Alternate Title: They Really Should Have Thought This Through
Walking into school one December morning, the Rainbooms looked like a small pack of Sleep Zombies. They had all spent the night prior at Pinkie Pie's house, the first in a series of sleepover parties leading up to Sunset Shimmer's first Christmas celebration in the human world. They knew they'd end up suffering such fatigue for the whole week, but none of them regretted the chance to bond.
Applejack smiled and chuckled softly to herself as she recalled the silly games they played at Pinkie Pie's insistence. Charades, Truth or Dare, Twenty Questions, all with that trademarked Pinkie Pie craziness. It turned out a lot more fun than it first seemed, and AJ in particular loved that one round of Charades when Rarity had to-...
Something snapped Applejack out of her recollections, her acute ears picking up the faint sound of giggling. Malicious giggling. Upon shifting her gaze, she noticed the trio of friends known around school as the Flower Girls. All three were looking directly at her and giggling until they caught her gaze; at which point they promptly looked away.
She was about to shrug it off as just gossipy girls doing their thing, when she heard someone snort behind her. Almost like they were imitating a pig. She whirled around to get a look at the jokester, but only saw the ever-shifting crowd of her peers.
"That was weird," she muttered as she turned to catch up with her group. "Coulda sworn Ah heard summun oink b'hind me. Huh...must be th' lack o' sleep."
She caught up with her friends at their lockers and started sorting out her books and assignments. She was just about done when she noticed Apple Bloom in Rarity's mirror; running up in a slightly panicked state.
"Applejack! Applejack!" she called, panting as she slid to a stop near her sister. "Ya gotta see this!"
"Whut 'n tarnation you on about, Bloomy?" Applejack yawned. "An' why this early in th' mornin'?"
"LOOK!" Apple Bloom shoved her phone out for Applejack to see.
On the screen was the elder sister's MyStable page, and at the very top was a new post published some three hours prior by a user named "Anon-A-Miss":
Did you guys know when AJ was a kid she loved playing with her pigs? OMG! She sat in the mud for hours! Her whole family calls her "Piggly Wiggly" cause she loves them so much! What a PIG!
Applejack snatched the phone up and blanched when she saw the post, and how it had been liked by sixty-nine people; twenty-five of which left some kind of mean spirited comment of amusement.
"WHAT?! How th-... Whut th-... Who's this 'Anon-A-Miss' character?"
"Th' profile wus created same time as th' post!" Apple Bloom explained. "No tellin' who it is! She posted on your page, mah page, our friends' pages! Ah'd reckon the whole school knows by now!"
Applejack stood there breathless, her hearing picking up faint calls of "Piggly Wiggly" and "oink oink" from the crowd around them. It took a bit, but she steeled her emotions with a deep breath and plopped the phone back into its owner's hands.
"W-well, Ah ain't gonna let this bother me," she stated, trying to sound confident. "Ah wusn't raised tuh fold to a lil' teasin'. Even if it is about sumthin' this embarrassin'."
"Okay, but what about this 'Anon-A-Miss'?" asked Rainbow Dash. "How'd they even know your old family nickname?"
"And why would they put it on the internet?" added Fluttershy. "That...that's just so cruel!"
Before anyone could answer these questions, the bell rang for classes to begin. "Ah guess we'll just have tuh wait until after school."
Noticing how dejected her friend looked, Sunset Shimmer reached out a comforting hand and placed it on AJ's shoulder. "Let us know if we can help," she offered.
AJ looked at the hand and smiled a bit. "Sure thing, Sunset. Thanks."
Applejack sighed as the friends parted ways for classes, and she slowly walked down the now empty halls. Apple Bloom stuck next to her sister, waiting for a bit then clearing her throat.
"So, sis...about this 'Anon-A-Miss' thing."
"Whut about it?"
"Well...th' only people that know that story are us, our family, and yer friends. Are ya sure ya never told nobody else?"
Applejack sent a confused look towards her sister. "Positive. Whut'cha gittin' at, Bloomy?"
"Well..." Apple Bloom took a second to scratch the back of her head. "Sunset only heard last night, both the account and th' post were made this mornin', and th' page has the same colors as Sunset's hair..."
Applejack stopped in her place and glared at her little sister. "Are y'all suggestin' what Ah think yer suggestin'?"
