The Setting of the Peaceful Sun

Mrs. Cake gave a tired sigh as she retreated from the front door to Sugar Cube Corner, the sign having been flipped from Open to Close. The day had been quiet, it was New Years Eve after all, let alone the small blizzard that had started raging outside! They should be spending the night together at home soon, relaxing near a roaring fireplace.

However life had other plans it seemed, as furious knocking radiated from behind her, the glass windows of the door audibly clacking in their frame. She paused for a moment, contemplating her response. She should ignore it, whoever was at the door could surely read the sign, right?

The continued frenzy of knocking seemed to tell her otherwise, and so with a tired sigh she turned towards the door, an equally tired look on her face as she attempted to point to the small red sign that hung in the doorway.

“Excuse, but we’re closed… Twilight…?” the plump woman’s brow furrowed as she rushed to the door, opening it an allowing the girl from a different world collapse in, her clothing woefully inadequate for dealing with the blustering winds and snow whipping around outside. “Why are you wearing those clothes, dear? It’s the middle of winter!”

“Th-Th-The Mirror…” the girl’s teeth were chattering as she ran her hands up and down her arms in a weak attempt to warm herself up. “Do-do-doesn’t understand the idea of se-seasonal clothing, it appears.”

“I’ll say! Come with me, I have a blanket in the back and we’ll whip you up some hot cocoa! That’ll warm you up!” The woman wrapped an arm protectively around Twilight as she started to shepherd her towards the back.

“There’s no time!” Twilight bolted up, ignoring the numbing freeze that had taken hold of her body as she rushed to the sweet shoppe from CHS. “Do you know where Sunset is!? I need to find her!”

“Sunset…? You haven’t… Oh no…” Mrs. Cake froze, dread washing over her. She did not want to be the one to break the news to the girl. “Why don’t you stay here and warm up? I’ll get a hold of Pinkie, and she’ll get the other girls. I think they were all having a little get together at Rarity’s house if I-”

“Rarity’s? Thank you Mrs. Cake!” Twilight nodded before she bolted towards the entry, and into the small blizzard raging outside.

“Twilight, wait, you…!” Mrs. Cake tried her best to follow the younger girl, but she was out the door before the blue skinned woman had taken two steps, and was completely out of sight by the time she reached the door.

~

“It’s just not the same, you know…” Pinkie Pie muttered halfheartedly as she looked over at the empty place setting on the table, the rest of the Rainbooms following suit.

A small, golden filigree frame sat alone on the colourful plate, facing out towards the girls, a small photograph of Sunset Shimmer resting carefully inside it. The photo showed the girl on stage following the Battle of the Bands, an enormous smile on her face as she proudly played her guitar and stared at the camera. The memories of how happy the girl had been after the event with the Sirens, and how the entire school had finally forgiven her for her past actions.

Or so she had thought.

“Well it’s the least we could do, darling.” Rarity’s voice threatened to crack as she wiped away at her eyes. “Though I doubt that she would join us if she were still with us…”

“You can say that again…” Dash groaned as she shifted her forehead off of the table so she could look at the other girls. “Is Sweetie Belle gonna get all upset again that she wasn’t invited?”

“Rainbow!” Applejack slammed the table fiercely as yelled at the athlete in disgust. “Why would ya ever bring that up!?”

“...Sorry.” the girl apologized lamely, her shoulders slumping. “I just… I’m never gonna forgive them, ya know?”

“They’re family, Rainbow. Family forgives one another.” Fluttershy said quietly before her face fell. “That’s what friends are supposed to do…”

Rainbow Dash chuckled darkly as she looked over at her childhood friend. “I’m glad that parents were able to get a group rate. Your brother finally did something worthwhile.”

“Ah’m just glad that tha psychologist is willin’ ta see tha lot o’ us…” Applejack drawled, rubbing her face in her hands. “And durin’ tha holidays.”

“He’s well used to Zephyr, so-” Fluttershy’s voice matched the uncharacteristic snarl on her face, only to vanish when the elegant chiming of the house’s doorbell started to echo peacefully through the air.

“I say, this better not be a prank.” Rarity grumbled as she stood up, looking down at her phone. “It’s not even five past eleven on New Year’s Eve!”

“Wait up! I wanna deck the jerk who’s interrupting Sunset’s wake!” Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet and raced after the girl, causing the remaining three Rainbooms to shrug and follow close behind.

“I… I don’t think you’re going to want to keep that promise, Rainbow…” Rarity whispered as she dropped down from her tippy toes, the doorbell was continuously rung as the fashionista fiddled with the door locks.

“And why is that?” Rainbow asked as the door was opened, winter rushing in to snuff out the warmth of the house, along with the person at the door.

“Princess Twilight!” was the shared shriek as the girl collapsed to the floor, her lavender skin pale from the cold outside.

Applejack sprung into action, hoisting the girl up into her arms as she rushed to the living room. “Come on, girl! We’ll get ya ta tha fireplace!”

