Chapter 4 Part 1
When Sunset Shimmer awoke the next morning, she felt… surprisingly good.
Yesterday, after a delicious lunch, courtesy of Spike, Twilight had dragged her to the library and needled her for every bit of information that Sunset could give her. A detailed description of the whole Anon-A-Miss incident, as well as explanations on how MyStable worked, how smartphones were operated, student dynamics before and after the initial accusation, everything she knew about her attackers, the exact nature of the blackmail material Sunset had released, and all the reasons Sunset could name as to why her friends would be resentful of her. By the time they were done, Sunset was utterly exhausted and a small forest’s worth of paper had been filled with notes.
In celebration of having her insatiable need for information satisfied, the Princess of Friendship had declared a sleepover for the two of them. While the idea of a sleepover stirred up some bitter memories in Sunset, when she actually settled down in bed with Twilight it felt...nice. There was something pleasantly nostalgic in laying there beside Twilight, one purple wing draped over her back and listening to the excited Princess detailing all the fun things she was envisioning to help Sunset settle back into life in Equestria. It took Sunset back to when she was just a little filly and Princess Celestia would do the same with her lesson plans, filling Sunset’s head with all the marvels of magic they’d soon be exploring together.
And so, cuddled up against her best friend in the world, Sunset felt some of the numbness that had taken root in her body give way to cautious optimism. As long as she had Twilight at her side, Sunset felt, she could get her life back in order. Closing her eyes and soaking in the warmth radiating off Twilight’s body, Sunset fell into a deep, relaxing slumber.
It was the glare of the morning sun, that roused Sunset from her sleep. A particularly annoying ray of sunshine seemed to have chosen her eyes as its target and no matter how much she turned her head and squeezed her eyelids shut, she could not escape it. Her old childhood curse, no doubt cast upon her by Celestia to get her to wake up on time for the early morning lessons, was acting up again. Groggily grumbling a colourful multitude of curses under her breath at the Princess and her infuriating morning pony ways, Sunset tried to prop herself up, only to be held down by an unfamiliar weight around her neck. Slowly opening her eyes, Sunset turned her head towards the direction the weight seemed to be coming from and came muzzle to muzzle with Princess Twilight Sparkle.
‘Oh right,’ Sunset thought to herself. ‘The sleepover.’
That also explained why she felt so warm on one side. Somewhere during the night, Twilight seemed to have decided to take cuddling with her friend to the next level. Lying on her side, facing Sunset, Twilight had her arms wrapped tightly around Sunset’s neck and one purple wing draped over her barrel. Feeling her cuddle buddy trying to slip away, Twilight mumbled something unintelligible and tightened her grip with Earth Pony strength, pulling Sunset closer to her, where she nuzzled into the crook of her neck with a happy noise.
Deciding against a another, equally futile, attempt to escape the clutches of Princess Twilight Cuddlebug, Sunset simply settled down and closed her eyes again. While Celestia’s curse might have prevented her from sleeping beyond the wee hours of the morning, the part of Sunset that was definitely not a morning pony was determined to at least doze a few more hours away. If nothing else, then to stick it to the Princess and her insufferable, caffeine independent early day cheerfulness. Plus, if Sunset was entirely honest, being cuddled like that felt really nice.
Dozing next to Twilight, Sunset enjoyed the warmth and closeness to her best friend, but, as the minutes trickled by, a fun little idea entered her mind. When Twilight awoke, groaning and bleary eyed, Sunset was ready to enact her plan.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Sunset whispered, giving a Twilight a peck on the nose.
“S-Sunset?” Twilight’s bleary eyes widened and her muzzle scrunched up adorably. “W-what are you doing?” She stammered, blushing brightly.
“What am I doing?” Sunset giggled and gave Twilight a teasing look. “Can’t a mare kiss her own wife anymore?”
“Wife!?” Twilight squeaked, her blush intensifying. Staring at Sunset in shock, she tried to back away.
“Oh Twilight…” Sunset sighed affectionately, wrapping an arm around her neck she pulled Twilight closer and nuzzled her cheek. “You really are hopeless without your morning coffee. We’ve been married for five years now, silly. Do I need to get the baby to prove it to you?”
“Married? Five years? Baby!?” Twilight’s expressen grew more confused and panicked with each word.
“Yes!” Sunset chuckled, then paused, a worried you look on her face. “I mean, you do remember it, right?”
“Sunset, I…” Twilight tried to say something.
