Apple Bloom watched the front drive despairingly. When Big Mac had returned in the truck, she'd taken one look at his face- happy but tired- and had known immediately that there would be no lift into town from him today. Granny, meanwhile, was working on some paperwork on the desktop, something involving Sunset. She didn't have time to drive today.

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut. Ah have a new sister- and Ah might have gotten her hurt if I'd had mah way. It was only now sinking in just how petty her revenge-driven actions had been- and how much damage they might have caused.

Apple Bloom looked down at her phone. When she'd first looked at the Anon-A-Miss page, she'd been a little frightened. The backlog of stories and secrets she'd deemed unfit to publish had been emptied, and for a moment she'd feared that Scootaloo or Sweetie had just escalated the situation without knowing what was going on. Then she'd checked, and found the files deleted, not published, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Checking her messages had found Sweetie wondering what was going on, and Scootaloo calling for an emergency Crusaders meeting. Messages exchanged with Scoots had further emphasized the collapse of the house of cards they'd built. When Scoots had been told of Rainbow's presence at the farm that morning (And how had she gotten here at eight o'clock?), she'd relayed her own brother's suspicions- and who he'd shared them with. As long as the Rainbooms turned on Sunset, no one would've supported her. Now, with half of them back on her side, and Flash pushin' from the other direction, people are gonna start lookin' for a new scapegoat. Best we can hope is that it all dies down and people forget. But that ain't likely- not one bit.

Sunset looked up at the flashing lights of the police cruiser sitting behind the van. She slouched back in her seat and sighed. "Applejack?"

"Yeah, sugarcube?"

"How can someone smart enough to get straight Bs, clever enough to think on her feet in a soccer match, and determined enough to run all the way to Sweet Apple Acres in a snowstorm..."

"Be so thick-headed?" All three girls- Rarity joining in from the backseat- watched as Rainbow Dash was nearly crushed to death in her mother's massive hug. Firefly had, upon hearing nothing from her missing daughter for eight hours after dark, called in a favor at the station to have an all points "eye-out" for a particular poly-chromatic hairdo. No sooner had Rainbow poked her head out he window to stick her tongue out at a passing officer than the squad car's lights had come on, and Rainbow had been informed that under no circumstances was she to be allowed to leave until her mom had checked on her.

"Why didn't she just borrow one of our phones?" Sunset groaned.

Rarity absently filed her nails. "Well, darling, you must remember that Rainbow has had... other things on her mind. To be fair, I barely remembered to call home myself- and I only remembered because I needed to let Sweetie know where I was." Her eyes flickered over her nails, and she glanced up- then squealed, tucked her file away, and ran comb through her hair. "Ooh- look that stud of an officer! He seems-"

"Rares, now is not the time for flirtin'." Applejack said. She glanced at Sunset, who was pensively tapping her chin. "Whatcha thinkin', Sunset?"

Without responding, Sunset got out of the van and ambled over to the officer, who was finsihing speaking into his walkie-talkie. He looked up as his hand dropped, and straightened with a bland expression. "Hello, ma'am." He tilted his head. "Do I know you, Miss..."

"Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer. And, maybe? I don't think we've met, but I may have shown up in a report or two. As a spark of recognition passed through the officer's eyes, she nodded. "Was I right? Anyway, you remind me of someone I... heard about some time ago. You wouldn't happen to be Shining Armor, would you?"

The man straightened, and replied "Why yes, I am." His head came up straight, and he spoke crisply. "Sunset Shimmer, there's actually been many reports on you- mostly negative, though that's changed in recent months. But I am curious; why do you think you might know me?"

"I've actually heard about you in relation to your younger sister, Twilight Sparkle." As Shining's eyes widened, she followed up with "She doesn't go to our school, but her name gets around a bit."

"I should hope so," Shining replied. "Smartest student at Crystal Prep, hands down." He glanced over Sunset's shoulder, then motioned behind her. "Since Ms. Firefly has finished her interrogation, I think your friends are ready to head on their way. I hope I don't see you in less... pleasant circumstances."

Sunset nodded, then turned to the van. Halfway there, she heard a guttural "a-hem" emanate from behind her. Turning on her heels, Sunset found herself caught in Firefly's gaze. "So. Rainbow tells me that she thinks you're innocent of this latest smear campaign." she raised an eyebrow, then said sternly "And that you're going to see Fluttershy. Is that right?"

