So long old friend (An Anon a Miss Tale )

Chapters

Monday part 1 : Time to head home ( Edited by : BiggerNate91)
Tuesday : Meeting with the rainbooms - one ( Edited by : BiggerNate91 )
Wednesday : Trying again ( Edited by : BiggerNate91)
Thursday : An athletes regrets and a princesses lecture ( Edited by : BiggerNate91 )
Friday : Crusaders reunited
Saturday : so long old friend
Epilogue
Monday part 2 : Some devistating news ( edited by : BiggerNate91)
update

Monday part 1 : Time to head home ( Edited by : BiggerNate91)

The new year had arrived with the holiday season having come and gone. Every single creature, human or pony, was full of nothing but excitement and goals for the new year. However, there was one individual who wasn’t in the mood for the new year after the events of the month prior. Sunset Shimmer had been led down a path of both depression and betrayal, thanks to the infamous MyStable user “Anon-a-Miss.”

After suffering from a week of bullying, taunts, and beatings, the former unicorn had enough. She cut her losses and ultimately retreated back to her former home of Equestria, to avoid any more harassment from the students and faculty. After the princess of friendship was informed about these events, she took it upon herself to confront the entire student body in an attempt to expose the true culprit and to clear her friend’s name. Eventually the alicorn managed to put two and two together and found out the identities of the perpetrators behind the Anon-a-Miss account: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, better known as the Crusaders.

After pondering the situation, Twilight soon came to a realization that the whole event was similar to the “Gabby Gums” incident that happened in her world, where the pony versions of the Crusaders were blackmailed into spreading everyone's secrets by the bully Diamond Tiara. But it was a whole other story in the human world. After getting the trio to confess the truth, it was revealed that the girls weren’t blackmailed like their pony selves were. Their actions were intentional, all because they were jealous that their sisters were spending more time with Sunset than with them during the holiday season.

Twilight was disgusted at the trio's actions, even more so by the fact that they did it out of jealousy. The three girls eventually confessed to the student body and their sisters, who were not happy with the trio in the slightest. But it wasn't just them that Twilight was furious at. She took it upon herself to berate and scold not only the students, but the principals and faculty as well, for their harsh treatment toward Sunset and not believing her after she had spent the last few months making up for her past sins. While a part of her couldn't blame any of them, especially the Rainbooms, for what they did considering Sunset’s past actions, she nevertheless wished that they hadn't fallen for this trick so easily, as Sunset could have reached a breaking point and ended her own life if this transpired any further.

Before departing back to Equestria, Twilight looked at the Rainbooms one last time and instructed them to make sure that their sisters received their punishments, and to make sure that they each give Sunset one hell of an apology for when—or if—she decides to return. The five of them promised on both parts as they watched the Princess of Friendship walk through the portal back to her own world—maybe forever.

Even though her name was finally cleared, Sunset was in no condition to immediately return home, as she was still far too hurt from how she was treated. She asked Twilight if she could stay in Equestria for a little while longer, to which the latter happily obliged. Sunset would then go on to stay in Equestria for two whole months, taking the time to meet new ponies and finally reconcile with Princess Celestia. At last, the fire-headed girl finally decided that it was time to head back and confront the Rainbooms to hopefully put the incident behind them, no matter how hard it was going to be.

Inside the Castle of Friendship, Sunset was in her room packing up her belongings when Twilight walked in. “You got everything?”

“Yes, I do.” Sunset replied with the quietest tone possible as she finished loading up the last of her belongings inside of her backpack. However, Twilight was quick to notice that her friend had a look of anxiety written all over her. Despite being away for a few months, the Princess of Friendship wondered if her friend was completely ready to return.

“Sunset… are you absolutely sure that you’re ready to go back?” she asked. "Because if you’re still hurting, you’re more than welcome to stay in the castle for another month until you’re ready to face everyone.”

Sunset shook her head at Twilight's proposal. "No Twilight, I can't run away from this anymore. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt a lot to be accused like that. And I was so happy to finally get the chance to spend my first Christmas with the girls only to have it come crashing down.”

Twilight's look of worry increased, but Sunset continued on. “But… deep down, while the Crusaders’ actions were not the answer, I can't really blame the girls, or everyone else, for accusing me. I was an awful person that made their lives a living hell for two whole years. If I was in their shoes, I’d probably think it was me too.

“While it still hurts inside, I want to try and put this incident behind us all. I can tell that they're all genuinely sorry, and I want to try my best to forgive them. One key note about friendship is that there's going to be big mistakes and falling outs from time to time, but it's never too late for reconciliations. The girls aren't just my friends… they're my family. And I want to try to move on from this incident as best as I can, no matter how hard it will be. So, I'm going to hear their apologies and see where it goes, and we'll move on from there and try to put Anon-a-Miss behind us once and for all.”

Twilight was at a loss for words. While a part of her was still wary about Sunset returning so soon in her current state, she also knew that there was no running away from this issue forever. She knew that this was mainly between Sunset and the Rainbooms and that she had no right to get in between them. They needed to sort out their problems themselves.

Twilight nodded at her friend. “Alright Sunset, if this is what you want to do, then I won’t stop you. But please be careful. And be sure to choose your words carefully when you confront them. I'm actually planning on having another word with them later this week as well, but I'll let you say your piece to them first before jumping in. Be sure to write to me once you've had a word with them.”

The young alicorn was then met with a hug by her fire-headed friend. “I promise,” she reassured her. Twilight returned the hug with a smile.

After a few seconds, Sunset and Twilight parted the hug, and Twilight fed magic into the mirror, allowing the portal to the human world to open. Sunset made her way towards the portal, but not before waving goodbye to her friend one last time. Finally, she stepped inside the portal back to her home. Twilight watched on with a look of both worry and hope as she watched Sunset step through the portal, which closed behind her.

“Celestia speed Sunset.”

Five minutes later

A rippling effect of magical energy began to form at the center of the statue that stood proud at the center of CHS, and soon a portal emerged as Sunset Shimmer, back in her human form, emerged from the other side, landing on her feet nicely and easily. Soon the portal dispersed as the statue reverted back to its normal state as the fire-headed teen proceeded to survey her surroundings. She looked up at the school building in front of her, which brought back memories of not only last winter, but the times she spent with her human friends after her reformation. After a moment of collecting her thoughts, she took out her smartphone to check the time. It was 11:26am, indicating that the next class period hasn't started yet.

As she placed her phone back into her pocket, she took a long sigh. “Well… as Dash would say, time to get this over with.”

With nothing more to say, the fiery teen made her way toward the entrance of the school. After making her way up the small flight of stairs, she was soon met with the main door. But before she could open it, Sunset hesitated for a moment. She wondered if she really wanted to do this, but shook it off, knowing that there was no running away anymore. It was about time she confronted her peers after two months of solitude. The teen finally mustered up the courage and opened the door, making her way inside.

Sunset found herself in the main hallway, where she was expecting to be met by a hall of happy go lucky students. To her surprise, the fire-headed girl was instead met with a crowd of depressed and saddened students. Even the faculty had grim looks on their faces. Sunset was confused as to why everyone looked sad and depressed, even after two months. A part of her wanted to believe that everyone was simply riddled with guilt for falsely accusing her, but the looks that she surveyed seemed much grimmer. It was almost as if someone died recently and everyone was grieving. No one even bothered to address or greet her as she walked by. It felt like they were too preoccupied with something else entirely to notice. She also saw no sign of either the Rainbooms or the Crusaders. Before she could ponder anymore, a voice called out to her. “Shimmer?”

Sunset was quick to turn around to find Gilda Griffon standing behind her, with a look of great pity that outmatched everyone else's. “Hey Gilda,” Sunset greeted.

There was an awkward silence between the two teens until the tough girl finally broke the ice. “It's been a while since we've seen ya.”

Sunset nodded. “Yep… two whole months…”

“Ya did the right thing, taking a break…” Gilda looked down at the ground. “If I was in your shoes, can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing… just take some time to myself to cool off from all this shit.” She looked back up. “So, what brings you back? Are ya feeling better now?”

Sunset hesitated with some nervousness. “Well… yes and no. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm still here to stay, but I have a lot of feelings about everything that happened last Christmas. But I'm planning on taking the mature route and hearing everyone's apologies, and do my best to move on from there. I’m going to see where it goes, and hopefully we can put Anon-a-Miss behind us.”

Gilda nodded. “Wow, that’s really nice to hear, Shimmer. It's not gonna be easy, though. Hope ya know that.”

“Believe me, I do.” Sunset replied. “Actually, do you know what's going on around here? Everyone looks more depressed than I was when I was accused, are they still feeling guilty about what happened? And where are my friends? And the Crusaders?"

Gilda opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated. She realized Sunset had no idea of just how much had happened since she fled the human world. Painful memories were already starting to flood back to the poor girl.

Sunset noticed the girl’s state. “Gilda? Are you ok? Please tell me… what happened?”

Gilda bit her lip. She took a deep breath and met Sunset’s eyes with her own. Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

“Shimmer… after ya left… something terrible happened.”

Author's Note

And here is the next story on the list folks :pinkiehappy: Now this ones not gonna be crazy long like the last story as I feel the entire story will play out in just a few chapters, I'm still not sure of the length, but I'm ushering either 5 or 6 chapters. But until then I hope you guys enjoy this new anon a miss story and I plan on getting to work on the next chapter tomorrow. Until then I'll see ya'll around :twilightsmile:

Tuesday : Meeting with the rainbooms - one ( Edited by : BiggerNate91 )

After returning home, Sunset couldn’t sleep. All she could do was lie awake in bed, her journal in hand, and the awful news running circles in her head. The fiery teen was still at a loss for words. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t believe this tragedy.

Her friend was gone.

She thought back to how upset she was at Applejack for throwing the first accusation, and at the rest of her friends for immediately following suit. She may have been angry for how they treated her… but she never wanted this. And the fact that Applejack thought that Sunset wanted her dead broke the poor girl’s heart in two.

Sunset had laid in her bed all day, not even bothering to have any food. It wasn’t just because the news of the tragedy had destroyed her appetite completely, but it was also because everything in her fridge was now two months past their expiration dates. However, by the time midnight started to roll around, Sunset picked up her phone and ordered some food to be delivered to her house.

Once her food arrived, Sunset cracked open her journal. It was time to break the news to her longest friend. She dreaded what would happen when Twilight learned about the death of her friend… but she deserved to know. Sure enough, the news struck the Princess of Friendship right through the heart.

“Oh my goodness!!!!” Sunset watched Twilight’s words appear in a frenzy. “No no no that can’t be true! She can’t be gone!!!”

Sunset winced. She took a bit of her burger and wrote back. “I know it’s hard to believe… but it’s true. Applejack took her own life.”

Then, a small circle of water appeared on the page, followed by several more. Sunset watched as Princess Twilight’s tears made the page damp. It was a full minute before Twilight finally replied.

“I don’t… I don’t know what to say. How… how could I let this happen? I was so mad at them all… I yelled at them, I scolded them… I didn’t think any of them would ever do this… if I had reacted differently… maybe Applejack would still be…”

Sunset cut Twilight off before she could finish her thought. “Twilight, don’t. This was not your fault. Neither of us could have known this was going to happen. Everyone was in a dark place while I was gone. There was nothing we could have done while we were a world away.”

There was a short pause as Sunset grabbed a few fries and took a sip of her iced tea. She watched Twilight start writing again.

“Sunset… you need to know something. This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened to me.”

Sunset stared with wide eyes. Her pen shot across the page to respond. “What? What happened? You didn’t lose somepony close to you, did you?”

Twilight didn’t hesitate to respond this time. “I almost did.”

It was about a year or so before you ever stole my crown. My brother, Shining Armor, was going to get married to my former foalsitter, Princess Cadence. At first, I was happy for him, but then I began to notice a change in Cadence’s behavior.

As it turns out, this mare wasn’t Cadence at all; it was the Changeling Queen, impersonating Cadence to feed off of his love. But I was the only one that knew that. When I tried to warn everyone about the queen, they didn’t believe me. They accused me of being a jealous bully. Shining Armor even banned me from the wedding so that I wouldn’t cause any more trouble. You would not believe how devastated I was. I tried to apologize to Cadence, but I was still right about her; the queen trapped me in the underground caverns of Canterlot.

I managed to track to the real Cadence, and we made our way out of the caverns and exposed the queen. After a long battle, Shining and Cadence blasted the Changeling queen and her subjects out of Canterlot. Everything was happy again, right?

No. Far from it.

Even though the threat was taken care of, I was still furious at everyone for not believing me and abandoning me. I was disgusted that apparently our friendship wasn’t strong enough for them to stand by my side. So, I cut myself off from everypony and didn’t speak to any of them for a while.

But I soon learned that it was the biggest mistake of my life.

I started to notice my friends’ depressed states whenever I walked past them. Their faces were so riddled with guilt, they all had tears in their eyes, and they couldn’t even bring themselves to make eye contact with me. I couldn’t believe that my words had put them in such a bad place, but I was still struggling on whether to forgive them or not.

It wasn’t until I received a letter from Cadence about an incident back in Canterlot that my decision was made for me. She told me that my brother tried to kill himself out of guilt and was currently hospitalized. I felt like I had been stabbed in the chest upon reading that letter. I couldn’t bear the thought that I had essentially killed my brother…

I teleported to Canterlot and rushed straight to the hospital, not even bothering to ask for a visit when I got inside the building. When I reached my brother’s room, he was a total mess. There was a horrible bruise around his neck that made me sick to my stomach. When he saw me, he broke down into a blubbering mess, sobbing about how I wouldn’t have to live in a world with him anymore…

My heart broke into a thousand pieces. My own brother thought I wanted him dead. While what they did really hurt me, I didn’t want this from him or anyone else. That’s when I knew that he and everyone else were truly sorry for abandoning me that day. I didn’t hesitate to forgive him on the spot, and when I saw my friends, I scooped them up into a hug and let them know they were forgiven. I had never seen them so happy.

After that, our bond and trust grew stronger, and we still continue to love and support each other despite the obstacles. Cadence and Shining are still happily married. Everything worked out in the end.