“Are you te-telling me, that you don’t remember?” Sunset cut her off. Her lip was trembling and tears began to well up in her eyes. “You don’t remember it? Our love? Our daughter!?” She cried in anguish.
“No no no no!” An entirely new kind of panic rose up in Twilight, and she hurried to comfort her wife. “Of course I remember it, Sunset, honey,” she said, pulling Sunset close again and began to stroke her mane. “How could I ever forget…” She trailed off as she noticed the mirthful look in Sunset’s eyes. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”
Sunset managed to squeak out a ‘Yes!’, before dissolving into a mess of laughter.
Sunset was still snickering by the time the two made their way towards the kitchens for breakfast.
“Alright, alright,” Twilight finally chuckled, giving Sunset a look of mock annoyance. “I admit it, you got me good.”
“Right?” Sunset giggled, playfully bumping her rump against Twilight’s. “Like you could ever forget being married to all of this.”
“Yes yes, you’re the prettiest filly at the Gala.” Twilight smiled, rolling her eyes. “And I am glad to see that you’re feeling better today.”
“Me too,” Sunset smiled mischievously, pushing open the door to the kitchen. “We should do this more often. Sleeping with you clearly does wonders for my mood.”
Smirking at the blush spreading across Twilight’s face, Sunset walked into the kitchen. There, on the breakfast table, sat two plates of steaming pancakes and a bottle of syrup waiting for them..
“Well, breakfast is ready.” Sunset sat down at the table. “I wonder where Spike is though,” she said, looking around the room.
“He’s already off to Canterlot,” Twilight replied, sitting down opposite of her. “Princess Celestia sent him a letter yesterday. Apparently she needs him for some Royal Business again.”
“Hm, weird.” Sunset eyed the delicious looking pancakes. “What sort of Royal Business would the Princess need a baby dragon for?”
“I don’t know.” Twilight shrugged. “She summons him like that every once in a while, but they’ve never disclosed exactly what it is they’re doing together and I don’t wish to pry into their private activities. I assume she has her reasons for not telling me.”
“She usually has.” Sunset shrugged. “So what do we do today?”
“Well,” Twilight said, pulling the plate of pancakes closer, “what I’m doing today, is going through the portal and trying to fix the situation over there.”
“Why bother?” Sunset replied, reaching for her own plate. “With me gone, Anon-A-Miss loses its target. The situation will fix itself.”
“Maybe.” Twilight began pouring syrup over her pancakes. “But have you considered that you might not be the target, so much as the scapegoat? Whoever is behind Anon-A-Miss might not give up, just because you’re not there to take the blame.”
“Hm. Maybe.” Sunset frowned. That was indeed something she had not considered. The initial posts and their effect seemed very deliberately aimed at her. “But what’s the point then? Who benefits from humiliating the Rainbooms?”
“Maybe not just the Rainbooms.” Twilight cut up the first layer of pancakes. “Was anyone else targeted?” she asked, shoving a piece of pancake into her mouth.
“I dunno, maybe?” Sunset shrugged, cutting up her own stack. “I already told you, I didn’t bother checking my feed for updates, after my friends ditched me.”
“Then we can’t discount the possibility, that this isn’t just someone with a grudge against you and the Rainbooms, but an attack against CHS as a whole,” Twilight concluded, eating another piece of pancake.
“Hm.” Chewing on her piece, Sunset just gave a noncommittal grunt. “You still haven’t answered my question Twilight. Why bother? This isn’t some sort of magical threat from Equestria, it’s just some jerk messing around with a blog. Fixing the bullying problem at CHS isn’t your job.”
“Actually,” Twilight replied, with just a shade of smugness in her voice, “as the Princess of Friendship, fixing this sort of problem is exactly my job. And also, because these people are still my friends. They may have stumbled, but I’m not giving up on them yet.”
“They didn’t just stumble, Twilight!” Sunset snapped. “They spat on everything you taught them! They lied about having forgiven me, they called themselves my family!” She stared down at her plate. “They don’t deserve your friendship, or your help.”
“Maybe,” Twilight said, calmly looking at Sunset. With everything Spike had told her about their little heart to heart, Sunset expressing some anger towards the Rainbooms was a good sign. “But without them, I wouldn’t have been able to save you. Without them, we wouldn’t have managed to stop the Sirens. Even if they’ve truly turned their back on the Magic of Friendship, I still owe it to them to give them a chance.”
“Fine,” Sunset grumbled. “I suppose I can’t talk you out of doing the friendshippy thing.”
