Chapters (PoV: Sunset Shimmer)
You’re done with school for the day. One more, and winter break is all yours! As you’re putting your books away, Rainbow Dash struts over to you, looking so smug about something. ”Aww yeah!” Rainbow cheerfully gloats out. “Only three more days until Christmas!”
“For someone that is going to get a stocking full of coal, you sure are happy about it.”
”Oh ha-ha.” She brushes off your comment. “Guess who is going to get a jet ski for Christmas this year!”
“Get out of here.”
”Yeah, this girl.” She points her index fingers at herself.
”What in tarnation is going on here?” Applejack approaches you with Pinkie Pie.
“She’s getting a jet ski for Christmas.”
”Don’t make me laugh.”
”Yeah, that’s my job!” Pinkie Pie jokes around.
”Come on, I’ve done a lot of good things this year!”
“Name us a few.” You call her out.
”Well… for starters, I…”
“Mm-hmm. That’s great.”
”The point is, I’m getting one this Christmas and that’s all that matters.”
”And how do you know this?” Applejack rightfully questions Rainbow’s mentality.
”Overheard my parents talk about it in the other room last night.”
“Are you sure? Sounds like they were talking about something else.”
”I know that they were talking about a jet ski, I can bet my life on it.”
“Deal.” You jokingly catch Rainbow Dash off her guard.
”Wait, what?” What distracted everyone from the subject was when Anon slams his locker. When you thought that was it, he also punches it before walking away. You notice that he left a clear dent near the lock showing how upset he is. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Fluttershy walk past him and join with the rest of your group.
”You guys saw that, right?” Applejack clarifies, making sure that she didn’t hallucinate that scene.
“You weren’t the only one.”
”Geez, what’s his problem?” Rainbow wonders about Anon’s overreaction.
”He could have failed a test?” Twilight throws in her educated guess.
”Maybe he’s having some trouble with his friends?” Fluttershy suggests.
”Possibly upset over finding someone to kiss under the mistletoe.”
“Maybe if you didn’t tiptoe over to a guy in last years Christmas party, they wouldn’t have punched you in the eye.” Rainbow crudely reminds Rarity last year's blunder.
”How was I supposed to know that he was more of a defensive person?”
”Maybe because he was mugged and took some classes before coming back to school. At least you didn’t leave empty handed.” Rainbow continues to mock her.
“Can you two stop it already? This is the kind of stuff that makes me wonder on how you get any gifts at all, Rainbow.”
”Because I’m awesome?” You and a few of the girls groan.
”Hey, hey!” Pinkie interjects. “Remember about poor Nonny?”
”What about him?” Rainbow harshly asks Pinkie Pie.
”We need to find out on why he’s so grumpy; especially at this time of the year!”
”Pinkie is right; everyone in school is happy, but Anon is the only one that’s down under the weather.” Twilight agrees.
“Is it that bad?”
”He’s always kept his hood up, even in class.” You’ve noticed that he is the only one in school that was wearing a hood over his head throughout the day. What was even more bizarre is that you remember that he was wearing the exact same sweater with the hood on yesterday.
”Sounds a bit terrifying.” Fluttershy gives her thoughts out on the subject.
“I’m starting to think that we should try to find out and get Anon into the holiday spirit, what do you girls say?” Most of them agree to your idea, leaving Rainbow Dash the only one sitting out.
”He’ll get out of it.”
”Come on, Rainbow. Where’s your holiday spirit? Don’t you want to spread some joy and happiness?” Pinkie nudges her to join along.
”It might be interesting to find out what is upsetting our strange compatriot.” Rarity goes on with some odd intention.
”Fine, let’s make the weirdo happy.” Rarity elbows her. “Okay! Fine. Where should we start off?”
“Let’s talk to his friend, he might give us something to go along.”
”Not a bad idea, Sunset. In the meantime, I’ll go and ask him myself.”
”Careful, Twi; who knows what he’ll do with a temper like that.” AJ warns her.
”And I’ll go and get a party up and running to stay one step ahead of the curb!” Pinkie jumps ahead of herself.
“Woah there, Pinkie. We aren’t sure about Anon’s problem yet.”
”Okay, I’ll just go and get some holiday cookies up. Maybe that might be enough to get up in a better mood.” You and Rarity walk to a group that Anon hanged around with, whereas Twilight, AJ and Rainbow Dash go for the man himself. Fluttershy follows Pinkie Pie to make (what you hope to be) a batch of cookies.
