"Ahhhh. What a night!"

The patrol was finally over. After a few hours of jumping on rooftops and searching for any kind of criminal activity, she was ready to return to her place. Nothing special happened, if you don't consider the small drug party she needed to crash, which she didn't. So aside from that, it was a peaceful night. But her mind was anything was peaceful at the moment.

'I still can't get my mind off of today.' she thought glumly, reflecting back on yet another bad day.

'All your days are shitty one way or another. Today just happens to be a tad bit shittier!' Her eternal mental companion cheerfully replied. Like Sunset, she - it, Sunset reminded herself - didn't feel good about how things went south in a matter of seconds. Normally, she'd be pleased with seeing her tormentor suffer, but this wasn't enjoyable for her either. She didn't know why, but lately, she wasn't in the mood for mischief. Her troublemaking spirit seemed to have been crushed by the latest events that happened in Canterlot High.

'Of course you're not going to be any help. Some things never change, I guess.'

'Go on. It's not like I'm being offended or anything. In fact, I love it when you blame me for all the shit that happened to you! Ever heard of karma, idiot?'

'You think I like seeing these stuff happen to me? What am I supposed to do when everyone else want to punish me for things I haven't even done?'

'When all else fails, blame the others. That's classic Sunset Shimmer for you.'

'You mean yourself? I mean, it sounds like the stuff you would do.'

The voice stopped talking, and for a second, Sunset thought she heard a sigh before it was muted. Only after a couple of seconds, she heard her again.

'Look, Shimmer. I know I'm not trustworthy, and a literal pain in the ass. I know you hate me, and sometimes, I hate you too. But that doesn't mean I don't care what goes on in your head. I care because you don't. Or at least, you don't want to.' Sunset started to protest, before immediately being cut off before she could even think. 'i know what you want to say, and I'll shut you up before you say it. You don't care about the stuff that happens to you, because you think you deserve it. Now, I can be a total ass and say you do, but I'm not like that. I'm an asshole, sure, but I'm not like those bastards at CHS who think they can play god with us. I think that you suffered enough. That's why I encouraged you to fight back today.'

'Even if it got me into trouble?'

'Sunset, look around you. What bigger trouble are you gonna get into? The whole world turned their back on you. You can't lose anything else.'

'So, you say I'm fighting for a lost cause? Gee, I didn't know you worked at a suicide prevention center. You'd do a great job at convincing people not to lose hope'

'You haven't lost yet. You still have a few people that actually care about you.'

'I do? Where are they, though? I can't see them. You think I need glasses?'

'I'm not joking. You've got Princess Twilight. You've got Celestia-'

Sunset shook her head, only just catching herself from talking out loud. 'No no no no no! Absolutely not! Princess Celestia is off the list for several reasons!'

'Care to explain at least some of them? From what I can remember, you never told me or anybody else why you don't want to see her. Or how did you even meet her, for that matter.'

'Can't you just go through my memories or something? Find them yourself?'

'I could, but I want to hear it from you.'

'And why's that, exactly?'

'Because that way, I wouldn't be able to make any sense of it! You're too hard to read sometimes, ya know.'

'Fine! Have it your way!'

Sunset sighed, and decided to sit down on the roof. The ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, which made it cold and uncomfortable. But thanks to her suit, she didn't need to worry about the temperature that much. Plus, she was used to the cold long before she became Daredevil anyways. Stick had specifically ordered her to swim for 5 hours in the lake, in winter of all seasons! That old bastard…

She let out another, heavier sigh, this time accompanied with a trail of mist coming out of her mouth. Random blasts from the past were all she got, really. After the Fall Formal, her mind would always go back to the past, reminding her of each and every terrible thing she'd done. Not that she complained, though. In her mind, she was being punished for who she was. Relationships were destroyed, friendships were broken, and no trust had remained in the high school. It was ironic, she supposed. How she'd paid the price for each of those things. Things she thought didn't matter as long as they didn't posed a threat to her. She was really something, wasn't she?

