Out of This World

by Mouse-Deer

Can't We Be Friends

Sunset’s eyes drifted open the next morning, a cool autumn breeze floating through her window. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The cuts on her back felt slightly tender, and she felt a jolt of pain when she stretched her arms out. She grimaced and tried to push it to the back of her mind.

When Sunset had returned from the rooftop last night, Twilight insisted that she was no longer going to sleep on the floor, and that Sunset’s bed had more than enough room for the both of them. Because of the vain pity for the girl occupying her mind, she could not find it within herself to refuse, and let the girl share a bed with her for the night. She ignored the implications of that statement and ran to the sink to wash off the blush that had formed on her face.

She got up and began her daily routine. After washing and dressing herself, she sat at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and nibbling on a piece of toast.

Twilight walked out into the kitchen, still in her borrowed pajamas.

“Good morning,” said Sunset. She looks peaceful.

“Morning,” Twilight responded.

Sunset put a piece of toast in front of her. “Eat up.”

Twilight obliged. The two sat there for a while, eating breakfast and pretending that everything was normal, before Sunset spoke up.

“What would you like to do today?”

Twilight grinned. “I made a twenty-four step list of all the things we can do to prepare for the Changelings. Shows how much you can get done when you burn the midnight oil, eh? I’ll go grab it for you,” she said, running back to Sunset’s room.

She returned with her list and handed over to Sunset. Sunset examined the list.

“Step one: assess all possible responses to the threat in order to find the correct balance between practicality, efficiency, and morality. Okay, not a bad place to start.”

Sunset skimmed through a few more.

“Step seven: examine the anatomy of the wasp to discover any exploitable weak points.” She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s worth a shot,” Twilight shrugged.

“Step ten: perform every summoning ritual known to ponykind.” She raised the other eyebrow.

“I would normally place it farther down the list, but it’s more of a continuous exercise than an task to check off. You can never get too much help, right?” She nervously chuckled when Sunset did not respond, only continuing to read down the list.”

“Step fifteen: contact the government and give them a tip about Chrysalis without mentioning that we are technically illegal aliens. Step twenty: lock Chrysalis in a room for a week until we figure out what to do with her. Step twenty-two: set the town on fire to force an evacuation. Step twenty-four: run and hide, praying that Celestia spares us in the afterlife?! I’ll give you credit for the first ten ideas or so, but this is beyond ridiculous.”

“I know,” Twilight said defeatedly, “I just want to make sure we have a last resort for our last resort.”

Sunset sighed. “Alright then,” she set the list down on the counter and took another swig of coffee. “I guess we can start there somewhere.” Her eyes widened as she realized she almost forgot the most important moment that they day would bring.

Today’s the day that my answer is due.

She glanced up at Twilight, innocently enjoying her breakfast with a smile on her face, as if she was not the same girl who had so sternly scolded Sunset the night before. She’s not innocent, Sunset thought, she’s far from it. She has seen the worst thing happen to her world, and wants to live every moment without any regrets. I can’t blame her.

Especially since I can take away all that she has left.

She turned around and rubbed her eyes. Look her in the eyes and tell her, then. Tell her that you should go to the school, for whatever goddamn reason, and walk her straight toward her demise.

Do that, and then you will at least know what type of person you really are.

Sunset turned to face Twilight and stared directly in her eyes. “Twilight,” she said.

Twilight looked up at her. “Yeah?”

“Why don’t we . . .” She paused one last time.

“What?”

I’m going to do it.

“Why don’t we visit the school today? To examine possible escape routes, or to—”

Three knocks resounded against the door to the apartment.

Sunset stared at the door in shock. Shit. Some higher being must be getting a good laugh at my torment.

“Sunset . . . ?”

She jumped out of her reverie. “Sorry, I’ll um . . . get that, yeah.”

She walked over to the door and grasped the knob, caring very little of who was there, only planning on how quickly she could send them away. It could be the Chrysalis for all I care. At least it will make getting rid of Twilight easier.

She swung it open only to be face to face with the last three girls she wanted to see.

“Well hello again,” Adagio cooed. “How wonderful it is to see you. Ooh, a new friend as well? My my, Sunset.”

