Chapter 3
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Sunset Shimmer herself.”
Sunset looked away from her shopping list. She was at the Canterlot City mall, in front of a shop specialising in long-distance travel equipment. She had just bought a backpack and checked it off her list when a voice spoke behind her. She turned around and growled when she saw the duo in front of her.
“You two?!”
“Hello, Sunset Shimmer. I wish I could tell you it's a surprise to see you here, but it's not,” said Adagio Dazzle with a smile, in her usual self-assured position, her studded accessories shining under the mall's lamps.
“What are you doing here?”
The girl to her left, Aria Blaze, grunted.
“What else besides buying things?”
Sunset frowned.
“What are you doing here?” Sunset repeated, keeping her voice at a normal volume, not wanting to attract the attention of the people around them. “And where is your third member?”
“Slowly, one question at a time. For the first question: we were looking for you. And for the second one, Sonata is at Canterlot High School, watching your arrival,” answered Adagio.
Sunset blinked in surprise.
“Were you looking for me?”
“We've heard about what's going on at your high school. We sent Sonata there to see if you were all right.”
The redhead gave them a suspicious look.
“Since when have you cared about my well-being?”
Adagio smiled. Not a malicious smile. Just a simple smile.
“We'll explain it to you. Come on.”
Accompanied by Aria, Adagio walked towards a café. Sunset looked at them without moving from her place, strangely planning to follow them. She shook her head. But what was she thinking about? They were two out of three members of the Dazzlings. Her enemies. She had nothing to do with them. Yet the fact that they cared about her made her curious. Mumbling incomprehensible things, she followed the two sirens.
.
Sunset watched the last member of the trio, Sonata Dusk, finish her milk shake and burp.
“Oh! It was delicious.”
Sunset shook her head and looked Adagio in the eyes. Earlier they had entered the café and after they had finished ordering their drinks, Sunset had immediately asked the orange-haired siren about her concern for her, the girl who had beaten them.
“Let's wait until Sonata arrives,” she replied after texting the last siren.
So they had waited. Maybe fifteen or thirty minutes.
“So, what do you want from me?”
“I thought I'd made myself clear earlier.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, I don't believe a word of it.”
Aria sniffed dismissively.
“I told you she wasn't going to believe it, Adagio.”
Adagio made a hand gesture, drawing the redhead's intention again.
“That you don't believe it, I don't care. But we do...”
Sunset sank deep into her seat with frowning brows.
“I confess I am confused. I would have put my hand out that you would want revenge.”
Adagio nodded.
“That was the case before. You could say it has become an obsession. Especially for me.”
“Yeah! She kept walking around the house at night muttering incessantly that she was going to strangle you, torture you or kill you in the most painful way. Sometimes she confused you with Aria and me, and tried to strangle us several times.” Sonata quickly exclaimed without gasping for breath.
Aria laughed at Sonata's comment and Adagio scratched the bridge of her nose.
“Sonata. Please be quiet.”
“What? What did I say?”
Adagio struck the table with her fist, ending the junior subject and returning to the main subject.
“In short, it was when I realised what I was doing to them that I ended my quest for revenge. It only makes your mind worse. So we all just tried to forget. And we almost would have succeeded if we hadn't seen you coming out of that little café one night, rejected by your so-called friends.”
Sunset winked at the memory. A few days after her confrontation with her friends in the corridor, she tried again to talk to them at Sugarcube Corner but to no avail. She came out of it more in tears than ever.
Adagio continued.
“We were curious, to say the least. So we followed your friends and heard them talk about this very interesting little MyStable account.”
She nodded to Sonata and the blue siren handed the redheaded woman her phone, which was displaying nothing but Anon-a-Miss. With a "humpf" she gave the phone back to Sonata.
“No need to be a genius to find out what happened. We soon realised what was going on. We thought you were friends with them but apparently at the Battle of the Bands they just used you.”
Sunset frowned even more but did not try to defend the girls. Why should she? They hadn't used her, she knew that, but she just didn't want to take their defences.
“Strangely enough, I immediately thought that your choices in this situation would be : A) stay in high school and wait quietly for things to calm down, B) leave the school to make a better life for yourself, or C) pick yourself up and try to find out who did it.
You see, there is always that feeling in us that pushes us to try to take revenge. But we don't want that anymore. But it's still there. It poisons us. It gets boring. And yet, something tells me that if I helped you a little, it would disappear. So we put a tail on you to see which of the decisions you would make. And it looks like this is option B. Hmm?"
She snapped her fingers and Aria handed Sunset a piece of paper representing a guitar and a microphone crossed into an X.
“What is it?”
“A registration ticket. Even if you've managed to sell your goods, you'll run out of cash in a while.” Adagio said. “You're good at singing and playing the guitar. In a week's time there is a music competition where participants are either solo, duo or trio.”
“We figured you'd win hands down, since most of the contests organized by this company are for budding artists and not for famous people.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Of course, there is a prize.” Aria says, rolling her eyes. “A prize of $10,000. It’s by taking part in this kind of completion that we’ve earned money since the Battle of the Bands. Of course, our voices got lost for a while…but they came back. Just imagine. If you win, you could have enough to live on for quite a long time until you find a way to make money regularly.”
Adagio stood up and the other two imitated him.
“We hope this will help you get back on your feet. I know you will accept my offer so I'll meet you tomorrow at five o'clock sharp, one kilometre north of Canterlot Hill. We will be waiting there to take you to the competition site. It is halfway between here and Trottingham, after all.”
