Wherever You Find Love

Chapters

Chapter One - That Was Yesterday
Chapter Two - Today is a Gift
Chapter Three - Tomorrow is Another Day
Chapter Four - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Epilogue - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Chapter One - That Was Yesterday

Winter had come to the town of Canterlot. A fair layer of snow had settled upon the town, and houses and buildings throughout were decorated for the season. Canterlot High School’s decorations were light, due to it being a public institution, but even it had a few extra accoutrements appropriate for the time of year, giving it some holiday warmth within its hallways and corridors.

To Sunset Shimmer, however, it felt as though she may as well be stuck in the frozen north back in Equestria. From where she sat in the school’s library, her arms drawn tight across her chest and her legs drawn as close to her body as she could manage, she’d never felt this cold and alone. At least, not since her arrival in this world.

“Did you see the new Anon-A-Miss post?”

“Yeah, how’d they get that picture of Pixel…?”

It took everything Sunset had not to turn in the direction of the other students’ voices, and she quietly waited for their footsteps to fade away as they left her. She sighed softly with the sad realization that the one refuge she had left in the school, the bed of books that Twilight Sparkle had slept in her first night, was now exposed. Her head hung low in sorrow and she softly wondered to herself, “What am I going to do?”

“Sunset Shimmer? Is something wrong?”

She looked up to find a familiar green-eyed face and smiled. “Nothing, Miss Cheerilee. Why would anything be wrong? It’s the most wonderful time of the year, isn’t it?” The smile faded into a terrible frown, and she turned away and admitted, “Sorry. That sounded horribly bitter, didn’t it?”

“It did.” The young student-teacher/librarian took a seat beside her. “But it sounds like you need to talk about it. If it helps, I’m not exactly looking forward to the holidays either.” At Sunset’s glance, she explained, “Don’t take this the wrong way, even the most devoted of us teachers don’t want to be in school all the time. I actually do enjoy this time of year, even if certain things come up to make it, well, interesting.”

“Yeah, interesting.” Sunset turned even glummer than before and added, “That’s one word for it.”

Cheerilee winced. “Sorry, I didn’t…” She quickly changed the subject and noted, “You know, I keep on meaning to get this pile of books back to their shelves. Never quite understood why they were arranged like this, however. It’s a neat pile, almost like a nice bench or…”

“It’s a bed.” Sunset laid a hand upon the ‘pillow’ and explained, “This is where Twilight slept her first night here. It would’ve been both nights if Rarity hadn’t taken her in.”

“Oh.” The young teacher sighed and admitted, “You know, that first day with her here, I almost yelled at her. I couldn’t understand how a girl her age couldn’t operate a computer. And then, well, Principal Celestia explained things and…” She held up her hands and remarked, “I suppose someone with hooves wouldn’t see much sense in a keyboard. Unless it had really big buttons.”

That merited a small chuckle from Sunset. “It took me months to get used to using them. I nearly wept with joy the first time I used a touchscreen.” She looked to Cheerilee and asked, “I guess the rest of the faculty is in on my little secret?”

The young teacher shook her head. “Just me and Granny Smith, apparently, and I don’t know what I did to merit it. But it’s probably just as well Ms. Harshwhinny or Cranky Doodle don’t know. They probably wouldn’t believe it.” She gave a hopeful smile and asked, “Do you miss it?”

A nod. “So much.” Sunset looked to Cheerilee and asked, “You said you weren’t looking forward to the holidays. Don’t you want to spend time with your family?”

“I do, but…” The older woman shook her head. “It’s not hard to visit them. My parents live in the city, after all. But I go there, and inevitably my sister’s going to show up and…” She sighed. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear about my family problems.”

“No, it’s okay.” A sad smile crossed her lips as Sunset admitted, “At least your problems are easier to deal with than mine.”

Cheerilee raised a hand briefly, and then set it back down at her side, fully aware of how it would look if an educator was shown physically touching a student in any way. She felt on thin ice as it was with her own boyfriend, despite both having graduated and being of legal age. “I don’t know if this helps you feel any better, Sunset Shimmer, but all of this with Anon-A-Miss? I know you aren’t behind it.”

A mirthless laugh escaped Sunset’s lips. “Thanks, but we’ve both been around the block enough to know that doesn’t do me a lot of good. You can’t put an end to what they’re doing any more than you can stop the snow.”

“No, but it doesn’t hurt to know you’re not alone, right?”

Cheerilee got back to her feet and went on to her duties, Sunset left where she sat to consider. Months ago, she’d had talks like that with all of her friends, and they’d felt great. They opened up to her, and in turn, she’d opened up to them. It felt like she’d moved forward, and despite the rest of the school hating her, she could get through it. Now? Now it felt like she didn’t have a friend left in this world.

But she did have one who wasn’t.

She reached down to her backpack and pulled out her message journal, then opened it to a blank page and readied a pen. “Dear Twilight,” she wrote, “I hope the Summer Sun Celebration’s gone down okay back in Equestria. I wish I could say things are going alright here. As good as the week started, it’s only gone downhill from there.”

Indeed, the week had started well for Sunset, despite her dampened mood. It was the last week of school before Winter Break, and Christmas was literally right around the corner, due that Saturday. Sunset never had reason to celebrate it, despite its resemblance to Hearth’s Warming. It was part of another religion from an entirely different world, after all, and she had better things to worry about than some warped celebration of a child’s birth. Since the Fall Formal, however, she’d come to see it in a better light and acknowledge the similarities to it and her own native winter holiday – the reasons behind the celebration were different, of course, but the trappings were very much the same.

That, of course, brought with it other anxieties. As she explained to Applejack that Monday morning – helped in no small part by the farmgirl having moved her locker to the one immediately to the left of her own – she’d been alone for some time on the winter holidays, in more ways than one. And this one looked to be little different. She wasn’t alone in spirit now, of course, but the fact remained that she’d be all alone in her apartment, a tiny little tree in her living room and no presents under it.

Naturally, of course, that had to change, and Sunset swiftly found herself shanghaied into her first real slumber party. She’d stayed over with each of the girls, of course, but not all of them together, and they seemed dead set upon making up for lost time. That Monday night, the six stayed at Pinkie Pie’s place…

“And there you are, darling.” Rarity looked up from her work with approval, Applejack’s nails having been painted a vibrant red. “Now don’t touch anything until they dry.”

Applejack examined her nails and shook her head softly. “Still don’t get the appeal ‘a stuff like this.”

“Well, I don’t mind looking nice sometimes.” Fluttershy smiled as she gently brushed Rainbow Dash’s hair, the athlete looking anxious as she indulged her friend. “Now sit still, Rainbow Dash, I’m almost done.”

Her stomach filled with pizza, Sunset was a hair’s breadth away from dozing off from her perch upon Pinkie’s bed, the party girl in question seated at the foot and still scarfing down what was left. “Thanks girls, I needed this. This is good.”

“Hey, no sweat.” Freed from Fluttershy’s attentions, Rainbow Dash leaned back and declared, “You’re one of us now, and it’s great having the band back together.”

“With another addition ta bo –” A twanging ringtone chimed, and Applejack rolled her eyes. “Goldurn it, that’s mah phone. Can someone get that for me?” Sunset obliged and put the smartphone on speaker, and the farmgirl continued, “Whoever this is, you just interrupted a real heartwarmin’ moment.”

:“Hey big sis. Granny wanted me ta call an’ make sure you’re doin’ alright.”:

“Course ah’m alright! All mah friends’re right here with me!”

“Yeah, Rarity’s just torturing her with nail polish!”

Sunset playfully batted at Rainbow with a pillow, and the girls shared a laugh as Applejack rolled her eyes at their antics. “Listen Apple Bloom, you tell Granny Smith she’s worryin’ too much. Ah’m fine an’ so’re all mah friends. You, her ‘n Big Mac get some shut-eye, alright?”

:“Alright. Have a good night, Piggly Wiggly.”:

Applejack’s face turned beet red as the call ended, the girls looking at her with a mix of surprise and confusion. Sunset was somewhere in the middle as she asked, “Where did that come from?”

Her friends looking at her like hungry wolves eager for scraps of meat, Applejack sighed. “Well, might as well tip mah hat t’ the elephant.” She drew her legs in and explained, “When ah was little, real little, ah’d follow Granny Smith ‘round when she did chores. Ah ‘specially loved it when she fed the pigs, ‘n once, ah snuck inta th’ pigpen an’ played round in the mud with ‘em. Fer hours. Granny started callin’ me that afterwards and th’ whole family knows ‘bout it.” Her head sunk low as she added, “Along with a few’a the neighbors. Small miracle she never brought it up when…”

“When I was staying with you?” Sunset gave her friend a sympathetic smile. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re not the only one with a slightly embarrassing nickname.”

“Yeah, ah know, Shims.” Applejack grinned for emphasis, the other girls laughing softly. “Still, AB likes ‘ta use it whenever she thinks ah’ve gotten too big fer mah britches. Anyway, no big deal.”

“I already wrote to you about that first night. It was amazing. We were exhausted the next morning, no surprise, but the fun was worth a few less hours of sleep. Besides, finals were done and we had little more than busy work before the holidays. In retrospect, though, the next morning is where things started going sour.”

The next morning, the six very tired girls entered CHS to find more than a few of their fellow students sniggering at the sight of Applejack, the reason becoming clear as Apple Bloom rushed up, smartphone in hand to show a MyStable post revealing the nickname and its origins.

“Up for three hours, and sixty-nine likes?” Applejack examined the phone and asked, “Who’s this ‘Anon-A-Miss’?”

“Aside from not being particularly clever with their wordplay?” Rarity offered rhetorically.

“Ah don’t know! Her profile jus’ got put up this mornin’, right before the first post went up, and she copied it ta’ the CHS group page!” Her gaze turned to the fiery-haired girl beside her sibling as she amended, “But ah got a good idea where t’start lookin’.”

“Apple Bloom! Ah will not have you makin’ baseless accusations ‘bout mah friends!”

“But the colors on Anon-A-Miss’ profile page’re the same as Sunset Shimmer’s –!”

“That’s a coincidence, an’…” Applejack noticed one of the other students watching and locked eyes with him. “You lookin’ at somethin’, fella?”

The tall boy grinned. “Nothing… Piggly Wiggly.”

He and a few other students shared snickers among themselves, the odd oinking sound sprinkled in for good measure, only for Applejack to roll her eyes. “Typical. Give folks a chance at a cheap shot’n they’ll take it.” She handed her younger sister back her phone and told her, “You get on to class and don’t pay this no mind, Apple Bloom. Ah ain’t worried ‘bout this, neither should you be.”

The younger apple scampered off as Rarity checked her phone to confirm the posting. “I applaud your sensibility, Applejack, but we’re still left with the quandary of how this happened.”

“Don’t matter. Ah go pokin’ mah nose inta this, it’ll only give this coward more fuel fer their fire. Ah ain’t givin’ ‘em the satisfaction. Now come on, y’all, we got classes too.” She noticed the proud smile on Sunset’s face and asked, “What’s that for?”

“Just glad I can appreciate this.”

That following evening, the next sleepover was held at Rarity’s home, the girls joining her and her family for a nice dinner before settling down in her house’s living room and taking places wherever they could. Sunset did her best to keep a polite distance from Sweetie Belle, but found her attention going to Applejack. “You doing okay?”

The farmgirl shrugged from her seat in an easy chair. “Gettin’ oinked at ain’t a big deal. Folks’ll get bored with it eventually.”

“Well, you’ll let us know if you need any help, right?”

Applejack smiled. “Sunset, this right here? That’s helpin’ plenty.”

“Popcorn’s ready!” A massive tub of popcorn balanced upon her head, Pinkie set it down on the floor before the gathered girls as Rarity passed out bowls. “So, what’re we watching?”

“Only one of the most magnificent Christmas movies ever produced, darlings.”

“Sweet! Can’t wait to…!” Rainbow Dash’s exuberance tapered off as Rarity produced a beaten-up plastic VHS case from a cabinet adjacent to the television and opened it. “That doesn’t look like ‘Die Hard’ to me, Rarity.”

“That’s because it isn’t. That film takes place at Christmas; this one is a proper Christmas story.” The fashionista beamed and explained, “Sweetie Belle and I watch it together every year before Christmas, and now, we can share the tradition with all of you.”

“Oh?” She was handed the cover, and Fluttershy smiled. “Oh! ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’! This is a great movie! I love the songs in it.”

“Yeah, they’re…” Sweetie Belle quickly remembered the company they had, and her enthusiasm went down as she noted, “They’re okay.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged as their host put the tape into the waiting VCR. “Okay, fine, I’ll let that slide. Everyone knows the Muppets are awesome. But why not watch it on Blu-Ray?”

“Because the Blu-Ray and DVD editions from recent years all use the theatrical cut of the film, while the VHS edition restores a beautiful song that was cut from the film proper.” Rarity smiled sheepishly and admitted, “You’ll have to forgive me, darlings, but I’m something of a purist.”

The athlete shrugged as she took a portion of popcorn. “Fine. As long as it isn’t as annoying as ‘Let It Go’, I’ll manage.”

Sweetie Belle looked at Rainbow Dash in shock. “I like that song!”

“Yeah, and that’s fine, but I got a little sick of it after I heard it for the umpteenth time.” A gag, and she amended, “It took me ages to get it out of my head.” She turned back to Sunset from her perch on the floor and asked, “So, you seen this movie?”

“No, but I’ve read the book. Is it animated?”

Pinkie giggled and scooped some popcorn into Sunset’s bowl. “No silly! It’s live action! People with puppets!”

“And it’s a marvelously faithful adaptation of Dickens’ original novel. You’ll love it, dear.” Bowl of popcorn in one hand and the VCR remote in the other, Rarity sat down on the couch between her sister and her friend and fast-forwarded to the start of the film. “Now then, quiet everyone! The movie’s starting!”

For the next ninety minutes or so, the girls sat and watched as the film unfolded, Sunset finding herself becoming more and more caught up in it. She knew the story, of course, but the presentation took her by surprise, the jokes entertaining her and the songs touching her. As the credits rolled and finished, she finished off her third bowl of popcorn and remarked, “Okay, you’re right, that was a good movie. One complaint, though.” More than one head turned to face her in shock, and she simply explained, “No sign of Scrooge’s sister, Fran. Fred’s there, and that’s good, but he didn’t come out of nowhere.”

“What difference does that make?”

Sunset ignored Sweetie Belle’s tone as she explained, “Fran was one of the best things about Scrooge’s early life, before he went into business. One of the big reasons Scrooge pushed his nephew aside was because Fred resembled his mother so much, physically and in terms of personality. Every time he saw his nephew, he was reminded of the sister he lost.” She noticed the other girls’ surprised expressions, and she shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about stuff like this.”

Applejack flashed a sympathetic smile. “Somehow, that ain’t surprisin’.”

“No, unfortunately.” Rarity uncomfortably cleared her throat to change the subject. “Anyway, now is perhaps a good time to retire, hmm? Come along, Sweetie Belle, time for bed.”

“But it’s not even eight! Can’t I hang out a little more?”

“We can afford to lose more beauty sleep than you, dear, now go on.”

Sweetie Belle dejectedly did as she was told and trooped her way up to her bedroom, the others following her until they all entered Rarity’s room. The fashionista closed her door behind them and looked to Sunset curiously. “A lot of time to think about this?”

Sunset sighed and admitted, “Not much to do around an empty school on winter break beyond sneak into the library and read. I must’ve read that book a dozen times over the last couple years. The message never really hit me until, well, you know.”

“Well now you’re not gonna be all lonely like old Scrooge!” Pinkie beamed and gave Sunset a tight, warm hug, both girls laughing happily. “Now come on, let’s get with the holiday spirit and make with the singing!”

Sunset’s smile turned nervous. “I’ll pass on that.”

The party girl shrugged. “Suit yourself!” She jumped onto Rarity’s bed in her stocking feet and started belting out tunes, everyone save Sunset joining in at one point or another. Sunset herself took out her phone and smiled, recording her friends’ a cappella performances with a smile. She didn’t need to do this to remember what was going on, but it didn’t hurt to have a memory aid.

“Stage dive!”

She looked up just in time to see Pinkie jump from the bed and crash into her, both crashing through a surprisingly thin closet door. Both groaned as the party girl remarked, “I guess that works better with a stage. Sorry Sunset.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” The other girls rushed to them as a feathered boa fell over her face. Rarity helped her to stand, and Sunset plucked the garment off her before looking into the closet to find many more articles of clothing inside. “What is all this, Rarity?”

She managed a nervous laugh. “This? Oh, it’s…” The girl sighed and explained, “My Closet of Shame. It’s where I store away all of the outfits I make or buy that end up turning out terrible. Even one with exquisite taste such as myself has off days, and tastes and opinions do change with time.” She frowned and noted, “I think I may be about due to clean it out.”

“Well before you do, how about we try ‘em on?” Pinkie had produced a dapper-looking deep gray top hat. “These’ll make for some really great selfies!”

Rarity hesitated, only to be met by a very eager set of puppy dog eyes from her pink friend. “Well, alright then. It’s all in good fun, yes?”

“I wrote you about that second night too. No less fantastic than the first, and I stand by what I wrote. I hadn’t felt that good around the holiday season since…well, since I lost my parents. Which just made what happened the next day even worse.”

A genuine spring was in her step as Sunset made her way down the hall from her first class of the day, the warm fuzzies from the previous evening still filling her with the spirit of the season. A few students still glared at her as she went on her way, but right now, she didn’t care, especially as she rounded a corner and caught sight of her friends. “Hey girls. What’s…?” It was then that she noticed the foul expressions upon each of their faces. Even Pinkie Pie was scowling. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack gave her a critical glare. “Sunset, have you lost your phone lately?”

Sunset suddenly turned nervous; Applejack almost never tried that hard to tone down her traditional twang. Nonetheless, she produced her phone. “No, it’s right here. Why?”

Applejack produced her own phone and showed her the screen. “Then explain this!”

Front and center on the screen was Anon-A-Miss’ MyStable page, a new post having gone up that morning containing a number of photos and a video, all of them from the slumber party at Rarity’s. Sunset scanned over them in shock. They’d barely been up an hour, and they’d gotten fifty-six comments and three times as many likes. “Wha…?! How did she get our pictures?!”