Sunset stumbled back onto the floor, fear flashing across her face. “What the hell are you doing here?” She tried to growl out, but it ended up sounding more like a whimper. Behind her, Twilight jumped out of her seat and readied herself for a fight.

“Oh, stop freaking out you two,” Adagio said, stepping into the apartment. Aria and Sonata followed right behind her.

“What do you want?” Twilight growled.

Adagio raised her hands in front of her, her haughty smirk giving away the her mock timidity. “We just want to talk. Make love, not war, and all that other pony crap I hear they peddle nowadays.”

Sunset got back on her feet and stumbled over to Twilight, grabbing her shoulder. “Don’t let them fool you, Twilight,” she said hurriedly, “They attack through anger. I don’t know what they are or how they do it, but I’ve seen how quickly they can turn a whole area from zero to one hundred.” She turned back to the Dazzlings. “How the hell did you find my house?”

Aria laughed. “It turns out that we both hang out in the same social circles. It’s a surprise we haven’t met before, actually. I know the people you scammed to pay for this place. They were more than happy to give me your address,” she said.

Sunset glared at her. “Why, so you could beat the shit out of me for them? Do I need to teach them a lesson again?”

“That’s what I told them I was going to do, but, trust me, we have far less petty things to focus on.”

“Like what?”

Adagio grinned and stepped over to the counter, taking a seat on a stool. “Considering that you are alive right now, we must share a common enemy.”

“And that would be whom?” Twilight asked.

“Why, Queen Chrysalis, of course,” said Adagio.

Twilight and Sunset looked at each other, confused. “How did you find out about Queen Chrysalis?” Sunset questioned.

“It’s all your fault,” pouted Sonata, crossing her arms.

“Be nice now, Sonata,” Adagio said. “She’s not completely wrong though. The Changelings made you walk straight into our feeding ground the other day. Truth be told, we had actually sensed some strange magic coming from this city for over a year now, but you were the one that led us directly to Chrysalis.”

“And what happened then?”

The Sirens awkwardly glanced at one another. “We had a . . . poor moment of hubris, you could say. Chrysalis did not take lightly to our presence.”

Sunset started to laugh. “You walked right into a trap, didn’t you? Wow, and I thought I was doing a poor job!”

“Hey,” Aria glared, “Don’t act like you’re any better, bitch. You’d be changeling food if we hadn’t broken you out of that trance.”

Sunset calmed herself down. “Fair enough.”

“Anyway, we have spent a lot of time with Chrysalis over the past few days,” Adagio continued, “and she was quite fond of you, Sunset. So much so that she’s been doing all of her business with your body. That must be uncomfortable.”

“She has good taste, at least,” Sunset responded.

“I don’t think you’ll like to hear about what that good taste entails for you. Chrysalis didn’t exactly expect us to get out of her little trap, and she let slip more than a few important details through all of her gloating. So, I have a proposition for you: we team up to take her down.”

Twilight and Sunset glanced at one another warily. “And?”

“And what?”

“What’s the catch?” Asked Twilight. “What do you three want out of taking her down?”

Adagio smiled devilishly. “All we want is to see that bitch burn.”

Sunset’s heart started to beat faster. Is this it? Is this my chance at salvation, handed to me at the last moment? Maybe, just maybe, I won’t have to hurt Twilight?

Sunset walked over to a chair and sat down. “Let’s hear it, then.”

---

Princess and Principal Celestia frantically slammed the door closed behind them and locked it.

“Shut all the doors and windows! Stuff towels underneath the cracks if you have to!” Yelled the Princess, slamming a window shut.

“On it!” replied the Principal.

They rode out the whole night, a swarm of wasps surrounding their car; however, the Princess’s intuition was correct, and they all abruptly stopped the chase once the start of the school day drew near. The two women rushed back to the Principal’s house and rapidly barricaded themselves in.

“Once school lets out again, they will probably send a few back here,” the Princess said, returning to the main living room. “I suggest we wait it out for a few days, and then try and meet up with Sunset and Twilight before the Formal. We best find something to do in the meantime.”

“That sounds simple enough,” The Principal responded, taking a seat on the couch. “The school is probably worried about where I am. Let me call in sick for the next few days.”

“Very well.” The Princess paused. “I suppose that I will start by writing a letter. Do you have a pen?”

