> Bitter Tears: An Anon-A-Miss Fanfic
>  by hattafan2593
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch 1 - A Strange Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was done. Just….done.

After the Battle of the Bands, Sunset had thought – she had hoped - that the students of Canterlot High would finally see she had changed. That she could finally move on from that disastrous night of the Fall Formal.

And then, Anon-a-Miss showed up.

That in itself was bad enough, but then her friends had unanimously decided that she was the one posting their secrets, without even giving her a chance to defend herself, and left her right back where she started: friendless, hated, and alone.

Today was the final straw. The entire student body had ganged up on her, accusing her and assaulting her with their cruel words. Before she ran out of the school, tears streaming down her face, she saw a message in her journal from Twilight, something about finding her true family.

Sunset shook her head, staring down into the lake as she leaned on the railing. Whoever her family was, it was obviously not here.

After running out and having a very emotional breakdown near the Canterlot High statue where the portal to Equestria was, which ultimately ended in her phone being smashed and stomped into ruin, she had wondered all over town, and ultimately ended up in a park, which oversaw a huge lake. Judging by the position of the sun, she guessed she’d been there a few hours.

She had thought about writing to Twilight and telling her about what happened today, but decided against it. Knowing Twilight, she would feel obligated to come here and try to fix things, and Sunset didn’t want that. Twilight was a Princess with her own duties back in Equestria; she couldn’t always be around to fix everything. And this was a situation, Sunset believed, that simply could not be fixed.

Sunset closed her eyes and sighed as she wondered where to go from here.

“Thinking about jumping?”

Startled from here thoughts, she turned towards the speaker and saw one the last few people she expected to see, and honestly, didn’t think she would ever see again.

One of the Dazzlings was standing three feet away from her, wearing a black jogging suit and eating a burrito.

“I mean, I’m not assuming or anything. It’s just that you’ve been looking at the lake pretty intently for like, ten minutes, and you look kinda depressed.”

Sunset just stood there and blinked, trying to figure out the siren’s name. Sonata, was it? Yeah, that’s right. Sonata. The one with the ponytail.

“Nah, you’re right. That’s a dumb way to go. Personally, I’d go with a gun or a knife. Not that I’m suicidal, I’m just saying, you know, get it over with. Something quick and easy.”

Realizing quickly that her “guest” was not going to go away anytime soon, and not really in the mood for a confrontation, Sunset decided to make herself comfortable on one the benches near the railing. As she predicted, Sonata followed her and sat down next to her.

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. I can see it on your face. You’re all ‘Oh my gosh! It’s one of the sirens! Call the police! Ahhhh!’” Sonata waved her hands around in mock horror. “But yeah, you don’t need to worry about us trying to take over the school again or wreaking our horrible vengeance on you and the Rainbooms or anything like that. See, when you destroyed our amulets,” she gestured to a spot on her chest, “you basically took away our magic. Which means we can’t sing our song and make everyone grumpy and mad so we can absorb their negative energy. Now if we want food,” she held up her arm to reveal a plastic bag with a Taco Barn icon hanging from the crook in her arm, “we have to get it the way everyone else in this world does.”

Sunset marveled at the fact that Sonata had not taken a single breath during her rambling. She could give Pinkie Pie a run for her money.

“Personally, I have no problem with it. I mean the food here,” Sonata waved her burrito, “is to die for. Well, Aria and Adagio don’t really like it that much, but you know what? It’s my turn to get food, and if they don’t like it, they can just starve.”

Sonata pointedly took a bite out of her burrito and chewed it with purpose.

“Okay, exposition over. So, um, aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?”

Sunset, who was content with just letting Sonata rant until she got bored and left, was startled by the sudden question.

“I mean I’m not judging. Your school is pretty dull, no offense. Except for the tacos. But anyway, isn’t there like a law here that says all teenagers have to go to school? Then again you’re not really a teenager, are you?”

Whether Sonata was actually expecting an answer or not, Sunset didn’t know, because she continued speaking, “It is pretty late. School probably let out hours ago. But now that I think about it, where are your friends? You know, the Rainbooms? Aren’t you supposed to be hanging out with them?”

As she said this, Sonata stretched her neck and started looking over Sunset’s shoulders, as if expecting them to be hiding directly behind her. She stopped when she saw the look on Sunset’s face.

“Ohhhhh, I get it.” she said, nodding in understanding. “They ditched you, huh? They used you to get rid of us, and then they threw you away like garbage.”

Sunset said nothing. Her head was bowed, her vibrant red and yellow locks falling over her eyes.

Sonata’s eyebrows furrowed and she crossed her arms. “Have to admit, that was kind of a crappy thing to do. I mean, you’d think you’d at least get a ‘thank you’ or something.”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “Then again, I can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve been in this world for a while, and I gotta tell you, humans can be real bastards when they want to be. I mean when we first got here, we didn’t even have to use our magic if you know what I mean. And then the stuff we read in the library? All those wars and stuff!” She shook her head. “Geez! And everyone thinks we’re evil.” She paused, pursing her lips. “Now that I think about it, we really didn’t have to use our magic on the Rainbooms either. They just started arguing and we just sucked up their magic!”

Sunset said nothing. Sonata leaned back and started munching on her burrito again.

“But yeah, I feel ya, girl.” Sonata said, mouth full of burrito. “I know what it’s like to not get any respect. I mean don’t get me wrong, Dagi and Ari are my sisters, I love ‘em to death, but geez they’re annoying. And Dagi’s the worst of the two; from the moment we got here it was all ‘Revenge this’ and ‘World domination’ that, and for a while I was okay with it, but at times I was like ‘Geez! Shut up already!’”

Sometime during her rant, Sunset noticed that Sonata’s arm had snaked its way across her shoulders and that her body was waaaay too close to hers. Under normal circumstances Sunset would not take such an invasion of her personal space so lightly, and the invader of said space would find themselves sprawled on the ground with numerous bruises and lacerations. However, the past few days had left her so emotionally and even physically drained that she simply didn’t have the will or the strength to do so. Instead she picked up Sonata’s wrist with her thumb and index finger, as if she were picking up a dirty sock, slowly unwound the arm from around her shoulders and dropped the wrist unceremoniously into Sonata’s lap, then scooted as far as she possibly could from the siren to the end of the bench. Sonata continued as if she didn’t notice.

“But of course if I say anything or suggest we do anything they give me this look like they think I’m brain damaged or something. You know I’m part of the group, too! I’m not stupid! Just because I’m the youngest doesn’t mean I -”

A loud buzzing interrupted her thought. Sonata groaned loudly and pulled out a cellphone. She flipped it open and pressed a button, obviously knowing who was on the other end.

“Yeah?” she asked irritably. Sunset couldn’t understand the voice on the other end but they obviously sounded angry.

“Alright, alright. Keep your shirt on, I’m on my way back!” She snapped the phone shut and crammed it back into her pocket.

Standing up, she rolled her eyes and said, “Sisters!” As she started to walk away she stopped suddenly, turning back to Sunset.

“You know, it was nice to have someone actually listen to me for a change. You know, not counting the whole ‘brainwashing’ thing.” She paused then said, “You think maybe we could, I don’t know, hang out sometime? I mean Ari and Dagi won’t approve, but it’s not like they can do anything about it. I don’t think.”  Her eyebrows furrowed, an unsure look flashing across her face. It vanished a second later.

“But anyway, it’s been fun! See ya!”

With that she smiled and gave a little wave, and then began jogging away. Sunset watched until she disappeared completely. Sunset noticed there was something on the bench where Sonata had been sitting moments before. Picking it up and unwrapping it she saw it was a taco. Looking at the wrapper she saw seven digits written on the outside.

As the sun began to set beyond the horizon, Sunset took a moment of consideration, and then decided ‘what the heck?’ and took a bite. She’d deal with the whole Anon-a- Miss thing later. Right now she needed to figure out where she was going to sleep tonight.
> Ch 2 - Heel Realization
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah cain’t do this anymore.” Apple Bloom said quietly.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared at their friend, who had not said a word to them since the final bell rang, and who had continued to be silent with them as they had walked to Sweetie Belle’s house and climbed the stairs to her room.

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“You know darn well what Ah mean.” Apple Bloom snapped, sounding harsher than she intended. “Anon-a- Miss. The secret-spreadin’, the embarasssin’ photos, the lyin’, all of it. Ah’m done with it, okay?”

Sweetie and Scootaloo just looked at each other. To be honest, they had had their own second thoughts about the whole ordeal. However they were surprised at how abrupt Apple Bloom was being about quitting; the whole thing had been her idea after all.

“Any particular reason why?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom said nothing, but reached into her backpack and pulled out a very damaged looking object and placed it on the bed in front of them.

“Is that.. Sunset’s cellphone?” Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes widening.

“Yup.” Apple Bloom said, her voice tight. She wouldn’t look at them.

“H-How did it get like that?” Scootaloo asked.

“She broke it.” Apple Bloom said. Fisting her shaking hands into her lap, she recounted what she had witnessed after Sunset ran out.







 Sunset ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Away from the school. Away from Anon-a-Miss. Away from the hatred.

Suddenly she felt her foot snag and she found herself on the ground. Her phone skidded to a halt a few feet in front of her.

Sitting up on her knees, she picked it up and opened it. A picture of Rarity, Pinky Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and herself all stared up at her, smiling and waving.

Sunset’s hands shook as she felt a lump form in her throat. This device – this stupid thing - was the cause of all this. If it wasn’t for this damn phone, then maybe her friends would’ve……

With a cry of rage and despair, she stood up and flung the phone as hard as she could against the base of the Canterlot High statue. She heard it crack upon impact and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

But Sunset wasn’t satisfied. With all the force she could muster, she stomped and ground and crushed the offending object, all the while with fresh tears rolling down her already streaked face.

This continued until her strength wore out, until all that was left was a mangled piece of plastic and silicon.  Sunset stood there, panting, and then collapsed onto the ground sobbing. All the pain she felt, all the despair and betrayal and anger poured out onto the ground beneath her. 

Finally she sat up on her knees, taking deep calming breaths as she ran her fingers through her hair. Then she stood up, wiped her eyes, and with arms wrapped tightly around her body, slowly walked off the school grounds.

As she left, a small figure stepped out from the other side of the statue and gingerly picked up the broken remains of Sunset’s phone, small fragments and buttons falling to the ground. Through the spider web cracks on the screen the frozen images of Sunset and her friends could be seen, still smiling and waving.

Tears streamed down Apple Bloom’s face as she watched the image fade to black.






“It’s all our fault. We did that to her.” Apple Bloom sniffled as she furiously wiped her eyes. She had never seen Sunset cry like that, even when the other students were shunning her after the Fall Formal. She had never seen her that broken.

Sweetie Belle was fighting backs tears herself, a trembling hand covering her mouth in horror. Scootaloo looked like she’d been punched in the face.

“But…. why would she destroy her own phone?” Scootaloo asked hoarsely.

“The photos we posted from the slumber party were from her phone.” Sweetie Belle said horrified – she had been the one to post those photos, and the very next day her sister and the others had cut all ties with Sunset. “She took those photos to remember having fun with her friends….”

“And instead they were used to humiliate them and break them apart.” Scootaloo finished, bowing her head in shame.

“Besides,” Apple Bloom added bitterly, “Thanks to us, she don’t have anyone to call with it.”

All three girls sat there in silence for what seemed like hours. Finally Apple Bloom placed the broken phone back in her backpack and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Ah’m gonna find our sisters and their friends and tell ‘em the truth.” Apple Bloom said resolutely.

Scootaloo stood up so fast her chair fell backwards to the floor. “Whoa. Hold on. You saw how mad they were when they thought it was Sunset. They’ll kill us, Bloom! If the other students don’t first!”

“Not to mention we’ll probably be expelled!” Sweetie Belle cried. “Can’t we just shut down the profile and leave it at that?”

“WAKE UP, YOU GUYS!!!” Apple Bloom screamed, her hand clenched tightly around the doorknob. “The whole school is in chaos! Even when Sunset was still bullyin’ people, it wasn’t this bad! Everythin’ Twilight did to bring everyone together has been ruined cuza us!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie flinched at the mention of Twilight Sparkle, the Princess from another dimension who had helped save the school when Sunset had turned into a she-demon.

“And what about Sunset? She’s gone off somewhere and she probably ain’t comin’ back and it’s ALL OUR FAULT!!!”

Apple Bloom bursts into bitter tears as her friends watched speechless.

“All this…..cuz we didn’t get invited to some stupid slumber party…..”

“…..You’re right.” Sweetie said at last. “We can’t let this go on. It has to end.”

Apple Bloom wiped her eyes and stood up straight. “This whole thing was mah idea. Ah’ll take the blame.”

“No,” Scootaloo said firmly, placing her hand on Apple Bloom’s shoulders. “We’re all responsible for this. We won’t let you take all the blame yourself.”

Sweetie Belle came up behind her and nodded in agreement.

Touched by her friends’ loyalty, Apple Bloom nodded, and together all three girls headed downstairs and out the door.





It was dark and beginning to snow at Sugarcube Corner. If one were to look in the window one would see five somber looking girls sitting at a booth. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were all having the worst week of their lives. All their most private and personal secrets had been posted online for everyone to see. Everywhere they went, they were mocked and teased by their schoolmates. They had thought a trip to Sugarcube Corner would make them feel better. They had thought wrong.

Suddenly the bell rang and in through the door walked three younger girls, all recognized as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

They stopped in front of their booth with serious faces.

“Hey sis.” Applejack said, surprised to see her little sister and her friends here. “What’s wrong?”

“We have somethin’ to tell ya.” Apple Bloom said, and placed two phones on the table.

One was Sunset’s broken phone, and the other was hers. As everyone at the booth looked closely, they saw that her phone was open to the Anon-a-Miss Mystable profile.
> Ch 3 - Choices
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days had pasted since she had run tearfully out of the school. Sunset Shimmer headed to the grounds of Canterlot High this cold morning for one reason and one reason only.

She was going back.

After doing some thinking, and getting a full night’s sleep in one of the city’s homeless shelters (which was considerably more comfortable than sitting hurdled up on a park bench with only a leather jacket to keep you warm when it’s freezing cold outside), Sunset had come to terms with two things.

One: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity were not her friends, and they never really were. She may not have had a lot of experience with friendship before the Fall Formal, but she had learned enough to know that real friends would have at least heard her out before coming to any conclusions. All she was to them, from the very beginning, was a charity case; they had only hung around her at Twilight Sparkle’s request, and nothing more. This whole Anon-a-Miss fiasco was the perfect excuse for them to finally wash their hands of her, and she was more than happy to oblige them.

Two: Any punishment that Princess Celestia came up with for her crimes back in Equestria was still far more merciful than the pain she was feeling now. Even if Twilight had forgiven her transgressions, stealing a highly magical artifact, from a Princess no less, was still a very serious crime. Not to mention using said artifact to try and take over Equestria (which in retrospect, was a pretty stupid plan, she had to admit. Using a bunch of teenagers against Celestia, her now free and only slightly-less powerful sister, a menagerie of armed guards, and the other five Element Bearers? Sunset liked to think the crown had scrambled her common sense when it transformed her.).

As ruler, Celestia could not overlook what she had done, Sunset knew. Even so, Sunset was determined to return to Equestria and face whatever punishment Celestia had for her. She certainly didn’t see any point staying here anymore.

As she passed Sugarcube Corner, she noticed a bright pink sign in the window. It had her picture in the center, with the words ‘Have You Seen Me?” written around it with marker and bright colorful glitter. There was a phone number down at the bottom.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. Pinkie’s handiwork, no doubt. The fact that she was looking for her at all could only mean one thing, but Sunset was past the point of caring. She was leaving. Period. She walked past the window without a second glance, not noticing that inside, a very excited Mrs. Cake was frantically pressing buttons on her phone.

