I wanted to title this 'Damn you Anon-a-Miss' but after thinking it over and rereading the wonderful edit to which Icecreammac gave me and worked hard on. I feel his title of 'Blame' was far more suited for this story and it also feels better too. I look forward to reading everyone's comments about this chapter.

Twilight sat in a chair across from Principal Celestia and her sister. Luna closed her eyes as she collected her thoughts, then began calmly, “Twilight, did you banish Sunset without giving her a trial?”

“Uh, I don't--”

“Please, Twilight, just answer the question,” Luna began as her sister noticeably clinched her hands into tight fists. “Sunset told us that she was banished and that even if you did invite her over to your castle, she couldn’t stay there.” Luna took a hold of her sister's hand as she continued, “Yes or no? Did you do this to Sunset?”

“Yes, I did. She committed treason and needed to be pun--”

“Then you are just as responsible for her being here as Dumbbell Stallion is for beating her,” Celestia snarled. “As her legal guardian, I am formally, as of right now, forbidding you to see her any further until her twenty-first birthday.”

Twilight paused at the declaration. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Celestia snapped. "You're no longer allowed to see Sunset. You've done enough damage."

Twilight didn't move. Instead, she simply narrowed her eyes. "How dare you!?" Celestia opened her mouth to answer, but Twilight held her hand up to silence her. "You know, being a princess isn't easy. It's full of difficult decisions and nobles waiting for any opening you leave, any opportunity to defame you or increase their own position or, ideally, both. I haven't been a princess for very long, mind you, but already, I've had many horrible things said and written about me, all from ponies vying for power or wanting the 'upstart' dethroned. But to be compared to the kind of brute that beats a girl to within an inch of her life, simply because I was doing my duty and passing judgment where it was needed? That, I think, is the most insulting thing I've ever heard about me."

"Well, it's true," Celestia said. "If you had never banished Sunset here, she wouldn't be in the hospital right now."

Twilight assumed a more thoughtful look. Eventually, she said, "You've told me several times that I have no power here. How easy that must be to say. How easy it must be to pass blame unto others." Twilight stepped closer to Celestia, who was squirming a bit. "I can't tell the future, and to have you blame me for the actions of your students is disgusting. Or did you conveniently forget that the principal is responsible for what her students do on school grounds?"

Celestia's eyes widened at the accusation. As tears started to form, Twilight went for the throat. "What would you have had me do, Celestia? I didn't have to banish her here. I could've just dragged her back to Equestria and tossed her into a dungeon for years on end, where she'd never have had a chance to learn friendship. I could've sent her into exile in my dimension, where you'd never have formed the connections you have with her. Would you have preferred I chose one of those options instead?"

Celestia, anger forgotten, considered Twilight's words. Her thoughts were interrupted when Twilight said, "I still could."

"What?" Celestia asked.

"I still could choose one of those options. You say I have no power here, but that's not entirely true. Sure, I have no political or legal power over anyone or anything here, but I do still have that power over Sunset, and I can decide to have her return to Equestria to continue her sentence. It would certainly be much safer there than here. At least in Equestria, she can use magic to protect herself."

"You can't do that!" Celestia yelled. "She has a life here! You can't expect her to just give that up!"

"Can't I?" Twilight considered that for a second before saying, "If I'm honest, you could easily stop me. I have no magic here, and you're bigger than I am. And honestly, I can't just bring a contingent of guards who have no idea how the human body works and drag Sunset back, but I can tell Sunset that she is to return to Equestria immediately. Angry as Sunset is at us, I don't think she'd disobey a direct order from myself or Princess Celestia, especially if it gives her a chance to get away from this world. You say I've done enough damage, but this world has done more damage than I ever could."

Celestia said nothing else, instead collapsing into a nearby chair and crying silently. Luna, having been watching silently until now, said as she put her arm defensively around Celestia's shoulders, "That was harsh, Twilight."