Sunset nodded, and stood motionless as the intimidating woman gave her a once-over. "You know... when Rainbow stopped talking to Fluttershy, I knew better than to push the two of them back together. That would have pissed off my daughter- just like it would piss off me." She glared at Sunset. "You're the one who caused the two of them to separate in the first place, so I figure whatever... issue Rainbow needs to apologize to Fluttershy for was indirectly caused by you." She shook her head. "I think you really have changed, Ms. Shimmer- but old wounds take time to heal." Her glare hardened. "I only hope you're not going to rip them open again to make Fluttershy, or my daughter, more pliable."

Sunset's worried gaze hardened. "That's the last thing I want, ma'am. The girls are my friends- and I hurt Fluttershy more than I knew. We're going to go to her, to help her heal- not to make her suffer."

Firefly's gaze softened. "Hmm. A little fire there. You didn't have that a few months ago, after that dance that went sour. Good to see you have that back, at least."

Sunset blinked. "Was that a test, ma'am?"

"Just a small one. Now get going- my daughter's looking impatient."

As they pulled up to the house, Rainbow looked across the group. "Guys... how should we do this?" she rasped out. Looking down at her shoes, hesitantly said "-should Sunset go first, or..."

"She needs to hear me apologize." Sunset said firmly. "I already apologized for bullying her but..." Her voice trailed off. 'Your mom, Dash- she understood. I need to give her a chance to explain, and let her know it's okay."

Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash. "Darling, we'll step in once Sunset measures Flutter's mood." She looked down. "We all need to apologize, but if we gang up on her..."

Dash groaned, and sank back in her seat. "Yeah, she'll clam up, agree with whatever we say, and we'll get nowhere. We've been over this, Rarity." she looked down. "Not that I like it..."

Sunset allowed the conversation to fade away behind her as she got out of the car. She steadied her shoulders, and walked up to the front door.

After waiting for several minutes as the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house, Sunset finally heard footsteps approaching the door. She expected to see one of Fluttershy's parents, or her brother. Instead, her eyes met a pair of blue eyes beneath a head of pink hair.

Silence reigned for a few moments, then Fluttershy spoke softly. "Sunset?"

Sunset grimaced. "Hey, Shy. Listen, I need to..."

She'd barely gotten the words out when the other girl moved towards her with frightening speed. Sunet tensed for impact- and let out a whoof of air as Fluttershy wrapped her in a tight hug.

"...I thought you'd hate me." Fluttershy murmured after a moment. "I thought- when you didn't show up to school on Friday, when I thought about it last night..." She shuddered. "About what some people wanted to do..."

Sunset smiled, but it quickly faded. She carefully disengaged from the hug, looking Fluttershy in the face. "If you were concerned for me yesterday... why didn't you speak up on Thursday? What changed?" Her soft voice trembled a little, and Fluttershy looked away, seemingly distressed at the words.

Sunset drew in a breath. "Is it because of what happened last time?" Shy hesitated, then nodded a tiny bit. "Because of what I did?"

Fluttershy looked up. "You... you didn't do it. It was the old you-"

"No, Fluttershy. Just because I'm not that person now doesn't make me less culpable. And I knew exactly what I was doing." Sunset pulled in a breath. "I need you to tell me what happened, from your perspective, back then. Please."

Fluttershy glanced up, then nodded. She stepped forward, and sunk down to sit on her front stoop. "...everyone started fighting- saying they'd insulted one another. Then they stopped talking." She sniffed. "I wanted to make it better, help them make up- but when I went to help-"

"They turned on you." Sunset hung her head. "When I started planning on breaking up your group, figuring out what massages to be sent was easy. Playing off Rarity's vanity, Pinkie's mania, Rainbow's aggression, and Applejack's stubbornness. I figured out how each would react if I sent the texts, and made certain that each would interpret the others as having been the real sender. Except you." She looked up, her face tight. "You would never have sent any of those messages, or gotten angry over what was sent. You would have asked why they sent them- calmly. You would have ruined my plan. So I didn't try."

Fluttershy's eyes were wide as Sunset continued. "I had my lackeys watch you- and sent more messages to rile the other girls up even as you went to each of them. You tried to get them to go back to one another at their angriest- and they shouted you down." Her voice cracked. "Just as planned. And once you were alone, I singled you out. Bullied you to keep you from trying again. And you didn't." Her voice got really soft. "I taught that lesson too well."

Fluttershy was quiet for a few minutes. When she spoke, her voice was tight, holding back tears. "Do you know what the worst part was? I was knowing I 'd lost my friends. That there wasn't anyone to support me." She pulled in a long breath. "And then last night- I thought the same thing. That I wouldn't let you drive my friends away again. But... then I realized what happened to me was happening to you." She looked up, horror and pain writ upon her face. "Why didn't they listen to me? Why didn't we listen to you? I was scared! I shouldn't have been, but I didn't want them to push me away again but then I thought I'd lost you and I'm so sorry..." Her voice trailed off into wracking sobs. "I don't want to be alone again- I'm sorry..."

