“So,” Celestia announced from behind her desk in her usual welcoming tone, “What can we do for you, Miss Shimmer?”

Sunset usually tried to avoid contact with the Principal and Vice Principal whenever possible. It wasn’t that she had anything against them; they were actually both very nice ladies who were always there to listen if a student had a problem. Her only issue was that every time she saw them, Celestia specifically, it brought back memories of how everything back home had gone awry. The fact that this world’s Celestia and her world’s Celestia had such similar personalities made her feel even more uncomfortable.

“Principal Celestia,” Sunset began slowly.

“Just Celestia is fine. No need for titles when there's no one else around,” the school’s head interrupted.

Yep, just like her old mentor.

“Celestia,” she started again, “You’ve heard about the big problem going on around the school, right?”

“You’ll have to be a bit more specific. Luna and I hear about all sorts of issues that take place around here.”

“Okay then. Have any of you heard about someone on Mystable named Anon-a-Miss?”

Celestia crossed her arms and began staring a bit more intently at her visitor. “Why, yes. We’ve been hearing quite a bit about him or her lately. It’s sad really. A lot of good students have gotten hurt. I'm sure that it would be greatly appreciated if they were to come clean.”

Sunset had seen that look in Celestia's eyes before. Whenever Celestia had used that stare on her, back when she still lived in Canterlot Castle, it meant that the alicorn knew that she had done something wrong. On some days, the Princess would choose to watch in amusement while the young unicorn tried her best to lie her way out of trouble. It never worked.

“Do you have any ideas on who Anon-a-Miss might be?” Sunset asked.

Instead of Celestia, Luna was the one to answer. “There seems to be a popular belief among the students, and some of our staff, that Anon-a-Miss is all your doing.”

“Do you believe them?”

“Should we?” asked Luna.

Sunset had a feeling that this was going to be the closest thing to a definite answer that she was going to get from those two. “Despite what everyone else thinks, it isn’t me. But no one’s listening. No one’s giving me a chance to say my side of the story.”

Celestia appeared lost in deep thought while her sister studied Sunset for any signs of deception.

“Alright, Sunset, I have a question for you,” proclaimed Celestia. Sunset couldn’t help but notice the uncertainty in her voice. “Why come all the way down to our office just to tell us this? Is there something that you would like from us?”

Sunset took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. “The students are about ready to tear each other apart. I’ve never seen anything this bad before, not even during the days leading up to the Fall Formal. The closest thing to this that I’ve seen would have to be back when the sirens took over the school.”

Celestia raised a single eyebrow in surprise. “You think that Adagio and her sisters might be the ones pulling the strings?”

Sunset answered with a slight nod. “There are only eight people who I could see as being Anon-a-Miss. And out of that number, Adagio, Sonata, and Aria are at the top of my list.”

“Eight? Who are the other five?” asked Celestia.

“Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.”

Celestia’s eyes widened at hearing Sunset list the names of the five girls who had helped save the school, and possibly the entire planet, on two different occasions. “You think that your friends might have played a part in this?”

“Ex-friends, technically,” Sunset corrected. “And I don’t have anything solid just yet. Right now all I have is a hunch. But if this isn’t a revenge attempt from the sirens, then there’s a strong possibility that it’s one of them. Unless I’m missing something, I honestly don’t know who else it could be.”

“Hmm.” Celestia pressed her index finger against in her chin in contemplation. “While I’m not sure how the other five got onto your list, I will admit that it wouldn't surprise me if Adagio was back at it again. You’re the reason why their plans failed. But I still don’t understand why you’re telling us all of this.”

“It’s because she wants to see our files so that she can find out where Adagio and her sisters live,” Luna answered.

Sunset had almost forgotten that the Vice Principal was still there. She nodded in confirmation at the Vice Principal's deduction.

“Sunset, are you aware of just how dangerous of a request that is? Not only is it illegal, but you’d be putting yourself at serious risk.” Celestia warned. “And that’s assuming that the address that they gave us wasn’t a fake one.”

Sunset pondered Celestia’s words for a moment. Now that she thought about it, going in alone was pretty reckless, but she wasn't about to be deterred. Someone was targeting the other students and they were going through the trouble of making it look like she was the one doing it. The only way that the cyber-attacks were going to stop was if she tracked the culprit down and made them talk.