“Yes,” the Principal said, handing one over from her suit. “What are you going to write?”

“What I should have written a long time ago,” she responded, standing up and moving over to her current bedroom. She walked back out with Sunset’s journal, and immediately scribbled a long message on a fresh page when she sat down.

Half an hour later, the two women were already bored. The Princess had finished her letter, and the Principal had called in and prepared a task list for “Luna” and the administration for the next few days.

“Who did you write to?” The Principal asked.

“Sunset, of course.” She handed back the pen.

“Ah. Why not use normal paper?”

The Princess shrugged. “This journal was connected to an identical one back in Equestria, but that’s currently powering up the portal between these two worlds. Still, a part of me finds comfort by writing in this journal; it is as if I am communicating with Sunset directly.”

They lapsed into silence.

“Do you miss her?”

Princess Celestia nodded. “More than I miss my whole country. If things could have gone differently, if I had been a normal pony with the lower level of power that you hold, then I . . . I like to imagine that I would have been able to work through things with her. That I could be more to the people around me than a ruler. I could be a pony. That is not what my existence entails, however.” She coughed. “I shall not complain too much, as I’m sure it is not a golden world for you, either.”

The Principal let out a weak chuckle. “It’s funny, because I was thinking the same thing about myself. If I was at your level, that height of heights, then I might finally be able to feel like I achieved all I could. I have always wondered if I can do something more, that I can leave an imprint behind on the world far greater than what I have currently. Even Chrysalis saw through me. And then you show up, and everything I have thought my whole life is essentially confirmed to me. I guess I feel . . . unworthy of even sharing the name and identity of someone like you.”

“That is a foolish notion,” responded the Princess. “You may not be a ruler, or even a person who will change the world, but I, as Celestia, have never prided myself on this meaningless definition of importance you constantly bring up. What I find pride in is not my skill at ruling, or how many people I can manage; it’s my morals, if I can hold myself up to what I say I believe in. It has always been my morals that I focus on, because they are the only thing that I have truly struggled to maintain through my whole life. When I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, I see every success and mistake I have ever made. There have been plenty of each. Yet you are somehow successful, confident, and compassionate to the people around you. I have never been all three. If you are not worthy of existing as Celestia because of your lack of importance, then I am not worthy of existing as her because my importance has destroyed my understanding of a common heart.”

The Principal leaned back in her seat. “So we’re just two inadequate Celestias at the end of the day. Perhaps that’s our defining trait: we can never be enough where we believe it truly matters.”

“Perhaps.”

The Principal stood up and peeked out of her window. “The coast is still clear,” she said. “I think we’re long overdue for a discussion about what plan you’re cooking up. If you want my help, I need more details.”

The Princess smiled. “Of course. Where should I start?”

“Maybe at the whole ‘count the Changelings’ part?”

“Ah,” the Princess responded. “Yes. Well, what did we figure out when we found out Chrysalis has less than twenty Changelings at her disposal?”

The Principal rubbed her chin. “I suppose taking over the whole world with only twenty Changelings is a bit far fetched.”

“Indeed. She needs more reinforcements before initiating her invasion.”

“Won’t she just call in more Changelings from Equestria?” asked the Principal.

“Yes, it would seem so; however, I spent two weeks meeting with every single Equestrian ally in the world and pleading for their help. I currently have the enforcements from Yakyakistan, Griffinstone, Hippogriffia, and Saddle Arabia all creating skirmishes along the border of Equestria in an attempt to force any Changelings in Equestria into battle. If Chrysalis calls them back, they all know to make their way to Canterlot Castle and free Luna and the element bearers. I’m sure Chrysalis expects this from me. This means that she must have something else planned, then . . .”

---

“. . . Chrysalis is bluffing,” Adagio said. “She goes on and on about how she’s going to annihilate this world, but the truth is, she’s standing on one leg that’s ready to be kicked out underneath her any second. We saw through the illusion magic she uses on her small number of troops almost immediately.”

“Where are her reinforcements, then? Chrysalis won’t invade this world without a strong chance of success,” Twilight asked.