There was another dramatic pause as Twilight finished her story. Sunset chose to wait patiently for the alicorn’s response before writing back to her. It wasn’t until Sunset finished the last of her food when Twilight began writing again.

“I know you’re about to say that what happened to my brother wasn’t my fault and that I couldn't have known… but it kind of was. I could have handled the situation much better instead of blaming everyone and isolating myself from everyone out of anger. They wouldn't have been so consumed by guilt if I hadn’t. If Shining Armor had actually succeeded in killing himself… I would have never been the same again.”

“And that’s why I feel like if I had handled the Anon-a-Miss situation differently, this maybe could have been prevented…”

Sunset considered her words carefully before she responded. “Well, first of all, I’m really sorry that you had to go through all that. I’m glad your brother has recovered and that your friends are back at your side. But the thing is, this is different. It may have been your regrettable actions that caused things to spiral out of control with your brother, but it wasn’t you that had an affect on Applejack. Remember, it was her fight with Rainbow Dash that really started to crumble things. And you couldn’t have known that any of that would happen, and neither could I.”

“There is no point in blaming yourself for Applejack. No one else is blaming you, and no one is angry at you. You’re a strong mare, Twilight; you put what happened at the wedding behind you and forgave your friends. So, I’m going to do the same here. It’s not going to be easy, but I need to face my problems head-on. It’s time to let go.”

There was one last dramatic pause before Twilight wrote back.

“You’re right Sunset. You are absolutely right; we shouldn't blame ourselves for what happened. The best we can do is try our hardest to move forward and try to put this incident behind us, no matter how difficult it's going to be.”

Sunset was about to write back, when suddenly she let out a loud yawn. She glanced over at her alarm clock and realized it was already 12:30.

“Twilight, would it be okay if we ended this early? It's getting pretty late here.”

“Oh yeah, of course. It's getting late here too. Sunset, when you see our friends, please tell them that I give my condolences and that I'd like to have a word with them later this week.”

“I will. Have a good night.”

“You too, my friend. You too. :)”

Sunset closed the journal and placed the journal back onto her nightstand. She disposed of her food containers, and then slipped underneath her covers ready to fall asleep. But before she closed her eyes, she took one last look up into the ceiling. The thoughts of everything that had happened since she left were still running rampant through her head. Fortunately for Sunset, the drowsiness finally took over as the former unicorn finally fell into a deep sleep. No longer did she have to think about the terrible fate of Applejack and her friends; at least, not until morning came.

The next day, Sunset Shimmer arrived at Sugarcube Corner late in the afternoon. She sat patiently in an open booth with seats reserved for her soon-to-be company. The fiery teen was full of nothing but anxiety since waking up that morning; she knew that it was only a matter of minutes before she reunited with her old friends. She had chosen to skip the school day in order to prepare for the meeting, all while Gilda sent her updates about the four girls as time went on. The only time she had gone outside was to replace the expired items in her fridge at the grocery store.

According to the messages from Gilda, the burly teen had successfully managed to convince Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to meet up with Sunset after school. Rainbow Dash, however, had apparently stated that she wasn’t emotionally ready to see Sunset yet. Wanting to respect her friend’s boundaries, Sunset texted back to Gilda that she’ll meet up with Dash later in the week. Once she received the update, Sunset spent half of the day in her apartment preparing for the meeting. She tried to nail down exactly what she was going to say, not wanting to say anything that she would regret later on. She couldn’t bear the thought of another tragedy.

Once she felt ready, the fiery teen made her way toward Sugarcube Corner just as the school day ended, knowing that the Rainbooms, save for Dash, should arrive soon. She soon arrived at her destination and took a seat at the usual booth that she’d share with her friends. As she continued to wait for the three girls to arrive, a few students took the time to walk up and give Sunset their own apologies. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake offered their condolences. Sunset said nothing, however, as she was focused solely on the Rainbooms, but nevertheless accepted each apology that was given to her.

After what felt like an eternity, the café’s bell rang. Sunset snapped to attention and rose to look at the front door. Her friends had arrived. As Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy entered, Sunset saw just how much of a wreck they all were. Rarity’s mascara trailed down her face, Fluttershy was almost completely hidden by her hair, and Pinkie didn’t have her poofy hair—instead, it was completely straight. Sunset took note of the looks of anxiety written on each of their faces. She could tell that they were just as worried about the reunion as she was.

Sunset waved her hand to get the girls’ attention and motioned them over to the booth. They all took a seat on the opposite chair from Sunset, letting her get a look at all three of them at once. An awkward silence soon took over, with neither party having any idea what to say. Sunset was still terrified of saying something regrettable, and the three Rainbooms were terrified of setting off their former friend by reminding her of Anon-a-Miss… or worse, Applejack.

After what felt like another eternity, Sunset finally broke the ice. “So… hey… it’s uh, been a while, huh?”

Rarity slowly nodded, with her arms wrapped around her torso. “Yes… it has been quite a while…”

"Two whole months.” Pinkie muttered. Sunset could barely recognize her voice with how low it was.

Rarity glanced at Pinkie, and then back at Sunset. “Indeed… hopefully you’ve been… doing better…?”

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been doing fine.” Sunset answered. “At least… for now, I am.”

“How are Twilight and Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

“They’re doing fine too.” Sunset hesitated before continuing. “Twilight is still getting the hang of being an Alicorn and Spike is still the same old Spike we know and love. Twilight and Celestia are planning on opening up a school of friendship so she can teach friendship lessons to more creatures than just ponies.”

Fluttershy’s face lit up, albeit only a little. “That sounds like a lovely idea!” Her face then dropped back to a somber one. “I feel like that’s what we all need right now…

Sunset gave a look of pity to her friend. “Oh Fluttershy, I don’t think we need to go that far.” She turned back to the other two girls. “I need to know… how are the Crusaders? Gilda told me they’re at Crystal Prep now…”

Rarity was caught off guard upon hearing Sunset ask about her sister and her friends. She hesitated for a few seconds before shaking her head and responding.

“Well, darling… I would be lying if I said they were doing alright. Before the… before the tragedy struck, I had finally forgiven Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash had forgiven Scootaloo. And so did our families. But forgiveness wasn't enough to get them back to normal. We may have forgiven them but they couldn’t forgive themselves. I tried to ask Sweetie why she and Scootaloo were ignoring Apple Bloom, but every time she would just turn away from me and say she wasn’t comfortable talking about it. As for Apple Bloom… nobody has seen her at all ever since she started online classes. We don’t even know if she’s still in Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Celestia…” Sunset muttered, staring down at the table. “Well, if I can get ahold of them, I’ll see if I can talk to Sweetie and Scootaloo to try to find out what their side is.”

Sunset looked back up at the girls. Her solemn look matched three more just like it. All four girls knew what had to be addressed next. And none of them were looking forward to it.

Sunset struggled to get her words out. “G-girls… Gilda… she told me about…”

Sunset couldn’t even say her late friend’s name. Tears streamed down her face as she wept. The three Rainbooms held each other tight, trying to keep themselves together.

Sunset blubbered her words out through her sobs. “I’m s-so sorry… I never w-wanted any of this to h-happen… I s-should have been h-here for you… for her… you s-should have never lost a f-friend…”

Pinkie parted from her friends and laid a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunny… you have nothing to be sorry for.”

Sunset looked up. “B-but I—”

“Listen to me.” Pinkie interrupted. “You did the right thing by leaving. You had every right to. We were the biggest meanies imaginable… why would you even want to stick around here? Who would want to be friends with anyone who accuses and abandons an innocent person? Sunny, I haven’t thrown a party or even smiled for two whole months. After what I did to you… I don’t deserve to. All I am is a bully… a bigger one than you used to be.”

Sunset remained silently stunned. Were these really the words that were coming out of the famous Party Girl of Canterlot High School? The happiest student of them all?

“I’m supposed to be the Element of Laughter, but all I did to you was make you sad. I was too stupid to realize that you wouldn’t just throw your redemption away like it was nothing. I should have been by your side all this time, like a real friend is. But now the damage is done, and… and my friend is dead because of it. No party will ever make up for me being an awful friend. I’m a disgrace.”

Sunset reached out to her friend. “Oh Pinkie…”

“I’m no better.” Fluttershy jumped in before Sunset could say anything. “I let all the hatred I had for you for bullying me and making me suffer get the better of me. All those feelings I had for the years of torment and harassment came bubbling back to the surface when Anon-a-Miss came along. I didn’t care that you had proved you had changed, and that you had redeemed yourself, because I had never fully forgiven you for what you had done to me in the past. Anon-a-Miss was essentially just my excuse to finally make you suffer. It was easier to believe you had never changed than to believe anything else.”

Sunset’s lip quivered. The regret for all her actions as a bully were starting to flood back.

Fluttershy kept going “When I learned you were innocent all along, it broke me. I realized I was despising an innocent girl for no reason. I had let my own hatred and anger consume me to the point where I refused to believe that you could ever change. And now, I had made you suffer because I couldn’t let go of the past. In the end… I had bullied you instead of the other way around. How can I call myself the Element of Kindness… if I’ve been cruel to you for so long?”

“Darling, my actions towards you last winter were absolutely unacceptable.” Rarity began. “When Twilight told you that you had left, I was relieved… because I knew you wouldn’t have to face us ever again. I have to admit… I felt the same as Fluttershy. All the memories of you trying to sabotage me so you could be the only fashionista at the school… what happened at the Spring Fling… none of it left. I let it fester within me instead of working out like a real friend does.”

Rarity sniffed, trying to hold back her own tears, before continuing. “I am truly ashamed that it took me this long to finally accept you’re no longer the girl you once were. I was so close to forgiving you two months ago… but Anon-a-Miss reminded me of the past I should have let go of. Fluttershy is right; it was much easier to believe that our friendship was a lie… it was easier to use Anon-a-Miss as an excuse to abandon you. And now look… my idiocy has cost me everything. My sister doesn’t speak to me, your trust in me is shattered, and…”

Rarity couldn’t hold it in anymore as she broke into a sob. “I-I’ll never see my darling Applejack ever again…”

Pinkie and Fluttershy stood up and stood next to Rarity on both sides. Their eyes locked with Sunset’s, who was still incredulous about what she was hearing.

“Sunset… you have every right to not forgive us.” Pinkie said. “You deserve real friends. You deserve people who will stay by your side, and won’t betray everything friendship stands for.”

“But we want to let you know that we’ll do anything for you.” Fluttershy added. “We hurt you, and we can’t take that back. But if there’s anything we can do to be friends again, we’ll do it. We won’t leave you behind again.”

Rarity finished. “We know this won’t mean much now… we know this doesn’t repair anything at all… but we mean this from the bottom of our hearts…”

“We're sorry, Sunset.”

Hearing those three words hit Sunset with a wave of emotions. She knew they would try to apologize but she never expected them to own up to so much. She didn’t even need to question whether they truly meant it; she knew they did. Their regret was clear. Slowly, a sad smile formed on the girl’s face, cutting through her anguished expression.

“Girls… thank you.” Sunset whispered. “It means so much to hear you say that. You don’t have to worry about not being forgiven anymore… because I do forgive you.”

The three Rainbooms couldn’t believe it. “Really?” Pinkie gasped.

“Really.” Sunset nodded. “I forgive you, I forgive Dash, I forgive Applejack—rest her soul—and I forgive the Crusaders too.”

“But… why, darling?” Rarity stammered.

“Well… if I’m going to be completely real here… while being abandoned did hurt a lot… I get it, you know? I was the biggest bitch this school ever saw. I caused so much damage to everyone, both physically and mentally. I made life hell for every single person here—especially you. Who would want to forgive someone like that? And you’re right, we never worked out those issues we had. We should have talked a long time ago. But we never did. We never got rid of that animosity that was inside you all. And when Anon-a-Miss showed up, you all had your excuse. I probably would have come to the same conclusions as you in your position. And at the end of the day, your actions all stemmed from you being tricked.”

“That doesn’t excuse what we did, Sunny!” Pinkie cried.

Sunset held up her hand. “I never said it did. But I can all see the regret in you. You all showed me how you really felt, and it touched me. You all want a chance to make it right… so I’m going to give that to you. I don’t want to lose you again.

“Everyone makes mistakes, and friendships have their rough spots. Sometimes those mistakes, and rough spots, are bigger than others. But it’s not impossible to move forward and make amends. Obviously, this isn’t going to go away any time soon. But there’s been too much heartbreak these past few months… and I don’t want anyone else going down the same path as our poor friend.

“So, I’m done with Anon-a-Miss. There’s no point in dwelling any longer. I want to move on, and get our friendship back on track. That’s what I want, and I know that’s what Applejack would have wanted as well. But there’s only one thing that can allow that to happen.”

The others stayed silent as they allowed their friend to continue speaking, ready to listen to the one condition she had.

“If you can truly, and I mean truly forgive me for everything that I did as a bully… then I'd love to try and be friends with you, for real this time. If you can let the past go… you can be my family again. So, what do you say?”

The three girls nodded in unison at the fiery teen’s request as their saddened states turned to tears of joy.

“Yes… yes, of course!” Rarity cried.

“We can definitely do that!” Pinkie jumped in.

“We won't mess up this time.” Fluttershy said. “We promise, we will never let you go again. For you, and for Applejack.”

Pinkie grabbed Sunset’s outstretched hand and pulled their friend into a group hug. Sunset and her new friends all wept happily in each other’s arms. A warm feeling was beginning to spark throughout Sunset’s body—one that she hadn’t felt in two months. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Sunset felt like things were going to be okay for once.

No matter how hard it was going to be, it was never too late to try and move forward.

Author's Note

While editing I accidentally hit “cut” and had to write the journal section ALL over again😡Damn these butterfingers of mine!!!!!!! :flutterrage: But I never the less managed to complete the next chapter (FINALLY) word of advise be careful when editing your story so that you don't accidentally erase half of your progress :facehoof:

Anyways hope you guys are enjoying the story and I should have the next chapter up by either next week or the week after. Until then I'll see ya'll around :raritywink:

Wednesday : Trying again ( Edited by : BiggerNate91)

A new day had arrived, and Sunset was in high spirits. She was finally feeling better for the first time since arriving home, happy that she had most of her friends back. She hoped that when she talked to Rainbow Dash, she could get her back as well. With her head held high, she entered Canterlot High School, ready to face the human world.