Sunset's own tears ran down her face. She pulled Fluttershy into a hug. "I'm sorry too. I know I apologized after the formal, but... I'm sorry. I didn't realize how bad it was for you- I don't think I wanted to."

There was a loud honking sound. Fluttershy looked up and eeped quietly as Rarity blew her nose on a handkerchief. Applejack was looking at the ground, her hat in her hands. Rainbow was far less reserved. She crouched down and dragged Fluttershy and Sunset into a crushing hug. "I'm sorry too, Shy. If I'd known..." she tensed, then continued "Sunset may have set it up, but I never even tried to come back to you. None of us did." Her own tears ran into Fluttershy's shoulders. "If you ever feel like this again... please, tell us. I won't let you get hurt again."

Fluttershy sniffed "Promise?"

Rainbow nodded into Flutttershy's shoulder. "Promise."

Principal Celestia hung up the phone and massaged her brow. Luna looked up from her seat at the couch. "Well, sis? Which one was it this time?"

Celestia sighed, and reached for her coffee mug, gone long cold. Pulling a long gulp, she replied, "Fleetfoot's mother. Her daughter was crying in her room today- her grades from last month's history test got posted. Apparently, Spitfire's mad at her- if she can't pull her grades up by the end of the semester, she'll be ineligible to be on the team in the Spring, and that test doesn't help."

Luna looked up, a frown crossing her face, and paused her game. "That's the third call today. We need to get a handle on this soon, sister. They've already crossed the line of cyber-bullying, and disrupting the school while they're at it."

Celestia nodded. "I know, Luna- but we don't know who it Anon-A-Miss is. And our most promising suspect is currently being watched by Esmeralda. Sunset hasn't done it, and that only leaves a frame-up."

Luna looked dark. "We knew Sunset's home life wasn't normal- what with her not being from "around here"-" making air quotes around the words, "- but I had hoped she had found employment. If Ms. Smith thought she had to be taken in..."

Celestia nodded, then started dialing. "I've already started on the remaining paperwork she asked for. In the meantime, we need to start tracing down who the real culprit is. Thankfully, with as many parents as have called, we can push for more cutting search techniques." She pulled the phone to her ear. "Hello, Superintendent?"

Luna watched her sister speak, then got up from the couch. She pulled out a trio of thin files, and looked down at the face of Adagio, Aria, and Sonata attached to each one. While her sister dealt with the big problem she'd deal with getting this complication squared away. Sunset's request had been strange, but... Sister gave her a chance, and it turned out for the best. I can't say I'm enthusiastic about this, but enrolling them might be a good idea regardless. She reached over and picked up her soda. This is going to be a long day...

Author's Notes:

This was a hard chapter to write. All the other girls were (or will be, in Pinkie's case) easy to write. Fluttershy? I knew exactly why she didn't speak up in Sunset's defense, but articulating it was more difficult than I'd hoped. I think I got it out properly here, but it took time to come together, which is why it's been three days since the last update. And real life means I won't have the next one ready until lat Wednesday night, or Thursday. Hopefully no later than Thursday, though...

Don't expect me to be done with Fluttershy. All five of the reunited girls are feeling pretty distressed right now, and I'm panning on having Fluttershy rake over her three old friends with the Stare before the story's done. More importantly, it's only Saturday in-story, and we've got a day to burn before Monday, and the confrontation with Pinkie Pie.

One of the upshots of the de-escalation of Anon-A-Miss' campaign is that there haven't been nearly as many out-and-out brawls over the secrets as I can imagine happening in the actual comic or other fics involving this incident. As someone who has worked in, with, and against school bureaucracy, I know that balancing student's rights against maintaining order is a difficult task. Celestia needs to wait for things to get bad before she can legally start taking drastic measures- in this case, multiple parent calls on the issue.

In other news, families! Fluttershy's family will be as canon in my world, though I have no plans to use any of them. Rainbow Dash's family is... not. I have nothing against Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, but I'd prefer more... nuanced parents in my stories. So, Firefly and Rainbow Blitz will be holding down the fort. Other parents will remain the same, though.

The police segment came to me while writing this chapter when I realized A) Rainbow often doesn't think clearly when upset B) doesn't have her phone and C) went to Applejack's house without telling her parents... anything. So, a little comedic interlude, plus a chance to put in a sequel hook in the form of Officer Shining Armor. (All the cool kids are putting sequel hooks in their stories- so I will too!)

I have few plans for Saturday evening and Sunday. Monday will see it all end, though...