With that, they left the small café, leaving behind a pensive Sunset Shimmer whose phone was vibrating, signaling another post from Anon-a-Miss.
.
Sunset shook her head and tried to enjoy the warmth of the morning sun. It had been a few hours since she had left Canterlot Hill. She wasn't really good at calculating the distance, but it seemed to her that she had already completed three-quarters of the distance from the hill to the meeting point. Readjusting the strap of her backpack and guitar case, one of the few things she had kept, she quickened her pace when she saw the silhouette of a van and the three sirens.
“I knew you would accept.” exclaimed Adagio, her face impassive, an expression that Sunset returned to her.
They got into the vehicle, Aria in the driver's seat, Adagio in the co-driver's and Sonata and Sunset in the back. The vehicle's engine roared and headed towards the competition site.
.
The gymnasium was filling up at noon the day after leaving Sunset. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were shaking like leaves. Today was Friday and also the day Celestia had decided that they would confess to being Anon-a-Miss in front of the whole school in the gym. Suffice it to say that they were not very enthusiastic.
The atmosphere was electrifying. Insults, angry looks and mockery came from here and there. Everyone was at each other's throats, ready to get into a fight if necessary. The rules no longer mattered to them. All they cared about was getting out of the gym so they wouldn't be in the presence of those who were making fun of them.
“So, are you ready?” Luna asked, standing next to the trio.
“I think I'm going to be sick.” Sweetie Belle mumbled, putting a hand in front of her mouth. “I'll be right back!”
She rushed out of the gym and went to the girls' toilet. She took a stall at the far end and without further ado regurgitated her breakfast. The cabin doors opened, the sound of the unscratched hinges covered by the sound of Sweetie Belle vomiting.
“Sweetie Belle?! What's wrong?!”
The little girl waved her hand as she stood up.
“Don't worry, Rarity. It's okay.”
“Are you sure?” said Rarity, anxious in her face.
“Yeah, don't worry, I told you.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “Come on. I've got to get back. I'm not going to let others take all the blame.”
She took her sister by the hand and dragged her out of the bathroom. They soon arrived in the gym and joined Scootaloo and Applebloom, with the others, at the back of the stage.
“Are you all right? You don't look so good.” Fluttershy said, putting one hand on the girl's shoulder.
“It was just temporary.”
“Good!” Celestia exclaimed, clapping her hands. “The time has come. First I'm going to say a few words to the students. Then, when I announce that we have found the culprit, you will go on stage and confess. Is that understood?”
The trio nodded and Celestia returned the gesture. She signalled to her sister to come with her and once she was in full view of everyone, silence began to reign supreme. Celestia waited until she could feel all eyes on them and the Rainbooms had taken their seats in the front row before speaking into the microphone.
“Hello dear students! I wish you good morning, happy to see that you are in great shape.” These words were accompanied by a light sarcastic laugh. Celestia's face became more serious “I have gathered you here today to announce a new capital. But let's start at the beginning. Several weeks ago, an anonymous account calling itself "Anon-a-Miss" intimidated this school. We might as well tell you that we had a hard time tracking down the person behind it.”
One student suddenly shouted: “Stop beating around the bush and tell us what's going to happen to Sunset Shimmer!!”
“She's right.”
“Yeah!”
“I hope she gets expelled.”
Celestia pinched the bridge of her nose. This is not a good start.
“A little silence, please.” The students obeyed. “To answer your question, nothing will happen to Sunset Shimmer. Only because she is innocent. No! Don't interrupt me!” she shout as she saw some people open their mouths. “Just like you, only for the first two days, we thought she was really behind all this. So we investigated, hoping she would be caught red-handed, but it turns out we were wrong. She had nothing to do with it.”
“Our search continued, alas without result. Everything led us to believe that the account was created outside the school; out of our reach. We had started to despair until the unlikely happened: the guilty party... sorry, I mean, the guilty parties, came to my office and confessed.”
A deadly silence pervades the room, with everyone exchanging uncertain and troubled glances. Luna took the floor.
“And it is to reveal to you the culprits that we have gathered you here.” She turned to the side of the stage and nodded her head. The trio understood and moved timidly forward under the imaginary spotlight. “Dear students, let me introduce you to the creators of Anon-a-Miss.”
One...two...three...The room was filled with uncontrollable laughter, some students almost suffocated. Only the Rainbooms were not laughing.
“SILENCE!”
Once again, and again thanks to Luna's inflexible voice, the room obeyed immediately. Applebloom coughed and stepped forward.
“It's true, we are the ones who created Anon-a-Miss. We were the ones who spread your secrets via this account.”
In the front row, a few chairs away from the Rainbooms, Trixie rose abruptly.
“It can't be! You're not going to make us believe it was you. Sunset Shimmer must have threatened you to take the blame instead.”
“Please sit down, Miss Lulamoon.” Celestia ordered facing the students. “Apparently, you need proofs…“ She then looked at Sweetie Belle holding a phone in her hand and nodded her head. She started typing frantically on the phone. “...then you'll get them.”
Sweetie Belle then tapped 'Publish'. The phones started ringing and the students unlocked them, seeing that it came from MyStable. They opened the application and saw a message in bold: "Is that enough proof for you?" written on the Anon-a-Miss page. The students looked up at the trio, who looked shyly and apprehensively at the crowd. This time no one was laughing. Were they really Anon-a-Miss? It was impossible and improbable. And yet...