“Right,” Adagio responded, “Once we realized she was bluffing, it became a matter of wondering where her backup was actually going to come from. The thing is, when she was gloating like a madwoman, she would always find a way to wrap things back up to the Fall Formal. That waste of a school event is the lynchpin to her whole plan.”

“But why?” said Sunset. “What does the Fall Formal offer her?”

“Think about who she’s pretending to be, dumbass,” Aria said.

Sunset rubbed her chin. “Well, she’s pretending to be me. I assumed she wants to use my position as the Fall Formal Queen to steal the positive emotions of everyone at the party, and to have in the hottest seat in the house while doing it.”

“Right on,” Adagio responded. “I wonder how much that must hurt, knowing that all your hard work was stolen right under your nose.”

“Watch your mouth,” Sunset growled. “I’m not afraid to teach you some matters, Equestrian or not.”

“Okay, okay,” Adagio waved her hands in dismissal, “I’ll hold back for a little while longer. You’re missing one important part, though; Chrysalis doesn’t just want your position for the best hit of changeling energy. She wants to use your victory as Princess at the Formal as a final boost of power to kick-start the invasion. That tree outside the school has mutated significantly in the past few days—we think she’s loading it full of eggs and intends to use that emotion from your victory to hatch them at once. In one fell swoop she’ll have an army at her side.”

“I thought Changelings only fed on love,” Twilight wondered aloud.

“Normally they only do, but this world calls for desperate measures. The lack of magic is really hurting the Changelings’ ability to conquer. Were this Equestria, they probably wouldn’t even need any magic to ignite the eggs into hatching in the first place. But this world has so little magic, so they’re pretty much relying on scraps to get their army up and running.”

“I get it,” said Sunset, “The Changelings need the respect and admiration I worked so hard in gaining this past year as the key to the ignition of their invasion of this world, right?”

“Right. And we need to take those emotions away from her before she can do so. But Chrysalis is smart; even if we manage to prevent your victory from happening, she may find a way to bounce back . . .”

---

“. . . Chrysalis plans on using the event your school is hosting as the starting point for her invasion. Teenage emotions are so unstable that she can almost certainly gain enough sustenance to hatch a fresh hive of changelings and start taking over the city. We just have to find a way to stop it,” The Princess explained.

“Could we just delay the event, like pulling the fire alarm, or nullifying Sunset as a competitor in the race?”

“We could,” the Princess said, “but it would only delay Chrysalis. She will find another way eventually, and we may not be lucky enough to predict this next time. We need a solution that can not only prevent Chrysalis from hatching all of the eggs in that tree, but also leave her in a severely disadvantaged state; preferably, we could defeat her completely.”

“Do you have any ideas?” The Principal asked.

“I have a few . . .”

---

“. . . This is where we come in,” Adagio said. “Chrysalis needs love to fuel herself up, but The Dazzlings are experts in the opposite.”

“That would work!” Twilight exclaimed. “Just steal all of their love before they can absorb it!”

“Not so fast,” Adagio said, “That is not how our magic works. We don’t turn love into hate, we only bring hatred to the surface and amplify it to an extreme degree. Also, the Changelings are immune to our magic. The only thing we can do is essentially take food out of their stomach. It’s a great long term torture tactic, but we need something fast and quick to take advantage of.”

“The other students, then,” Sunset chimed in. “Make all the students at the dance hate each other, use your magic to get them at each other’s throats, and ruin the night completely.”

“That’s what we were thinking,” said Adagio. “Instead of making the Changelings angry, we get everyone around them to feel hatred instead. We’ll spoil their milk so they have nothing to drink. From then on, it’s just a matter of tracking the Queen down . . .”

---

“. . . Once Chrysalis has lost all of the energy the school dance was going to give her, we need to corner her.”

The Principal leaned forward. “And what do we do to her?”

“Well,” the Princess said, “We show her the error of her ways. The magic of friendship should be extended to her, even if I suspect she will refuse to take its hand . . .”

---

“. . . Then we smash her fucking face in,” Adagio finished.

“Hey, let’s try diplomacy first!” Twilight scolded.

Aria snorted. “Yeah, we tried that with her. Chit-chat time is over.”

The Sirens continued to bicker with Twilight while Sunset stared blankly forward, not paying attention. It could work. They actually might pull this off. There’s a loose plan to follow now. Loose, but still something.