Twilight watched as Celestia cried. Her expression softened, and she sighed and said, sitting down, "I'm sorry. I don't like having to throw my weight around like that, but I also don't like being blamed for something I have no control over. You don't have to worry; I won't force Sunset to come back to Equestria, but I will give her the opportunity to return once she gets out of the hospital."

As Celestia continued crying while Luna comforted her, the latter not looking Twilight in the eye, Twilight silently stood up, turned around, and walked away. Shortly after, Celestia also left wordlessly, walking in a different direction than Twilight had, leaving Luna to sit alone. Finally, Luna decided to give Celestia some space and left to find Twilight.

Twilight sullenly walked down the hospital corridor, thinking. She knew she was a bit harsh, but it needed to be said. It just, perhaps, could've been said a little more gently. And as her anger finally left, sorrow and guilt bubbled up inside her.

"It wasn't like Celestia was wrong," Twilight thought. "If I had never banished Sunset here, she'd never have been attacked. But how was I supposed to know she'd be hurt so badly?" Twilight thought more about that. "But what did I expect, that Sunset would be popular after everything she did? That everyone would just forgive her out of the blue?" Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. "I guess I was just naive."

Twilight continued her musing until she came across a small, ornate room. Inside, an older man dressed all in a black aside for a white collar in his shirt was kneeling in front of a wooden cross with a brass statue of a man hanging from it.

“What are you doing?” Twilight asked, drinking in all the beautiful artwork and majestic statues that decorated the room, noting that the same man on the cross was depicted in many of the paintings, though he was alive in those images. “What is this place? These artworks are beautiful.”

The man stood, smiling warmly to Twilight and saying softly, “Child, this is a house of God. I was praying for all those that have been brought in over the last few hours. Our medical staff is completely overwhelmed at the moment, and they need all the help they can get.”

“Oh, I see.” Twilight looked down, sniffed, and slowly looked up, continuing, “We don’t have a god back home, not that I've seen.”

“God exists everywhere. All you have to do is let Him into your heart, and He will help you, no matter what the problem is.”
Twilight thought on this a bit and asked, "C-Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I'm...from out of town, but I have a friend here. She was attacked and...and brutally beaten. And she--" Twilight choked a bit on her words before continuing, "--she never would've been beaten if I had never made her stay here. And now she hates me! What do I do?"

"Did you know she would be attacked here?"

"No! I had no idea that would happen, but...but I should've known. She didn't have the best reputation. She used to be a bully, and I should've suspected that there'd be hard feelings."

"Well, child, hindsight is always perfect, as they say. But what's important to remember is that you are not responsible for the actions of others, and you mustn't blame yourself for their sins. You had no foreknowledge of your friend being hurt. It isn't your fault. As for your friend hating you, give her time, and don't bite back if she snaps at you. Be patient with her. The best you can do is explain your actions, hope she recovers and comes around, and pray for God to help you both through this trying time."

The man's reasoning made sense, but it did little to assuage Twilight's guilt, since she didn't, and couldn't, tell him the whole truth about her relationship with Sunset and the power she herself held in her own world. Still, Twilight quietly said, "Thank you, sir. That helps some."

"I'm glad to hear that." Turning back to face the cross, the priest touched his forehead, chest, and both shoulders, which Twilight figured was symbolic of something, then turned to face Twilight once more. “I must be going. There are others that need me. Remember, child: Let God into your heart and ask for His help, and He will be there for you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As the man left, Twilight took a seat in one of the few chairs in the room, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. Suddenly, she felt a weight against her shirt. Remembering the locket, she fished it out from around her neck and looked at it to distract herself.

"Twilight?" Twilight looked to the door and saw Luna staring at her. "Where did you get that locket?"

“I got it in Equestria. From a woman named Eventide.”

“She’s alive?” Luna looked up into Twilight's eyes, her own softening as tears threatened to flow. “Right? Eventide's alive?”

“Yes, but she's hurt, but I-I don’t know how badly. I left to come here without finding out. She's at Snowflake Mona--”

“Listen. I need you to keep this between us for now. If we tell my sister, it will only make things worse.” Luna looked down slightly. “She would want to go to Equestria, and I need her help to help Sunset. Do you understand, Twilight?”

