Rainbow Dash scowled as she threw the basketball into the hoop. Currently, it was 8:20 a.m. on a Saturday, so nobody but her would be here at the gym. Not even her trusted sister, Scootaloo, could be motivated enough to get up before 9. But it was good in a way. At least when she was alone, she could vent without anyone stopping her or looking at her weirdly. But the weird looks that she'd get was nothing compared to the betrayal that she felt.

She knew that Sunset was behind all of this, she just knew it! After all, who else would be there to take those embarrassing pictures or knowing about Applejack's childhood nickname? And Sunset Shimmer was not only a liar, but she was also real self-centered about the whole thing. She was only thinking about herself while other people was suffering from the secret messaging board. She was always a rotten apple and as soon as they told Twilight, she would pay for it.

In her seething anger, she missed the shot and it bounced off of the headboard. The athlete turned to see it land perfectly into the hands of an older boy. He had silver hair, purple eyes, and a smile on his face. His baggy sweats were too short on him and his shoes were untied. The boy handed the ball over to her, to which she accepted without question. It was a nice change of pace to not get mocked at by somebody who wasn't her friends, parents, or sister.

"Those were some pretty nice shots," The boy complimented. "I wish I could do that."

"Well, you can," Rainbow Dash smirked proudly. "As long as you take some lessons from me, you'll be a pro in no time! Are you thinking of joining the team?"

"Well, I'm thinking of joining next year," The boy replied. "After all, I heard that the Canterlot High school sports team has a star player by the name of Rainbow Dash on their team." He then gasped. "No way! You're the famous Rainbow Dash?!"

"That I am!" Rainbow Dash beamed, relieved that someone knew her for her positive qualities and not for her bad grades.

"I heard that you were famous for being the top athlete at Canterlot High!"

"Heh, yeah. I am."

"I heard that you defeated the Dazzlings at the Battle of the Bands along with the Rainbooms with that sick guitar solo."

"Mhmm."

"I also heard that you are a violent traitor."

A cold chill flooded the gym, causing Rainbow Dash to hunch in on herself for shelter. Why did the boy say that? How dare that boy say that, especially to her of all people? She frowned. Wait, that wasn't right. Why was she thinking that? A whistle shook her out of her reverie, where she faced at least twenty players on the other side of the basketball line. Some glared, some grinned evilly, and a couple of them were in tears. Looking around herself, Rainbow Dash paled as she realized that she was tightly bound to a pole on a rotating center.

"W-What's going on?"

"FIRE!"

The center spun rapidly and she was soon pelted by baseballs, dodgeballs, soccer balls, and footballs. It then changed into rotten food such as soggy pizza slices and half-eaten apple cores. Every part of her felt like they were being set on fire and trampled by a herd of angry elephants. She could feel the bruises form on her skin and underneath her clothes. She could feel tears flowing freely in her eyes. She wanted the pain to stop!

After what seemed like an eternity, everything from the pole to the players vanished in the blink of an eye. All that was left was a sobbing Rainbow Dash, curling up in pain after what had happened. After a moment or two, the boy reappeared, an expression of gentle disappointment on his face. He knelt down and clutched Rainbow Dash by the face, holding it firmly.

"So," The boy asked politely. "Are you ready to confess your sin?"

"Sin," Rainbow Dash exclaimed, trying to wriggle free from his grasp. "What sin?!"

"The sin of betraying one of your friends to leave her to the wolves."

"I'd never betray any of my friends!" Rainbow Dash spat. "I'm the Element of Loyalty!"

"What about Sunset Shimmer," The boy countered calmly. "Is she not one of your friends?"

"Her?!"

Now it made sense what was happening. Now she knew why she was being tormented. Her blood boiled. Sunset Shimmer was up to her old tricks and she even got this guy to play along with her. She glared at this guy, who only looked back with nothing but disappointment in his face. Either he didn't know what Sunset was actually like or he did and was playing along this scheme so that she could rule the school again. Well, it wouldn't work on her! She was Rainbow Dash! She was a Canterlot High school superstar and the Element of Loyalty! She was amazing!

"In case you haven't noticed, Sunset Shimmer is a bully," Rainbow Dash explained. "She made everyone's lives hell for two years at the very least! Nobody but Twilight Sparkle stood up to her and she decided to spit that back by pretending to be our friend and then reveal our secrets online as Anon-a-Miss!"

"Why?"

"Why," The athlete sputtered. "It's because she's nothing but a backstabber!"

"You say that and yet, some things just doesn't make sense," The boy calmly rebutted. "Think about it, Rainbow Dash. Why on earth would she post those secrets, knowing that she would lose her friendship in the end? Why would she endure the days of torment alone rather than go to the Principal or Vice-Principal, knowing that nobody in this school would take her side on the matter? Does any of this make sense to you at all?"