She sighed. “Then what am I supposed to do all day? I don’t exactly know this corner of Equestria.”
“Yeah, about that,” Twilight said, cutting up another layer of pancake. “I asked my friends to show you around Ponyville today.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to leave me alone with them?” Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “All things considered?”
“It is a necessary idea,” Twilight replied. “They’re my friends, Sunset, and they’re not going to go away. I’m not asking you to be friends with them, I’m just asking that you give them a chance as their own ponies and try to get along with them. Please? For me?”
“Fine…” Sunset sighed. “I suppose it would be silly of me to just hate them for something their counterparts did. I probably won’t like them either way, but I’ll give them a chance.”
“Thank you, Sunset.” Twilight smiled warmly.
Sunset returned the smile with a confident nod. “I can do this.”
Sunset took a step back and shook her head. “I cannot do this.”
After breakfast, the two had settled down in the library to wait for Sunset’s tour guides and Applejack, punctual early riser that she was, didn’t keep them waiting for long. Immediately upon seeing Applejack however, a wave of mixed emotions began to bubble up in Sunset. Regret, longing, betrayal and a whole lot of anger; everything she had tried suppressing surged through her, vanishing the good mood the morning had set her in.
“Sunset…” Twilight began gently, but Sunset cut her off.
“I mean it, Twilight! I just look at her and…” Sunset gestures towards Applejack, who awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. “...and I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now, but I’m not feeling ready to spend a day with them all!”
“Sunset, please.” Twilight placed a hoof on Sunset’s. “You can do this. Just give them a chance.”
“No, Twilight!” Sunset swatted her hoof aside. “I can’t! I just can’t deal with them all right now!”
“Okay,” Twilight said softly. “Maybe it’s still too soon for that. It’s okay, we’ll just spend the day together then. I can deal with Anon-A-Miss some other time.”
“No,” Sunset shook her head. “You go ahead and fix that moronic school.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight tilted her head. “I’d hate to leave you alone like this.”
“Twilight, it’s okay. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself for a day.” Sunset smiled reassuringly. “And besides, the sooner you’re finished worrying about them, the sooner you can focus on fixing this hot mess here.”
“Alright.” Twilight nodded. “If you’re absolutely sure.”
“Twilight, I’ll be fine.” Sunset gestured around the room. “I’ll just spend the day catching up on some reading. That should keep me occupied.”
“In that case…” Twilight’s horn lit up and a purple book came flying from one of the nearby bookshelves. “This journal documents all the Friendship Lessons me and the girls have learned over the years. Maybe learning a bit about how they are on this side of the portal will help you sort out your feelings.”
“You want me to study up on your friends?” Sunset let out a snort of amusement and grinned at Twilight, who smiled sheepishly.
“Maybe~?”
“That’s an incredibly you thing to do.” Chuckling, Sunset grabbed the book with her magic. “Alright, I’ll give it a look and hey, maybe I’ll learn some more friendship lessons while I’m at it.”
“That’s the spirit!” Twilight smiled broadly. “If you’re really okay with this, then I’m gonna go now.”
“Yeah, go and give them all a good lecturing.”
After a quick hug, Twilight put on her serious face, squared her withers, and marched off through the portal.
After watching Twilight disappear through the portal, Sunset settled down on one of the comfortable reading couches, that dotted the castle library. With a sigh, she opened up the Friendship Journal to the first lesson. Twilight had told her about a few of her adventures during their conversations through the journal, usually when Sunset wrote to her about a new friendship lesson she had learned, and she was rather curious to see the path that had shaped Twilight into the embodiment of Friendship that she was.
“So....” Applejack’s voice pulled Sunset back out of her thoughts. “Since ya called off the tour fer now, Ah guess I’m just gonna go…” She said, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. She turned around and made a move towards the library door.
“Wait!” Sunset voice rang out, halting Applejack mid-step. “Can I… ask you a question first?”
“Sure thing, sugarcube.” Applejack turned back around towards Sunset. “Ask away.”
“If…” Sunset gulped and took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the pages of the journal. “If you found out that a member of your family had been spreading embarrassing secrets about you, how would you react?”
Applejack winced, a look of sympathy appearing on her face. “Ah got so mad, Ah refused ta even talk ta Apple Bloom.”
“Huh?” Sunset replied rather dumbfounded, looking up enough to throw a glance towards Applejack..