A hand rose in the still crowd. Luna pointed at it dryly.
“Yes, Miss Melody?”
Octavia stood up timidly and pointed to the MCC.
“If you really are Anon-a-Miss...give me the password to the account!”
The trio recovered from their surprise at the sudden order. Scootaloo cleared her throat and answered, uncertain.
“It's "CMC_ABSBSC".”
Octavia blinked, surprised that they agreed. Then she sat back down and logged out of her own MyStable account and connected to Anon-a-Miss. Others began to imitate her and soon everyone could see how these three girls had managed to get all these secrets. Their mailboxes were full of them. Full of secrets...sent by the students themselves, forcing them to publish the secrets or risk being beaten up.
The students got up from their seats and the insults and threats came back as fast as the speed of sound.
“How dare you give them this secret?! I trusted you to keep it!”
“Why did you give it to them?! Because of you, I'm the laughing stock of the whole class.”
“You....”
“What do you mean I'm crazy?!”
“SILENCE!! THE NEXT ONE WHO WILL OPEN HIS OR HER MOUTH WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION WILL BE IN DETENTION!!” shouted Luna with all her lungs through the microphone.
The students shaved brutally while grumbling, always looking at their relatives, friends, families, who had given Anon-a-Miss secrets about them. People who had betrayed them.
“Good! You wanted proof, you've got one!” Luna exclaimed coldly. “You were angry with Anon-a-Miss, because it was revealing your darkest secrets when it was you who was giving them to it, threatening the creators. At last count, THEY are not really Anon-a-Miss. They are not the real intimidators. YOU are!”
The students stared at her, confused. What did she mean?
“I'll explain.” said Celestia as she saw their expressions. “All these girls did was publish their sisters' secrets and they were going to stop there. But then you sent them the secrets of your own friends...and forced them to publish them. And then when they appear, you intimidate the person you think is responsible...without any proof of their guilt. I'm obviously talking about Sunset Shimmer here. A young girl who has absolutely nothing to do with this. A girl that you beat up without scruples.”
In the name of the girl, the students froze and after a few seconds their facial expressions, of angry origin, became sad and guilty. What could they say in their defence? Celestia was right. The tyrant was not Sunset, it was them. And they were much worse. During her reign, Sunset never needed to use physical force. But they were a different story. Some of them started crying and sniffing, remembering the redhead who was punched in the face one after the other two or three days ago, blood running down her face.
“So, while I'm at it, I have some questions about Sunset Shimmer for you.” added the principal, the hard face. “I don't know if you are aware of this, but everything suggest that Sunset Shimmer left town last night.”
Whispers ran through the crowd and Luna didn't bother to force them to keep quiet, letting them digest the news.
“The police is looking for her right now, at the request of the lady who is hosting Sunset.” Celestia continued. “She left a letter saying she had to leave because she fears unfair reprisals. You could call her a coward, but leaving was one of the wisest choices, given what she was going through here. She thought that no one wanted her here.” Fluttershy put her head in her hands and cried. Pinkie put a hand around her shoulders. “But there are people who really care about her. So, if you want to be part of an honourable fine, please tell us everything you know about her possible destinations.”
“But let's come back here to Canterlot High. You attacked Sunset Shimmer several times and most of the time she ended up in the infirmary with bandages. We already know the names of the attackers and they will be held for a fortnight. As for these girls, it will be six months, for starting this whole thing. And you will be strictly forbidden to beat them up and intimidate them.”
“With that, I will end this meeting and wish you have a good day, except that today will probably not be the case.”
Together with her sister, Celestia turned around and took the trio of girls to her office. Soon the Rainbooms followed, leaving the gym in a hurry. The students soon followed suit and headed to the cafeteria, head down, some with tears in their eyes.
.
Applebloom completed the account deletion process and then gave her phone back to Celestia who inspected it. No trace of Anon-a-Miss. She sighed and looked at the girls with a small smile.
“It will be all, girls. I'm glad that even though it was late, you still made the right choice.”
“We had to do it sometime, didn't we?” said Scootaloo.
“That's true. Now go. Don't worry about the others. They won't hurt you. Besides, your sisters will be there to accompany you.”
The trio thanked the principal and left the office. Celestia finally allowed herself to sink into her seat. She put a weary hand over her face and watched the sun shine through the window.
Sunset. Where are you?
Applebloom's gaze fell on Sunset's locker as she and the others passed by. It was ridiculed with little insults drawn with a compass; papers were also stuck to it, with drawings of the redhead as ugly as the portraits Professor Discord made in chemistry class.
As they passed by, a piece of paper peel off the metal and flew past her. She grabbed it in flight and looked at what was written on it. A tear fell and she threw it away.
When they were out of sight, a hand took the paper and the person also read.
I hope you are happy, Anon-a-Miss.
Flash growled and angrily threw the paper into a bin and started to remove the papers stuck on the redhead's locker. He was later joined by his friends Ringo and Brawly Beats. They shyly smiled at him.
Shortly before he defended Sunset against Dumbbell, Flash and the other two had had an argument. Both were certain of Sunset's guilt while Flash defended her innocence. After that, the Flash Drive group split, with Brawly and Ringo on one side and Flash on the other. Guilt versus innocence. They hadn't spoken to each other, Flash has been hanging out with Ditzy ever since. And they were here today, asking to join him. He smiled and agreed. Within minutes, all the insulting papers were in a nearby dustbin.
