Sunset sat weeping on a couch in Twilight's castle, not looking at Twilight, who remained confused at the situation. Sunset sobbed out, “My friends all hate me, Twilight!”

Mr. Cake looked at Twilight while gently trying to sooth his distraught daughter down by running a hoof over her mane. Seeing the confused look remaining on Twilight's face, he said softly, “Sunset was framed for cyberbullying at school by someone calling herself Anon-a-Miss.” Mr. Cake sighed, pulling his daughter into himself, giving the crying unicorn a warm hug as he continued, “She has also had bad nightmares about you.”

Hearing this, Twilight's ears drooped low against her head. She swallowed hard and said, “Do these nightmares have anything to do with the Fall Formal?”

“Yes. Some of her nightmares have been of your battle with her at the Fall Formal.” Mr. Cake gave Twilight a glare, causing the princess to take a step back. “A battle that I feel never should have happened.”

Offended, Twilight was about to retort, when Mr. Cake raised his hoof silencing her before Twilight could get a word in. Looking very coldly to her, he said, “Let's not dance around this issue, Twilight. I am not here to listen to your excuses about what happened or didn’t happen that night. All I care about right now is helping my daughter. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do,” Twilight replied coolly. Though she didn't appreciate being talked to this way by someone who wasn't fully aware of what happened during her few days at school, she kept silent for Sunset's sake.

“Twilight,” Sunset began, trying to choke back another round of sobbing. “C-Can you help me? I'm s-so scared to be alone. I can’t live like this.”

“I will do what I can, Sunset, but I need you to understand that I can’t force your friends to like or love you. I can, though, at least have a talk with them and see what is going on. Maybe I can set up a parley for you to meet with them in a neutral place that none of you have been to before.”

Sunset nodded, wiping her hoof over her eyes as she tried to dry her tears. Looking up through bloodshot eyes, she confessed, “We got into a fight just now. I just got so mad that I...I hit Rainbow and Pinkie, and I kneed Applejack in the gut.”

“Is it really that bad? What happened?”

Looking down, Sunset got off the couch and trotted over to the fireplace, staring coldly into the fire burning within it. Sunset closed her eyes, saying sternly, “I was accused of hurting Fluttershy. She doesn't seem like the type to get into fights, so I'm pretty sure someone beat her up. I don't know who did it. I just know that I'm tired of being accused of being a bully.”

“Sunset, honey,” Mr. Cake interrupted, “is that why you were crying outside?”

“Yeah. I can’t take any more of this shit from them, but I also don’t want to go back to being who I was back before Twilight helped me.”

Mr. Cake sighed, then said softly to Twilight, “Her friends have all accused her of posting pictures and their secrets on a website. I won’t get into full details about it, but you need to know that I intend to move my daughter away from the school--and the city, if I need to--if things get any worse.”

Looking down, Twilight replied just as softly, “I understand. While I can’t undo her banishment, I can at least try to stay in contact with you both. I’ll see if Princess Celestia has any more journals that I can give to you both so we can stay in contact with each other. If you do move, that is.”

The three spent the next half-hour talking about Anon-a-Miss. During that time, Sunset slowly but noticeably calmed down. Seeing that his daughter was calmer, Mr. Cake turned his attention to her as their conversation over Anon-a-Miss came to an end. “Sunset, do you feel you can be on your own for a bit while I go back home to take care of some things.”

“Yes, Dad. I feel much better.” Sunset smiled, not noticing a pink pony coming into the room and stopping when she saw the smile. “I'll be fine. I just need some fresh air.” Turning to Twilight, she continued, “Uh, if it's okay with you, I'd like to go see what this town's like.”

“Sure thing, Sunset. And you don't need to ask. Just let me know when you're going out.” As Twilight turned around to allow Sunset to trot past her, both Twilight and Sunset saw Pinkie standing in the doorway, looking very sad. “Hi, Pinkie. What can I do for you?” Twilight began. “Why do you look so sad?”

Surprised, Pinkie cracked a slightly less than convincing smile and said, “Who, me? Sad? No, I'm not sad, see? I'm as happy and giddy as can be, Twilight.”

“Well, if you say so, then I guess we can talk later on today. I need to see Mr. Cake off then--”

“Mr. Cake? But he hasn’t come back from his trip to Canterlot yet.”

“Pinkie, the Mr. Cake standing behind me is from the human world. I don’t have time to get into full details. I need you to take Sunset out into the town.”

“Twilight,” Sunset began, “I’ll be fine I don’t need a chaperone?”