Sunset’s day went by relatively smoothly, with not a lot of problems. Throughout the day, Sunset found herself receiving multiple apologies from the students and staff, who promised to make it up to her in any way for their false accusations. Sunset was quick to forgive anyone who came up and apologized to her during each period. Slowly but surely, the cloud of gloom that was plaguing the halls of the school began to fade, as Sunset’s forgiveness raised the morale and spirits of the student body. They were relieved to know that Sunset no longer bore any ill will toward the school, and just seeing her in a good mood again brought them back to their feet. It was beginning to feel like things were returning to normal for Canterlot High School.

All in all, it was a really good day for Sunset. There was an interesting sense of nostalgia for being back at school, and having her friends at her side again made everything even better.

When the school day ended, Sunset watched the students fill the hallways, collecting their belongings from their lockers and headed home to rest easy for once. As the Rainbooms began to walk to the door, they looked back to see that Sunset wasn’t following them.

“Are you coming with us, darling?” Rarity asked.

Sunset shook her head. “Not tonight. Today was a long day, even if it was better. I’m just gonna hang in the band room, clear my mind. If that’s okay with you.”

“Sure thing, Sunny!” Pinkie smiled. “Take all the time you need!”

Sunset smiled back, happy to see Pinkie with her poofy hair again and speaking in that upbeat tone she knew and loved.

The Rainbooms waved goodbye to Sunset and headed out the door. Now alone in the hall, Sunset turned to move toward the band room.

Five minutes later, Sunset arrived at the band room. She picked up her old guitar and started strumming, trying to remember the tunes she used to play. As she picked at each string, creating an array of melodies, her thoughts flooded back to her. Even though she took big steps in setting things right, there was still a lot to do. She still needed to talk with Dash, and she wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say. And of course, there was the major event that was about to happen.

Fluttershy had told Sunset that Applejack’s funeral was going to happen on the weekend. The thought hadn’t left her mind since, and it filled Sunset with anxiety. She wondered if her emotions were in check enough that she could bear to lay eyes on her deceased friend. Already she was picturing the sight of the former Element of Honesty laying motionless in a casket, and it was all she could do to not break down on the spot once again.

As Sunset continued to collect her thoughts, the door to the band room swung open gently, and a familiar blue-haired teen walked in with his own guitar in hand. He spotted the former unicorn sitting comfortably on the small stage and strumming her guitar, too lost in her thoughts to notice he was there.

The young man decided to wait a few seconds, not wanting to disturb Sunset while she was deep in thought. He didn't have to wait too long, however, as the fiery teen was soon quick to notice the newcomer in the room.

Sunset smiled upon seeing the familiar face of Flash Sentry. “Sup, Flash?”

“Oh uh, hey Sunset…” Flash said in a slight awkward tone, which earned him a giggle from the teenage girl.

“What? Shy to be in the same room with your ex?” Sunset asked in a sly tone.

“No no no!” Flash responded. “I was expecting that I would have the band room to myself after school to practice… didn’t realize you were, uh, here. I can go somewhere else if you wanted to use this room, I would hate to bother you…”

Sunset giggled. “Of course you can stay, there’s always room for one more.” She patted an empty spot on the stage to motion him to her side.

The blue-haired teen nodded a thank you as he made his way towards the stage, sitting down next to Sunset. There was an awkward silence between the two teens as they struggled to find the words to say to each other. It had been a long time since the two had spoken; even though Flash had never accused Sunset of being Anon-a-Miss, they had never interacted throughout the whole incident.

After what felt like an eternity, Flash finally broke the ice. “Well, it’s… definitely been a while…”

“You said it.” Sunset glanced at Flash and noticed something she hadn’t realized. “Have you been… working out? You look a little… broader.”

“Huh? Oh yeah!” Flash chuckled. “I started going to the gym after you… you know, went on ‘vacation.’ I still have quite a bit more to go before I’m the size of Big Mac or Bulk Biceps, of course, but hey, it’s a work in progress.”

Sunset couldn't help but chuckle slightly. “Well, you look great! You’re definitely off to a good start. Muscles don't come fast; it takes time and patience. You know what they say, Rome wasn't built in a day. But you’re on the right track, I can tell you that.”

“Aw, thank you.” Flash said, with a hint of gratitude that Sunset could clearly hear.

There were a few seconds of silence before Flash cleared his throat to continue. “So… seeing as you’re back, and looking much better than you were before… is everything okay now?”

Sunset nodded slowly. “For the most part… yeah, everything’s pretty alright. I can’t stay mad forever, you know?”

“That’s good. People have been saying you’re back with your friends, is that true?”

Sunset hesitated with a nervous look. “Well, most of them, anyway. I saw Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity and made up with them. It’s good to have them back. But Rainbow Dash I still need to talk to. Once I tell her I forgive her and make up with her, then I’ll consider our reconciliation complete.”

Flash thought for a few seconds. “Then you should know that she goes to the same gym as I do, twice a week after school. I don’t think she knows I’m there. If you want to talk to her, that’s your best bet.”

Sunset smiled. “Hey, thanks! That narrows down my little ‘search’ quite a bit. I’ll try and see if she’s there today. That helps a lot, thank you!”

“No problem. Anything for a friend.”

Sunset’s face fell. “Friend… right…”

The fiery teen stayed silent for another few seconds, completely hesitant to continue. Flash could see the concern on her face. “Sunset? You alright?”

“Flash, I…” Sunset started. “Am… am I a bad person?”

Flash was shocked. “What? No, of course not! Nobody thinks that of you anymore! You have made it very clear that you’re not the same person as you were years ago! I mean, who could blame you for acting the way you did, given what you told us about your relationship with your mentor? I know I can’t, at least!”

“That's the point, Flash.” Sunset said. “I know I’ve tried to make up for everything I did, but… I don’t feel like I’ve truly earned everyone’s forgiveness. I’m trying not to bring up Anon-a-Miss anymore, but that was a perfect example. Sure, being accused and abandoned hurt me to my core, but after everything I did to rule this school and bring everyone down… who else would they suspect? I was just so upset at Celestia for not teaching me advanced magic and always saying that I wasn’t ready… that I ended up taking it out on all of you.

“It’s just… when you’ve put someone through so much hell, for two whole years… how are you supposed to be forgiven for that? I know I was given apology after apology today, but I think it’s pretty obvious there’s still a few students who haven’t forgiven me yet. Am I ever going to escape my past? Do I even truly belong in this world??? Am I just better off not—”

Her words were cut short as Flash placed one of his fingers on her lips. She stared into Flash’s eyes in surprise.

“You’re not doing this again.” Flash said. He had dropped the casual tone for a serious one.

“But—”

“Sunset, you’ve already doubted yourself enough. You do not need to go through this again.”

“Flash, I—”

“Listen to me.” Flash took his finger off Sunset’s lip and lifted her chin with it. “I’m gonna tell you this one time, and one time only. You DO belong here. It is NOT too late to keep making up for the past and starting over. You have proven time and time again, ever since the Battle of the Bands, that you have proven your redemption. It doesn’t matter if some people haven’t fully forgiven you yet. That’s just the nature of how it goes. You can make it up to them eventually. And just remember that no matter how many people still need time… you have managed to win the trust and hearts of the rest of us.

“And in a way, I kind of understand how you feel. I have a story I’d like to tell you.”

Once upon a time, there was a freshman boy who had just arrived on his first day at Canterlot High School, guitar in hand. One might think that he was prepared for his next step into his teenage years, but alas, he was not emotionally ready. Not in the slightest. His middle school friends were going to different schools out of town, and his old band had broken up. Things weren’t so good for the guy.

He was so shy and alone that he was actually terrified to step foot into school. This was in a time before the Rainbooms were ever a thing, but he didn’t think his guitar wouldn’t see any action. Anxiety filled his entire being at the thought of him becoming an outcast and a bullying target. It looked like he was about to be thrust into a living hell… but then he walked in, and laid eyes on a certain someone. Little did he know that this someone was going to change his life, and the school, forever.

This was a girl named Sunset Shimmer. Upon seeing this girl, this guy thought she was out of this world—and he didn’t even know how right he was! He was instantly mesmerized by her beauty, her slim figure, her lush flame toned hair, and those piercing cyan eyes. She was everything that he wanted in his dream girl. The voices in his head were quick to encourage the boy to talk to her… but his shyness and his own doubts got the better of him. He didn’t think that a girl like that would ever fall for a guy like him. But their first encounter would change all of that.

In the band room during music class, the boy sat in the middle row, quietly tuning his guitar. He dreaded the thought of having to play in front of everyone. What if they all ridiculed him? But then, he was snapped out of his thoughts by a voice from behind him, asking to sit next to him. He turned around and was shocked to see none other than Sunset Shimmer. Not wanting to let the opportunity slip through his fingers, he motioned to the seat next to him, letting her sit down with a smile. As the class was about to start, she complimented his guitar, and he complimented the guitar that she brought in herself, telling her that the color matched her eyes. His ears burned after he said it, but he could see the girl was clearly flattered.

It finally came for the boy to show the class what he knew. He began strumming his guitar, but all his anxiety and doubts caused it to sound awful. Just as he was about to give up and leave the room, he caught one more glimpse at Sunset’s beautiful eyes. All the stress and worry instantly melted away. It was enough to fully encourage him to play his heart out. And he did just that; the boy rocked on as if he was jamming out at a concert surrounded by many spectators. As he stopped playing to catch his breath and rest his fingers, a chorus of cheers and clapping erupted from every student in the room, as well as the instructor. But no one was cheering as hard as Sunset Shimmer.

After the class showed their admiration, the boy and Sunset introduced themselves to one another… and that was the start of a great friendship. Since that day, the boy’s luck changed, as he had finally escaped his comfort zone. Before he knew it, he found a lot of new friends and even formed his own band, whose music was a big hit with the student body. Over time, the boy even found himself in a position he never could have imagined: one of the most popular kids in school. The school year he was expecting to be awful had turned out to be an incredible experience. And he had his new best friend, Sunset Shimmer, to thank for it all.

The boy was thankful that Sunset had so much time to spend with him. The two of them hung out a lot, both during and after school. They played music together in the band room when the day ended; they studied together; they chatted about the latest TV shows and movies. One day, Sunset sat the boy down and told her an unbelievable tale: she wasn’t from this world at all, but rather she was an alien pony from a world beyond this one. As one would probably expect, the boy’s skepticism was through the roof upon hearing a story like that. But then, he got a stunning display of the girl’s beautiful magic, and any doubts he had vanished. He was quick to promise his friend that no one else would ever know about her origins.

It was a full month before the boy mustered up the courage to ask Sunset Shimmer the burning question: if she wanted to go out on a date with him. And I tell ya, he nearly jumped for joy when she said yes! It was the happiest the boy had ever been!

After a week of preparing himself, the big day soon arrived. The boy was determined to show his friend a good time. They started off with a movie, then they made their way to a Chinese restaurant that the boy knew made great orange chicken—which just so happened to be Sunset’s favorite food. Just for fun, they stopped by the local arcade to play some games together, and to top off the night, they decided to take a stroll through the park.

They began chatting with one another as they admired the moon shining brightly up in the night sky. The boy then took a glance at the girl’s figure, which he found breathtaking in the moonlight. He took a second to pray to God how he got so lucky during his freshman year… and then before he knew it, he had locked eyes with Sunset, who had the happiest expression he had ever seen written all over her face.

The boy could hear the voices in his head talking nonstop. “Just kiss this woman already, what are you waiting for kid?”

He refused at first, not wanting to possibly ruin an incredible first date, but his conscience wasn’t convinced. “You know you want to. You’ll find it incredible and so will she.”

The boy tried to refuse once more, but the sparkle in Sunset’s eyes was too much. He knew what he had to do to show gratitude to this girl for being the best friend he could have. It was time to give her the greatest gift.

Slowly… he leaned toward Sunset… closed his eyes… and…

“MMPH!”

Flash was suddenly cut off as Sunset locked her lips with his in the present.

A warm, fuzzy feeling sparked through both teens’ bodies as they embraced in their passionate kiss. It felt exactly like it had all those years ago. The memories that Flash had described were everything Sunset needed to hear. They were a perfect reminder of the amazing life that she had in the human world. The kiss lasted for a full two minutes, and then the pair finally parted, with small blushes appearing on their faces.

"Wow…” Flash said, almost loopy with joy. “That’s… exactly how I remember it.”

Sunset smiled at how happy he looked. But then, another memory came to her head… one that wiped the smile off her face.

“And I also remember how it ended…” She replied in a sad tone. “That night we spent together, and our time after that, were the happiest moments of my life… and I threw it all away. I let my own revenge scheme blind me of everything I had in front of me. I told you that you would only get in my way and straight up ditched you, like you meant nothing to me. I don’t know what you even saw in me in the first place, I’m a monster, I don’t deserve—”

Sunset was stopped in her tracks as she felt Flash’s hand gently caress her cheek in a comforting manner. “I told you to stop.”

“But I—”

“It does not matter what you did before. It does not matter what you said to me, or how you treated me. It’s not you anymore. You are NOT a monster. If you are able to forgive the school for how badly they treated you, then I can forgive you in the same way. I want Sunset Shimmer back in my life. I want the same girl that made what could have been a terrible freshman year into an amazing one. I want the girl that I took on a date and had a wonderful time with. I want the girl that kissed me just now.

“You can’t let big mistakes hold you back. That’s what you’ve done with Anon-a-Miss and that’s what I hope you can do for me too. Please remember for me, that you are not alone in this world. We are all here for you now, and I swear to you, nothing will ever happen to you. Not on my watch.”

Sunset was overjoyed at Flash’s words. After all this time of forgiving everyone around her… it was nice to finally get some forgiveness from someone else.