Instead of further dwelling on her past, Sunset Shimmer decided to lean on a wall and get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could while laying down on a roof. After that, she began to tell her tale. A short and complex version, out loud, as if she needed to hear it herself.

"A while after my dad died, I was put into an orphanage. It was tough at first, but… it became normal after a while. Sure, ponies called me a freak and a criminal for what happened to my dad, but I got through most of it. Funny, my nickname was 'Daredevil' at the time, mostly because I did some stupid things just for the sake of it. One day, I was minding my own business, when the matron came into the room and told us that the princess was going to come there for a visit. She expected us to behave, otherwise she'd give us crap for the rest of the month.

"I was… a bit shocked, to say the least. I didn't expect a princess to come visit a crappy orphanage in the shady side of Canterlot. It was odd, but I didn't care at the time. Then, I found something I thought I've lost a long time ago: hope. I was beginning to feel like the world was actually giving a shit for the first time! The Princess of the fucking Sun was coming to meet us! If I could impress her enough, then maybe I could finally get the fuck out of that hellhole!"

'Wow! Young and ambitious my ass, huh Shim-Shim?'

Sunset chuckled, but continued, "Well, you aren't wrong. Though, during that time, I only saw Celestia as a way of escaping the prison I was locked in. I never thought about being her personal protégé or anything like that!"

'Why her? I mean, there wasn't anypony else to adopt you before that?'

"Let's just say that I wasn't the best behaved filly around. I was famous for being extremely angry at the time. As you can see here, that got me into trouble often."

'What do you mea- OH! Oh crap, that must've hurt! That poor guy! Why in Tartarus would yo-'

"Anger issues, remember? Anyway, during that week, I was trying to be the best filly you'd ever see. I'd go to bed early, washed my clothes, and didn't zap anyone with my magic. I put so much effort into making sure that I'd set a good example for Celestia. It was hard, but I was sure it'd pay off. Then, the day finally came, and I was… stressed? No, that'd be an understatement. I was nerv-cited, as Pinkie Pie would say. Celestia was coming, and under no circumstances I'd let myself screw this up! I could do this! I just needed to believe in myself, and get rid of all the competitors. Easy as pie!"

'And that was the time when you hatched Philomena, and got to be Celestia's personal student, right?'

"Yeah. At that moment, I was so happy I thought I was gonna die! Like, I was gonna have a heart attack and die! What happened afterwards was mostly a blur to me. They signed all the paperwork, and after a month or so, I got into Canterlot Castle! And the rest, well, is history…"

Sunset finished her sentence and smiled. Remembering all those moments, how happy she was in them, how simpler things were made her feel a bit of nostalgia. Right now, she'd give anything to live those moments once again. She wanted to prevent all this, and she wanted to have a happy life in her home world.

"That was back then, and I still managed to fuck it all up! I think my special talent is to destroy lives, don't you think?", Sunset said bitterly.

'Maybe. But now, you decide who or what you're gonna fuck up'

"Well, Anon-a-miss would argue with that."

And then they fell silent. For a couple of minutes, Sunset laid down and gazed at the stars, as a way to distract herself from the conversation. And Anon-a-miss.

God, she hated that name with every fiber of her being.

The voice, however, seemed to be deep in thought. She couldn't see what she was thinking about, due to the limitations of her mind, but whatever it was, it was serious. Not dead serious, but pretty important, she guessed.

Finally, when she decided to stand up and leave, the demon began talking once more.

'I want to tell you something. It might sound repetitive, but I'll say it anyway.'

That peaked her interest. Cautiously, she replied, 'Sure. What do you wanna tell me?'

'When I said you have people that care about you, I meant it. It may not be Celestia, but there are others.'

'Who? Like I said, I can't think of anybody that haven't left me thanks to lady Anon-a-miss. You've got any candidates?'