“Ya see,” Applejack said. “Something like that happened here once, when mah sister an’ her friends tried ta earn their Cutie Marks in journalism.” She described the events of the Gabby Gums incident, how Diamond Tiara had blackmailed the Cutie Mark Crusaders into gathering all sorts of hurtful gossip and the eventual fallout. “It should be somewhere near the end of the first half in the journal, if ya want ta look up the details.”
“Huh.” Sunset frowned flipping forward through the Friendship Journal until she found the appropriate page. “Maybe the... Other Applejack, wasn’t lying about me being family after all…”
“Maybe that’s what’s going on over there?” Applejack offered, with a nod towards the mirror. “Twilight said that this human world has got a version of all of us. Maybe Anon-A-Miss is that worlds version of Gabby Gums?”
“That is possible.” Sunset hummed thoughtfully. “If one version of Diamond Tiara had access to that sort of blackmail on your sister, then the other version might too.”
Her eyes widened up in sudden realisation. “Applebloom was the one to bring up Piggly Wiggly in the first place. And Sweetie Belle was there during the sleepover, so she could have taken the pictures from my phone. I didn’t even keep a pin to unlock the screen, because I never kept anything important on my public phone…
“But…” Sunset made another thoughtful humming noise. “I can’t think of any reason why Diamond would do it. Anon-A-Miss isn’t a gossip column in a newspaper, it’s a MyStable blog. She’s not selling any copies with it, or otherwise earning anything, not even any kind of positive reputation. She can’t take credit for getting me to leave CHS, without exonerating me.”
“Maybe she just got it out fer ya personally?” Applejack shrugged.
“Maybe…” Sunset furrowed her brow. “But I can not for the life of me remember ever doing anything to her, or her little girlfriend. The freshmen as a whole were pretty inconsequential to any of my plans… And I can’t think of anything that she would gain out of anonymously ruining my reputation either. It doesn’t fit.”
“Somepony else then?”
“Probably.” Sunset shrugged. “In the end it doesn’t really matter.”
Applejack gave Sunset an incredulous look. “O’ course it matters! Don’tcha wanna know who did this ta you?”
Sunset sighed deeply. “On the one hand, yes, I want to know. On the other hand, I just want to leave this whole thing behind me…”
“Even if it means that ya can never go back ta yer life there? Yer home?”
“Pft!” Sunset scoffed dismissively. “Equestria IS my home, Applejack. That place? It was a prison I was foalish enough to get myself trapped in. I never wanted to make a life there. Let Anon-A-Miss have her little victory. Ultimately, all she achieved was to get me out of my self-imposed exile.
“Besides,” she added. “It’s not like I could go back even if I wanted to. The police will be looking for me sooner or later.”
“Whaddaya mean?” Applejack asked. “Because of the fights ya got into?”
“Potentially,” Sunset sighed. “Assuming they try to press charges. But more because of the post I sent the night I left. I revealed all the students’ crimes, I was privy to. A good few of which I blackmailed and extorted over those crimes. They’ve got nothing to lose in letting the cops know about that now.”
“Oh…” Applejack said, looking uncomfortably to the side.
“Having second thoughts about the whole ‘showing me around’ thing by now?” Sunset gave her a sardonic smile. “You don’t have to try and be friendly with me just because Twilight asked you to, you know? It didn’t go well with the other Applejack either. And I am fully aware of how bad I look right now. I won’t hold it against you if wanna leave now.”
“Sunset,” Applejack said slowly, after thinking for a long moment. “If ya had shown up at mah farm that night and told me that whole story? Ah would’ve taken ya in. Ah don’t need Twilight ta be neighbourly. Ah admit, Ah had some doubts when Twilight told me what happened, but Ah know now that you really have changed.
Applejack reached out with her hoof to touch Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset flinched slightly but relaxed after a moment. Something in Applejack’s words had struck a chord in her.
“Ah know yer scared that dealing with us will turn out the same way it did with our counterparts, but it won’t, Ah promise.” Applejack’s voice was gentle and reassuring. The kind of voice you use when talking to a hurt foal. An honest voice.
‘Maybe I can actually trust them…’ Sunset looked thoughtfully at Applejack. ‘They are the people Twilight thought their counterparts were.’
‘And what if they’re not the people Twilight thinks they are either?’ Her doubts answered unbidden.
‘Well what if they are?’
‘What if they aren’t?’
‘Then it’s not like we can sink any deeper, than the rock bottom we’ve already hit.’
‘Twilight could abandon us too. They could turn her against us.’