A smile of gratitude soon formed on Sunset’s face “Flash… thank you. I promise that I will never let you go again. You’re absolutely right… no one should ever have to let their mistakes define who they are.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Sunset.” Flash said with a smile of his own. Before either of them knew it, their lips were pressed together again. They embraced in romantic passion, and a single joyful tear trickled down Sunset’s cheek.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Author's Note

I was originally gonna have Sunset meet both Flash and Dash in this chapter, but it would have made it longer than it already was. so I decided to split Wednesday to 2 parts as well and hopefully this will be the last 2 parter chapter in the story :twilightblush:

But anyways hope your enjoying the story fellahs and I’ll see you all in the next chapter, peace :raritywink:

Thursday : An athletes regrets and a princesses lecture ( Edited by : BiggerNate91 )

Another day had passed, and Sunset’s spirits kept rising. She sat in her math class, with happy thoughts of the day before running through her head. While it felt awkward kissing her ex at first, she had to admit that it felt nostalgic to kiss Flash again. She was still a bit skeptical about trying again with Flash, with that nagging fear of hurting him again still lingering, but Flash was quick to assure her that he had her trust. Even though Sunset was happy that Flash was willing to let her back in his life, she requested that they start off slow, just to be safe. Flash was quick to accept, understanding that there was still a lot going on in Sunset’s life.

A small blush formed on the teen’s face as she sat at her desk, trying to concentrate on the math lesson for today. Her thoughts then shifted back to her main priority for the day. While she was happy at the thought of starting over with Flash, she reminded herself that it was finally time to see Rainbow Dash.

Throughout her classes, Sunset's mind was focused solely on Rainbow and what she was going to say to her when she saw her after classes ended. She had a feeling that Rainbow would try to spill her feelings about how awful she felt, just like the other three Rainbooms did, so she planned to be up front with her. Let her know it’s okay right off the bat.

When classes finally let out, Sunset retrieved her belongings from her locker and prepared to make her way out to search for Rainbow. Her friends met her at her locker to send her off.

“You’re going to see Rainbow today?” Rarity asked.

Sunset nodded. “I’m going to try, at least. Hopefully she’s where I think she’ll be. And hopefully she’ll be willing to hear me out.”

“She will.” Fluttershy reassured. “I know she will.”

“You sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Pinkie asked. “We’re always here for support. And it would be super-duper nice to see Dashie again.”

Sunset smiled. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s probably for the best that I go on my own. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm Dash, given how much she’s still hurting. Plus, I want to do this one on one.”

“That makes sense!” Pinkie chirped.

Something then came back to Sunset. “Actually… you girls don’t have anything going on this afternoon, do you?”

“I don’t believe so…” Rarity said. “Why do you ask?”

Sunset paused before answering. “…Twilight said she wants to talk to you today.”

The girls were surprised, but regained their composure. “At what time?” Rarity asked.

“Around four pm, I think? She was hoping she could meet you at the portal and just set some things straight, if that’s alright with you.”

The Rainbooms looked at each other, then nodded. “Yes, we can do that.”

“Should Dashie be there as well?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset thought. “I guess it depends on how well our meeting goes. If it goes well, the two of us will meet you at the portal. But you girls can go ahead and see what Twilight has to say.”

“Sounds good to us!” Pinkie said.

Sunset checked her phone for the time. “Okay, I gotta go, I don’t know how long Dash will stick around at wherever she is. Good luck with Twilight!”

“And good luck with Rainbow.” Fluttershy replied.

The Rainbooms waved as Sunset exited Canterlot High.

An hour later, Sunset approached the entrance of the Canterlot City gym. She had considered checking to see if Rainbow Dash was at her house, but she remembered what Flash had told her. Dash was more likely to be at the gym rather than home, either to train her body for an upcoming game or to relieve some stress after a long day. After taking a long breath, the fiery teen entered the building.

Sunset felt fortunate that the gym was public, and that she didn’t need a membership to get in. She explained to the man at the front desk that she was here to see Rainbow when she arrived, and the man let her in after laying down the rules of the place. As Sunset passed by a few of the trainers and gym goers, she suddenly found herself getting leered at by a few of the guys and even some of the girls every time she took a step.

“Hey there, hot stuff!” A guy who was deadlifting called out with a whistle.

“Nice hair, girl.” A female who was doing curls said with a wink.

“Hope ya brought tickets to the gun show, baby.” A guy said as he flexed his bicep.

Sunset rolled her eyes. Oh brother, she thought.

Another guy jumped in front of her, startling her. “Howsabout ya ditch that Flash guy and have some fun with a Crystal Prepper instead?” He got closer and closer to her face, causing her to reel back.

“OY!” A loud voice then rang out.

Sunset turned around to see Gilda walking toward them with a menacing look “Back off, Justin! She ain't interested in any of you idiots!”

The buff teen chuckled darkly in response. “Hehe, I always knew ya swung that way Gilda, but I didn't think Shimmer was your type.”

“I SAID SCRAM!” Gilda roared.

“Ok, ok, I'll leave, jeez.” The guy backed away and turned to head back to the weights, but not before calling out one last time. “I’m always available if that blue loser dumps ya.” He cackled and exited.

Sunset wiped some sweat off her brow. “Thank you, Gilda. Good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too!” Gilda replied. “Sorry about Justin, that idiot has a habit of hitting on every girl that steps in here. Guy thinks he’s such a chad…”

“No kidding…” Sunset said with a chuckle. Her look then turned sincere as she met Gilda’s eyes with her own. “Um… I promise not to say anything about… which way you swing. Filly Guide’s honor.”

Gilda chuckled. “Nah, you don’t need to worry about that. Half the school already knows I swing that way, and honestly, who even really cares about if you’re gay or a lesbian anymore?”

Sunset nodded, before an awkward silence hit once more. After a few seconds, Gilda addressed the important subject. “I guess you’re looking for Dash, huh?”

“You guessed it.”

“Well, you came to the right place.” Gilda pointed down to the far end of the gym. “She’s in her usual spot, tucked away where she thinks no one will find her.”

Sunset nodded again. “Thank you so much G, I appreciate it a lot. See you around.” She turned to leave, but felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Good luck, Shimmer.” Gilda replied. “If any of these losers give ya anymore trouble, just give a hollah. I'll be by the treadmills.” Sunset nodded in thanks one more time before the two teens went their separate ways.

The fiery teen continued her trek though the gym, trying her hardest to spot her rainbow haired friend. After a few minutes of walking, Rainbow Dash finally came to view, tucked away in the corner just as Gilda had said. She was laying down on a bench press, hoisting a weight of an impressive size above herself.

Sunset took note of her sweaty figure and was visibly surprised that she was almost as jacked as Applejack had been, and by the looks of it had gotten a bit taller as well. Flash wasn’t the only one who bulked up after I left, she thought.

As Rainbow finished her last rep and sat up, Sunset approached the bench. Rainbow wiped the sweat off her face and removed the towel, when she finally noticed the girl in front of her. Her towel fell out of her hand.

“S-Sunset…?” Rainbow whispered.

Sunset smiled. “Heya, Dash.”

Rainbow shot up from the bench to her feet. Her shocked eyes locked with Sunset’s.

“Oh my god… you came back…”

Sunset nodded. “I sure did.”

Rainbow’s heavy breathing was audible from where Sunset was standing. “Gilda… she told me that you were back, but I didn’t want to believe it… I thought you weren’t ever going to come back.”

"Well, I can’t run away forever.” Sunset said with a shrug.

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah… so she wasn’t kidding when she said you wanted to talk to me, huh? Thought maybe you were gonna swing by my place or something.”

“I thought about it, but Flash told me you’re here a lot more often.”

“Heh… smart move. I didn’t know anyone knew I came here.” Rainbow paused before continuing. “Have you seen the girls yet?”

Sunset nodded slowly. “Yeah… we talked. They told me about…”

Sunset trailed off, not wanting to say the name. Both girls winced.

Rainbow broke the silence after a few seconds. “Well… if you want to talk, let’s do it in the locker room. We’ll have more privacy there.”

“Sounds good.” Sunset replied.

Rainbow turned and started to make her way toward the locker room, with Sunset trailing behind. A few feet away, Gilda watched the two girls walk into the room and shut the door behind them. She silently prayed that her two friends were able to make peace after months apart from each other.

Rainbow Dash sat down on a bench in the locker room, while Sunset opted to stand. Both of them tried to make the motion to say something, but neither of them knew how to start. They both knew that the next few words they said could change everything. After an eternal-feeling few minutes, Rainbow finally spoke up.

“Sunset… I… I really messed up. I know that’s putting it lightly, but… you were right to leave us. I was—”

“Dash, stop.” Sunset held up her hand, silencing the athlete.

“What?” Rainbow stammered. “But… but I—”

“I know what you’re going to say. I heard similar things from the other girls. I get it, you feel like an awful person, you treated me horribly, you don’t think you represent loyalty anymore, you blame yourself for Applejack, you’ll never forgive yourself for hurting the both of us.”

Rainbow was wide-eyed. “How did you…?”

“Trust me, the girls spilled their guts out to me a few days ago. They felt just as shitty as you feel.”

“But… it’s true, though…” Dash whimpered.

“Please look at me, Dash.” Sunset locked eyes with Rainbow’s teary ones. “I understand you completely. But I promise you, you do not have to feel that way anymore. I was able to forgive the other girls, and I’m ready to forgive the Crusaders. That means that I forgive you too.”

“WHAT?!” Rainbow shouted. “But… but why??”

Sunset sighed. “Because I realize now that I still had a lot of forgiveness to earn before I could really call you my friends. You may have hurt me a lot when you accused me, but I still have to remember that I was a terrible person to everyone. If I was in your shoes, I probably would have thought it was me too.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but Sunset cut her off. “And I know that doesn’t excuse anything. But if I was able to be forgiven for all the harm I did as Biggest Meanie, then you can be forgiven for this. The girls and I are friends again, and I want you to be there too.”

Rainbow hesitated. She turned away from Sunset, tearing up. “I… I don’t know if I can.”

“Why not?” Sunset asked.

“I… I can’t ever forgive myself for killing Applejack…”

Sunset marched over to Rainbow, grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face her.

“What the hell?!” Rainbow cried.

Sunset stared into Rainbow’s eyes with a serious, yet solemn expression. “You didn’t kill Applejack.”

“Yes, I—”

“Listen to me. What you said to Applejack may have been too far, but it’s not why she died. She was betrayed by her sister and she felt she went against her element. It was the pain of abandoning me and losing me that pushed her to the last straw. She… she felt like she didn’t deserve to live anymore.

“Believe me, I thought it was my own doing as well. I thought that maybe this could have been prevented if I hadn’t left. But it just would have made things worse. So many people have been blaming themselves for what happened—Gilda was, I was, even Twilight was. But it wasn’t any of us. And I don’t want anyone else thinking that they killed her.

“No one is blaming you, Dash. Not me, not the girls, not the Apples, not even Scootaloo. You are a good person, you just made some mistakes. They were big mistakes, sure, but they were still mistakes. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my life, it’s that mistakes are correctable. And I want to help you correct this mistake. I want my friends back in my life, and I want you to be one of them. It’s not going to be complete without you. I know you want the Rainbooms to be back… so let’s bring them back.”

Sunset finally let go of Rainbow, who stumbled backward slightly.

“Sorry to have to be so intense.” Sunset quickly added. “I just needed to be sure I got through to you.”

Dash turned away from Sunset once more. “You don’t understand… Applejack and I argued for months about whose fault it was that you left us. I was so mad at her every day for two months. I couldn’t handle the fact that she was criticizing me for not representing my element. I said so many bad things… and I said something that I regret forever. The last thing I ever said to Applejack was that insult. I never even got to apologize to her…”

Sunset watched Rainbow start to weep. She walked back up to scoop her into a hug.

“I don’t know what to do anymore…” Rainbow sobbed. “It won’t ever be the same without her… I can’t look myself in the mirror… how am I supposed to move on from this??”

“Together, that’s how.”

Rainbow sniffed and looked back up at Sunset. “Together?”

“Together.” Sunset nodded. “I’m here for you and so are the girls. The roads are going to be rough, but they’re still traversable. It is never too late to make things right. The Rainbow Dash that I know would never back down and give up, no matter what the challenge is. You are NOT a bad person. There are people that love you, Dash. The girls love you, I love you, Scootaloo loves you, even Gilda loves you. We’re all by your side, and we could really use you by ours. If Applejack was here right now, she would want you to come back. I know that if she was here, she would still love you; no stupid fight would ever change that. You are, and will always be, our friend.

“Please, Rainbow… come back to us.”

Rainbow was speechless. She embraced Sunset once more and held her tighter. “I’m sorry Sunset, I’m so sorry. Please don't leave us again…”

Sunset smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. Pinkie Promise.”

The girls held their happy hug for almost a full minute, letting out happy, if also slightly relieved, giggles. Finally, they parted and got a good look at each other.

“Damn, Dash, you’re just as swole as Flash is!” Sunset remarked. “Have you been working out non-stop for two whole months?”

Rainbow chuckled. “Hey, an athlete’s gotta stay in shape, especially if she’s gonna kick some Shadowbolt ass in soccer!” She gave a big flex of her arms to her friend, striking a pose. Sunset clapped in amusement, genuinely happy to see Rainbow Dash back where she was welcome.

While Sunset and Rainbow were mending their friendship, the three other Rainbooms were patiently waiting outside the portal for their guest. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity sat comfortably on a picnic blanket, courtesy of the party girl, along with some snacks that they snagged from the vending machine to keep them occupied as they waited. As they sat near the statue waiting for Twilight to arrive, they began to wonder how their conversation with the princess was going to go down. After the scolding she gave them last December, they were all full of anxiety with the fear that Twilight was still angry at them.

Just then, the statue started to vibrate slightly, and the magic portal began to emerge in a rippling effect. The girls snapped to attention, and stood up to ready themselves for their guest’s arrival. Sure enough, the portal flashed and out stepped Princess Twilight Sparkle, who stumbled slightly before correcting herself. She dusted herself off, and then met eyes with the three Rainbooms. Each of them had visibly different reactions, ranging from awe to trepidation.

“Hello, girls.” Twilight greeted her friends.

The trio replied in unison. “Hello, Twilight.”