Twilight turned back around with a smile on her face. “I just want to make sure you’ll be able to find your way back to the castle is all. Is that alright?”

“It's fine, I guess, but can you choose somepony that won’t remind me of Anon-a-Miss?”

Putting a hoof to her chin, Twilight tapped her chin a few times before saying, “Well, the only other pony here right now is Derpy Whooves.”

“GREAT!” Sunset yelped out with slight glee, causing Pinkie to swallow hard in concern. “I’ll catch you all later, then.” Sunset turned to her father, giving him a light hug. “I’ll be back in a little while. I need to take care of some things before I head home. You go through the portal and take care of whatever it is you need to do. I promise I’ll be fine.”

Looking at his daughter, who offered a weak but clear smile, Mr. Cake sighed as he said, “Well, if you're sure, then I’ll leave you to it.”

Mr. Cake headed into the mirror. Twilight thought she saw him tremble slightly but quickly brushed off the thought. Turning back around, she was about to say something, when Spike entered, saying, “Twilight, your--” Spike stopped when he saw Sunset standing next to her. He smiled excitedly to her, holding out his claw, which Sunset took in her hoof, as he said, “Sunset is it really you?”

“Yeah, Spike, it's me. I can’t stay long to chat, but how've you been?”

“Great! Everything's going well here." A thought came to him, and he said, "You know, Sunset, Princess Celestia talks about you a lot. She really seems to miss you.”

"Oh...really?" Sunset nervously let go of Spike's claw and quickly walked past him, saying, “Have a good day, Spike. I hope to see you again soon.”

Spike watched as Sunset walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her with her magic. “Uh, what was that all about?”

“What do you mean,” Twilight began, "She seemed fi--"

“That was the saddest smile I've ever seen,” Pinkie interrupted.

“What are you talking about, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "She looked fine to me. She does seem a bit sad, yes, but her smile seemed real enough.”

Waving her hoof slightly in the air, Twilight continued, “She just needed somepony to vent to and cry on, is all.”

Leaving the room, Twilight and Spike headed to another part of her castle. Unconvinced, Pinkie followed her. They soon found Sunset outside of one of the many doors in the castle, looking around as she apparently tried to figure out which way to go. Spike, grinned, saying as he ran up to her, “Sunset, I’ll show you how to get outta the castle.”

Before Sunset could respond, she and Spike heard a loud crash from behind the door she was standing in front of. The door opened, and a grey pony with a bright-yellow mane and a bubble cutie mark stepped out. She had a bowl on her right, front hoof, several forks stuck in her mane, and a pot stuck to her left, hind hoof. Spike face-palmed, saying, “Derpy, not again.”

“Who’s your friend, Spike?” Derpy asked with a smile, ignoring the things stuck to her. “She looks a little sad.” Lowering her front to the floor and raising her rear end up, Derpy wiggled her rear playfully as she continued, “I can cheer you up! Not to brag, but I make a mean muffin.”

Before Sunset could reply, Derpy jumped in place with excitement. As she landed, she fell to the right, her hoof twisting slightly in the bowl. Derpy crashed into a nearby table, toppling it and bringing the table's contents down on top of her. Unfazed, she just looked at Sunset with a goofy grin on her face. Spike looked at Sunset, whispering, “You sure you want her as your guide? I mean, I could ask one of the girls to--”

"She's fine." Sunset smiled widely to Spike, trying hard to hide her pain from the baby dragon, fighting with all her might to keep her emotions in check. Sunset helped Derpy get untangled, and Derpy started to lead Sunset outside. Once outside, she said with a smile and light chuckle, “Derpy, is it?” Derpy nodded, smiling back as Sunset continued. “Is there a bank and apothecary around here? I have some things that I need to take care of.”

“Yeah, there is. Just follow me. I'll get you there with no problems at all.” Derpy flew into the air...and immediately crashed into a nearby home, causing the pony inside to let out a loud shriek. “Oh, sorry," Derpy yelled, "I didn’t--”

Derpy quickly flew out of the house as a brush, some soap and a shampoo bottle flew through the air after her, landing in front of Sunset. Sunset giggled at the scene, turning back to the castle, saying as Spike came out, “Perhaps you should show me where the bank and apothecary are, Spike.”

Spike rolled his eyes at Derpy's mess. He looked back up to Sunset, who had pleading eyes. “Alright, alright," he said. "Follow me. Twilight and I will deal with Derpy when we get back."

Next Chapter: Last Will and Testament (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 15 Minutes