“I’ll get some blankets!” Rarity said as she started to hyperventilate, before rushing off with Fluttershy following behind.

“What the hell is she doing here? She coulda freezed to death outside dressed like that!” Rainbow chimed in as she and Pinkie Pie followed behind Applejack.

“She must have become worried and came looking for…” Pinkie Pie’s voice trailed off. Ever since the day when everyone gathered at Applejack’s farm house, Pinkie had not uttered the amber girl’s name, making a Pinkie Promise to do so, as she said she felt like she didn’t deserve to talk about their lost friend by name.

Applejack slowly set the bone numbing girl down in a chair before pulling the chair next to the fire and shaking her head. “If’n she did, than Ah reckon we’re in fer a long night…”

“We have blankets! Please tell me she’s still alive!” Rarity and Fluttershy rushed around the corner, Rarity-designed blankets overflowing from their arms.

Rainbow Dash gently pushed Applejack out of the way before leaning over top of the still form of Twilight, listening as she rested two fingers against the girl’s thin neck. “She’s breathing, and she’s got a pulse.”

“I’ll go make her some tea.” Rarity gave an uneasy chuckle as she finished depositing blankets onto Twilight.

“Are you sure that’s smart? Giving an angry person something to throw at you?” Rainbow Dash commented before hissing and rubbing at her arm as Applejack retracted her fist.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to me of late…” the pale white girl responded quietly as she fiddled with the long sleeve of her shirt before departing.

~

“Sunset!!!” came the desperate cry from Twilight Sparkle as consciousness rushed back to her, her eyes shooting open as she her head darted side to side.

“Easy, Princess. Calm down.” a familiar voice commanded as a larger hand came to rest on her shoulder. “Yer alright.”

“Applejack? Why did you follow me through the portal?” Twilight asked in confusion, before blinking a few times as she realized where she was. “Wait, no… Your… S-Sorry… I guess the cold got to me.”

“I’d be more amazed if nothing happened to you cause of it.” a knowing chuckle came from Rainbow Dash as the girl gruffly grabbed her hands, pressing down gently on each finger tip. “Any pain or numbness? I’m not seeing any frostbite, somehow, but you never know.”

“N-No, I feel that just fine. Well, a little numb I guess but I think that’s just the cold.”

“Good, and what about your toes?” Rainbow asked in response of the all clear on the Princess’ fingers, repeated the process on the sock encased lower digits, receiving a similar answer.

“Yes, they’re fine. Thank Celestia that I made it! The portal doesn’t differentiate seasons I guess.” Twilight gave an uneasy chuckle, rubbing the back of her head as she looked around the room as her brain finished defrosting. “Okay, so where’s Sunset? I know she said that you five thought she might have been guilty of being this… Anon-A-Miss, was it? Well certainly that was just a joke, right?”

A large, hope filled smile spread across the face of the Equestrian royalty as she looked around the room, each of her Gaian friends shying away from looking at her as if her slowly fading smile was physically causing them pain.

Twilight’s facade started to crumble as silence continued to be the response from her allies on this side of the mirror. “R-Right?”

“Sunset…” Applejack coughed and cleared her throat, trying to distract from the rough cracking of her voice. “Sunset’s dead, Twilight. A little over a week ago she… jumped off o’ the bridge crossin’-”

“She was telling the truth… You… All of you really did turn your backs on her.” the emptiness of Twilight’s voice hit the Rainbooms harder than if the girl was “only disappointed” in them, each of the five recoiling in shame as Twilight continued. “What could have possibly have led you five to doing that?”

“We thought she was behind o’ all o’ tha secret spredin’ Anon-A-Miss was doin’.” the farm girl explained as she removed her stetson, holding it in front of herself.

“Secrets? That’s what cause all of this? Surely you jest! When the other You’s did this back in Equestria to me, at least it was because I was seeming to be trying to ruin a royal wedding!” Twilight had started to slowly grow more and more aggressive as she lambasted the girls.

“Ah’m tellin’ tha truth, Princess… Ah mean, Ah am supposed ta be Honesty…” Applejack struggled with the last word of her lame defence, not even looking Twilight in the eye.

“Oh, so were you lying after the Battle of the Bands when you called her your friend?”

“Twilight, please! We-”

Twilight turned on Rainbow Dash, silencing the girl with an outstretched finger. “What about Loyalty? Did you at least give her a chance?”

No response.

“Generosity? Kindness?”

Nothing from either of them, and as soon as Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie the party planner shook her head.

“Are you serious right now!? After everything she did after the Fall Formal, all the charity work and- She sung praises of the five you every day, you know. Yeah! She couldn’t stop talking about how great the five of you were treating her. Really showing her the Magic of Friendship!”

The Rainbooms kept their heads collectively hung in shame as they shuffled their feet. Rarity broke the line when she took a small step forward and stated to whisper in a soft voice.

“Sunset, erm… She was lying, darling.” Rarity braced herself as she waited for the Princess to respond.

“Oh, this is gonna be rich.” Twilight gave a surprisingly dark chuckle as she crossed her arms and studied the girls. “Tell me. What could Sunset possibly lie to me about, huh?”

“We didn’t know that she was saying good things about us…” Pinkie Pie said.

Fluttershy paused her quiet sobbing. “She tried so hard to make amends after that night.” she added sorrowfully.

“We didn’t act like her friends during that time.” Rainbow Dash clenched her fists, her body shaking as she kept her eyes shut. “We often ignored her.”

“We kept on making jokes at her expense…” Rarity reached up and wiped away the tear running down her cheek. “Half the time we ignored her… Sent her away.

“It wasn’t till after tha Battle of the Bands that we called her our friend.” Applejack looked up, her eyes trying to look past the lavender girl recuperating in the chair. “She lied about us being her friends…”

“...” Twilight’s lips spread thin, her raging heart beat almost audible to the girl’s as fire started to drip from her eyes. The group reacted in silent terror as the girl slammed a hand on the arm of her chair, some strange sounds erupting from her mouth.

“You're all lucky that we aren't in Equestria, or I’d personally banish you all to Tartarus and make sure you were stripped of you’re status as bearers of the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight shifted erratically between shouting and whispering, but every word dripped with as much rage, disappointment, and betrayal that the girl could muster.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about stripping us of that status…” Rainbow muttered as her pocket buzzed loudly. “We haven’t been able to pony up all break…”

“Good.” was the Equestrian’s bitingly bitter response, only for her brow to furrow. “What’s with all that buzzing.”

“Oh, um… that’s just our alarm for the new… yea…” Rarity paused as she brought out her phone, here eyes widening as she looked at the screen. “Oh my god…”

“What? I know that look, Rarity. What’s going on?” Twilight tore the blankets off of her as she started to hurriedly walk to Rarity’s side, the other girl’s gathering close and giving their own cries of shock.

“She… She’s…” Rarity held the phone towards Twilight, the screen bright as a picture of Sunset Shimmer flashed across it. A picture of the old Sunset Shimmer, with simple text saying “Happy New Year” surrounding her, as well as a small, right facing triangle in the bottom right corner.

“It’s a video… Why is someone posting on her account?” Rainbow Dash asked, the girl obviously struggling to keep her anger in check.

“Video? Like that thing from the Fall Formal?” Twilight asked as Rarity brought her phone back to herself, nodding in response. “Play it then.”

Rarity looked up, worry etched on her face as she ran a delicate finger across the small pad at the bottom of the phone.

“Did you miss me?” came the simple, smug, yet incredibly robotic voice as the text glittered around Sunset’s image. “Did you miss me?”

“It’s just on repeat…” Applejack said, scowling as the video kept repeating the line over and over again. “Why would someone-”

“Because I sure as fuck didn’t miss any of you!” Sunset Shimmer yelled, suddenly appearing on the screen, looking more alive than she had during that week at school, before retreating away with a dark laugh.

“I thought you said she was dead!?” Twilight yelled, her arms shooting out behind her as she stared at the girls in disbelief.

“B-B-But the cops…! They said they couldn’t find her body!” Rainbow said as numerous emotions crashed against her. “You gotta believe us, Twilight!!”

“What, like you believed Sunset when she tried to prove her innocence!?” a second loud buzz echoed from all the girls pockets or phones. “Now what!?”

Hello all, I hope you had an awesome Christmas, cause I sure as fuck didn’t! Actually, no, I hope you all had a shitty holiday season! Though I doubt it’s going to hold a candle to how bad it’s about to become! >;’3

You all accused me of being Anon-A-Miss, of spreading secrets even after everything I did to try and redeem myself! I’m almost embarrassed that I even tried, given how easily you all fell into infighting again, just like before Twilight saved all of your asses at the Fall Formal. xD

Seeing as all you traitors want to see me as is a villain, I guess I’ll grant your wishes. I’ll become the villain you all so badly want me to be again. You all thought it was bad when I manipulated things behind the shadows? Well I still have all that information, and this time… ;’3

This time I’m not gonna play nice. This time I’m not gonna hold back! And the best part is, I’m gone! None of you are ever gonna find me! So prepare for me to truly become Anon-A-Miss! :’)

Prepare for me to make your lives the hell that I had to deal with for an entire week! >:’[

The girl that saved your fucking asses from the goddamn Sirens,

Sunset Shimmer

Everyone grew silent. Sunset was dead, they knew Sunset was dead! She jumped off of the bridge right in front of them, and the police never found her body! But this…

“I’m going to find her…” Twilight uttered as she started to back away. “I’m going to find her and bring her home…”

“Twilight!” one of the Rainbooms cried out as the Princess dashed towards the door, storming through it and back into the thankfully subsiding blizzard, her guilt powering her forward.

While she had been spending the holidays with family and friends, enjoying herself, Sunset had been suffering. She had been turned into a scapegoat by those who she had thought were her friends.

No… Twilight Sparkle was not going to abandon her friend again! She was going to find Sunset Shimmer, and fix this.