'Well, like I said before, there's Princess Twilight…'

'I don't think she'd-'

'…Which would be useful considering what you're going through qualifies as a friendship crisis. And no, I don't care if you've got a crush on her or not.'

' But I don't!'

'Then ask her to come over! Geez, is that so hard to do?'

'It's just… she's a princess, and she's got her own stuff to do. She doesn't have time for me.'

'Again with the self-loathing! You can never find out if you don't fucking try!'

'Anyone else?'

'Then there's this other Twilight…'

'What the hell is with you and Twilights? It seems like you're the one having a crush on her!'

'So you admit that you're crushing her?'

"NO!"

'But seriously, go talk to her. She seems like a nice girl, and I'm sure she'd listen to your rants.'

'Oh, I'm sure she would. Better reveal my secret to her too while I'm at it!'

'Just… give her a chance, would ya? Sci-Twi helped you once, remember?'

''Sci-Twi'? Seriously?'

'Yeah. She loves science, so I though it'd suit her.'

'Thanks for the name, Cisco Ramon.'

'At your service, Mademoiselle Shimmer.'

Sunset sat up, and cleaned herself after sitting on the snow. She looked at her watch, and to her surprise, it was 2 hours left until morning. She had to go back to her apartment, get some rest, and head for school afterwards. Joy!

'Don't worry! It'll be over before you know it. Well, depending on how many students have the balls to come even near you after yesterday.'

'I'm praying they won't. I don't wanna deal with those morons again!'

'But you are gonna send them flowers, won't you?

'Ha, as if!'

'Well, you can buy them cacti if it bothers you so much. It's cheaper, if you want to save money.'

'Maybe one day. Until then, I'm gonna go home. I'll visit 'Sci-Twi' later tonight. I think I need the company.'

'Ya think?'

'Oh, shut up you!'

'Fine, Fine. I was just being friendly.'

And with that, she jumped down the building.

"You did WHAT!?"

Rainbow Dash was mad. No, she was goddamn furious! Yesterday, a fight went on between the Wonderbolts and Sunset Shimmer. While Sunset somehow got out of the fight with a few bruises and a cut across her forehead, it didn't go so well for the group of attackers. The battle left them scattered all over the gym's yard, and possibly scarred for life. From the looks of things, Sunset broke their pride, alongside with multiple bones and ribs. For example, Soarin's nose was completely shattered, his jaw was fractured and a few broken ribs. The doctors treated it, of course, but it still forced him out of commision for a while.

Spitfire's condition was no better. In fact, she was worse. During the examination, the doctors informed her family that she was suffering from head trauma, concussion, and a slightly fractured skull. The effects would remain for weeks, maybe more. The leader of the Wonderbolts was hospitalized, and would return to school when she was fully healed. The rest of them had to stay for check-ups and proper examination as well, all except Fleetfoot. Apparently, she was the only one who made it out of the fight without any serious damage. All she got was a small bruise on her neck - how Shimmer knocked her out. She went down without a fight, and she was apparantly fine about it, instead seeing how her friends were doing. Both Soarin and Fleetfoot were tasked to tell the story to the school principals, and got detention for a month because of the attack. Well, Principal Celestia said it was a month. They didn't know what Vice Principal Luna would say about it. The idea of having their Vice Principal setting their punishment sent chills down Soarin's spine. And that wasn't even considering Spitfire's punishment. She brought a knife into school, that was bad enough, let alone actually attacking someone with it.

'A war,' Soarin thought, 'It sure as hell felt like one. We got our ass handed to us! All from Shimmer! A bloody massacre!'

He still couldn't believe what he saw. Sunset Shimmer, that skinny girl who had never got her hands dirty in her life, beat them to a pulp with her bare hands! He didn't see it coming, at all! And the worse thing was the fact that she used Rainbow Dash as bait for him. She knew about his crush on Rainbow, and used it to enrage and distract him. And, unfortunately, it worked.