Another long silence filled the air as Twilight tried to find the words she wanted to say. The Rainbooms for their part let the Princess get herself ready, still acting cautiously as to not risk upsetting her. Finally, Twilight sighed and spoke.

“Girls, I… I have a lot to apologize for.”

The Rainbooms were quite surprised. “What?” Pinkie asked.

“The last time we spoke, I said a lot of… choice words. You know that I was incensed when I heard what you and the Crusaders did, and I made sure you knew it. And when Sunset came back with me, I was ready to make sure it stayed that way. I didn’t want her ever seeing you again…”

Filled with shame once again, the girls hung their heads.

Twilight continued. “But now… I realize maybe I was too harsh. Sunset was willing to forgive you someday, and I should have accepted that. She admitted to me that she understood why you reacted the way you did, and over time I realized that I could have been more patient with you. I’m sorry for trying to give you such an intense punishment.”

“Darling, you don’t have to be sorry at all!” Rarity cut in. “If anything, we absolutely deserved that little scolding you gave us. We were horrible to Sunset and it was only a matter of time before someone called us out for it. You were right, we should have taken her side and believed her, but we didn’t.”

“Yeah, we really needed to hear it, too.” Pinkie added. “I don’t think it would have really gotten through our heads if you didn’t yell at us.”

Twilight hung her head. “Well… that’s not the only reason I feel guilty for reacting so harshly…”

The girls were confused. “What happened?” Fluttershy asked.

“This wasn’t the first time I experienced an event like this.”

Twilight went on to recap the same stories that she told Sunset: the Gabby Gums incident, and the Canterlot wedding. She told her friends everything, from how the pony versions of the Crusaders were nearly ostracized from Ponyville before it was discovered they were blackmailed, to how she cut ties with her friends after they were tricked by the Changeling Queen, to finding out about Shining Armor’s attempted suicide. The Rainbooms were shocked to hear about all the horrific events that had happened to their friend.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight…” Fluttershy murmured. “You shouldn’t have had to go through all of that.”

Twilight sniffed. “What I’m trying to say is… all of this came to mind after Sunset told me everything that happened since she was gone. She told me about the gloom, the fights, all of it. She told me about… what happened to Applejack.”

The girls winced upon hearing their friend’s name again.

Twilight went on. “There’s still a part of me, deep down, that feels like maybe she wouldn’t have taken her own life if I hadn’t yelled and scolded you. I know it wasn’t my fault… but that little doubt is still there.

“Sunset says she wants to make amends with you and be friends again, so I want to do the same. I am so sorry for acting the way I did, and for never giving you a real chance to make things right. I forgive you, and the Crusaders, for everything that happened. All I hope… is that you can forgive me too.”

Twilight said nothing more and began to silently weep as her tears poured onto the blanket like rain water. She then felt a hand on her shoulder belonging to Rarity. She stopped crying to look up at the fashionista who had a comforting smile.

“Of course we forgive you. We don’t blame you for anything. You’ve always been our friend, and nothing could ever get in the way of that. We’ve all made a lot of mistakes, just like your friends back home, and now we can work to fix them. We may not be the same as the other us-es in Equestria, but we can still work to be the best selves we can be. Because that is what friends do for each other. We promise, we won’t let you or Sunset down ever again.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded in unison at Rarity’s side, giving Twilight the biggest smiles that they could.

A proud yet relieved smile formed on the Princess’ face. In a split second, she brought her friends into a tight embrace.

“You really are the Elements of Harmony. I’m so glad you’re my friends.”

“Likewise, darling.” Rarity replied.

“Girls?” A voice came from the side.

Twilight and the Rainbooms turned to see that Rainbow Dash and Sunset had finally arrived.

“Dashie?” Pinkie gasped.

“Heya…” Rainbow stammered, twiddling her fingers. “Listen… uh… I—”

“RAINBOW!” The Rainbooms shouted with joy. Before Rainbow could react, she was swept up in her friends’ arms.

“I’M SO HAPPY YOU’RE BACK!!!” Pinkie shrieked.

Rainbow recovered from her shock and smiled warmly as she embraced her friends. “I’m so sorry for being such an asshole…”

“It’s okay, Rainbow.” Fluttershy replied. “Welcome back.”

Twilight and Sunset watched their friends hug each other. “Now that’s a wonderful sight.” Twilight said.

“Truer words have never been spoken.” Sunset agreed. The sight of all her friends finally back together sent a warm fuzzy feeling through Sunset’s insides. It was really beginning to feel like things were actually returning to normal.

Five down, three to go.

Author's Note

I have returned😎 also good news, I didn’t have to make a 2 part chapter after all, I figured out how to add in the dash reconciliation and twilights lecture into Thursday withought splitting it👍 anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and as usual leave a comment down below about your thoughts and how I can improve. Next up is the CMC’s turn to face Sunset so stay tuned for that :raritywink:

Friday : Crusaders reunited

3:00pm read Sunsets phone as she stared at the screen of her Smartphone, it was now Friday which marked the last day of school for the week and the start of the weekend for all of the students who were ready to relax. The fiery teen however knew there was no time for her to relax as she had other priorities today, that being Applebloom and the crusaders.

With the girls, Dash, and Flash crossed off her list of reconciliation, it was now time to confront the perpetrators behind the infamous Mystable incident. Throughout the day Sunset was struggling to find the right words to say to Applebloom when she sees her, while she did forgive her and the other two, a part of her still felt uneasy about seeing the young farmgirl. Especially with the fact that she was the ringleader behind it all.

But she knew that there was no running away from this any longer, and that it was only a matter of time before she came across the crusaders. With Bloom still in a depressed state given her sisters death and with the funeral to commence the tomorrow , Sunset knew that she had to choose her words carefully lest the sophomore snaps and goes down the same path as her late sister. As sunset places her phone back in her pant pocket, she stares at the front entrance alongside her friends.

"Well" she begun. " Guess it's finally time to see Applebloom"

"Yup" Dash replied.

"Let me guess, you wanna go by yourself again Sunny?" Pinkie asked.

Sunset nodded a yes at her friends question before answering. " Yes, I'm sorry Pinkie but just like with Rainbow and you guys with Twilight, It's best that only I confront her as I wouldn't want her to get overwhelmed as well. And given her current state, and no offense but having a large group would only make it worse" the others nodded in total agreement .

"Ok darling we understand" Rarity said. " Just be careful alright? I can't imagine what that poor girl is going through right now"

"Don't worry I will" Sunset replied. " Well I should head on over while it's still dawn out, I'll see you guys at the funeral tomorrow"

"Alrighty Sunny" Pinkie waved. " We'll see you tomorrow" The other girls waved goodbye to their friend as well as she made her way out of the building but not before waving goodbye herself. As they watched their friend leave, Dash and rarity took out their phones and began typing.

"Who are you two texting?" Fluttershy asked.

"Let's just say it's someone who is in need of some words of wisdom themselves" Dash replied.

"Indeed" Rarity said. " I know Sunset requested to go solo, but she'll defiantly need some backup with Applebloom especially given the state she's in. She'll need some friends by her side to snap her out of it" After hearing the word friend, Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded fully understanding whom it was that Rarity and Dash were texting right now.

one hour later

Outside the large entrance which led to Sweet apple acres, home of the apple family, and foundation of the towns famous apple business, we find Sunset pulling up on her motorbike as she surveys her surroundings. After a short drive, the fiery teen parks her bike near the gate as she turns off the ignition and removes the key shutting off the engine entirely. As she gets off her bike, Sunset takes it upon herself to look around at her destination.

While she has been at the Apple family home dozens of times, the atmosphere however didn't feel the same to her given that Applejack wasn't gonna be there to greet her. She tried her hardest to hold back her tears as she knew that Applejack wouldn't want her to fell saddened with her not being here, after composing herself Sunset made her way down the stone and gravel path leading to the Apple residence.

After a short trek while admiring the lush apple trees that she came across, Sunset finally reached the main gate leading to the large house where the Apple family resides. She take sit upon herself to lightly tap the gate only to find it unlocked and swing open slightly, this gave the teen an indication that the family was possibly expecting her arrival. Which is to be expected as Sunset did interact with Big Mac a few days ago with him being one of the students apologizing to her.

She proceeded to open the gate and made her way towards the house, at last she reached the front door and proceeded to ring the doorbell. After a few seconds, the sounds of tumbling can be heard indicating the door being unlocked. Soon the front door opened and there stood Big Macintosh who looked down at his friend making the assumption that he was expecting her.

"Howdy Sunset" He greeted.

"Hey Big Mac" She replied. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the tall teenager broke the ice.

"Your here to see Applebloom are ya?" He asked.

"How'd ya guess?" She said.

"Apple family instincts my friend, that and Flash texted me that you planned on having a word with her later this week" He replied. " And I'm guessing today's the day?"

Sunset gave a silent nod " Yup, so is she here?"

"Yes she is" He said. " Granny's out taking care of the funeral arrangements and Winona's at the vet so it's just me and her today, but I should warn ya partner. Be careful when ya talk to Bloom, she's still a mess after what happened last Christmas. I know you'll have some choice words to give especially with her being the ringleader behind Anon a Miss. But promise that you'll go easy on her?"

Sunset then placed a hand on the farmboys shoulder. " Don't worry Big Mac, I promise to go easy on her"

A small smile formed on his face as he ushered the fiery teen to come inside. " She's upstairs in her room, I'll be downstairs working on dinner to give ya'll some privacy"

"Thanks Big Mac" Sunset replied. " This shouldn't take too long" Big Mac then responded by placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Good luck partner" He said. Sunset nodded a thank you before making her way upstairs while the tall teen looked on silently praying to god that's he'll be the one to snap his younger sister out of her depressed state.

Soon Sunset was now on the second floor of the house, she surveyed the many doors in the hallway until she spotted her target. With her having been to the apple residence dozens of times, she was already familiar with the rooms that belonged to the siblings and granny smith. As she make her way towards Blooms door, her mind began to question on how to answer. Should she knock or just enter? She asked herself, while a part of her believed that Bloom wouldn't respond if she knocked. She knew that was the polite approach, especially with the thought of her either getting dressed or finishing some homework from her online classes.

After pondering for a few seconds, Sunset decided to knock and proceeded to do so. She then waited patiently for an answer from the other side of the door.

"Come in" Came a quiet voice. And Sunset was quick to do so, she slowly opened the door and entered. As she stepped inside, there stood non other than Applebloom laying on her bed typing on her labtop. No doubt she was getting some homework done while her brother was preparing dinner, Sunset took notice of the young teens appearance. She was no longer wearing her bow, hair was messy, and her eyes had a look that combined both depression and sorrow and there was a pile of dirty clothes scattered on the edge of her bed indicating that she hasn't left the house for a while. Finally after a few seconds, the farmgirl looked to the side to see who was in her room and her expression changed to a look of shock and fear.

"Hi bloom" Sunset greeted which only earned her a scream from the farmgirl who was quick to stumble out of bed in a panic as her labtop slid off of her lap landing softly on the dirty laundry pile. Bloom crawled her way to a corner in the room and wrapped her arms around her body as a way to shield herself out of fear of sunset hurting her.

"I'm sorry!!!!!" She shouted while quivering in fear. " Please don't hurt me Sunset, I didn't mean to frame you or get my sister killed! I'll do what ever you want, I'll leave the city, hell I'll even let you spread a fake rumor about me just to get even, just please I'm begging you have mercy!!!!" Bloom said nothing more and continued to quiver as tears started to rain down like a waterfall.

Seeing the young teen in this state was too much for Sunset to handle, while she knew that Bloom would be surprised to see her, she wasn't expecting her to believe that she wanted revenge against her or to even hurt her. While she was upset at Bloom, she wouldn't dream about hurting her. But the fact that she believes that broke her heart, No longer able to take this, Sunset slowly walked towards the crying teen and wrapped her arms around her neck into a hug which shocked the girl to the core who was not expecting a hug from the girl that she hurt.

“ It’s alright Bloom, calm down” Sunset said in a soothing tone. “ I’m not gonna hurt you”

“ But why?” Bloom asked. “ I made your life a living hell last December Sunset, and worst of all I caused my sisters death. How can you not be so angry at me after all the shit I pulled?”

“ Because I don’t wanna lose anyone else” Sunset replied ,she then looked the teen straight in the eye as she got serious. “ Listen Bloom while I was furious at ya for pulling that stunt out of pity jealousy, I don’t want to see you like this. You already lost Applejack and your friends aren’t speaking to ya at the moment, it’s pretty obvious that your in a depressed state and I don’t want you to do anything that you’ll regret cause you’ve already suffered enough”

“ And listen what happened with Applejack was not your fault or Dashes, she was upset at betraying my trust that it made her go over the edge and felt that she didn’t deserve to live anymore after I left. A part of me blamed myself for it as well as I felt that if I didn’t leave in the first place, the feud between her and Dash wouldn’t have happened. But I know that it’s not healthy to continue to blame one another as that’s not gonna help with anything, now let me ask you Bloom. I understand your reason for doing what you did, but why didn’t you just talk to Applejack about how ya felt instead of taking drastic measures on me?”

Applebloom was hesitant to answer at first, but she knew that Sunset deserved to know the truth especially since she couldn’t bottle away her feelings any longer. “ I didn’t think she would listen to me Sunset, Sweetie belle tried to tell Rarity during you guys last sleepover but she simply just escorted her out of the room to give you and the others some gal time without her little sister. That’s when I came to the conclusion that Applejack and the others only cared for you and not their younger sisters”

“ I just thought that you were taking our place especially since Applejack started calling ya family which broke my heart at the thought of her getting the most attention, she even had to cancel our sister movie night because she already promised to come over to your apartment to have movie night with Dash and the others. She didn’t even think to ask if I wanted to come too”

Sunset was surprised after hearing that, she had no idea that Bloom and Applejack were to have a family movie night that day. “ I’m sorry Bloom, if I had known you two were to hang out that day I would have postponed it”

“ No Sunset, you have nothing to apologize for” Bloom replied. “ You did nothing wrong, I should have took the more mature route and realize that my sister can’t always spend time with me. But I didn’t, I took the bullying path and nearly ruined your rep especially after you worked so hard to redeem yourself” Tears began to form on the teens face as she continued. “ SunsetIm so sorry for what I did, I was no better than your past self. I ruined so many lives and lost so many people, and because of my foolishness, I’ll never see Applejack again. I understand if you’ll never forgive me as it’s what I deserve for driving you away”

Bloom said nothing more and began to sob quietly, Sunset looked on continuing to feel sorry for the poor girl after everything she’s been through. But before she could say anything else, there was another knock at the door which earned both of their attentions.