“I do. I won’t tell her until after I'm sure Sunset is okay. And I'm sorry for what I said to her. I was out of line.”

"No need to apologize, Twilight. Even if you held any fault in this, we are not blameless, either." Luna looked down, saying, "I need to know, though. Are you really going to do it? Are you really going to take her away from her mother and father?"

"No. I spoke in anger then. As I said, I won't take Sunset away from her family. I promise. But I won't stop her if she wants to go back, either." Twilight sighed as she continued softly "I feel awful about all of this."

"You and me both, Twilight."

“Luna! Thank God I found you!” Celestia’s frantic voice came from the hallway. Twilight quickly tucked the locket back into her shirt as a panicking Celestia came up to them both, continuing, “Sunset is missing. I just got a voicemail from Fluttershy saying that Sunset is going to kill herself. The Cakes are checking the cafe, and we'll check the school. We need to leave now!”

Rainbow and Applejack looked in silent horror at the hole in the pond in front of her. Breaking the silence, Rainbow began, “You don’t think she--”

“Oh, yes, Ah do!” Before Rainbow knew what was happening, Applejack suddenly ran forward. “Rope, truck, NOW!” Applejack dove into the pond, making sure to make the hole bigger so she could more easily find it again.

As Applejack dove into the icy waters, she could feel her entire body tense up from the immediate cold. The cold water made it difficult for Applejack to swim, her muscles stiff as a board. Her eyes felt like they were being stung by razor wire from the cold water as she kept them open to search.

Seconds later, Applejack could barely make out a figure sitting on the bottom of the pond. "Sunset!" Getting closer, Applejack saw that Sunset was making no movements, and to her horror, no air bubbles were coming out of her mouth.

Applejack grabbed the still girl under her arm and struggled to reach the surface, quickly losing air. Applejack wasn't sure how long Sunset had been in the water but prayed that it wasn't too long.

"This can't be how our friendship ends. Ah know we did you wrong, but we need you, Sunset," the farmer thought as she struggled to get back to the surface of the water, her own warm tears meet the frigid water.

Nearing the surface, she quickly found the hole that breached the icy layer of the pond, and Applejack's mind raced in hopes that they could bring Sunset back to them. Moments later, Applejack broke the surface of the water with Sunset in tow, the farmer gasping for air as Rainbow Dash threw the rope from Applejack's truck at her and tied the other end to the truck's front bumber. As Applejack grabbed the rope, Rainbow Dash got back in the truck, popping it into gear and driving backwards, pulling both girls out of the pond and back onto land.

Applejack was shivering badly, having jumped in while still wearing all of her winter clothing, and Rainbow knew that Applejack was very much at risk of hypothermia. Looking back in the truck, Rainbow found a blanket. Grabbing it, she ran over to Applejack, giving her the blanket and saying, "Applejack, get in the truck and out of those clothes. It's warm in there and I don't want you dying of hypothermia."

"R-R-R-Rainbow...c-c-call an ambulance...w-while I work on S-S-Sunset..." Applejack managed to say through her heavy shivering.

"No, you call an ambulance while I work on Sunset! You're too cold to help right now," Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack reluctantly complied, getting back in the truck and taking her wet clothes off. That done, she wrapped the blanket around herself and dialed 911. When the operator answered, Applejack said, "I need an ambulance at Cantorlot City park! I have a possible drowning victim! Please hurry!"

While Applejack called for an ambulance, Rainbow quickly pinched Sunset's nose and tilting the unconscious girl's head back. Rainbow breathed twice into Sunset's mouth, then put her hands under Sunset's sternum, one hand atop the other.

“One, two, three,” Rainbow began counting out loud, pressing down on Sunset's chest with each number. “Come on, Sunset! Don't die!”

Applejack got back out of the truck, dressed in a spare set of clothes she had stored for hunting trips. She ran to the entrance of the park just as an ambulance pulled up to it, followed by a tan car, and quickly led Celestia, Luna and Twilight to Rainbow, Celestia stopping dead in her tracks, a look of horror plastered on her face as she saw Sunset.