But the worst part? Rainbow Dash wasn't slightly impressed by their attempt at attacking Shimmer. On the contrary, she became very angry with them and the Wonderbolts. And he didn't know why, so he asked her about it.

"Why are you so mad? I thought you wanted us to teach her a lesson!"

"No, I didn't! You barely talked to me before deciding to go ape-shit on her! Just… ugh! What were you thinking!?"

"We didn't know she'd fight back! Plus, we were just there to talk! She started teasing us!"

"So you attacked her? God, this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen a Wonderbolt say or do! I thought you guys were cooler than that!"

Soarin frowned. He still didn't get why Rainbow didn't want actual revenge on Sunset. "But Dash! She broke your arm! It's not something you can just get away with!"

Rainbow retorted, "Yeah, but trying to 'teach her a lesson' in the gym doesn't solve anything! And with a knife, too!"

"You're just saying that because she's your friend, don't you?"

"No, because it's a sane thing to do! My gosh, why don't you guys get it?"

Rainbow shook her head and sighed. This situation was getting out of control, fast. Anon-a-miss needed to be taken down, but not like this! Brute force solved nothing, based on her own experience, and it only made things for both Sunset and the whole school. Besides, Sunset was their friend once. And as much she hated to admit, Rainbow actually cared about her well-being. So did the rest of the girls.

Lately, Sunset's been acting strange. She was more aggressive, paranoid, and wet with tears for most of the time. Not to mention the fact that she suddenly gained incredible reflexes and fighting skills.

'I mean, it's pretty awesome and all,' Rainbow thought with only minimal glee, 'but not when she's trying to kill us with it! That's not like her!'

But then again, what was like her in these past couple of days? What was the real Sunset Shimmer like? Was she a manipulative bitch who tricked people into doing what she wants, or a genuinely caring and compassionate friend? One who'd stand by your said in thick and thin, not stab you in the back when they're done with you? One that'd help others, not bring them down?

'Okay Dash! Why the hell are you having these thoughts right now? She broke your fucking arm! I'm pretty sure she doesn't need forgiveness for that. In fact, she's way past forgiveness after the stuff she did! So just stop thinking like this and get your shit together!' Rainbow told herself. After she did, she noticed that Soarin was still standing in front of her, looking confused.

"Ummm, everything okay Dash? You just zoned out for a while."

Rainbow shook her head and replied tiredly, "Yeah, I'm good bud. Sorry, I was… distracted for a bit."

"Was it because of what I said? I'm sorry if it offended you or anything. I know she was your friend and all, but…"

"It's okay Soarin. It really is. I guess it's just… I dunno… surprised? I mean, I've never seen Sunset act like this. And I definitely didn't think you guys go down in a fight with her like that!"

Soarin groaned, "Uh, why do you keep reminding me?"

"Sorry about that. Guess I'm still not used to it."

"Neither am I. But I'd like to forget about it soon. Even though I won't be able to live it down for the rest of the year."

"Yikes."

Soarin looked at her and sighed quietly. 'Should I tell her?' he thought forlornly, 'Should I tell her that I have a crush on her? I mean, this seems like it'd be a good moment to-'

Suddenly, the school bell rang, which meant the students had to get back to their classes. Rainbow Dash started to walk towards a seperate corridor and told him, "Well, gotta go, I guess. See you after class?"

'Dammit!' Soarin silently cursed himself for his bad luck. Nevertheless, he replied, "Yeah, sure."

"Cool. Have luck with your, uhhh…"

"With my jaw? Recovery? I really shouldn't be talking this much..."

"Yeah, that. Just… make sure you don't get into any more trouble. We need you guys for the next Friendship games. You're the soccer team, you know?"

"I'll try. But that Shimmer better not do anything else! We've already had enough shit from her!"

Rainbow couldn't help but frown at that. But still, she replied, "Yeah, she better not. Well, see ya!"

"See ya, Dash!"