“Adagio,” Sunset said.

She turned to Sunset. “Yes?”

“How confident are you that your plan will work? How do we know that we can trust you?”

Adagio grinned. “We don’t have everything planned out yet, but if we can pull off just the first part and stop her from abusing the Fall Formal, then we can at least gain more time to face off against her. As for your second question: this world is our sandbox. If Queen Chrysalis wants to come in and start kicking down our castles, then we’re gonna make sure she knows who runs this playground, even if we have to burn it down to set an example.”

An odd relief began to flow through Sunset’s body. There’s another option. I don’t have to do this to Twilight. The Dazzlings swooped in to save her at the very last moment, to stop her from taking the final step over the brink. This must be the plan that succeeds. The timing is too perfect. This is fate! She took in a deep breath, letting the suddenly fresh air of her apartment fill her lungs. Another path! Another option! Another hope!

She stood up and turned to Twilight. “Let’s talk for a minute,” she said, motioning Twilight into the bathroom. Twilight followed behind her, and closed the door when they entered.

Twilight let out a long sigh, placing a hand on her forehead. “I don’t trust them,” she said. “I’ve dealt with this type before. They act cunning and cooperative, but when things go wrong we get tossed under the bus.”

Sunset shrugged. “But their plan works, right? We can prepare for that to happen later.”

“Their plan barely works,” she said. “It’s a plan that seems perfect on paper, but there are too many holes left for it to actually be worth investing in. We don’t even know if what they are saying is true. We don’t even know what they are,” she exclaimed. “I would rather take some more time to explore the options ourselves before we jump right into helping the creatures that quite literally feed on hatred.”

“But that’s exactly what we need right now,” Sunset rebutted. “They can counter the Changelings, and getting them on our side is going to increase our chances of survival tenfold.”

“But what’s the point of surviving if we end up dooming even more people by helping them?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s the point of surviving?’ That’s been the point this whole time, right? We can’t save Equestria if we’re dead!”

“You’re missing the point,” Twilight frowned. “We can’t save Equestria if our morals are dead as well. This is about fighting for the good of the Equestrian people, and if that means we become collateral damage, then so be it. This isn’t about running away. This about stepping up. We’re fighting just as much of a moral battle as we are a physical one.”

Sunset stared at Twilight, aghast.

“Really? I thought you agreed to follow my morals, to do things my way. Now all of a sudden it’s all about being righteous and taking the high ground? We need to start kicking below the belt, because that’s the only place Chrysalis has left open for us!”

Twilight sighed, her eyebrows lowering into a glare.

“I know that you’re hiding something from me.”

Shit. Sunset stepped back. “What . . . ?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s tearing you apart. You keep trying to validate yourself. Please, tell me the truth.”

Sunset sighed. “Look, I’m not hiding anything, I’m just stressed because of all of the shit you’ve thrown into my lap. Of course I’m trying to validate myself with little Miss Perfect breathing down my neck.”

Twilight grit her teeth. “Playground insults stopped working on me after magic kindergarten. Your behavior is erratic, and now you’re on defense since I called you out.”

“I’m not erratic!” Sunset through up her hands in frustration. “What am I doing so strangely, then?”

“You spend every chance you get to degrade yourself. Ever since Saturday, you’ve become visibly uncomfortable whenever we brainstormed ideas on how to stop Chrysalis. You decided it was in our best interest to waste a whole day for a reasoning I probably shouldn’t have gone along with. And now, you immediately jump onto the plan of three girls who are probably magical beasts in Equestria like your life depends on it! For whatever reason, you have completely given up hope on our success.”

Sunset grunted in irritation. “I know a good plan when I see one! This won’t fail!”

Twilight’s glare weakened slightly. “It will, Sunset. And not because it isn’t foolproof, or that the Dazzlings are holding something from us. It’s because you will never be able to truly commit yourself to it. I will tell you this, Sunset: I can’t save anything, or help anyone, if I can’t help you. Celestia entrusted me to find you, and I took it upon myself to show that you can be better than you think you are.”

Blood rushed to Sunset’s head and began pulsing with electrifying anger. “Better than I think I am? I’ve tried to tell you. I know what I am. I’m the girl who . . .” Sunset’s words got stuck her throat.