Apple Bloom also stopped and waved her hands. "A-Ah mean...it's th' kinda thing she used tuh do, so it's not too big uh leap..."
The elder Apple became borderline furious. "How DARE you?!" she shouted. "Sunset's mah friend! Ah've seen her change and grow wit' mah own two eyes, Apple Bloom! Do NOT go accusin' her to mah face like that!"
Apple Bloom backed off, knowing this was a fight she'd never win. "O-okay! Okay! I-it was just a thought! N-no need fer shoutin'! Ah'll meet up wit' ya after school."
Applejack huffed and briskly walked away, ready to put these events behind her so she could be in a better mood for Rarity's slumber party later that night.
Later that week, Sunset strolled into Canterlot High with a smile on her face. The past few nights had been ones to remember. Sketching wacky clothes with Rarity, playing with Fluttershy's foster pets, the video game tournament at Rainbow Dash's. She felt closer than ever with her friends.
My friends, she thought, hugging herself as warmth began to build in her core. Those five. Who'd have thought that the girls I would target the most ended up becoming my closest relationships? Heck, I think I might even be able to call them-
She stopped walking, yanked from her inner monologue by the sight of her friends. They were all standing there, looking at each other in confusion and concern. Rainbow Dash and Rarity in particular had rather angry looks on their faces. Something was wrong.
"Hey guys," Sunset called warily. "What's up?"
"Sunset, did y'all loose yer phone?" Applejack asked, getting straight to the point.
"Nnnooo?" Sunset said, pulling the device from her pocket. "Why? What's going on?"
"Explain this." Applejack handed Sunset her own phone, which was currently opened to Anon-A-Miss' page.
Sunset took it and looked. Her eyes flew open when she saw pictures of her and her friends, all playing around with the clothes from Rarity's "Closet of Shame".
"H-how...how did they get our pictures?" Sunset asked, more from concern over their virtual security than the embarrassing photos.
"Those ain't ours, Sunset," Applejack said bluntly. "Those 're all th' pictures you took."
"WHAT?!"
"Yer Anon-A-Miss, ain'tcha?"
"Wait! Wait, wait. Hold on a second."
Sunset, ignoring the glares of her friends, began investigating the Anon-A-Miss profile. She scoured the entire page and all its posting history; taking in every detail of how things were written and organized. She even investigated the colors of the page and the avatar, which had been done up specifically to look like her.
The Rainbooms were about to object to Sunset's dodge when they heard her giggle. Confused, they looked at her and saw her smile. Their confusion quickly grew to concern as the smile became a grin and the giggles turned to cackles.
"S-Sunset?" Fluttershy meekly called, becoming rather scared at how long Sunset kept laughing. "A-are you...are you okay?"
"LOOK AT THIS!!" Sunset practically screamed, making the rest of the Rainbooms - and everyone around them for about ten feet - jump back in shock. "Look at this bullshit! What is this?! Fucking AMATEUR HOUR?!"
Rarity flinched a little at Sunset's words. "S-Sunset, dear, please curb your language. We are on school property, after all. We could all get in trouble if-"
"Oh, I'll happily take a citation for language if it means exposing this poser!" Sunset interrupted; still grinning manically. "Just look at this thing! It's so sloppy!"
All the Rainbooms just went silent and looked at each other for a bit. The silence was broken when Pinkie looked back and asked "Come again?"
"Pull up my profile and let's compare," Sunset said, waiting for Pinkie to comply. When she had it up, Sunset took the phone and held it next to AJ's to demonstrate. "Look at this! First of all, I don't use acronyms this often in my posts. Secondly, there are some posts that have decent grammar, but others that have the worst grammar I've ever seen! Thirdly, some of these posts are properly categorized, like I would do, but then there are tons that have no categorization or wrong categorization! And finally, it looks like me! Even the avatar looks like me! Even in my early days I wasn't this sloppy! What an absolute amateur!"
She handed the phones back to their respective owners and starting laughing again. "You guys go on to class, and I'll meet up with you at lunch. Right now, I gotta go call in a favor with Principal Celestia."
As Sunset skipped away, her slightly crazed laughter echoing through the halls, the girls all looked to each other. Each felt a mix of emotions, chief among them being concern for Sunset's mental health and guilt over their thoughts of her earlier that day.
It wasn't too long later that the school's PA system turned on.