Finally after what seemed like eternity, Sunset found herself standing in front of the base of the Canterlot High Statue – the portal to Equestria.

Sunset took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and took one step forward.

“Sunset!”

Sunset ignored the voice and kept walking, only stopping when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  She turned to see a wide-eyed and panting Vice Principal Luna.

“There you are, Sunset Shimmer. Your friends have been looking for you everywhere.”

“I noticed.” Sunset deadpanned. She didn’t add that they weren’t her friends anymore.

Luna tried not to flinch as she took in the girl’s appearance. Her hair was matted and tangled, her clothes were rumpled, as though she’d been sleeping in them, and her eyes were black-rimmed and bloodshot. Of course, considering what the girl had been through the past few days, Luna wasn’t all that surprised that she didn’t look her best.

Clearing her throat, Luna said, “We’ll discuss your sudden disappearance and your whereabouts for the last two days later, Miss Shimmer. Right now my sister wishes to see you in her office.”

Sunset sighed and closed her eyes in annoyance. She had a feeling she knew what this was about.

“Is it important?” Sunset asked.

“Yes. She insisted I bring you to her the minute you set foot on school grounds.”

No way. You don’t owe these people anything. Not anymore. Just walk through the portal. It’s right there!

“Okay. Let’s go.”







Sunset followed closely behind Luna and tried her best to ignore the students that had suddenly gone quiet the moment they saw her. Let them stare. In a few minutes, it wouldn’t matter anymore anyway.

Once they arrived at the door to Principal Celestia’s office, Luna gave three sharp knocks, and after a pause they heard, “Come in.”

Luna opened the door and gestured for Sunset to enter. She did so.

Celestia was sitting at her desk, her fingers steepeled and her face stern. When she saw Sunset her expression softened slightly.

“Ah, Sunset. We were just discussing you. You know, you gave us all quite a scare when you disappeared from school without informing anyone.”

I highly doubt that, Sunset thought, but chose to remain silent.

“But we’ll discuss that later. The reason I had you brought here is because these three young ladies,” Celestia pointed to her left. “have something to say to you.”

Without turning her head, Sunset looked at the left side of the room, where Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all sitting in chairs, staring at their feet and looking positively miserable.

“These three are the ones behind Anon-a-Miss, right?”

The girls’ heads snapped up upon hearing Sunset’s revelation, and their eyes widened as they saw how disheveled she was.

Celestia’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You already knew?”

“I put two and two together. I had a lot of time to think, actually, since I no longer have any social plans.”

Though Sunset spoke in a soft monotone, the girls all flinched back as if Sunset had screamed at them.

In reality, Sunset didn’t figure it out until after her strange encounter with Sonata. Something the siren had said before leaving: “Sisters.” Of course, she wasn’t going to tell them that; that would’ve led to a load of questions that Sunset just didn’t feel like answering. She didn’t want to delay her departure any longer than she had to.

“Apple Bloom was the only other person to know Applejack's secret. In fact, she was the one who told us over the phone. Sweetie Belle was the only other person in the house during the slumber party at Rarity's; she probably took my phone and posted those photos when everyone was asleep.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle squirmed in their seats at the expressionless mask on Sunset’s face.

“And then there’s Scootaloo; the junior soccer team practice takes place at the same time as Rainbow Dash’s, right after her science class. She could’ve taken a picture of her failed report when Dash wasn’t looking.”

Sunset’s eyes came back to Celestia. “What I can’t figure out is how they found out about the other students’ secrets.”

Celestia said sternly, “Apparently other students had submitted the secrets for Anon-a-Miss to post. These three were kind enough to save the email addresses and hand them to us. Those students will be dealt with as soon as we find them.”

Sunset’s fingernails dug hard into her palms. Those damn hypocrites! “I see. So what happens to them?” She gestured with her head at the girls, never taking her eyes off Celestia.

Celestia stood up and walked to the front of her desk. “Rest assured they will be punished. For starters, they will have six months of detention, starting after the break. Yesterday, we held an assembly before the entire school where they confessed to being Anon-a-Miss, closed the profile permanently, and apologized for all the trouble they’ve caused. They are also banned from using the school computers unless given permission from a teacher and even then their activities will be closely monitored. They are to turn in their cellphones to the office each morning and will only receive it back after the final bell. And lastly, they are banned from all after school and extracurricular activities for the rest of the school year.”

"Failure to comply will result in immediate expulsion." Luna added, glaring sternly at the girls. Celestia nodded in agreement.

The girls did not dare complain. They were getting off light, and they knew it.

Sunset was silent too, until finally she let out a deep sigh and said, “Well, thank you, Principal Celestia. Now if there’s nothing else, I’d better be going.” Hands trembling, she turned towards the door.

“Wait, Sunset.” Apple Bloom stood up, fidgeting her fingers. “We wanted to- ”

“Save it.” Sunset said coldly as she turned to face them. Though her face was still expressionless, Apple Bloom could see the hurt and anger in her eyes. “I don’t know why you did this, and frankly, I don’t really care. All I know is, I certainly hope it was worth it.”

And with that, she wrenched the door open and marched out. Luna made a move to go after her, but Celestia raised her hand said, “Let her go. We’ll talk to her after she’s calmed down.”

Celestia had seen that Sunset had been struggling to control her anger towards Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and was thankful, and proud, that she had decided to be the bigger person and walk away before things had a chance to escalate. And as angry as she was, she didn’t think Sunset would listen to what she had to say anyway. What Sunset needed was a chance to decompress and calm down before she could be spoken to rationally.  Celestia only hoped that Sunset wouldn’t try and do something drastic.

Apple Bloom slumped back down into her seat and covered her face with her hands.

I certainly hope it was worth it....worth it.....worth it.....

No. It was not worth it. Not worth it at all.



 

Sunset walked briskly through the halls, not daring to turn back, lest she go back and strangle those three. The bell for class had rung two minutes ago so the halls were void of students. All she had to do was get to the portal and-

“Sunset!”

Shit. Ignore them. Just keep going.  Sunset quickened her pace.

“Sunset, wait!”

“Pretty please?”

“Please, Sunset, wait!”

You’re almost there. Just a little further.

Once again she felt a hand on her shoulder, and once again Sunset stopped. She didn’t turn around this time, though.

“Oh thank goodness. We were so worried about you, Sunset.”

Liar.

“Yeah! We were looking all over for you! Where were you?”

“What do you care? I’m a ‘secret-stealer’, remember?” Sunset said bitterly.

She tried to ignore the pang in her heart as she heard Pinkie let out a whimper. Damn it, why didn’t I go through the portal last night when I had the chance?

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about, darling.” she heard Rarity say awkwardly.

No. No more talking. I’m done. Done with this school, done with this screwed up dimension, done with you.

“I have nothing to say to you.” Sunset said evenly, and began to walk away. She felt her arm being grabbed.

“Well we have something to say to you.” Rainbow Dash said impatiently.

“You’ve all said more than enough!” Sunset yelled, wrenching her arm free. Ignoring the stinging in her eyes she took off down the hall once more.

“WE KNOW IT WASN’T YOU!”

Sunset kept walking. Don’t cry. Just leave.

“WE’RE SORRY!”

Too little, too late.

“WE LOVE YOU, SUNSET!”

Sunset stopped dead in her tracks.

Don’t turn around. That’s what they want. Just walk away.

Slowly, hesitantly, she turned to look behind her.

All five girls had looks of guilt and sorrow on their faces.  Fluttershy and Pinkie were panting heavily, their faces streaked with tears.

Turning to face them fully, Sunset asked, “They told you, then?”

If any of the girls were shocked that Sunset already knew the true identity of Anon-a-Miss, they didn’t show it. They did flinch when they saw her appearance, though.

“Yeah, they told us.” Applejack pulled her hat down over her eyes. “They showed us yer phone, too.”

So I broke my damn phone. Big whoop. It’s not like I need it where I’m going.

“We’re so sorry, Sunset.” Fluttershy said tearfully. “We should have at least given you a chance to explain.”

Yeah. You should have. Are we done here?

Rarity shyly stepped forward and produced a large rectangular box wrapped in orange paper and tied with a crimson bow from behind her back. “We wanted you have this. Consider this an early Christmas present.”

Seriously? You’re seriously trying to bribe me with a present. What kind of person do you think I am? Don’t answer that. I already know.

“What is it?” Sunset asked as she walked towards them and took the gift.

“Open it up and find out, silly.” Pinkie said, smiling nervously.

Uh uh. No way. Take your stupid present and shove it up your-

Sunset tore the paper open and opened the lid of the box. Inside was a whole new outfit – new leather jacket, new boots, leggings, and a beautiful blue dress.

“I made it myself,” Rarity explained. “I thought a new outfit would, well, complete your metamorphosis, so to speak. A change on the outside to match the changed ‘you’ inside.”

Teardrops began to fall on the contents of the box.

Why are you still here? Just toss the damn thing! They don’t care about you! This is just a guilt offering to make themselves feel better!


“What we did was stupid and uncool,” Rainbow said somberly. “and we completely understand if you don’t trust us anymore. But we’ll do everything we can to make it up to you.” Rainbow placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Please, give us a chance to show you that we do care about you.”

Oh no. You’re not doing this to me again. Fool me once….. Damn it!

I wish I’d never met any of you! I wish everything was back to the way it was before I met you!

Back when I was my own pony! Back when I was with Celestia! Back when I was….alone….

…….

…..Shit.

Shit, Shit, SHIT! Why?! Why now?! Why couldn’t you just let me LEAVE?!

Clutching her gift to her chest, Sunset broke down sobbing. Her friends immediately rushed to her side, wrapping her in a warm embrace.
> Ch 4 - Pretence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rush of the holidays was over. The new semester had begun. On the surface, everything seemed perfectly normal as students hustled about in the halls of Canterlot High. However, Rainbow Dash knew this was not the case.

Shortly before the break, a mysterious Mystable user called Anon-a-Miss had shown up and had begun spreading personal and private information regarding her and her friends. And after barely a week had passed, they had all wrongly accused their friend Sunset Shimmer of being behind it. Rainbow still remembered the devastated look on Sunset’s face as they had coldly walked away, cutting her out of their group and their lives. Her tears had formed a puddle around her, she was crying so much, but they were all too angry to care.

Rainbow sighed, disgusted with herself. How could she have been so stupid? After everything Sunset had done to prove she had changed, after everything they had been through, how could she and the others have believed that Sunset was capable of doing this?

Rainbow snorted bitterly. She knew the answer to that, though she had tried to deny it. She couldn’t speak for the others, but she had believed Sunset was Anon-a-Miss because she had wanted to believe it, because it was easier to believe that Sunset, who had had a history of bullying and blackmailing others, had gone back to her old ways than to actually try to find out the truth for themselves. And because of that, they had hurt Sunset very badly, and Anon-a-Miss had been allowed to continue to sow discontent and misery amongst their peers.

In the end, the true culprits had come forward and Sunset’s name was cleared, but the damage was already done. The secrets were out, Sunset still had had to suffer for no reason, and their friendship with her had been strained, if not worse.

During the break, Sunset had accepted the invitation to the Apples’ Christmas party, where she opened presents, laughed, and acted cordially towards her hosts and the other guests. However everyone got the distinct impression that the smile was forced, and whenever Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were in the same room, she either stopped talking or made excuses to go to another room. She had politely declined their offer to have her stay with them – her gaze had momentarily flickered over to Apple Bloom as she spoke - and had spent the majority of the break over at Fluttershy’s instead, although she had seemed reluctant even to do that. Rainbow had a feeling that Sunset only stayed there because it provided her with a roof over her head (she flinched at the thought – she and the others had known Sunset had been homeless since the Battle of the Bands. Another reason for her to feel guilty.) and because she was least likely to interact with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo there.

They had all chipped in to buy her a new phone to replace her broken one, but Sunset rarely used it unless one of them called or texted her. In fact, Sunset didn’t talk to them at all unless they asked her a question or spoke directly to her. And although she tagged along, she didn’t really join in. It was as though she was only tolerating being in their presence.

Or maybe she thinks we’re just tolerating her, Rainbow thought sadly.

Once school started back up, things didn’t get any better. Sunset refused to eat in the cafeteria anymore, preferring the solitude of the soccer field. She also seemed to be avoiding them as much as she could, participating in after school activities and making all sorts of excuses not to join them.

And all the while that one elephant in the room still remained. Although the girls had apologized for their callous behavior, and Sunset had assured them that she had forgiven them, they had never really talked about what had happened, and Sunset was positively determined to forget the whole thing.

But they couldn’t forget it. It had happened, no matter how much they wished it hadn’t. And if things between them were to ever be mended, Rainbow knew they would have to face it. She was determined to make things right, no matter what.



 

“Hey.”

Sunset looked up and saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy standing next to her.

“Hey. You need something?” Sunset asked casually.

Fluttershy resisted the urge to flinch. The casual tone Sunset was using only made her feel worse. She wished she would just scream at them and be done with it.

“Can we talk?” Rainbow asked, leaning against the lockers.

“Sure. Make it quick though. I have Calc in two minutes.” said Sunset, turning back to her open locker and pulling out books.

“About….um….Anon-a-Miss.” Fluttershy said so quietly Rainbow barely heard her. Sunset did, though.

“That I don’t wanna talk about.” Sunset said edgily, cramming the books into her backpack.

“Sunset, we need to talk about this,” Rainbow said, pushing up from the lockers standing firmly in front of her friend. “Things aren’t okay between us, and you know it. And it’s because of Anon-a-Miss. And ignoring it’s not gonna make it go away.”

Sunset slammed her locker closed and turned to face them, her patience wearing thin.

“Look, you don’t get it, do you? I don’t wanna talk about Anon-a-Miss. I don’t wanna think about it. I told you, I forgive you for not believing me. The whole thing’s over and done with so just let it bucking go, okay?!”

Sunset’s voice had raised a considerable amount, and other students were starting to stare. Still, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but snicker, “‘Bucking?’”

Sunset sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She did not have time for this. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and began to walk away.

“Do you wanna meet us at Sugarcube Corner after school?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset turned and glared at her. “Fluttershy. I said. Let. It. Go.”

And with that she walked towards her next class, leaving her friends disheartened.  

“Well that went well.” Rainbow said glumly.

“She’s still mad huh?” Rainbow turned to see Flash Sentry walking toward them, a sympathetic look on his face.

“No, she’s skipping down the hallway and singing show tunes.” Rainbow snarked, then immediately regretted it. All Flash did was ask a question; he didn’t deserve to have his head bitten off because she was frustrated. “Sorry.”

Flash just shrugged. “Can’t say I blame her. We did treat her pretty badly.”

Rainbow raised her eyebrow in confusion. “We? Flash, you’re one of the few people who didn’t jump on the ‘Sunset Is Anon-a-Miss’ bandwagon.”

“No, but I didn’t stick up for her either,” Flash said sadly.

Rainbow chose not to comment. In fact, Flash hadn’t even spoken to Sunset since their very loud and violent break-up over a year ago. And when Twilight came along Sunset pretty much just faded into the background for him.

“I don’t know what to do. She’s just…so angry…..and hurt.” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Look girls, I don’t know what to tell you.” Flash shrugged. “Maybe she just needs some time for the wound to heal. It hasn’t really been that long since it happened.”

“Maybe…” Rainbow said idly. Just then the bell rang. “Oh, crap! Come on, Shy!”

As the two girls ran down the hall to get to their class, Flash stared at the locker that Sunset had occupied mere minutes ago, and he suddenly got an idea. An absolutely stupid idea. But it was probably just stupid enough to work.
> Ch 5 - Hypocrisy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset splashed some water on her face, and then looked in the mirror. An emotionally-dead looking teenager stared back.