‘Do you really believe that Twilight would ever abandon us?’
‘We didn’t believe that any of the others would ever abandon us either. Fact is, we have no guarantee that this will end any other way than with any of them.’
‘We have no guarantee that it will not either.’
‘If you’re wrong, we’ll regret this for the rest of our life.’
‘So will we if you’re wrong. And right now, I’d rather make the mistake of trusting a friend too much, than not trusting one enough.’
“Maybe...maybe you’re right,” Sunset finally said. Her voice came out a little hesitant, but she managed to give Applejack a small smile. “I think I feel a bit better now.”
Applejack returned the smile with one of her own, broad and confidence inspiring. “Feel like going on that tour now after all?”
“I…” Sunset hesitated again. “If it’s alright, I’d rather just...follow Twilight’s advice and study up on you a little for now.”
“Alright.” Applejack nodded. “Ya just give the word when ya feel ready, okay?”
“Okay.” Sunset's smile turned a little wider now. “And thank you, Applejack, I really needed to hear that.”
“Yer welcome, Sunset.” Applejack gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and turned to leave. “And if there’s anything ya need, just ask.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunset nodded. “Thanks.”
After watching Applejack leave, Sunset turned once again back to the Friendship Journal. These mares had inspired so much confidence in Twilight, that she hadn’t thought twice about entrusting her into the care of their counterparts after the Formal. It was time to find out, just why that was.
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I'm really curious about that Royal Business Spike is doing because when I read that mostly in fictions it was clop things. And I that wasn't something I really want to imagine on this fiction. It would be cool if you explain that later.
next time
twilight body slamming 600+ students in a row.
Interesting
It's good to see this back!
And you were doing so well!
Nah, but in all seriousness, this was a big step up. Grammatical mistakes still existed, but I had a much easier time working through them and enjoying the story anyway.
It's alive!
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Simultaneously, not in a row. She's an alicorn, give her some credit!
On the side note, it's nice that Sunset gets a break and meets one of the pony counterparts of the Rainbooms who tried to help her out.
I'm curious on how Princess Twilight deals with the human versions of her friends.
The long wait was worth it. Looking forward to more.
Keep it rolling.
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I hope not, I really don't want this story to go down the route of everyone being evil for turning against saint Sunset. It's one of the most overused tropes in these stories. The worst offender being Twilight giving a "You Suck" speech to the school before abandoning them forever.
This story already made a misstep by not having Sunset go all out in her payback I just don't want it to go the safe route that most Anon-a-miss stories take.
You know, I thought of this story this morning and wondered if anything had been posted to see if it was still kicking. Then a little bit ago I refresh my tracking to see this chapter sitting there. Really glad to see you're continuing it because I like this story and the way you write everyone.
Nice bit with Sunset messing with Twilight. If it happens again, she needs to lavishly describe how good it was last night. Preferably with Rarity nearby to crank up that bit of drama. The embarrassment has been doubled!
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Nothing untoward happens between Dragon and Princess.
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Oops...
I extra went through it all again to make sure I fixed all of those.
Guess I overlooked that one. Oh well.
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I'm trying to write the story as though some of the lessons and character developement from the two movies actually stuck.
Indulging the cliché of Sunset reverting into Unrepentant Bitch Mode when she loses her friends, struck me as the bigger misstep there.
She's not just a better person because their presence balances out her negative vibes.
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Thanks, I'm glad to hear that.
I'm gonna do my best to not take another year for the next chapter.
vive vive !!!! jajajjajjajajajajaa
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I'm just glad you're taking all these steps to improve. You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't.
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Well, the way I viewed it was that she was angry and made a rash decision. Similar to how her friends turned on her rashly when they were angry. By having her pull back on her payback it puts her up on a pedestal as if to say she's better than them whereas if she did go all out it would help to put her on the same level as everyone else which would be far more interesting.
This way it seems like the Rainbooms were completely wrong for doubting her where the alternative would put Sunset in the position to admit that "yeah, under the right circumstance I might fall back on my old ways". It would have made Sunset a more interesting character instead of just someone we're supposed to feel bad for.
Good to see this going again, can't wait for the next chapter.
Is Twilight going to go into full buttrape mode on the school?
Total Joke, don't freak out over this.
i.pinimg.com/originals/43/b7/6f/43b76f1177738548a27f6889531262b9.jpg
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Hey, it's cool. You explained why and believe me, I'd rather read something that an author wanted to post rather than something the author feels they did a rush job on. I've got all the patience in the world for a good story.