They exchanged a shy High Five and headed to class, passing Bon Bon's group in the process. While all three of them were depressed, Vinyl was the opposite. She had her head held high with a smile on her face and her walk was rhythmic. She didn't have that kind of depressing aura that the world was having at the moment, as if the cold, sad environment around her didn't affect her.
Probably because she also believed in the innocence of Sunset, thought the blue-haired guitarist. I'm not the only sane person here, it seems.
.
The cafeteria was only a shadow of the lively sanctuary it once was. There was no discussion, no agitation, and no look expressing any other emotion except remorse. Everybody was contemplating their meal, their unhappy, carefree faces of the world around them. Everything was calm. Very calm. Too calm compared to what high school used to be like before or during Anon-a-Miss.
Vinyl was rocking her head with rhythm. She looked at the girls sharing her table. Octavia stared at her salad with an empty look. Lyra played with her spaghetti with her fork, yet she didn't swallow a bite. And Bon Bon took bite after bite, swallowing mechanically, with an equally empty gaze, sometimes letting out a little burp.
Wanting to set the mood, Vinyl took her spoon and fork and started tapping the table with them, creating an improvised but not bad music. No reaction from her friends. She abandoned her tactics with a pout and, annoyed, she took a leaf of salad with Octavia's fork and brought it to the cellist's mouth. The cellist ignored the thing in front of her mouth and sighed.
“You were right, Vinyl.” she said, her usual chic accent having disappeared.
Vinyl frowned, confused.
“Sunset wasn't Anon-a-Miss. And she's gone, because of us, and we can't...” She sniffed, tears appearing in her eyes. “...apologize.”
Her shoulders sagged. Bon Bon and Lyra imitated her. Through her glasses with tinted lenses, Vinyl gave them a worried look. Even though it was wrong to think that, given the situation, she wished she had been wrong all along.
From that day on, Canterlot High School was not the same. A veil of guilt spread over the school.
Once they had ensured that the girls were safe with Cheerilee in the library to begin their detention, the Rainbooms had now gathered in their rehearsal room. Usually at this time of day they would have had fun practicing, but today they didn't have the heart for it. For it seems that their hearts left them when they rejected the one who had the biggest among them.
Rainbow took her visual organs around the room. Applejack was sitting on a chair, her hat hiding her face from the sunlight coming through the window, her feet on a table. Pinkie was lying on a big black piano, her eyes lost in the emptiness. Rarity was leaning against the window, looking out at the snowy courtyard and Fluttershy was listening to music with her mobile phone and headphones.
“What are you listening to Fluttershy?” asked the athlete.
Fluttershy seemed to shrink on the spot when all eyes in the room were on her.
“Just...nothing.”
“Come on, let us listen. It won't hurt to set the mood after all.”
Fluttershy seemed hesitant but did what she was told and unplugged the headphones. When the music resounded in the room, and seeing the expressions of her friends, she regretted it.
♪Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky
I'll show there's another side to me
You can't deny
I may not know what the future holds
But hear me when I say
That my past does not define me
Cause my past is not today!!♪
The music ended. Fluttershy observed every reaction. Rarity had trembling lips, ready to cry. Pinkie hadn't moved except for a slight frown. She couldn't know Applejack's expression because as soon as she heard the singer's voice, she put her hat back over her eyes. Rainbow's hands were clasped.
“I'm sorry.” Fluttershy hastened to say.
Pinkie had a joyless laugh.
“Why? You've done nothing wrong.”
Rainbow sighed.
“Have you heard from her?”
Applejack shook her head, putting her hat back on.
“The police are still looking for her, but to no avail to their network. And also, they can't just stay on this. They also have other priorities. Vice-principal Luna thinks it would be a waste of time to rely on them and has placed an ad in a newspaper to warn people, or Sunset herself, that we are looking for her, but on this side nothing too.”
Rainbow growled.
“We screwed up.”
“That's the understatement of the year, darling.” Rarity mumbled.
Knock Knock Knock
The door of the room opened. They looked up and saw the newcomer.
“Hi, girls!”
“Hi Flash!”
The guitarist looked around, as if he was looking for something. Or rather someone.
“Is there a problem?” asked Rarity.
“No, it's just that...Uh...I thought I...heard her voice.”
Applejack sighed and sadly pointed at Fluttershy and her phone.
“It was just a song she wrote that Fluttershy kept.” She put a finger under her chin. “By the way...how did you get it? I never heard her sing that one.”
Fluttershy bit her lower lip.
“She made me listen to it shortly after the Battle of the Bands. She wanted my opinion on it but I never got a chance to tell her because...”
Her sentence died in a sob. Pinkie got up and came and put her in a strong embrace which the shy girl gave back with thanks and grace. There was a moment when everyone was lost in his memories. Afterwards Flash cleared his throat.
“Well, I'm not going to disturb you any longer so...”
He turned around and prepared to leave, but Applejack held him back.
“Wait, Flash!”
He stood still with his hand on the doorknob.
“Hmm?”
“Listen, Flash. We know you knew she was innocent. We also know that you were the last one here to speak to her in a...non-aggressive tone.”
“Yes. And?” Flash asked, arching an eyebrow.
Applejack lowered her eyes to the ground, awkwardly searching for her words.