So this is what a black hole feels like, she thought, as she reached for the paper towels.

Over two months had passed, and Sunset was still reeling from the pain she had endured. Even being around the girls was more than she could bear. There were days where she would mentally hit herself, asking herself why she didn’t just go through the portal and be rid of them once and for all.

And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave the people who had called themselves her friends, who were there for her after her fall from grace, who gave her life purpose. She had felt the warmth of friendship, regardless of her current doubt about their intentions, and she literally felt she would die if she had to go back to that cold, lonely existence.

So she decided to take a third option; people hated her for being bad, and when she tried to be good, it blew up in her face. So she decided to be neither. Neither bad nor good, she would just be. She would only do or say when asked, and she would not stay too long. Just enough to keep around, not so much as to push away or to open her heart. She was never going to make that mistake again. She was never going to let her “friends” hurt her again, and she was never going to give them reason to hurt her again. Not an ideal system, but overall she was content with it.

Yeah right. Pull the other one; it shoots fireworks.


She crumpled the towel in her hands and threw it without turning from her reflection. Perfect basket. She didn’t hear a lot of noise outside, so she inferred that a good majority of the students had gone home for the day.

Sunset looked at her watch. It was 3:30. Mrs. Shy usually had dinner ready at 5:00, which meant she had time for a “long walk” on the way to Fluttershy’s.

As she opened the bathroom door, she ran into several familiar faces.

Oh good. Here’s the lynch mob. Two months behind schedule, but whatever, let’s get this over with. So what now? Turning the janitor into a toad? Backing up the toilets on the second floor? Sneezing? Please tell me, what unholy sin against nature have I supposedly committed this time?!

“Um, can I help you?”

None of them said a word. As Sunset gazed at the faces of Trixie Lulamoon, Bon-Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, Roseluck, and Thunderlane, she found that not a single one of them would look her in the eye. Trixie opened her mouth and then closed it several times.

Well, that’s a first. The Great and Pretentious Trixie has nothing to say.

Sunset looked behind the group and saw DJ Pon-3, one of the few students who had behaved cordially towards her and in fact, had remained neutral on the subject of Sunset’s supposedly being Anon-A-Miss. Once she was certain she had caught her eye (it was hard to tell with those sunglasses) she gestured towards the group of students blocking the bathroom door. Maybe she’d know what was going on.

Pon-3 shrugged, and then folded her arms, apparently waiting to see how this was going to play out.

Hate to disappoint her, but I’m in no mood for a soap box.


“Okay, um….bye, then.” Sunset gave a small wave and started to walk away.

“WAIT!”

Don’t stop. Keep going. Keep – no. No no no no NO! DAMMIT! Why do you keep turning around?!

“Yes?”

Trixie froze, her cheeks a light pink.

“I…”, she started, then cleared her throat and began pompously, her cheeks still flushed, “Ahem. That is, Trixie and her associates wish to speak with you regarding an urgent matter.”

For the love of Celestia, would you quit with the third person?! You’re not on stage right now!

Sunset folded her arms and nodded slightly, a sign for Trixie to continue.

“Trixie has been doing some thinking and she has come to the conclusion…that…” Trixie hesitated a bit, as if the next words coming out of her mouth were a vile poison. “…that maybe…she has made an….” She swallowed a massive lump in her throat “error…in judgement.” At the look on Sunset’s face, Trixie made a dramatic pose and declared, “Yes! Shocking, I know.”

Wooooooow. Move over, Rarity. You’ve got some competition for the drama award.


“But none-the-less, given much thought, Trixie has decided that…in retrospect…..” Trixie suddenly looked very unsure. She started to fiddle with her hands as she tried to find the right words. “Trixie’s behavior and…the behavior of her fellow classmates were… we…I…w-what I mean is-”

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” Tired of Trixie beating around the bush, Bon-Bon stepped forward and looked Sunset directly in the eye. “We want to apologize.”

Sunset’s eyebrows nearly leapt off her face.

“We shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions the way we did.” Lyra said, staring at the floor. “And we shouldn’t have screamed at you the way we did, and drove you out of school.”

“Especially after everything you did during the Battle of the Bands.” Roseluck added, wiping her eye. “We should’ve let you tell your side of things.”

“We were jerks, and we’re sorry.” Bon-Bon concluded. The others nodded vigorously in agreement.

Sunset stood there, unsure of what to say. They looked sincere enough.

But appearances could be deceiving.

Once Sunset’s name had been cleared of being the one spreading rumors, the student body had begun acting strangely around her. While they no longer glared or whispered about her, they still avoided her like the plague. And whenever she entered a room, the students would immediately stop talking.

After everything she’d been through, Sunset was expecting the worst, and was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had not expected this.

And honestly, she would’ve preferred a lynching.

Two months ago, Principal Celestia revealed that not only had Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo posted their sisters’ most private and embarrassing secrets and framed her for it, they had also been posting submissions from other students.

The students of Canterlot High, or at least a portion of it, had known she had been innocent. They knew she hadn’t done what she had been accused of. And they still pointed fingers at her.

They had used her as a scapegoat so they could bully other students and get off scot-free.

Sunset hadn’t felt this angry or upset when the entire student body was booing her during the Battle of the Bands semi-finals. At least then their anger towards her had been justified, and they had being brainwashed as an excuse.

Sunset stared at the remorseful faces of her fellow students, who were starting to fidget nervously at her silence, idly wondering how many secrets they each had posted. How many lives they ruined.

Finally, she gave a deep sigh, and said, almost cheerfully, “Okay. Apology accepted.”

And with that, she turned and walked down the hall.

To say the group was shocked was a gross understatement. Trixie’s mouth was nearly on the floor as she blinked rapidly. She turned to DJ Pon-3 and gestured wildly at the air where Sunset previously stood, silently asking what the hell just happened.

Pon-3 just shrugged, and walked off, having no reason to stay now that the show was over.

With a noise of frustration, Trixie took off down the hall after Sunset.

“So, that it, then?” Trixie asked when she had finally caught up.

“Yep. That’s it.” Sunset said casually. Her pace had quickened considerably, and Trixie was now struggling to keep up.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Sunset’s fist clenched tightly, but Trixie didn’t seem to notice.

“I mean..I’m just..surprised is all. Most people in your position would be…understandably, of course….I mean, not that Trixie wants you to hold a grudge, it’s just that-”

Sunset stopped so suddenly that Trixie nearly stumbled. Sunset’s hand unclenched, and two drops of red fell to the floor. Trixie paled, taking a step back.

“Trixie.”

Trixie winced at the monotone in Sunset’s voice. She sounded so….defeated.

“Y-Yes?”

Sunset spoke, not turning around. “If you’re really sorry…..then just leave me alone.”

Sunset walked away, and this time Trixie did not follow. She stared at Sunset’s retreating back until it disappeared completely. Then, unsure of where to go from there, she turned and walked down the empty hallway in the opposite direction.
> Ch 6 - Denial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy and Sunset walked down the street in silence. Sunset had started getting up early and was usually gone before anyone in the Shy household had woken up. Fluttershy normally took the bus, but today she decided to join Sunset on the way to school. Sunset made no protest and simply started walking, Fluttershy following close behind.

She knew Sunset was purposefully avoiding them. She couldn’t blame her after the way they had treated her. Her own hateful words echoed in her mind as she remembered how she had screamed at Sunset, telling her she wasn’t their friend.

I’m so sorry, Sunset, she thought miserably. You are my friend. I wish I knew how to make you believe that.


As they continued on, the silence was beginning to become unbearable, so Fluttershy decided to try to break the ice. Key word being “try”.

“So…um….did you, uh……look on Mystable last night?”

“Nope.” Sunset said, not looking at her. Sunset had deleted her Mystable profile over a month ago, and if she had had it her way, she’d have nothing to do with that thrice damned website ever again. She’d give up the Internet completely if she didn’t need it for research for class assignments.

“Oh.” Fluttershy cringed at Sunset’s bluntness, but continued, “Well, there was this really cute picture of a litter of kitties. They were in a basket, and they had sequined bowties on them.”

“Sounds cool.” Sunset said lightly.

More awkward silence. Fluttershy tried one more time.

“So….were you able to do the math assignment?”

“Yep” Sunset said. She turned and smirked. “Why? Wanna see it?”

Blushing, Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no no. No thank you.”

Smiling shyly, she continued, “Of course, I don’t really know why I asked. You’re smart, Sunset. You certainly did far better than I did.”

Sunset stopped and turned, her brows furrowed. “You’re having trouble with the homework?”

Realizing what she had just said, Fluttershy’s blush deepened. She waved her hands in quick denial. “No! No no no no no. Nothing like that. It’s just…I mean…I don’t…”

Sunset crossed her arms and gave a pointed look.

“Well….I did have a little trouble on the last two problems…” Fluttershy admitted, rubbing her arm.

Sunset gestured for her to let her see, so she opened her backpack and produced her homework.

They sat down on a nearby bench as Sunset looked over the paper with pursed lips.

“Ok. I see what happened.” Sunset said, nodding in understanding. She showed the paper to Fluttershy and pointed to the error on the bottom of the page.

“See, you were supposed to use a cosine, not sine. You also forgot to subtract on both sides, see?”

As Fluttershy listened to Sunset’s explanations, she couldn’t help but smile. Sunset was speaking to her informally, helping her with her homework, and even joked with her at one point. After nearly two months of awkward tension, she was finally having a comfortable moment with her friend. It was as if nothing had happened.

“Yo! What’s up?”

Sunset didn’t look up as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie approached the two. Apparently they had had the same idea as Fluttershy.

“Just helping Fluttershy with her homework.” Sunset said. She handed the paper to Fluttershy. “Does that help?”

“Mm-hm.” Fluttershy nodded, her gentle smile still in place.

Sunset stood up and brushed some of the snow from her skirt. “Well, let’s trek onward, shall we?”

As they walked towards the now visible school building, her five friends shared an optimistic look. Maybe there was hope after all.











Sunset opened her locker and began pulling books out, thinking on her earlier interaction with Fluttershy.

Maybe this isn’t so bad, she thought. Maybe I’m not good enough to be their friend, but…I can still be useful. I can help them with assignments and, when they start practicing again, I can still be their band member.


Yeah. I think this is gonna work out.




…..You don’t seriously believe that, do you?


Sunset groaned. She’d heard this voice shortly before her confrontation with Trixie two days ago, and ever since it had just kept getting louder and louder.

Do you ever shut up?


I’ll shut up when you quit deluding yourself! Quit acting like everything’s all hunky-dory! Just admit you’re still mad about Anon-A-Miss so you can move on and quit all this friendship martyr crap!

I am NOT being a martyr. I’ve just learned my place, that’s all. And I am NOT mad about Anon-A-Miss! I’ve moved on and I’ve forgiven my friends!

Then why do you keep making excuses to avoid them?

………

Why do you only speak to them when they ask you a question? Why do you only use the phone they gave you – which they paid for out of their own pockets to replace the one you broke – when they call you? And why won’t you wear that outfit Rarity made you? The one she probably busted her ass making for you? You’ve got like, what, four outfits? Three of them are old prom dresses, and the one you’re wearing is ratty as shit. You can’t really afford to be picky.

…I ….I don’t wanna be a burden….

Bullshit. You’re just scared. That’s why you don’t wanna talk about it. You’re scared they’ll reject you again if you show even the slightest bit of anger. You’re scared that you’ll turn into a raging she-demon again.

Ok, that’s just crazy!

Says the girl who’s arguing with a voice in her head.

…..Touché.

“Sunset?”

Sunset let out an uncharacteristic “eep!” as she was startled out of her thoughts. She turned to Vice Principal Luna, an amused and apologetic smile on her face.

“Am I…interrupting anything?” she asked.

“No just….thinking…” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her head. “Does Principal Celestia need to see me?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Luna said, gesturing with her arm. “After you.”

Sunset sighed inwardly. What did she want now?







“So Sunset, how are things?” Celestia said warmly from behind her desk.

“Good, I guess.” Sunset said.

“I’ve been speaking with your teachers. Your grades are phenomenal.”

“Thanks.” She said, then added, “Ma’am.”

“And how are your friends? Miss Pie, Miss Dash, Miss Shy-“

“They’re all fine.” Sunset said more curtly than she intended. She really wished Celestia would just get to the point so she could leave. Luna, who was sitting in the chair near the wall adjacent to Sunset, gave her sister a pointed look.

Celestia sighed, and then leaned forward. “Sunset….I know that these last few months have been very hard on you. And I want you to know how proud I am at how far you’ve come. You’ve turned yourself around, and made five wonderful new friends.”

She reached for Sunset’s hand and held it. “I want you to know that if you ever need help…if you ever need someone to talk to….I’m willing to listen.”

Sunset just sat there for a full minute. Then she pulled her hand away and asked, “Is that all?”

Stunned, Celestia withdrew her own hand.

“Because if it is, I really need to be going. Bye.” Sunset was already at the door and turning the knob.

“Sunset, I mean it.” Celestia said, standing up. “If there’s something bothering you, I will be there to help. Me and Luna.”

Sunset’s hand dropped to her side. The room seemed to get colder, and the sisters shared a concerned look when she let out a bitter chuckle.

“ ‘Perhaps Miss Shimmer is trying to make someone else out to be a bad element so that we will forget her own past misdeeds.’” Sunset quoted coldly. The two women paled.

Sunset turned and gave a bitter smirk. “The Dazzlings. I tried to warn you about them. And you blew me off.”

“In our defense, we were under their spell at the time.” Luna said defensively. “We were not in control of our actions.”

Sunset chuckled again. “You know, in any other circumstances, I might have believed that.” Her grin slid right off as she glared at them. “But you forget; I grew up in a world where magic is commonplace. I spent years studying magic before I came here. One of the things I learned was about mind control and mental suggestion.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “The spell the Dazzlings used merely ensured your loyalty to them and that you would carry out their orders. How you did that was all you.”

Luna reeled back as if struck. Celestia struggled to say something that would defuse the situation, and failed.

“That’s why you didn’t put a stop to Anon-A-Miss, isn’t it? You thought I was the culprit and deserved whatever flak I got.”

“What?” Luna cried, gazing at Sunset as if she had grown a second head.

“No!” Celestia yelled, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Sunset, we never….I thought…I didn’t-”

“Didn’t know? Is that what you were going to say?” Sunset asked, her voice becoming thick with emotion. “You didn’t know that my friends were being teased and harassed? You didn’t know that there were students who were so embarrassed by what was posted that they refused to come to school? You didn’t know that there were full blown arguments breaking out in the cafeteria and the hallways? You didn’t know that I had been cornered by nearly every student in the school and screamed at until I ran out in tears?!

“You had to have noticed something was off! You could’ve had the website blocked from the school computers! You could’ve had the IT department do an investigation to trace the profile back to its source! You could’ve called the police and gotten them involved! Or hell, you could’ve suspended the use of the school computers and banned the use of cell phones altogether! Something!

“But no! You did nothing! And because of that the students of Canterlot High, the students you’re supposed to protect, had to suffer humiliation and torment at each other’s hands! For crying out loud, what kind of princess ARE you?!”

Sunset didn’t realize she had gotten in Celestia’s shocked face until it was inches away from hers. The room rang in eerie silence as it began to sink in what she had just said.

“Principal. What kind of principal….are you….” Sunset ran a hand through her hair as she processed how out of control this had gotten. “I….I gotta go.”

As Sunset whirled towards the door, Celestia managed to recover from her stupor and reached out a hand towards the distraught girl. “Sunset-”

“Please.” Sunset begged, her eyes brimming with sadness. “Save your false pity and empty promises. I’ve heard enough to last a lifetime.”