I sense a Twilight Lecture coming on that the humans are going to be forced to listen to.
Well worth the wait!
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Yes, she was angry and made rash decisions. That's what caused her unnecessarily brutal treatment of Trixie, Gilda and Dumbbell. She didn't have to stuff them down trashcans or break their bones. But she was angry, all of her worst impulses were coming back to the surface and she basically just made things worse for herself in the long run with it. Its also what caused her to make the post anyway, even after reflecting on it and realizing that she was slipping back into those impulses. That's her capacity for going back to her old ways when circumstances change.
And I think I've explored in some detail in the chapters before, that the Rainbooms had some long buried and deep seated grievances with Sunset that fueled their knee-jerk reaction over Anon-A-Miss. That all the hate that was coming her way from the students ultimately stemmed from the wrongs she had done them.
Putting Sunset on the same level as the rest of the school there wouldn't serve her character well, because she isn't on the same level. She is the one who caused all that hate against her to exist in the first place, and she also went through a brutal, life changing character arc that they didn't. For her the things friendship taught her run a lot deeper, because they're part of a major turning point of her life. Going back to her old ways would mean more than just her deciding that she has no reason to play nice anymore. It would mean to go back on a defining and meaningful moment of her life that completely changed her as a person.
The right circumstance for her to completely fall back to her old ways would subsequently have to be a lot more severe than just the loss of her friends. She's not just nicer because she has friends to show her the way. She's a better person because she genuinely never wants to go back to who she used to be.
If you'd find a grey Sunset who goes back to her old ways more interesting, then that's fine. But I find it more interesting to explore how her character arc had a profound impact on her as a person, that isn't just going to go away that easily.
That's also why the Rainbooms immediately snapped out of it, when the post went up. They've already been through this kind of stuff, and they've learned a thing or two about stubbornly sticking to their anger.
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It just feels like you chickened out a bit. What got me interested in this story was the idea of Sunset getting so angry that she would burn all her bridges on the way back to Equestria and then after calming down having to deal with the consequences because she isn't a bad person and she would regret ruining the lives of those who don't deserve it.
By having her only release the information related to other people's illegal activities you significantly lower the stakes of the situation and make it a lot easier for the Rainbooms to forgive Sunset as opposed to having to decide whether or not to forgive her after she deliberately released so many secrets (understanding that they are partially at fault for pushing her to it). Not to mention it means Sunset has alot less to feel guilty about since the people whose secrets she released probably did deserve it.
Yeah, a grey Sunset would be more interesting because no one has ever done that. She is always the undisputed victim who did nothing wrong so having her actually do something wrong was a fun twist on a really stale story.
I'm sure this story will be good and I will keep reading but those first 2 chapters were what got me really interested in this story (I generally ignore Anon-a-miss stories because they're all the same) and then chapter 3 made it much less interesting than it could have been.
No knock against the story just expressing my disappointment that you didn't decide to go all the way.
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im waiting for that one poor sod oh came back form a trip not knowing anything about anon a miss and being suplexed via magic
That whole thing... was a great way to start a chapter.
I don't often laugh out loud, but when I do, I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Well done
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Fair enough and several other people have expressed an interesting in that as well.
Maybe I'll make an alternate continuity where just that happens.
But for this one, Anon-A-Miss was meant to serve as the opening act that gets Sunset into Equestria.
It was not supposed to be the be-all end-all of the drama.
Nice chapter!
I wonder if the Rainbooms will go to Sunset’s apartment first or if they will run into Twi.
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I greatly enjoyed your conversation here in the comments, thank you.
At first I completely agreed with Tungul on their read on Sunsets character and -development but everydaygamer does make a good point. I guess it completely depends on how one views what the EoH did to Sunny and how lessons stick with her. Important is in my opinion that Sunset needs to have a good reason storywise to go all out. By which I mean that the author needs a good reason to have her act this way or that. I can't stand fics that just let Sunset have revenge for the sake of revenge and then let her leave without repercussions. And that is what my mind conjured up when I read the first argument of everydaygamer. Just goes to show how assumptions can lead to misunderstandings. ... I feel like there is a friendship lesson here somewhere.
Anyway, I'll keep tracking this story since I like where it's going.
Let's see what Spike told Celestia since I assume that he talked to her about his concerns concerning Sunsets inner demon. And probably mentioned that Sunny is back and troubled...