And with that, Rainbow Dash left the scene, leaving Soarin with a sad expression on his face. Eventually, he started making his way towards his class.

Luna had just grabbed her keys and wallet as she slipped her jacket on, checking her hair once more in the bathroom mirror before heading out into the hall, only to come face to face with her sister.

"I'll see you when I get back, Tia. I'll try not to stay out too late, but if you need me, give me a call." Luna said as she went to leave, only for Celestia to reach out for her shoulder, stopping her with a small smile.

"You've got one more thing to do before you go."

"What do you mean? I don't think I forgot anything?" Luna replied in confusion.

"She wouldn't go to sleep until she got a story." Her older sister began, holding up her hand, "And before you say anything, she meant a story from you. I would be a bit offended if I didn't already know her preferences."

Celestia folded her arms and smiled at Luna, who merely let out a mock sigh and turned back around with a warm look on her face as she approached a bedroom door which had the name 'Night Shade' on the door in multicolored letters. Knocking on the door lightly, she opened it to see the room's owner lying underneath the covers of a single bed, looking up as soon as Luna entered the room. The older woman smiled as she made her way to the bed, sitting down next to it's occupant who immediately thrust a small story book into her hands.

"Already picked one out, I see." Luna said approvingly, to which the girl nodded eagerly before moving over to snuggle into Luna's side.

"Your aunt said you would only let me read for you tonight? Surely she can't be that bad a reader, is she?" Luna asked with a small smile, making the young girl giggle and shake her head.

"No, aunty reads really well, but she can't do the voices like you can Mama." She replied in a bubbly voice, her green eyes shining up at Luna who nodded knowingly as she wrapped an arm around her child and placed a kiss on her head.

Night Shade was Luna's six year old daughter, with light blue-grey skin and blue and black hair. Her big blue eyes stared up at her mother, who smiled warmly, turning her attention to the book. She was about to open it, when the young girl's voice spoke up once more. "Mama… is everything ok with Aunty Tia?"

"Why would you think anything is wrong baby?" She asked with concern, looking at Night Shade worriedly while placing the book down on the bedside table.

"Well… earlier when cousin Cady dropped me off, I heard Aunt Tia on the phone, I didn't hear what she said, but she sounded upset, like sad upset and mad upset at the same time…"

Luna inwardly swore, but kept her outward expression calm and comforting as she rubbed her hand on Night Shade's back in soothing circles. She must have overheard Celestia dealing with even more of the aftermath of the incident with Sunset Shimmer. Turning her daughter around so she was facing her fully, Luna gave her a small, slight sad smile as she spoke.

"Everything is fine, my little star." she said softly, staring into Night Shade's eyes. "Aunt Tia was just dealing with boring grown up business. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Really?"

"Really." Luna confirmed with a nod as she brought the young girl back into her embrace and reached over for the book, ready to send her daughter off to a peaceful sleep, free from any nightmares that might try and haunt her dreams.

Only a few minutes later, Luna sat in a bar, silently sipping the beer that she and her friend had ordered. Lively patrons were scattered around the place, music playing in the background. She looked up at Redheart, who only gave a small smile before returning to the buffalo wings she was eating.

Outside of her work as the school nurse, Redheart was also one of Luna's closest and oldest friends, having known her ever since they attended high school together. This was just the latest of their biweekly meetings, in which they discussed many topics, ranging from the latest TV shows and books, to the occasional piece of gossip they had heard.

"So, I haven't heard from Sombra lately." Redheart commented, shifting topic as Luna looked up from her own meal.

"No, neither have I. Given how busy he is recently, you really can't expect a text every day."'

"I'm still astonished that he got so successful." Redheart shook her head in disbelief, and Luna gave a light hearted chuckle in return.

"Come on now, he must've had some kind of brain rattling around in that handsome little skull of his." An amused snort escaped Redheart, who took another sip from her beer, before her face turned serious. Luna immediately noticed the change, announcing, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't know what I was even going to say."