“Tell us. She...uh...ho...how did she feel?”
Flash frowned as he remembered the emotional mess she was in and let a growl come out of his lips.
“Broken!” This word came out as a whisper but was heard perfectly. “It is the only word I can use to describe her. She was like an automaton. Her eyes were lifeless. I admit I've never seen her like that. It was a shock. The kind and gentle person she was after the Battle of the Bands disappeared.”
Slowly he raised his hand and felt his fingers against his cheek.
Well, not completely, he thought as he caressed it.
Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving the girls in a growing sense of guilt.
He stopped in front of his locker and picked up his books for his next class. Along the way, he saw the students moping or arguing with their peers about the secrets sent to the deleted account.
“Everything that happens to me is your fault. And to think you called yourself my friend.”
“Huh? Hi Watermelody!”
“Leave me alone, Golden. I don't want to talk to you.”
*Slap*
“What was that for?!”
“Guess!”
Increasing the speed of his walk, he went out of this corridor and into another one where the atmosphere was the same. He sighed.
Canterlot High School won't be the same after that.
.
A jolt woke Sunset up. Slightly panicked, she twirled her head from left to right. Sonata was asleep on a small couch in front of hers, a little drool dripping from her mouth. Aria was still driving, her eyes never taking off the road. And Adagio was reading a magazine, still in the co-driver's seat.
Hearing the noise behind, Adagio looked over her seat and smiled slightly.
“You're awake? That's a good thing. We have arrived.”
Blinking, Sunset looked out the window. The sun was already setting. They were in a huge tree-lined park. In the distance she saw a huge stage with a long table with three seats in front of it. There was also a multitude of stands with vendors of all kinds and full of banners that would make Pinkie Pie jealous.
Aria drove the car under an arch made of wood where it was inscribed in large letters MUSIC CONTEST FOR MUSICIANS IN HERBS. She raised her eyebrows at the name. Not really original, but it's all right. They drove a little further and stopped at a nearby camping area.
“And that was it! Here we are.” Adagio exclaimed, unfastening her seatbelt and getting out of the vehicle.
These actions were soon imitated by Aria, Sunset and a half standing Sonata, dragging a pillow behind her.
“Are we there yet?” asked the latter, yawning widely.
“Yes. And do me a favour and put that pillow back in the van.”
Leaving the two behind, Adagio, followed by Sunset, headed towards the entrance to the park where there was a ticket office.
“Hi, we'd like to enter someone in tomorrow's contest.”
“Who is it?” asked the woman behind the counter.
“It's me.” Sunset replied, stepping forward.
“Name?”
“Sunset Shimmer.”
The woman looked at her attentively.
“Had we seen each other somewhere before? Because I feel like I’ve seen you before.”
“I don’t think so.” Sunset replied.
“Must be nothing. Are you soloists?”
Sunset gave Adagio a hesitant look. She nodded her head and Sunset repeated the movement towards the woman.
“That's good. You've arrived at the right moment. Another five minutes late and you wouldn't have been able to register.” she said with a smile.
Adagio rolled her eyes.
“Can we know how many participants there will be?”
“Half a dozen.” the woman replied, looking at a paper.
Adagio raised her eyebrows.
“The competition will only last half a day then?”
“Yes. But not the party. To celebrate this month's competition, we had decided to organise a party open to everyone after the prize-giving ceremony. Celebrities like Songbird Serenade or Countess Coloratura will come and set the mood.”
“Good to know. Thank you very much.”
They left the box office and Adagio turned to Sunset.
“Here's how we're going to do it. We'll stay with you all day tomorrow. You're going to beat all your opponents. You'll get the ten thousand dollars and then you're on your own.”
Sunset frowned.
“How can you be so sure that I would win? If it comes up, there will be better people than me.”
Adagio gave her a mysterious smile.
“Oh you'll win! Without a doubt! Believe me.”
Leaving a confused Sunset in her wake, Adagio left to join her sisters.
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Wow just wow. Lot's of spelling errors and typos but still wow.
Loved the chapter. Although, it is a little sad that Sunset will be on her own afterwards. I have always seen the Dazzling’s and Sunset’s relationship as good and that is what I love about the Anon-A-Miss stories with the siren’s involved. But I am excited about where this goes. Keep up the good work!
Yay you’re back. Thanks for the update. Noticed a few mistakes but great chapter notheless
The Sunset - Dazzling co-op is always a good read. With big names at the afterparty, Sunset might catch an opportunity for a music career.
Needs some editing work, but otherwise, I'm glad this finally got updated!
Flash, you're such a swell guy. Seriously, after having her innocence proven, no one had the decency to remove the crap from her locker?
I appreciate Vinyl trying to lift her friends' spirits.
And unless they did it discreetly, Adagio's hypothetical plans A and C wouldn't really work, if Sunset was seen with the Dazzlings, as it would make her look worse on top of being accused of Anon-a-Miss. Plan B is definitely best.
This needs more explanation. Fortnight = 2weeks. Held by who? Why only two weeks? Depending on the legal system an offender can be given probation or six months to a year. If tried as an adult an offender may be looking at a sizable chunk of their life behind bars.
I'm so very happy that you've came back to your story! :) I really enjoyed the interactions between Sunset and the Sirens, I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
god it pisses me off to hear everyone nwo acting liek they have a right to hunter down so they can force her to sooth there guilt.
