A blast of hot air hit Sunset as she and Lightning dust entered the mall, the mall was packed full of people doing their Christmas shopping, taking advantage of the holiday sales to get good deals on the items they want. As Lightning Dust led them to their destination, Sunset’s eyes are drawn to the Christmas decorations that lined the stores, there were people dressed as Santa, reindeer, elves and even snowman or snow-women in some cases holding up signs displaying the special sale their store is having. Seeing all the festive decorations reminded Sunset of Canterlot during Hearths Warming eve, a sad smile formed on her lips as she remembered how she dismissed this holiday, but Princess Celestia would try to persuade her into joining in on the festivities. Her train of thought was broken when she bumped into Lightning Dust.

“Here we are,” Lightning Dust gave Sunset a cheeky smile as she motioned her head in front of them,

Sunset looked to the direction she is pointing at and saw an ordinary food cart, its shelves are filled with the treats they were selling, but what surprised Sunset was the one attending the cart.

“Gilda?”

“C’mon,” Lightning Dust grabbed Sunset by the arm and led her towards the stand.

“Here you go and happy holidays, “Gilda handed over a bag filled with scones to a young man before walking away with his girlfriend,

“Hey Gilda!”

Gilda turned in the direction she heard her name and saw Lightning Dust with Sunset, “Hey,”

“I didn’t know you ran a food stand,” Sunset says as she looks at the scones on display, they smelled delicious,

“Hardly anyone at school does, hold on a sec,” Gilda turned to another costumer and after handing her her order turned back to Lighting and Sunset, “So what brings you girls by?”

“As if you need to ask,” Lightning Dust grins as she eyes the scones,

“Of course,” Gilda rolls her eyes before looking at Sunset, “Do you want one too Sunset?”

“Sure,” Sunset replied simply as she reached into her bag to retrieve her wallet, “How much is it?”

“This one’s on the house,” Gilda took two scones from one of the shelves and placed them on napkins before handing them over to Lighting and Sunset, “Enjoy,”

“Thanks Gilda,” Lightning Dust thanked the white and purple haired teen before taking a bite of her scone, “sooo good!”

“Thank you Gilda,” Sunset thanked her friend as she too took a bite, “Oh Celestia this is so good!”

“Celestia?”

Both Gilda and Lightning Dust looked at Sunset with raised eyebrows, causing the former equine to blush.

“I mean its really good,”

“Glad to hear that you like it,” Gilda smiled as she rested her elbows on the table inside her cart, “It’s my grandpa Gruff’s secret recipe,”

“The modified version, the original one would’ve lost you a couple of teeth,” Lightning Dust grinned as she watches Gilda groan,

“You still won’t let that go?” Gilda glares at Lightning Dust,

“What am I missing?” Sunset asks curiously as she takes another bite of her scone,

“Back when Gilda had the idea of selling scones for extra cash, she needed someone to test out her grandpa’s recipe and lets just say that I was the unfortunate victim,” Lightning Dust laughs as Gilda groans in annoyance at having to be reminded about that particular day, “But I gotta say that it was worth it to see Gilda try one herself and her reaction is just priceless!”

Sunset smiles as she watches Gilda punch Lightning Dust playfully in the arm.

“Anyway, what have you two been up to?” Gilda asks in an attempt to change the sunject,

“Me and Sunset were playing a game of soccer, turns out she has some decent skills,” Lightning Dust informs Gilda as she pops the last bit of scone into her mouth,

“Right, decent she says,” Sunset just shakes her head as she finishes her scone,

“So you aren’t just an egghead?” Gilda asks as she smirks at Sunset,

“No, I have a variety of interest that involve my mind or my body,” Sunset says matter of fact,

“Those interest that involve your body wouldn’t happen to include fucking?” Gilda teases,

“Oh grow up!” Sunset chastise her which causes everyone to laugh,

“All jokes aside you should consider joining the soccer team, you’d do great,” Lightning Dust suggested,

“Um considering what just happened, I’m going to say no thanks,” Sunset declined, frowning at the thought of being in a team with people who probably sent in secrets to Anon-A-Miss and blamed her, and even if they didn’t, they would probably see her as a demon like the rest of the school. Except for Lightning Dust, “Besides I don’t want to deal with anymore drama right now,”

“Whatkind of-oh, Dash,” Lightning Dust realizes as she rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, “Yeah, Gilda told me about how Dash thought she was going to jump you and that’s why she agreed to lent her her phone. That’s pretty fucked up,”

“Yeah,” Sunset closes her eyes tightly as she clenched her fists in anger,

“Lightning,” Gilda says Lightning Dust’s name in a warning tone,

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a touchy subject,” Lightning Dust quickly apologized,

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” Sunset assured Lightning Dust, “It’ll be a while before I can get over this,”

There was silence for a while before Gilda broke it,

“Sunset, how do you feel about the Rainbooms?”