"You know I know that's not true. There's a reason I chose this place for our meeting, you know." She paused, staring at Redheart, before sighing and adding, "Fine, fine, say it. I know there's no stopping you now."

"Sunset Shimmer." Luna visibly sagged at the words, nodding in resigned understanding. With no small amount of concern in her voice, Redheart continued, "It's just... After everything that's been happening recently, especially today, what are you going to do? I had to call the hospital immediately! None of them were in danger of dying or being crippled, but they were still seriously injured! And then one of them had a knife! This is getting so far out of hand!"

"And you think I don't know that?!" Luna replied in a hushed shout, leaning fowards. "The Wonderbolts were beaten to a pulp, and Tia and I have been trying to get to the bottom of this whole mess ever since it started! All of the students - all of them - that we've questioned have firmly believed that Sunset is behind it all! There's apparantly a few people who aren't blaming her, but I've yet to speak to one of them, and that does nothing to help anyway! This Anon-a-miss is completely out of control, and as of now, we are completely clueless!"

Redheart winced as her friend slammed her forehead against the table, and was about to speak up when Luna continued, her speech muffled. "And that's not all!"

"What do you mean, Luna?"

The Vice Principal looked up, worry clear in her eyes. "When I looked at Sunset, I saw myself. You remember Winter Breeze? And when I beat the shit out of her and her little gang in tenth grade? You know how they were, making my life a living hell because Tia wasn't there to protect me anymore after she graduated. I snapped, and Breeze was bleeding on the floor. Only you stopped me from hurting her even more seriously, and I was lucky enough to have an influential mother - I would've gone to juvie otherwise."

"I know what Winter Breeze did was quite wrong, but you should not compare recent events to that." Redheart said softly, noting the hurt look in her friend's eyes.

"Shouldn't I?! Almost the whole reason I was so hard on Sunset was because of how much of myself I saw in her. And, once again, you know what happened back then. After the incident with Breeze, everyone treated me differently. People scrambled to get out of my way, whispering behind my back but never meeting my eyes. And that nickname..." Luna snorted dismissively, coming down from her tirade. "Still can't believe I started calling myself Nightmare Moon too..."

She scoffed, making her displeasure at her own past known. "I was so fucking stupid. No one can convince me otherwise. I just wanted to be normal - I don't want people to make fun of me, I don't want to be an outcast - so my mind immediately thought getting everyone to fear me was the best option. So yeah - really stupid. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you and Tia slapping some sense into me. All I did was isolate myself."

"Oh, I think I know where you would've ended up, Lulu." Redheart teased, a small smile on her face. "In fact, if everyone had started calling you that, no one would've be afraid of you. 'Look out! Lulu's coming this way! Run!'"

Grateful for the lighter topic, Luna grinned, adding, "With all the black leather and spikes, I don't think I needed a special name!"

"Oh, yeah, the whole biker punk thing! I'll give it to you, you wore it well."

"I looked ridiculous." Luna replied with a flat look, before Redheart burst out into giggles.

"The mohawk! I had forgotten about that!"

"Ohh, please, don't remind me..." Luna hid her face in her hands, but couldn't quite suppress the laughter that bubbled up in her throat.

"Hey, at least you had some style of cool going on! I was stuck with braces until graduation, nevermind the skirt and suspenders my mom made me wear!"

The friendly banter continued into the night, reflected on their willing and not-so-willing fashions in High School. Luna was glad to have Redheart, for someone to talk to besides her sister. And, just for a moment, Sunset Shimmer and Anon-a-miss was out of sight and out of mind.

'This is a damn nightmare! And it never fucking ends!'