“ Who can that possibly be at a time like this?” Bloom said with a sniffle.

Sunset then got up and walked towards the door “Must be Big Mac” She then opened the door and to her shock and surprise found not Big Macintosh, but Sweetie belle and Scootaloo standing right in front of her. Sunset was taken aback at this not expecting to run into these two, while she did plan on seeing them as well. She wasn’t expecting them to show up here of all places.

“ Hi Sunset “ Sweetie belle said quietly.

“ What are you two doing here?” Sunset asked.

“ Dash and Rarity texted us an hour ago and told us everything” Scootaloo answered. “ They figured that it was about time that we confront not only you but Bloom as well, plus they figured that ya might need some backup with them not being able to come along”

After hearing this a small chuckle can be heard from the fiery teen. “ Hehe should have known, come on in girls” and the two of em did just that. However unlike Sunset, Blooms reaction to seeing her former friends was not as positive.

“ Da hell are you two doing here?” She said coldly.

“ We don’t want any trouble bloom” Sweetie belle replied. “ We just want to talk”

“ Oh so NOW ya wanna talk to me?!” She shouted. “ Well here’s a news flash for ya, I sure as hell don’t! Do you have any idea of what I’ve been through these past few months? Where the hell were you when I lost ma sister? Where the hell were ya when I was all alone aside from my brother and grandmother? I get that I shouldn’t have dragged ya two into this and that was my mistake, but y’all could have just told me to my face that ya hated me for ruining your lives instead of shunning me for a few months like a bunch of cowards!!!”

“ We weren’t shunning you!” Scootaloo shot back. “ We were just as upset and depressed as you Bloom, believe me you’re not the only one who was full of guilt over AJ’s death . I’ve been having nightmares about not just her popping out of her grave to seek vengeance against us, but also Dash saying and I quote “ I wish my parents never adopted ya, get the hell out of here and never come back squirt”.

“ Ive been having similar nightmares too” Sweetie belle jumped in. “ Believe me we were just as upset as you Bloom, me and Scootaloo just felt that it was for the best to give each other some space given the events that transpired as we felt us being together right now wasn’t gonna help. We were gonna text ya to say that we should give each other some space for a while, but Scoots felt that would have counted as talking. We never hated ya Bloom, we were just to blame for Anon a Miss. we just needed some space to clear our minds”

Blooms angry expression began to slowly fade away, but it was still obvious that she wanted complete answers to this. “ Why didn’t y’all just tell me that ya needed some space to clear y’all’s minds? I would have understood if ya just told me”

"We know" Sweetie belle replied. " But like we said , we felt that it was for the best to give each other some space. and that includes talking and texting each other, plus after what happened with Applejack we knew that ya needed some time to yourself. Cause if it was Rarity, i would have reacted the same way too"

"And me as well with Dash" Scoots jumped in. " Ever since they adopted me a few years ago, I felt so happy to finally have a family after my parents abandoned me. After going left and right from orphanage to group home, I thought I'd never have a decent life . That is until I met Dash and her folks who were quick to take me in, despite us not being related by blood, Dash treated me like I was her own little sister and I couldn't have asked for anyone else to be my big sister, if she ended up killing herself instead I'd never forgive myself either" Scootaloo let out a small sniffle not caring if it went against her tough girl nature.

" Even though Anon a Miss was your idea Bloom, we're just to blame" Sweetie belle said. " Even if you didn't drag us into it we would have still went along with it anyways as we've always stuck together. But in the end we weren't there for you when ya needed us, we should have had your back and stood by your side"

"But we didn't" Scoots jumped in. " we were cowards and I don't blame ya one bit if you hate our guts. We deserve it, but for what it's worth Bloom, we're sorry for Applejack, not being there for you, and everything else. I hope you can forgive us one day, cause your just our friend, your our sister as well and we'll always love ya girl"

There was silence in the room after the duo finished their explanation, Sunset was hesitant to jump into it not knowing if it was right to interfere with the trios personal manor. Sweetie belle and Scootaloo however just hung their heads in shame believing that they've lost their friend due to their decision to give each other space without even as much as to text or talk to her about it. In a flash , bloom walked forward and was quick to bring them into a group hug as a small smile and tears began to form.

"That's all I needed to hear" She said, and in an instant Sweetie belle and Scootaloo returned the hug as tears of joy formed on their faces as well. " I love ya'll"

"We love you too Bloom" Sweetie belle and scoots said in unison, they then found another pair of arms wrapped around them belonging to sunset.

"Room for one more?" Sunset asked and the trio happily invited sunset into their loving embrace. The group hug was interrupted by another knock at the door only this time it was Big Macintosh who looked on at the heartfelt scene of reconciliations with a big smile on his face.

"So I take it everything's cool ya guys?" He asked.

"Yup" They all said in unison, Sunset turned towards the trio with a smile on her face.

"I forgive you girls" She said earning her happy grins from the trio.

"Thanks sunset" They all said, suddenly the front door can be heard opening along with a happy bark indicating that Granny smith and Winona have returned.

"Looks like Granny and Winona are home" Big Mac said and then a dinging sound can be heard as well. " And just in time, cause it looks like dinners ready, ya'll are welcome to stay if ya want?" The group stared at each other for a few seconds until they nodded in unison before accepting the tall teens proposal.

"Sure, that sounds nice" Sunset said.

"Thanks Big Mac" Sweetie belle replied.

"Dinner would be great" Scootaloo said.

With nothing more to say, the group exited the room to head downstairs ready to have some home cooking in each of their bellies. Sunset however while she was happy to have fully reconciled with everyone, knew that tomorrows was the big day and she knew that there was one last priority to take care of before she was ready to move forward with the others.

Author's Note

finally done with another chapter :pinkiehappy: Sunset's now fully reconciled with everyone yay but now there's one last priority to attend.................the funeral :fluttershysad:

only 2 more chapters to go, hope you guys are enjoying the story and I'll see ya next time👍

Saturday : so long old friend

Saturdays are usually the day of the week where most can rejoice, as it means that it was the start of the weekend meaning no school and work for some. Most would be happy that they've two days to relax after a stressful week, but alas today wasn't the day to relax as there was some business to attend to.

As Sunset sat on her bed fully dressed but still barefooted, she stared at the alarm clock on her nightstand which read 10:32am she knew that today was the day. But a part of her wasn't ready to head out as she knew what was to commence in another hour. The thought of seeing her once closest friend in a casket surrounded by many of her friends and family mourning over her would would be the most heartbreaking sight, she didn't even feel like having breakfast as her apatite that morning was basically gone. But she knew that her friends needed her support now more than ever.

The Crusaders however, after reconciling with the trio yesterday, Sunset told them that they didn't have to go if they wanted too out of fear of both their former classmates still holding ill towards them after the Anon a Miss stunt and Applebloom having a breakdown the second she see's her deceased sister. The girls simply gave a nod not giving a complete answer before they went home after having dinner courtesy of Big Mac and granny smith, Sunset at one point wanted to text them before heading out to see if they were going after all.

But she chose to let them decide on their own as it would have been the best to give each of them space, as she once again stared at the alarm clock on her night stand. She knew that the eulogy was to commence in another hour which gave the fiery teen enough time to pick up and escort her two guest who were to also attend. Suddenly her phone vibrated indicating a new message, she picked it up and read.

Pinkie pie

"We're about to head out Sunny, do you want us to wait for you before departing?"

Sunset waited a second before writing back

"No, you guys go ahead and head out. I'll meet you there , I just need to pick up a few more guest first who want to give their condolences as well"

Pinkie pie

" OK Sunny we understand, we'll save you a seat for you and your other guest"

"Thanks Pinkie, I'll be there soon

Pinkie pie

"Okie dokie, see you soon Sunny"

"You too"

With nothing more to say, Sunset placed her phone in her pocket before slipping on her shoes. As she stood up from her bed, Sunset stared up into the ceiling of her apartment and gave a short prayer. She took a long deep breath before collecting herself and made her way downstairs, she snatched the keys to her motorbike from the coffee table before unlocking her front door. At long last she stepped out as the morning sun eliminated her surroundings.

An hour later

The Canterlot city cemetery, one of the most gloomiest and unsettling locations in the city. Being here brought great fear and pain to those whom recently lost a loved one , but the atmosphere today was just as gloomy as there was to be another soul to reside with the other departed. As everyone continued to set up the chairs for the eulogy that was to commence in 10 minutes, each one of them had various looks on their faces raging from sadness to depression at the thought of who has left this world. That being applejack.

Everyone was present for the heartbreaking ceremony including most of the students and staff from Canterlot High, the entire Apple family, and even some of the students from Crystal prep showed up to give their condolences. After hearing news about AJ’s suicide , the entire Apple family was devastated with the thought that they’ve lost another member of the family. Pear bottom and Apple Macs death was heartbreaking , but the thought of losing someone so young devastated each and every one of them. Braeburn took it especially hard as his cousin was like a sister to him as they’ve always had each others back since they were kids.

A part of him and everyone else in the family wanted to be upset at Applebloom and her friends for starting that Mystable incident in the first place, they never the less knew that AJ’s death wasn’t entirely her fault as she wasn’t expecting this to happen.

As for the remaining elements of harmony in this world, they were just as devastated at their friends death. Dash took it especially hard as even though she knew that it wasn’t her fault, she never the less wished to take back what she said to Applejack that day and to apologize. As they continued to moan, they were soon interrupted by the arrival of Sunset who. Arrived just in time with the eulogy to commence in 2 more minutes. And to their surprise they found not only Sunset, but princess Twilight as well, no doubt she was the extra guest that Sunset invited to the funeral as well. The duo then walked up to the group.

“ Hello girls “ Twilight said quietly.

“ Hi Twilight” Rarity replied. “ Thank you for coming”

“ It’s no problem, she may not be the Applejack from my world” She begun. “ But she was still my friend just like my Applejack, speaking of which I too invited someone who wanted to give her condolences as well” The girls raised an eyebrow as they wondered who Twilight could have possibly invited to the funeral, but the soon got their answer as a blonde headed teen walked up to them causing their jaws to drop in shock at whom was standing right in front of them.

And there stood Equestrian Applejack.

“ Howdy y’all” She said. “ It’s nice to finally meet y’all after all this………….” Her words were cut short as Rarity rushed forward and brought the former earth pony into an embrace as she tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

“ I know you’re not our Applejack” Rarity replied. “ But it’s so nice to see AJ's face again darling" Equestrian Applejack smiled and soon returned the hug, while it wasn't her Rarity it still felt nice to her. And with them losing their version of her, she knew that they were hurting deeply and with her being here made them feel a little better. Suddenly a voice called out interrupting the hug between the duo.

" Guys it's time" Gilda said to the group, each of them gave a nod signalling that they were ready for the service. With nothing more to say, they joined their burly friend and proceeded to take their respected seats just as the eulogy was to commence.

Soon the eulogy commenced as everyone took their respected seats, the atmosphere was a mix of both despair and sadness amongst the crowd. Losing a loved one and a close friend can bring a negative outcome to those at their funeral, with the apple family wondering if life will ever be the same now that they’ve lost another member of the family, and the rainbooms and the student body wondering if CHS would ever be the same without Applejack especially since she was the wisest among the group. It wouldn’t be easy to move forward after the death of a loved one, but each of em knew that they would want them to move on and not spend the rest of their lives grieving as it wouldn’t be healthy for any of them.

At long last Granny Smith walked up to the podium ready to begin the eulogy while trying her hardest not to stare directly into her grandchild’s open casket, after a minute of collecting herself, the elderly matriarch finally spoke up.

“Hello ladies and gentleman” She began. “ We are gathered here today to say goodbye to a beloved member of both the apple family and Canterlot high, Applejack Miranda Apple. When I heard the news of my granddaughter hanging herself off of the basketball hoop in the school gym, I wanted to believe that it was just a cruel prank or a bad dream. But it wasn’t, it was reality. My granddaughter is dead, I never thought I’d experience that trama again. After the death of my son Brightmac and daughter in law Pearbottom. I never wanted to go through that heartbreak again, when I took in Applejack, Big Mac, and Applebloom, I swore that I’d protect and watch after them with my life so that I’d never lose them either”

“But alas I have lost one, and the worst part was, she was to turn 17 this month” Granny gave a small sniffle after the realization of Applejacks would have been birthday, Pinkie took it especially hard as she was so excited to plan out her farmer friends birthday party . But now it was too late “ I never expected to lose another member of the family so young, If I had known she was going through so much trouble after losing Sunset's trust, I would have token her to therapist or consoled her. But it seems that I was too late and arrogant, what I would give to have magical powers like the rainbooms so that I could go back in time and save my granddaughter before it was too late”

A look of pity formed on Twilights face after hearing Granny’s statement, while she too wished that it would have been that simple. she also knew that using time travel magic to bring back a loved one would bring out some dire consequences to the present day, especially given her past actions with such magic.

“Speaking of granddaughters, when I heard of what Applebloom and her friends did. I was just as sore as all of you was when they confessed, It disgusted me that my own granddaughter broke the trust of not only the apple family but her sister as well for spreading her deepest secret lover some pity jealousy” The crowd had moved expressions after being reminded of Anon a miss and the perpetrators behind it all.

“I’d be lying if I said that I actually blame Bloom for AJ’s death as her Mystable stunt is what drove sunset here over the edge, but I knew better than to believe that this was entirely her fault as i knew Applejack was going through a lot lately which really pushed her over the edge. I know you’re all probably still mighty sore at my granddaughter, but I ask of you please find it in your hearts to forgive her and her friends one day. They made a mistake and they especially Applebloom have suffered enough, so please do it for not me but for Applejack as she wouldn’t want ya’ll to hold a grudge against her little sister especially after how she reacted to her death” The entire crowds reactions turned to wonder as they began to question themselves if they could truly forgive the CMC’s, but they also knew that Applebloom suffered enough as is and needn’t anymore trauma.