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Yeah, I'm the same way I definitely don't want a story where Sunset just gets revenge with no repercussions. I just want to see a story where both sides are at fault and accept blame, If she did release all the secrets It would be because I want to see the repercussions she would face but I would still want a happy ending.
I would personally recommend checking out Myriad Thoughts my all-time favourite Anon-a-miss aftermath fic and the only reason I still give Anon-a-miss stories a chance.
*And somewhere, Discord is suddenly crying chocolate-covered marshmallow tears at someone finally getting one over on Princess Purple Butt.*
(But seriously, this whole sequence right here made this chapter. Excellent work.)
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I have that one in my read later, I gues getting a recommendation is as good a reason as any to get around to reading it.
I am however not sure about the politeness of recommending someones fic in someone elses comment section, probably would have done that via PM.
I have read a fair amount of Anon-a-miss fics by now. As far as I remember, be they bad ones, parodies of those bad ones or impressively good ones, I don't think I've read any that paint Sunset as anything but the poor victim more often than not with the clear moral high ground. I guess either me or writers have missed an opportunity to explore a different kind of Sunset Shimmer.
9378526
I don't think it's a big deal to recommend stories there's a whole bunch of them on the side of the page (or bottom of chapters). People gotta do something while waiting for an update.
9378333
I'm glad you are not changing your plans from those comments. Despite what they were saying about Sunset becoming a vengeful banshee being rare its actually one of the most common Anon-a-miss story tropes. Its right up there with Sunset breaks down completely and either gets help from other characters or tries to hurt herself. Their idea is also the far more simplistic approach on her as a character. If she gets so angry that she lashes out as basically her demon self in metaphorical form that is just a flipped switch and it becomes a righteous vengeance fantasy fulfillment fic and like I said there are already dozens out there. So your path where she catches herself against anger and starts growing again is actually the more unique path. Its sort of like the Sunset depression fics but with Sunset coming from anger instead of sadness. This is a more complex path then the simple rarw monster one. Bravo and thank you.
Nice chapter, but im not gonna lie, i was entirely blindsided by all the shipping moments between Twilight and Sunset.... not that i didn't like it or anything, i just didn't expect that type of stuff from the story.
1. I completely forgot this story existed & 2. That was hilarious prank Sunset pulled on Twilight!
Ah'm
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Needs end " marks.
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Applebloom >> Apple Bloom
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I'm happy to see this update. Thanks for putting this chapter together.
9378750
So true. That "catches herself" path is so much better than a vengeance hate fulfillment fic, or a suicide / self harm fic. It gives this fic depth. I mean sure she did something stupid out of anger, but in the end, she isn't so far gone as too not know it was a stupid idea after she cooled down, and she can make things right later.
9378750
9379131
You two are misunderstanding what I was talking about. The reason I wanted Sunset to release all the Blackmail material wasn't for the sake of vengeance but for the sake of making things more grey. Her friends would be wrong for turning their backs on her but after calming down would realize they were being rash and seek to make things right but Sunset releasing all the blackmail would make that a lot harder. Sunset meanwhile after calming down would realize she was wrong for releasing the blackmail and seek to make things right.
The reason I dislike Sunset pulling back on what she released is that it keeps things firmly black and white with Sunset as the undisputed victim and everyone else firmly in the wrong which everyone does. I was hoping this would be a more complex story where both sides could be wrong but would hopefully lead to an ending where everyone can be friends again.
Granted that could still be this story but I still wish it had gone the other way instead of keeping Sunset on the moral high ground.
9379592
Um ... I never read your comment. I was replying to Silver's comment.
That said, if you read mine. You'd see:
I pretty much agreed with you. Her releasing the blackmail material, which she didn't pull out of, and did indeed follow through with releasing it.
But her regretting it, is relatable. After all pretty much everyone has done something out of anger that they regret afterwards and would like to take it back.
It doesn't put it in black and white territory. Rather it adds a relatable human element. She acted in anger, and feels bad about it. I can totally relate, and think it adds some complexity imo to the story.
9379628
I apologize if I misunderstood your comment. She did pull back though, in her anger she planned to release all her blackmail material on everyone but at the last second, she decided to only release the material related to people's illegal activities. That's why I was disappointed because it lessens the impact of what she did.
I wanted Sunset in her anger to harm everyone whether they deserved it or not then later come to regret it. But this way she only harms those who actually deserve it which means she has nothing to regret. It contributes to the "Sunset is perfect" route so many people go down. I don't care what lesson's she learned the whole point of acting out of anger is that you don't consider the consequences of your actions in the moment yet despite being angry Sunset still made the morally superior choice. So I would say this is still pretty Black and White because while Sunset's decision was rash it wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do.