Sunset Shimmer had never really thought of school as exhausting. She breezed through almost any school work, and her extracurricular activities didn't really affect her any more. But during the day, people had had giving her looks. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but this time, the looks had hints of fear. It seemed word had gotten around about yesterday's fight, and if Sunset was being honest with herself, she didn't really care anymore. Giving them attention would just make everything worse, but even that couldn't solve the boredom of Mr. Cranky's class. At least it was last period, though it was little consolation when Sunset felt the fearful gazes on the back of her head.

'If I don't get out of here soon, I'm gonna go insane!' Sunset irritably thought, her head resting in her hands as she barely paid attention to what was being taught.

'Hate to break it to ya, but there's still fifteen minutes left. Or is that a good thing?'

'No! It's fifteen minutes too long!'

'Soo... should I get the roses?'

'I'm not going to have my own funeral!' Sunset mentally growled, only to audibly sigh. She seemed to be doing that a lot this week, though this time it was simply because she wanted school to be over. Was that really too much to ask? She could just go home, get some sleep, maybe go-

'-out on patrol? Is that seriously all you do these days?'

'What other options do I have? The girls all hate me, and Twilight's busy in Equestria with Hearth's Warming.' She replied irritably, adding with sarcasm, 'Oh, wait, there's the rest of the school to go to! I'm sure I can talk to one of them?'

'Well, my offer still stands. Or rather, my recommendation. Whatever. I don't care about linguistical differences.'

'English aside, I assume you mean about Twil- sorry, Sci-Twi? Yeah, I said I'll consider it.'

Honestly, Sunset was actually going to see Twilight before she went on patrol, maybe even during.It wasn't a hard descision to make - she needed someone who she could trust, and no one in their right mind could be her friend right now, let alone talk to her. Of course, that only applied in school, but she wasn't going to go around asking for people to be her friend. She had enough trust issues already, no need to risk adding to that. So that left only Twilight. Maybe Trixie, but Sunset really didn't want to see her after their last meeting, for more reasons that just it being risky.

'By the way, what's with you and Twilight? Do you know something?'

'Noooo.'

'Care to explain?'

'Nope.'

Sunset growled softly under her breath in frustration, even though the mysterious voice in her head hiding things was nothing new. 'But seriously, you keep on telling me to visit her. And before that it was all about Trixie. You think they're gonna save the world again? Rainbooms, two-point-oh? ...Or is it you who has the crush?'

The demonic voice goes silent for a moment - possibly doing its version of blushing furiously or choking horrendously - before making a composed sound and answering in its usual annoying tone, 'No, that would be you. As a matter of fact, I need you to survive to exist, in case you have forgotten. And these times are desperate, so, you - or rather, we - need allies. Or, at the very least, someone who actually will stay by us, instead of fucking off the moment they have an excuse to do so. People who won't leave you in the dirt with a moment's hesitation. Like, I don't know, your so-called stupid friends.'

'Hey, they're not stupid. Just a little... decieved.'

'If they're getting decieved by a terrible frame job that has literally no solid evidence, then they're pretty damn stupid.'

'They were gonna believe it no matter what because everyone else believed it was me.' Sunset had to resist cringing at the sentence - while not exactly flawed, they both knew it wasn't entirely true.

'You broke Rainbow Dash's arm, for fuck's sake! Regardless of why they think you're guilty, they sure as hell aren't going to trust you after that! And then there's the Wonderdolts! As justified as that one was, you did beat the actual shit out of Spitfire. She's still in hospital.'

'Okay, okay, I get the point.' Sunset conceded with reluctance, glancing at the clock - three more minutes. 'But remember that both times, I was the defender.'

'You provoked them all into a fight to let off stress and you know it.'

'The Wondercolts would've attacked either way, I jsut sped the process up, and you exploited my mood to encourage me into a fight with Dash and you know it.'

'...Fine. Fine, you're right. But that screw-up with the magician? Crying in an alleyway with your Daredevil outfit minus the mask? Was that my fault too?'