Rainbow Dash scowled. "Are you saying that I'm stupid?"

"No," The boy smirked. "You are perhaps smarter than I give you credit for. After all, you play the reckless knight in shining armor, becoming the hero in the eyes of many. You play up your image as something that others should aspire to. You do this because if people saw the real you, they would be afraid of you or possibly hate you. You cast Sunset out due to spite. Not just spite, but cowardly spite. I wonder what people would think of you when they find out your real self."

"M-My real self," Rainbow Dash stammered, scared. "My real self is-..."

"Your real self is a cowardly traitor who nearly killed Sunset because of someone else's petty jealousy."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash's shadow came to life. It was a mirror reflection of herself except it wasn't at the same time. The shadow was hunched over and thin to the bone. It had ugly, puce eyes and sallow blue skin hanging off its bones. Its jaws opened and rats and insects crawled out. Rainbow Dash wanted to escape but it felt as if she was being held in place. She could only watch in horror as the thing that claimed to be its real self cackled like a madwoman as it crawled over to her.

"I hate Sunset Shimmer," It shrieked. "I hate her so much! She should've just died in the crater that Twilight made! I wish she was never born! I wish she was dead! I hope she's dead! I'll celebrate her death when they tell me!"

"No! No! NO! NOOO," Rainbow Dash screamed in horror. "Stop it! Stop it! Please!"

"Still not admitting your sin," The boy said, disappointed. "Very well. This is only the beginning, after all."

With a snap of his fingers, the creature disappeared out of sight. For a few moments, Rainbow Dash panted and breathed heavily, trying to process what happened. Then, she yelped as a burning pain engraved itself on the top of her left arm. It hurt like the devil! She pulled off the sleeve of her jersey and found a mark. The mark was that of a large grey circle. Inside that circle was a broken chain. She looked up at the boy, who wore a bright blue and red robe.

"That's the mark of a traitor," The boy calmly stated. "That mark will stay on you until you do what is right. And if you wish to know my name, I am called Dyllan. That name means loyalty. Remember it if you will."

Dyllan vanished, leaving Rainbow Dash crumpled on the floor. She looked at the mark on her arm and wondered what she did to Sunset to deserve this torment.

On another side of town, Fluttershy was busy doing her homework before the Christmas Break started. Her eyes wavered towards a picture sitting at the corner of her desk. She frowned and picked it up, analyzing it. It was after the Battle of the Bands where all seven of them were hanging out at the Sweet Shoppe to celebrate their victory over the Sirens. Her frown deepened as she saw Sunset grinning with them innocently. She placed it down and rubbed her temples.

Perhaps what she said was too harsh? But how could she get it through Sunset that her kindness had her limits? To reveal such secrets indiscriminately on a Mystable page and for what? To get a laugh out of that misery? She clenched her fists; a price was there and Sunset had to pay for her crimes. After all, this wasn't the first time that Sunset did such things just to get a rise from people. She sighed. Right now, she needed to concentrate on her homework. Just then, a knock at her door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Who is it?"

"A classmate," A small voice answered. "I need some help with the homework. May I come in?"

"Oh, sure," Fluttershy replied, willing to help in any way she could. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a small girl with blue hair and black eyes wearing a oversized pink sweater and baggy jeans. An extremely small smile was visible on the girl's face and she nervously played with her hair. Fluttershy waved a hand for her to come in. She did and closed the door behind her. Smiling a little bigger now, she softly padded the room and sat across from Fluttershy on a tiny velvet chair.

"What do you need help in?"

"Well..."

For a half-hour, the room was filled with soft laughter and whispers about the homework. The girl looked at the picture of the Battle of the Bands victory and grew silent. Fluttershy noticed and gave a bitter smile. Picking up the picture, she gave it to the girl, who took it as if it was a precious treasure. The pink-haired girl knew it wasn't intentional, but it stung like an open wound that had been treated with the combination of salt water and lemon juice. Still, she let her guest look at her picture in awe.

"Wow," Her guest remarked. "The Battle of the Bands? Which instrument did you play?"

"Pardon," Fluttershy squeaked, taken aback. "Oh. I, uh, played the tambourine."

"Oh, the tambourine," Her guest spoke in awe. "I heard that it's a rather difficult instrument to play expertly! You've played and mastered a difficult instrument and yet, you are so modest!" Her eyes then turned to Sunset smiling. "Who is she? She looks real nice."

Fluttershy's smile dropped a little. "Her name is Sunset Shimmer. She was a part of our group before Anon-a-Miss."

"Oh, right," The girl nodded. "I've heard about Anon-a-Miss. I also heard that Sunset was the prime suspect behind this. I'm not mistaken, am I?" At Fluttershy's nod, she sighed. "Poor girl."