“Who did what? Something terrible, but in its own unique way, was admirable? Tell me, Sunset. I won’t be too mad, even if it’s wrong. Please, the only way we can succeed is if we are open with one another,” pleaded Twilight. “I want to know why you’re hurting yourself over this.”

Sunset stared at her, still trying to muster the words to speak. " . . . Really?”

Twilight stepped up to her and put both hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. “Yes. I promise.”

“I . . . fine,” Sunset’s legs wobbled, but she took a deep breath to steady herself. “I was going to sell you out. On Saturday . . . Chrysalis said that if I gave you to her, I would be safe from her invasion.”

Twilight kept both hands on Sunset, but the gentle smile on her face shifted into an unreadable line.

“I was going to do it,” she continued, “I really was. That’s why I was so broken up last night. I didn’t want to, though. I had a plan, even . . . later down the road, when Chrysalis and I were in good graces, I would cut you and any other important figures out of the pods to stage a last attempt at taking her down. I mean, I didn’t even go through with it. I was planning to, but still . . .”

She sunk to her knees, crumpling on the floor. Twilight said nothing, just impassively staring at her.

“That’s bullshit, I know. But there was no other option, Twilight . . . they ran so many circles around us that you didn’t even notice it . . . today was supposed to be the day I gave Chrysalis my answer. I guess the Dazzlings sort of felt like a beacon of hope, a last salvation, giving me an escape at the final second.”

Twilight continued to stare at her, raising her eyebrows as if she wanted her to continue.

“I . . . I’m sickened with myself. I don’t know the last time I’ve felt that, if I’ve ever felt that. But, here we are. It’s out in the open now, my true self. Going behind your back even after I promise that I can do better. It’s just my destiny, Twilight . . . I’ll always run away. I take the option with the least conflict. It’s easier that way. It means I don’t have to ever accept that I’m just a goddamn coward . . .”

Twilight sunk to the floor, leveling herself with Sunset. She gently reached out her arms, and wrapped them tightly around Sunset’s pitiful form. Sunset gasped as she felt Twilight wrap around her. Despite feeling as if she was in the lowest depth of shame, a burden lifted on her heart. Unlike the false sense of hope she gained from the Sirens’ arrival, Sunset didn’t just feel her stress fall away, but something else took its place: a far nicer feeling, one that she could not find the name for. It felt like the hole in her body had been filled up with a flowing wave, filling in a space that had been empty far prior to Sunset’s trip to this world. She squeezed her eyes shut and unsuccessfully tried to keep tears from flowing down her cheeks.

“I forgive you,” Twilight whispered. “I’m mad . . . even more disappointed. It’s going to take a while for me to let the thought of you doing that go. But I’ve seen you fight this darkness since I met you, Sunset, even if you’ve only just realized it. You’re full of so much potential. Not in an academic sense, like I’m sure everypony told you since you were a filly, but an emotional one. I want to help you reach that, as your friend. Truly.”

Sunset let out a long-held breath, taking in the sweet medicines that were Twilight’s words. They felt empowering; her thoughts cleared, her legs loosened from their soreness, and even the cuts on her back ached less than before. She buried her head in the crook of Twilight’s neck. “Thank you. I want to be your friend. Honestly.”

Twilight smiled. “Then let’s make a promise. No more hiding things from one another. We’re a team from here on out, okay?”

Sunset offered a weak grin in response. “No more secrets. We’ll do this together, as a team.”

A calm settled over the two as they sat on the bathroom floor, sharing an embrace. Sunset marveled at Twilight’s ability to know the perfect response to her problems, even the ones she didn’t understand herself. She was afraid of what Chrysalis had in store for her, but it felt easier knowing that Twilight was going to be behind her, to have her back completely, as long as Sunset had hers. She reluctantly unwrapped her arms around Twilight and stood up, straightening herself out. Twilight did the same.

“Well,” Sunset said, clearing her throat and wiping her eyes, “What are we going to do with the Dazzlings?”

Twilight put a finger to her chin in thought. “I agree with you that it would be foolish not to at least see where their offer leads us. They are probably here to stay whether we like it or not, so we should get them on our side.”

“Morals be damned?” Sunset asked.