Finally New Chapter In This Story
Do they have an ulterior motive?
Did y’all fight back?
So that means if they didn’t confess they would’ve gotten away with it scott free.
No, I’m pretty sure it’s guilty party.
They’re not gonna be laughing when they find out they got tricked by kids.
Do you mean CMC?
Are they gonna cheat some how?
Nice chapter but could use some editing work. Hope Sunset wins the competition.
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Thank you. I’m glad someone agrees, because if she would’ve tried the same thing she would have been caught in milliseconds.
Plz update this
Please take out the Dazzlings. They'll just be a disaster to Sunset. Please return Sunset and have the girls be friends again.
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I hope someday somebody writes an A-non-a-miss story where some student petitions for the school to be closed and it's up to Sunset and the other girls to show forgiveness, friendship, and promises to be better so the school is not closed by Neighsay.
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Honestly, that school should have been shut down. Either that or gotten a new principle and vice-principle.
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I have to agree as Luna and Celestia are clearly not the monarchs. they more run the school like the principals ran Rydell High in Grease and let all the kids sing and dance. I think the 6 month punishment was unjust to the CMC, I would've said 6 week punishment.
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Now thinking about it, what even was sunset’s punishment after the fall formal?
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Wouldn’t it be the same if ANY of the rainbooms were expelled?
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Hey, there are a lot of ways. You just gotta pick your favorite.
Love this story! So looking forward to reading more.
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Rebuilding everything she destroyed when she became a she-demon. You didn't see Vice Principal Luna hand her that tool that smears wet concrete?
For once, The Vice Principal and the Principal, are actually doing something about the situation.
And my god, It might just be me, but I'd be shaming the elements. If I were there during EqG and Rainbow Rocks, to know that Sunset changed, and then this shit happens, I'd believe Sunset was in fact innocent... then I'd mercilessly shame the elements and say they broke an element... in more ways than one.
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Honestly, it was such a small detail that I’m not even sure if it was luna.
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How do you break an element?
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Emotionally, I presume. (I refer to the elements that they represent)
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Has that ever happened?
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It very well could, and I theorize that might actually be the case with what's already happened.
The girls are tied to the elements, and embody that element despite their flaws. Sunset's element seems more like Empathy, and it's because of how everyone, including her friends, were so quick to assume it was her behind Anon-A-Miss and not actually giving her the benefit of the doubt after her defining moment in Rainbow Rocks that shows she changed, was pushing the limits of Sunset's Empathy. It pushed her limits to wanting to understand who was Anon-A-Miss and why they framed her.
Sunset understood that Anon-A-Miss completely shattered any hope of her finding trust for her friends again. She nearly got the damn life beat out of her by Dumbbell and almost got murdered by Gilda the gutless, and only until chapter 3 that the girls finally realize, they messed up. They're not the heroes this time, they instigated and went along with this shit... they were puppets on a stage, and the CMC were pulling on those strings from the sidelines.
On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of how the elements fucked up big time, instead of giving Sunset the benefit of the doubt, I'd say they're at a 14.
They watched her get beat and brutalized, and did nothing. If Flash or Ditzy or Celestia had stepped in and stopped Dumbbell, I bet that he would've beat Sunset shimmer to death.
Let's see how Princess Twilight Sparkle should rightfully chew her friends' human counterparts out for this, since they did have a part in why Sunset's not here, and why everyone is in an uproar. She put Sunset's fate in their hands, and now it's been misshapen. The magic of their friendship, dead, stomped on, beaten, battered, bruised, abused, cast aside like sweet saccharine trash.
If I were Sunset, I wouldn't want to be friends again, not after everything that happened, not after how they stood on the sidelines and watch some stupid beefy dumbass named Dumbbell beat a woman like he was trying to kill her.
You'd think Applejack of all the girls, the Element of Honesty, with how fine tuned her BS detector is, that she could tell that Sunset wasn't lying. The elements got tested, even Twilight's element was tested, and she wasn't even in the story yet!
Honesty - there is no honesty to be heard in this story beside Sunset's pleas when the truth falls on clouded judgement and deaf ears.
Loyalty - Ironically enough, Flash and Ditzy were the only students to actually have Sunset's back long before the CMC confessed. The elements, especially Dash, not so much with what transpired. Something tells me they need more than a dash of Loyalty.
Generosity - No one gave a single concerned fuck about Sunset until she up and vanished, and learned she wasn't actually Anon-A-Miss. Rarity, get more tubs of ice cream, you're gonna be emptying ice cream tubs faster than Sunset emptied her tear ducts as she cried for mercy. Be a generous lady and spare a fuck in these trying times, you seem to have plenty to give, why were you hoarding them to yourself?
Laughter - Do I even need to say why you can't laugh this kind of trouble away or throw a party to make up for it!? Here's a joke, and it's funny cause it's true. Life's a bitch, and exempting Sunset, Celestia, Twilight, Luna, the Librarian, Spitfire, Flash and Ditzy, everyone else in CHS is just as much of a bitch. Life's just one big abusive pity party in this story, ain't it Pinkie?
Kindness - You'll find any shred of Kindness that might still remain leaning against the magical portal, beaten, bruised, near death, stained with tears, and wishing for something more permanent. Spare it of anymore abuse, help it, how's that for kindness, Fluttershy?