(PoV: Twilight Sparkle)
You walk past the crowded hallway with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of which are starting to get cold feet about your idea. ”I don’t know, Twi. Maybe we should go back.”
”Listen to Applejack. For once, she’s making sense.” From the corner of your eye, you can see how upset AJ is from RD’s rude remark.
“You guys, don’t be so down on it. I’m sure that whatever is keeping Anon down, it will be resolved.”
”But what if he doesn’t want our help?” Rainbow Dash spins off a good question.
“Don’t be silly. I’m sure he would want someone to cheer him up.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both raise an eyebrow, clearly showing that they aren’t going with your optimism. You keep on walking down the hallway and catch up with Anon. “Hey, Anon!” He stops, but adjusts his hood before he faces you.
”What is it?” He grumbles out.
“I wanted to ask about what might be troubling you, especially at this time of year.”
”I don’t want to talk about it.” He turns back around, prepared to walk away from you.
“Come on, we’re here to wash away that problem!” You give out your most enthusiastic tone when getting in front of him.
”And I do not want any of it right now.”
”Listen pal, we’re here to fix your problem, whether you like it or not.” Rainbow Dash nearly threatens him. A couple of students are taking notice of the scene Rainbow Dash just made.
”Easy, Dash. What my friend is trying to say is that we would be more than happy to fix your troubles at this time of the year.” Anon quickly turns around, dropping his hood to reveal the bags under his eyes and unkempt hair. He stares directly at AJ, almost in an intimidating fashion.
”How about this; the problem IS about this time of year?” He brings up his hood and speedwalks away.
”What in the heck did he mean by that?” Rainbow Dash looks at a petrified Applejack.
“I don’t know. Hopefully Sunset received a more thorough answer.”
(PoV: Sunset Shimmer)
”There they are.” You point at the group of guys at the end of the corridor.
”Do you think that they will know what’s wrong with him?”
“One of them should know, he couldn’t have kept it all to himself.” A kid with a green beanie and a red jacket takes notice and approaches you.
”What’s up?”
“You’re friends with Anon, right?”
”Yeah, what about it?”
”We need to know what’s troubling him so that we can bring some Christmas joy back into him.”
”Oh.” He awkwardly shifts around. “That’s kind of hard to explain.”
“We have some time to waste.” He walks away from the group to talk to you in private.
”Here’s the thing; he’s very vague about it.”
”What do you mean?” Rarity wonders.
”He’s in a sour mood because of Christmas.”
“Wait, really?”
”Is this some sort of joke?” Rarity says out of astonishment.
”Dead serious.”
“But-- how?!”
”Not sure. He just says that he hates it after I mentioned about a Christmas party that we’re going to have tomorrow after school.”
“Sounds like a definite ‘No’ to that invite.”
”Pretty much. Anything else you need to know?”
“Nah, thank you for the help.” He walks back to his group, leaving you and Rarity to question Anon’s dislike for Christmas.
"How can one dislike Christmas?"
"I can't think of any reason. Maybe Twilight has our answer."
(PoV: Sunset Shimmer)
Finally, it’s done. Mountains of freshly baked cookies sit on the counter, ready to be eaten. ”Few!” Pinkie Pie emotes when taking off her apron. “Glad that’s taken care of.”
“Don’t you think that this is a bit excessive?”
”What do you mean?”
”I thought you went off to make a small batch of cookies for Anon. Not this!” You point at the truckloads of cookies.
”Ohhh, that’s going to be passed around for the party tomorrow!”
“What about Anon? That was the reason on why we wanted to do this.” Pinkie Pie grabs a plate and stacks an assortment of coloured cookies.
”Here you are. Should be more than enough to satisfy his sweet tooth.” She hands it over to you.
”Alright, how are we going to get Anon?” Twilight circulates the main topic.
”We’ll have to catch him at lunchtime, it’s the only time that we can move around the school.”
”What if he isn’t in the cafeteria?” Rarity brings up a scenario.
”He’ll most likely be hiding around campus, seeing that he doesn’t want to be with his own friends.” All of your friends nod, and begin to remove their aprons to clean themselves up before leaving.
The next day... The lunch bell rings. The cafeteria seems to be packed, so this might take a while to find Anon. You and your friends scout around, only noticing the kid from yesterday. Rarity received some news that Anon is usually in a classroom at lunchtime, so you’ll have to search the school for him.
”Okay, Twilight and I will go and try to cheer him up.”
”What if he bailed?” Rainbow Dash questions the possibility of Anon abandoning the campus.
”If he wants to take the chances of being in school tomorrow, so be it.” AJ bitterly comments.
“What’s wrong, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asks. Applejack crosses her arms.
”I’m sort of having a grudge with the tone Anon picked with me from yesterday.”
”Do not let it get to you. Maybe he feels bad about it and might apologize, after we give him a small gift.” Twilight points her thumb at the plate of cookies your holding.
”Okay, best of luck, girls.” AJ goes back to stirring her mashed potatoes, whereas the rest of the girls waive goodbye as you and Twilight walk away.
Some time has passed. After checking a few classrooms, Twilight is starting to lose hope on the situation. ”Sunset, I think we should call it here.”
“But Twilight, we’ve only passed through eleven classes.”
”I feel as if Rainbow Dash was onto something. Maybe Anon isn’t here.”
“We won’t know that until we’ve checked every spot in this school.” You hold the doorknob that leads into room 112.
“But lunch is almost over, and we don’t have enough time to look at the rest of the school.”
“We can at least try, Twilight.” You open the door and walk inside to be relieved when you see Anon sitting in the farthest corner. Your short lived victory is ruined when you make a closer inspection at how he’s sitting. He has his hoodie pulled up while listening to a Christmas song that you couldn’t put a finger to. It makes it even more difficult when it’s only coming through his earbuds. “Anon?” You subtly ask.
”Anon, are you okay?” Twilight crouches down and puts her right hand on his shoulder. He quickly backs up and pushes Twilight’s hand away, almost as if he was frightened by your appearance. Twilight falls back and hits her rump on the floor, frozen to the fact that she startled Anon.
“Geez, didn’t you learn to leave some people alone?” He snaps at you and Twilight. You crouch down to bring up the plate of cookies you made yesterday.
“We wanted to cheer you up. And to show you how much we cared, here’s some batch of cookies me and my friends made--” Without a second though, he smacks the plate off of your hands. You watched the cookies soar through the air and break into little pieces as they hit the ground. “What’s your problem!?”
”My problem is when you and your friends don’t learn to quit!” He gets up and runs out of the room. You chase him out of the room and follow him down the hallway.
“Do you want to tell me what’s putting you down, or do you want to keep on running away from it?” He stops in the middle of an intersection, refusing to look at you or even bothering to turn around.
”I’d rather live it down, instead of showing it to anyone else.” He takes a left turn and walks away into the hallway. A door can be heard opening and closing mere moments after he vanishes into the next hallway.
”What happened?” Twilight comes out of room 112, holding the plate with a bunch of ruined cookies.
“He’s being a miserable little brat. Come on.” You walk back to the cafeteria, thinking on your next move to get Anon out of his depression.
Once you get back inside the cafeteria, you briefly talk to his friend for some information about where Anon lives. All that leaves is getting the crucial part for your next plan. Twilight dumps the cookies into the nearest trash can, lowering the now empty plate in her hands to try and hide it away.
”So, how’d it go?” Rarity asks.
”Did he leave, like I expected?” Rainbow asks with a devilish smirk.
“It didn’t go well. We found him, but it looks like whatever is putting him down is even worse than I expected.”
”He didn’t even appreciate the cookies that we made him?!” Pinkie Pie nearly screams out of disbelief.
“He didn’t even try a single cookie.” Twilight slides the plate across the table, stopping at where Pinkie Pie is sitting.
”Which is why Sunset is suggesting her next plan.” Twilight announces it to the group.
”Oh no, I think we’ve done enough for him.” Rainbow Dash revolts on the idea to continue this even further.
”I’m sticking with Rainbow Dash; the boy’s having some serious issues.” Applejack decided to side with her.
“But this is my last attempt, honest! And I can't do it without you guys.”
”Well,” Rarity stands up, “if Sunset wants to give Anon another try, so be it.” You look at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
”If it means that he’ll try at least ONE cookie, then count me in!” Pinkie Pie stands up.
”I guess I’ll help.” Fluttershy meekly says as she stands up. Applejack looks around, soaking in the determination you and the girls are putting up.
”Consarn it!” She stands up. “I’ll do it, but only because that this is your last shot at cheering up the poor fella.”
“Rainbow Dash?” She crosses her arms and tries to stare you down.
”Agh!” She exclaims before standing up. “You better make this good, Sunset.”
”It will be, but we’re going to have to do it tonight.”
”But the party is tonight!” Rainbow Dash yells out.
“It won’t take long, trust me.” She exhales before leaning in.
”Let’s hear it.”
(PoV: Anonymous)
You chuck in a piece of wood. No matter how warm it is in here, it will never heat up your bitter heart. Hey, you aren’t going to hide that fact. It hasn’t been the best for you during these last few days, especially when Sunset and her friends try to perk you up. In a way, you sort of feel bad about it. Putting them down, unwillingly to tell them about the shittiest time of the year -- for you, at least. Still, you warned her about how she shouldn’t help you, and she still bothered to annoy you. You don’t need any of it, and you’re damn sure about that. You get up to rest on the couch.
The decorated christmas tree with “presents” mock you near the fireplace. It’s a constant reminder on how much you despise this holiday, even when people get to celebrate it and you get the shit stick. When you get your own children, you’re going to make sure they experience that same thing. What catches you off guard is a group of voices singing some sort of christmas carol. You shove that off and grab the TV remote to try and watch something. However, that was short lived when you shuffled through three channels that are airing christmas specials. You turn it off and notice that the singing is even louder now. What’s worse is that you can distinguish the people singing the accursed song. You get up and march over to the door, ready to give them a good yelling on how ignorant they can be.
(PoV: Sunset Shimmer)
Without any warning, the door swings open with a familiar grouchy schoolmate. ”DO YOU SHITHEADS EVER LEARN THE PHRASE FUCK OFF?!” You and your friends stop singing and look at each other, startled at Anon’s outburst.
“But Anon, we’re here to give you some Christmas cheer!”
”And some Christmas sweets!” Pinkie Pie runs past you, almost slipping over a patch of ice to hand over a new, fresh plate of cookies to Anon. He looks at the cookies, unmoved by the fact that you’re giving your all to bring him out of his rut.
“Come on, girls. Let’s keep on going!” You and a number of the girls inhale, ready to continue on the singing for Anon.
”No, no, no!” He waives his hand, gesturing you to stop while at a risk of spilling the cookies.
“Does this mean that we’ve changed your mind.”
”Yes.” You and the girls gasp in glee, relieved that Anon has been shown the joy of Christmas. ”And, for showing your determination and resiliency to me, I want to give you guys a gift.”
“Anon, your appreciation is--”
”Woah, woah, hold up.” Rainbow Dash butts in. “We’ll take that gift -- in the spirit of the holidays and such.” Anon nods and closes the door as he goes back inside.
”What do you think it is?” Rarity wonders.
”I’m wondering how big it is, or how we’re going to share it!” Pinkie enthusiastically says.
”It better be hot chocolate, because I’m freezing out here.” Rainbow Dash shivers out.
”I hope it’s an apology with an apple flavoured candy cane, because that would cheer me right up.” Applejack demands with some positivity.
”I’m not expecting much, but I’m really concerned about what he has for us.” Fluttershy asks in wonderment. All of a sudden, Anon kicks the door open. A very odd shaped item is resting in his hands.
“Is that a water gun?”
”Sweet! That’s perfect for when I use my jet ski this--” He points it at you and your friends and pulls the trigger, squirting you and your friends in some sort of warm liquid.
”What in the Sam Hill was that?!” Applejack roars at him.
”What did you spray us with?!” Twilight shouts out.
”You pissed me off to a point that I wouldn’t mind pissing on you guys.” It takes a moment for you and the girls to realize that your coats, hats, gloves, are all soaking in Anon’s urine. ”Merry Christmas, bitches!” The vast majority of the group is rightfully upset and angry at Anon’s cruel joke, leaving Fluttershy the odd one out as she’s crying in the corner of the group. Rarity moves over to comfort Fluttershy, but only makes it worse, causing her to run away. She follows her into the snow, almost chasing her out of the street. Rainbow Dash runs over, but slips on the patch of ice Pinkie Pie stepped on earlier. Luckily for her, she falls into a pile of snow that kept her from hitting the ground. Anon stands there on the doorway, smug as shit to the misery he caused. You march over and avoid the patch of ice to slap the water gun out of his hands and grab him by the collar of his shirt.
“What is wrong with you!?”
”Partner, you are asking for a world of hurt right now.” Apllejack stands right beside you.
”What’s wrong with me? Time after time, I ask you to let me sulk in my own problems, but you tried to give a shit about it.”
”Because that’s what we do!” Twilight approaches Anon.
”Yeah, what did we, or even Fluttershy do to you?! We just wanted to know what’s dragging you down.” He looks at all of you before raising an eyebrow.
”If you really want to know; let me go, and I’ll show you.”
”Fat fucking chance, let’s beat the joy into him!” Rainbow Dash angrily grabs him by the chest and prepares her fist by dragging it back.
“Hold it!”
”Come on! After all that he did to us!?” Rainbow Dash shakes him around.
“Show us, and maybe we won’t colour the snow red.” You and Rainbow Dash let him go, nearly dropping him to the ground.
”Follow me.” You, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash follow him inside. For a person who loathes the holiday, he sure is festive about it. Christmas decorations, stockings near the fireplace, different snow globes posted around the house. No matter where you look, there is something Christmas related sitting in every square foot at this house.
”I’m surprised that this house isn’t torn into bits by you.” Rainbow Dash takes a jab at Anon’s hatred for the holiday.
”It’s not for me; this is all for my parents.” He jumps on the couch and lays back.
“Where are they?”
”Gone.”
”Until…?” Rainbow Dash rolls her hand around, expecting an answer from him.
”Next week.” You and your friends all share the same empty feeling that’s going around.
“Oh.”
”Uh, I didn’t know that--”
“I'm actually happy that they’re out of town.” He cuts off Twilight Sparkle’s sympathy.
”What did they ever do to you?” Pinkie Pie rightfully questions him.
”There is this one time, and I have a videotape of it.” Anon gets up to fish it out from the cabinet stuffed with videotapes.
”You do know that everything is digital now, right?” Rainbow slanders Anon’s medium of ancient technology.
”My parents are old school.” He says when pulling out an old tape with a label marked CHRISTMAS ‘01 all capitalized and written in black. “They feel more comfortable with the shit that was a decade or so ago.” He puts it in a VHS player and turns on the TV.
That familiar jingle from yesterday plays when the video starts up, revealing a man that looks a lot like Anon, only much more older.
”Anon! Time to come out and get your presents!” He wipes the lens with a towel before rotating the camera around to show a young boy speeding down the hallway. It takes a while for you to realize that the kid is Anon when he was four or five years old.
”Yes, presents!” He repeatedly chants out when running towards the pile of presents stacked next to the tree. As he rushes out for a present, his father stops him.
”Wait! Open the biggest one first.” The camera focuses on the biggest present that’s as tall as Anon in the video. Anon rips the wrapping apart like an animal, until he makes it to the opening. ”Yeah, tear it apart!” His father motivates him. “What’s in there?” The camera peaks over to reveal nothing but darkness inside the hollow box.
”There’s nothing in there.” Anon confusingly answers his father. The camera spins around to show Anon’s father smiling as if he just won the lottery.
”Fake out! There’s nothing in any of them!” It rotates once more to show a heartbroken Anon, ready to cry into the empty box. “Now go wake up your pill-head mother.” The video ends with Anon turning off the TV.
"Now you know." He tosses the remote over to the table. You and the girls look at each other in an uncomfortable manner. Not a single person knows what to say at this moment. It takes a while, but Twilight breaks the ice.
"What about now? Surely those presents under the tree have something." Anon gets up and takes the present and hands them over to you and your friends.
"Open them." Everyone is skeptical over the idea, but Rainbow Dash was the one to start it off by ripping her present open. Her short lived joy stops when the box reveals to be a hollow joke. You and the rest of your friends open up the presents to prove that Anon's cruel joke from his father is still active to this day. Applejack looks around the box, whereas Pinkie is looking right through her own. Twilight's scratching her head, and Rainbow Dash throws her box to the ground.
"Man, I would be angry if my family did that to me."
"I'm way past that point now." He heads over to a chair and tries to relax in it. "I just want this holiday to be over with."
"What should we do now?" Twilight whispers over to you.
"Nothing." She's stunned by your reply. "There's nothing we can do."
"What about the party?" She asks out loud.
"Not my thing, especially when it's Christmas themed." He kicks back in his chair. "You guys know your way out, enjoy your party."
"But--"
"Leave him, we're done here." Rainbow Dash cuts Pinkie off.
"We did all we could. There's nothing more we can do, sugarcube." Applejack says to Pinkie when putting a hand over her shoulder, guiding her over to the door. You and Twilight were the last ones to leave the house, making sure that the door was closed shut.