“Morals be damned,” Twilight bashfully admitted. “I guess I’ll stay true to my statement last week. If we need to get a little dirty to save the world, then we’ll just make sure it doesn’t get mentioned in the history books.”

“That’s the spirit of a true politician right there!” Sunset laughed. “Let’s rejoin them.”

The two opened the door and stepped back into the living room of the apartment. The Dazzlings were huddled around each other, looking around the apartment.

“Took you long enough,” Adagio grumbled.

“I would say get a room, but you technically did,” said Aria.

“You both look so cute together!” Sonata exclaimed.

Sunset and Twilight awkwardly ignored the last statement and chose to return to their seats at the kitchen counter. “We have come to a decision about whether we want to help you or not,” said Twilight.

“And your answer?” asked Adagio.

“We’ll accept your help.”

The three sirens turned to one another and smiled. “Good,” Adagio said. “Then let’s start working out the finer details of the plan.”

“Actually,” Sunset spoke up, “I may have a way to get over one of your biggest hurdles right away,”

“Which one?” asked Adagio.

“You said that we needed to get rid of as much happiness and love in the school as possible, right?”

“Right, and hopefully replace it with anger and hatred, to play the crowd.”

Sunset grinned. “Well, I might just be able to do that.”

“What do you suggest?”

Sunset stood up and walked over to her computer, flipping open the screen. “I’ve been documenting every student at Canterlot High for over a year now.” She clicked into her Files directory and began moving toward the hidden file that held every profile of each student. She clicked on the Attendees folder. “Here it is,” she said, scrolling though the files of every student’s name.

“That’s creepy,” Sonata said.

Adagio laughed. “It’s good fortune, though! Let me guess, you have some nice dirt on every student?”

“Yep,” Sunset said, leaning back with a smirk. “I got at least one good piece of info on everyone in here.”

“Can I see some?” asked Adagio, leaning closer to the screen.

“Well, most of the good stuff is on my flash drive . . .” She facepalmed. “Shit! I don’t have my USB right now!”

“What? Where is it?”

Sunset slumped in her seat slightly. “I left it with Principal Celestia. We’ll have to go and pick it up from her today if we want to use the stuff that’s really bad.”

“Umm,” Twilight said, “Could somepony explain why having all of this information is a good thing?”

Sunset turned around to face Twilight. “If we want to cause chaos and anger in school, one of the most effective ways is to start exposing the dirty laundry of every kid—especially the stuff that’s between multiple students. We pit everybody against each other, and then Chrysalis’s food source can barely stop itself from starting a school-wide catfight.”

“And how are we going to get everyone’s ‘dirty laundry’ across the whole school fast enough?” Twilight asked.

“That’s easy,” Sunset said. “We use the internet!”

“The internet?”

“Social media, specifically,” explained Sunset. “I can post embarrassing or stories photos on a social media platform, and anyone who is my friend can see what I’m posting. Even if I’m not friends with every student in the whole school, my friends will digitally share the photos with their friends, and soon enough my posts are spread around like the plague.”

“Sunset, that’s terrible!” She gasped, horror flashing across her face. “How fast can this information spread?”

“If we’re lucky, and Sunset’s information-gathering skills are as good as she says they are, then about a day will be enough to get the school in an uproar,” Adagio said.

“Wow . . .” Twilight sat back down. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I,” Sunset said. “I spent all my free time gathering this dirt. This plan better work.”

“It will,” said Adagio. “Especially now that we’ve got this addition. Wow, we were lucky to come to you!”

Sunset pulled up her internet browser. “I still have a few pieces of dirt on my main computer, so we could at least get started right away. Which platform to use . . . "

Sunset ran through the list of social media platforms in her head. None were bad options, but she would probably have to post on multiple platforms to pick up enough traction at CHS before the Fall Formal. She suddenly remembered the conversation she had with Flash on Thursday.

“Aha!” She exclaimed. “There’s this new social media website called MyStable; supposedly it’s getting really popular at school.” She typed in the link for the website and signed in with the account she had made last week. “And it allows pictures to be posted on walls, perfect! Now it’s just a matter of finding the right piece of info to post first.”

As Sunset began scrolling through her files, Twilight tapped her on the shoulder. “Sunset, do you really want to use you own account for this? I mean, isn’t that kind of dangerous?”