As the door clicked closed, the principal of Canterlot High gripped her hair in her fists, wondering, not for the first time, how things had gone so wrong. Luna just stood there, looking from the door to her sister, unable to think of anything to say.





Ok. Calm down. You just screamed in Principal Celestia’s face and accused her of negligence. And got her mixed up with your old mentor. No big deal. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.

As Sunset tried to walk nonchalantly to class, she realized that she had forgotten to ask for a note to excuse her tardiness. Frustrated, she punched the nearest locker as hard as she could.

Suddenly, she felt someone tapping her shoulder. She spun to tell them off, only to find herself face to face with one of the last people she had expected.

“I come in peace!” Flash Sentry said, waving his hands in surrender.

Sunset blinked. Her ex was talking to her. Her ex. After a year of avoiding her.

“Um…if this is a bad time, I can come back later.” Flash said, nodding towards the slight dent in the locker.

“…..Why aren’t you in class?” Sunset asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Flash smirked, then shrugged sheepishly. “Buuuut…to answer your question…I got here late.”

“You’re never late.” Sunset pointed out.

“First time for everything.” Flash replied.

Both stood in awkward silence for a moment. Then Sunset sighed, and asked, “What do you want, Flash?”

Flash rubbed his arm and said, “Okay. I know this is weird coming from me, but…are you doing anything after school today?”

Sunset blinked, then pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a loooooong day……
> Ch 7 - Consequences
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom ignored the large amounts of profanity and hateful notes scribbled on her locker in permanent marker as she dialed the combination. She had long since stopped reading it or trying to wash it off.

She had also accepted that this was going to be the norm for her from now on. She knew she had no one to blame but herself; you couldn’t just go around airing other people’s dirty laundry and not expect some of the stink to rub off on you.  It didn’t stop it from hurting though.

Opening her locker, she noticed some of her books were missing, including one that contained an assignment that was due today. She supposed she could tell Mr. Doodle that her assignment had been stolen, but she doubted he’d believe her. No one at school trusted her anymore. Not the students. Not the staff. Not even her own siblings.

Thoughts of Applejack filled her head, and she tried to swallow back tears as she remembered the look on her sister’s face when she’d revealed the truth over two months ago; shock, hurt, anger….and absolute betrayal.





“Apple Bloom….what is this?” Applejack asked as she scrolled down Apple Bloom’s phone, her face slowly morphing from worried confusion to horrified outrage. “What the hell is this?!”

Apple Bloom flinched, but stood her ground. Taking a shaky breath, she said softly, but firmly, “We’re Anon-A-Miss. Not Sunset.”

As Applejack slumped back against her seat, trying to comprehend this information, Pinkie Pie had taken the phone from her limp hand and held it up so the others could see. Their expressions mirrored Applejack’s.

“This…is a joke. Right?” Pinkie Pie beseeched, a nervous grin slowly spreading across her face. “Please….please tell me this is just some horrible prank.”

But even as she asked, she knew from the solemn faces of the three girls in front of them that it wasn’t. The grin slid completely off her face and her hair made a deflating sound as it went limp, and she too slumped in her seat.

“Why?” Rarity asked, her hands shaking. She turned to the three girls, her beautiful face contorted in anguish. “For God sakes, why?!”

The girls bowed their heads in shame. “It was mah idea.” Apple Bloom said. “Ah was upset that you were spendin’ more time with Sunset than with me. Ah’m yer family, AJ. Yer supposed ta spend Christmas with yer family. When y’all sent me away, I was so mad. Ah posted that thing about Piggly Wiggly as soon as Ah hung up. Ah thought that, if ya thought that Sunset did it, ya wouldn’t wanna hang out with her anymore. And…” Apple Bloom glanced at Applejack, “Ah wanted ta git back at y’all fer sendin’ me away.”

Applejack clenched her eyes shut, her pain clear on her face.

“I felt the same way.” Sweetie Belle added. “That night at our house, I snuck into your room and took Sunset’s phone when everyone was asleep. I posted the photos.”

Rarity buried her head into her arms.

“But afterwards, things got outta hand.” Scootaloo continued. “People started sending us stuff, asking us to post it. We didn’t know what to do, so….we posted it.”

“We never meant fer things to go this far. We’re so sorry.” Apple Bloom said, fisting a tear from her eye.

For several minutes, no one said anything. Then, slowly, Rainbow Dash stood up and walked in front of the three girls.

“Let me see if I got this right,” she asked, her voice deadly calm. “You posted our most private and embarrassing secrets, made us laughingstocks of the entire school, framed Sunset, and turned the school completely on its head…..because you didn’t get invited to a freaking slumber party. That’s what you’re telling me.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom blushed, unable to meet Rainbow Dash’s cold gaze. Even though they had come to this conclusion themselves, having it said out loud by someone else made them realize just how stupid their whole plan was.

“And what about you?” Rainbow demanded Scootaloo, her voice shaking slightly. “What’s your excuse, huh?”

Scootaloo stared at the floor, feeling lower than dirt.

“You kept saying you were gonna help me with soccer…. And you never did. When Sweetie and Apple Bloom told me their plan, it…it made sense…” she said lamely. She looked up, a small guilty grin on her face. “It….seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Whatever answer Rainbow was expecting, that was obviously the wrong one. Scootaloo’s right cheek and jaw exploded in pain as she was knocked to the floor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were by her side almost instantly. Scootaloo looked up through blurry eyes to see Applejack and Pinkie Pie gripping a furious Rainbow Dash by the arms.

“Dash! Have you lost yer cotton pickin’ mind?!” Applejack scolded.

“She’ll thank me for it!” Rainbow snarled. “Maybe next time she’ll think twice before she ever does something this stupid again!”

“What on Earth is going on here?” Mrs. Cake demanded as she and her husband emerged from the kitchen. It was nearly closing time so Sugarcube Corner was nearly empty save for the five teenage girls and the three pre-teens. But even so, this was a respectable establishment and she didn’t appreciate people screaming like banshees in her bakery.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash yelled, wrenching her arms free. She pointed at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in disgust. “These three are nothing but secret spreading, backstabbing, lying little brats!”

The three girls in question looked like they’d been punched in the stomach. Scootaloo began to openly sob, her tears making her sore cheek hurt even worse. She had known Rainbow Dash would be angry, but she hadn’t expected this.

“Now see here, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity admonished, standing up. Angry as she was, she wasn’t about to let anyone badmouth her sister. “What my sister and her friends did was petty and foolish, but that was simply uncalled for.”

“Don’t defend them!” Rainbow bellowed, turning on Rarity. “Petty? Foolish? No Rarity. Petty is locking yourself in your room because your parents won’t buy you a car. Foolish is spilling soda on your new shirt. What they did was vindictive and cruel. They knew that spreading those secrets would hurt us, and they did it anyway! This is something I’d expect from Diamond Tiara, or Trixie! Hell, even when Sunset pulled this crap, she never-”

Rainbow froze, a look of horrified comprehension dawning on her face. All five friends shared the same thought.

“She was telling the truth.” Fluttershy whispered, tears streaming down her face. “She tried to tell us, and we wouldn’t listen. We….we all turned our backs on her.”

Fluttershy buried her face in her hands and cried. Pinkie patted her back, her own eyes filled with tears.

Rainbow gripped her multicolored hair in her fists, then went to go stare at the wall next to the door.

Applejack’s eyes fell on the second phone on the table, and realized for the first time that it looked really familiar.

“This is Sunset’s phone.” She whispered. But the others heard her, even Rainbow, and they all turned to stare at the decimated object.

“How did it git like this?” Applejack asked Apple Bloom sternly, holding the phone up.

Apple Bloom quickly gave a summarized version of what she saw that morning. Applejack’s mouth set in a firm line as she made up her mind.

“We need to find her. Now.” The others nodded in agreement. Pinkie whipped out her phone.

“Pinkie, you cain’t call Sunset. She don’t have her phone.” Applejack said wearily.

“No. But several of my contacts do. I’m rounding up a search party.” Pinkie said as she scrolled through her contacts. “It’s a big city and we’ll need all the help we can get. I know some people that owe me a favor.” She tapped a number and put the phone to her ear. “Mr. Cake, is it ok if we put a missing poster in the window?”

“Of course.” He said, his face pale. He turned to his wife. “I’m gonna call the police.”

“That won’t do any good, dear.” Mrs. Cake shook her head. “According to Apple Bloom, she hasn’t been missing that long. The police won’t be able to do anything until 24 hours have passed.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Let’s move out.”

As one, the five friends grabbed their things and headed for the door. Pinkie was shrugging her coat on as she spoke on the phone.

“Applejack…do…do you hate me now?”

Applejack paused, then sighed. She turned and knelt down to her sister’s level.

“Apple Bloom…you’re mah sister, and Ah’ll always love you. No matter what.” Applejack placed her arms on Apple Bloom’s shoulders. She eyes turned hard and she leaned in. “But when we git home, Ah’m gonna wear yer hide out so badly you’ll hafta sleep standin’ up for a week. If Granny don’t beat me to it.”

She stood up and then pulled out her phone. “Do y’all mind watchin’ these three until Big Mac comes n’ gits ‘em?”

“It’s no problem.” Mrs. Cake said, looking sternly at Apple Bloom and her friends. She really expected better from those three.

As Applejack texted her brother, Sweetie Belle timidly approached Rarity. “Are you gonna wear my hide out, too, big sis?”

“We’ll discuss this later, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity said stiffly.

Scootaloo rubbed her arm nervously as she tried to get Rainbow to look at her. “Rainbow…I-”

“Scoots. Don’t.” Rainbow said, waving her hand as if Scootaloo were a gnat she was trying to swat. “Just don’t.”

Pinkie Pie hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket. “Alright. They’re meeting us near Platinum Avenue. Let’s move, people! GO GO GO!!”

With that, the five friends charged out the door into the cold night air to search for the sixth, leaving three heartbroken and remorseful girls and two nervous adults behind in the empty bakery.





In the end, Applejack had made good on her threat. Well, actually, Granny had. For an old lady, she could sure hit pretty hard. Apple Bloom’s bottom felt sore just thinking about it. But not nearly as sore as her arms and legs were from doing all those chores.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got it pretty bad too. Sweetie Belle’s parents had donated her computer to charity, saying that she couldn’t be trusted with it if she was going to be a “hateful gossip monger.” Scootaloo’s dad ran over her laptop with his truck. And her phone. And her TV.

All three girls had gotten their Christmas presents confiscated, and had only been allowed to attend the Apple family Christmas party so they could help clean up afterward.

But none of that compared to what they had to face at school. When they had revealed their identities as Anon-A-Miss at the school assembly the morning following their confession to their sisters, the auditorium had exploded in fury, and they had been pelted with anything the students could get their hands on – books, pencils, food wrappers, soda cans, backpacks, wads of paper – Diamond Tiara had even thrown her tiara at them, which nearly hit Sweetie in the eye. They only stopped when Principal Celestia threatened everyone with a month’s detention.

Celestia herself took it much better than they thought she would. While she made no attempt to hide her disappointment, she had agreed to be lenient, since this had been their first major offense and they were genuinely remorseful for what they had done. Their punishment was still heavy, but anything was better than being expelled, right?

Of course, once school started backed up, expulsion had begun to look like paradise. They were about as welcome at Canterlot High as the Black Plague. All three girls became immediate targets, with Apple Bloom getting the worst of it, since she had been the ringleader behind the whole Anon-A-Miss fiasco.

Their sisters and their friends had tried to intervene on their behalf, but they couldn’t be everywhere. And even then, it seemed like they were only doing it out of obligation; Rarity and Applejack made it clear that they were still mad at them, and Rainbow Dash refused to speak to Scootaloo at all.

I wonder if this is how Sunset felt, Apple Bloom thought. She knew the former bully had gone through similar treatment shortly after the Fall Formal.

Sighing, she closed her locker and began to walk dejectedly to class.

“Hey, Apple Bitch!”

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and slowly turned, mentally bracing herself.

There stood three aggressive looking older girls, including a familiar looking one in the middle with white hair and purple highlights.

“I’ve got something for you to blog about.” The middle one growled, cracking her knuckles.

Apple Bloom clenched her eyes shut.







“Ok, Apple Bloom. Just lie back and keep the ice pack in place.”

Apple Bloom did as Nurse Redheart asked. Honestly it wasn’t as bad as she thought it’d be, and the pain in her eye had already begun to subside.

“Now, are you sure that there’s nothing else you need to tell me?” the nurse asked for the fifth time.

“No ma’am. It’s like Ah said. Ah tripped an’ hit mah head on th’ edge of a door.” Apple Bloom monotoned. What could she tell her? No one had seen the attack, and she didn’t even know the names of her attackers, just that they were older than her.

Besides, this is nothing compared to the damage I’ve caused.

Nurse Redheart shook her head sadly. This was the third time this week alone that Apple Bloom had come to her office due to some “accident.” What she and her friends did was wrong, but she didn’t deserve this. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about it unless Apple Bloom told her specifically that she was being bullied. All she could do was patch her up and send her on her way.

“Hey, Bloom.”

Apple Bloom turned to see her friends, and apparently they’d not had a much better morning than her. Sweetie Belle had a gigantic purple stain on her shirt front from where someone had “accidentally” spilled soda on her. Scootaloo’s lower half was covered in dirt and mud and she had a nasty looking gash on her knee from where she had “tripped.”

“Ok Scootaloo. Let’s take a look.” Nurse Redheart sighed, gesturing for her to sit down. She turned to Sweetie Belle. “And you?”

“I have a stomachache.” Sweetie shrugged.

She was obviously lying, but Nurse Redheart gestured for her to sit down anyway. As she went to get some bandages and antiseptic for Scootaloo’s leg, Apple Bloom sat up and removed the ice pack, revealing a very large black eye and a swollen bruised cheek.

“Yeesh. You look terrible, Bloom.” Scootaloo commented.

“Look who’s talkin’, Chicken Legs.” Apple Bloom smirked. She knew Scoots hated being called that.

Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at Apple Bloom, and Apple Bloom made a face back, and soon, all three girls were snickering.

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but smile. These next coming school days may be utter hell, but at least she didn’t have to go through it alone.
> Ch 8 - Escalation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, so do you mind telling me what we're doing here?"

Flash tried to look anywhere but at Sunset, who was staring at him with the bluntest look on her face with her arms crossed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

"I told you, I needed some help with a project..."

"Which is why we're sitting on a bench in a park, and not the library, and why you asked me of all people to help you instead of one of your friends."

"Ummm...."

"And why you didn't bring any books or school supplies of any kind." 

"I brought a pen." Flash said weakly. Sunset wasn't amused. 

"Flash. we may not have spoken for over a year, but I can still tell when you're flat-out lying to me. Now either tell me the real reason you dragged me out here or I'm gone." 

"Hey, I didn't force you to come out here!" Flash said angrily.

Sunset shrugged. "Good point. See ya."

"No! Wait." Flash said as Sunset began to stand up. She sat back down and cocked and eyebrow. "Ok, I ....I may have heard that.... you had a way of contacting Twilight."

Sunset rolled her eyes. Of course he wanted to contact his girlfriend! She reached into her bag and pulled out the enchanted journal. "Next time, just ask."

Flash's eyes lit up as he took the journal. "Wow! So... you just write to her and, she writes back?"

"When she has time. She is a princess, after all." Sunset explained. "Just find a blank page and start writing."

She stared idly a the afternoon sky as she heard pages turning. But then they stopped turning, and she became suspicious when she didn't hear the sound of pen on paper.

"Hey, it looks like Twilight's been trying to get in touch with you." Sunset felt a slight chill. "Why haven't you written back?" 

