Hey readers, this is Arctic Marauder. I just wanna let you know a few things about my work before I let you go and read my stories:

If you have any ideas about a story I should write or a plot twist to include, let me know. I look forward to seeing your reviews and simply sharing my work with you. I implore you to follow and see what I have in store. This is Arctic Marauder, and it's time to have some fun!

Hey, guys. I know some of you are looking for me since I've gone AWOL. I have decided to go in a new direction. Hopefully my stories are less....

Cheesy

Messed-up

Cringy

For more misadventures written by the gang and yours truly, see IceWarrior13.

Thank you for your support.

Love from Gallifrey,

Arctic.

To Dawn, Tails, and Little Red,

It's me, Arctic. I'm writing this on the eve of my seventeenth birthday, nearly a year after the first fall-out I had with Dawn that would eventually lead to the proverbial "breaking up of the band", and I have absolutely no idea as to why. I don't even really remember why we were fighting - it was likely over something stupid and trivial that Dawn once again blew out of proportion because that's just the way she is -, and the thing is: it's been so long that I no longer care.

I suppose that that's why I'm writing this. For months, whenever I've thought of you, I've thought with a light smirk on my face of you all imagining me unhappy and alone because you assume that you were the center of my universe. You assume that I couldn't make other friends, that I couldn't be happy without you. Well, I guess that there was a time when I believed that, too. But that time is over. The only things that were holding me back from getting out there, exploring my dreams and my passions and making new friends, were you three.

You three, who judged every little thing I did. For years, acting the way I was when we met, I was too stuck up and I always followed the rules. I was devoted to my academics and to obeying the words of my parents and my teachers, and you criticized me for that. You pressured me, telling me to swear, to dress in trashier or inappropriate clothes, to like what you liked and discard what I liked, to change how I looked and acted to satisfy what you wanted in me. You even wanted me to write all of my stories about you, and you turned them to absolute shit. And, since I was more meek back then, I let you get away with it. Let me tell you this now: that was the worst mistake I ever made. I should have ditched you guys the second you began trying to change me, because that's not how friendship works.

I spent years living my life by your rules, and in the end - what was I? You pretty much used me for my family's money, transportation, and the advice you'd get from my mother. At the end of the day, I was nothing but a gullible means to an end to you people. You didn't care about how I thought or what I wanted - everything was always about you. Nothing I did or felt mattered as long as you got to feel good about mattered, and I actually used to feel that way as well. "They're sad, they need you. Be strong, don't show them how you really feel. Be patient." - that was me. And that honestly sucked.

I supposed that I shouldn't have been surprised at how quickly you turned against me once I started realizing just how wrong everything about our relationship was. How mad you were, Dawn, when I started standing up for myself. Well, I've got news for you: you shouldn't have been so surprised. You and the others, you were so focused on changing me to be as you wanted that you didn't notice that I picked up certain traits that you didn't like. I grew stronger, smarter - and soon, I saw through your manipulation.

I suppose that, in a way, I should thank you, Dawn. From you, I learned a rather useful ability - the ability to get up in someone's face, take what I wanted, and not care as long as, at the end of the day, I felt good about what I'd done. How amazing it felt, getting up in your face for a change and standing up to you. I felt amazing, like a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Maybe it was the weight of that toxic friendship we once had, but now that weight is gone. I've purged myself of your poison.

That's not to say that our relationship didn't leave its scars. By the time I got the Hell out of dodge, some things about me were permanently changed. I swear a lot, and - after years of being pushed down - I like to feel strong. I am strong, stronger than you could ever hope to be, and I no longer care about what other people think of me. After all, after a year without you, I find myself not giving a damn about anything that you ever thought about me. After all, you no longer matter to me, so why should your opinions?

So... To Dawn the Dictator, Tails the Follower, and Little Red - who turned her back on me and ended up getting swept up the social shit-creek without a paddle -, this is the end. The absolute and complete end. In the words of a song that I ABSOLUTELY ADORE despite your opinions of its source,

I'm in control, I own my soul,

And I'll never go back there!

Wasted years that I spent never knowing

I was kept, I was used!

Never-ending, condescending -

Now I just refuse!

I don't care what it costs me!

I know I almost lost me!

Won't spend another day confused..!

Time for you to learn, it's my turn!

In short: the girl you tried to make me into is gone. Now, I do what I want and obey no one. I spend time with my family and the friends who genuinely care about me, I pursue my dreams and talents in my own way, I've become a big sister that my siblings can look up to, and I genuinely care about my future. I maintain good grades, I respect others, and I work hard to hone my skills and find where I belong, and I certainly don't belong with you.

In conclusion, don't you dare think that you left a lasting, negative impact on me. You didn't. Someday, I'll be able to purge myself of your influence entirely. As far as I've gone, I know that there's one step that absolutely needs to be taken, and that's where I'm ending this - forever.

So... For the very, very last time, goodbye.

XOXO,

The girl who once blindly tried to change herself into your "Arctic".