“Well, I have to. Chrysalis is banking on getting the largest boost of power from impersonating me, so . . . " Sunset paused. I haven’t thought about that. If I go through with this, and we succeed, then my chances of returning to life in this world are almost over. I’ll at least have to leave town. Just as she was about to close the tab, she recalled Twilight’s words from last night.

If you come back to Equestria, and start living again . . .

She shook her head. I couldn’t. The Princess would crucify me. I’m stuck here, whether I like it or not.

I might be able to get Twilight to sway in my favor, though. She turned to Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“If things go south for me in this world, will you . . . help me work out a new situation?”

She smiled. “Of course, Sunset. I would love to, no question.”

Sunset returned the smile and turned back to the computer. “All right. I never thought I would be using the fruits of my efforts from the past year this way, but I guess that’s just how it’s going to be.”

“Hold on,” Aria said. “I don’t think you should be posting on your main account.”

“Why not? The more people that hate me, the less love that gets sent Chrysalis’s way.”

“But, if you post slander on your main account, the school will almost certainly try and take action against you immediately. However, an account not connected to your name in any way will be out of the school’s powers beyond simply requesting for the page to be taken down, as long as you don’t devolve into hate speech or such.”

“Okay,” Sunset said, “but wouldn’t it be smart to try and slander my name as much as possible? If the students make me out as the devil, even if they all still love each other, Chrysalis’s plan will be severely weakened from the get-go.”

Aria grinned. “I never said the students didn’t have to know that you were behind it. Make the profile completely obvious that you’re running it. Make the color scheme red and yellow, use a sun as your profile symbol, hell, accidentally ‘let slip’ a few things only you should know. When everyone in school suspects you’re behind it, they’ll hate it even more than if you openly admitted it; now you’re not only destroying the school, but you’re too much of a coward to own up to it. Trust me, it’ll be even more effective if you pretend to be anonymous.”

“Anonymous, huh . . .” Sunset tapped on the New Profile button and began setting it up. After a few minutes, she grinned. “And there we go! I present to you all . . . Anon-A-Miss!”

Much like Aria’s instruction, the profile page quite heavily suggested it was Sunset Shimmer behind the screen. She was already friending as many people in school as possible, and intentionally picking the people in her social circle to be her first ones added. Her profile picture was even an old pic of her cutie mark emblem she had gotten stitched for her when she first arrived in this world. It wouldn’t take long for the students to connect the dots.

“That’s tacky as fuck,” Adagio responded.

“Yeah, I’m pissed off just knowing someone would try and make that their username,” commented Aria.

Sonata smiled. “I think its clever.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said. “I’ll start off with a few tame posts to warm the students up.”

Sunset, Twilight, and the Sirens continued to fill out the Anon-A-Miss page and, after exhausting the tiny supply of info Sunset had stored on her computer, began to go over other parts of their plan. Their cooperation helped many aspects come together quickly. Sunset noticed that Twilight was quite the odd one out in the situation; however, Sunset realized that this was probably going to be her last time to be the school bully she always wanted to be, so she was going to enjoy it as much as possible. If I get to make fun of some vain kids in order to save the world, then you bet your ass I’m going to milk it for all it’s worth.

“Sunset,” Twilight said, “We should go and visit Principal Celestia soon, to recover your things.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “that would be good. We should stop by the school to see if she’s working today.”

“That isn’t the only reason you want to go, is it?” Twilight asked.

“No,” Sunset grinned devilishly. “I owe someone a response.”

Author's Note:

Surprise! It was an Anon-A-Miss fic all along! Mwahaha!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Comments, questions, criticisms, and corrections are always welcome. Thanks for reading!

Comments

[The Voice in the Water]

Y'know, this is actually a pretty clever use of that atrocity of a comic's source material.

Of course, now Sunset and Twilight have made their deal with the sea-devils. Good luck girls.

[Revel Montaro]

Very clever. And yes, Anon a miss is an atrocity. Sunny and Twi better have a backup plan when the "Sudden but inevitable betrayal" takes place.

[Zaveryn]

Haha! I swear there's like a million Anon a Miss fics on this site, which surprises me considering how middling the comic actually is.