"Attention students of Canterlot High!" Sunset's voice cheerily came from the speakers. "This is Sunset Shimmer, and I've finally investigated the MyStable Profile known as Anon-A-Miss! And I want to say a few things to whoever set this up! First of all, thank you!"
Students throughout the school started chattering in confusion at the thanks.
"I haven't had a laugh this good in years, so thank you very much for making my day!" Sunset continued. "Second, did you really think I wouldn't catch onto your sloppy conjob? You made the profile look like me, dude! Why would I ever do that?!"
The confusion turned to mumbles of agreement as everyone took a moment to consider such an obviously stupid move.
"That's a surefire way to get caught! I was never that stupid even in my early days! Ask any of the faculty! They'll tell you! And finally, I have warning for you."
Everyone went deathly silent as Sunset's tone abruptly turned to ice.
"You targeted the wrong people, Amateur. Those girls are my friends. Hell, they've become like a family to me."
The Rainbooms each felt more intense guilt at the praise.
"I haven't had a family like this in so long. Why would I ever give that up? So now, you've gone and pissed me off. Here's the deal: I'll be waiting in the cafeteria with Principal Celestia during lunch hour. Either you come turn yourself in, or I'll come find you. And that's not an empty threat. I will find you, and it will be painful. You don't fuck around with my family, bitch."
The system noticeably turned off, and the entire school felt an unnatural chill crawl up their collective spines.
Lunch came, and there was only hushed murmurs between students. Everyone felt the intense air given off by Sunset Shimmer. The former bully sat at the Rainboom's usual table, Principal Celestia among the small group. The older woman grumbled and shifted about in her chair, unable to find comfort.
"Geeze, is this really the quality of chair we have?" she mumbled to herself. "How long have we even had these for? Since I was a student here? I'll have to look into getting these replaced later..."
Pinkie and Rainbow both hid their amusement at the Principal's discomfort, both getting a little satisfaction in seeing her struggle with what they struggled with every day. Sunset didn't notice, her eyes locked on the door to the room. When they opened and Vice-Principal Luna walked in, she stood up and crossed her arms. And when she got a look at just who was following the woman, she sighed and closed her eyes for a bit.
"Sunset Shimmer. Sister," Luna announced upon her arrival. "These three would like a word with you."
The Principal and the rest of the Rainbooms looked on in shock at the sight of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, all standing in a row and looking very guilty. Their respective sisters just about couldn't believe it.
"WHAT?!"
"Scoots...really?"
"Ah thought y'all wus jes' blowin' air when ya tried tuh blame Sunset a few days ago! Wut were y'all thinkin'?!"
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked to their group's defacto leader, and she sighed as she began explaining. "We were jealous of Sunset. Y'all've been spendin' so much time wit' 'er, to th' point that y'all don't make time fer us anymore. So...we tried tuh git her on y'all's bad sides so you'd have more time fer us..."
"And the pictures from Rarity's sleepover?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow to emphasize her level voice.
"That was me," Sweetie Belle squeaked out. "I-I snuck into Rarity's room while you were all asleep and took your phone to copy them..."
"What made you decide to turn yourselves in?" Celestia asked, having remained silent until now.
"At first we were really glad that our plan was working," Scootaloo answered. "Sunset was getting in trouble with our sisters, and then they'd have more time for us. But...then I overheard Rainbow talking about how she'd punch Sunset's lights out if it really was her..."
Sunset turned her head to find a stunned and rather sheepish Rainbow Dash. Her only response was to throw her a look that said "We'll talk about this later".
"So, when I told the others," Scootaloo continued. "We all decided it was best to call it off. We were gonna come to you anyway, but then you made the announcement."
"And we really, really, really don't want to get beaten up," Sweetie Belle whimpered as she started to hide behind Apple Bloom. "I-I've heard stories about how strong Sunset is, a-and I really don't wanna see it up close..."
Sunset looked at them all and closed her eyes, a rather dark expression growing as she thought things over. Each of the girls grew ever more worried about what would happen to them, and even started to panic when Sunset lifted a fist. They all clenched their eyes shut and braced for impact...and all they felt was a light bump on the top of their heads, like one might do to tease a younger sibling.
They curiously opened their eyes and looked at Sunset, whose expression turned to more disappointed than angry.