"If you're just going to pry into my personal business, you can give that back right now!" Sunset snapped. She had her own reasons for not writing back, reasons she didn't want to think about right now, reasons he had no business knowing. 

"Ok! Jeez! Excusing me for expressing concern! I mean, isn't Twilight supposed to be your friend?" Flash asked, cringing at her sudden anger.

"Oh please! Like you actually care about my relationship with Twilight! Just write your stupid love note so we can both leave." Sunset grumbled. 

Flash blushed a deep crimson. "It's not a love note! It..." His shoulder slumped slightly. "I wanted to apologize to her." 

"Apologize?" Sunset asked incredulously. What did Flash Sentry, Mr. Squeaky Clean Poster Child himself, possibly have to apologize for?

"Yeah. I...kinda said some stuff to her during the Battle of the Bands. Stuff that really hurt her."





"Now there's the bad girl we all love to hate!" Flash said derisively, a cruel smirk on his face. The students immediately burst into cruel laughter.





Sunset tightened her fist in her lap. "You don't say?"

"Yeah. I didn't even get to say sorry before she left." Flash smiled sadly. "I mean, Twilight's....she's amazing, you know? She's smart, she's funny, she's brave, she..."

"Barely knows anything about you." 

Flash looked up, confused. "Huh?"

"And you barely know anything about her. Seriously, when have you actually talked to each other? I mean really talked? Do you know her favorite song? Her favorite food? The fact that she's actually a pony?" 

"I...."

"Exactly.  And as princess, she has important duties back in Equestria. Meaning she doesn't have time for inter-dimensional relationships with boys she's barely spoken to."

She didn't know why she was telling him all this - Flash could've dated a carrot for all she cared. But it was something he'd find out eventually. Better he hear it now and save himself a lot of grief. 

After a short pause, she heard Flash let out a bitter chuckle. "This is just like you, Sunset."

"Excuse me?" Sunset asked angrily.

"Every time I like a girl...every time...you manage to find some way to ruin it. Scarlet, Minty...hell, Candy wound up transferring schools-"

"That was not my fault!" Sunset yelled, her cheeks crimson. 

"And now it's Twilight! Seriously, it's been a year, Sunset! Why don't you just grow up and get a life already?!"

Pursing her lips as tightly as she could, Sunset stood up and began to walk away.

"Oh sure, walk away! Go throw a temper tantrum because you didn't get your way!" Flash huffed. "See, this is why we broke up. You haven't changed at all. And you wonder why everyone thought you were Anon-A-Miss."

Almost as soon as the words passed his lips, he knew he made a terrible mistake, even before he saw Sunset freeze.

Flash sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for-"

"You son of a bitch."

Flash felt himself pale. "...Sunset?"

Sunset whirled around, and Flash resisted the urge to cringe. He had seen Sunset angry before, but the look she had now....it was downright murderous.

"You BASTARD!" Sunset roared. "How DARE you judge me! You have NO IDEA what I've been through! What I've had to endure from everyone and their damn dog just to get them to speak to me without contempt! Not to mention everything I went through to save your sorry asses from the sirens. And you have the nerve to say I haven't changed?!

"And since you bring up our break-up, how convenient of you to assume that I'm the only one at fault!  I'm not the one who avoided me for a week without telling me anything was wrong! I'm not the one who broke up with me through a freaking text! You didn't even have the nerve to tell me to my face! You went behind my back and led me to believe that everything was fine! I may have been a bitch, but you're no Prince Charming either! So don't even try to pretend you're better than me, you sanctimonious asshole! SCREW! YOU!"

Sunset began to pant heavily, suddenly feeling very tired. Flash, after a moment, finally had uncurled from his fetal position on the bench. 

"Well...." Flash chuckled nervously. "Can't say I was expecting that but....it's a start."

Sunset's brows furrowed, her anger replaced by confusion. "Wha...?"

Flash rubbed the back of his head. "Have to admit, kinda went a bit too far with that Anon-A-Miss comment. I'm kinda surprised you didn't punch me."

Sunset's eyes widened in horrified realization. "You tricked me." 

Flash looked down at the ground guiltily. "...yeah. I did. Look, Sunset...I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but...the way you're acting...it's not healthy. You can't keep it bottled up like that."

Sunset's face twisted. "You set me up."

"I didn't know what else to do!" Flash explained. "You wouldn't talk to your friends, so...I just thought that-"

Sunset spun on her heel and began to walk away.

"Sunset, wait!" Flash grabbed Sunset's arm to get her to stop. She twisted to get away, but her foot snagged and she fell. She cried out in pain as her head hit the edge of the bench. 

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Flash asked, very alarmed, as he knelt down to help her. He stopped as Sunset looked up at him. There, just above her eyebrow, was a long gash that was bleeding freely. Her face was one of fear and anguish.

Flash felt sick. "Sunset, I'm so sorry! Let me-"

"NO!" Sunset screamed, pushing him away. She stood up quickly and began backing away slowly. "Don't. Touch me! You! Stay! AWAY from me!" 

A single tear ran down her face as she turned and ran.

"Sunset!" Flash cried. Standing up, he ran his fingers through his hair as he paced frantically, trying to figure out what to do and mentally beating himself for being so stupid. He cursed himself for not knowing the phone numbers of any of her friends. 

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon the journal still on the bench, forgotten by Sunset in her despair. Without a second thought, he took out his pen and started writing, not daring to stop. He prayed his message got through.






Unbeknownst to the frantic teen, a beautiful girl with large bushy hair was watching him from behind a tree with a smirk on her face, her phone in her hand....
> Ch 9 - Breakdown (rewritten)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset ran. Ran faster than she had ever run in her life. But she couldn't out run the voices.




"You secret stealer!"

"You're not our friend!"

"How could you do this? After all we’ve been through together?"







Ignore it. Block it out. Just keep going.







"I’m sorry, but you did this to us. Tell whatever secrets you want. But we don’t have to listen."






NO! Don't think! Push it back!

But the harder she tried to deny the voices, the louder they spoke. And soon other voices joined in. 






"Now there's the bad girl we all love to hate!"

"The real Sunset is back!" 

"I knew she hadn't changed!"






Shut up.






"I was just trying to help."

"Yeah well, you didn't!"






Shut. UP!






"You will never rule in Equestria. Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."





"SHUT UP!"










Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were all walking down the street, idly discussing when they would start the next Rainbooms' rehearsal. When suddenly - 

"SHUT UP!"

A red and yellow blur sped right past them, and it took them all a moment to realize what just happened.

"...Was that Sunset?" Rarity asked alarmed.

"She looks really upset." Fluttershy said, concerned.

"Guys." Four heads turned to Rainbow Dash, who was wiping a speck of red off her cheek with wide eyes. "She's bleeding."

Without any prompting, the five friends took off after their distressed and injured friend.

"Sunset!"

"Sunset, stop!"

"Darling, PLEASE slow down!"






A few feet behind them, a small dog curled around his companion's legs, letting out a sad whimper. The girl picked the dog up, an equally concerned look on her face, and then took of after the group.










Locking the door to Fluttershy's bathroom, Sunset went over to the sink and began splashing water on her face. The voices continued.






"...not our friend!"

"...bad element..."

"...love to hate!"






Please. Please be quiet.






"...secret stealer!"

"Freak!"

"Evil!"

"Demon!"

"Demon!"

"DEMON!"






"...please stop." Sunset begged, raising her hands to her ears. A ring of maniacal laughter stopped her.

Scared, Sunset slowly raised her head to look in the mirror. 

A demonic  version of herself, the same one from the night of the Fall Formal, stared back at her, a maniacal grin on it's twisted face.

Sunset's irises turned to pinpricks as she let out a whimper.







"Shoot! That girl can sure run fast!" Applejack huffed as she and the others struggled to catch their breath. They were all standing in front of Fluttershy's house, after chasing Sunset all the way here. 

Suddenly, they heard the most awful, despair-ridden scream, and the sound of shattering glass.

"That came from my room!" Fluttershy said, horrified.

The girls immediately got their second wind and charged into the house and up the stairs.  As they opened the door to Fluttershy's room they saw that Sunset wasn't in it, but they did see that the bathroom door was closed. Loud, heartbroken sobs resonated from within.

"Sunset?" Applejack tried the doorknob, and then cursing her stupidity - of course it was locked - she knocked sharply on the door. "Sugarcube, it's me. Can ya open the door, please?"

"Go away!" 

"Sunset, we insist you let us in." Rarity said, coming to stand next to Applejack. "We heard a scream moments ago and, needless to say, we're very concerned about you."

"LIAR!" The girls flinched at the accusation. "You don't care about me! I'm just a charity case to you!"

"That's not true!" Fluttershy cried, struggling to hold back tears. "We're your friends, Sunset!"

"You're not my friends!" Sunset wailed. "If you were, then at least one of you would've believed me!"

Fluttershy took a step back, wounded. 

Steeling herself, Rainbow stepped forward and shouted, "Sunset, either open this door or we're breaking it down!"

No answer, save for the sound of weeping.

"Right." With a good, firm kick, the door gave way to Rainbow's foot, and she marched inside, the others following. What they saw made them want to vomit.

The bathroom mirror was completely shattered, a few pieces missing from the frame. In the center were three significant bloodstains, one large one in the middle, and two smaller ones on each side. There were drops of blood and mirror shards on the floor, and slowly, reluctantly, they followed the trail to its source.

Sunset Shimmer was huddled in the corner, crying like a small child. Her bloodied hands covered her face, and from what they could see there were pieces of glass sticking out from her fingers and knuckles.

Rainbow eventually found her voice. "Sunset...are you outta your mind?!"

Slowly, Sunset's crying morphed into laughter, and she lowered her hands. Her forehead was completely red, blood dripping down her face and intermingling with her tears. But what disturbed the the most was the look on her face. Sunset's eyes were wide and her pupils were shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and she was smiling. A small, sad, crazed smile.

"Heheheheheh. That's right! I'm outta my mind! Sunset Satan strikes again! Better watch out or I'll enslave you all!" 

More tears began to streak down Sunset's face as she continued to laugh. The girls had never seen anything more disturbing or heartbreaking in their lives. 

"Sunset, you're hurt." Fluttershy said, stepping forward timidly. "You need help-"

"And you're gonna help me, right? How? By firing your rainbow beam of friendship at me?" Sunset snarked, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Sorry. Been there. Done that. Wound up in a crater! Which really hurt like hell by the way, not that any of you give a damn!"

"Sugarcube-"

"Don't you 'sugarcube' me!" Sunset snarled, her face twisting in anguish. She began to sob once more. "I tried, you know? I tried so hard. And it's never good enough!" She placed one hand on the wall for balance as she lowered her head in despair. "I don't belong in Equestria. I don't belong here. So why? Why can't you just....." Sunset couldn't finish her sentence as her despair overwhelmed her.

Fluttershy couldn't bear to watch anymore. Holding back tears she slowly reached out a hand, to hold, to help, to comfort, something.

"STAY AWAY!" Sunset screamed suddenly screamed, slapping Fluttershy's hand away.

"Sunset...."

"I mean it!" Sunset screamed, her face now a mask of fear. "Just." She leaned down and picked up a shard of glass. "Leave." She waved it at them, her hand shaking. "Me." The others stepped back, frightened. Without thinking, Sunset lunged forward. "ALOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!"

"Sunset, stop!" 

A purple hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Another clamped around her shoulder.

Sunset stopped immediately, the glass shard falling from her limp hand. 

"T...Twi..."

Princess Twilight Sparkle gazed back at her bloody and broken friend, her eyes filled with concern.

"Please, Sunset." Twilight begged, shaking Sunset's shoulder slightly. "You've got to get a hold of yourself! This isn't you!"

Sunset's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell forward. The last thing she heard was Rainbow shouting, "Call an ambulance!" before everything went black.
> Ch 10 - Exasperation and Angrish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While an unconcious Sunset was being worked on in the ER, Twilight had asked one of them to call Flash so he could meet them there. She and the others waited in the waiting area for twenty minutes until he came busting through the door shouting Twilight's name until an irate nurse scolded him for making too much noise. 

Flash gave a quick summation of what happened that afternoon, including - Flash fidgeted as he admitted this - the fight that he had intentionally provoked. Twilight sat quietly for a moment, then stood up and turn to the other girls. "Girls...I think we need to talk."

The girls stared, shocked, but then Applejack nodded solemnly and said, "Yeah...Ah think we do."

Twilight turned to a nearby nurse and asked, "Is there a spare room where we can talk in private?"

"There's one right down the hall." she replied, pointing. The girls got up and followed her.

Twilight waited until they had completely disappeared, then turned and slapped Flash in the face. Hard.

"You're an idiot." Twilight stated. 

Flash chuckled sadly, rubbing his cheek. "I guess I deserve that."

"Yeah. You do." Twilight said pointedly. 

Flash looked down guiltily. "I was only trying to help..."

Twilight's face softened slightly. "I know. But you're still an idiot."

"Yeah. I am" Flash said, grinning slightly.

Both of them stood there awkwardly for a minute, then Flash asked, "So what now?"

"Can you stay out here and wait for information of her condition?" Twilight asked.

Flash nodded. "Of course. And you?"

Twilight grimaced. "I need to go yell at my friends."

Flash smiled sympathetically. "Sounds like fun."

"Tell me about it." Twilight muttered, rubbing her temple. 






Twilight closed the door behind her, set her backpack down and unzipped it to let Spike out - who dramatically took in a breath of air as he leapt out - and turned to face the other girls, her face solemn.

"Okay. So...why do I get the feeling this all has to do with the Anon-A-Miss incident?"

The girls winced. "You know about that?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah. I do." Twilight said sternly. "However, Sunset only gave me a summarized version of what happened. Mind filling me in on the details?"

The girls were hesitant, but they realized Twilight was going to find out one way or another, so, hesitantly, they told her what happened. From the first post to Sunset avoiding them. 

When they were done, Twilight didn't say anything. She sat down in a chair and pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes squeezed shut. She sat like that for a long time. It started to become disconcerting.

"Twilight....please say something." Fluttershy begged.

Twilight shook her head slowly. "I....I don't know what to say. Just....." she opened her eyes and looked up, her face a mask of anger and disbelief. "Why?"

The girls looked down in shame. "We were embarassed. And angry...." Pinkie said, her hair falling limp in her face. "We...thought she was trying to hurt us again...."

"Why?" The girls' heads snapped up. Spike was sitting directly in front of them, his head tilted in confusion. "No seriously, why? Sunset became a pariah after the Fall Formal. She was shunned and hated, some were even bullying her. Why on Earth would she choose to go back to that?"

"In our defense, we did have evidence..." Rarity said weakly.

"What? You mean those photos?" Twilight asked. "Did it not occur to you that maybe someone hacked her phone? I mean, that is possible here, right? Or, or that someone took her phone, posted the photos, and then put the phone back when no one was looking?" Twilight didn't notice Rarity flinch. "I mean, just because they came from her phone doesn't mean she was the one who posted it! I mean...did you guys even try to eliminate every other possibility before you came to Sunset?" Silence. "You didn't, did you. You just...assumed that...that..." 

Twilight was so frustrated by this point she couldn't even form words. Her hair had begun to stick out at odd angles as she gripped it in her fists.

"Look, what do you want us to say? We screwed up, alright?" Rainbow asked, becoming frustrated herself. "And anyway, how did you know she was telling the truth? How'd she convince you?" 

Twilight gaped at Rainbow like she had just turned into an giant potato. "You seriously have to ask me that?!"

"Uh..." Rainbow stammered. 