Granny then finally mustered up the courage to finally look at her granddaughters casket “ Goodbye babygirl, your with your ma and pa now” She then looked back at the crowd and spoke again “ If there's anyone who wishes to say a few words on behalf of Applejack, come on forward” a hand was soon raised after Granny’s proposal, some of the occupants looked back to find the hand belonging to non other than Rainbow Dash. The athlete was silent as she got up from her seat and stepped forward onto the podium to give her condolences to her deceased friend, she took a long deep breath before finally pumping up enough courage to look on at the crowd and speak up.

The young athlete started out with an apology to not only the Apple family but for the entire student body as well, she then cursed herself for ever picking that fight with AJ during study hall a month ago wishing that she could take back her harsh words towards her. Even though Sunset and everyone else stated that it wasn't her fault for Applejacks suicide, the rainbow haired girl continued to blame herself wishing that she could have done something to stop her before she took her own life. Not having the strength to continue on any further, the athlete just uttered one more " I'm sorry" before breaking down as the occupants looked one with pity all over their faces.

She was given a surprise when she found the matriarch of the Apple family Granny Smith bring her into a warm and forgiving embrace. The athlete was caught by surprised not expecting Granny smith to comfort her despite the fact that she's been giving Applejack hell ever since Sunset went on "vacation". The other members of the family and members of the student body gave reassuring nods towards the element of loyalty hinting that they were on the same boat as the matriarch, and that they held no Ill towards Dash. She then returned the hug happy that no one was upset at her before returning to her seat.

Granny then proceeded to usher the next person who wanted to give their condolences towards her granddaughter, a pair of hands rose but not from the audience, but from a familiar trio. There stood the reunited CMC's standing in the center of the eulogy isle, the crowd mainly the CHS students had mixed responses at the trio given their actions last December as they walked forward towards the podium. Sunset got off her seat to meet the trio.

"Girls, you don't have to go up there if you don't want too" Sunset reassured.

"No, it's alright Sunset" Applebloom nodded. " We'll be fine I promise, It's about time we took responsibility for our actions, there's no more running away"

The trio then made their way up towards the small stage not even waiting to hear Sunsets response, as they got close to the stand, bloom took a minute o collect herself alongside her friends who knew that everyone was gonna have various reactions to seeing “Anon a Miss” at the funeral.

“Hello everyone” She began. “ I know you all weren’t expecting me and my friends to show up. Especially after what we’ve done”

Most members of the crowd mumbled and whispered to each other after hearing Blooms opening statement. “ And honestly we don’t blame ya’ll for being angry, what me and my friends did to you guys was wrong and look what it cost me? Because of my foolish plan I lost my big sister and she’s never coming back, I started Anon a miss in a pitiful attempt to get my sister back only to lose her. To everyone whose reputations were hurt due to Anon a miss, I’m truly sorry for me and my friends actions. But please if your gonna be angry at us, take it out on me instead, this whole thing was my idea in the first place and I practically dragged my friends along with me”

Scootaloo and Sweetie belle were in shock that their friend was willing to take the entire blame for Anon a Miss, even though they too were onboard with the plan.

“I should have done the right thing and just told Applejack about how jealous I’ve been about her spending more time with me, but after she cancelled our sister movie night to hang out with Sunset and didn’t even bother to include us. I just snapped and took the bullying path, and look what it’s cost me? My sisters dead and if Sunset ended up going down the same path as her, I would never forgive myself”

Tears started to form as Applebloom continued. “ I was a monster , I ruined so many lives last Christmas. I was no better than the Dazzlings or even the old Sunset, I hurt so many people and I can never reverse it. I know this won’t mean much but, I’m truly sorry for me and my friends actions. Pinkie everyone, I’m sorry for making ya’ll turn on Sunset, to my entire family I’m sorry for going against what the Apple family stands for, Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna, I’m sorry for being such a terrible student, to every CHS student I’m sorry for ruining your reputations and spreading your deepest darkest secrets”

“But the biggest apology I owe is to you Sunset Shimmer, I know ya’ll already forgave us but I’m sorry for framing ya’ll. You have changed your ways and redeemed yourself, and i had no right to take all that hard work away from ya’ll over some stupid act of jealousy, I hope you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive us one day” Bloom then turned towards her sisters casket. “ Big Sis, I’m truly sorry for breaking our trust in each other. If your hearing this from up above, I hope you can forgive me too”

Bloom said nothing more and silently wept as her friends brought her into the group hug as the audience watched on with looks of pity on their faces after hearing the sophomores apology. With nothing more to say, the trio left the stage and took a seat with the rainbooms who were quick to comfort them. Granny Smith once again ushered anyone else to come on stage to give their condolences. Everyone else in the audience got the chance to step forward and say a few words to the dearly departed, and when it was finally the remaining Rainbooms and Sunsets turn, each of them shared all the happy memories that they’ve shared with their farmer friend all while wishing that she was here with them right now. Twilight and equestrian applejack even stepped forward as well and said a few words themselves, while equestrian Applejack never met her human counterpart and only met the Rainbooms for the first time today, she never the less gave her condolences while also feeling sad about not being able to meet her human counterpart.

An hour later

Soon the eulogy came to an end as all the spectators began to make their way home while some of them stayed behind for a little longer to see Applejacks gravestone one last time. The CMC’s, Sunset, Twilight, and the remaining Rainbooms were amongst them to see their deceased friend one last time before heading home. The sight of the tombstone brought depressed shivers among the girls knowing who was down there.

“Here Lies applejack, An Apple, An Honest girl, A wonderful sister, And a friend”

The girls tried their hardest not to shed a tear as they knew applejack wouldn’t want them to mourn for her and to stay strong, despite her no longer being in this world. Everyone had various reactions as they stared at the tombstone, with Applebloom kneeled down close to it with a look of our sadness, Dashes expression hidden in the bangs of her hair, and Pinkies hair was deflated and turning a pink grayish color which always happened whenever she became depressed.

“I can’t believe she’s really gone” She said quietly , Dash then placed a comforting hand on the party girls shoulder.

“I know Pinkie, I know” she replied. “ I’m so sorry, she didn’t deserve this. What I would give to see her again”

“We all do Dash” Twilight jumped in. “ But we must be strong, It’s what applejack would have wanted. It’s not gonna be easy, but we will pull through for Applejack”

The others nodded in unison as they knew Twilight was right , they had to try their hardest to stay strong for their deceased friend. As she wouldn’t want them to spend the rest of their lives mourning for her, Equestrian applejack then kneeled down next to Applebloom who was still staring at her sisters gravestone.

“ It’s gonna be alright Bloom” She said in a comforting tone, Bloom however didn’t make eye contact.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s ever gonna be alright AJ” She replied, there was silence for a minute before the young teen continued. “ AJ……….do you think my Applejack would have forgiven me?”

“Of course she would have sugarcube” She reassured. “ I may not have known your version of me, but there’s no doubt in my mind that me and her aren’t so different. Take a look at me for example, back at home me and your counterpart have our quarrels from time to time and there was even an event similar to you guys Anon a Miss incident a year ago. But I still love my Applebloom, no matter how many fights we get in we still love each other and nothing will ever change that. I know she was mighty pissed off at ya for your Mystable stunt, but deep down she knows you’re truly sorry for what you’ve done. And theres no doubt in my mind that she still loves you regardless of every stupid thing you’ve ever done”

At last Applebloom finally made eye contact with the equestrian version. Of her sister as fresh tears started to form along with a smile, she then wrapped her arms around the former earthponys neck into an embrace to which the element of honesty was quick to return as a warm smile formed on her face as well. “Thank you AJ” Bloom said with a sniffle. “ Thank you for being here with us”

“It was my pleasure sugarcube” Applejack replied, and soon the others walked forward and joined in the hug as well.

“It was my pleasure”

Author's Note

I decided not to give Rainbows section in the funeral scene dialogue as it sounded way too similar to her conversation that she had with Sunset in the gym lockerroom.

But anyways another chapter down folks, hope you’re enjoying the story. Now all thats left is the epilogue and the story is complete, Until then I’ll see you guys around :heart:

Epilogue

Another month has went by in a flash, and suffice to say everything is now back to normal at CHS. While AJ's death still held a rift to some, They all knew that the element of honesty wouldn't want them to spend the rest of their lives mourning for her as it wasn't healthy for any of them. Every student and faculty member knew that it's what Applejack would have wanted , and they did their best to try and move on and go on with their lives in honor of their fallen friend. And that's what they did.

Sunset was fully happy to be back home, her real home. While the memories of the Anon a Miss incident aren't gonna go away anytime soon, she never the less continued on with her personal promise to try and move on from it and hopefully one of these days she and her friends would look back on this incident and laugh. While she still missed Applejack, she also knew that she would want her to keep moving forward, and that's what she did and now her bond with her friends was as strong as ever.

The fiery teen also managed to finally make amends with the remaining students and staff who still held a grudge against her even after her reformation, which made the girl extremely happy to have finally erased her past wrong doings from when she first entered this world. And I'm happy to say that she and flash are now officially back together, after the events a month ago, the pair were now inseparable with each other and Sunset couldn't have been happier to not only have her friends back, but her old boyfriend back as well and swore to not mess up this time.

Speaking of Sunsets friends, the Rainbooms have officially returned back to their old selves with Pinkie now back to her peppy cheerful self that everyone loves. Fluttershy has also found a new boost in bravery and is much more talkative and supportive, she even stood up to a bully back at the mall a few weeks ago. And as for Dash, she was now out of her cage of depression and self hatred and was overjoyed that no one held no Ill towards her despite her actions with Applejack a few months ago, she also started taking therapy sessions after school two times a week to better get her personal issues out of the bag.

They also officially reformed the band much to the delight of their fans, they even made a few new songs in honor of their fallen friend and even found themselves a newest guitarist, that being Fluttershys new girlfriend Gilda Griffon. As it turns out, Gilda only picked on Fluttershy in the past because she secretly had a crush on her. But given that she was in the closet at the time and was afraid that Shy wasn't into girls . She chose to keep her feelings and sexuality a secret, that is until after Anon a Miss and her reformation. With the encouragement of Sunset, Dash and even Rarity, the burly girl finally confessed her feelings towards the former shy girl and was overjoyed when she accepted her invitation to a date. And suffice to say, they're newfound relationship is still going as strong as Sunset and Flashes. And Fluttershy was happy to have Gilda by her side especially after the burly teen found out that she had a thing for muscles which only made Gilda more happy as it would give her an excuse to show off her physique towards her new girlfriend.

And as for the CMC's, the trio's friendship was now fully repaired alongside the Canterlot Movie Club. A week after the Funeral, they also asked their respected families, Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna if they could return to Canterlot High to which they allowed, but made a few restrictions for their return. For example, the computer lab and the library was to be used for school work only and they were required to have their phones in their lockers at all times and to only take out in case of emergencies which they didn't mind one bit.

Soon the Trio was welcomed back to the CHS family with open arms but not only the Principles and their respected sisters, but the entire student body as well who have now officially forgiven the girls for Anon a Miss, Diamond Tiara however didn't forgive the trio and even requested to her father to have her transferred to Crystal prep as to never see them again, the CMC's didn't mind this cause well....................it's Diamond Tiara after all, and this might sound a bit harsh but given the rich teens snobbish behavior these past few years, no one was really gonna miss her. However, this change in venue would lead to a positive outcome to one student.

Silverspoon was a now a changed girl, with Tiara gone this allowed her to look back at her past actions and to make amends with her past victims that she was forced to torment by her former friend. She was now a much nicer gal and no longer flaunted her wealth with anyone, and was now a friend amongst the student body including the CMC's who welcomed her with open arms and even invited her to join their club to which she happily accepted along with their friendship.

As for the Applefamily, business was still going strong despite the passing of their loved one. Bloom worked hard in her late sisters stead alongside Big Macintosh who worked tirelessly to keep the business afloat, they even made a shrine up in the meadow hills in honor of AJ. Braeburn and a few other members of the family also stopped by from time to time to offer a helping hand to granny and the siblings. Filthy rich even offered a hand to the family and had a few of his business associates assist in both the farm work and the sales records from the apples, cider, and jam that they sold.

All in all everything was going well for everyone.

Outside the entrance to the Gymnasium, we find Derpy Hooves standing anxiously over the main door. While most of the students have already made their way inside the indoor sports arena, Derpy stayed behind a bit as the memories of Applejack hanging from the basketball hoop began to play off in her head. The cross eyed girl would be lying to herself that she was still a bit uncomfortable about stepping foot inside the gymnasium especially with her being the first one to spot that heartbreaking scene months ago, she also knew that she eventually had to conquer her fear and anxiety eventually just like Fluttershys new found sense of bravery.

While she was still skeptical about stepping inside, and it wasn’t just her, a few others were also feeling the same way as they too were fearful about reliving that day again. She knew that she had to be brave as it’s what Applejack would have wanted, but as she tried desperately to grasp the handle, her hand always pushed back out of fear. But eventually she managed to grab a hold of the handle and was ready to step inside the gym, but as she was about to turn the handle, she found a hand on her shoulder belonging to non other than Gilda. She turned back to find her burly friend standing over her with a sympathetic look.

“ Derpy” She began. “ You don’t have to go in if your not ready yet, I can talk to Coach Will if ya want so that you can go to the library or something during gym class”

The cross eyed teen however shook her head, politely denying her friends request “ No, it’s alright Gilda” She reassured. “ I’ll be ok, don’t get me wrong. Seeing that basketball hoop will send shivers down my spine, I know I’ll have to try and overcome it as it’s what Applejack would have wanted. It’s high time I started being brave just like Fluttershy, there’s no turning back now” Gilda smiled proudly after hearing her friends statement, she then wrapped a comforting arm around her neck.

“ And we’ll do it together” She replied, and soon the two friends finally mustered up the courage and opened the entrance together to finally enter the gymnasium ready to face the outside forces.