“Isn’t it kind of obvious that she’s pissed at them?” Lightning Dust raises an eyebrow at Gilda, wondering why she would ask such an obvious question,

“I am feeling very upset at them, but honesty after finally hearing the truth about how they really feel about me, I just don’t know what to feel anymore,” Sunset closes her eyes before shaking her head,

“What do you mean?” Lightning Dust asks,

“Like I said, I’m still very angry at them for betraying me, but at the same time I am also feeling guilty for what I did to them in the past,” Sunset explains before sighing, “Not to mention I understand now why they turned on me, but that only makes what happened even worse,”

Gilda and Lightning Dust watched Sunset struggle to comprehend the mess of emotions she must be feeling, Lightning Dust took the initiative and places her hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

“Hey these things take time to sort out, god only knows how long it took me to realize what a complete asshole I was being,” Lightning Dust pointed out as she gave Sunset a reassuring smile,

“Dust is right, it took me loosing Dash’s friendship and being all alone to realize what a complete bitch I was,” Gilda added, remembering how lonely and miserable she felt after Dash severed their friendship because of her temper. Now that Gilda thought about it, the roles are reversed in this scenario, it was Dash’s temper that ended up costing her Sunset’s friendship, “You know something, If you’re feeling this upset, Imagine what the Rainbooms are feeling, especially Dash.”

“Yeah, they must be beating themselves up after what they did,” Lightning Dust commented,

Xoxoxoxo

Rainbow Dash enters her home and is immediately greeted by her mother.

“Welcome home sweetheart!” Windy Whistles greeted her daughter cheerfully, “How was school?”

“it was fine,” Was Rainbow’s simple reply as she walked past her mother and up the stairs to her room,

Windy Whistles mood dropped at the monotone way Rainbow responded, she stared up the stairs where her daughter retreated to her room, Rainbow Dash is in distress and she needed her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see her husband who gave her a firm nod, together they both went up to Dash’s room.

Rainbow Dash lay on her bed as she stared up at her ceiling, with soccer practice canceled for the remainder of the year, Rainbow Dash decided to practice in the park. But as Rainbow started, her mind was constantly going back to Sunset, how she betrayed her, how she wanted to hurt her and there’s what Applejack had said yesterday.

Your worse than Sunset ever was.

Needless to say Rainbow’s game was off as she kept tripping over herself, once simple maneuvers that Rainbow could do in her sleep she now struggled to pull off which only added to her frustration. Finally deciding she had enough, Rainbow went home. Rainbow turned to rest on her right side and her eyes landed on a framed photo of her and her friends sitting on top of her dresser. But there was one person who was cut out, Rainbow got up into a sitting position and toke the frame. She looked at the missing head of Sunset Shimmer, she had cut it out after she and her friends cut Sunset out of their lives because of Anon-A-Miss. She ran her finger over the edges of where she cut the photo, she can still make out Sunset’s hands but nothing else, she looked to her garbage can and reached inside. She cringed as she felt something wet make contact with her fingers, probably that banana she threw out two days ago.

Rainbow Dash felt what she assumes is the photo piece and pulls it out of her garbage can, it was covered in the rotting juices of the banana. She wiped it against her shirt and looked at the face of the friend she betrayed, her smiling face staring back at her before it suddenly changed to a beaten and bloody one.

“Sunset…..I’m so sorry,” Rainbow brought the picture to rest against her forehead as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Rainbow, your father and I would like to have a word with you,” Windy Whistles asks from the other side of Rainbow’s bedroom door,

“Just a minute!” Rainbow calls out as she places the frame and photo face down and wipes her eyes, “Come in,”

Rainbow’s door opens as her parents stepped inside her room, Windy Whistles sees her daughter sitting on her bed as she looks at them expectantly.

“So what do you wanna talk about?” Rainbow asks feigning innocence,

“Rainbow sweetie, your father and I are very concerned with your behavior lately,” Windy Whistles explains,

“So I’ve just been feeling a little down today, no biggie,” Rainbow Dash dismisses her mother’s worries,

“Rainbow, we’ve seen you when you’re down and this is something completely different, It’s like you’re not even you anymore,” Bow Hothoof stated, he is very worried about Rainbow.

There was a flash of pain in Rainbow’s eyes, but she quickly pushed it aside before her parents keen eyes could see it. She wasn’t fast enough.

“Rainbow, please tell us what’s wrong. It has something to do with Sunset doesn’t it?” Windy Whistles questions,

“And what did you meant when you said that you were the traitor?” Bow Hothoof points out,

“Look Sunset and I had a falling out and it was my fault, that’s why I’ve been feeling so down!” Rainbow quickly explained, it was true but she didn’t want to tell her parents any more,

“What kind of falling out?” Windy Whistles pressed on, she knew Rainbow wasn’t telling them the whole story,

“What did you do to Sunset that would make you feel this low?” Bow Hothoof narrows his eyes at Rainbow Dash,

Rainbow scooted backon to her bed until her back hit her wall, “I-it was over something I misunderstood, Sunset got really mad,”

“But what was the misunderstanding?!” Windy Whistles raises her voice,

“What aren’t you telling us?” Bow Hothoof voice was a little shaky,

“I…..I…..I PLANNED TO HAVE SUNSET BEATEN!” Rainbow Dash shouted, unable to hold it in any longer, the guilt was too much,

Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof gasp, they could not believe what they had just heard.

“R-Rainbow dear, t-that’s not something to joke about,” Windy Whistles says in a trembling voice,

“I’m not joking, Sunset was never Anon-A-Miss, there was a post that made me so angry that I wanted Sunset to pay!” Rainbow confessed to her parents, tears streamed down her face as she hung her head in shame and wrapped her arms around herself, “There’s this girl that I use to be friends with who approached me and asked about Sunset, the secret that was posted was about her as well and I assumed that she planned to beat Sunset a bit to get her to stop but she went too far,”

“Oh Rainbow,” Windy Whistles just shook her head, it didn’t take much to get under Rainbow Dash’s skin and she did tend to be very rash when angry, but she would never in her wildest dreams ever think that her own daughter would want to physically harm someone, let alone act upon it,

“Sunset was beaten close to death, her arms and legs were so messed up you can see her bones sticking out, she was hit with a metal pipe and she was hit so hard in the head that her left eye just exploded, leaving an empty space where her eye use to be,” Rainbow Dash sobbed, “And it is all my fault, Sunset never did anything wrong. All she tried to do was prove her innocence and because of me she could’ve been beatenso badly,”

This statement confused her parents.

“Rainbow, I don’t understand. You said she was beaten and now you say she isn’t?” Windy Whistles asks curiously,

“As it turns out, the girl who I use to be friends with never intended to beat up Sunset, she actually believed she was innocent and wanted to help her!” Rainbow Dash explains and before her parents could ask more she continued, “Sunset had a plan to expose Anon-A-Miss, she doctored some photos to make it look like she was beaten and posted them on Anon-A-Miss, then she made it look like something went wrong when the next pictures that were posted showed her attackers dead, she attacked the school causing everyone to panic as she hunted us down one by one,”

“Then she focused on me and my friends and picked us off until only me, Scootaloo, Applejack, Rarity and their little sisters were left. She cornered us and when Aj, Rarity and I made a deal with Sunset to spare the girls, Applebloom and her friends confessed to being Anon-A-Miss,”

“But if Sunset was never hurt and the true culprits confessed then everything is fine right,” Bow Hothoof pointed out,

“No, the fact of the matter is that I willingly helped in a plan to hurt Sunset, I even went as far as to give away where she lives and her class schedule. Even if that never happened, it doesn’t excuse how fucked up I was to even consider hurting someone….let alone a friend,” Rainbow whispered the last part, although she doubted that Sunset would ever consider her a friend ever again,

The room fell silent apart from Rainbow’s sobbing, Rainbow couldn’t bare to lift her head to look at her parents, fearing to see the disappointment in their eyes.

And why wouldn’t they be, Rainbow thinks as a sob rocks her body. Suddenly she feels a pair of arms wrap around her followed by a reassuring voice,

“It’s okay Rainbow, everything is going to be okay,” Windy Whistles whispers gently against her daughter’s hair,

“Wha?” Rainbow raises her head just in time to see her father wrap his arms around her and her mother,

“We’re here for you Rainbow and we love you,” Bow Hothoof tells his daughter,

“B-but how can you still love me after I told you what I did, you should be disappointed in me!” Rainbow closes her eyes as she sobbed,

“We are disappointed in your actions sweetie, but that’s not going to make us stop loving you,” Bow Hothoof explained as tears welled up in his eyes,

“You made a mistake dear, and if there’s one thing that’s great about you is that you never let a mistake keep you down,” Windy Whistles reminds Rainbow,

“But I’ve never made a mistake this bad, I don’t know how I’m going to make it up to Sunset if every time I look at her all I see is her bloody and beaten,” Rainbow sobbed,

“We’ll figure something out,” Windy Whistles assures Rainbow as she hugs her tight, tears spilling from her eyes,

“And we’ll do it together,” Bow Hothoof tells her firmly as the tears finally fall,

Rainbow Dash clings to her parents for dear life, she can feel the love they have for her through the hug. They continued to sob in each others arms, neither one willing to let the other go.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo is laying on her side on top of her bed, the lights are off which left her room in darkness. When she had gotten home, her parents were waiting for her and they did not look happy.

Flashback

Scootaloo and her grandmother entered their home and are greeted by Scootaloo’s parents, Spitfire and Soarin. Both had their arms crossed and while Soaring gave Scootaloo a disappointed look, Spitfire glared at her intensely.

“Welcome home young lady,” Spitfire greeted her daughter,

Scootaloo gulped, her mother was rarely mad, but when she was she was terrifying, “H-hi Mom, hi Dad,”

“Hi Scoots,” Soarin greeted his daughter,

“Living room. now” Spitfire ordered,

Scootaloo complied as she hurried to the living room followed by her grandmother and parents, she took a seat on a sofa and is joined by her grandmother. Her parents sat together on another sofa in front of them.

“Alright Scootaloo, would you please explain to me why we received a call from your grandmother saying that we are being sued for emotional damages because of something you and your friends did,” Spitfire demanded,

Scootaloo stares into her mother’s orange eyes before telling her everything, the creation of Anon-A-Miss, the reason why it was created, her involvement in it, why it continued to post secrets, their downfall and the punishments she and her friends received. When she was finished, Spitfire had her face in her palms, shaking her head in disbelief. Soarin ran a hand through his dark grayish phthalo blue hair, his daughter has really gotten herself into a big mess.

“How…..how can you do something so incredibly stupid!” Spitfire raised her voice causing Scootaloo to flinch,

“I...I’m sorry,” Scootaloo apologized softly,

“Sorry? sorry that you did all this or sorry that you got caught?!” Spitfire shouted as she raised her head to look at Scootaloo, “Why did you think it was a good idea to frame someone to get back at them for something that clearly wasn’t their fault?”

“I….I...” Tears welled up in Scootaloo’s eyes as she failed to come up with a reason,

“Do you realize what kind of trouble you’re in because of this? what you and your friends did is essentially Cyber bullying, which I might add is illegal in Canterlot and can land you in jail!” Spitfire stated angrily,

“jail?” Scootaloo says in a terrified voice, it never occurred to her that she could go to jail,

“Yes jail, and even if there’s no threat of Jail from the lawsuits, your life will be changed because of this,” Spitfire pointed out,

“Spitfire calm down, your scaring Scoots,” Soarin tried calming his wife,

“She should be scared, Soarin as professional star athletes for the Wonderbolts soccer team we are always in the spotlight. But with careful planing and a little bit of luck we managed to keep the fact that we’re married and have a child a secret, other than our families, only our close friends know the truth; it was all done so Scootaloo can live a normal life and not have to be hounded by the paparazzi or some crazy nut,” Spitfire began, “With this stunt she pulled she essential ruined all of that!”

“Honey please calm down, it can’t be as bad as your making it,” Stormy Flare tried to be positive but her daughter just look at her like she was crazy,

“Mom, you realize that we have to come in person, you told me yourself when we got here that they demanded that Scootaloo’s parents be there and there’s a strong chance that someone will recognize us and blab about it to their friends and soon we’ll have news reporters at our door wanting to talk to the infamous daughter of the Wonderbolts,” Spitfire look to Scootaloo the anger she felt is washed away and replaced with a deep sadness, tears welled up in her eyes and her voice started to crack, “They will never let her live this down…..this incident will follow her for the rest of her life…..she will find it very difficult to live a happy life,”

Scootaloo is shocked to see her mother break down, she has never once ever seen her cry, she always had a smile on her face and the occasional frown whenever she or her father did something she didn’t approve of. Tears spilled from Scootaloo’s eyes as she realized that she took away her mother’s smile and made her cry.

“I’m so sorry Mamma,”

Both mother and daughter cried their eyes out as Soarin wrapped his arms around Spitfire and held her close while Stormy Flare did the same with her granddaughter.

Flashback End

Scootaloo was then led to her bedroom where she lay now, she felt miserable. Not only did she ruin Rainbow Dash’s friendship with Sunset and definitely their bond as sisters, but now she can add making her mother cry and disappointing both her parents who were always proud of her. Perhaps worst of all is that if it does get out that two of the Wonderbolts star athletes had a daughter and is involved in in a scandal like Anon-A-Miss then she will be known as a black mark in her parents career, there was a sudden knock on her door followed by the voice of her father.

“Hey, Scoots can I come in?” Soarin asks from the other side of the door,

“Yeah,” Scootaloo answers loud enough for her father to hear,

Her bedroom door slowly opened to reveal Soarin who stepped inside, “How are you feeling?”

“Not so good,” Scootaloo answers, she felt her bed bounce as her father sat next to her,

“If it’s about what your mother said don’t worry about it okay,” Soarin tells Scootaloo as he wraps his right arm around her shoulder,

“But she’s right, I really screwed up and now I’ve disappointed her,” Scootaloo leans into her father, “Mom must really hate me,”

“Hey don’t talk like that!” Soarin chastised Scootaloo, “Your mother and I both love you Scoots, never doubt that,”

“But I made her cry,” Scootaloo says softly as tears well up in her eyes before falling down her cheeks,

“She was crying because she realized how miserable your life will be because of this,” Soarin told her, “She loves you so much that it pains her greatly to see you suffer, and also because she doesn’t want you to go through what she did,”

This caught Scootaloo’s interest, “What do you mean?”

“Long ago before you were born, there was this scandal that involved your mother and myself. You see I had injured my ankle and had to be on the bench for a couple of days and there was this very talented player that replaced me,” Soarin began, “Your mother was very impressed with her and wanted her on the main roster for a game that was coming up, but when it looked like I was starting to get better, your mom convinced me to take it easy and let the new girl fill in for me,”

“However it wasn’t until the newbie came to visit me that I realized something wasn’t right, You see your mom told her that I wasn’t feeling too well and that I said that she should cover for me,” Saorin explains,

“Why would mom lie?’ Scootaloo asks in confusion, her mother always told her to be honest, which she failed to do if Anon-A-Miss is any indication,

“Because I was an idiot,”

Scootaloo and Soarin turn to Scootaloo’s door to see Spitfire leaning against the door frame,

“I saw the potential the newbie had and wanted to see it grow, not to mention it would be good publicity and show everyone that the Wonderbolt’s are filled with the best talent around,” Spitfire walks over to her husband and daughter and sits on Scootaloo’s left side, “But I was found out and the newbie and Soarin weren’t happy.”

“I felt betrayed,” Soarin says as he recalls that day, he and Spitfire are best friends and always honest with one another so it hurt greatly that Spitfire went behind his back to have him replaced,

“But then it got worse when the media found out, ‘Spitfire attempts to replace teammate with new meat!’” Spitfire quoted the headline, “Every press conference the team had they would asks me why I wanted to replace Soarin and if this is an attempt to get an all female team,”

“But that’s not true is it?” Scootaloo ask, she knew little about her parents past and is very curious about this moment of their lives,

“Of course not,” Spitfire rubbed Scootaloo’s head affectionately, a gentle smile on her lips, “But that didn’t stop some feminist groups from making me their symbol against male oppression,”

“I was constantly hounded by reporters up until game day where it only got worse when we did go ahead with the substitution because your father wasn’t able to play, despite winning that game all the media focused on was how Spitfire switch helped the Wonderbolts win the game and will Soarin be replaced from the main roster?”

“I wasn’t feeling up to playing,” Soarin says as he cats Spitfire a side look, “I was still pretty upset with your mom for what she did but I knew the game was very important to her and the team so I convinced the newbie to take my place,”

“Geez rub it in why don’t you?” Spitfire grins as she punches Soarin’s arm, “But seriously, with this scandal following me everywhere I was at my wits end, especially since all this bad press hurts the teams image,”

“Then how did you deal with it?” Scootaloo ask as she looks at her mother expectantly,

“To be honest, I couldn’t. At least not at first,” Spitfire says, “I lost my best friend, my teammates don’t trust me after finding out what I tried to do, I considered leaving the team but your father wouldn’t let me,”

“Hey you’ve dreamed of joining the Wonderbolt’s and worked very hard to make it come true, I just couldn’t let you give it all up because of something that was taken way out of proportion,” Soarin points out,

“So the crush on me didn’t help at all,” Spitfire says with a smirk,

“Hey, what kind of guy would just stand by and see the woman he likes suffer?” Soarin says as he reaches over to Spitfire and brings her closer to him, Scootaloo was moved to sit on their laps.

“Anyway your father convinced me not to leave because I would be admitting defeat and he promised to stay by my side throughout the ordeal, it took a while but I managed to get past it,” Spitfire brings Scootaloo close to her, “This is why I was so angry earlier, I saw parallels to what happened to me that are happening to you,”

Soarin wraps his free arm around Scoots, “Like with Spitfire, you’re not going to deal with this alone.”

“Yeah kiddo, we’ve got your back,” Spitfire nuzzles her daughter’s

Tears well up in Scoootaloo’s eyes as she leans into her parents embrace, feeling their love and support.

“Oh and your grounded by the way,” Spitfire suddenly says,

Scootaloo blinks at this before a smile spreads on her lips, “I figured I would,”

The trio laughs as they fall back on Scootaloo’s bed, Spitfire proceeds to tickle her daughter while Soarin gives her a gentle noogie, Scootaloo’s laughter can be heard downstairs, causing Stormy Flare to smile.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Fluttershy opens the door to her home and upon entering she was greeted by her little brother Zephyr Breeze.

“Hey there big sis, how was work?” Zephyr asks in a chipper tone,

“It was fine,” Was Fluttershy’s simple answer as she removes her coat and hangs it on the coat rack by the door.

“Say sis I’ve been thinking of converting mom’s garden into a meditation patio, want to help?” Zephyr ask as he nudges his sister,

“Sure,” Fluttershy responded without turning to look at him as she made her way towards the stairs but was stopped when Zephyr Breeze pulled her back to face him,

“Okay sis, what’s going on?” Zephyr demands as he narrows his eyes at his sister,

“Whatever do you mean?” Fluttershy asks, knowing full well what her brother meant,

“I mean you just agreed to help me convert mom’s garden into my own personal meditation patio, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s wrong with that picture,” Zephyr Breeze pointed out as he raises an eyebrow,

“I….you’re right, It’s just that my mind is a mess right now and I can’t talk to any of my friends since they’re in no position to help me!” Fluttershy raises her voice as tears well up in her eyes,

Zephyr Breeze wraps a comforting arm around Fluttershy, “There, there big sis, let your brother help you out,”

“I don’t wanna bother you,” Fluttershy say as her brother bring her closer to him,

“Nonsense, you always go out of your way to help me. So let me return the favor,” Zephyr says as he guides Fluttershy towards the living room.

“Oh alright,” Fluttershy relents as she lets Zephyr guide her into the living room and motions her to sit on the sofa,

As soon as she does Zephyr joins her but instead of sitting he lays on the sofa with his head resting on Fluttershy’s thighs, “ So sis, what’s on your mind?”

Fluttershy sighs before smiling at her brother’s antics, she then proceeds to tell him about what happened yesterday since he took the day off from school to escape the negativity from Anon-A-Miss, “A Mental Health Day’ he called it. She told him who the identity of Anon-A-Miss is, what the fallout was, that the students who sent Anon-A-Miss secrets to post are also going to receive punishment, but she left out the part of Sunset turning into a demon and other details that involved equestrian magic,

“So you found out that you were the traitor and not your hot friend Sunset and you want to make it up to her but she’s so mad at all of you, she doesn’t want to even see you all again; and your at a loss as to what to do,” Zephyr summarizes as he stares up at his big sister,

“Yes,” Fluttershy replies simple, “I just feel so awful about what I said to her,”

“From what you told me, it appears that you still hold a grudge against Sunset,” Zephyr commented, “I think before you can properly make up with Sunset, you first need to resolve the issues you still have with her,”

“But how do I do that without talking to Sunset?” Fluttershy asks, desperate to find a solution to fix her problem,

“First you gotta relax big sis, you have to clear your mind of all those chaotic and negative thoughts,” Zephyr suggests,

“Oh, it’s going to be hard not to when all I can see is that demon instead of Sunset,” Fluttershy thinks, shivering at the thought of that monster,

“You then gotta reflect on everything that has happened between you two, sort out your feelings and only then will the answer come to you,” Zephyr Breeze finishes explaining,

“Wow Zephyr, when did you get so wise?” Fluttershy asks, very surprised at her little brother’s sudden wisdom,

“I learned from my wise older sister,” Zephyr winked at Fluttershy causing her to giggle,

Xoxoxoxo

Rarity sighs as she adjust her glasses before continuing her work on her latest dress, she had hooped that focusing on her work would take her mind off of more depressing events. But try as she might, her thoughts kept returning to what had transpired yesterday.

I admit thatseeing you look so defeated and humiliated made me feel happy.

Rarity recalled how she felt when she saw Sunset crawl out of that crater, she felt so elated to see Sunset in tears and looking a complete mess like she did at the spring fling, she had to fight the smile that threatened to spread on her lips. Rarity felt so disgusted with herself at how unladylike she was for enjoying someone else suffer, her hand continued to work on the dress as she remembered how she treated Sunset like a servant when she was working for her to make up for what she did. Despite Rarity telling Sunset that everything was alright between them, Rarity could never forgive Sunset for humiliating her and reveled in ordering the former queen bee of Canterlot around, making her model her most daring lingerie, much to Sunset’s embarrassment and her amusement.

Furiously Rarity worked, her mind racing with more thoughts about how much she thought she use to hate Sunset, her hands never stopped moving as they danced across the fabric. As the minutes pass, Rarity’s design began to come to life, even as the young fashionista is lost in the sea of her thoughts, her body still acted on her will, creating what the young woman felt in her heart. Finally Rarity stopped, tears forming in her eyes, as she pants in exhaustion as she pulled herself out of the miserable pit her mind had swallowed her. She stepped back to look at her work and when she did, a look of horror was etched on her face as she led out a gasp, it finally dawned on her what she had just created.

Sweetie Belle is walking to Rarity’s workshop room and as she is about to knock, she hears Rarity scream. Alarmed Sweetie Belle quickly reaches for the doorknob and upon finding the door unlocked she swings it open.

“Rarity what’s wrong?!” Sweetie Belle asks worriedly as she spots her sister cowering in the floor, “Rarity?”

Sweetie Belle looks to where Rarity is looking and freezes, for there on one of Rarity’s dress mannequin’s is the dress that Sunset wore when she turned into a demon. A feeling of dread consumes Sweetie Belle as she imagines the demon filling out the dress, staring at her with her menacing demonic eyes. She quickly hurries to Rarity’s side, the two sisters embrace in a comforting and secure hug, Sweetie Belle buries her face against Rarity’s chest and whimpers in fear, Rarity holds on tight to her sister and she looks on in despair at her creation, she could’ve sworn she heard the demon’s laugh echo from the dress.

Xoxoxoxo

Pinkie Pie is laying on the living room sofa staring up at the ceiling, her flat pink hair hangs over the armrest. She has been laying there ever since she returned home from school, her older sister walks into the living room and notices her younger sister still hasn’t moved since she lost saw her.

“Is something the matter Pinkie? Your usually out with your friends by this time,” Maud asks in her usual monotone voice,

“I messed up Maud, I messed up big time,” Pinkie tells her without looking away from the ceiling,

“Hey Pinkie, you know the rules. As long as you got chores to do, no lazying around,” Limestone chastises her sister as she peeks her head from the kitchen only to be elbowed by her younger sister Marble, “What?”

Marble frowns at her before motioning to Pinkie Pie, Limestone looks at her closely and notices that her usual bright complexion is now dulled, the way she just stared at the ceiling was a little strange, even for Pinkie.

“Alright spill it, what’s wrong?” Limestone ask with a hint of concern,

Pinkie tells them about Anon-A-Miss, how she and her friends assumed it was Sunset and cut ties with her, then she told them how Sunset with the help of a group of students who believed she was innocent helped expose the true identity of Anon-A-Miss and clear her name. But the damage was already done, Sunset’s trust in them was destroyed and they may have lost a great friend forever.

Marble, Limestone and even Maud stared at their sister with wide, shock filled eyes, the room remains silent for a couple of minutes before Maud breaks it.

“Pinkie Pie….how could you,”

Pinkie closed her eyes as she recognized the disappointment in Maud’s voice, “I’m sorry,”

“Maud’s not the one you should be saying that too,” Limestone says as she narrows her eyes at Pinkie, “You fucked up sis, you fucked up big time,”

Limestone receives another elbow to the rips from Marble, “What? I’m just being honest with her!”

Marble rolls her eyes before walking over to her twin, “Pinkie, you have to make it up to her,”

“I can’t!” Pinkie raises her voice as she turns to look at Marble, tears welling up in her eyes, “We tried apologizing but Sunset doesn’t want to hear us out, she hates us!”

Pinkie Pie turns round to face the back of the sofa, muffled sobs can be heard as Pinkie cries against the sofa. Her sister look on with sadness before Marble rests a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Pinkie, there’s no need to cry,”

“I took away her smile…..I made Sunset cry!” Pinkie managed to say through her crying,

“So you’re going to sit there and mope about it or are you actually going to try and do something?” Limestone stated as she crossed her arms, “If she’s really your friend then you’ll be doing everything in your power to prove how serious you are about making things right with her,”

Pinkie Pie turned her head around tears spilling from her eyes as she looks at Limestone, “But I don’t know what I’m suppose to do,”

“You’ll figure something out, you’re Pinkie Pie, now stop with the crying already and go finish your chores,” Limestone says with a smirk,

Pinkie’s lower lip quivers before she bolts from the sofa and wraps Limestone in a tight hug, Pinkie buries her face against Limestone’s chest and sobs loudly. Limestone sighs as a small smile spreads on her lips before wrapping her arms around Pinkie.

“You big cry baby,”

She is soon joined by Marble and Maud, the three sisters held on to Pinkie as she cried her heart out.

Xoxoxoxo

“Thanks for the ride Gilda,” Sunset thanks her friend as she exits Gilda’s car,

“No problem, see you tomorrow,” Gilda waved as she drove off,

“See ya!” Sunset waves back as Gilda’s car disappeared around a corner,

Sunset enters her apartment building with a smile on her face, she had a great time hanging out with Gilda and Lightning Dust at the mall, laughing whenever Lightning Dust tried to sneakily take another scone only for Gilda to smack her hand with a cookie tray. She even volunteered to help Gilda out which Gilda refused at first but then agreed if Lightning Dust helped out too, much to the girl’s dismay. As Sunset entered the elevator and pressed the button to her floor, she realized that she actually felt happy when she returned home instead of being all depressed and exhausted from continuing to deal with the students accusing glares and verbal taunts.

Been a while since that’s happened, Sunset thought sadly before shaking her head to clear those thoughts, “Better not ruin it,”

The elevator soon stops at her floor as Sunset gets off and heats to her apartment, but stops when she sees a familiar face.

“Principal Celestia?”

Sunset watches the woman stand in front of her apartment, looking a little nervous as she glances between the apartment door and a piece of paper in her hand.

“Um Principal Celestia, is everything alright?” Sunset asks,

Celestia jumps a bit at her name being called, she quickly turns around to see who called her name and her eyes widen upon seeing who it is.

“S-Sunset?”

“Yes?” Sunset raises an eyebrow, confused as to why her Principal would asks if it’s really her,

“Sunset, it’s me. Princess Celestia,” Princess Celestia gestures to herself as a gentle smile graces her lips,

Sunset’s eyes widen upon hearing this, her face grows pale and her blood freezes, “P-Princess C-Celestia?”

Author's Notes:

Here's the next installment, I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to thank KR Chrome for his dialogues in the comments that helped inspire me as well as adding some of them in this chapter.