“They aren’t our pictures.” Applejack lowered her phone as Rainbow Dash practically growled, “They’re yours! You took all of those pictures and recorded that video!”

“But I’ve had my phone on me since last night!” Sunset frantically looked among them as she pleaded, “She couldn’t have…!”

“How’d she find out ‘bout mah nickname?” Applejack growled.

“Coincidence! You said it yourself…!”

“And the photos?! And the video?! That you recorded?!”

Sunset suddenly felt like a knife had gone into her heart as she realized what she was implying. “Applejack, you’re not…”

“She is, and so am I!” Rainbow Dash jumped in and pointed an accusing finger into her chest. “You’re Anon-A-Miss! How long have you been planning this, huh? Since the Fall Formal?!”

“No, I…!” Sunset looked to Rarity and Fluttershy, who didn’t look angry so much as sad and disappointed. “Please, I…!”

“How could you do this?” Rarity looked to be barely maintaining her composure as she asked, “After everything that’s happened these last few months?”

“I didn’t! I couldn’t…!”

“DON’T YOU LIE TO US!” Sunset jumped back in shock as Pinkie screamed into her face. “YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE OUR FRIEND! YOU WERE JUST LYING IN WAIT, SAVING UP TO STRIKE BACK AND GO BACK TO THE BIG DUMB MEANIE-PANTS BULLY YOU WERE BEFORE!!”

“No! I’m not that person anymore! You know that!”

“Do we?” Fluttershy looked to be just a hair’s breadth away from bursting into tears. “We gave you a second chance. We thought you’d changed.”

“I have!”

“Really? Cozyin’ up to folks, makin’ all friendly like, then stabbin’ ‘em in the back?” Applejack’s expression turned into an angry glare as she and the girls turned and walked away, Rainbow Dash putting a comforting arm around Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Granny Smith was right. Once an apple goes rotten, it ain’t never gonna be good again. Say whatever ya like, Sunset Shimmer. We ain’t gonna be fooled a third time.”

Sunset watched them go, suddenly feeling like she was trapped in a nightmare, frantically hoping that she’d wake up at Rarity’s house and the world would go back to the way it was before. But she was wide awake, and she knew it. This wasn’t a nightmare; it was real life. She sank to her knees, students passing by going one way or another, and she mournfully sighed, “Not again…”

“I couldn’t let it end like that, Twilight. You wouldn’t have. But I didn’t have too many options. Going to Principal Celestia wasn’t one of them. She couldn’t do any more about Anon-A-Miss’ posts than I could, and considering the photos and videos of the girls were from the same phone she gave me, well, she’d be just as likely to punish me as anyone. I had to handle this on my own. Sadly, I didn’t have a good place to start.”

“Did you see those pictures Anon-A-Miss posted?” Snips chortled gleefully as he and his best friend went down the hall. “Weirdest costumes ever!”

“Yeah, and those pics of Rainbow Dash’s physics paper?” Snails laughed. “Even I did better on mine than –!”

The two boys yelped in surprise as they were pulled into that one darkened hallway where the lights never seemed to work right. They collected themselves and then turned in surprise to find the girl who formerly employed them as her lackeys. “Sunset Shimmer?”

She quickly shushed them. “Boys, keep it down!” Both nodded, and she calmed down. “Listen, I need your help.”

Both immediately pleaded, “We aren’t Anon-A-Miss! Promise!”

Sunset sighed. “I know that. Anon-A-Miss isn’t a boy, I can tell just from the way she types.” The two sighed in relief as she continued, “All I want to know is if the two of you have any idea who she might be. I’m not saying that you’re helping her or…”

“What’s this? Back with your old minions so quickly?”

Sunset took a deep breath and turned to find herself looking into the familiar violet eyes of one of her schoolmates. “Do you mind, Trixie? We’re having a private conversation here.”

“About anything in particular?” The pale blue girl strode forward with a smirk. “Certain MyStable posts, perhaps?”

“I had nothing…”

“Oh spare me!” Trixie dramatically pointed a finger into Sunset’s chest and declared, “The Great and Powerful Trixie wasn’t fooled by your crocodile tears the night of the Fall Formal, nor is she fooled by your lies now! The only thing that surprises her is the fact that it took those idiot girls so long to wake up to the sort of person you really are!” An edge came into her voice as she added, “We all remember what you did that night, Sunset Satan. And we all know that you got off too lightly for all the trouble you caused.”

“I’m not Anon-A-Miss. I’m not that person anymore.”

“Really? Then why don’t your friends believe you?” Trixie gasped. “Oh wait, they aren’t your friends, are they? Everyone knows the real reason they’ve been so close to you; it’s because Princess Twilight asked them.”

“That’s not…”

“Please. Who in their right mind would want to be friends with a monster like you?”

Trixie sauntered off with a smug expression on her face and left Sunset behind with her two former minions, who looked to her with some anxiety. After an uncomfortable silence, Snails asked, “So, you think maybe Trixie…?”

“No.” Sunset walked off and left the two boys alone as she quietly added, “It doesn’t matter much anyway.”

“Trixie’s words stung, especially after what happened with the girls earlier that day. It doesn’t help that I feel like she might have had a point. Would the girls have reached out to me, if you hadn’t asked them to? Would they have befriended me after everything I did? Was I some kind of replacement for you? I don’t know. It was a question I never asked. It certainly wasn’t one I wanted to ask. But that stuck with me the rest of the day, and things went by in a haze until…”

Sunset’s footsteps were heavy as she made her way through the halls, her hands clutching the straps to her backpack and her winter boots making dull thunks with each step on the floor. She finally stopped at her locker and slipped the bag off, then fiddled with the lock to open it. A light sound caught her attention, like that of someone clearing her throat, and she turned to find the girls standing beside her. “Girls, please, I’m not…”

“Yes, you’re not.” Rarity approached, placed a hand upon the sleeve to her jacket, and pulled hard upon it. “You’re not worthy of my handiwork!”

The leather all but disintegrated at the fashionista’s attack, bits flying away in every direction as Sunset recoiled in surprise. She barely had time to protest as a hot drink was splashed in her face, and cried out in shock as Pinkie screamed, “THAT ENOUGH HOT COCOA FOR YA?!”

“Stop, please!”

“Twilight should’ve dragged your demon butt back into Equestria! You deserved to get burned alive!”

“I can’t believe I shared my bed with a monster like you, you… you monster!”

“Please! You know me! That isn’t who I am anymore!”

“Really?” Applejack pointed to Sunset’s right hand and called, “Then explain that!”

Sunset held it up in shock to find that her normal, amber-colored five-fingered hand had been replaced with an all-too-familiar red one with four long talons. “No…” The red continued to spread up her arm, and a flash of black and opal light moved up her other arm like wildfire, reducing it to a similar state and destroying the other sleeve to her jacket. “No! This isn’t real! It can’t be!”

“Can’t it?”

She spun about to find herself looking into the Crystal Mirror, more flashes of magical light going up her legs. Her winter boots turned back into the boots she’d worn in her transformed state, her black jeans and long-sleeved shirt replaced with the fire-themed shoulder-less dress. But it was the face of her reflection that frightened her most, a wicked expression upon it that she’d seen far too often since that fateful night.

“Face it, Sunset! You sealed your fate long ago! Whatever you do, whatever you say, that sweet façade you’ve put on isn’t the real you!” The reflection’s face flashed, and it instantly became that of the monster she’d become. “THIS IS!”

“No!” But Sunset could feel the magic working its way through her, her skin searing and her ears and teeth and eyes twisting and warping. “Please, no! Princess Celestia! Twilight! Help!”

“May as well cry for mommy and daddy! Oh wait, they can’t hear you – they’re dead!” The ground rumbled beneath her feet, and the very earth seemed to split open as demonic wings burst free from her back and she lost her footing, scrambling to hold on and not fall into the crevasse forming beneath her. “And we can’t go where they went, oh no! There’s a better place for us in the next world, and it’s nice and warm!”

“NO!” Her grip failed her, and gravity took hold as she screamed, “NOOO!”

“NO!” Sunset screamed and sat up in bed in terror, a cold sweat on her brow. She took several deep breaths, looked at her hands in the dim light, and felt along her back. No claws, no wings, no red skin. She looked to the nightstand at her right just as the alarm went off, giving her a little more illumination.

She drew her legs in close and hugged them tight, buried her head in her knees and sobbed, “No…”

“A nightmare. All it took was three months and Anon-A-Miss for me to finally have a nightmare.” Sunset paused in her writing, unsure where to go next. But there wasn’t anywhere else to go, it seemed. “Anyway, that’s the whole story. No one here will believe that I’m not Anon-A-Miss, not even my friends. Well, former friends, I guess. I wish I knew what to do, and I really wish that you were here. You succeeded where I failed, Twilight. I don’t suppose you’ve got any ideas?”

The lunch bell rang, and Sunset closed her message journal before slipping it into her backpack and going on her way. She strode out of the library and made her way through the halls, silently hoping that Twilight would respond and that she’d have some way to fix…

“Augh!” Sunset fell to the ground, her journal and other assorted contents of her bag spilling out. Whether she tripped or was pushed, she couldn’t tell. She scrambled to retrieve the book, only for it to get kicked away by other students, their voices rising and becoming all too clear.

“Secret stealer.”

“Monster.”

“She-Demon.”

“Way to go, thief.”

“You’re getting off too easy.”

“Why don’t you just die?!”

She didn’t see their faces as the voices and the calls continued, but she didn’t have to, as she recognized every one. Cherry Crash, Cloudy Kicks, Golden Hazel, Sweet Leaf, Fido, and so many others, all saying the same thing that had been floating in her head since yesterday. Since the girls had pushed her away.

That she wasn’t wanted anymore.

Her journal forgotten, she grabbed her bag, jumped to her feet and ran. Her eyes were shut tight as memory guided her to the one place she knew she could be alone, where no one would follow her.

So caught up in her mad rush for escape, she didn’t notice the startled cries of Cheerilee or Cranky Doodle as she darted past them into the teacher’s lounge, and straight for the bridge portal.

Author's Note

And here we are, my take on the infamous Holiday Special produced by IDW. Thanks to the way I've set things up in the Quiververse, I've moved the events of the story from after "Rainbow Rocks" to between the two films with little difficulty.

Now, I'm fully aware that I'm not the first to do something like this, and probably not the last, but this is how the story factors into my 'verse. One story that has some coincidental links to this is the currently cancelled "Apologies Aren't Always Enough" by SadisticFluttershy. I don't know how they plan on ending their tale, but mine will have a happy ending.

And yes, the story's title comes from a song from the film mentioned in this story. Said song was written by Paul Williams. I like that movie, so why not reference it?

Chapter Two - Today is a Gift

“Don’t lie to me!” Diamond Tiara’s high-pitched screams were clear as day in the cafeteria, despite the din of other arguments in the reasonably-large eating area. “You took my necklace! Anon-A-Miss posted a picture of you wearing it!”

Silver Spoon’s response was just as clear. “So what?! You said it yourself, it looked horrible on you!”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure how to feel about the arguments erupting around her. She was normally uncomfortable, granted, but she felt even worse in the midst of this storm of discord and strife. Right now, the safe option was to keep her eyes on her meal and try not to look away, lest someone notice her and decide it was worth more to tease her even more for her singing.

Footsteps approached her table, and she braced herself. Just ignore them, they’ll go away eventually…I hope…

“Hey Fluttershy.” Three trays were laid out on the table, two opposite and one beside her. She looked up to find Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had joined her, the former giving her a sympathetic look. “They didn’t let up on you either, huh?”

“No. I ended up spending a couple hours at the animal shelter last night just to calm down after I heard Heath Burns and Thunderbass laughing about the video.”

“I sympathize.” Rarity took off her wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and scarf, the long coat she wore less about fashion and more about anonymity. “I felt like Micro Chips and Wiz Kid were following me about like sharks after a trail of blood in the water yesterday afternoon.”

Rainbow gestured with her spork as she settled into her meal. “Yeah, well, not sure if this is good news or not, but we’re not the only ones Anon-A-Miss is having fun with.” Indeed, all around them were various students arguing about one thing or another, some of whom had been giving one or more of them a hard time earlier in the week. The only other student that they could see who wasn’t in the midst of an argument was Vinyl Scratch, and even she looked to be in a foul mood, a frown on her face as she surveyed the scene around them. “Anon-A-Miss has been posting about folks left and right. It isn’t just us who got our secrets spilled.”

“Indeed. I don’t even remember when things were this bad.”

“Least things were civil ‘fore Twilight came along.” Applejack huffed deeply and snatched up the apple on her tray before declaring, “So much for us comin’ together. All thanks to Anon-A-Miss.”

Fluttershy hesitantly looked up from her meal at her friends, all of them sharing equal expressions on their faces mixing frustration, remorse, and outright fear. It was clear that they were all thinking the same thing, though none of them seemed willing to say it. “Girls, do…do any of you really think Anon-A-Miss is Sunset?”

Uneasy expressions were shared between them before Applejack answered, “Ah don’t know. Ah don’t want it to be her, but…”

“There is a rather lot of circumstantial evidence against her.” Rarity sighed. “And who else could have posted those pictures, or that video?”

“I know! We let her in, called her a friend!”

“More’n that, Rainbow; we called her family.” Applejack sighed. “Even family makes mistakes, but that don’t mean you should be forgivin’ ‘em what they’ve done. Ah don’t wanna think she did it, but…”

A tray slammed against one end of the table and startled all four girls as a familiar voice softly cried, “She didn’t do it.” They looked up to find Pinkie Pie standing over them, her hair flat and limp and devoid of its usual bouncy, poufy cheer, holiday-related or otherwise.

As her friend sat down, Rarity offered, “Darling, not that I don’t want to agree with you, but what makes you say…?”

“Maud.” She looked at them all with apologetic blue eyes, looking for all the world like a guilty child having been caught doing something naughty. “She asked me about what’s been happening over the last couple days, and I told her. I don’t keep secrets from her, ever.”

“…And?”

“And she told me that I’d made a mistake.” Pinkie looked like she was about to burst into tears as she amended, “That we’d made a mistake. She wasn’t happy about it.”

“None’a us were too thrilled either, but…”

“But we were crummy friends about it. Me especially.” She wiped at her eyes, clearly trying to hold back the tears that were coming, and continued, “We all yelled at her.”

“Hey, we didn’t think it was her at first!”

“AND WE SHOULDN’T HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS HER AT ALL!” The entire cafeteria went as silent as the tomb at Pinkie’s outburst, arguments forgotten. “SHE THOUGHT SHE DESERVED TO DIE AFTER THE FALL FORMAL! SHE THOUGHT SHE’D GO BACK AND GET EXECUTED FOR WHAT SHE DID! WE GAVE HER WHAT SHE NEEDED, AND SHE’S BEEN A GREAT FRIEND EVER SINCE, AND NOW…!” And she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, pushed her tray aside and buried her face in her arms, weeping as if there were no tomorrow.

Fluttershy put an arm around Pinkie’s shoulders as Rainbow stood up called out, “Okay, nothing to see here folks, go back to what you were doing!” The other students sat down, things having suddenly gotten much quieter, and the girls looked among one another as Rainbow added, “Girls, I really hope I’m not the only one thinking this, but…”

“But Pinkie’s right, y’all. Innocent ‘till proven guilty an’ all that.” Applejack pulled the forward brim of her hat down and noted, “Ah ain’t felt this low in a long time. We barely had better evidence when…”

“When Sunset tricked all of us into quarrelling amongst ourselves.” Rarity pushed her own tray away and stood up. “Come on, girls! Are we going to sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, or are we going to do something about this?!”

Pinkie looked up from her sobs and asked, “Do you really think we can do something? We hurt her, Rarity. We hurt her bad. It might take a miracle to fix this.”

The fashionista smiled with confidence. “You’re forgetting, darling, that this holiday celebrates a miracle. I’m sure we’re due for at least one more.”

That seemed to brighten Pinkie’s mood, and she sat up, poof going back into her hair as she wiped away her tears. “You’re right, Rarity.” She stood up, and the rest of their group followed suit, the five girls striding out of the cafeteria as swiftly as school rules allowed. They knew where to go, and Sunset would need her family. All of her family.

Sunset almost stumbled into the bridge realm, and her frantic running slowed until she slumped to her knees before the mirror leading back to Equestria. She dropped her bag from one hand, and with her eyes drawn tight, she limply pressed a hand against the mirror before her. It was so very close, but so far away at the same time – the home she’d left behind like a fool.

She didn’t have a way back. Even if she did, who would be waiting for her? Sure, there was Twilight and Spike and Princess Celestia, but that would lead to seeing the counterparts to her friends – ex-friends – and…

…And she couldn’t face them again. They still saw the same thing that haunted her. Despite everything, that was all they saw.

And seeing that would make what was to come so much easier. So she collected herself as best she could, and she thought of something to sing. She changed the words here and there, but no one was around to complain.

Her mind flashed through all of the memories she’d made with the girls over these last few months, the laughs that they’d shared and the stories they’d told among themselves. She thought of the celebrations, the little things that had caused her to smile, from the quiet moments to the parties, especially the one they’d planned for Pinkie’s birthday earlier in the month.

And then she thought of the memories she’d missed out on. How much she’d hurt those left behind, and how she’d probably never be able to undo that hurt, or make up for it. How she’d left a little filly in tears just because she thought of her as a big sister…

And how much she hated herself for it. She deserved their scorn. She deserved their rage. She might not have been Anon-A-Miss now, but she was Anon-A-Miss once upon a time. And that was enough.

She opened her eyes, only to see the face she didn’t want to see; that of the scared, frightened unicorn-turned-human, cast adrift and alone in a world that both cared nothing for her and would be pleased to see her gone. She sighed, grabbed her bag and got to her feet. It wasn’t a sledgehammer, but it would do the job well enough.

Sunset turned around one last time, her gaze falling upon the mirror leading back to Canterlot High. Her eyes shut tight, and she let out a primal scream of anguished rage and frustrated remorse as she charged forward and swung her heavy bag, hoping it had enough mass to do the job…

“SUNSET! STOP!”

She froze, momentum lost in the firm but gentle grip of all-too-familiar magic. Sunset kept her eyes shut tight as she rasped, “Let me go, Twilight. Go back to Equestria and let me finish this.”

“No! I can’t let you do this!” Hoofsteps approached her from behind as the young alicorn called, “Sunset, I’m not about to let you make this mistake! Too many of us…!”

“THEY DON’T CARE! WHO CARES IF A DEMON PUTS THEMSELVES OUT OF EVERYONE’S MISERY?!” Her anger and rage finally gave way to tears as Sunset cried out, “I STILL SEE IT, TWILIGHT! IF I’M NOT CAREFUL, I SEE THAT THING LOOKING BACK AT ME IN THE MIRROR! AND THEY SEE IT TOO! THAT’S ALL THEY SEE!” The magic finally let go, and she collapsed onto her knees as she sobbed, “A monster.”

She felt something gently nuzzle her from one side, and Twilight’s voice felt like a pleasant, reassuring balm. “You’re not a monster. You know that.” She gently ran a hand down a familiar equine neck as her friend continued, “I’m sorry I took so long to get to you, Sunset. Things came up back in Equestria, but that’s no excuse. As soon as I read your last message and saw you were in here, I charged in and…”

“None of this is your fault.” Her free hand clenched into a fist, and Sunset mourned, “It’s mine.”

“No, it isn’t.” A wing went over the girl’s back, and Twilight continued, “Sunset, you remember the windigoes, from the Hearth’s Warming story?”

A nod. “You’re not saying that the things that nearly strangled our nation in the womb ended up in the human world, are you?”

“No. I don’t think they need to. You and I know all too well that anyone, human or pony, can spread discord and strife. It doesn’t have to be caused by magic or curses or spirits. All it takes is a word or two, purposely cruel or otherwise, written or typed and sent with the push of a button.”

“Or a carefully edited video.” Another pang of guilt went through her, and Sunset wiped away what she could of her tears and opened her eyes. “How do you fight something like that? How did they survive it? How did you?”

“You stay strong. You remember who you are. And you hold tight to your family.”

Another sob. “Family, Twilight? My parents are dead. I disowned my aunt and uncle and I left my cousin in tears just because she thought of me as a big sister. Even if they wanted me back, I’m a world away, and the closest people I have to family in this world tossed me aside the second they thought I’d stabbed them in the back. What family do I have left?”

“Me.” Sunset turned to look into those familiar violet eyes, the smile all too clear upon that cute little pony face. “You have me.” She all but collapsed towards the young alicorn, both arms wrapped about her in a tight hug, as Twilight gently hugged her with one foreleg. “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

The sobs gave way to laughter as Sunset realized, “Look at me. I can dish it out, but I can’t take it, can I?”

“You’re not who you were then, Sunset. You’re better now. We just need to…”

“What in tarnation?!” The two broke their embrace to find a trio of fillies looking at them with surprise, the bow-wearing earth pony among them the only one to speak at the sight before her. “Th’ hay is goin’ on here?!”

The portal rippled again, a familiar dragon stepping through and weaving his way around the fillies with a defeated look on his face. “Sorry Twilight, they got past me.” He gave Sunset a reassuring smile and held out his arms to offer a hug as he approached. “Hey Sunset. You okay?”

She smiled back, accepted the hug and gave one in return. “Better now. Thanks Spike.”

“Okay, what’s going on here?” The pegasus among the trio trotted forward and kept her eyes on Sunset as if she were the strangest thing she’d ever seen. Which, all things considered, she was. “Who is she?”

“What is she?” The unicorn was joined by the earth pony as she approached. “She looks like a shaved yeti. With really nice clothes.”

Sunset stifled a laugh, and Twilight sighed. “Girls, this is Sunset Shimmer. She was Princess Celestia’s personal student before I was. Sunset, meet Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”

“The famous Cutie Mark Crusaders.” She smiled warmly and explained, “I’ve heard a lot about you three. Gotta say, the pictures I’ve seen don’t do you justice.”

“Thanks, ah guess.” Her discomfort fading in the face of foalhood curiosity, Apple Bloom got a little closer and asked, “But how could you be a former student a’ Princess Celestia? Ah mean, yer not a unicorn.”

“Actually, I am a unicorn.” A sad smile crossed her face. “It’s a long story. Kinda sad, too.”

Sweetie Belle sat down with an apologetic smile on her face and prompted, “We don’t need to go anywhere. We’ve got time.”

“Okay.” Sunset settled herself into a more comfortable position and explained, “For starters, what I’ve been turned into? It’s not a yeti. They’re called humans; they’re like yetis, sort of, but smaller, and smarter. I was turned into this almost three years ago now, when I left Celestia’s side. Not my biggest mistake, but definitely up there…”

“Of all the senseless, thoughtless behavior I’ve ever seen in all my years of teaching, just charging past us like that. Never mind her disappearing into that mirror – after the Fall Formal, that’s the least of the craziness I’d expect – but… Cheerilee!” The younger teacher looked up suddenly to her senior coworker from where she was kneeling down. “Are you even listening to me?!”

“Yes, Cranky, sorry, just getting something.” She carefully picked up the large journal, Sunset Shimmer’s mark on the cover, and returned to her feet. “I think this is her diary.”

“Well whatever it is, keep it away from the students. Things are bad enough thanks to this Anon-A-Miss business, we don’t need more…” The older teacher’s remarks were cut short as a familiar quintet charged towards them. “Oh, what now?!”

“Sorry Mister Doodle, it’s a holiday-related friendship emergency!” Pinkie’s hair had regained a little of its bounce, but it was hard to tell given how quickly she was moving. “Did either of you see…?!”

“Teacher’s Lounge! Mirror! Go!” The girls complied, and Cheerilee sighed. “I’d better get Principal Celestia.”

She went on her way, leaving Cranky Doodle to groan. “Only one more day of this after today, and then Matilda and I go to Boca. No craziness for two weeks, no magic whatevers, just her and me and white sands. If only I’d gotten that earlier flight…”

“…and that’s the whole story.” Sunset exhaled in relief, clearly glad to have gotten the story out of her system. It actually felt better, getting it out there in the open. “But now, I’m not sure what to do. I mean, I have to go back and talk to the girls, but what’s stopping them from just shoving me away again? I’ve burned them before.”

Sweetie Belle gently laid a hoof on the girl’s knee, her fellow Crusaders giving their own respective expressions of support. “So did we, but we were forgiven. And you didn’t do anything wrong this time.”

“I know, but how do I know they’ll believe me? Where do I start?”

“You can start by turning around, dear.” Sunset recognized the expression of shock on the faces of the Crusaders, then turned and got to her feet to find her friends arrayed behind her, their expressions a mix of relief and remorse, as Rarity continued, “And then, you can let us take it from there.”

All at once, the five teens charged and took Sunset into a big hug, the flame-haired girl suddenly feeling every bit of air in her lungs leaving all at once from the pressure. “Ooof! I need oxygen too girls!”

Grips were loosened as Pinkie babbled, “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!”

“We’re all sorry, Sunset.” Dash looked remarkably repentant as she admitted, “We shouldn’t have turned on you like that.”

“Durn right.” Applejack took off her hat and bowed her head apologetically. “Y’all ain’t just a friend. You’re family. We know you better’n most, and the Sunset Shimmer we know, the real you? You ain’t the sort to do that sorta thing. Not no more.”

A light sniffle, and Fluttershy quietly asked, “I hope… I hope you can…”

“Forgive you all?” Sunset smiled and gently wiped a tear from her friend’s face. “I already have.”

This prompted another tight hug from Pinkie as Rarity sighed in relief. “We were afraid we may have lost you, dear.”

Sunset’s tone immediately turned regretful as she admitted in shame, “You almost did.” Twilight came up beside her, and she added, “Thankfully, I had a guardian angel.”

“Thank Heaven for that.” The fashionista turned to the princess and gave a grateful curtsey. “And thank you, Twilight. Though, I suspect that you’re horribly disappointed in us.”

Twilight gave a sympathetic smile. “Well, I can’t say I’m proud of you, but I’ve been where you are. Sort of. I didn’t really make the smartest decisions then either.”

“None of us did, really,” Spike sheepishly admitted.

Rarity frowned and admitted, “Alas, that’s not quite as comforting as I’d like it to be.”

“Don’t hurt much, though.” Applejack took a breath and put her Stetson back on. “Alright y’all, we’ve fought off this symptom, but we ain’t cured this trouble yet. We got us a Christmas to save, so let’s put our heads together an’…” The farmgirl soon found Pinkie Pie pressing their two heads together, prompting her to ask, “Pinkie, what’re you doin’?”

The party girl giggled, her hair back to its normal poof. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, and besides, we needed some levity.”

That prompted a laugh from everyone present, and Applejack gently removed her cousin’s hands from her head. “Okay, ah’ll give ya that one. Still, don’t change the fact that we done got hoodwinked by this Anon-A-Miss gal. Don’t reflect too well on us.”

“Indeed it doesn’t, which makes it all the more important that we deal with the heart of the problem. It’s bad enough our secrets have been released online, worse that the rest of the school is slowly being victimized. Sunset’s being blamed, and that we were fooled makes it even worse.” Her fists were clenched as Rarity continued, “When I get my hands on this ruffian… this heathen… this…” She couldn’t restrain herself anymore and screamed out, “…This bitch!”

An outraged squeak interrupted her tirade. “RARITY! Language!”

The fashionista recovered herself and continued in an embarrassed tone, “Oh, forgive me, Sweetie Belle, but I haven’t felt like this since…” Her eyes drifted to where the voice had come from, and her eyes found themselves locked with an increasingly wide-eyed little unicorn filly. “…Sweetie Belle?”

Suddenly feeling very small indeed, the filly timidly nodded. “Uh-huh.”

It took all of two seconds before the fashionista squealed gleefully, slid forward onto her knees, scooped up the small filly in her arms and held her tight. “Oh my goodness, how did I fail to notice the most adorable little filly I’ve ever seen?!”

Predictably, the filly squirmed like a trapped kitten in the human girl’s embrace. “Ack! Rarity!”

“Oh, you even squeak just like my Sweetie Belle!”

“That’s nice, now please put me down!” Her voice lowered to a whimper as she added, “You’re embarrassing me…” Rarity, for her part, managed a sheepish grin as she released Sweetie Belle, who glowered at her two friends as they valiantly attempted to restrain themselves from going into giggle fits. “If one of you says a word about this to anypony…”

“Our lips ‘r sealed.”

“Promise.”

“They’d better be, ‘cuz you’re liable to go through the same thing.” Applejack knelt down and gently ran a hand through Apple Bloom’s mane. “Look at you three, all cute ‘n tiny.”

“Hey, Scoots here is a pegasus!” Down on one knee beside Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash declared happily, “And pegasi aren’t cute! They’re awesome!”

“Yeah!” The two shared a fist/hoof-bump, and the filly gleefully flapped her wings, managing to hover just a little off the ground before dropping back down.

“Awww…” It took every bit of willpower Fluttershy had to not kneel down and join her friends in embracing the little fillies, so she instead went and gently hugged Sunset. “Um, girls? Maybe we can get back to what we were doing?”

Rarity and Applejack both restrained themselves from embarrassed laughter, and the farmgirl noted, “Yeah, that is a priority.” She stood back up and gently took Sunset’s hand as she admitted, “Ah’ve lost too much family already. Don’t want to lose more if’n ah can help it. Ah’m just countin’ my blessin’s that my Apple Bloom ain’t gotten into Anon-A-Miss’ web a’ nasty.”

“And I for Sweetie Belle, but I fear it’s only a matter of time.” She noticed a pensive look upon Sunset’s face and queried, “Is something the matter, darling?”

“Family.” Sunset cast her gaze upon the Crusaders and repeated Twilight’s advice. “Look to family.” She then turned back to the first of Anon-A-Miss’ victims and asked, “AJ, your secret. Aside from us and your immediate family, no one associated with Canterlot High knew about it, right?”

“Not so far as ah know, but like ah said, Granny brings up the story sometimes.”

Rarity stood up and added, “But that doesn’t explain the photos or the video that Sunset took showing up on Anon-A-Miss’ page.”

“No, but someone could’ve gotten them off my phone easily enough.” Sunset pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and explained, “This is the same phone that Principal Celestia gave me the night I moved into my new place. The security features are all disabled, so I can’t put in a password or anything like that. But I’ve kept it on me at all times just to be safe. I even slept with it when I was over for the slumber parties.” She turned to Rainbow Dash and added, “Your paper for Physics. You got it back on Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah, and I took it home with me. Didn’t show it to a soul and kept it in my backpack.” The wheels in the athlete’s head were turning as she realized, “But I didn’t have my backpack with me all the time! I left it in the locker room during gym! Someone could’ve gotten into it and snapped a picture, and then posted it the next day!”

“Or set up the post to be placed automatically at a predetermined time.”

“Well hate to rain on yer parade, Sunset, but that don’t solve the mystery. Ah don’t think there’s any one student at CHS who’d know mah secret, be able ta snap a picture’a Dash’s paper, and get the stuff offa yer phone. And that’s ignorin’ all the rest of the students at CHS who done got their dirty laundry put out fer the world ‘ta see.”

“You’re right, there isn’t any one student at CHS who could have done it.”

Apple Bloom’s tone indicated both grim resignation and clear frustration as she frowned. “Ah think ah know where this conversation’s headed.”

“I can’t account for everyone else, but as far as your secrets go? It wasn’t posted by one person, it was…”

“IT WAS US!” Heads whipped in unison towards a privacy screen, the bit of furniture getting knocked down to reveal a familiar trio of young adolescent girls, the one to scream out having long purple and pink hair as she bawled, “WE’RE ANON-A-MISS!” Her two compatriots, one with long red hair decorated with a pink bow and the other with her cerise hair cut short, both looked similarly distraught and guilty, though the first among them to speak had also clearly been the first to give way to tears.

Applejack looked among the three in shock. “Apple Bloom? What in tarnation are you and your friends doin’ in here?!”

“And where did that privacy screen come from?” Heads turned back to Pinkie as she added, “What? It’s not like Sunset needed something like that. She could’ve gone running around naked in here and no one would’ve noticed.”

The Crusaders looked among themselves in confusion. Some hints of disgust were clear on Spike’s face, while Twilight managed a politely awkward expression. Sunset blushed slightly, and her other four friends all showed varying expressions of embarrassment and annoyance as Applejack eloquently summed up their collective thoughts and facepalmed. “Ah did not need that image in mah head.”

“We followed Sunset Shimmer in after we saw her in the hall,” the human Scootaloo explained, shame clear on her face. She and her friends maneuvered around the downed screen, Apple Bloom guiding Sweetie Belle, as she continued, “Mister Doodle and Miss Cheerilee didn’t see us, we saw the mirror in the teacher’s lounge shimmer, went through it, and we hid behind the screen while she was singing.”

“We thought she was attackin’ us for a second after she finished that song up, but then…”

“Enough a’ that!” Applejack approached the three and asked in frustration, clearly trying not to yell, “What the heck got inta’ the three ‘a ya? Why in the sam hill did’ya’ll do this in the first place?”

Sweetie Belle was still a sobbing mess, so Apple Bloom pointed to Sunset and answered, “It was because ‘a her.”

“Oh no ya’ don’t! Don’t you be blamin’ her fer…!”

“Applejack.” Sunset approached and gently laid a hand upon her friend’s shoulder, then quietly suggested, “Let them explain. Please.” She then turned to the three girls and prompted, “Go on girls. The whole story.”

Apple Bloom seemed to shrink under her target’s gaze, but Sweetie Belle had recovered enough to coherently continue. “The five of you were the best of friends for years. You guys are how the three of us met, how we became friends.” She wiped away what she could of her tears and continued, “And then last spring, you all were at each other’s throats, and Rarity lost the Spring Fling crown to Sunset.”

“Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that one,” Scootaloo interjected.

“It hurt us seeing all of you like that, and seeing you back together in time for the Fall Formal was amazing. And then…” Sweetie Belle nudged her head towards Sunset, and then continued, “And after that, you all were hanging out with her like she hadn’t done a thing. She tore you all apart, made you miserable, made us miserable!” She looked up at her sister and cried, “You should’ve been princess of the Spring Fling! You should’ve been amazing at that fashion show in the city last summer! But she ruined both for you! It didn’t make sense that you’d just forgive her like that! The only idea that made sense was that she had you under some kind of spell! Why else would you be nice to her?”

Rarity came forward, knelt down before her sister, and assured her, “Sweetie Belle, the girls and I were never under any spell. We reached out to Sunset because she needed us.”

“But she had magic!”

“And she still does, as do we. But none of us know how to access it, much less use it.”

Sunset suddenly turned uncomfortable as she glanced towards Twilight. The princess gave her a prompting look, and she quietly spoke up. “That’s not entirely accurate.” Her friends and their siblings looked to her in surprise as she explained, “Girls, I have a confession to make. That Saturday, after I moved into my new apartment? I was taking a shower and singing along to a song on the radio, and…” A quick breath, and she finished, “I had a magic surge. Nothing happened, I calmed it down as soon as I felt it coming on, but…”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa, you felt your magic coming on?” Dash approached her, looking both shocked and dismayed, and asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t know how you’d take it.” Sunset crossed her arms protectively and explained, “I was afraid that, if there was even a small chance I could end up turning into that monster again, you’d all throw me away in a heartbeat.” She looked over each of them as she finished, “You guys are all I have in the human world right now. I didn’t want to lose you.”

The rainbow-haired athlete gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Sunset, I wanna say you didn’t have anything to worry about, but after all this…”

“It seems your fears weren’t entirely unjustified.” Rarity turned back to the younger girls and prodded, “So Anon-A-Miss was created as some elaborate means of getting us away from Sunset?”

“We thought that if’n ya’ll got angry enough, ya’d force her outta yer group and that’d be that.”

Applejack gave her sister a grim look and asked, “And ya’ll’ve been plannin’ this fer how long? Since after the Fall Formal?”

“No! We… ah did this all spur-a-th’-moment. Findin’ out ‘bout yer slumber parties was the last straw, ‘n ah set up the Anon-A-Miss account that night.”

“And we joined in after that first secret wasn’t enough,” the human Scootaloo finished.

“And all the rest’a them secrets you posted?” Applejack’s glare was fixed upon all three as she asked, “Did’ja think us yellin’ at her wasn’t enough?”

“We were gonna stop after yesterday mornin’, honest! But after that first thing, we started gettin’ e-mails from folks with more secrets ‘n pictures from other kids in the school.”

“You have to have a valid e-mail address to set up a MyStable account, and those are easy to find if you know where to look.”

Sweetie Belle nodded sadly at Sunset’s summation. “We posted all of it. We thought you deserved it, for all the pain you put us through, for what you did at the Fall Formal, for hurting our big sisters, but we didn’t think…” She finally looked up at Sunset, tears welling up again, and not able to hold back anymore, she wailed and cried out, “NO ONE TRIED TO KILL THEMSELVES BECAUSE OF YOU!” After a short bout of tears, she calmed down and realized, “We thought we were getting rid of a monster, but we just turned into monsters ourselves! Why does life have to be so ironic?!”

Her counterpart looked to her friends and muttered, “Déjà vu, anypony?”

“Yeah, whatever that is,” the orange pegasus beside her countered.

Apple Bloom looked to be similarly distraught as she turned to her big sister. “Applejack, none ‘a us wanted things to get this far outta hand. We didn’t see any ‘a this comin’.” She shut her eyes tight in an attempt to hold back tears and realized aloud, “Ya’ll must hate us fer what we’ve done.”

The grim expression on Applejack’s face faded, and she gently took her sister into an embrace. “How could ah hate mah baby sister?” Apple Bloom looked at her in surprise, only to get struck in the back of her head as her sister added, “But ah am right angry with ya, and mighty disappointed.”

“No kidding.” Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo and noted, “You three should know better than this. Even if Sunset was still a jerk, you hurt us to hurt her. Not cool, Scoots.”

“Indeed, and as it was, you were hurting someone who was already in pain.”

Applejack continued where Rarity left off and explained, “Ya’ll might’ve thought you were doin’ the right thing, but it’s never the right thing when the wrong folks get hurt.” She gently ran a hand through her little sister’s hair and said, “Now, ah know ya’ll're sorry fer what’s happened, but we ain’t the only ones you need to be apologizin’ to.”

The three younger girls looked briefly among themselves, and then turned to their intended victim. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo closed in beside their friend as Sweetie Belle quietly offered, “We’re all sorry, Sunset. You didn’t deserve any of what we did to you.”

“No, no I didn’t.” Sunset gently brought a hand up to the younger girl’s face and wiped away a few fresh tears, then smiled and added, “Your big sister didn’t deserve anything that I did to her, either. But she forgave me. And I can forgive you too. That’s what friends do.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes locked with hers, and the disbelief in them quickly gave way to joyful elation as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the former bully. Sunset responded in turn as the young girl softly said, “Thank you.” The two were quickly joined by her classmates, both similarly glad that they’d been forgiven for their sins, and the hug swiftly broke as they finally took stock of the ponies in the room. “So, is that really you, Twilight?”

The princess nodded. “Yeah. This is the real me.”

“I know, it’s a lot to take in at once.” Spike grinned and struck a manly pose as he added, “I get that a lot.”

The gathered girls all laughed, only for the Crusaders to approach their counterparts. The two Sweetie Belles looked at one another and the human noted, “Okay, Rarity’s right, you are adorable. And this is so weird.”

“Yer tellin’ us.” The pony Apple Bloom looked to the human and added, “If it helps any, we’ve kinda been through what ya’ll’ve been through.”

“Wasn’t fun for us either.” Scootaloo gave an embarrassed grin and fluttered her wings nervously before amending, “But we got past it.”

“Well that’s a relief.” The three younger girls looked to themselves with small grins, clearly feeling better, but that pleased feeling faded as the human Scootaloo looked to her surrogate sister and asked, “But what do we do now?”

Dash smirked. “You gotta figure that out for yourself, squirt.”

“We can take the page down!” Sweetie Belle turned to Sunset and asked, “That’ll help, right?”

“It’s a start, but it won’t fix the whole problem. You guys remember that video I made of Twilight, right before the Fall Formal?” At the girls’ nod, Sunset continued, “I’m still seeing it out there, and odds are I’m going to have a lot to answer for if I ever meet her counterpart. Everything that you three posted as Anon-A-Miss is going to keep on circulating.”

“And you’re going to keep on gettin’ blamed for it,” Apple Bloom somberly realized. She looked to her counterpart and asked, “You said y’all’ve been through somethin’ like this, right?”

“If it makes y’all feel any better, you’ve made two’ve our mistakes at once.” The little filly gave a sheepish smile. “Long story.” She turned more encouraging as she gently nuzzled her counterpart’s leg. “But ah think y’all know what needs ta be done.”

“Yeah, but that don’t make it any less scary.” The girl turned to Sunset and gave a nervous smile. “So, what ya’ll said back there, ‘bout yer folks. It was the truth.” A nod at the statement, and the smile faded. “Ah’m sorry. Ah never knew. But you never…”

“It’s one line I’m proud to say I never crossed.” Sunset extended a hand and gently laid it on her shoulder. “Neither did you. And you didn’t go nearly as far as I did. You never made your sister cry, for one thing.”

“Still feels like it, though.” Apple Bloom took a breath to gather her resolve, and then looked to her friends. “Come on, y’all. Time to face the music.”

Applejack gave her sister a comforting hug and smiled reassuringly. “We’re with ya every step a’ the way, little sister. Promise.”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash took up similar positions with their siblings, biological and surrogate, as Fluttershy offered, “I can go get Principal Celestia, assuming she and Vice Principal Luna aren’t already on their way.”

“Sure.” Scootaloo turned from the pink-haired girl to Sunset and smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Sunset. And, sorry. About wanting Rainbow Dash to kick your butt.”

Sunset laughed. “It’s okay. Up until after the Fall Formal, I’d have deserved it.”

Fluttershy exited back to Canterlot High, the rest of the students following with Pinkie Pie taking up the rear. Before Sunset could follow, Twilight called out, “Sunset, before you go, we have something for you.” She turned back to see Spike quickly rush back to Equestria, only to return a second later with a bundle of envelopes. The young alicorn retrieved them from her dragon associate and gently handed them off to her friend. “Princess Celestia asked us to pass these along.”

Sunset examined the envelopes, and as she recognized the return address, her eyes lit up in surprise. “Oh my gosh.” She laughed and exclaimed, “I thought I got rid of these!”

“You did. Celestia didn’t.” Sunset looked to Twilight, who smiled and offered, “Season’s Greetings.”

Sunset laughed as she tucked the bundle into her jacket pocket. “Thanks.” She looked to the Crusaders and added, “Girls, word of advice about your cutie marks? Don’t rush them. Earning one isn’t the important thing. What comes afterwards is.” She turned and waved, and made her way back to CHS as the Crusaders waved from behind.

Once Sunset was gone, Scootaloo asked, “So, what is Christmas, anyway?”

“It’s like Hearth’s Warming, but more religious. And really distorted as far as historical accuracy goes, especially compared to the Hearth’s Warming story.” The princess sighed. “I guess this is going to be the big thing for Twilight Time this week, huh?”

Spike laughed. “I’ll get the snacks ready.”

“…And they charged into the teacher’s lounge after her.”

“You did the right thing coming to us, Cheerilee.” Principal Celestia sighed as the three entered the aforementioned room. “Hopefully, this will give us the chance to…” She stopped as one of her charges emerged from the portal. “Fluttershy?”

“Oh, Principal Celestia! I was just coming to get you.” The pink-haired girl’s schoolmates followed, with Sunset the last to step through. “We need to speak with you about what’s been happening these last few days.”

“As do we.” Vice Principal Luna stepped up and noted, “We heard about your shouting match with Sunset yesterday morning and the accusations you sent her way.”

“Yes, and it was a terrible decision on our part.” Rarity looked to Sunset and noted, “We did something horrible, and it nearly led to us losing a dear friend forever. It’s a mistake we may never be able to make up for.”

“And they aren’t the only ones.” Her friends beside her, Sweetie Belle approached the two administrators and said, “Principal Celestia? Vice Principal Luna? We have a confession to make.”

Celestia regarded them for a moment, then gently ushered them out. “We’d better take this to my office.” She looked to Sunset and asked, “Will you be alright?”

A nod. “I will.”

A small smile formed on her face, and Celestia led the three younger students out. Luna stayed back and offered, “Cheerilee, perhaps you should come with me? I don’t think these girls have had a proper lunch, and Granny Smith will need some help bringing their food out there.”

“Of course.” Before she left, she stepped over and handed Sunset back her journal. “I think this is yours?”

“Yes, thanks.” Sunset accepted the journal back with a grateful smile and started getting it back into her backpack as Cheerilee followed Luna out.As she finished, she turned to her friends and asked, “So, are you guys going to be okay?”

“With time, yes.” Rarity sighed and admitted, “I’m not certain whom I’m more angry with; myself for falling for this, or Sweetie Belle for taking part in the scheme in the first place. It will be a while before I feel comfortable forgiving her, or myself.”

“Ah think that goes fer all’a us, Rarity.” Applejack looked at her hand and frowned. “Ah just Gibbs Slapped mah baby sister. Can’t say ah enjoyed it. Feel like ah deserve worse.”

“Like you should be torched alive from the inside out?”

The farmgirl shook her head. “Nah, but probably a good punch ta the face.” She looked to Sunset and added, “Not that ah’m sayin’ ya’ll should be doin’ that.”

Sunset smirked. “Good, because I don’t want to.” She approached and drew her two friends into a hug. “I said I forgave you, and I meant it.”

“After what we’ve done, Sunset? We all treated you so poorly.” The fashionista looked at her in amazement and added, “You deserved better.”

A smile came with her answer. “Better than five girls who can admit when they were wrong? Who can forgive someone who was a monster to them? I’m the one who’s got something to be ashamed of.”

“More shameful than taking away someone’s smile, when seeing others smile is what you live for?” Pinkie Pie joined in on the hug and held the fire-haired girl tight. “I like seeing you smile, Sunset. It makes me smile, too.”

“Anyone smiling makes you smile.” Sunset laughed and leaned her head towards Pinkie’s. “But that’s not a bad thing.” A ripple of laughter went through the group, and she finally asked as the embrace ended, “So, did I miss out on anything with last night’s slumber party?”

“Actually, we didn’t have one.” Rainbow nervously admitted, “We put ‘em together for you, and after what happened, it didn’t really feel right to have another. Plus, it would’ve been kinda crowded at Fluttershy’s place.” She grinned and added, “Her bed wouldn’t have been big enough for the six of us, let alone her bedroom.” At Sunset’s surprised expression, she amended, “Relax, Sunset. You’re not the only one who’s shared a bed with her.”

“Most definitely not,” Rarity added with a warm smile.

Sunset looked to Fluttershy, who blushed and tried to hide herself in her hair. She then smirked and looked to Applejack, who shrugged. “Hey, this is news to me.”

“And a Pinkie Promise is worth a hundred signed and notarized legal documents. If Lucy Pinkie Promised Charlie Brown that she wouldn’t pull away the football, then she wouldn’t. That’s how strong it is.” Pinkie grinned hopefully and offered, “So another secret between friends?”

The girls chanted in unison, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” and then came together in a group hug and laughed. Harmony was restored, and it felt good.

Author's Note

"When Love is Gone", of course, comes from "The Muppet Christmas Carol". Well, some versions, anyway. As said in the previous chapter, it was cut from the theatrical release, but restored for VHS. Said song was written by Paul Williams. It was a fantastic song that I felt fit the story quite well, so here we are.

Naturally, of course, I find myself making the odd nods to other stories with this one. While Sunset never drove anyone to suicide in my canon, she came awful close to contributing in Lightning Sword's excellent "One More Dance", and very nearly committed the act herself in Final Sunlight's "Almost Too Late". The latter gets a reference in dialogue.

Before anyone asks, yes, this was building off of what happened in "Six Nights (and a Day) with Sunset". Believe it or not, I do plan ahead. As for the fashion show that Sweetie Belle mentioned, well, that's a story for another time.

EDIT on 1/1/16: Did some small tweaks to address some issues raised by FinalLegendZero.

Chapter Three - Tomorrow is Another Day

Friday morning came at last, and with it Christmas Eve and the last day before winter break. As students made their way to their seats in classrooms throughout Canterlot High, more than one was huddled over their smartphones and puzzling over the latest Anon-A-Miss post. Those whose secrets had been revealed found themselves with mixed feelings, and those without them found themselves eager to see what was coming. More than a few, however, found themselves talking about what had happened the previous day at lunch, two in particular who had avoided scrutiny thus far taking a bigger interest than most.

“So, you think they meant what they said yesterday? About Sunset Shimmer?”

A sigh. “I don’t know, Lyra.” Sweetie Drops closed her locker door, but kept her eyes off her closest friend. “I’m not even sure I know what to think about what happened at lunch yesterday. Assuming they were telling the truth and…” She leaned her head against the cool metal as she tried to put her thoughts together. “I don’t like her. I don’t like what she’s done over the years. But her being executed? I don’t know how to feel about that, assuming it’s even true.” She pulled out her phone and went to the newest Anon-A-Miss post, the only one to appear since lunch yesterday. “The final secret comes Christmas Eve. That’s today.” She put the phone back into her purse and finally looked to Lyra. “You really don’t want Anon-A-Miss to be Sunset Shimmer, do you?”

Lyra grinned. “I don’t see the problem in giving someone a chance.” She gently nudged her best friend and noted, “Worked out pretty good the last time.”

“Hey, Lyra! Sweetie Drops!” The two turned to find Sunset striding towards them, a smile on her face and her backpack being slung off her shoulders. “You two have a minute?”

“Um, sure.” Both girls eyed Sunset uneasily as the more cynical of the pair asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Best I’ve felt all week, yeah.” She opened her backpack and pulled out a pair of packages, lovingly wrapped and marked with notes. “Thanks for asking. Anyway, these are for you two. Compliments of the season.” They took them in surprise, and Sunset explained, “I promise, they’re nothing dangerous, but I wouldn’t drop them. The glass might break.” She turned and waved. “Anyway, catch you guys later! Happy Holidays!”

Sweetie Drops waved back with a shocked expression on her face. “What do you suppose…?” The sound of wrapping paper being ripped apart filled her ears, and she turned in shock to her friend. “Lyra?! What are you…?!”

Lyra’s eyes lit up like Christmas trees as she looked to her friend and revealed her gift. “Bon Bon, look!” In her arms was a framed sketch, rich in detail and clear as day. Depicted in the drawing on the right hand side was Lyra herself, kneeling down with one hand on the ground, the other stretched outwards in front of her. Opposite the drawn girl was what was clearly meant to be a unicorn, posed similarly and with a hoof outstretched and meeting Lyra’s hand. Both were looking upon one another with sheer joy upon their faces, and the likeness didn’t end there – the pony’s mane was styled much like the girl’s hair, and prominent upon her flank was a lyre identical to the one Lyra had about her neck.

Sweetie Drops opened her own package, and found herself looking at another sketch. This one also depicted a girl and a pony, both seated upon a bench and sharing a sympathetic smile. She recognized the girl as herself, and the pony very clearly resembled her, three wrapped candies upon its flank resembling the buckle to her belt. She smiled at the sight and then gently aligned her gift with that of her friend, the backgrounds making the two pictures look like one larger piece. “Okay, maybe she’s worth giving a chance to.”

Lyra grinned hopefully, and the two tucked their gifts into their backpacks before making their way to their homeroom. They took their seats just as the bell rang and Principal Celestia began her announcements over the school’s PA system. :“Good morning, students, and Season’s Greetings to you all. In light of recent events, I and Vice Principal Luna are calling an assembly in the gym after lunch…”:

The rest of the day went by swiftly, and after lunch, the student body of Canterlot High found themselves assembled in the school gym for the impromptu assembly. Very few doubted what the subject of the assembly was, given the events of the last few days. As they entered and caught sight of the one they thought responsible for the mess, however, they found Sunset Shimmer seated near the front, surrounded by her so-called friends. Anger was swiftly replaced by confusion as more and more students took their seats.

Sunset, of course, noticed all of this, and tensed slightly in her seat, only to find a comforting hand wrap tightly around her own. “Steady dear. We’re all here for you.”

Rarity’s words prompted a smile, and as the last few students and members of the faculty filed in, Principal Celestia stepped onto the stage with a microphone in hand. “Good afternoon students. I realize that all of you are looking forward to the end of classes for the semester and your winter break, and probably very eager for the day to be over. Believe me, I share that eagerness. However, there is an issue that needs to be addressed, and I ask that all of you pay attention.” She took a quick glance over the gathered mass, and then continued, “As all of you are no doubt aware, this past week has been a tumultuous one here at Canterlot High. A MyStable user going by the pseudonym ‘Anon-A-Miss’ has been posting private information belonging to students here at CHS. I and Vice Principal Luna have been working to identify those responsible, however, doing so has been difficult for a number of reasons. Thankfully, however, an incident yesterday has led to a breakthrough.” She turned and nodded off-stage, and Vice Principal Luna guided Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo into view. “Apple Bloom, if you please?”

The microphone was handed off, and the young girl nervously accepted it. “Thank you, ma’am.” She looked out onto the gathered students, looking for all the world to see like a deer caught in headlights, until her gaze found those she’d hurt most in all of this, and an encouraging smile and nod from one flame-haired girl gave her what she needed to continue. “For the last few days, folks here at Canterlot High’ve been following MyStable posts from Anon-A-Miss, and’ve probably been wonderin’ exactly who this person was. Well, ah haven’t, because it wasn’t just one person; it was three. Me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle took her turn at the mic and continued where her friend left off. “Like a lot of students here at Canterlot High, we felt that Sunset Shimmer had received a very light punishment for everything she’d done, not only the night of the Fall Formal but long beforehand. This, combined with us becoming jealous of the attention our sisters were giving her in comparison to us, led to us putting together the account, with the intent to punish her by framing her for new crimes not unlike what she’d done in the past and prompting our sisters to push her away.”

Now it was Scootaloo’s turn. “The first secret was about Applejack; everyone in her immediate family knew about it. The pictures and videos of Rarity and Rainbow Dash and all the other girls at a slumber party were stolen from Sunset Shimmer’s cell phone, by Sweetie Belle. The picture of Rainbow Dash’s paper came from me.” More than a few students were murmuring in disbelief, which prompted her to note, “The next secret that we posted after that involved Flash Sentry. We didn’t get that ourselves; it was provided by Cherry Crash via e-mail.”

One rocker girl with bright green hair, who until that point had been among those murmuring, suddenly blanched. Other murmuring students fell silent, their disbelief either squashed or at least discouraged.

“That secret wasn’t the last one we were sent, and it wasn’t the last we posted, even after we did what we planned on doin’ from the start. We started havin’ our misgivin’s about it, but we kept it up, mostly because we liked the attention. But it was wrong and…” Apple Bloom sniffled at this and barely managed to blurt out, “…And somethin’ terrible almost happened ‘cuz a us. And we couldn’t keep it goin’ no more. We’re all sorry ‘fer the pain we’ve caused and the trouble we’ve done.”

As Apple Bloom handed off the microphone to Principal Celestia, a hand was raised in the audience. She responded with a nod, and Micro Chips stood up and asked, “What happened? Er, almost happened?”

“A student nearly committed suicide.” The assembled students gasped simultaneously in shock, chatter starting up before she calmed them down. “Everyone, please. I won’t be naming names, but I can assure you that the student in question is fine, and we were able to get to them in time to prevent a tragedy. The fact that such a thing almost happened, however, is frightening, and I doubt any one of us wants anything like that to happen. Not here, and not anywhere.”

Another hand was raised, this one belonging to Tennis Match. “Principal Celestia, why are all of us here for this? Not all of us sent secrets in to Anon-A-Miss.”

“No, but all of you followed their posts. Had they simply been ignored, that may well have been the end of it. Instead, however, you not only followed them, but many here actively contributed to them. Is this what’s become of Canterlot High after the Fall Formal? Some months ago, Princess Twilight inspired all of you to come together and rally behind her, an outsider and a complete stranger. And now, you’re tearing yourselves apart over something this petty.” She could see the shame forming on the faces of her students, and went for broke. “I doubt she would approve of any of this.” Her gaze turned to the other student who’d left a mark that night, and she added, “But she would encourage all of you to forgive what’s happened.”

Students looked among themselves at this, more than a few shamefully looking to friends that they’d divulged secrets about.

“However, I cannot let the matter rest there.” Principal Celestia turned to Apple Bloom and her friends and noted, “As proud as I am that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came forward, their actions still brought harm to their fellow students and constitute acts of cyber-bullying. And they will be punished with two months of detention, beginning at the start of next semester.” She looked into the crowd and added, “Those who contributed to Anon-A-Miss’ posts will each receive a month’s detention themselves for their part in this venture. I and Vice Principal Luna received a list of e-mail addresses from the girls, and have linked each of them to students here at CHS. Your parents have already been notified.” Celestia took a breath and then noted, “I like to think that this is a teaching moment, and I sincerely hope that all of you learn a lesson from all of this. I also hope that it’s the right one, because I don’t want to have to do an assembly like this again in the future. Dismissed.”

Students rose from their seats and began making their way to their classes, but more than a few hung back and watched as the trio behind Anon-A-Miss descended from the stage and found themselves embraced by their sisters, and then embraced by Sunset in turn, a proud but uncertain smile upon all their faces. The students themselves, Trixie among them, scowled, though how much it was being done to the three young girls and how much to the school’s former Alpha was unclear. Few would forget this, however.

The last bell rang at Canterlot High, and students were already starting to make their way out of the building, talk and discussion among them now on more positive topics as those who’d been divided by Anon-A-Miss came forward and properly apologized to one another, handshakes and fist-bumps and even the odd hug punctuating the renewals of friendly ties. Some would still face punishment, but for now, they were forgiven.

A soft knock sounded at the door to her office and prompted Principal Celestia to look up from her desk. “Come in.” Her guest entered, and she gave a pleased smile. “Sunset Shimmer. I was hoping to see you before you left for break. How are you feeling?”

“Much better than I was a couple days ago, thank you for asking.” Sunset closed the door behind her and pulled a package from her bag. “I just wanted to come by and give you this. Compliments of the season.”

“Thank you.” The principal accepted the gift, but put it aside. “Since you’re here, I’d like to take this opportunity to give you a proper apology for what’s happened.”

Surprise turned to reassurance as Sunset countered, “Ma’am, you don’t need to apologize. Nothing that happened with this Anon-A-Miss mess was your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you for not immediately suspecting me for it along with everyone else.”

The principal gave a small smile. “I like to think you were genuine in your desire for a second chance. Speaking of, may I have your phone?” The girl complied, and Celestia inspected the device with an enigmatic look upon her face. “Sunset Shimmer, did you know you can clone a smartphone?”

Sunset arched an eyebrow in recognition of her tone. “I’ve heard something about that, yes. I’ve also heard that it’s horribly illegal to do so.”

“Indeed it is, because it’s a horrible violation of privacy and security. Not to mention an easy way to aid in identity theft and fraud.” She opened a drawer in her desk and placed the phone inside. “Of course, not having the security features enabled certainly doesn’t help to keep it safe.” She then pulled out another phone and held it out for Sunset with a smile. “Be sure to pick a good password for this one, hmm?”

Sunset smiled back and accepted the new phone. “Of course.” A knock sounded behind her, and she turned to find Luna opening the door. “Vice Principal Luna? Is something wrong?”

The junior administrator smiled and shook her head. “No, but it seems you have a Secret Santa.” She handed over a small box and explained, “I found this earlier today taped to your locker. I checked it over; it’s safe, but I wouldn’t bring it to school with you unless you want to lose it.”

Sunset accepted the gift, then deposited both in her bag and pulled another from within. “I think this one will be more than safe for school grounds.” She handed it off to Luna and then made her way out of the office with a smile. “Happy Holidays!”

“And to you, Sunset Shimmer.” The two sisters looked to one another, gifts in hand, and Luna grinned deviously. “What do you suppose these are?”

A twinkle was in Celestia’s eye as she answered, “One way to find out.”

Both gleefully tore at the wrapping around their packages, and smiled with delight upon their gains. Luna was the first to laugh and reveal her framed sketch, depicting her and her pony counterpart hunkered down on a sofa and merrily playing a video game. Both were wearing headsets and T-shirts adorned with the legend, “Mistress of the Night!” “When did you tell her that I was a gamer?”

“She’s a bright girl, she probably guessed.” Celestia laughed and revealed hers. Depicted in it were her and her Equestrian counterpart, both happily nibbling away at slices of cake with cups and a teapot at the ready. “Oh, this takes me back.” A smile still upon her face, she examined the drawing and mused, “Thank heaven we didn’t lose her.”

“Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset barely had enough time to adjust her slightly-lighter backpack before the familiar voice called out her name. She turned back to the source and greeted her with a smile. “Miss Cheerilee! I was hoping to see you before I left. Thanks again for getting my journal back to me.”

“It wasn’t a problem, and I figured it was important to you, considering.” She gently smiled and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Much better, thanks. But I’ve got a feeling I’ll be hearing that for a while.” Sunset then asked a question of her own. “So, should we be expecting you at Sweet Apple Acres, or…?”

“I wish, but I’m going out to the city for Christmas with my family. If I’m lucky, I’ll beat my sister out there.” The young teacher smirked and noted, “But do me a small favor and try not to get caught under the mistletoe with Big Mac, hmm?”

That prompted a giggle. “I’ll do my best.” The smile faded as she continued, “I know it isn’t my place, but I feel like I need to say something. Most of my family is gone, and what little biological family I have left is a long ways away. It’ll be years before I have the chance to see them again and make up for my mistakes. Whatever issues you have with your parents and sister, they aren’t worth the risk of losing them. Trust me.”

Cheerilee nodded. “You’re right. I don’t want to lose them.” She then smiled and prompted, “Now go on, enjoy your holiday.”

Sunset smiled and waved as she departed. She opened the door just in time to see the young teacher pull a cell phone from her purse and begin calling a number and closed it just soon enough to hear the words, “Hi Cherry. Yeah, it’s me. Surprise.”

Cap upon her head to block out the cold and a scarf about her neck, Sunset zipped up her jacket and made her way from the school’s main entrance to the parking lot. Snow softly crunched beneath her boots, and more was beginning to come down from above, adding to what had already accumulated over the last few days. All the more reason she was glad to put the Anon-A-Miss business behind her; she didn’t want to be in a big, cold apartment alone this holiday season.

“Sunset!” Her attention turned to a familiar grey sedan as Pinkie Pie enthusiastically waved her over, Maud standing by the car and quietly watching her approach. “Over here!”

“I see you, Pinkie!” Sunset laughed and sped up her approach, eager to get to them and get the holidays properly started. As she reached them, Maud approached, and the flame-haired girl greeted her, “Hi Maud. Happy…!” Sunset stopped as Maud took her into a firm, warm hug. “What’s this for?”

“I’m glad that you’re okay.” Maud pulled back, her expression still neutral and her voice deadpan, and explained, “I hate the idea of losing part of my family over Christmas. And you are family.”

Sunset managed a warm laugh. “Thanks Maud. And thanks for what you did earlier.”

Pinkie managed a slightly-shamed expression as she admitted, “Yeah, I kinda made a big oopsy earlier over all this.” She then hugged her big sister and added, “But that’s what Maud’s here for, keeping her baby sister from making really big oopsies, and helping her fix the small ones!”

“You’re not the official baby of the family, Pinkie. Marble’s a few minutes younger than you are.”

“See? She keeps me honest, too!” Amidst Sunset’s laughs, the three climbed into the sedan, and Pinkie asked, “So, any stops you need to make before we get to Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Two. I need to drop something off at the shop, and then get something from my apartment. Neither will take very long, I promise.”

The last of her remaining customers departed, and Zecora managed a sigh of relief as she followed them to the door. The last day before Christmas wasn’t nearly as hectic for her as it was for other shopkeepers, but it was still a very busy day, especially given she tended to get a number of last-minute shoppers. She didn’t mind, especially as more than a few became repeat customers. Still, it was more than enough for her, and it was time for her to call it a night, especially given what she’d heard about the coming snowfall.

Just before she could reach the door to begin the process of locking up, however, it opened, but it wasn’t one last customer who stepped through. “Sunset Shimmer my dear, whatever brings you here?”

Her newest employee beamed and pulled a package from her backpack. “Helping Santa out with his errands tonight, Miss Zecora.” She passed it along and offered, “Season’s greetings to you and yours.”

The older woman accepted the gift with a laugh. “I’m happy to say the same to you, child.” She produced an envelope and passed it along. “And I hope that your holidays are beguiled.”

“They’re looking up so far, thank you.” Sunset waved and departed, but not before taking a second to flip the store’s ‘Open’ sign around to ‘Closed’, thus saving her employer just a little bit more work.

The door softly shut, and Zecora laughed as she walked up and locked it. She then turned around and unwrapped her gift, a surprised expression briefly crossing her face before turning to one of merriment. Her drawing was a flattering sketch of her seated opposite a zebra with a familiar look in her eye, a book of herbs open between them and cups of tea at hand.

She’d have to tell Celestia and Luna about this later, but perhaps keep it from Lyra and Bon Bon for now. Those two needed to find their own way to embracing the unicorn in their midst.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo looked up from her seat at her honorary big sister and smiled gratefully. “I don’t know how you did it, but thanks for bringing us along.”

“Yeah, especially after everything we did.” Sweetie Belle turned downcast as she quietly added, “School’s gonna be less fun than it already is after all of this.And home’s gonna be a lot less fun with Dad hanging over me while I’m on the computer.”

“Yeah, and no smartphones either.”

The pair, along with their siblings and Fluttershy, were making their way through the snowfall to Sweet Apple Acres in the latter’s van, glad to be almost there. Rarity gently smiled and took her sister’s hand to reassure her. “Darlings, you’ll get through this. The rest of the school will as well, given time.”

“Yeah, and as for us bringing you along, well, you’ll find out when we get there. You did the crime, but you still gotta do the time.” Dash gave Scootaloo a small hug and added, “Don’t let that get you down too much though.”

“I guess not.” The van pulled into the driveway at Sweet Apple Acres and the five girls poured out and retrieved luggage and gifts. Maud’s car was already parked near the garage as they made their way to the front door. “Whatever it is, I just hope it isn’t too bad.”

Fluttershy gently smiled as they reached the farmhouse’s front porch. “Well, not all of it will be, hopefully.”

The door opened and Applejack greeted them with a smile. “Howdy y’all! Come inside an’ warm up! Assumin’ Pinkie ain’t chowed it all down, we got fresh cookies and hot cider for ya!”

Rainbow Dash cackled gleefully as she slipped off her coat and hung it up near the door, ever eager to indulge in cider of any sort. The inside was festively decorated, assorted apple-themed touches added to the traditional holiday décor which warmed them even more than the promise of food and drink.

The two younger girls barely had time to shed their coats and kick off their boots before they shared quick hugs with a laughing Apple Bloom. “Glad ya’ll’re here.” The farmgirl turned serious before noting, “Seriously, ah’m really glad ya’ll’re here. Maud’s been awful quiet since she got here with Pinkie ‘n Sunset.”

“You think she’s still mad at us?” Sweetie Belle suddenly felt a lot more anxious. While Maud had graduated from CHS long before any of them had started attending, she had something of a reputation at the school that had lasted long after she’d left, enough that many still questioned how she and Pinkie could be related through any means other than adoption.

“No.” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked to find Maud seated at the couch to the living room with Sunset beside her. She waved them over as she continued, “I’m satisfied that you three have learned your lesson. I just didn’t see the sense in repeating myself.”

The three girls approached, all still looking nervous and penitent, as Sweetie Belle acknowledged, “Yeah. I wish we could take it all back, though.”

Sunset reached over and gently ran a hand through her hair with a reassuring smile. “You’ve done all you could. That’s what’s important.”

“But promise me that you’ll never do something like this again.” Despite her deadpan tone, Maud’s words discouraged any argument as she produced Boulder from her pocket. “And promise Boulder too.”

The three girls exchanged a brief glance before chanting in unison, “We promise.” They then scrambled onto the couch, Scootaloo seating herself between the two older girls and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flanking Maud and Sunset respectively. Maud gave a small smile as the rest laughed.

“Who wants more cookies? Who wants more cider?” Pinkie sing-songed and passed out extra plates, giving them to the three young girls as she portioned out cookies to them. “Oopsy! Forgot the cups for the cider! Big Mac!”

“Eeyup.” Big McIntosh approached from the kitchen and offered the two young new arrivals cups as he refilled those of the others. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks, Big Mac!” Scootaloo took a quick sip of her cider and smiled at its pleasant warmth.

“Alright everyone, settle, settle.” Granny Smith gave a hearty chuckle as everyone gathered in the living room, the electric fireplace going and the tree waiting and ready to be lit. “We got us a couple things t’ go over ‘fore we get the festivities started proper. Young’uns?” Apple Bloom and her friends turned nervous as she sat down in her rocking chair turned her attention to them. “Ah suppose yer all wonderin’ how we managed to get things so that all three a’ ya’ll’re here tonight. Well, there’s two reasons. First one’s simple; it’s because we’re all family here, if’n you realize it or not, and it ain’t right to leave family out ‘a stuff like this.”

“And there’s always room for more family, darlings.” Rarity gave her little sister a small hug, then turned stern as she added, “That said, this also relates to your punishment.” She held up a hand before any of them could protest. “Yes, we’ve all forgiven you, but you’ve still done something horrible. Having your computer privileges stripped and your phones taken away for the duration of your punishment at school will only be part of it, and what we have in mind won’t be too strenuous.”

Apple Bloom raised a hand. “Let me guess, we’re clearin’ out the snow tomorrow mornin’?”

“No, the three’a ya’ll’re clearin’ out the snow the followin’ mornin’. That’s the front porch, the steps, the walk and the drive.” Applejack gave the three a firm look as she amended, “And you’ll be doin’ it at all yer houses, not just here at Sweet Apple Acres, one residence per day.”

“Mine and Pinkie’s house as well.”

The three young girls looked among themselves and nodded as Scootaloo reasoned, “I guess we can handle that.”

“Um, actually, that’s not the only thing.” Fluttershy nervously explained, “You see, I’m going to be working on a project over winter break at my house. You three will be helping me, Rainbow Dash and Sunset with that.”

“And I’ve got a project at my place that you’ll be helping with too.” Sunset smiled gently. “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it in the end.” They nodded, and she stood up and moved off to where she’d put away her gifts. “Anyway, that’s the bad news. Here’s the good.” She picked up the bundle and explained, “Back home in Equestria, we don’t have Christmas, or Hanukkah, or any of the other winter holidays you have here. What we do have is called Hearth’s Warming. Every family has its own traditions related to the holiday, and mine, well…” She smiled sadly and explained, “My mom and dad would give one another a gift on Hearth’s Warming Eve, and they later gave me a gift too. They were nothing special or elaborate, just simple homemade things, but I never got the chance to give them gifts like that.” She opened the bundle to reveal a stack of wrapped packages. “But all of you are family to me, and this is a tradition that I’d like to share, now that I have the chance.”

Sunset passed out her gifts one at a time, and Rarity looked in surprise as her gift found its way to her. “Oh, Sunset! You didn’t need to do this!”

“Yes, I did.” Sunset beamed as she affirmed, “Like I said, you guys are my family. I can’t let that go without acknowledging it.” She grinned and added, “Besides, I’ve been working on these for months.”

“It would be rude to turn them down.” Fluttershy opened hers and gasped. “Oh my goodness!” She held up her gift with a smile. “This is so adorable!”

Everyone present looked upon the gift, a drawing much like the ones Sunset had given out earlier depicting Fluttershy kneeling down and idly brushing the mane of a familiar-looking pegasus. Scootaloo looked to Sunset and asked, “Is that…?”

“Fluttershy’s counterpart back in Equestria.” Sunset handed out the three last gifts to the three young girls and added, “And she isn’t the only one to get a gift like that.”

“Oooh! Look at mine! Look at mine!” Pinkie Pie gleefully held up hers, which depicted her being launched out of a party cannon by her counterpart. “Sketch Me and Sketch Pony Me look like they’re having so much fun!”

Sunset laughed as everyone else showed similar appreciation for their gifts. Some were more mundane than others; each of the Apples were shown either hard at work in the fields alongside their counterparts or, in the cases of Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, napping beside theirs in rocking chairs or gleefully playing, while the two versions of Maud were simply seated with their respective versions of Boulder. The two Rarities were shown comparing fashion designs, the two Rainbow Dashes in flight (the human adorned in a wingsuit) and the two Scootaloos speeding along on their scooters. Sweetie Belle looked up from hers, depicting her singing into an old-time radio microphone alongside her counterpart, and asked, “You really made these for us? Even after everything?”