“She...She went through with it,” Celestia whispered as Twilight rushed past her to Sunset's side. “This can't be happening!”
Rainbow continued yelling hysterically as she compressed Sunset's chest over and over, begging Sunset to wake up. She kept doing so until a paramedic gently pushed her out of the way, telling her, "You did well. We'll take it from here."

“But--”

“Rainbow, let the medics do their jobs,” Applejack said, rushing to Rainbows side and gently taking Rainbow into her arms as Rainbow began to struggle. “They know what they're doin'.”

Rainbow stopped struggling long enough to watch as the medics began to work on Sunset. A minute past, then five minutes, then ten minutes, before the medics stopped working. One turned to the bystanders and said, “I’m sorry. She’s gone.”

“No!” Rainbow screamed. “She can’t be gone!” Before the medics could stop her, Rainbow threw Applejack off of her, causing the farmer to land on the frozen ground with a yelp. Rainbow lunged in, grabbing on to Sunset’s lifeless body and again started chest compressions, screaming out with each push, “Breath! Damn it, breath, Sunset!” Rainbow quickly pinched Sunset's nose closed, breathing air into Sunset's lungs. “Come on, Sunset! Please, for the love of God, open your fucking eyes!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack yelled. “She’s gone, Rainbow. There's nothing more you can do for her.”

“No, she isn’t dead! I can still save her,” Rainbow spat back, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Damn it, Rainbow!” Applejack screamed. “She's fuckin' gone!” Her own tears breaking the surface of her eyes, Applejack continued, “She ain't comin' back, Rainbow. She ain't...”

Rainbow, seeing that Sunset was not waking up, pulled Sunset’s lifeless body into her, sobbing hard and murmuring, "Forgive me. Forgive me," over and over. The medics set to work getting a gurney and asking questions to Luna about Sunset. Rainbow began to rock back and forth, until she looked up to see Twilight standing next to Vice principal Luna.

“Twilight,” Rainbow sobbed, still holding Sunset's lifeless body in her arms. “Use your magic. That's your Element, right? Please, for the love of God, use your magic bring her back!”

Twilight sniffed hard, wiping away her own tears and saying as she choked back a sob, “I can’t, Rainbow. I don’t have the power to do that.”

Rainbow pulled Sunset's body closer to her, screaming out, “What do you mean you can’t bring her back? Please, just this once, use your magic to bring her back! I can’t live without her!”

“Magic doesn’t work like that!” Twilight said, falling to her knees and holding herself. “Magic can't bring back the dead. Not even Princess Celestia has that sort of power.”

Rainbow shook with anger. “Fuck you then, Twilight! I'll just use my own magic!” Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on her magic and trying to pull her entire being together: her anger at what was done to Sunset, her sorrow at Sunset's death, and her hope that she could bring Sunset back. When she felt that she gathered as much as she could, she leaned down, said, "I love you, Sunset," and kissed Sunset. As their lips parted, Rainbow pulled back and waited.

Sunset didn't move.

Her hope shattered, Rainbow went back to rocking back and forth pleading, “I love you, Sunset. Please wake up,” over and over again.

Applejack laid her hands onto Rainbows forearms, saying softly, “I loved her too, Rainbow, but you have to let her go. She’s at peace now.”

“Fuck you, Applejack!” Rainbow spat, causing her friend to back away. Rainbow looked down at Sunset's lifeless body, then clenched her eyes shut as the tears continued flowing. “And fuck you, Anon-a-Miss! This is all your fault!”

Soon, the medics were taking Sunset's corpse to their ambulance to return to the hospital while Celestia and Twilight held Rainbow back. As they left, Applejack grabbed onto Rainbow, hugging Rainbow tightly in her arms as the athlete sobbed. Celestia stepped away, dialing up Brushed Jade. Getting off the phone a few minutes later, she said, “It’s time for this to end.”