"I’ll be fine," said Sunset. "They don’t have their magic anymore and that was the only scary thing about them. If something does happen to me then Anon-a-Miss’s impersonation routine will fall apart. The students can go back to being happy and hopefully the fighting will stop. And as a bonus, you’ll know where to start looking if I go missing.”

“Those are all terrible reasons to go through with this,” Luna interjected. “And if you go missing then we won’t be able to start a search party. Not without drawing attention to the fact that we handed you someone else’s files. If the Board of Education were to find out, then we’d be lucky if unemployment was the worst that happened to us.”

'So, in other words, I'm on my own if something happens,' thought Sunset.

“You helped save us all once before, and for that we owe you a huge debt,” explained Celestia. “If you truly believe that this is the only way to prove your innocence and restore peace around here, then I’ll print you a copy of what we have on record. You’ll be dismissed from school for the rest of the week without penalty. All that I ask is that you be careful and that you check in with us whenever you can so that we’ll know that you’re alright. And if something happens, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to deny having ever given you support.”

“I understand.”

Celestia still looked uncertain as she left her chair and disappeared into one of the back rooms. She hadn’t been gone long before Sunset could hear the gentle hum of one of the printers going off.

CHS had an entrance towards the back of the school that led to a track that was around ¼ of a mile all the way around. The track was special in that it was built within the perimeter of a small football field. Whenever the school held a special event, such as field day for the students, it either took place on that very track, or it was moved into the gymnasium if it started raining. Sitting on the bleachers that were normally used as a seating area for onlookers was Rainbow Dash. She had long since stopped her crying, although her eyes remained bloodshot and streaks of dried tears were still visible.

She’d been sitting there for almost an hour. Lunch had been over for quite some time and classes had resumed. Her last two teachers for the day would probably report her for skipping class, but she didn't care. Her mind was only focused on one thing, Sunset Shimmer. That conniving, backstabbing, traitor. She trusted her. The girls trusted her too. Even when the other students tried putting her down or kept their distance in fear that she might sprout demon wings again, Rainbow and the others stood by her side every step of the way. They listened to her problems and treated her as if they’d all been friends for years.

Despite all of that, she still went back to being the same stuck-up witch that drove her and the rest of the girls apart. Rainbow didn’t know how Sunset had found out about her “Experimental Phase,” and she was too angry to care. This was a new low, even for Sunset, and Rainbow would never forgive her for it.

One way or another, she wasn’t going to let Sunset get away with this.

“Hey there, dweeb.” Rainbow was snatched from her thoughts by a strong pair of hands that gripped tightly around her coat collar. After her eyes stopped swimming around in her head, she blinked the stars out of her vision and was met with the image of an old “friend” of hers. Gilda, the other girl mentioned during Anon-a-Miss’s update, and she didn’t look happy.

Rainbow tried to say something, but then Gilda clamped a hand tightly over her open mouth. “I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I’m gonna make this quick and simple. Me and some of the other students have been looking all over the school for that little friend of yours, but for some reason nobody can find her. When I move my hand, I’m gonna give you five seconds to tell me where she's at, or you’re gonna be grass.” Gilda moved her hand away, balled it into a fist, and began counting down from five to one.

Rainbow was about to swat Gilda’s arm away and start fighting back. She wasn’t the type to let someone else push her around and she was already in a fighting mood after what happened at lunch. Suddenly, a light bulb went off, and just in time too, the five seconds were just about over.

“You said that you’re looking for Sunset, right?” asked Rainbow.

“That’s already been established.”

“Well, it just so happens that I’m looking for her too. So, what if I helped you?” Rainbow asked.

Gilda tightened her grip on the other girl. “Thanks but no thanks. We can get by just fine without you.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in a small show of aggression. “Maybe you forgot who I am. I used to be friends with her. I know her entire class schedule by heart. I know where she lives and I know where her usual hangout spots are.”

Rainbow Dash reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and held it up to where Gilda could see it. She went over to her contacts list and scrolled down until her cursor stopped on the name “Sunset Shimmer”. "I can do so much more than just “tell you where to find her”. But I guess that doesn’t really matter. You said it yourself, you can get by just fine without me."

A smile began to spread across Gilda’s face as she released her grip on Rainbow. “About how I threatened you earlier, my bad, Dash.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow replied while jumping off of the bleachers.

If Sunset couldn't keep her mouth shut willingly, then she and the other students were going to do the world a favor and take care of the problem.