Magic - Magic... what magic, hm? What magic is here to behold, the Magic of Friendship? You'll find that in a dumpster next to Sunset's old apartment. It just had its spine shattered and was then bludgeoned over the head. Twilight might have a lot to say if she does show up in this story.
Empathy - Dead and gone, and Sunset is one of those things.
My point is, The elements of the human world, they seem to work in one similar manner to the elements in the pony world. All of the elements won't work until all of them are united... so basically, the CMC are solely responsible for splitting the elements, and reducing several people to tears with what they done.
Next time a big bad comes around, the girls should expect Sunset and/or Twilight to not just be all hunky-dory pinkie keen with helping with all they had a part in to split them up. Get a gun, or run for your life.
If the sirens do resort to some villainous tactics in this story, I'm actually rooting for them to win this time. No elements of harmony, nothing can stop them this time.
And that's pretty much why I think the elements were emotionally broken. Sunset already had anger issues, now she's gonna be chocked full of trust issues and trauma. The elements were already disheartened, and now that they know it wasn't actually Sunset, I expect karma to do more than just bite them in the ass.
Don't get me wrong, I love the story. This was my first ever Anon-A-Miss story to read, and let me just say, I want karmic retribution. Actions have consequences and such.
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Is she the element of empathy or is that what a lot of people assume?
As princess twilight chewing the others out. With how some of these anon-a-miss stories are unpredictable that’s a wild card. Anything could happen there.
Can she detect BS? Some aren’t sure.
Ok, that generosity part was kinda funny.
Actually, I wouldn’t exempt celestia and luna, they’ve been useless multiple times. As for spitfire, i don’t know.
The magic one I’m not sure about, because I still don’t know what that means to this day.
Empathy, I never knew that existed in mlp.
Weren’t they able to use their magic by themselves at some point?
Trauma?
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I assume it's what a lot of people assume, and back in 2016 when Ishi Rudell was asked on Twitter if Sunset was one of the elements of harmony, he did confirm she was the 7th Element, known as Empathy.
Maybe wanting Twilight to actually chew out her friends is a bit much, but damn it, with as much fuck shit that's happened, it might as well.
Applejack always seemed to be able to tell if anyone was lying to her.
Thank you, I actually tried to be comedic there. After reading this story, I needed a laugh.
I mean in this story specifically, they are actually doing something. They took charge, made an attempt to help Sunset out of a bad spot. Spitfire, that's up for debate.
Twilight's Element is Magic, indicating that friendship is a strong magic that transcends dimensions if it can work in the human world, where there shouldn't be any magic. The bonds she made with the EqG counterparts of her friends, as well as whatever Twilight and Sunset did in Rainbow Rocks, strengthened that friendship magic.
The whole story here, from start to where it is now, shows that that friendship magic has been devastated and dwindling in strength the moment Anon-A-Miss started gaining traction, and everyone was getting called out for shit, and blaming it on Sunset.
It would seem like the Element of Magic would be pretty frickin' useless without friendship to strengthen it.
the abilities Sunset has in Legend of Everfree definitely prove her element is Empathy, she can touch someone, not in the way you think, and feel what they feel on an emotional level, looking into memories.
But since this story takes place after Rainbow Rocks, and I presume before the friendship games and by proxy, Legend of Everfree, this Sunset doesn't have that luxury, instead her element is still Empathy, and she's trying her best to talk things out, but again, her words fall on deaf ears.
If by using the magic by themselves, you mean by how they 'Pony Up', then yeah, but with all the hostility and fighting going on in this story, how can any of the elements Pony Up and embody their elements when everything about this story shows that they did everything but that.
Yeah, I say Trauma.
Sunset was the only target for everyone except Flash and Ditzy, and the school staff, to take out their rage, just because they think she's gone back to her old ways. Sunset had truly changed, but the moment Anon-A-Miss was made my the CMC, It's just been hell after hell, day after day, practically rendered unemployed and homeless, beaten, bruised, physically, emotionally and mentally, and dare I say, Abandoned.
All Sunset has done is ask for someone to listen to her side of the story, something her friends didn't bother to do, just assuming that she had betrayed their trust and friendship, and in turn, joined the side of the instigators, while Sunset is just looking for help.
And after the beatings she's endured, are you gonna telling me she's not gonna be traumatized by the end of this, knowing her friends immediately fired onto her about her being Anon-A-Miss and completely forgetting that SHE CHANGED, and saying she deserves a good ol' fashioned case of verbal and physical abuse for something she didn't even do?!
And considering how at the end of chapter 3, she's with the sirens, I get the feeling she's rebounding. Things didn't go well in Equestria, so she ran to the Human world, and became a bully. Twilight comes along and reforms her, and Sunset works to redeem herself, helping in the final battle against the sirens.
Now look at what she's suffered through throughout this story. Physical abuse, Verbal abuse, her friends have abandoned her and even downright assaulted her like everyone else has, except for Flash and Ditzy. She straight up ran away, left town and joined the villains of the previous movie because she truly thinks that no one wants her around, let alone want her to exist.
If you tell me Karma isn't a thing, it should. The CMC got their punishment, now I wanna see the Elements, sans Twilight, get their punishment.
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Who?
I thought that was only her pony counterpart.
So magic is just friendship?
I thought she could only see memories.
I thought they just had to feel a certain emotion to pony up or something.
It honestly makes you wonder if anyone else at chs has trauma.
Get their punishment from who?
