Sunset ran out of Sugarcube Corner, the girls' accusations still ringing in her ears. Tears poured down her face. She'd been through so much with them, come to call them her family... But in the end, they'd been some of the first to turn on her.

Sunset was so sure that her friends would listen to her and how she had figured out the Crusaders were behind this. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all leapt to their sisters' defense before Sunset could even finish her sentence. Scootaloo wasn't even related to Rainbow Dash but she was still trusted more than Sunset was. That stung more than Sunset would admit to herself.

Even after all of what they'd seen Sunset go through, they'd still had the gall to stand there and feign innocence. Their wide-eyed, innocent stares annoyed Sunset so much.

"We wouldn't dream of doing something like that!"

"It ain't us Applejack, ah promise!"

"Everyone knows it's Shimmer anyway. Why's she even bothering to defend herself?"

The three Crusaders were better actors than Sunset could ever have imagined, when she looked back on what had happened in Sugarcube Corner. She'd seen the smirk they'd sent her way when their sisters were looking the other way. That confirmed to Sunset that they were the anonymous cyber bullies. What puzzled her was why. Why had they done this? What did they hope to gain?

Sunset found an empty alley and sank down, her head in her hands. She had been kicked out of her apartment by the landlord, whose daughter had been one of the many victims of anon-a-miss. She didn't have many possessions, and what little she did have was in her locker at CHS (except the journal).

The snow was falling heavier now, becoming the blizzard that the meteorologists had promised. "The coldest winter for decades" the news had predicted. Sunset could believe that, as she sat shivering in the mouth of the alley. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. This was going to be a long night...

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat in their usual booth in Sugarcube Corner. Sunset had just left, soon followed by the CMC who wanted to get to Sweetie Belle's house as soon as possible so they could play video games (Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were staying at their friend's house for the night).

The group was unusually silent. Even Pinkie was quiet, lacking her usual hyperness that was part of her bouncy demeanor.

"What if we're wrong?" Fluttershy spoke up suddenly.

"What's that shugarcube?" Applejack looked up from the table.

"What if we're wrong?" Fluttershy repeated. "What if Sunset really is innocent?"

Rainbow slammed her hand down on the table, making everyone jump. "Really, Shy? I get your thing is kindness, but come on! That account screams 'Sunset' all over it. She's gone back to her old ways, but this time I'm not falling for her rubbish. If she isn't anon-a-miss, who is?"

"Are you accusin' mah sister of bein' anon-a-miss? I thought you were better'n that Shy." Applejack's emerald green eyes glared at Fluttershy, making the quiet girl tremble.

"No! No, I wasn't!" the girl retreated into her long, pale pink hair. "I just thought... maybe... you know..." her voice trailed off. Nobody said anything. Rarity stared down at her fingernails, Pinkie Pie had face-planted on the table, Applejack pulled her hat down and stared at the floor and Rainbow Dash tapped her fingers on the table. Fluttershy continued to hide in her hair, scared to look at anyone.

Eventually, the five girls mumbled goodbyes and filed out the door one by one, walking briskly throught the snow to get home before the worst of the blizzard hit. Nobody felt like a slumber party that night.

Fluttershy shivered in her thick winter coat. She was thinking hard, something about that conversation didn't add up. What had Rainbow said again? That the account was obviously Sunset and that she was reverting back to her old behavior. Fluttershy couldn't think what it was, but something about that seemed... off...

Sunset was freezing. She wasn't sure how long she had been sat there, but she guessed it was going to be a long night. What was she planning to do when morning came anyway? There was nowhere for her to go, nothing for her to do. It was so cold, Sunset wasn't sure she'd even last till morning. Her tears froze on her face as she thought of her old home, Equestria. She wondered if Princess Twilight had given up on her too, since there were no new messages in the journal. Was Princess Celestia still disappointed in her? Would either of them care, if they heard that Sunset Shimmer had frozen to death in an alley in Canterlot City? Sunset's head drooped as a wave of tiredness overcame her. However, the bitter cold and the howling wind stopped her from getting any actual rest.