"I believed Sunset because she's my friend!" Twilight snapped, putting emphasis on the "d" in "friend." She couldn't believe she actually had to spell this out for them. "Because I trust her! That's what friends do! They have faith in each other, they stick by each other, and until there is undeniable, irrefutable evidence that says otherwise, they give them the benefit of the doubt! For crying out loud, after all this time, do you still have that little faith in her? Or did her helping us save the entire school from the sirens just go over your heads?!"

Twilight gave a bitter chuckle. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I mean...I thought you guys would've learned your lesson the first time, but-"

"Whaddaya mean, 'the first time'?" Applejack asked, confused.

"Come on, AJ. Your memory can't be that bad." Spike snarked. "It was before we got here. Before the Fall Formal. You guys were at each others' throats. Over some stupid fight you had."

"That wasn't our fault! Sunset tricked us!" Rainbow said defensively.

"Yes. She did. And she was wrong for that. But did any of you try to find that out?" Twilight scolded. Rainbow fell silent. "No. You didn't. You just automatically assumed the worst in each other without even trying to find a solution. And because of that you lost, what? Weeks? Months?" 

"...Three years." Rarity whispered, tears streaming down her face. 

"...She's right..." Fluttershy whimpered. "We...we haven't learned anything." She burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

"No. You didn't." Twilight said, unsympathetic. "I....I shouldn't have to explain this to you! I shouldn't have to keep coming back here, just to clean up your mess, I....I just....I don't...I...."

Words failed Twilight again, and she slumped in her chair, emotionally exhausted. No one said anything. What could they say?

After a long bout of silence, Twilight asked. "Who's Anon-A-Miss?"

The girls looked shocked. "What?" Fluttershy asked, confused.

"Anon-A-Miss. Who. Is it?" Twilight emphasized.

"Didn't Sunset tell you?" Rarity asked, wiping her wet face with a handkerchief.

"No." Twilight said wearily. "All she said was that the real culprit had been caught, and that her name had been cleared. After that she stopped writing or responding to my messages."

Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut, and answered in a pained voice, "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo."

"The CMC?" Spike asked, incredulous. "Why?"

"CMC?" Pinkie asked confused. 

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose once more, and then demanded. "Call them. Now."

"Sugarcube, Ah don't think-"

"Don't even, Applejack." Twilight snarled, glaring at her friend. "For two months I've been kept in the dark about this. For two months my friend has been wallowing in her own despair with no where to turn, and now she's in the hospital after trying to hurt herself smashing a bathroom mirror! If you don't call them and bring them here, I'll go find them. I'll knock on every door of every house in this city if I have to. I want answers, and by Celestia, I want them now!"
> Ch 11 - Armor Piercing Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stepped out of Big Mac's truck and walked towards the entrance of the hospital, all wearing expressions of unease. They had been walking home from school when Big Mac had pulled up and told them to get in, saying Applejack wanted all of them to meet her there.

"You don't think she's hurt, do you?" Sweetie asked.

"Maybe she wants you to get checked out, Bloom." Scootaloo suggested, gesturing to Apple Bloom's black eye.

"If she did, she woulda brought me here weeks ago." Apple Bloom said grimly. Applejack obviously believed, like everyone else, that she deserved the treatment she was getting at school; she acted liked she cared when she was bullied in front of her, but paid almost no attention the rest of the time. Surely she had to have noticed all the bruises and injuries Apple Bloom had gotten the past few weeks; she had to be ignoring her. Right?

And who can blame her? I'm the worst sister ever.

"Yo." They turned to see Flash Sentry, a boy in their sisters' grade. "You looking for you're sisters?"

They nodded. He jerked his thumb behind him. "They're in the room down the hall. Second to the right."

As they left, Big Mac went to sit down in the waiting area. Flash joined him. 

Awkward silence.

"Soooooo......any idea why you brought them here?"

"Eenope. You?"

"Nope."

More awkward silence....







The tension could have been cut with a knife. No one in the room dared to breathe, let alone speak.

Suddenly, the door creaked and in walked three young girls, all looking like they've had a very bad day.

Applejack and Rarity were by their sisters' sides in  heartbeat.

"Apple Bloom! What in tarnation happened to yer eye?" Applejack started. Apple Bloom avoided her gaze.

"Sweetie Belle! Your outfit! Merciful heavens, that's one of your best shirts! I should know; I made it! " Rarity cried dramatically, trying her best to clean the ugly purple stain as best she could. Sweetie Belle just stood there, embarassed. 

Rainbow Dash stayed in her seat, arms crossed, refusing to look at Scootaloo. Scootaloo stared at the ground.

".....What happened to your knee?" Rainbow asked awkwardly.

"....I fell." Scootaloo said, just as awkwardly.

"....That sucks."

"....Yeah."

"It was those bullies again, whatnit? Tell me who did it!" Applejack demanded, trying to get Apple Bloom to look her in the face so she could examine her eye.

Apple Bloom stepped back and avoided her gaze. "Ah fell."

"Now that is a darn right lie an' you know it! Tell me what happened, and Ah want the truth, gotdangit!!"

"Whatsit to ya?" Apple Bloom grumbled. "Ya wouldn't believe me if Ah said it was rainin' and it really was."

Applejack glared at her sister, placing her hands on her hips. "Well ya cain't exactly blame me fer takin' yer words with a grain a' salt, now can ya?"

"Ahem." 

Applejack, Rarity, and the three girls turned to the source of the voice. There sat Twilight Sparkle, her legs and arms crossed, a blank expression on her face. Near her legs was a small purple and green dog, wearing a rather reproachful look on his face.

"If you don't mind, Applejack. Rarity." Twilight said, cocking an eyebrow. "I'd like to speak with your sisters."

Applejack and Rarity exchanged a nervous glance, then returned to their seats.

Twilight took a deep breath, and then smiled. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced, Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo."

Twilight stood up and gave a small curtsy. "Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship. At your service." She gestured to the dog. "And this is my companion, Spike."

The girls gave awkward "hi"s and "pleased to meet you"s as Twilight sat back down. The princess was smiling at them, but...there was something.... off about it. Almost...angry.

Sweetie Belle, not questioning why there was an animal in the hospital in the first place, reached out to pet Spike, but he backed away and gave a small growl. While the growl wasn't menacing, its message was clear, and Sweetie withdrew her hand. 

"Please sit down, girls." Twilight gestured to three empty seats on the opposite wall. They did.

"As you can imagine, being a princess is no easy task. Loads of responsibilities and all that. Still it does have its perks. Being able to teach others the magic of friendship is certainly one. However, there are those more.....headache inducing moments.

"For example, about two months ago, I received a message from Sunset Shimmer, a very dear friend of mine, that someone calling themselves Anon-A-Miss was spreading the personal secrets of my other friends, and that these friends suspected Sunset of being Anon-A-Miss."

All three girls paled, but said nothing.

"Naturally I was disappointed," Twilight's gaze flickered towards the older girls momentarily. "And sympathetic. But ultimately, I had faith that they would be able to get past this little hurdle and everything would work out. Two days later, Sunset sent me another message saying that the real culprits had been found and that her name had been cleared. And nothing else. No details whatsoever. Of course I was suspicious but, again, I didn't really worry too much about it. 

"But then things got...strange, to say the least. Sunset stopped writing to me, and when I tried to write to her she wouldn't respond. Naturally, I was concerned, but I really couldn't do anything about it. Princesses duties and what have you.

"But then, about two hours ago, I retrieved a very....interesting message." As Twilight spoke, her smile began to look more and more like a grimace, and her cheerful voice became more filled with contempt. "Flash Sentry, the blue-haired boy outside, wrote me that Sunset had apparently had an emotional breakdown and he was very concerned she might do something drastic. I came over immediately, and do you know what I found?" The girls, now very pale and frightened, shook their heads. "Sunset. Bleeding. From her hands and forehead. After apparently trying to smash Fluttershy's bathroom mirror."

"Wait....Sunset's here? In the hospital?" Scootaloo asked, her eyes widening.

"Is...is she okay?" Sweetie asked nervously.

"Physically? She's in the ER right now. Probably going to have to have stitches. She'll live, if that's what you're asking. But I wouldn't say she's 'okay.'" Twilight said bitterly, her smile completely falling off. "I asked your sisters a little while ago what the heck was going on. And do you know what they said?" The girls didn't respond. They knew what was coming. "Apparently, these five girls, the girls I specifically asked and trusted to guide Sunset and teach her about friendship, not only did they suspect her of being Anon-A-Miss, they flat out rejected her and cut her from their group on the flimsiest of evidence. And you know what else they said? Go on, guess! You'll never be able to figure it out!"

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo slid down further in their seats, bracing for impact.

"They said that you three....were Anon-A-Miss. You. Their little sisters."

Twilight leaned forward, her gaze colder than the chilly weather outside. The girls struggled not to look away. "I want to know what. Exactly. Was going through your minds when you decided to publicly humiliate your sisters and make Sunset a scapegoat."

"In all fairness, I don't think they intended-"

"I want. To hear it. From them!" Twilight snarled, never breaking eye contact. Fluttershy whimpered, but ultimately went silent.

And so, the girls told her. They left nothing out. 

"Jealousy. That was it." Twilight smirked, then let out a very bitter laugh. "You want to know what the worst thing about this is for me? I'm not even that surprised it was you!"

"What do you mea- oh." Spike looked down, looking as though he just ate something awful. "The Gabby Gums incident." 

If Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were shocked by the dog's ability to speak, they didn't show it. 

"Exactly." Twilight turned to her friends as she explained. "There is a version of these three back in my world. They did something similar to what these three did - they ran a newspaper column that printed embarrassing stories and even outright lies about everyone in town. Naturally everyone wasn't too happy with them."

Twilight smiled sadly, "Maybe if I had figured it out sooner, then.."

"Twilight," Spike said firmly. "This isn't your fault."

Twilight paused, and then nodded. "You're right Spike. It isn't. Not completely." 

"Of course, when they did it," Twilight turned back to the three girls with a scowl. "It was because they wanted to pursue a career in journalism, and because they were being blackmailed when they tried to quit. Not over some petty slight." 

"We didn't mean for-"

"Don't. Don't even give me that." Twilight said condescendingly. "You posted information that you knew everyone would laugh and scoff at. Things you knew would hurt your sisters deeply. What exactly did you think was going to happen?!"

Sweetie Belle fell silent, biting her lip.

"What I don't understand, is why you continued? You had gotten what you wanted; these five weren't hanging out with Sunset anymore. So why keep doing it?" 

"People were sending us requests." Scootaloo said, confused. Didn't they just go over this? "We didn't know what else to do."

"Oh yes, because obviously you didn't have any other options. It's not like you could have, oh I don't know, ignored them!" Twilight shouted. "Here's a little life lesson, girls; at the end of the day, most sane po-people, don't like being made fun of. It doesn't matter that you were sent requests (though make no mistake, I'm very upset about that.), because in the end, you still chose to post them. Actions, no matter how little or insignificant they may seem, always have consequences."

"Don't Ah know it." Apple Bloom muttered, absentmindedly touching her black eye.

Twilight fought down any sympathy she felt. This was a lesson that needed to be harsh. Letting out a deep sigh, she asked, "Just one more thing....why didn't you just talk to your sisters? Tell them how you were feeling? Why did you have to resort to this?"

All three girls looked like they had been slapped.

"Ah...Ah don't know..." Apple Bloom whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

"...I didn't think she'd care..." Sweetie Belle whispered.

Suddenly the room was filled with loud hysterical laughter. Everyone turned to see Rarity doubled over in her seat. 

"You...silly...ignorant...stupid child!" Rarity choked out. Rarity looked up, revealing her mascara running down her face in two ugly black lines. "Of course we care!"

Tears ran down Sweetie's face. "....I..."

"Girls, we're not mind-readers." Applejack said exasperated. "We cain't know anything's wrong unless you tell us!"

Applejack knelt down in front of Apple Bloom and held her face so she'd have to look at her. "Ah won't lie. You girls hurt us. You especially, Apple Bloom. An' it'll take a while before that hurt goes away. But Ah will never stop bein' yer big sis! Ah don't like seein' you hurt. Okay?! Have Ah made mahself clear enough fer you?!"

Apple Bloom ran into her sister's arms, sobbing freely. Applejack wrapped her arms tightly around her, tears falling from her closed eyes.

Sweetie Belle walked timidly up to Rarity and offered her a handkerchief. Rarity took it and wiped the mascara away, then took Sweetie Belle's hand in hers, smiling sadly.

Scootaloo went up to Rainbow Dash, who stilled refused to look at her. "Dash...I'm so sorry. For everything. Can you ever forgive me?"

Rainbow Dash tightened her crossed arms. "Scoots...I can't."

Scootaloo blinked back tears, her heart beginning to break. "But..."

"I want to. Believe me, I really want to." Rainbow Dash turned to look at her, her face full of sorrow. "But I can't. If I do, it'll make me a filthy hypocrite. How can I justify forgiving you when I wouldn't even give Sunset a chance? How can I do it without being an even worst friend than I already am? Huh? Tell me!"

Scootaloo hung her head, her tears falling to the floor. "I'm sorry..."

Rainbow turned away, curling herself against the wall. "...Me, too."

Twilight took all of this in, and then covered her face with her hand. She felt she had bitten off more than she could chew on this one.

The door creaked opened and Flash stuck his head through the crack. "Sunset's awake."

Twilight stood up, and opened the door fully. "I'm going in first."

Pinkie tried to protest. "But-"

Twilight turned, her face full of sympathy, "You guys have a lot to discuss."

And with that, she walked out, Spike close behind,  and gently closed the door behind her.
> Ch 12 - Pain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sunset came to, the entire room had begun to spin. She closed her eyes, feeling nauseous.

She then realized there was a warm pressure on her stomach. She opened her eyes - slowly - and saw a familiar green and purple dog staring at her with large concerned eyes.

"Hi." Spike said, smiling gently. 

"....Hi." Sunset replied, her mouth feeling like it was full of cotton. She tried to pet Spike, but it was hard to do with thick gauze wrapped around her palms, so she settled with gently patting him on the back. 

"How are you feeling?" asked a voice on her left. She didn't need to turn around to see who it was.

"Could be better." Sunset said thickly. She turned to her right deciding to gaze out the window. "What are you doing here?"

"Flash wrote me. He said something about how he had 'effed up'" Sunset imagined Twilight making quotation marks "and that you were in trouble."

Sunset gave a small snort of laughter. That was certainly one way of putting it. 

"Of course, I was thinking about coming anyway." Twilight said, her voice becoming more serious. "If for no other reason, then to see if you weren't dead."

Sunset sighed, knowing where this was going. "I've been busy."

"So have I. But I still made time. Actually, I take that back. You did write me that one note." Sunset heard the sound of Twilight digging through random objects, and then pages turning. Twilight cleared her throat as she read the passage aloud:




The real Anon-A-Miss has been found. My friends know it wasn't me. Everything's fine.




Sunset flinched as she heard the book snap shut. She could feel Twilight's glare on the back of her bandaged head. "That's it? No details? No names? Did you really think I wouldn't get suspicious?" Silence. "Sunset, would you look at me?"

Sunset squeezed her eyes shut. "Twilight, can we please just drop this?"

"No." Sunset felt a hand grip her cheek and her head was forcibly turned around. Twilight Sparkle glared at her, unshed tears shining in her angry and hurt eyes. "You don't get to do this. You don't get to just...ignore me, and shut me out for two months, making me think you were hurt or dead, and then when I show up and find you bleeding from self-inflicted wounds, you lie to my face and try to tell me everything's ok. You don't get to do that." Twilight's voice began to shake with emotion. "Because it's not ok. You're not ok. And you know it!"

Sunset's lips trembled as she struggled not to cry. "I'm sorry I was such a burden to you...."

Twilight sighed, releasing Sunset's face, then slumped back in her chair, her hand covering her face. "That's not what I meant....."