"If it was anyone else, girls," Sunset said. "If it was anyone else. I'm still really mad about the whole situation, but I'm mostly just disappointed right now. I wish you three had learned from my mistakes instead of having to make some of your own. Trust me, the stunt you pulled? It could have lead you to a dark place. And even if you got away with it for a while, it'd come back to bite you in the end. I had to learn that the hard way."
Each of the younger girls looked rather embarrassed and humbled at that.
"So, what'll happen to us now?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"That's up to Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna," Sunset started. "As well as your families. But right now?" She knelt down to eye level with them. "Just...promise me you'll talk to us first next time you start having these kinds of thoughts, okay?"
They each nodded in unison. "We promise, Sunset."
"And we're really sorry about all this," Scootaloo said. "We really weren't thinking things through at all..."
The other two voiced similar apologies, and Sunset sighed out the rest of her stress. "Thank you for apologizing, girls. I don't know if I can really forgive you right now, but I'm glad you've realized what you did was wrong."
With that settled, the two principals lead the trio to Celestia's office and Sunset sat down as the cafeteria grew lively again once the show was over. The Rainbooms all kept silent for a while, each trapped in their own thoughts. Sunset was about to get up to obtain some lunch, when Fluttershy and Pinkie hugged her tightly from either side.
"We're so, so sorry, Sunset," Fluttershy sniffled into her friend's shoulder.
"We should have trusted you more before jumping to conclusions," Pinkie sighed sadly, her hair rather limp.
With little else to do, Sunset just patted her friends' arms reassuringly. "Hey, I get it, girls. All the surface-level evidence was pointing right at me. And with my past, I'd have jumped to conclusions too."
"Still, that gives us no excuse for our hostile behavior earlier," Rarity objected. "As your friends, we really should have given you more benefit of the doubt. Especially when we feel like family to you."
Sunset smiled and looked at them all with teary eyes. "Thank you. And it's okay. I'll get past it in time. Right now, I'm starving, and Ayjay needs to think of how to include a second vegetarian at her holiday party. That is, if it's still on for this weekend."
"You bet'cher jacket it is," Applejack said with a small smirk. "An' Ah'll make sure it's extra special tuh help us get our spirits up after this week."
With a nod and another bit of reassuring to Fluttershy and Pinkie, Sunset got up and walked to get some food.
Sunset sat by a crackling fire, dressed in a warm sweater and yoga pants, wearing comfortable woolen socks, and nursing a mug of hot chocolate. She smiled in satisfaction as she watched her friends, those five girls who endeared their way into becoming her surrogate family. They each sat around the Apple Family living room in various states of dress similar to her own, and they all were doing something or other.
Rainbow and Applejack were once more trying to defeat the other in some competitive game, Pinkie was snarfing down treats like her stomach was a black hole, Rarity was sketching away on her design pad as she listened to one of Granny Smith's old stories about past Christmas parties, Fluttershy had pretty much glued herself to Sunset's side ever since they met up again after school. In addition, Maud and Big Macintosh were sitting together to enjoy the other's approval of silence. Even the Canterlot Movie Club was at the party, having been allowed to attend once they had finished doing all the chores on the Apple Family property.
Feeling inspiration strike her, Sunset placed her mug down and took out her journal, her link to Equestria, and opened it up. Taking out her pen, she began to write:
Dear Princess Twilight,
This week has been a doozy. I'll give you the full details later, but for now I'll tell you what we've all learned from the experience.
When someone new comes into the life of a beloved family member - be it a new friend, a romantic partner, etcetera - and you start feeling jealous of the time they spend together, it's important to talk to them about it the first chance you get. They're likely not trying to make you feel jealous, and will be more than happy to make more time to spend with you. And who knows? You may even find a potential friend in the new person as well.
Again, I'll go into details later. Trust me, you're going to need to be lying down for it.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer
As she closed her journal, she saw the Club walk up and offer her a plate of treats. Sunset accepted with a smile and got as many hair ruffles in as she could, ilisiting small squeals and giggles as the three ducked out of reach.
She chuckled as the three ran off, and draped her arm over Fluttershy, who had fallen asleep after getting comfortable.
Yeah, Sunset thought to herself. I think I could get used to having a family as lively as mine.
Author's Note
Yes, I did add in subtle gratuitous SunShyne. Why? Because I could, duh. 