Unknown to them however, a ghostly silhouette can be seen outside of the entrance having surveyed the entire conversation between the two friends, as the doors closed behind her she let out a proud smile of her own before tilting her Stetson hat back in a respectful manor before finally fading away into the air.

“ Well done Sugarcube, well done”

Author's Note

And that’s the end ladies and gentleman❤️ Thank you so much for the positive feedback and sticking around for my latest story😉 And a shoutout to BiggerNate91 for the Chapter edits, thanks man I really appreciate it👍 Anyways thank you guys for sticking around for my latest story :raritywink: Speaking of stories , I also plan on handwriting down the script for the first 2 chapters of the second part of Friendship is Dead between November and December so that I can have a head start when posting the first chapters next January😉 and I might even make a short teaser trailer for it as well👍

Until then I’ll see you guys around😉

Monday part 2 : Some devistating news ( edited by : BiggerNate91)

Gilda slowly wiped her tears away before finally answering Sunset’s question. “It’s like this, Shimmer…”

Things started to turn into a living hell after you left. A lot of students here were pissed beyond belief at the Crusaders for the stunt that they pulled. Some of them took some time away from school, like you did, to avoid the backlash they received from their exposed secrets. Some of us even chose to transfer schools entirely. Obviously, no one was having a happy holiday… especially the Rainbooms. Princess Twilight’s words shook them to their core. The Apple family Christmas Eve party was even cancelled due to no one being in the holiday mood.

The Crusaders weren't so lucky either. After their confession, they were given six months of detention, and their families grounded them until New Year’s Eve. The Rainbooms refused to talk to them at all, and I practically had to shield Scootaloo after Dash tried to punch her. And it wasn’t just them, of course; practically all the students were out for blood after finding out they were behind Anon-a-Miss. The abuse was so severe that all three of them just locked themselves in their rooms to avoid everyone, given the fact that they could be jumped at any time. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hadn’t even said a word to Apple Bloom after their punishments were given, probably because she was the ringleader of the account and practically dragged them into it.

Once the holiday season was over, I think we all expected everyone to have finally moved on… but boy, were we wrong. When we got back to school, everyone was still furious at the Crusaders, but fortunately no one reacted violently toward them. All anyone did was give them the cold shoulder. Their sisters still weren't speaking to them. I guess they felt that they were no longer welcome here, because they eventually asked their parents if they could transfer to Crystal Prep for the rest of the semester. They were on board with the idea, as it would have been a better alternative than waiting for the student body to cool down, with the fear of them acting violently toward them again. Soon, the girls were transferred to our rival school, with pretty much everyone happy to see them gone and out of their lives. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end.

Like I mentioned, the Rainbooms were a shell of their former selves after Princess Twilight yelled at them. They were all still on edge from both wrongfully accusing you and for what the Crusaders did. Pinkie Pie barely smiles anymore; Fluttershy was always sitting by the statue waiting for you to come back; Rarity doesn’t take care of herself anymore—poor girl looks like a zombie most days without her makeup on. And as for Dash and Applejack… well… that’s the really horrible thing that happened.

In the last week of January, AJ and Dash got into a lot of arguments. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. They would always accuse and blame each other for how the other treated you. Applejack yelled at Dash for not representing Loyalty, and Dash pinning the blame for the entire event on AJ because she was the one that accused you first. We thought it couldn’t get any worse… but their last fight really pushed them to the limit. During study hall, Mr. Sombra stepped out for a few minutes to take care of some paperwork, and the two of them started screaming at each other. Everyone in the classroom tried to break them up, but there was no stopping them. They just kept going at it, hurling insults back and forth, until Dash shouted, and I quote:

“You know, if your parents were alive right now, they’d be disappointed in you and your sister, ya hick!!!!”

Something in Applejack snapped after that. Dash barely even had time to react before the first fist was thrown. When Sombra got back, it looked like a freaking grenade had gone off in the classroom. They even shattered some windows! By the end of it, the two of them looked like they had been swarmed by a gang in an alley, but thankfully no one else got hurt.

After that, they were both given a month’s detention, not just from the fight, but for nearly destroying the classroom, which they had to pay the school for the damages. They didn’t speak to each other after that and just kept their distance; they didn’t even sit with the other Rainbooms at lunch and would glare at each other whenever they passed by. After that, the Rainbooms decided to go their separate ways Dash and AJ causing too toxic of an atmosphere. They even broke up the band!

Since then, Applejack had changed for the worse. She practically isolated herself from everyone completely, especially Dash. She hardly ever showed up at school, and when she did show up, she looked like a wreck. She always had these bags under her eyes from never getting any sleep at night, her hair was all messy, she barely wore her hat, and she looked as if she hadn’t eaten anything in days. She was in much worse shape than Rarity, and that was saying something. A few times here and there, I tried to talk to her, but she just brushed me off and went on with her day. Whenever lunch started, she sat in an empty classroom staring off into space until lunch period was over. I had never interacted regularly with her, but I was still worried sick about her every time I saw her. A part of me wanted to get her professional help, but I knew that it wasn't cool to get into other people’s business.

But now I wish that I did, cause then maybe I could have prevented…

Gilda stopped speaking for a second as fresh tears started to form. Sunset was quick to notice this with no doubt in her mind that something bad happened. “Prevented what?”

Gilda cringed in pain, desperately trying to hold back tears. She didn’t want to relive such an awful memory.

After what felt like an eternity, Sunset finally spoke again. “Gilda, please tell me what happened…”

Gilda let out a shaky breath. She looked back up and met Sunset’s eyes with her own, peering through her own tears.

“S-Sunset… Applejack… s-she… killed herself…”

In an instant, the world began to spiral away from Sunset. Her jaw dropped, and she stumbled backward into the lockers behind her. “N-no… it can’t be…”

Gilda stepped forward to help Sunset regain her balance. Sunset’s horrified gaze pierced the girl through her heart.

“What the hell happened…?”

A week after the study hall incident, Applejack hadn't been seen since. None of us had seen her in school for a while, and I even heard from Big Mac that she hadn't been home either. I was starting to worry even more for her, thinking that maybe she ran away from home or something. But then, while we were getting ready for gym class, everyone heard Derpy scream bloody murder. We all rushed into the gym to see what was the matter, and that's when we saw the most terrifying sight imaginable.

Applejack’s lifeless body was hanging from a makeshift noose made from her trusty lasso, tied to one of the basketball hoops. We were all in a complete state of shock at the sight, but what chilled us to the core was what was on the floor. She had written the words “I’m sorry Sunset…” in her own blood. The scariest part was that the blood was still fresh, and the cut on AJ's left wrist was still dripping. She probably snuck into the Gymnasium somewhere between 1st and 3rd periods and hung herself from the hoop, but not before writing her last words on the floor with her own blood.

An hour later, the gym was closed down as some paramedics took Applejack's body away. Everyone was still in a state of shock and horror after witnessing a student’s suicide. Granny Smith and Big Mac were crying uncontrollably after laying eyes on the body… I can imagine that it probably brought back memories of when her parents died. Apple Bloom had bolted out of the school to see her sister’s lifeless body being carried away. Her reaction outmatched both Smith’s and Mac’s; poor thing collapsed on the ground bawling uncontrollably as they both hugged her. She screamed only one thing over and over: “It was my fault!”

The gym was closed off quickly after that; no gym class, no sporting events. People were just too traumatized to even set foot in there again. Not even I can lay eyes on that hoop…

As for the Rainbooms… Feels like Fluttershy hasn't stopped crying ever since, same with Pinkie and Rarity. Dash blames herself for the whole thing; she thinks it’s her fault for starting the arguments. She’s completely ghosted herself from everyone. The only times I've seen her is either at the gym or near the bleachers when no one’s around.
And Applebloom… Granny Smith had to switch her to online classes for the time being. She’s still too broken to return to school, or even go outside to face the world at all.

“And that… that’s where we’re at now… two whole months of the worst tragedy imaginable…”

Gilda said no more and clenched her fist tightly while attempting to hold back her tears. Tears were streaming down Sunset’s face; she never would have guessed that one of the Rainbooms would have been so riddled with guilt that they would end their own life. While she was mad at them for accusing her, she didn't want any of them gone. The fact that Applejack thought that she didn’t deserve to live broke her heart. The fiery teen then walked up to the burly girl and wrapped her arms around her into a hug, Gilda didn't want to return it, trying to maintain her tough girl nature, but accepted it anyway.

“This can’t be happening…” Sunset whimpered. “I can't believe Applejack killed herself, this isn't what I wanted to happen. I just can't believe it… she can’t be gone…"

Sunset parted from the hug and faced the locker. Letting out a cry, she slammed her fist into one of the doors. “I should have been here. I should have—”

“Shimmer, this wasn’t your fault.” Gilda interrupted. “You couldn’t have possibly known what was happening or what was going to happen. Everyone was a dick to you; you had every right to be angry and you had every right to leave. If anything, I’m more at fault for not helping when I should have… I wish I could have done something to prevent this…”

Sunset sniffed and turned back to face Gilda. She placed a hand on the tough girl's shoulder. “If I shouldn’t blame myself, then neither should you. Everyone was in a dark place after the incident. It’s like you said, you had no interaction with her before then; I don’t know how much you would have been able to do. Applejack wasn’t just hurt from the fallout; she was scarred. Trust me, I know what it feels like to believe that the world no longer wants you alive.

“I know what I have to do now. I wasn’t there for Applejack, and I want to be there for the rest of my friends. I have to try more than ever to put Anon-a-Miss away for good; I don’t want anyone else to follow in Applejack’s footsteps.”

Gilda nodded, sniffling. “Well… that’s not going to be an easy road, but I guess I wish you luck. If you want, I can gather the Rainbooms and Crusaders during lunch today so you can talk to them.”

Sunset hesitated, then shook her head slowly. “No, I… I can’t. Not right now. I… I still need to process everything that’s happened… this is still so much. If you see my friends today, you can tell them that I’d like to speak with them tomorrow after school at Sugarcube Corner.”

Gilda nodded in reassurance. “You can count on me, Shimmer. But I should tell you, Dash isn’t gonna be easy to talk to. If I'm not able to convince her today, you should be able to find her either at the gym or at her place if ya wanna talk to her solo. Do you want to see the Crusaders, too?”

“No, not yet,” Sunset said. “I’ll have a word with them later this week. I need to wrap things up with the girls first before I'm ready to confront them.”

“Sure, sounds fair to me, especially since they’re the ones who caused all this…” Gilda's words were cut short as a bell rang indicating that the next class period was about to start. Sunset and Gilda watched as the students in the hallway began to move toward their next classes.

“Damn, guess I better head to class then,” Gilda said as she turned to leave.” I’ll see ya later, Shimmer.”

Gilda started walking toward her classroom, but stopped in her tracks as she heard Sunset’s voice again. “Gilda, wait! Before you go, I need to ask you something.”

Gilda turned back to face Sunset. “Sure… what’s going on?”

Sunset considered her words before speaking up again. “Gilda, you… when Anon-a-Miss was happening… there were only three people that never accused me of stealing their secrets: Flash Sentry, Derpy… and you. I’m grateful that you didn’t think it was me, but… why not?”

Gilda smiled. “Well, Shimmer… let's just say you were my wake-up call. Before you came here, I wasn't exactly the nicest girl in school either. I was just as big of a bitch as you had been, maybe even bigger. Hell, I even sent a few people to the hospital. But then… I watched you apologize to everyone and change your ways. It humbled me. It made me think back to all the shit I did in the past… and it made me realize that I was truly an awful person. So, I did the same thing. I made the effort to undo all of my rotten actions. I apologized to everyone I had bullied, including Fluttershy, and to our surprise, they forgave us. It took some time, of course, but they still gave us a chance despite the hell we used to unleash in the hallway.

“Shimmer, you practically saved my life. If you didn't show up and make me realize my mistakes. I'd probably be in jail before my senior year. You ain't a bad person anymore. I can see it in your eyes. You didn’t deserve all this shit and you definitely didn’t deserve to lose a friend.”

Sunset was at a loss for words. She had never expected to hear those words come out of the mouth from one of the toughest girls in school. Slowly, a smile grew across her face. “Thank you, Gilda.”

Gilda smiled back. “No Shimmer… thank you.”

Suddenly the warning bell rang, indicating that there were only a few minutes to arrive to class.

Gilda winced and turned to leave. "Crap, sorry, I gotta roll! I'll see you tomorrow, Shimmer! Good luck with your friends!” With nothing more to say, Gilda hurried to her next class, but not before waving back at the fiery teen. Sunset waved back as Gilda left the scene.

Sunset was left alone in the hallway. Slowly, she took out her phone and clicked it on. Her lock screen wallpaper was a picture of her and the Rainbooms with bright faces and wide open-mouth smiles, taken right after they had won the Battle of the Bands.

Applejack was right next to Sunset in the picture. She had an arm around her and looked like she was whooping with joy. It was the happiest she had ever been.

Sunset clenched her heart tightly while trying to hold back her tears.

“Applejack…” she whispered. “I’m s-so sorry…”

Sunset turned around and made her way out the front door, exiting the school back toward her apartment building.

Author's Note

Damn I wasn't expecting the story to blow up so quickly after only the first chapter. You guys are the best :pinkiehappy: Also for the weeks / chapters Sunsets gonna meet and talk with various characters before the funeral as to tie up loose ends.

But anyways I hope you all are enjoying the story so far, and once again I'll see you all in the next chapter :raritywink:

update

Sorry for the delay guys, I took a short hiatus after finding out my buddy Dragon in Black has been going through a lot lately :fluttershysad: I'm not gonna say much as it's not my place to address his personal problems and I gotta respect it, if your seeing this man I hope your doing ok and remember that we're here for you my friend :heart: Give this man all the love he needs fellah's as he needs it right now and I don't want him going down a dark path. But anyways I'll have thursday worked on and up by either next week or early october, until then I'll see you guys soon and Dragon in Black i hope your doing well my friend :heart:

Author's Note

I accidentally posted it on the wrong story sorry about that fellahs, but anyways liek i said ill have the next chapter up soon. until then give my buddy Dragon in black as much love as possible cause he needs it right now :heart: