Wounds Not Quite Healed

Sunset Shimmer walked down the locker-filled hallways of the school till she finally came across her friends.

“Hey, girls!” she happily greeted them. However, something wasn’t right. None of them looked very happy. “What’s going…on?”

“Sunset, do you… Have you lost your phone recently?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Um… no?” a confused Sunset answered and took out her cellphone. “It’s right here. Why?”

“Then you need to explain this,” the cowgirl angrily said and presented her phone.

Sunset took a look at AJ’s phone and saw that the pictures she had taken of her friends wearing the awful outfits from Rarity’s ‘closet of shame’ had been posted by Anon-a-Miss on MyStable.

“What?!?” the red and yellow haired girl nervously exclaimed. “How did she get our pictures?”

“They’re not our pictures, Sunset…” AJ said accusingly.

“…They’re yours,” an angry Rainbow Dash finished.

“All those pictures were taken by you,” Applejack continued her accusation.

“Wait, but–” Sunset stammered. “—I’ve had my phone all this time! How did she–”

“Yeah, how did she?” Applejack interrupted. “How did she know about my nickname? How did she get the pictures from your phone? It was you all along! You’re ‘Anon-a-Miss’!”

“We trusted you, Sunset!” Rainbow angrily said. “We thought you were our friend!”

“How could you do this?” Rarity said sadly. “After all we’ve been through together?”

“No, wait, you guys–” Sunset desperately pleaded. “I didn’t do this! I could never hurt any of you!”

The Five thought for a moment. Soon their angry expressions diminished and were replaced by more calm, friendly, and understanding expressions.

“Okay, Sunset,” AJ said in friendlier tone. “If you say you didn’t do this, then we believe ya.”

“Please excuse me for what I just said,” Rarity said apologetically.

“Sorry we doubted ya,” Rainbow apologized.

“Thanks girls,” Sunset said relieved.

“How about we all work together to figure out who this nasty secret-stealer really is!” Pinkie suggested.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Alright then, let’s hop to it!” Applejack said confidently.

With that, the girls started walking down the hallway to begin their investigation. All but one.

“Hey Sunset, aren’t you coming with us?” Rainbow called and turned around to see what was the matter. Then she let out a horrified gasp that caused the others to turn around and gasp as well.

Sunset hadn’t moved from where she stood and stared at them with a very tortured and heartbroken expression. Standing next to her was a very ominous and sinister looking Zak giving them a big sadistic grin.

“Get real you dumb bitches!” Zak cruelly said. “Everyone knows this isn’t how it really went down!” Then he burst into cruel, mocking, hysterical laughter.

“GGGGAAAAAAHHHHH!” Applejack screamed as she shot up in her bed. It was just a dream. A very bad dream. The poor cowgirl got out of bed, walked over to the window on the other side of the room, and just stared outside with a very miserable look on her face. It had been three days since Sunset Shimmer cut all ties with the Five and abandoned them for Zak. Since then, Applejack has been having dreams of her and the others making different decisions during the Anon-a-Miss fiasco only to wake up to sad and painful reality.

The sad country girl stared through her bedroom window at the outside hoping to see Sunset appear in the yard so she could go down and reconcile. Alas, once again she was forced to accept reality.

Unbeknownst to her, Apple Bloom had been standing in the doorway silently watching her the whole time. Seeing her big sister in such a depressed state made the younger girl’s heart sink.

Meanwhile, Rarity had just woken up and she wasn’t feeling too happy either. She was tending to some of the outfits that were worn by her mannequins, but even looking after her proudly made clothes brought the fashionista no joy. Then she came across a mannequin wearing a wig she had left on it some time ago. The wig was mostly red with a couple yellow stripes. The mannequin was beginning to look just like Rarity’s now-former friend, Sunset Shimmer. For a moment, Rarity thought she saw Sunset’s friendly smiling visage form on the mannequin’s blank face. When reality finally came back, Rarity wrapped her arms around the mannequin as if it actually were her friend and started sobbing. She desperately wanted her friend back so much. Unfortunately, the painful memory of when Sunset had dumped them all for Zak rang heavily in her mind.

Sweetie Belle had been watching her beloved sister’s pitiful scene and couldn’t help but blame herself for it now that everyone knew the real reason Sunset had made her recent decisions.

Later that day, Applejack and Rarity met with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie at the school and were all silently walking down a hall together. The other three looked just as miserable as the first two. Pinkie’s once poofy hair was now straight and hanging down.

“Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, please report to the principal’s office?” Vice Principal Luna’s voice was heard over the intercoms.

None of the Five knew why they being summoned to Principal Celestia’s office but knew they had to answer the call. They were met with an unexpected surprise when they arrived. Sunset’s therapist, Dr. Shrink, was waiting there with Celestia and Luna, and he did not look happy.

“Thank you for coming, girls,” Celestia said. “I’ve called you all here because Dr. Shrink would like to have a word with you.”

“Is it about Sunset?” Rarity nervously asked.

“Yes, it is,” the doctor said sternly. “In our last meeting, she told me that you and other students have been trying to take matters into your own hands with her boyfriend issues and have only been making things worse.”

“Do you have any idea of the things he’s been doing to her?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes, I do,” the doctor answered. “But the authorities can’t do anything unless Sunset herself tells them. But do you know why she won’t do that?”

“Because then she’d feel like she has no one else to turn to,” Fluttershy answered with sadness.

“So she finally told you,” Dr. Shrink deduced. “And you realize the real reason I didn’t want to tell you about our sessions.” Then he spoke with great disappointment in his voice. “I warned you about thinking what the real problem was, but none of you listened to me, and now Sunset’s condition is much worse now. She cried for almost an entire hour at our last session.”

The Five were already feeling pretty bad, but hearing this news made them feel a whole lot worse.

“Is there anything we can do?” a concerned Pinkie asked.

“I think you’ve all done quite enough,” Shrink coldly replied. The girls hung their heads in shame.

“How is Sunset? Has anyone seen her lately?” Applejack asked the three adults.

“I’d hate to inform you all, but she dropped out two days ago,” Luna sadly informed them.

“WHAT?!?” the Five gasped. This couldn’t possibly be real.

“She said she couldn’t take all the heartache anymore,” a sad Celestia said. “I tried very hard to talk her out of it, but it was no use.”

“Now she’s gonna spend even MORE time with that creep!” a horrified Rainbow stated.

Realizing that his time was up, Shrink got up from his seat and started to leave. But not before he turned to say one last thing to the distraught girls.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you all to stay away from Sunset Shimmer from now on,” the therapist told them. “Your antics, while well-intentioned, have caused her nothing but trouble. It is my duty to ensure the well-being of my patients. Perhaps if you had paid more attention to your friend’s feelings this all could’ve been avoided. I’m sorry and goodbye.” With that, the doctor departed leaving the poor girls with their miserable thoughts.

That afternoon, the Five all met at the Sugarcube Café. They all just sat at a table, drinking smoothies, and not conversing at all. For Mrs. Cake, it was one of the saddest sights she’d ever seen in her café. Suddenly, Flash Sentry entered the café accompanied by the Crusaders. The little Crusaders did not look like they were in the best condition. Scootaloo had a black eye, Sweetie Belle had a couple Band-Aids on her cheek and forehead, and Apple Bloom had a black eye and a large cotton gauze taped to her left cheek. The sight of the three messed up little girls immediately caught the attention of the five older girls.

“Good Lord! Sweetie Belle, what happened?” Rarity anxiously asked.

“What happened ta ya, Apple Bloom?” a concerned AJ asked her sister.

“What happened, Scoots?” a shocked Rainbow asked her sister figure.

“Things became pretty rough for us since we confessed to being Anon-a-Miss,” Apple Bloom explained.

“But ever since what happened between you all and Sunset a few days ago,” Scootaloo added.

“Everyone hates us even more,” Sweetie Belle finished.

“I accompanied them to make sure no one caused them anymore harm,” Flash said.

“Well, it’s not like they didn’t bring this whole thing upon themselves,” said an unpleasant voice that entered the café. Everyone saw that it was Trixie accompanied by Snips and Snails.

“What do you want, Trixie?” Rainbow bitterly asked. She was not in the mood for any of the wannabe magician’s crap right now.

“Relax, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie is not here to cause any trouble,” Trixie announced in her usual hammy style before shifting to a more serious tone. “She’s here to tell you about Sunset Shimmer.”

“What about Sunset?” Rarity anxiously asked. Trixie suddenly had everyone’s undivided attention.

“Is she doing better?” an anxious Fluttershy asked.

“Uh…” Snails stuttered uncomfortably.

“Define better,” a nervous Snips replied.

“First off, while the Great and Powerful Trixie may not see eye-to-eye with Sunset Shimmer, she doesn’t think Sunset deserves this kind of barbaric treatment,” Trixie explained. “So yesterday, while Trixie was at the town park trying to give the bystanders a magnificent performance the likes of which they’ve never seen, she noticed Sunset sitting at a bench all by herself. So Trixie decided to see if she could offer some assistance.”
Flashback:

Trixie, accompanied by Snips and Snails, nervously approached Sunset Shimmer, who was sitting a park bench alone with her head hanging down. With Zak nowhere in sight, it was probably a good opportunity to try and talk to the seriously troubled red and yellow haired girl.

“Hello Sunset,” Trixie greeted Sunset. She tried to sound as polite as possible. “It’s the Great and Powerful Trixie. Remember?” No response. It was time to get serious. “I know I’m probably one of the last people you want to see right now, but I just want to have a serious talk with you. No insults or belittling.” Still no response. “Look, everyone’s been really concerned about you ever since the scene in the school parking lot. Your friends have been absolutely miserable without you. I know it’s unbelievable to hear this coming from me, but the Great and Powerful Trixie really thinks you should try to give your friends another chance.” This was indeed a rare moment of Trixie actually trying to extend a helping hand to someone she considered her most bitter rival next to Rainbow Dash.

Sunset slowly lifted her head to face Trixie.
End of Flashback.

“But when she finally lifted her head to look at me, she…” Trixie explained but started stuttering. Apparently what happened next didn’t go so well and she was clearly disturbed about it.

“Did she angrily tell you to leave her alone?” Fluttershy nervously asked. None of the Five liked where this was going.

“Actually…” Trixie uncomfortably continued.
Flashback:

Sunset looked up at Trixie with a confused expression and unusually red bloodshot eyes.

“Hey Trixie,” Sunset greeted her in an unexpected happy tone. “You look great today.”

“Excuse me?” Trixie said surprised by Sunset’s tone.

“It’s amazing how very blue the sky is, isn’t it?” Sunset said in a goofy tone turning her head up to the sky.

“Are you okay?” Trixie asked confused and concerned.

“Of course,” Sunset happily assured her. “Daddy says if I take my ‘medicine’ more often I will feel all better.”

“Daddy? Medicine?”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, it’s time to go back and take some more,” Sunset said as she struggled to stand. For some reason, her movement was a little clumsier. “Sorry I have to leave you four so suddenly.”

“Us four?” Trixie asked confused. There was only Snips and Snails with her.

“Yeah. You, Snips, Snails, and Steven Magnet over there,” Sunset replied looking to the right of the trio, but there was no one there. “Hi Steven.”

Trixie and the two boys watched with disturbed expressions as Sunset clumsily walk away while singing ‘Shake Your Tail’ to herself. They were starting to put together what was going on with her.
End of Flashback.

“And that was the only time we saw her,” Trixie concluded her story. “Trixie has reason to believe Zak is getting Sunset hyped up on drugs.”

Everyone who had listened to the story was horrified. It was bad enough that Zak was physically and emotionally abusing Sunset, but now he was destroying her already fragile mind with drugs.

“That mother—!” an enraged Rainbow Dash tried to speak but became so furious she couldn’t finish her sentence. “That’s it!” Then the athlete got up from her seat.

“What are you doing, Rainbow?” a concerned Fluttershy asked.

“I’m going to put an end to this once and for all,” the angry athlete replied.

“Hold yer horses, Dash,” AJ said. “After what happened the last time we saw Sunset, we can’t just waltz up and do something that’ll make things worse.”

“So are you saying we should just sit around and wait for things to happen?!” Rainbow argued. “It could be too late and Sunset’s brain could already turn to mush! I don’t care, I’m going out there to get ‘my friend’ back!”

“Can’t let you do that, Rainbooms!” came an unexpected and unpleasant voice. Everyone turned to see the Dazzlings blocking the doorway with smug looks on their faces. It had been quite some time since the siren trio was defeated during the Battle of the Bands and expelled from CHS. Needless to say, no one was delighted to see them at all.

“You!” Rainbow said with venom in her voice.

“That’s Right,” Adagio Dazzle smugly replied.

“What are you all doing?” Pinkie angrily asked.

“I thought we got rid of you three for good,” an angry Rarity said.

“Get out of my way!” Rainbow demanded.

“Sorry, no can do,” Sonata Dusk teasingly refused.

“So are you three working for Zak now?” Applejack asked accusingly.

“That asshole?! Not in a million years,” Aria Blaze answered in an insulted tone.

“Don’t you think you’ve messed Sunset’s life up enough?” Adagio asked in a taunting tone.

“Why do you care?” a confused Rarity bitterly responded. “I thought you’d hate her after she helped us take you down during the Battle of the Bands.”

“Oh, we do hate her,” Adagio replied.

“So very much,” Sonata added.

“It’s a little complicated,” Aria said.

“You expect us to believe that three power-hungry, hate-spreading sirens like you want to help Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow distrustfully asked.

“Believe whatever you want,” Aria uncaringly replied.

“You certainly did that during the whole Anon-a-Miss fiasco,” Adagio taunted them.

Suddenly, everyone’s bitter and untrusting expressions turned to ones of shock and surprise.

“How do you know about that?” a surprised Pinkie asked.

Adagio took a cellphone out of her pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “Internet,” she said in a tone that made it sound obvious.

“We also had secret hangouts around the school to watch all the unhappy students make fools of themselves,” Aria chuckled.

“I heard it was you three,” Adagio said turning a sinister eye toward the guilty-looking Crusaders. “I must congratulate you, you three managed to accomplish what we failed to do, and you didn’t even use any magic. You would’ve made great sirens.”

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow all stepped in front of their remorseful and respective sisters to protect them from anymore of Adagio’s taunting while shooting the sirens very angry glares.

“Yeah, it was fun while it lasted,” Sonata said in a disappointed tone.

“Let me guess,” an annoyed AJ said. “The fun ended when the real culprits came clean and the Anon-a-Miss account was taken down?”

“No, the fun ended when we saw this,” Adagio replied, opened a file on her phone, and held it up for everyone to see. It was a video that someone recorded and posted on the internet of the Five mercilessly accusing a heartbroken Sunset Shimmer and abandoning her. Watching that video and remembering that moment made the Five’s hearts sink. "And you say we're bad?! Well, we're here to make sure you don't cause that poor girl anymore pain than you already have."

"It's too disturbing to watch," Sonata said with a cringe.

“Don’t get us wrong,” Aria said noticing some confusion amongst their old enemies. “We hate all of you, especially Sunset Shimmer, and even that Zak creep, and we were perfectly content with watching your stupid school tear itself apart through meaningless hatred. But when you five decided to throw away your honor as ‘friends’ so easily, you took all the fun out of it.”

“You boast about your precious ‘Magic of Friendship’, the power that you all used to defeat us, and the friends that make your lives so happy but when you find your reputations being threatened you turn on each other as if all those so-called ‘magical’ and ‘happy’ times meant absolutely nothing,” Adagio explained. “It’s pathetic. You’re nothing but a bunch of miserable hypocrites. Victory at the Battle of the Bands doesn’t belong to you, Rainbooms, it belongs to us.”

“Sunset deserves WAY better for the part she played in our defeat,” Sonata said.

"Sunset does need friends, but they're not you guys," Aria added.

Even with their ability to sing taken away, every word the Dazzlings said cut like a very sharp knife causing extreme guilt and shame. The Five felt like little mice backed into a corner surrounded by three big mean cats with no way out.

“We didn’t know it wasn’t her!” Dash said in a desperate attempt to defend herself against the sirens’ merciless verbal onslaught.

“You didn’t know because you didn’t want to know because then you wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it!” Adagio retorted. “Rainbow Trash!”

“This is the problem with friendship,” Sonata said. “When you put too much trust in someone, they eventually end up disappointing you. Lucky us!”

“What about you three?” Fluttershy asked. “Aren’t you three friends?”

The three sirens glared at each other before giving an answer in unison. “No!”

“Sonata and Aria are constantly bickering like children and driving me nuts,” Adagio explained glaring at her two cohorts who were glaring at each other. But then she put on a more serious face. “But neither of us can have anyone else as partners.” Hearing this, Sonata and Aria shared the same serious expression as their leader. That was something they all could agree on. “Even if you don’t like someone, sometimes they’re the person you need most of all. That’s a lesson you all failed to learn.”

“Whatcha talkin’ about?” Pinkie asked.

“I mean without your little princess friend or Sunset Shimmer leading your little misfit group, you’re nothing,” Adagio maliciously explained. “Wanna know why? Because you’re human.”

“What’s that supposed ta mean?” an insulted AJ asked.

“In all the years we’ve spent banished to this world, there’s one thing that never ceases to amaze us,” Adagio sinisterly explained. “Human foolishness. We’ve seen them make the same mistakes over and over again, some of which we played a part in.”

“But no matter how many times it happens, they never learn,” Aria finished.

The Five were so full of shame that neither of them were unable to talk back anymore. Considering humanity’s history and the Five’s own history, how could anyone say the sirens did not have a point.

“Well, I believe we’re done here,” Adagio said believing it was time to leave. “Come girls.” As she lead her two cohorts out the doors of the café, Sonata stopped to say one last thing to her old enemies.

“You know, you humans are so confusing,” the ditzy siren said in a genuinely confused tone. “You throw away everything for nothing.” With that, she left with the rest of her fellow sirens.

Sensing that the Five wanted to be alone with their thoughts, Flash, the Crusaders, Trixie, Snips, and Snails left the café. The five teenagers sat silently at their table together looking even worse than when they came in. It was bad enough that they lost their best friend to a horrible excuse of a human being, but the things said by the Dazzlings did nothing to help. Fluttershy buried her face in her hands and started crying while Pinkie Pie gently stroked her head. After a few minutes, Fluttershy finally stopped crying, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she reached into her backpack and pulled out the journal Sunset had abandoned along with them.

“What are you doing, Flutters?” Rainbow asked noticing the journal.

“We’ve all tried everything to help Sunset,” the shy eco girl sadly explained. “I kept this close as a last resort incase we ran out of ideas on how to get Sunset back on our own.” She opened up the journal to a blank page and took out a pen. “Looks like this is our last resort.” With that, she began writing in the journal.
Dear Princess Twilight…