“I was hoping that by now, things might be better between us.” Sunset knelt beside her and smiled. “Didn’t think things would go quite the way they did, though.”

“Guess not.” Sweetie Belle smiled back. “Thank you.”

“Oh, I am never going to get a better Christmas gift than this!” Rarity squealed gleefully as she hugged her drawing close, then sighed and turned to Sunset. “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for this, dear. Especially after the last few days.”

The flame-haired girl softly laughed. “All of you enjoying them is thanks enough for me.”

Dinner and holiday festivities had since passed, and everyone at Sweet Apple Acres had retired for the night. Sunset and her immediate group of friends had gathered in Applejack’s room, dressed in their nightclothes and parked wherever they could. Sunset herself was on the floor, flanked by Rarity and Fluttershy, while Applejack and Pinkie were seated upon the bed and Rainbow Dash on a desk chair.

“Still, I feel horrible about all of this.”

“We all do, Rares.” Applejack turned to Sunset and sadly admitted, “Sad truth is, darlin’, ah don’t think we’ve quite forgotten ‘bout everythin’ over the last few years. These last few months gettin’ to know ya’ve been good, no mistake, but there’s still some scars.”

“For all of us.” Fluttershy gently reached over and wrapped a hand around Sunset’s. “We’ve forgiven, but I don’t think we've forgotten. I honestly think we’re just lucky that you’ve forgiven us.”

Sunset gently smiled back. “I don’t expect you to. I haven’t forgotten either.” She shrugged and admitted, “Then again, I don’t have a say in the matter. As for forgiving all of you, well, you’re my family. I pushed one away, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

“Still, you trusted us. We should’ve trusted you too.”

The smile turned to a grin. “AJ, you said it yourself. You haven’t forgotten what I did over the last few years. That you had enough trust in me to let me into your homes within days of the Fall Formal, though? That spoke volumes.” A shrug. “Me telling you what I did? It wasn’t part of some scheme to get you on my side. It was me repaying that trust.” She sighed and admitted. “Of course, that didn’t stop me from keeping one big secret.”

“Out of fear, darling.” Rarity wrapped a hand around Sunset’s free one and added, “It shows that we all have a ways to go.”

A sad smile. “Yeah.” The smile faded as her thoughts turned elsewhere. “All that aside girls, this isn’t going to be easy, but I’ve got a couple questions I need answered.”

Dash grinned in encouragement. “After everything that’s happened, if the worst we get from you is a couple hard questions, then we’ll be lucky. Go for it.”

“Okay. Question one. If Twilight hadn’t asked you all to look after me, after the Fall Formal, would you have still done it?”

“I would have.” Fluttershy squeezed her hand and added, “Maybe not immediately, but I would have given you a chance. I hate seeing others hurt.”

“Me too!” Pinkie squealed.

“I think we all would have, eventually. Though I’d be lying if Twilight’s request didn’t give us encouragement.” Rarity turned embarrassed as she added, “That said, I suppose that it would have been a coin toss over whether I or Applejack would be the last holdout. Probably me, given our history.”

“Ah dunno, ah can be pretty stubborn.”

The girls shared a laugh at that, and Sunset continued, “Alright then, question two. And I want an honest answer.” She turned nervous as she asked, “Am I a replacement for Twilight?”

“No.” Applejack’s answer came without hesitation as she admitted, “Ah could never replace someone ah love. Not mah mom and dad, not Twilight, and definitely not you.”

“Which makes us all the more fortunate that Twilight got to you when she did.” Rarity bowed her head and admitted, “It seems you’re not the only one who has much to learn about friendship.”

Sunset laid a free hand upon Rarity’s shoulder and gave her a comforting smile, which the fashionista returned. The moment ended as the door opened a crack and Apple Bloom called in, “Applejack? Can we come in fer a minute?”

“Sure. Come on in.” The younger girls entered. “Anxious gettin’ to sleep?”

“Kinda hard to be anxious about getting lumps of coal.” Rarity scooted over to allow Sweetie Belle some space, and she sat down between her sister and Sunset. “Even if we do deserve it.”

“Shame we don’t have an old-fashioned fireplace. Between the four of us, we could keep this house warm all winter and have plenty left over for a barbecue in July.” That elicited a chuckle, and Sunset gently smiled. “Better?”

“A little.” Sweetie Belle looked to her with a remorseful look. “I really am sorry about everything, Sunset. Including trying to melt you. It was really easy to see you as a monster. I didn’t think you’d see yourself as one too. But you’re not one, though. Not really.” She smiled and added, “But now it’s really hard to see you as a pony.”

Sunset laughed. “Well, I do look a little different from the ponies in this world.” She raised a hand to her forehead with the first two fingers extended and added, “The horn, for one thing.”

That elicited a laugh from everyone, and Sweetie Belle asked, “So, does the guilt ever go away?”

A shrug as she lowered her hand. “I don’t know if it should. But it does get easier to carry.” Sunset wrapped the other arm around her and assured her, “Every time someone shows you that they care. That they forgive. That they love.”

The younger girl smiled at that. “Thanks. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what was it like? At the Fall Formal?”

Sunset sighed. “It hurt. So very much.” She raised her free hand and examined it thoughtfully as she explained, “Changing into this when I came through the mirror didn’t hurt at all, but what happened that night was different. Having all that magic from Twilight’s crown rush into me was overwhelming. It was like being torn apart from the inside out, and then being put back together wrong. I really thought I could control it, but I couldn’t. I cried, but the tears evaporated almost as soon as they streamed down my face. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. And when it was all over, after I turned into that thing, I felt like I could do anything, and no one could stop me.”

“Good thing they did.”

Sunset snorted. “They didn’t stop me, Scootaloo. They saved me. Big difference.” A buzz sounded, and attention went to Sunset’s backpack as she pulled out her journal. “And that opened up so many possibilities.”

“Is that how you got a message to Twilight?” Apple Bloom looked to her sister and asked, “How’s that work?”

“It’s kinda like magic textin’,” Applejack offered.

“Only not as fast. We can do pictures too, sort of.” Sunset opened the book and turned to the latest message, only to find an apparent illustration of Twilight awaiting her. “Huh. This is new.”

“Hi Sunset!” the Twilight drawing greeted her with a wave of one hoof.

Those to either side of her jumped back in surprise, and even Sunset showed some shock before she realized what she was seeing. “Oh my gosh! Twilight! This is one of Hayscartes’ methods, isn’t it?”

“Princess Celestia suggested I look into them during the summit a few months ago. She even suggested that I use it to talk to you from time to time, but I don’t want to risk it too often. Time requirements.” As everyone else huddled close, the illustration smiled. “Hi everyone. Sorry I startled you.”

“Wow! Magic texting just became magic video-chat!” Fluttershy smiled and laughed at the thought. “And that’s okay, Twilight, we just weren’t expecting it.”

“What did you mean by time requirements, dear?”

“This spell lets a unicorn, or alicorn, enter a book to more clearly study the text and information therein, but we can only do it for a few minutes at a time.” Sunset shrugged and noted, “I used it once or twice, but I was always more of a hooves-on learner.” She then turned sheepish and looked back to Twilight. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind you explaining when you know the answer.” Twilight smiled and asked, “I take it everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, a lot better.” Sunset smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, me and the girls would’ve been trapped in there forever.”

The illustration turned nervous. “Yeah, about that.” Twilight looked up and admitted, “Sunset, I’ve been studying how the bridge realm was created. You and the girls wouldn’t have been trapped in there if you’d managed to damage, let alone destroy, the way back to Canterlot High.”

“You mean they could have gotten out?” Rarity asked.

“No. Star Swirl’s notes on how he created the bridge realm described it as an extremely complicated process. The portal in the Wondercolt statue was a direct link, but the bridge realm was more like two incomplete links overlapping in the middle of the void between dimensions. It was an amazingly delicate operation done by parties on both sides. I’ll explain in detail later, but from what I can tell, any damage on the inside would have caused the entire thing to collapse. Best case scenario, all four of you would’ve been annihilated in microseconds.”

“Worst case, we’d have gone tumbling into the void, never to be seen again.” Sunset gulped. “All of a sudden, I’m really glad I broke into song when I did.”

“Us too.” Applejack tightly wrapped an arm around her younger sister’s shoulders and added, “And after all this, ah think we’ve got us a hum-dinger of a friendship report for ya, Twilight.”

“Indeed, we’ve all learned something.” Rarity held Sweetie Belle close as she explained, “The five of us learned that just because something appears to be so, it doesn’t mean that it actually is, and that we need to be careful about launching wild accusations. Otherwise, we may end up losing something valuable. It’s a lesson we should have learned long ago.”

“And we learned that just because someone’s done something bad in the past, that doesn’t mean you should do something bad to them, especially if they’re trying to do good.” Scootaloo earned an affectionate nudge from Rainbow Dash at that. “They might actually be pretty awesome deep down.”

The little Twilight illustration smiled approvingly. “And you, Sunset?”

Sunset smiled and answered, “I learned that it doesn’t do anyone any good to simply give up. Running away and hiding never solved a problem for anyone, even when the odds seemed insurmountable. When things seem their darkest is when you need to stand tallest and keep going. And when you need them most, your friends will always be there for you.”

“Amen to that!” Apple Bloom laughed and asked, “So, what kept ya? That ‘Hearth’s Warming’ thing a’ yours?”

Twilight shook her head. “There’s a six month difference between our worlds. I was actually busy with the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“It’s how we mark the Summer Solstice in Equestria,” Sunset explained. “And Twilight had a big role this year.” She turned back and asked, “Speaking of, can you tell us how it went?”

“Not right now, it’d take too long. But I’ll write you about it properly once I’ve ended the spell. And I promise that it’ll be worth the wait. Write to you soon.”

The illustration faded, and Sunset closed the book and sighed. “Must’ve been a big thing.”

“I wonder how it compared to the previous one,” Rarity mused aloud.

“Well, we’ll find out once Twilight finishes writing out her message. Don’t be surprised if it’s thoroughly detailed.”

“So, while we wait, maybe y’all can tell us what we’ll be doin’?” Apple Bloom looked up to her big sister and asked, “Fer our punishment, ah mean. Besides shovelin’ snow.”

The trio’s heads turned to Rainbow Dash, who grinned. “You three are pulling goalie duty for me ‘till your detentions end. Trust me, you’re gonna sweat so much, you’ll work off all that winter weight that first week.”

The three grimaced at that, though Sweetie Belle noted, “Well, at least we’ll get plenty of sleep.” She turned to Fluttershy and asked, “And?”

“Um, well…” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to Fluttershy, who nervously brought her hands together as she looked among her friends. “Well, all of you know this by now, but my bedroom really isn’t good for sleepovers. I’ve talked it over with my parents, and they suggested that I move into my house’s attic.”

“Your attic? Darling, attics are drafty and cramped.” Rarity shivered. “I can’t really see you being comfortable in such a place.”

“But we’ve barely used it, and it has a working bathroom. It just needs a little cleaning up, and for me to move some of my furniture and things up there.” She looked to the young trio and explained, “That’s what you’ll be doing for me.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.” Sweetie Belle looked to Sunset and asked, “I guess you’ve got something really nasty for us.”

Sunset shook her head. “I’ve been talking with my landlord about converting the office in my apartment into an entertainment room. All I was going to do was have you three help me move some furniture around and have dinner with me.”

“Oh dear, you’re going to use them as guinea pigs for your sauce recipes, aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle looked to her sister, who smiled and assured her, “Relax, darling. Sunset’s attempting to replicate her mother’s pasta sauce recipe. We’ve all had our turns with it, and each of the results thus far has been rather good.”

“Still not quite getting the spices right, though.”

The girls shared a collective shrug. “Well, that’s not so bad.” She looked to Sunset and asked, “So, what comes after this? I mean, no way did we do you any favors.”

“No, but maybe it’s time I stopped sitting around waiting for others to realize I’ve changed, and actually start doing something to show it around the school.” The fiery-haired girl grinned and explained, “I’ve got a good chance of being valedictorian for my graduating class. Maybe I can help out as a tutor.” She turned to Rainbow Dash as the grin grew wider. “Bare minimum, I can make sure my friends use a spell checker.”

The athlete chuckled nervously. “Yeah. My bad.”

“And you could start doing cartoons for the school newspaper!” Pinkie held up her gift and explained, “I mean, you do draw really good!”

Sunset shrugged. “It’s an idea.” The book buzzed again, and she opened it and briefly skimmed over the newest entry. “Wow. I think it’s safe to say this one was a game changer.” Everyone huddled around her, and she began to read the entry aloud. “Dear Sunset, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything myself, but a lot happened with the Summer Sun Celebration, and I didn’t want to risk getting interrupted part way through. As you know, I’d been asked to take part in Canterlot this year, and I found myself in a guest suite in the castle when everything started the day before the celebration proper, and Spike and I awoke to see the sun and moon together in the sky…”

Author's Note

Whew. And here we get an expansion of the aftermath to the Human Crusaders' actions, as well as some hints at integration of details from "Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine". The actual events of that book might not be part of Quiververse canon, but I will incorporate a little from it here and there.

Again, I'm going to admit to some influence from Reality Check on this one. Yes, the Crusaders were at fault for starting Anon-A-Miss in the first place, but other students actively contributed to their campaign and they should be punished too. That's not really something that came up in the original comic, but I figured out a way to explain how they could be punished and identified.

Also, yes, there's a rather obvious bit of theme naming to these chapters. Accept it and move on.

EDIT on 1/1/16: A few more edits here after considering comments made by FinalLegendZero. Trixie's outbursts are gone, though I've left in some suggestions of lingering resentment.

EDIT on 1/7/16: A few more tweaks.

Chapter Four - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

The school hallway was quiet, almost eerily so, and empty. Sunset was used to such things after long summers and mercifully short breaks in classes, but now, it seemed far less pleasant than before. Now, this feeling of being alone was worrisome, almost as if…

“Well, aren’t we all merry and bright?”

The ground beneath her shook and a gash formed in the floor as she scrambled to get to one side. It was all for naught as the ground gave way beneath her feet and she fell. Thankfully, she managed to gain a grip on the floor, and most of her upper body was out of the hole, so she could pull herself out…

“And where do you think you’re going?”

She felt a pull on her legs, and she inched backwards into the hole, scrambling to maintain her hold. She turned back to see her all-too-familiar foe, the monster that she’d allowed herself to become, had grabbed hold of her legs and was pulling her into the raging inferno below. “Let go! I’m no monster!”

The she-demon cackled. “Really? Then where are your so-called friends?”

Sunset’s grip slipped, and she started to be pulled in…

“We’re right here!” Rarity’s hand wrapped tight around Sunset’s own as the fashionista cried out, “Hold tight, darling! We’re with you!”

Applejack’s call was loud and clear as she took hold of Sunset’s free hand. “Each an’ every one ‘a us!”

Indeed it was so, and Sunset beamed as she saw all of her friends, from the girls and their siblings, biological or otherwise, to Pinkie and Applejack’s relatives to Celestia and Luna and Zecora, even Lyra and Sweetie Drops, arrayed before her and forming human chains as they held tight to her hands and refused to let go. Spike was even among them, lumps of coal in his draconic claws being crushed and turned into diamonds that he threw at the demon grabbing hold of her legs. Only one friend was conspicuous by her absence…

The demon seemed to notice this, and cackled. “Oh dear, seems you’re all out of friends. Where oh where has our dear princess gone?”

The ceiling seemed to open up and peel back, light streaming in from above and the gentle beating of wings reaching Sunset’s ears. Twin bolts of magic blew past her, and the demon’s angered and surprised screams clearly answered her own question. Sunset looked back to see her darker self’s wings frozen solid in ice, the demon’s face contorted in rage, which prompted a smirk. “You were saying?”

“This doesn’t matter! You’re still a monster, whether you believe it or not, and…!”

The demon was interrupted as an amber hoof smashed directly into her face, breaking some of her fanged teeth and causing her to loosen her grip. Sunset wriggled a booted foot free and kicked her off the other one, sending the monster falling into the fiery pit below and finally allowing her to climb free.

The crevasse sealed beneath her, and triumphant cheers sounded all around. Hugs were shared, and Sunset turned and smiled in joy upon the two ponies among them. One was Twilight, of course, but the other was a pegasus mare, slightly older than the princess but very familiar, especially with her crimson and yellow mane and cyan eyes. The pegasus smiled as she remarked, “Shows what she knows. My big sister isn’t a monster.”

Sunset grinned and took the mare into a warm hug. “Thank you, Runnie.”

Sunset awoke from her dream with a smile on her face, and the soft sounds of her friends still snoozing around her. She sat up and looked about her to see her gathered friends, Applejack and Rarity nestled underneath blankets while Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were inside of sleeping bags, and the smile never once left her face. It faded slightly as she saw the snowfall that had accumulated outside, as well as the fact that it had continued throughout the night. The way things looked, it would probably continue for the rest of the day as well. Clearly, the trio behind Anon-A-Miss was going to have a lot of work ahead of them.

She was surprised that she was the first up, doubly so that she’d slept so soundly after the story she’d relayed from Twilight through her journal. The Elements of Harmony returned from whence they came, a mysterious chest produced in their place, and Discord right at the heart of everything. Just as she’d weathered a small, personal storm, Equestria looked as though it might not be ready for the next one to come.

Sunset shook her head. Twilight, Spike and everypony back in Equestria would be fine, and the young princess had already asked for her help with the chest. Granted, she probably knew just as much as Twilight did herself, but it didn’t hurt to have a second set of eyes going over research. She just hoped that she was up to the task.

Right now, however, she didn’t feel quite ready to go back to sleep. It was her first real Christmas morning, after all, and she didn’t want to sleep through it any more than she already had.

She carefully got to her feet and put on her slippers, then grabbed a few things from her backpack and carefully made her way out of Applejack’s room. She slowly closed the door behind her and made her way downstairs with light footsteps, then found her way to the living room. The tree rested before her with decorations in place and lights turned off. They’d be back on once everyone was up and opening presents, of course, but she wasn’t in a rush. As much as she enjoyed not being alone, she did enjoy a little solitude.