Fluttershy could see her house in the distance, as she pushed against the heavily falling snow. The thought of hot chocolate by a warm fire did little to brighten her spirits. The door was opened as she got there by her mom, a middle-aged lady with light yellow skin (similar to Fluttershy), raspberry coloured hair and a shy yet sweet smile.

"Welcome home honey!" her mom gave her a small hug. "Uhh honey? Is something wrong?" she asked tentatively as Fluttershy suddenly went wide-eyed and seemed to be thinking hard.

"Fluttershy?" her mom asked again, a worried look on her face.

"Mom, I think I really messed up." Fluttershy looked horrorstruck.

"Oh sugar, whatever's wrong, I'm sure it's fixable." Mrs Shy reached out a hand to pat her daughter's arm consolingly, but Fluttershy was already heading back towards the front door. "Fluttershy! Where are you going? You can't go out there, there's a blizzard starting!"

Fluttershy looked at her mom, a look of determination that was unusual for the shy girl. "I have to mom, I have to fix this."

"Fix what?"

Fluttershy sighed and walked back towards her mom. "Have you heard of the MyStable account 'anon-a-miss'?" the older woman nodded. "Well, everyone thought it was Sunset Shimmer changing back into her old self."

Mrs Shy looked confused, "I thought she had changed and was part of your little group of friends now?"

"She was. But we turned her out after accusing her of bring anon-a-miss. We didn't even give her a chance to defend herself." Fluttershy closed her eyes as tears started to trickle down her cheeks. "But I realized something. This page is not something the old Sunset would do. It's much too obvious for her. The old Sunset was devious and manipulative; she would never create something that makes all evidence point to her."

Her mouth slightly agape, Mrs Shy stared at her daughter. "I can see you want to fix this dear, but is running outside in this weather going to help? Sunset's probably safe at home by now."

Flutter shy buried her face in her hands. "She *sniff* hasn't *sniff* got one." She fell to her knees as she continued to sob pitiously. Looking up for a second through a haze of tears, she saw her mom had a confused look on her face. "She lives alone. I heard Diamond Tiara say at school that her dad has kicked Sunset out her apartment because of what anon-a-miss did to her friendship with Silver Spoon.

Mrs Shy bent down to comfort her distraught daughter. "Do you mean Sunset's all alone out there in this weather?" Fluttershy nodded and wailed louder. "I'll get the car."

"Are you sure it's safe to drive in this weather? Fluttershy asked, a concerned look on her face. They were driving slowly through the snow, hoping to find Sunset and get back home before the worst of the blizzard hit. It was getting late as well, night had fallen already because it was winter.

"The roads aren't that bad yet. This car is sturdy as well, so it can survive a bit of Mother Nature." Mrs Shy kept her eyes on the road while Fluttershy scanned the sidewalks for Sunset. The streets were pretty much empty due to the weather, which made everything quiet and a little eerie.

"If you drive towards Sunset's old apartment, something tells me she'll be somewhere along that route." Fluttershy had stopped crying now and was instead praying Sunset was safe.

Neither mother or daughter spoke for several minutes, until suddenly Fluttershy gave a small shriek. Her mom hit the breaks and the car skidded to a halt.

"I think I saw a flash of red and gold as we drove past the alley back there." They both leapt out the car and ran to the alley, their feet making crunching sounds when they trod on the snow on the sidewalk.

Fluttershy got to the alley first. Sunset was slumped against the wall, snow starting to gather on her hair and legs. Her mom caught up. "I think she's passed out from the cold..." Fluttershy said to her mom while still staring at Sunset.

"Let's get her in the car." together, the two managed to get Sunset strapped into one of the back seats.

Mrs Shy turned the car around slowly and then drove back home. Fluttershy, who had chosen to ride in the back with Sunset, held her friend's hand, warming it up a little.

A lone tear rolled down her face.

"Please be alright Sunset..."

Author's Note

This is my first fic, I really wanted to try writing one so I hope it turned out ok.

If anyone could give me some help with what tags I need, I'd be grateful. The violence tag is going to be explained in a later chapter hopefully, and if I find it doesn't fit anymore, I'll remove it.

Thank you for reading!