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Ishi Rudell is an animation director for My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. He is credited as an animation director for seasons one through three and My Little Pony Equestria Girls. He has also served as layout supervisor for Equestria Girls, co-director for My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks and the Friendship Games animated shorts, and director for the Rainbow Rocks animated shorts, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, and My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree, as well as the three half-hour Equestria Girls specials with Katrina Hadley.
He stated on his twitter, back in 2016, that Sunset's element, was Empathy.
Nope.
Friendship is a type of magic, yeah.
To quote one of Sunset's lines, her explaining what her powers are like, and I quote:
"When I touch people, it's like I can feel what they're feeling and see their memories."
She can feel what they're feeling, not just look into memories. An empath is someone who feels more empathy than the average person. These people are usually more accurate in recognizing emotions by looking at another person's face. They are also more likely to recognize emotions earlier than other people and rate those emotions as being more intense.
Sunset, with and without her magical powers she has in Legend of Everfree, is still showing her element of Empathy, but it's like an emotional sensory overload, and she can't handle it. Empaths already deal with emotions as being more intense, so crank everything up in this story that she's gone through to a 33, that's what she's enduring, I'm surprised she hasn't actually tried to immediately off herself yet from the emotional sensory overload she's going through, and topping all that with physical wounds and insults, it's a miracle Sunset is still alive this far into the story.
There’s no clear answer, unfortunately. But it can be argued that because Equestrian magic originates from a world full of talking pastel colored ponies and other mythical creatures, if that magic falls on any other being, it grants that being the appearance and abilities of where the magic came from.
When a human with equestrian magic (and that is a human version of on of the ponies with an element of harmony, or a mane character) starts to show the truest part of themselves (by dancing, playing ,doing what they love, helping others, singing and so on) they start to “pony up”. It's mainly due to how latent element magic, from the Element of Magic, allows this.
By this point, who doesn't have trauma? I'd be surprised if Ditzy came out of this Trauma free, and she's been pretty supportive.
Their parents, the school staff, anyone, take your pick.
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Isn’t the creator supposed to deny or confirm that?
When did her human counterpart do it?
Are you describing what she’s going through before or after everfree? Because if she was able to do it before that then it wouldn’t make sense.
So if they just do what they love they can pony up?
I mean before anon-a-miss. They had to deal with sunset’s bullying, sunset turning into a she-demon and the sirens. I’m surprised we never heard anything about a therapist.
I’d say parents, but those are nonexistent. I would say school staff, but there are multiple ways the students could turn it around on them. So I don’t know.
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I do think they should, but I haven't found any proof of them denying or confirming it. Ishi Rudell is all I could find for some confirmation.
I'll have to look back at when her human counterpart does it. I'll answer this when I have an answer.
In terms of her powers that she gets in Legend of Everfree, I'm not saying she has them in this story, that's a leap in logic even I'm not brave enough to take without second thoughts, I'm saying that her powers do tie to her element being Empathy. In terms of how the story is framed, she has no power, no control over the situation. Her words have no weight, her truth means nothing to those who were against her until Chapter 3, and her powers would be a bit unstable without proper control over her own feelings and emotions.
Kinda, yeah. It's when they do what they love, or embody their element, that they pony up... then again, with how I'm saying that Sunset's emotion is Empathy, she probably would've been ponying up already in the story with how she's expressing her element, trying to understand other people's very strong and negative emotions, even if they shouldn't be directed at her.
I was also talking about that. They dealt with Sunset's bullying, her becoming a she-demon, dealt with the sirens. I'm surprised anyone is still buddy-buddy with each other before Anon-A-Miss happened. Everyone has emotional baggage, especially after what they said or felt towards one another because of the siren's influence. Besides, imagine being a therapist for a whole school, and listening to them talk about some bat shit crazy nonsense like talking pastel colored ponies, magical elements from another dimension, demons, magical sirens competing in a battle of the bands, and magical friendship.
I would dare think that the shrink would need a shrink.
How ironic that the pony counterparts have their parents, except for Applejack, but the human counterparts don't have them around, except for Granny Smith...
Would it be overkill or justified to want Discord to enact their punishment?
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Or a raise.
You’d be surprised how ironic the mlp world is.
The point of a punishment is to show that someone’s actions have consequences. It’s basically an after effect. Knowing discord he’d probably wouldn’t care about teaching them a lesson and just take it too far. He might injure or kill someone which wouldn’t solve the problem. If anything it’d probably cause more trouble.
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That too, but it'd have to be a pretty considerable raise.
I kinda expected it.
... Fair point.
So who could actually show a proper punishment to the Elements? My money is still on Princess Twilight, she may not be the most familiar with the human counterparts of her friends, but she has gotten to know them over the course of the Fall Formal and teamed up with them to deal with the Sirens, Sunset included. I still say that Princess Twilight, the princess of Friendship, should y'know, probably do something, and not be as useless as her teacher, her teacher's sister, and her sister-in-law.
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Well, she is a princess like them. So I wouldn’t be surprised if she was just as useless.
Hmm... I don't like that line one bit.
Is this story dead?
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no, it isn't. I just lack the inspiration to continue it. But for sure I will come back to it one day.
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Bullying in general isn’t taken seriously. It sucks but that’s how it is.
A shame, a real shame that this got abandoned. It had potential.
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Well, not really 'Canceled' or 'Abandoned' and more like 'On Hiatus'. I'm still working on it.