Trying to come up with a reasonable response and finding none, Sunset instead just groaned, sinking into her thoughts. The voice was right, that was entirely on her for losing her composure and having a breaking down without thinking about it. She lost control of her emotions, and in that kind of work, that could lead to her death. And it was someone from school that found out about. That alone was cause for more worry than usually, but it just happened to be Trixie of all people! Nevermind their meeting in the bar before that incident, she could use that against Sunset no matter what the circumstances!

The bell ringing sounded throughout the school, and Sunset let out a relieved sigh. Packing up her things, she went for the door, intent on leaving the school when the hallways were quiet and there was less chance of someone approaching her. She really didn't need another fight.

She would've been successful in this endeavour, if it wasn't for a girl - Trixie, Sunset noticed with extreme annoyance - standing directly in front of the doorway, causing Sunset to crash into her. They collapsed into a heap, groaning, when a sing song voice sounded in her head.

'That's karma, right there. Wow. I mean, good luck?'

Not bothering to respond, Sunset struggled to get up, lifting herself up and walking off without a word. A hand fell on her shoulder, and she fought back the urge to lash out at Trixie. Impatiently, Sunset spun around, demanding, "What do you want from me Trixie?! In case you haven't noticed, I've been avoiding you!"

"Trixie just wanted to talk, okay? She didn't mean to run into you or anything!"

Immediately, Sunset grabbed Trixie's arm, pulling her down the hallways. She glanced around, knowing this conversation was not something she wanted happening in public, and went over to a stairwell, the door creaking shut behind them. Releasing Trixie, she stared at the magician menacingly.

"Spill."

Trixie took a moment to collect herself, clearly unused to the sudden forcefulness, but not in the mood to question it. When she finally did compose herself, she looked Sunset directly in the eyes, telling her, "I, uh, wanted to talk about, um, that night."

If there was literally anything else being discussed, Sunset might've raised an eyebrow at the use of normal first person, but she was too worried about where this was going to think of such things. Almost instictively, she continued to stare, her face scrunching up in fake confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Frowning, Trixie took a determined half-step forward, getting closer to Sunset. "We both know what I'm talking about. I was a little drunk, yes, but not that drunk. I was not hallucinating, and you were crying in... that outfit."

Immediately, her face went cold, no emotions showing. She knew she would have to play this carefully. "And what assurances do you have?"

"Don't play me for a fool, Shimmer! I can connect the dots! I'm just more astonished I didn't find out sooner!"

'She's caught us. What're you gonna do about it?'

'Tell her everything.' Sunset's reply held no hesitation. She knew how Trixie worked, and she would not stop until she found out the full truth. Nothing - even blackmail - would stop her now.

Naturally, Sunset's mental companion's response was rather predictable. 'Have you gone mad?! She'll tell the whole school!'

'No. You heard in the bar. She has an obsession with Daredevil. I reckon she feels she owes me. Provided this doesn't go wrong-'

'It will.'

'-she'll probably want to help in whatever way she can. And besides, I'm not going to tell her everything. At least, not until she proves herself to be completely trustworthy.'

'...Okay. Do it. But if this goes wrong, I'm blaming you. You are insane after all.'

'Says the voice in my head.'

Managing to tear her attention away from the mental conversation, she found Trixie still waiting there with a patient expression on her face. Letting out a deep sigh of resignation, Sunset asked, "How much do you already know?"

"A lot, but I still don't understand why you've chosen to be a vigilante."

"Well." Another deep exhale, this one more out of preparation instead of reluctance. "You're about to find out."

Author's Note

Hi everybody. I'm really sorry about the late update, and I've got an announcement to make.
This story's going to be put on hiatus again, but it's not canceled. There are some problems in my life right now, school included, and I won't have time to write the rest of the story properly. At least, not until summer starts. So, this fic's going to be on hiatus for a month or so, and then be updated again.

In the meantime, I'd really appreciate it if you guys decide to share this story and help it get some more views. More comments would be awesome as well. If you liked the story, you can always give it a like and a fave. Thanks again, guys!