"P-P-Poor girl," Fluttershy stuttered. "Poor girl?!"

"Poor girl," The girl barely flinched at the outburst. "It sounds like nobody was on her side when she was implicated in this case. And nobody bothered to comfort her or support her in her time of need. Doesn't that sound familiar?"

She looked towards Fluttershy with a pointed glare, which unnerved the pink-haired girl. The animal lover squirmed a little with eyes darting about. What was her guest getting at? Was she honestly equating what they did to what Sunset did? That couldn't be possible. They were cutting out a toxic friend out of their lives while she did things for her own amusement. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air before Fluttershy's guest sighed and moved in closer to her.

"You can try and justify it all you want, dear," The girl sternly said. "But you are not the Element of Honesty."

"W-W-What are you talking about," Fluttershy stammered.

"The truth is, for as much as you are all about kindness to others," The girl continued, looking down at her. "You certainly couldn't spare a single tear for Sunset Shimmer. After all, she was a bully to you in the past. So, naturally, when the time came, you decide to be a bully yourself in order to extract revenge on her. You never forgave her at all. You used her so that she could contact Twilight Sparkle and be used as a weapon for your convenience."

"T-T-That's not true," Fluttershy whimpered. "She was a bully, yes, but I wouldn't dream to hurt her!"

"Yes, you did," The girl said, grabbing Fluttershy's hand. "You wanted her to suffer like you did. You felt like she was let off too easily after the Fall Formal, so you and your friends did everything you could to make her dependent on you while she was cut off from people who would actually like her."

"No," Fluttershy gasped and shook her head, tears stinging her eyes.

"Yes," The girl continued, grabbing Fluttershy's other hand. "Then, when Anon-a-Miss happened, you cast her out into the darkness for the wolves to feast on her while you could play the suffering victim, the damsel in a cage ready to be saved."

"No," Fluttershy squeaked, tears flowing freely.

"You weep for yourself now, but where were those tears meant for Sunset Shimmer? You must have seen her at the Sweet Shoppe, did you not? You said some words to her, words that are unlike your Element. Of course, your element is merely a mask. A mask to hide your true self. Do you know what your true self is right now? Do you?"

"No, no, no," Fluttershy pleaded.

"Your true self is a cruel bully who nearly killed Sunset because of a deep-seated grudge."

At that moment, the Battle of the Bands picture flew out of its picture frame and ripped itself in seven pieces. Fluttershy's picture then became lifelike, which made it all the more horrifying when it twisted and changed. The doppelganger's skin was jaundiced, her eyes bloody and vacant, and a snake's tongue flicked from her lips. She smiled hideously and when a movement was made, the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

"Sunset Shimmer should've been dead," The doppelganger screeched. "She should be dead! Nobody likes her! Everybody hates her! It's all her fault! Twilight forced us to be her friends, but Sunset Shimmer would've been dead by my hands and everyone would rejoice! The world is better off without her!"

Fluttershy could say nothing. All she could was curl in on herself and cry bitter tears at how terrifying this creature was. It felt like an eternity before the girl knelt before her and held the butterscotch girl's arms firmly. Her blue eyes were as cold as ice.

"Now, do you admit to your sin, Fluttershy?"

"I...I...I...," Fluttershy whimpered, too afraid to speak.

"I didn't want to have to do this," The girl sympathetically said. "But you left me no choice. In your anger, you have become the bully that you've always hated. And it seems that despite your fright, you still believe Sunset to be the bad girl in this. A disappointing venture, but this is unfortunately just the beginning."

The doppelganger disappeared and Fluttershy winced as she felt a burning sensation on her right arm. Removing her arm sleeve, she saw a red circle with a knife stabbing a broken heart. In horror, she looked up to the girl who merely looked at her in disappointment. She now wore robes of pink and white with red adorning the hem.

"The mark on your arm," The girl began solemnly. "Is the mark of cruelty. That mark will stay on your arm until you rectify your sin. My name is Charity. I would figure you would wish to know my name since we will see each other in the future."

Charity vanished and Fluttershy whimpered and curled into the fetal position. She cried bitter tears at not only what had just happened, but in horror at what she had become on the inside.

Author's Note

Whew! And we are done with the first two of the Rainbooms! Next chapter is a 3-for-3! And yes, the CMC will get their just dues but the Rainbooms need to have a taste of vengeance first!

Were these two lessons from Hell too subtle or were they too extreme? I'm trying to find a balance due to the fact that the Rainbooms were hurt but they were also quite mean in all their hurt despair!

So, thanks for the comments! And see you in the next chapter!

EDIT: This was edited due to a couple of grammatical mistakes. This is what happens when I do this in one take.