9379716
No, they started each encounter and through the first punch the policy is very bad and should be removed.
9379662
In it's own way, it's already grey like that. That's what all those introspective parts where there for.
Sunset isn't just the innocent victim in this. She's innocent in the sense that she's not Anon-A-Miss, but the situation isn't really about Anon-A-Miss. The knee-jerk reaction of the Rainbooms and the scorn from the rest of the student body are all there because of the wrong Sunset did them until just a few months ago. It's her own damn fault that people hate her and she knows it. Anon-A-Miss was just the trigger that brought all those feelings back to forefront.
Sunset's anger already harmed people who didn't deserve it.
Sunset already made morally inferior choices.
And the resolution with the Rainbooms will be as much about whether or not Sunset can forgive them, as whether or not they can genuinely forgive her, after all.
I understand why you'd like to see a story where Sunset goes all out, but this one isn't all that black and white either. Sunset isn't a saint, she's a reformed devil. And her sins came to haunt her again.
9379982
I mean honestly, it's probably more of a nitpick at this point as I don't want to judge the story too harshly as we are still at the beginning. Frankly, if she wasn't gonna go all the way I'd rather she not release the blackmail material at all. It's like you wanted to have your cake and eat it too.
Sunset was on the warpath beating the crap out of people left and right. Then just before leaving she decides to release all her blackmail material. That's an exciting development and really made me curious how she might come back from such a rash decision later on. But having her only release the material on people who deserve it just seems like a weak payoff where she suddenly decided to hold back despite everything she had done up until that point.
It's like you were afraid you were making her too unlikable but also didn't want to abandon the plot point either. It just seems to reduce the conflict when Sunset hasn't done anything all that horrible. I suppose you could have all the horrible stuff she's guilty of be stuff from her pre-reformation period but that's still kind of a cheat since the Sunset of the present is clearly beyond doing anything all that bad unless it's to people that truly deserve it.
Keep in mind this is all just purely preference from someone who has grown sick of stories that always try to keep Sunset up on a pedestal as opposed to really showing her as a flawed person capable of making mistakes just like anyone else, just like her friends.
Very nice chapter getting into Sunset's psyche and how this whole business is affecting her trust issues. You did very well in showing her hesitation with Applejack given what happened, but allowing the slow build to play out and give rise to the start of a good friendship. AJ was the best one to start helping Sunset given her trust issues, her honesty reassuring Sunset. I can't wait to see how her interactions with the rest of the Mane Six go and what happens with Twilight on the other side of the portal.
Also, in the following line:
I don't think you should use arms, given they are ponies. Forelegs would work better.
Also, that whole marriage joke was hilarious. XD
None of them ever tried to murder her.
You did.
And yet you're in her house, eating her food and being comforted by her as best as she can. I guess other people just don't deserve the same as you. Double standards are fun when they help you feel better, eh, Sunny?
9380018
It was meant to show that she'd learned to reign in her anger when it counts, just like she reigned in her proxy anger towards Applejack enough to actually talk and make a connection with her, that she otherwise wouldn't have. Her anger issues were flaring up again, but this time she actually managed to catch herself before doing something she would just regret.
It was probably a bad idea to make it a bait and switch though. I thought I was being clever at the time, but maybe I should change that part to reflect the intention better.
Well that's kind of the problem, isn't it? She IS supposed to be beyond that, at this point. She's had a whole character arc over not being like that anymore. I can't reasonably have her make that mistake, without invalidating all her growth related to no longer making that kind of mistake. Where would the point be in her having that character developement, if I just ignore it the moment it's convenient for the drama?
And I totally get that. Trying to do something different because I'm tired of stories always doing the same, is part of why I'm writing this at all. It's why I put so much emphasis on Sunset's own fault in her situation, because that's something I've barely ever seen acknowledged in any AAM fic.
9380147
I'm not sure where you get this idea from? Sunset learned to be a better person but she never learned how to overcome her anger. Her anger issues are a part of her character that we see come up in Friendship games when she yells at Twilight and again in Forgotten Friendship as she got increasingly frustrated at the situation she was in.
Sunset getting angry and making poor decisions is par for the course for her. Just because she got blasted by the elements and learned to be a better person doesn't mean she can't get pissed off and make poor choices like any other normal person.