A single tear slid down Sunset's cheek. Spike reached out his paw and wiped it away. Sunset gently grasped the paw in her hand and gave a shaky smile. 

"Sunset....why didn't you tell me all this was going on?" Twilight asked wearily. 

Sunset went back to patting Spike absentmindedly. "You would've tried to fix it. You can't fix this."

"I could've listened." Twilight said softly. "I could've been a sympathetic ear. You wouldn't have had to carry this around all this time."

Sunset said nothing.

"Of course, maybe I could've fixed it." Twilight said, running her hand through her hair. "If I'd figured it out-"

"Twilight." Spike stated. "This isn't. Your fault."

Sunset furrowed her brow, confused. Spike told her about the Gabby Gums incident back in Equestria. Sunset just shrugged and slumped back against the bed. "He's right. This isn't your fault. And it wouldn't have mattered; they wouldn't have believed me if I told them, anyway."

Twilight tried to protest, but fell silent, knowing she was right. 

"It never changes." Sunset said, her voice shaking. "No matter what I do, it's never enough. Nobody cares...."

"I care." Twilight stressed, grasping Sunset's hand, mindful of the bandages. "It's enough for me. You know that, right?"

Sunset didn't answer. Slowly, she withdrew her hand and turned her head back to the window.

Twilight's shoulders slumped, and she bowed her head in despair. She stood up and stuffed her journal back into her backpack, and Spike, after one long sad look at Sunset, jumped of the bed and climbed into her backpack. 

As Twilight's hand wrapped around the doorknob, she tried one last time. "I spoke with Celestia after the Fall Formal. I told her what happened. In Equestria, your punishment for your actions has been officially written as exile, until she sees you fit to return."

Sunset said nothing, but Twilight knew she had gotten her attention.

"Sunset, as far as Celestia, Equestria, and myself are concerned, your sentence has been served. You can return to Equestria anytime you wish. You will be welcomed with open arms."

Silence. And then, softly, ".....I'll think about it."

Knowing there was nothing left to say or do, Twilight open the door, and walked out. 
> Ch 13 - Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So...how'd it go?"

The sad look on Twilight's face was the only answer Flash and the others needed. 

"So what now?" Rainbow asked, her shoulders slumped.

Twilight shrugged. defeated. "I guess....you guys go home....and Spike and I go back to Equestria....and we just wait and see."

"Wait, that's it?" came Spike's muffled voice from inside Twilight's backpack. "We're just leaving? What about Sunset?"

"Spike, you saw how Sunset was," Twilight said sadly. "This is a lot more complicated than just a simple squabble. This whole Anon-A-Miss thing has affected her more deeply than any of us could've imagined." She looked at her friends with a pained face. "Sunset...she needs help. Help that I can't give her. This is something that friendship alone can't fix." She wiped a single tear away. "I'm sorry. But there's nothing I can do."

Twilight hugged her arms as she walked slowly down the hall. The others, completely dejected at seeing their friend so defeated, followed her. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle clung to their sisters' arms, shame and sorrow clear on their faces. Scootaloo walked dejectedly behind them, with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy placing one hand on each of her shoulders for support. 










"Well, well, well. Isn't this a sight."

The group froze at the familiar voice as they walked through the exit, and turned to see three figures emerge from the shadows. Three figures that they had hoped they would never see again.

"You!" Rainbow snarled.

"Me." said the lead siren, cocking an eyebrow. Though she no longer had her magical amulet, Adagio  looked as smug and threatening as ever. Aria was grinning like the whole thing was just one big joke. Only Sonata scowled at them, and she clearly was not happy to be there. 

"What're you three varmints doin' here?" Applejack barked. "We thought we got rid a' y'all fer good!"

"And where are we supposed to go, you dumb hick?" Aria sneered. "We've been banned from Equestria, we've been kicked out of your stupid school, and moving to a new town costs a shit-ton of money, which we don't have."

"You three belong in prison for what you did!" Rarity said curtly. 

Adagio gave a condescending laugh. "By all means, darling, call the police on us! Tell them all about the evil  sea ponies from another dimension who tried to take over your school with pop music. I'm so certain they'll believe you!"

"No they won't," Sonata said, still glaring at the group. "They'll be laughed out into the streets, if not thrown into a loony bin."

Aria and Adagio sighed at their sister once again missing the the joke, before turning their attention back to the group.

"Face it, loves. You're stuck with us" Adagio purred, sauntering up to Rainbow and gripping her chin in her hand. "Whether you like it or not."

Rainbow looked positively murderous, and it was only through Twilight gripping Adagio's arm and forcing her out of Rainbow's personal space was she able to reign her temper in.

"Why are you here?" Twilight demanded.

Adagio smirked and innocently placed her hands behind her back. "Oh, we were just in the neighborhood and we thought we'd go for a little stroll about town. Imagine our surprise when we came across two certain students from Canterlot High."

Adagio dug out her phone and scrolled until she came to what she was looking for. She held it up for the others to see. "You take a really good picture, Flash."

The entire group paled. The picture was of Flash and Sunset in the park. Sunset appeared to be in the midst of falling, and Flash had his arm outstretched.

"You were spying on us?" Flash asked angrily.

Adagio shrugged. "What can I say? I just happened to have my phone out and took a picture at the wrong time." Her smirk turned nastier as she admired her handiwork. "I wonder what the students of Canterlot High would think...Flash Sentry, the school Golden Boy, assaulting a defenseless girl?" She clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. "Can't imagine they'll be too happy."

"That's not what happened! She lost her footing...she tripped!" Flash cried, a look of rage and horror on his face.

"A picture's worth a thousand words, honey." Aria said, placing her hands on her hips.

Flash gritted his teeth. She had a point; Twilight and the others knew the context behind the photo, but to anyone else, it would appear that Flash was pushing Sunset to the ground.

"And why would you do that?" Twilight asked. "What would you have to gain from it?"

"Princess, I'm a siren. It's what I do." Adagio pocketed the phone and folded her arms. "And if it's one thing I've learned in all my time here, is that you don't need magic to ruin someone's life. Isn't that right, Anon-A-Miss?" 

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo turned ghostly white, and hid behind behind their sisters' backs. Rarity, Applejack, Big Mac and Rainbow Dash instinctively held out their arms to shield them. 

"How did you find out about that?" Twilight asked sternly.

"It's the Internet, dumbass." Aria snarked. "Anybody can read what was posted. And the students weren't exactly quiet about what they did...or how much they hate them."

The three young girls shivered at Aria's predatory smirk.

"I have to say, you three would've made excellent sirens." Adagio commented in a faux cheerful voice. "You did far better at tearing the school apart than we ever did."

"I don't know, Dagi. It seems like they did all the work for us." Aria said, coming to stand by her sister, gesturing to the group in front of them. "Remember the semi-finals? 'Now there's the bad girl we all love to hate! Dur dee dur dee dur!" Adagio snickered as Aria crossed her eyes and did a poor imitation of Flash.

Flash's face turned bright scarlet. "That...that was all you! I never would've said that if-"

"Honey, all we did was light the match. You supplied the kindling." Adagio said pointedly. "Our spell gave you a need to be the best; a compulsion to win. How you did that was all you."

Flash tried to make words come out, but he couldn't. He turned to Twilight, who sadly turned to look at the ground. Flash hung his head, ashamed. Twilight's reaction said it all. They were telling the truth - all those awful things he said to her, his behavior during the semi-finals...that was all him, not the Dazzlings.

"You know, I honestly don't know what I find more amusing," Adagio said as she and Aria began to circle the group like sharks. "The brutal humiliation Sunset Shimmer endured at the semi-finals, or the fact that not a single one of you stood up for her."

"Yeah. You all just stood there while she was being booed and hissed at. You didn't even try to comfort her." Aria sneered. "So much for friendship."

"But then, you were never really friends with her to begin with, were you?" Adagio grinned, loving how her words were affecting the group on front of her. "Sure, you were nice to her, but, let's face it, she's more your pet than your friend."

"That is not true!" Fluttershy cried, holding back angry tears.

"Oh? Then why didn't you let her join your band? She knew just as much about magic as Princess Twilight, she wanted us defeated as badly as you did. Were you afraid she couldn't play as well?" Adagio asked condescendingly.

"Or maybe you were just afraid no one would want to see you play if she was in the group." Aria dug. "Maybe you thought she'd turn into a raging she-demon onstage."

"Shut up." Rainbow growled. Her eyes were hidden behind her hair and her hands were balled into fists.

"Of course, why Sunset would want to be friends with all of you is beyond me." Adagio added, throwing her hands up for dramatic effect. "You treat her like garbage, toss her aside at the slightest provocation, constantly distrust her - hell, you can't even get along with each other!" 

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Surely your memory can't be that bad." Aria snipped. "We absorbed your magic - your supposed 'magic of friendship' - while we were onstage. If you hadn't escaped and kissed and made up at the last minute, we would've drained you dry."

"We didn't even have to use our magic on you!" Adagio exclaimed, her smirk growing ever wider and more malevolent. "You imbeciles were fighting long before we showed up. All we had to do was lock you in a room together and soak up your magic like a sponge. You lot are easier to play than a piano!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Unable to control herself anymore, Rainbow pulled her arm back and swung. Adagio was knocked to the ground as she skidded a foot away from them.

"Dagi!" Aria and Sonata were by their sister's side in a flash. As Adagio sat up, she let out a deep laugh that slowly rose to a maniacal cackle.

"HahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! What's the matter, Rainbow Trash?!" She turned to reveal a frightening Cheshire grin and a bloody nose. "Does the truth hurt? Can't hurt any worse than what you did to Sunset!"

"Dag, stop! You've made your point." Aria tried to reason with her sister before she wound up in a body bag. But Adagio kept going.

"Deny it all you want, but we both know the truth!" Adagio stood and faced the group, pointing at them accusingly. "At the end of the day you're no better than us!" Adagio's smile, if possible, got even wider, her voice filled with manic glee. "You all succeeded where we failed! You! Broke her!!!"

With a cry of rage, and before anyone could stop her, Rainbow Dash charged like a bull at the siren. She skidded to a halt as Twilight moved to block her path.

"That's enough, Dash!" Twilight cried.

"Get out of my way, Twilight!" Rainbow snarled through clenched teeth.

"Dash, this isn't solving anything! How do you think Sunset would feel if she saw you like this?" 

That took all the fire out of Rainbow, and she collapsed onto her knees, looking deflated.

"What the hell is going on here?!" A nurse scrambled outside to confront the source of several noise complaints inside. "You all need to leave! Now! Before I call security!" 

"Come on, Dash." Applejack helped Rainbow to her feet. They began to walk with Big Mac and Apple Bloom towards Big Mac's truck. Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked towards Rarity's car.

"Well, this has been fun." Adagio said smugly, wiping the blood from her face. "Ciao."

She blew a kiss at them, and with a small wave, she and her sisters walked off and disappeared into the dark.

"Wait a minute!" Twilight said, walking after them. "What about the photo?"

"Forget it." Flash said, gently grabbing Twilight's arm. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Pause. "Listen...about what happened..."

"Bygones." Twilight said, holding up her hand. "Besides...we have other things to worry about."

Both looked up at the hospital building, and then at each other, wondering where to go from here.










After they walked several blocks, Adagio pulled out her phone and pulled up the photo of Flash.

"You're deleting it?" Aria asked, looking at what her sister was doing. "Why?"

"I got what I wanted." Adagio said with a shrug and a smirk. When the deed was done, she pocketed the phone  and asked, "You girls hungry? Let's go to Joe's."
> Ch 14 - Ultimatum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked slowly next to Rarity and Applejack. They had not slept well over the weekend since their visit to the hospital last Friday, and none of them felt like going to school, but they had forced themselves to.

"How long will Sunset have to be in the hospital?" Sweetie asked.

"I suppose it depends on whether or not the doctors believe she's healed enough to leave." Rarity answered. Her normally vibrant eyes were dull and she had bags under them. Usually she would fall into a dramatic swoon if she believed she looked less than her best, but today she simply couldn't bring herself to care. 

"What if people ask where she is?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Tell 'em the truth. That she's in the hospital. But keep quiet about the 'why.' That ain't none a' their business." Applejack answered, sounding more surly than she intended. She also had bags under her eyes and was much more lethargic in her movements than usual.

The five girls walked in silence as they entered the front doors of Canterlot High. 

Suddenly, Apple Bloom found herself sprawled on the ground. As Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo  tried to help her up, all three girls found themselves being pelted with wads of paper, which upon closer inspection, was revealed to be toilet paper. 

They looked up and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggling at their misfortune. 

"Oops. So sorry, Apple Bloom. It's just that you look so much like crap I couldn't resist the urge to wipe you up." Diamond sneered, holding up another piece of wadded toilet paper.

"Why you no good-" Applejack struggled to think of a proper curse word as she stood between her sister and her bullies.

"You little heathens! Stop that this instant!" Rarity cried, joining Applejack in defense.

Diamond merely rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It's just paper. Compared to what they got from everyone else, this is nothing." She flipped a strand of her hair and folded her arms. "Besides, it's not like they don't deserve it. Those three nearly ruined my friendship with Silvy, and trashed a bunch of other people, too. This is what they get for spreading people's secrets." 

"....And just how do ya think Ah got those secrets?"

Everyone was shocked by Apple Bloom suddenly speaking. Slowly, she stood up and turned around, her eyes hidden behind her bangs.

"Well? Answer me. How do ya think Ah got 'em?"

Diamond scoffed. "Like, it doesn't matter where you got them. What matters is that you posted them." 

Apple Bloom looked up, and Diamond actually had to step back from the intensity of her stare. "Those secrets didn't just fall into our laps, Diamond. They were submitted to us by other students. You of all people should know that, GurlzBestFrnd."

Diamond turned a pale green and looked about. Other students had become curious and were now starting to whisper about them. Silver Spoon looked at her friend, confused.

"Ah know what we did. Ah know what a reprehensible piece a' shit Ah am." Apple Bloom ignored her sister's admonishment. "Ah don't need you ta tell me that. And Ah don't think Ah'll ever forgive mahself. Not fer a long time. And Ah'm done bein' everyone's whippin' girl so y'all can feel better 'bout what y'all did."

"The hell are you talking about?" Diamond scoffed, becoming increasing more unnerved as more students gathered around them.

"That's right!" Sweetie Belle cried, feeling brave enough to find her voice. "I'm not taking it anymore either! We didn't hold guns to your heads! We didn't force anyone to submit those secrets! We may have started the whole thing, but you guys helped spread it around!"

"You used us as a soundboard to bully other students." Scootaloo added, glaring at Diamond. "Just like you used Sunset as a scapegoat so you could get away with it. What we did was inexcusable, but at least we admit it!"

Diamond's face turned scarlet with outrage, and raised her hand to strike. But before Applejack, Rarity or anyone could react, a hand shot out and grabbed Diamond's wrist.

Apple Bloom glared at Diamond, and squeezed her wrist ever slightly.

"Y'all wanna hate us? Go right ahead an' hate us." Apple Bloom said softly. "Ah don't rightly blame ya fer doin' so. But Ah'm done bein' yer punchin' bag."

Diamond wrenched her hand free, screaming, "That's not for you to decide!"

"Perhaps y'all didn't hear mah sis." Applejack spoke up, and stepped forward, towering over the rich brat. "She's done, and so are you."

Diamond cringed at Applejack's cold stare and, looking around, realized no one was backing her up. With a frustrated huff, she stormed past them and marched furiously down the hall, Silver Spoon not far behind. 

Without another word, Apple Bloom picked up her bag and walked past the stunned and silent crowd. She turned a corner and headed towards the nurse's office.