Without another second’s thought, she looked to her gathered things; her sketchbook, the bundle of letters that Twilight had given her a few days previous, and the newest of her various possessions, an unexpected gift in the form of an MP3 player, loaded with a number of songs that she’d only begun to listen to.

“You had to insist on listening to it on the drive out here, didn’t you Pinkie?”

Sunset was glad it had come with a set of earbuds, and she carefully placed one in her right ear before plugging it into the player and turning the device on. After a few seconds of thumbing through the playlist, she found the track she was looking for, and let it play.

Her music going, she turned her attention to the letters. Some had been opened and their contents read, while the rest remained undamaged. She carefully selected the next to have come to her and opened the envelope, unfurling the letter inside and reading it over, then reading it again. It was less because of the penponyship of the letter’s author, and more because she felt like she needed to read it twice, if only to make up for missing it the first time.

She sighed as she finished her second read through and the song finished. She stopped the player before it could continue to the next track, closed her eyes, and smiled.

“Sunset?” She emerged from her reverie and turned to find Apple Bloom and her friends nearby. “What’re you doin’ up?”

“Didn’t want to go back to sleep, and wanted a little quiet to catch up on some reading.” Sunset slipped the earbud from her ear and asked, “Trying to sneak a peek at your presents?”

The three shrugged as Sweetie Belle admitted, “Maybe. Can we join you?”

“Sure.” The girls sat down with her on the couch. “I remember, every Hearth’s Warming morning, I’d wake up early. Kept on hoping my parents would get up, and I’d be able to open up all the presents Santa brought me.”

“Equestria has a Santa Claus?” Scootaloo looked at her with disbelief. “Okay, that’s too weird. Why would a pony ride a sleigh pulled by reindeer?”

“My world’s Santa doesn’t ride a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He is a reindeer. He leads an entire team of reindeer who deliver presents to all the good little children all across the world.” A shrug, and Sunset amended, “So the stories go.”

The four laughed among themselves until Apple Bloom looked up at her curiously. “So, do ya ever miss it? Equestria an’ all that magic, ah mean.”

Sunset smiled sadly and admitted, “Every day. It’s better now that I have regular contact and all, but if I could go back, if only for a little while, I would. As much damage as I caused here, I still left plenty behind back home that I want to fix if I can.” She held up her bundle of letters and amended, “Not as much as I thought, thankfully.” At the girls’ curious looks, she explained, “You heard me mention my cousin, right? My mom had a fraternal twin sister, one I didn’t know about until after my parents died and she took me in. But she had a family of her own, including a daughter named Sunrunner. She and I were practically identical, except for her being a pegasus.” She sighed and explained, “Runnie embraced me immediately, thought of me as a big sister, but I pushed her away. The last time I saw her before I started attending the School for Gifted Unicorns, I yelled at her and left her in tears.” She regarded the bundle and explained, “But once a month, every month afterwards, I’d get a letter from her in the mail. I threw them away, but Princess Celestia saved them, and Twilight got them to me a couple days ago. ”

“So, she didn’t hate you?”

The smile grew warmer. “No. Her first letter said otherwise, that she knew I was just mad about things. But she could forgive me yelling at her, because that’s what family did. Forgive.” She thumbed the bundle and added, “And she kept on sending me letters, telling me about everything she did and all that happened to her, and asking me how things were in Canterlot.” A grin formed on Sunset’s face as she added, “I haven’t read all of them yet, but I think my surrogate little sister went and found herself a coltfriend.”

“Aww.” Sweetie Belle grew a bubbly smile. “I bet they were cute together.”

“Almost like you and Button Mash?” Scootaloo teased.

The smile faded as a blush took form on the other girl’s face. “That’s totally different, and besides, that’s probably been shot down in flames after all this.”

“No kiddin’. So much fer us bein’ popular.”

Sunset laughed. “Take it from personal experience, popularity is overrated.”

The three looked up at her in surprise, and Apple Bloom queried, “But you did everythin’ you could to get popular.”

“That’s because I wanted power, and the two are synonymous in a high school. But I knew it wouldn’t last forever. I didn’t know it would end the way it did, though.” Sunset sighed and then offered, “But if it makes you three feel any better, somewhere in there with all the jealousy and hate, you were worried about your big sisters. It got out of hand, but you were still trying to help them. Those who know you and like you, real friends and loved ones? They’ll see that, understand it and forgive you. Probably a lot sooner than the rest of the school will forgive me for all I did.”

Apple Bloom gently wrapped her hand around Sunset’s and held tight. “They will. We’ve forgiven ya, after all.”

Sunset smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you have.” She gently wrapped her arms around the three and held them close, glad for the warmth they offered. “Thanks girls.”

“So, now that we’re friends, can you tell us more ‘bout this Hearth’s Warmin’ thing?” The young farmgirl looked at Sunset curiously as she added, “Somethin’ tells me it don’t have a little baby Jesus pony bein’ born in a manger somewhere.”

Sunset shook her head. “No. Hearth’s Warming has the trappings of Christmas, and it’s all about families and coming together to celebrate, but it’s origins are with the birth of our nation more than the birth of a savior.”

“So it’s like Christmas and the Fourth of July put together.”

Sunset laughed at Scootaloo’s summation. “Yeah, only no fireworks or barbecues.” She sighed and continued, “Anyway, it dates back to the pre-classical era of pony history, right around the same time the human race was working its way towards the end of the Early Middle Ages. Back then, things were very different. Relations between the three great pony tribes were stable, but tense. No one side was totally to blame, but most agree that the unicorns and pegasi were the biggest part of the problem, save for a few ponies too proud to be sensible and historical revisionist idiots.” At Apple Bloom’s snicker, she added, “Yeah, we’ve got ‘em in Equestria too.”

“Figures. Anyway, you wanna explain a little?”

“Well, for starters, you need to understand that things work a little differently in my world. The weather is controlled, mostly by pegasi, while the sun and moon are raised and lowered by magic. Back then, the unicorns did it.” Sunset rolled her eyes as she explained, “They claimed that all of them were needed to do it, but the truth was, they only needed a dozen or so for the job. But both tribes were able to use that as a means of extorting food out of the earth ponies, whose magic leaned more towards raw physical strength and farming. They weren’t enslaved or anything, but there wasn’t much they could do about it with the other tribes, and all three sides resented one another for one thing or another.” She shrugged and added, “But peace was kept, at least until a terrible cold came upon the ancient pony lands. The pegasi couldn’t do anything about it, and neither could the unicorns, and once food ran out, tensions mounted until all three tribes each struck out to find new lands for themselves.”

Sweetie Belle tilted her head curiously. “Did they?”

“Yeah, but they all found the exact same land, and once they started fighting over who claimed it first, the terrible cold came upon them again, and they were forced to seek shelter. But the fighting continued, and many of the ponies, including the leaders of the three tribes, soon found themselves frozen over and encased in ice, and it was then that the survivors discovered the cause of the terrible cold.” Sunset paused for dramatic effect and whispered, “The windigoes.”

“The things you and Twilight talked about?” At the flame-haired girl’s nod, Scootaloo asked, “What are they exactly?”

“Beings of frost and ice that create cold wherever they go and feed upon hatred and conflict. The long-simmering tensions among my ancestors attracted them to the ancient ponies, and the more the conflict grew, the greater the cold became, until all of the three tribes risked being frozen forever.”

“Wait, if these things feed offa hate an’ fightin’, why freeze up all the ponies?” Apple Bloom turned curious as she asked, “Don’t make much sense ta kill yer food source.”

Sunset shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. The windigoes were never definitively seen again after all this happened, and nopony knows if they were actual creatures or spirits or something conjured up by an outside force. We’ll probably never know for certain. Anyway, with their rulers and most of their number frozen in ice, the survivors banded together and realized that despite their differences, they had plenty in common, including not liking the folks in charge. And the same thing that your sisters and Twilight used to save me ended up saving them; the magic of friendship. Whether they were destroyed or simply driven away, nopony’s certain, but like I said, the windigoes were never seen again.”

“Just as long as they didn’t end up here. What happened next?”

“Well, the remaining ponies kept themselves going until the cold faded by talking, singing, and generally being friendly with one another. Stories were spread, laughs were shared, and the same songs they sung then are sung today in Equestria as winter carols.” Sunset smiled as her thoughts drifted back to happier times, the Heart Carol racing through her mind as if she was hearing it performed live by the Royal Choir in Canterlot. “Over time, those who had been trapped in ice were freed, safe and sound, and they emerged from the cave and vowed to avoid anything like that happening again. That vow led very shortly thereafter to the founding of Equestria.” A sigh, and she added, “They learned their lesson. Hopefully, the same one that we all should have learned by now.”

“That hatred and distrust ain’t worth it, ‘cuz they’ll just end up destroyin’ us.” The young farmgirl sighed. “So, is that why you forgave us and our sisters so quick? Why ya don’t hate us fer hurtin’ ya?”

Sunset shrugged. “I won’t deny it, it did hurt. And I can’t forget that it happened. But hate you for all of it? No.” She turned somber as she added, “But this is still going to hurt for a while.” She managed a small smile as she amended, “But we’ll all be okay. Including me.”

“Just gotta learn from this.” A pair of arms found themselves wrapped around her waist, and Sunset looked to find Sweetie Belle hugging her tight. She gently hugged the young girl in return as she was asked, “So, is there more to the story? What happened next?”

“Well, a lot happened next. That was only the beginning. America didn’t become what it is today just because the Declaration of Independence was signed.”

Scootaloo snorted. “Yeah, we had to fight a war first.”

“Well yes, but we avoided that part and skipped right to something like the Constitutional Conference.” Sunset grinned and explained, “Not long after all of that happened, the three greater tribes tried to come to an agreement about who would rule them. The old system didn’t work, and every idea that came along either caused more trouble than it solved or risked bigger problems. Then, they consulted one of the greatest unicorn wizards known to pony history, Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“That’s the fella who made those magic mirrors!”

“Bingo. He suggested that they reach out to the fourth pony tribe, the alicorns. Given that they have traits of all three of the other tribes, it was met with near-unanimous approval, and Star Swirl personally led a party to the alicorns’ city, my world’s Canterlot, where they met two young mares who they felt best showed the qualities they sought for Equestria’s future rulers. They were a pair of sisters, one light gray with a pink mane that was just starting to take on streaks of blue and turquoise, and the other dark blue with a light blue mane.” She grinned and added, “I only found out this part a little bit ago, but I’ve met them. Their names were Celestia and Luna.”

The girls looked at her like she’d just grown a second head, and Sweetie Belle asked, “Wait, you’re not saying…?” She turned horror-struck as Sunset nodded, and wondered aloud, “How old does that make our Celestia and Luna?”

“This world’s Celestia is in her mid-forties at the oldest. Not everything is an exact parallel; your counterparts are a lot younger than you three, for example.”

“Still, you said Princess Celestia’s still around today, so does that mean she’s immortal?”

“Her and Princess Luna. They formed a bond with my world’s sun and moon and took over the task of raising and lowering them during the first year of their rule. Doing so rejuvenates them and maintains their youth.” Sunset grinned and noted, “They even earned their cutie marks at the same time.”

“And that’s another question. What’s a cutie mark?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. Apple Bloom asking that question was only a matter of time. “You got a good look at Twilight’s flank, right? Did you see the symbol on it?”

“Yeah. It looked like the one she had on her skirt when she was human.”

She nodded at Sweetie Belle’s remark. “That was her cutie mark. With rare exceptions, no two ponies share the same one. A pony earns them once they realize for themselves the things that make them unique, as well as the talents and skills that help make them who they are.” Sunset gestured to her pajama top and the symbol upon it and explained, “Mine is this, and represents my passion and ambition to succeed, develop my magical talents and achieve my goals. It helps that fire and heat-based spells were something of a forte for me back in Equestria.” She looked between them and added, “They might’ve come together through different circumstances to the three of you, but your counterparts are still figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives. Just like you are. That’s why they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Wow.” Scootaloo grinned. “I like it. Sounds like a cool name for a rock band.”

“So, will they earn their marks?” Apple Bloom turned worried as she asked, “Ah mean, everypony gets ‘em eventually, right?”

“The only ponies I’ve heard of who are full grown and haven’t earned their marks all had some sort of severe mental handicap, or aren’t genuine ponies in the first place. The three of them are real ponies, and are all of sound mind, so they’ll earn them sooner or later.” A thought occurred to her, and she wondered aloud, “Ooh, there’s a thought. How soon between them getting their marks and the three of you having something like them on your clothes?”

“Hey, just as long as it’s something awesome, I hope I get it immediately. Like a lightning bolt or something.”

“Just so long as they aren’t all exactly identical or somethin’.”

Sunset shrugged. “Like I said, that’s rare. I’ve only heard about it with stories related to the Order of Gallopfrey, and I’ve got no way of confirming those.”

“Well, you can tell us those later. Right now, I’ve got one more question.” Sweetie Belle looked to her eagerly and asked, “Twilight’s an alicorn, right?”

“Yeah, but she was born a unicorn like me. She ascended later in life, not too long before everything happened at the Fall Formal.”

“Can any pony become an alicorn then?”

“No. We think that they need to have alicorn ancestry, along with other factors. I was hoping that Twilight’s Element of Harmony would let me ascend, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

“So, does that mean you can’t…?”

Sunset smiled. “Actually, I still have a chance at it. Better now than I did before the Fall Formal, anyway.”

“Far better, darling.” Sunset felt a comforting hand upon her shoulder, and she turned to find that the rest of her friends were up and awake as Rarity amended, “And when it happens, it will be a beautiful moment indeed. And well worth the wait.”

“Thanks. How long have you been up?”

“Long enough to see somethin’ that took way too long to happen.” Applejack looked to her little sister and asked, “Not scared no more?”

“Nah. No sense in bein’ scared of a friend.”

Applejack laughed. “Good.” She leaned down and gently kissed her little sister’s forehead. “That means you’ve learned your lesson.”

Apple Bloom leaned back with a hopeful expression and asked, “So, ya’ll’ve forgiven us?”

A nod. “Yep.”

She smiled happily, and then asked, “So, presents now?”

The elder sister smirked. “Eeenope.”

Everyone else awoke soon afterwards, and once Rarity had finished getting herself presentable, all were gathered in the living room to properly begin the day’s festivities. Sunset still found herself surrounded by her young new friends, and she wasn’t complaining in the slightest.

“Alright everyone, let’s simmer down some.” Granny Smith chuckled softly as she looked over the gathering of young’uns and was suddenly reminded of the last Apple Family Reunion. This was smaller, but no less happy or boisterous. “Now then, we got us a tradition in our family. Newest member gets to open their presents first.”

Sunset grinned and looked to the youngest member of the Apple family proper. “That’s you, Apple Bloom.”

The young farmgirl laughed. “Granny said the newest member a’ the family, Sunset, not the youngest.”

“Indeed she did.” Rarity passed over a small gift bag and explained, “Aside from the girls, we each collaborated on these to varying degrees. I do hope you like them. This one is mostly from me, though Fluttershy provided some assistance.”

Sunset took the bag and reached inside, then slowly pulled out its contents. Her eyes lit up as she laughed. “Oh, you didn’t!” In her hands was a homemade stuffed animal, a plush unicorn made in her natural form’s likeness down to its cutie mark. “Thank you both!” She brought its snout up to her nose and grinned. “I shall call you, ‘Mini-Me’.”

Pinkie giggled. “It’s funny again! Me next!” She handed over a box and explained, “It’s not so much one big thing as a bunch of little things.”

The box was opened, and Sunset looked inside to find a number of sealed DVDs within as Rainbow Dash explained, “We figured even a bookworm like you would want to unwind with a movie every once in a while, so we all picked out something for you. Two movies or movie collections each.”

Sunset picked up the first pair of films and read out the titles. “Okay, I’m guessing ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ is from Applejack, and ‘Godzilla’…”

“That’s me too, darlin’. And that’s got both the original Japanese version an’ the American one with Raymond Burr.” The farmgirl gave a nervous chuckle. “Blame mah Cousin Fuji.”

Sunset smirked and set the pair aside as she produced the next set. “‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘The Big Sleep’.” She looked to Rarity and wondered, “No ‘Casablanca’?”

“And deny you Bogey and Bacall, dear?”

A laugh, and the next pair was produced. “‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘The Lion King’.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Both are modern classics.”

“‘Iron Man’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’.”

“Yeah, word of advice? Don’t bother with the fourth Indy flick. Spielberg and Lucas definitely shouldn’t have.”

“Okay, these are from Pinkie then. ‘A Night at the Opera’ and… ‘Tremors’.” Sunset looked at Pinkie and asked, “A horror movie?”

“Horror-comedy!”

“One that showed very good research regarding geology,” Maud deadpanned. “That set has the first four films in it. All are worth watching.”

Big McIntosh nodded solemnly. “Eeyup.” He then looked to the younger girls and firmly said, “No watchin’ ‘till you’re all fifteen.”

A chorus of protest went up, which prompted some chuckles as Sunset put the DVDs back into the larger box. “Thanks. I guess now I need to get something to play these with.”

“Like we’d leave you hanging.” Rainbow Dash handed over a larger wrapped box. Sunset freed it from its wrapping to reveal her next gift. “It’s a portable Blu-Ray player. Maud chipped in for the cost. Best part is you can hook it up to the TV you have in your apartment. All you need is an HDMI cable.” She gave an apologetic smile and added, “That isn’t included, though.”

“They’re easily found at low prices in most electronics stores, however,” Maud explained.

Sunset smiled. “Won’t be hard to get one then.”

As Sunset set aside that gift, another gift bag found its way to her. “This one is from me, but Rarity helped out with it.” Fluttershy smiled hopefully as she added, “I hope that you like it, but if you don’t, I understand.”

The bag was opened, and Sunset pulled out its contents to reveal a hand-knitted sweater, mostly magenta in color but with the familiar design of her cutie mark included in red and gold, slightly brighter than how it normally appeared but otherwise identical. “I love it!” She then shook the sweater out, slipped it on and happily remarked, “And it fits perfectly. Thank you both.”

“And here’s the last one. Had some help from Maud and Pinkie on it.” Applejack handed over a hatbox and explained, “Ah know, it’s a little lackin’ in creativity, but there’s worse things, right?”

