (adding favourites, etc.).
Which this chapter proved me right, so keep going ^^.
Sweetie Belle, be a good person! Just tell Celestia, already! Your grandma would be proud of you for telling.
Will we get to see Celestia's talk with the Rainbooms to inform them of Sunset's situation? Will we get to see the school's reaction? I can't wait!
EDIT:
Now that I think about it, I can't completely buy the reactions of the other two Crusaders. I can see Scootaloo acting rather callous to hide her own hesitations, but it's Apple Bloom I really can't get behind. Considering her upbringing, you'd think she'd be a little shaken over having caused indirect murder and involving her sister and her sister's friends in it.
Something to consider expanding on.
Celestia, Luna not that your not the good guys here but that ex con is being a better person then most of Your students you might want to think about that.
Also Sweetie be a good girl and tell the truth yes you'll get punished but it's better then getting caught. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom kindly do us all a favour and jump off a cliff
Uhg the quality of this chapter is no where near the others. You repeat almost verbatim specific lines twice unnecessarily and I don't remember if you were doing this before but this chapter is dripping in unnecessary purple prose.
Then there's the characters acting OoC but that I can give a pass, but you also have some faulty logic in certain parts. It's well within the right of a principal to cancel extra curriculars in an event like this and it's not within the rights of the police to hack anything unofficially, but even then it's not within Celestia's right to choose to not get the police involved after a suicide attempt.
Uhg I'm still gonna be here reading but this chapter needed more work I think.
8935327
I warned you there wasn't much going on in this chapter.
Wow this is pretty good!
Well, at least there's still some hope for Sweetie Belle. The other two... not so much.
Celestia is being selfish by not accepting police intervention. If it was just her neck on a block that’s fine, but one student already tried to commit suicide, at that point refusing help is saying you are so confident you can handle it that you are willing to bet other people’s lives on it.
Looks like Sweetie's the only exception but otherwise they make me sick and they're going to deserve their comeuppance for when they ARE caught red handed.
9006219
True
8935411
Hope life aint beatin down on ya too hard, but i gotta ask, what's the ETA on the next chapter, my eyes hunger for more.
Repetitive.
When is the next chapter coming out?
I’m really hoping Celestia tells the school about how Sunset tried to kill herself, and to see their reactions.
9277612
More than that, i hope the CMC confess/get caught before Celestia makes the announcement
It'll have a bigger impact
When is the next chapter
Eagerly awaiting the next chapter
I'm sorry, but this comes across as a bit flat.
I hope the CMC do see the error of their way and confess to it, rather than be ratted out. It’d be much better for them. In fact, I like to imagine Sweetie helping her friends see sense; pointing out they actually did worse than Sunset ever did, and that there is really no escape.
Just something to consider
*in caveman voice* You write. make next chapter. update story. *proceeds to make ape noises*
Celestia should inform Sunset's former friends about Sunset's suicide attempt ALL AT ONCE.
Please tell me this is getting an update, it's been ages
Any news?
I hope that this will be updated soon. It's a good story.
I do hope someday you'll come back and continue this story as I badly wanna see what happens next.
I hope this someday updates.
Another great story THAT WILL NEVER BE FINISHED!!
I so badly want to see the Crusaders get their just desserts for what they did to Sunset and gotten very good punishments for their foolish and reckless actions!
I do hope someday you'll come back and continue it.
10575404
That's what I want too! When is the story going to get updated?
8935411
WE WANT AN UPDATE! WE WANT AN UPDATE! WE WANT AN UPDATE! WE WANT AN UPDATE!
SPIKE WANT UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!