A young student with curly red hair and purple glasses watched Apple Bloom from a distance. She had heard what she and her friends had said and she was now feeling very guilty. She looked down, biting her lip.









Principal Celestia looked over Nurse Redheart's notes with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes ma'am." the nurse nodded fervently. "It's been going on for quite some time. My only regret was not reporting it sooner."

"I understand." Celestia closed the file, her scowl deepening. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart. I will see to it that this is investigated thoroughly."

With a final nod, Nurse Redheart turned and left the office.

Celestia slumped back in her chair pinching the bridge of her nose. Luna picked up the file and scanned through it. "Good lord. Even Sunset Shimmer wasn't treated this badly after the Fall Formal.....Tia?"

"This....has gone on long enough." Celestia muttered through clenched teeth. She sat up and reached for the intercom speaker.

"What are you going to do?" Luna asked nervously. She had only seen her sister this angry once before.

"What I should have done to begin with." Celestia replied. Leaning forward, she pressed the intercom button. "Attention, students of Canterlot High...."







The intercom speakers crackled to life as Principal Celestia's voice boomed throughout the school. "It has come to my attention that certain students have resorted to bullying and physical assault, as a result of the Anon-A-Miss incident last semester. I cannot begin to tell you all how disgusted I am by this. I had hoped - I had prayed - that you all would learn from this experience, that two wrongs don't make a right. I have always believed in the best of my students, and I trusted that you would be better than this. Sadly, you have all proven, once again, that that trust was misplaced.


"The culprits behind Anon-A-Miss have already been given punishment for their actions, and they were not the only ones at fault. Several of the secrets posted were submitted by other students. We have their e-mail addresses and we are still trying to find them. In hindsight, I can see the fault in not telling you all of this, but that does not excuse this despicable behavior.

"I am hereby issuing an ultimatum. Unless the students who submitted secrets come forward by the end of the school day, the use of all school computers and all after school and extracurricular activities will be suspended indefinitely. Those that do not come forward, I will find you, and you will be expelled. Think I'm joking? Go ahead. Call my bluff.

"Actions have consequences. If nothing else, I hope you will at least learn that. That is all."








A silence followed the announcement.  Then came the whispering.

"Do you think she's serious?"

"She can't be! No prom? No Friendship Games next year?"

"I don't know. Celestia isn't one to play around."

While this was going on, a certain red-headed student paused in thought, then stood up from her seat and asked, "Exthcusth me, may I pleasth usth the resthroom?"








"So, Miss Twist......you admit to being the user of the email address, Twizzler409?"

"Yesth, ma'am." Twist replied, her head bowed.

"And you understand that there will be consequences for what you submitted to the Anon-A-Miss profile, correct?"

"Yesth, ma'am."

Celestia sighed in disappointment. "Very well. Starting today you will have six weeks of detention, and you will be banned from the school computers unless given permission by a teacher." A pause. "I just have one question: why?"

Twist looked up and faced her principal. "Diamond Tiara and Sthilver Sthpoon are alwaysth teasthing me. I justh wanted to get back at them. Justh oncthe." She lowered her eyes. "But all I did wasth become a bully. And I let Apple Bloom take all the blame. And that'sth not fair."
She raised her eyes. "Apple Bloom and her friendsth took resthponsthibility for what they did. I need to take resthponsthibility for what I did."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Celestia acknowledged. "Though to be fair, you aren't the only one. Is there anything else?"

"Yesth.." Twist reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "There'sth sthomething you need to sthee."









"Suspended?! You can't be serious?!"

"On the contrary, Miss Gilda, I am quite serious." Celestia said sternly. "Attacking a student on school grounds is a very serious offense."

"This is bullshit! Where's your proof?"

"I suggest you watch your language, young lady, lest you want to try for four weeks instead of two. And as for your other comment, you'll find that I have proof."

Celestia placed a photo on the desk. It showed a furious Gilda punching a young girl with red hair and a pink hair ribbon in the eye. Gilda's eye twitched.

"Next time, you should inform your friends not to record their transgressions, much less send them to other students." Celestia gave a sarcastic grin. "If it's any consolation, they'll be sharing your punishment."

Gilda clenched her teeth in anger. "I don't believe this. That little brat nearly destroyed this school! Why are you defending her?!"

Celestia sighed, and then said, firmly. "Gilda. I understand how angry and hurt you and the other students are by Anon-A-Miss' actions. But rules are rules. Regardless of what she did, it does not change the fact that you assaulted a defenseless young girl. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have been punished for their actions. And you must be punished for yours."







Before lunchtime, 27 students came forward, including a very reluctant Diamond Tiara, and confessed to submitting secrets to the Anon-A-Miss profile page. They all received detention and were banned from the school computers.  In the end, only one person wound up being expelled, although Celestia had retracted her threat to suspend extracurriculars, since a majority of the students responsible had confessed. 

As the final bell rang, Celestia began gathering papers, when there was a knock on her office door. 

"Yes, who is it?" Celestia asked. She looked up and she gasped in surprise. "You!"












Applejack and Apple Bloom were walking towards the house when Applejack heard her phone go off. She looked and saw that the person calling was one she hadn't expected to call her.

"Sunset...."

She pressed to answer and asked reluctantly, "....Hello?"

"......I think we need to talk."

Applejack looked surprised, and then, not so surprised. Sighing, she replied, "....Yeah. Ah think we do."
> Ch 15 - Crossroads
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all sat in the booth in silence, no one daring to speak. Applejack had texted the others that Sunset wanted to talk, and they had all agreed to meet at Sugarcube Corner. 

It was the perfect setting. It wasn't completely dark out yet, but it was close enough to closing time that there wasn't a whole lot of people there. 

After waiting twenty minutes, they heard the bell ring, and a figure stepped up to their table.

Sunset Shimmer stared at the group with a blank expression. She still had a large amount of gauze wrapped around her head, but the gauze on her hands had been replaced with several band-aids.

"Hey." She greeted.

Only Applejack said "hey" back. The others just nodded. "Ya got discharged, then?"

"Yeah." Sunset said, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I'll have to go back in about a week to get the stitches removed, but other than that...." A pause. "Umm....sorry about the mirror."

Fluttershy looked down, blushing. "I told Mom and Dad that you tripped on the rug. They'll pay to replace it, and for your hospital bill."

Sunset averted her gaze. She really didn't want them doing that; she felt she was imposing enough as it was. But on the other hand, she knew she didn't really have any way to pay for it herself, since she didn't have a job. She mentally added it to her to-do list.

Without looking behind her, Sunset grabbed a chair from another table and pulled it up to theirs so she could sit down with them.

"I heard you tried to kill one of the sirens." Sunset said, smirking slightly at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash averted her gaze. "Yeah. Twilight stopped me, though."

Sunset sighed, then asked, "I'm guessing Twilight left?"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah. She went back to her world after our visit."

Awkward silence followed. Finally, Sunset sighed deeply, and decided to stop beating around the bush.

"Look, for what it's worth," she waited until everyone was looking at her before she continued. "I don't blame you for thinking it was me. I get it. I really do. I probably would've thought the same thing if they had posted crap about me, and it came from one of your phones."

The girls all looked at each other, confused.

"So....you're not mad?" Pinkie asked.

"Of course I'm mad!" Sunset suddenly shouted, her fists pounding the table. "You guys tell me I'm like family, and then less than two days later, you all toss me aside like trash!"

"Girls. Inside voices, please." Mrs. Cake called from over the counter. Sunset took a couple of deep breaths before continuing.

"I mean, that's what hurts the most." Sunset said softly, angry tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "You didn't even talk to me about it. You didn't even ask for my side. You just decided that it was me and threw me away. If that's how you treat those you consider family, I'd really hate to see how you treat your enemies!"

Sunset lowered her head as the tears fell freely. "After all we've been through together, after everything I've done to prove that I'm a better person, you still. Don't. Trust me." Sunset's voice broke as she wiped her face. "And now.....I can't trust you."

The girls lowered their heads in shame as Sunset continued to cry. Rainbow raised her head first.

"I have no excuse." she said. "I can't speak for the others but, for me....it was just easy, you know. I kept thinking about all the stuff you did to us and....I think I almost wanted it to be you. Cuz then I wouldn't have to feel bad for thinking that stuff." 

"I let mah anger git the best of me." Applejack said, lowing her hat over her eyes. "Ah was so concerned about mah pride that Ah acted without thinkin'."

"There's no sugarcoating it. I was a bitch, plain and simple." Everyone at the table stared at the bitter Rarity, who rarely used profanity as she believed it was not ladylike. "All over some silly photo."

"I took your smile away." Pinkie said, her hair falling limp in her face as her eyes filled with tears. "If I'm such an awful person that I can do that to one of my friends, then I deserve what Anon-A-Miss did to me."

"Me too."Fluttershy added, wiping her eyes. "I made you cry, Sunset. And I'm so sorry for that. I take back what I said that day. You are my friend."

"For how long?" Sunset said wearily. "When I was shunned after the Fall Formal, it hurt. It hurt a lot.  But I could handle it, because I had you five." Sunset's face twisted in anguish. "Right before I ran out of school, I was cornered and screamed at by nearly every student in the building. And you five....you were no where to be found. You weren't there for me when I needed you the most. How do I know you won't do this again?"

They didn't answer. They couldn't.

They sat there in silence for a moment. Then Sunset said, "Twilight offered to let me come back to Equestria."

All five girls looked up shocked.

"I thought about it.....but I don't think I will."

The girls looked at each other, confused. While they weren't too happy at the idea of Sunset leaving, they honestly didn't understand why she'd want to stay.

"This whole Anon-A-Miss thing...it really messed me up." Sunset explained, running her hand through her hair. "Or maybe I was already messed up, and this just made things worse. I don't know. All I do know, is that I can't really trust anybody right now. Not even Twilight." Sunset lowered her eyes, ashamed of her admission. "Besides, I still have some issues with my old mentor. If I went back, it would just open a whole other can of worms that I just can't deal with right now."

Sunset reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small card. "Before I called Applejack, I stopped by the school to talk to Celestia. She knows what happened." Sunset gestured to her head. "I asked her if she knew anybody I could talk to, and she gave me this. Apparently, she and Vice Principal Luna got into a fight a few years ago, and this guy helped them fix things. I think he can help me too."

The girls looked at each other uncomfortably. Finally, Applejack asked, "...Where does that leave us?"

Sunset smiled sadly. "I was kind of hoping you knew."

"....Are we....still friends?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

Sunset looked towards the ground, shrugging slightly.

"Are we?" Rainbow demanded nervously.

Sunset sighed, then looked squarely at them. "Sure." she said wearily. "We're the kind of friends that can't stand the sight of each other."

The girls flinched, but they weren't surprised.

"Only....temporarily, right?" Rarity asked, daring to hope.

"I hope so, Rarity." Sunset said, looking significantly drained. "I really hope so." She stood up. "I'll see you guys at school." 

And with that, she turned and walked out.

The girls sat there, taking everything in. Then, Pinkie noticed something on the table. "Look. She forgot her card thingy."

Rainbow Dash picked it up and examined it. Her brow furrowed.

"No. She didn't." she said, before putting the card in her pocket. 

> Ch 16 - Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset walked slowly down the street, her hands in her pockets. She enjoyed this kind of weather; it was fresh and crisp, but not so cold that it was unbearable.

A car slowed down next to her, and she turned to see a familiar face behind the wheel.

"Hey." Flash Sentry greeted, giving a small wave.

"Hey." Sunset answered, nodding her head.

"You heading somewhere?"

"No where in particular."

Flash nodded towards the empty front seat. "Hop in."








Even after a year had passed, Sunset would never forget the smell of the inside of Flash's car. He always kept a bottle of cologne inside the car door, which he sprayed inside the car so it would always have that "new car smell."

"Remember when we would just drive around the city like this?" Flash asked after the long silence began to grow uncomfortable. 

Sunset smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah. And one time the car broke down and we had to call your mom to come pick us up."

Flash laughed. "I remember that. She was so pissed."

"And when she came to come get us, she was wearing a teddy. A teddy. And no robe or anything. I thought you were gonna die on the spot."

Flash's face turned beat red as he continued to laugh. "Oh my God, I can't believe you remember that. You've got a sick mind, Shimmer."

"Hey, it's not my fault your mom decided to go out in public in nothing but lingerie." Sunset pointed out in mock offense. "I could see her thong!"

"Gross, Sunset! Now I'm never gonna get that image out of my head!"

Laughter filled the car for a minute or two, then it slowly tapered off into silence again.

"Those were good times...." Flash said absentmindedly.

Sunset sighed, then turned to gaze out the window. "Yeah....."

"Look, Sunset...." Flash said awkwardly. "I want to say I'm sorry. And not just for...you know." His gaze flickered momentarily towards her bandaged head. "But for everything. What you said... you were right. What I did, it was a dick thing to do. I should have just been honest about how I was feeling from the start. It would've saved us both a lot of grief."

"I didn't exactly make it easy for you." Sunset conceded. "When you started avoiding me....I think I knew at that point it was over. I just didn't want to admit it."

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't blackball me." Flash said. 

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? You're Mr. Clean. I couldn't find a speck of dirt on you if I tried." 

Flash gave her a pointed look. "That's bull, and you know it."

Sunset turned her head to the side in contemplation, and then asked, "Flash....did you think I was Anon-A-Miss?"

Flash considered his words, then answered, "At first...yeah. But then I thought about it. I mean really thought about it. And it just didn't make sense. After all you went through, why would you purposely sabotage your reputation and friendship just to post a couple of stupid pictures? Unless everything had been an act.....and you hadn't changed at all. "

Sunset nodded, accepting his answer.

"Of course, even if you hadn't changed, it still didn't make sense." Flash continued. "I mean, when you did all that stuff, before the Fall Formal, you were more subtle. We knew it was you, but we could never prove it, since you had either gotten someone else to do the dirty work, or blackmailed or threatened everyone into silence. If it had really been you, you would have made it look like one of the other girls had posted the pics, or left the profile page completely blank so there'd be no clue as to who it was. That profile, it was pretty obvious that it was made to look like you created it. All that was missing was a neon sign pointing at your head."

"I appreciate your honesty." Sunset said solemnly. She spotted a familiar house over the horizon. "Pull over, okay?"

Flash slowed the car down and pulled off to the side. As Sunset opened the door, he stopped her. "Wait. Don't forget this."

He reached into the backseat and pulled out a familiar looking book....her journal.

Sunset smiled and took it. "Thanks."

"Hey....can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

Flash paused, then asked, "When we were together....was any of it real?"

Sunset sighed and stared her ex directly in the eyes. "I really cared about you, Flash. I never lied about that."

Flash watched as Sunset closed the car door and walked down the street and out of sight. He then shifted the car into reverse, made a U-turn, and drove away in the opposite direction.







Sometime later, Sunset tiptoed quietly downstairs so as not to wake anyone in the Shy household. She turned on a lamp, opened her journal, and began writing.






Twilight? You there?






Sunset? Yes, I'm here! Are you okay?






Relatively speaking. I thought about what you said, and I think I'm going to stay here for the time being.






Oh? So you made up with the others, then?






Honestly, I'm still kind of on the fence on that. But I don't want to give up yet. I want this to work.






Sunset paused, then added. 





I've also decided to get help. Professional help. 




........




That's good. I'm glad, Sunset. 









Hey Twilight? Thanks for being my friend.





As Twilight's reply appeared, she noticed that there were spots blurring the ink in some places.






Of course, Sunset. And I want you to know that whatever you decide to do with your life, whatever choice you make, I will support you any way I can. 






Thanks, Twilight. Goodnight.






Good night, Sunset.







As Sunset closed the journal, she looked out the window to gaze at the clear night sky. For the first time in a long time, she truly believed that things were going to work out fine.