Sunset opened the hatbox to reveal a Stetson, white in color and with an upward curve at the sides of the brim. What really struck her was the decoration on the band about the crown. As she examined it, Maud explained, “Pinkie told us that your birthday was in August. The birthstones for that month are peridot and onyx.” Indeed, the band was decorated with a number of the glittering olive green gemstones, with the front occupied by a carefully carved recreation of her cutie mark. “We cheated slightly and used red and yellow sardonyx for the representation of your mark.”

“I don’t mind.” Sunset laughed and placed the hat upon her head with a smile. She turned to Applejack and asked, in her best approximation of the farmgirl’s twang, “Well partnah, how do ah look?”

Applejack smirked. “First off, that there’s the worst accent ah’ve ever heard.” She then grinned and amended, “But you look good as a white hat.”

“I feel good as one too.” She looked about at her friends and smiled. “Thank you, all of you. These are better than the ones I gave out, anyway.”

“Hardly, darling. Your gifts were stupendous.”

“And there’s still another one that we’ve got to thank you for.” Applejack got to her feet and said, “All ya’ll keep on with the gift givin’. Ah gotta get a couple things from mah room.”

They did as requested of them, and gifts were handed out to everyone else. Apple Bloom eyed her unwrapped gift uneasily before she quietly looked to Sunset and asked, “Sunset, don’t take this the wrong way, but was it easy? Bein’ a bully?”

“For me?” A shrug. “Not really easy, but not hard either. I thought a bit too highly of myself back in Equestria even before I came here, and stepping through that portal and finding myself in another world, filled with beings that clearly weren’t ponies, well, it was easy to de-equinize everyone.” Sunset sighed and admitted, “Believe me, as much as it hurt, I needed something like the Fall Formal to wake me up to what I’d become.”

“Kinda scary how easy it is to be one, though.” Scootaloo looked up from her new helmet, one side emblazoned with Rainbow Dash’s personal touch and the other left blank for the one she’d decide upon. “Especially when it was so easy getting away with it.”

“Yeah, especially if fighting back makes you a bully too.”

“Whoa, you stop that right now!” Rainbow Dash sat up at Sweetie Belle’s comment and declared, “Fighting back against a bully doesn’t make you a bully! Us and Twilight weren’t bullies just because we stood up to Sunset at the Fall Formal, were we?”

“Well, no, but…”

“But nothing! You’ve got every right to stand up and protect yourself, or someone you care about, if someone else is giving you trouble!” The athlete crossed her arms and added, “Trouble is a lot of folks nowadays think that someone fighting back is in the wrong. I’m all for getting along and playing nice, but sometimes, you gotta drop the hammer down, or the jerks will think they can get away with murder.”

“The trouble is that a lot of people have trouble figuring out who to punish. The smart bullies know how to protect themselves.” Fluttershy looked to Sunset and shamefully noted, “Like doing what they do where it can’t be seen.”

“Or in the presence of someone who doesn’t care.” Sunset lifted up her bundle of letters and added, “Bullies are in Equestria too; Runnie had to deal with one of her own who never got punished. She and that coltfriend of hers tried to do something about her, but things only got worse.”

“Guess things ain’t too diff’rent between here an’ Equestria then.” Granny Smith looked to her grandson and noted, “Ah remember this mess Big Mac got inta few years back. Fella had it comin’, even admitted to it after everythin’ was said an’ done, but he still got in trouble fer it.”

Sunset looked to Big McIntosh in surprise. “Wait, someone tried to bully you? Really?”

“He wasn’t so much bullied as the other guy let his mouth run away with him.” Heads turned to Maud as she explained, “I was a witness. He had it coming.”

A triumphant cry sounded from elsewhere in the house, and Big Mac chuckled. “Ah’ll tell ya the details later.”

Footsteps sounded as Applejack returned from her bedroom with what looked like a guitar case in one hand and Sunset’s new cell phone in the other. Pinkie noticed and cried, “Oooh! What’s this for?”

“Call it an experiment.” The farmgirl tossed the phone to its owner and asked, “Sunset, you said you felt yer magic comin’ on when you were singin’, right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t feel it again when I was singing a couple days ago.”

“And I sing all the time, and I don’t feel any magic coming on!”

“Well, ah got me a theory. Feel free to punch holes in it if’n ya think ah might be wrong ‘bout somethin’.” Applejack set the case down on a nearby table and explained, “That first time, you were feelin’ pretty good, right? Still happy an’ hopeful after that week with all a’ us?”

“Yeah.” Understanding lit up Sunset’s face as she realized aloud, “You’re thinking there was an emotional connection. I was feeling positive, and that helped to activate the magic.”

“Exactly.”

Sunset rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “That might explain it.” She looked to Pinkie and continued, “As for your magic not coming on, that’s probably because you’ve got so little of it compared to me. I was born with it; the five of you were imbued with it just a few months ago. The magic in you may or may not have grown since then, but any reserves you have are small compared to mine.”

“Figured as much, so ah was thinkin’ that maybe we need us somethin’ to boost it. Maybe even an extra medium ta work it through.”

Scootaloo looked at Sunset with disbelief. “Why would you want to talk to the dead to use your magic?”

Sunset laughed. “You’re misinterpreting. A medium, in this case, is the means by which something is sent out. Television, radio and newspapers are each considered a medium because they all send out information or entertainment.”

“An’ singin’ ain’t the only way we’ve got to make music.” Applejack opened the case to reveal a bass guitar, her initials monogrammed upon the strap, and slung it over her shoulders. “Ponies back in Equestria express their magic through their hooves, horns ‘n wings. We don’t got those, but seein’ as our magic’s tied to music…”

“You’re going to use a musical instrument instead as a means to channel it.” The cowgirl nodded, and Sunset held up her phone and asked, “So why toss me my new phone?”

“This is an experiment, ain’t it? Ain’t gonna do much good if’n we don’t document it fer posterity, and besides, Twilight’s gonna want to see it fer herself.” Applejack checked over her instrument and quickly tuned it, then added, “Best case, ah’ll pony up just like we did at the Fall Formal. Worst case, well, ah know how to play ‘Blue Christmas’ on this. Ready?”

Sunset got the camera working and started recording. “All set, AJ. Light it up.”

With a confident grin, Applejack began strumming her instrument with her fingers and improvised a short, fun solo with her instrument. As the playing continued, Sunset began to feel the hairs on the back of her neck stick up, and sense something she hadn’t felt since the Fall Formal as a soft glow began to form over her friend with every movement of the bass’ strings.

The rest of their friends stood up in amazement, hopeful smiles and grins forming upon their faces as Applejack continued, finally finishing off her playing with a quick slap of her strings as her magic was at last unleashed in a bright flash of light. Her human ears were replaced with pony ones, and her hair grew out to include a braided ponytail. Sunset could barely tell because of the flash, and it became clearer as the light subsided, but her bass had changed as well, and was now decorated with designs of apples and curls. “Woo nelly that felt good!”

Assorted cheers rang out as Sunset ended the recording, and Apple Bloom rushed up and hugged her big sister from one side. “That was amazin’! You got yer magic back!”

“Ah never lost it, sugar cube.” She strummed a few more chords, and then gave her little sister a high-five. She then gently reached up and prodded one ear with her hand and asked, “But this ain’t permanent, right?”

“No. Something tells me that you girls only stayed transformed like that for so long because Twilight’s crown was generating enough ambient magic to maintain the change. You should be back to normal in a minute or so.”

“I don’t care how long it lasts – this is awesome!” Rainbow Dash groaned and added, “I just wish I’d done it first!”

Applejack smirked. “Can’t be first at everythin’ every time, Dashie.”

Sweetie Belle grinned and looked up at Sunset happily. “And this is all because of you. What monster could do something this amazing?” She turned somber as she admitted, "I kinda wish Twilight and Spike were here to see it, though."

Sunset grinned and produced her sketchbook. "They are here." She then opened it to a sketch of the two in their natural Equestrian forms, both with happy smiles upon their faces and waving. "If only in spirit."

Sweetie Belle pulled Sunset into a tight embrace and smiled. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sunset.”

The other two Crusaders-to-be did the same, and Sunset smiled back and drew them in close. “Merry Christmas, Sweetie Belle.”

An arm wrapped around each of them from behind, and Pinkie Pie observed, “And God bless us, every one!” Those gathered groaned and laughed at the cliché, and she added, “What? Someone had to say it!”

Author's Note

And here we are, almost all done and finished. Thanks to everyone who's read and enjoyed this story. And to those who disagree with how I told it, well, that's your right.

"Where Are You Christmas?" of course comes from the live-action adaptation of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Writing credits go to Mariah Carey, Will Jennings, and the late James Horner, and is performed by Faith Hill. "The Heart Carol" is credited to both Daniel Ingram and Merriweather Lewis, while Applejack's little bass solo is purely Ingram - so glad I found it on Youtube. "The Love We Found", again, is from "The Muppet Christmas Carol", and is written by Paul Williams.

Yes, the events of this story do slightly invalidate "A Case for the Bass", but I assure you, they haven't been invalidated entirely. There's still a way for the human versions of the Flim Flam Brothers to play a role, even if it's a small one.

EDIT on 1/3/2016: Added a little bit to this in response to FinalLegendZero's comments upon the story. I'm actually kinda glad - it's given me the chance to lay some groundwork for what I have planned for much later.

EDIT on 1/7/2016: Tiny bit more tweaking.

Epilogue - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

“So, did you have fun?”

A familiar laugh sounded from the other end of the line. :“Yeah, even if I didn’t do too much skiing. Still, Basey had a blast, and no one broke a leg, so I think things went okay.”: His tone shifted as he added, :“Still not sure if it’s a good thing that we didn’t have wi-fi.”:

Sunset smiled reassuringly. “The whole storm around Anon-A-Miss blew past you without you knowing it. Trust me, you’re lucky.”

:“Yeah, but I didn’t enjoy being confused when Cherry gave me that big apology once I got back. Small comfort her being my neighbor.”: She could easily imagine Flash Sentry’s worried look as he asked over the phone, :“Are you sure you’re okay?”:

A sigh. “I will be. But don’t be too hard on the girls once school starts up again, huh?”

:“I’ll try. I mean, I’m glad they all apologized, and I think it’s good that you forgave them, but…”: A pause, and Flash continued, :“If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that you don’t hurt the ones you love.”: A small laugh, and he added, :“Still, all’s well that ends well, right? Hopefully, tomorrow will see things change for the better. Happy New Year, Sunset.”:

“Same to you, Flash. See you when I see you.” The call ended, and Sunset checked the time and date again; six thirty, New Year’s Eve. And she was spending it alone, just as she had the last two that she’d spent in this world. This year, she’d had the option, but after spending several days with her friends after Christmas, well, a little time to herself would be a good thing.

A gentle knock at her door broke her out of her reverie, and Sunset rose from her chair and swiftly answered it. She looked upon her guests in surprise. “Hello. What are you doing here?”

Principal Celestia smiled. “We didn’t see much sense in letting you bring in the new year alone. May we come in?”

Vice Principal Luna held aloft a bottle and assured her, “We do not come alone.”

The fire-haired girl smiled. “No, you don’t. Come on in.” They entered, and she closed the door behind them as she remarked, “It wouldn’t be smart for me to try and stop you anyway. You both have a key. So, you planning on staying the night?”

“Unless you’ve been renting out those two bedrooms upstairs or want us to get tickets for DUI, yes.”

Sunset laughed. “Well, I was about to start on dinner. Shouldn’t be a problem to make extra.”

With a small mass of spaghetti wrapped about her fork, Celestia raised her food to her mouth and ate. She chewed and smiled with approval, then swallowed and noted, “I probably should have taken you up on that offer a while ago, Sunset. This is very good.”

“Thanks, but I still haven’t quite gotten my mother’s recipe down.”

“Are you certain it’s the recipe and not your tastebuds?”

Sunset shook her head at Luna’s suggestion. “Everything else I’ve eaten here and in Equestria tasted the same, which means I either don’t have the recipe right, or my perception’s altered by nostalgia. Still, at least all my attempts so far have been edible.”

“That’s something, at least.” The vice principal set her utensils down and steadied herself as she asked, “Forgive me, I know you’ll be sick of hearing this soon, but are you alright?”

“I am, yes. And I’m really looking forward to putting all of this Anon-A-Miss mess behind me.” She sighed and looked to Celestia as she realized, “But something tells me it won’t be that easy, will it?”

What pleasure from the food faded from her face as the elder of the two sisters addressed her. “You almost took your own life, Sunset. Even if I wasn’t your legal guardian, or didn’t know about your origins, I’d have to do something about that.”

The teen nodded. “I thought so.” She gently pushed her plate forward and explained, “Things haven’t been the best for me since the Fall Formal, but they’re a lot better than they could have been, thanks to the two of you and my friends. You could have tossed me aside and left me to fend for my own, but you didn’t, and I’m grateful for that.”

“However?”

A sigh. “But everything that happened? That just tells me I still have a ways to go.” Some bitterness was clear in her voice as she closed her eyes and continued, “I thought they trusted me. I mean, more than they did. I understand why they acted the way they did, that’s why I forgave them, but still, it hurt the way they acted.” She opened her eyes and eyed her reflection in the silverware. “I still see it sometimes, if I’m not careful. The monster that I turned myself into. It’ll be a long time before they don’t see it, and even longer before I don’t see it either.” Sunset heard Celestia push her chair back, and shortly afterwards felt the older woman’s arms wrapped around her in a gentle hug. “Don’t you think this is a little improper?”

“There’s nothing improper about providing comfort to someone who needs it.”

Sunset looked up to find her principal looking upon her with a smile, not unlike those she’d received from Princess Celestia over the course of her studies. She smiled back and held a hand up to the principals’. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Celestia released her embrace and noted, “Sunset, I think you know as well as anyone that trust is something that takes time to build. As understandable as their mistake was, it was still a mistake on the part of your friends to think you were behind Anon-A-Miss. They won’t forget it anytime soon. That they realized their mistake and came to find you, however, says a great deal.”

“And something else that says a great deal is the fact that you forgave them. You could have just as easily yelled at them or cast them aside, just as they had done to you.” Luna gained a proud smile of her own as she added, “That speaks of much maturity for one your age.”

A shrug. “Well, what good would more anger do? Besides, I could tell they regretted what happened.” A half-smile. “I developed something of a knack for reading others after I arrived here. That hasn’t really left me.”

“Regardless, that doesn’t make us any less proud of you.” Celestia shared a smile with her charge, though it turned sad as she admitted, “However, as much as I want to put the matter behind me, I can’t do it either. Sometime during the first week of the next semester, I want you to talk with a professional about this.”

Sunset looked at her as though she’d just grown a duck’s bill on her face. “Wait, you want me to see a therapist over this? I’m sorry, I know that’s probably policy for something like this, but don’t you think that might be a bad idea?” As Celestia regained her seat, she continued, “I mean, any shrink worth their degree’s going to be able to tell that I’m not being completely truthful about what I’m saying, and if I give them the whole truth, well, they’d think I was really crazy.”

“That depends entirely upon the shrink, doesn’t it?”

Sunset couldn’t help but notice the conspiratorial grin that had been shared between the two sisters, and she laughed and shook her head in defeat. “Alright. The two of you have trusted me since the Fall Formal, and I’ve trusted you. No reason to stop.” She turned to Celestia and noted, “But the less I get of this cryptic mentor stuff, the better. You don’t have to be exactly like your counterpart.”

“And it’s probably just as well that I’m not. Running a school is enough trouble for me, thank you. I’d rather not run a nation.” She turned somber as she noted, “And that’s ignoring all the loss she’s known.” The elder woman looked to Sunset and noted, “Do you know how tempted I was to outright adopt you after the Fall Formal?”

Sunset looked upon her in surprise. “Really? What stopped you?”

“The need to keep you out of anyone’s attention as much as possible, given your counterpart’s existence.” Celestia gestured about her at the apartment and noted, “I thought of this as a good compromise; you’d still have some freedom, and I’d still be able to check on you when needed. But perhaps, if I had…”

“Celestia? It’s alright.” Sunset smiled and assured her, “I’m touched that you’d consider going so far as to take me in and call me your daughter, but I’m okay that you didn’t. It would have been kinda weird anyway, considering I’m a full-grown adult back home. I’m glad for my space, my independence, and for the trust you had in me to look after myself.” A shrug, and she noted, “Cloned phone notwithstanding.”

“Trust but verify, Sunset. But it’s just as well that she didn’t take you in with us, given she would have smothered and spoiled you with affection.” At her sister’s glare, Luna grinned and noted, “What? You would have done it, Celie.”

“Still, you didn’t have to just bring it up so casually.” Luna teasingly stuck her tongue out in reply, and Celestia sighed before turning to Sunset and explaining, “Unlike your Celestia, I never really got a chance to be a mother. No marriages arranged for the sake of political convenience for me, thankfully, but the one time that I thought it would work out, well, it didn’t.” A smile graced her face. “Still, that doesn’t stop me from being proud of the progress you’ve made, and from looking forward to what’s to come.”

Sunset smiled. “Thanks. And thank you, for trusting me with that. I’m sure you would have been a great mother.”

Celestia sighed. “Perhaps.” She shook her head and noted, “Anyway, back to what we were talking about. None of us want a second Anon-A-Miss incident. If you have ideas, I won’t object to listening to them.”

The young teen grinned as she went back to her meal. “As a matter of fact, I did talk a little about that with the girls. They think my ideas are sound. Hopefully, you’ll agree.”

Luna smiled as she went back to her own meal. “We’re all ears, Sunset.”

The three continued to talk over dinner, and Sunset found herself glad not only for the company, but for the continuing chance to move forward. She had love and support, from her friends and her family. It had been shaken, yes, but it would only grow stronger from here. A new year meant a new beginning, and maybe a chance to show that her past was not all there was to her.

And she couldn’t wait for it to start.

Author's Note

Well, here we are, finally finished. I don't know if this did what I set out for it to do, but I like to think that after the various edits done, it does at least partly address the problems found in the original story. Not as much as originally hoped, but I'm happy with what I've got, and like Sunset, I'm ready to move on to better and brighter things.

Those will be a while in coming, mind, but I like to think I've dropped enough hints regarding them both here and in my preview for my "Rainbow Rocks" adaptation. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to get to them. For now, thank you for reading, commenting, and ideally enjoying.