Sunset plugged the substituted numbers into her calculator after calculating the derivatives of the equations. She honestly didn’t understand how this class was difficult. Science and maths were a necessity for learning magic and while she preferred to be study practically instead of theoretically, she wasn’t an idiot. It was the same formula, just with occasional extra steps and different numbers to substitute. The calculator she borrowed from the teacher each lesson made it a piece of cake.
It did get harder at home. She didn’t have a scientific calculator like most of the class. She managed well enough though. It wasn’t nearly as bad as history or politics. This world was very different to what she was used to. Everything had happened differently. There were a lot more wars, for one thing. And it was older. Far older than Equestria.
She was startled out of her automatic calculations by the shriek of the bell. She noticed almost everyone else had packed up their things and were already filing out the door, impatient to leave the class.
Sunset packed away her supplies into a small grey pencil case, careful to make sure it stayed clean and that she wasn’t missing a thing. She picked up her books and walked to the front of the class, hugging her stuff to her chest as she tapped the Twilight’s shoulder, the amethyst-skinned girl still scribbling furiously as she solved problems, too caught up in her own head to notice the bell.
She startled slightly at the touch, jumping in her seat as her hand came up to her glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of her nose. “Sunset Shimmer,” she sounded slightly shocked. “I’m sorry; I didn’t even notice you were there. Where did everyone else go?” She looked around in befuddlement.
Sunset smiled warmly. “Its fine, Twilight. Call me Sunset. Anyway, the bell just went and everyone else went. We should get to lunch and meet the girls. I haven’t seen any of them yet.” She slept in late. Damn her neighbours. Why were they so loud?
Twilight nodded quickly, hastily scooping up her supplies and shoving them into her pencil case. The thing was huge, almost the same size as Twilight’s notebook, and patterned with interesting constellations, stating their names and positions in the sky. Sunset felt the tiniest pang of envy when she looked down at her own stuff, mostly secondhand.
She banished the feeling. Twilight had gone to an incredibly fancy private school. It was only natural that she’d have cool stuff. Like everyone else at Canterlot High.
She waited for Twilight by the door, holding it open for the quieter girl. Twilight had gone through quite an aesthetic transformation over the holidays. Sure she still wore her hair in a bun and kept her glasses, but she had traded her crystal prep uniform for a light purple sweatervest with an argyle pattern, wearing a soft cotton shirt underneath, and a simple plaid skirt, also purple. She’d also gotten rid of the blocky dress shoes that she had worn to Crystal Prep. They couldn’t have been comfortable, and it was obvious that her walk was a tad bit more graceful, her steps lighter and softer.
Sunset had noticed the fact that most people seemed to have favourite colours that tended to match their coat and hair colour in this world, often with what would have been their cutie mark in Equestria somewhere.
She’d given up on that, preferring to completely change who she was. The only sign of her old cutie mark was on her journal to Princess Twilight.
She held out a hand to steady Twilight when the other girl stumbled, not realising that Flash Sentry had a habit of subconsciously shifting his desk forward each lesson. She was not the first to trip on his desk and she wouldn’t be the last.
“Thank you,” she said meekly, hugging her books close to her chest and hunching her shoulders in as they walked through the crowded hall. Sunset knew that feeling, the worry of someone tripping her or knocking her books out of her hand or stealing them. Personally she had always been more worried about getting elbowed into a locker. But from what Twilight had said, the lockers at Crystal Prep were too small to fit someone in. Lucky girl, aside from the bullying and isolation and soul-crushing loneliness.
Sunset knew that feeling all too well.
She placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and got a tiny smile in return. Twilight deserved to feel like she wasn’t alone, even though there were many glaring at her for when she had transformed and destroyed part of the school and put over twenty people in the hospital. “Ignore them. Eventually they’ll stop. Trust me on that.”
“Didn’t they only begin to like you after you helped save them from sirens that were using song to control their minds?” She looked up at the taller girl. “That was one of the weirdest sentences I’ve ever said. I still can’t help but think it was all just some sort of dream. I mean… magic.” She chuckled softly.
Sunset laughed. “Yeah, it’s hard to believe. Sometimes even I forget it ever existed, and I used to live and breathe it.” It was even harder to remember it now, ever since it had vanished.
She stopped at her locker, placing all her school stuff inside. Twilight did the same three lockers to the left. It was good that one of the lockers close to Sunset’s was free. It meant she could keep an eye on Twilight and walk with her. She was a little worried about the shy girl if she was on her own, especially with the events of the Friendship Games fresh in everyone’s minds. The backlash for the Fall Formal had broken Sunset, who was already a very confident person to begin with. She didn’t want to think about the effect it would have on Twilight.
She frowned slightly as she remembered that she hadn’t been able to pack a lunch. She didn’t have time to go shopping between her jobs over the holidays. She also didn’t really want to spend money on the school food, not when she needed to save it for groceries and cat food. Her stomach rumbled slightly, the buttered toast she had grabbed from the motel kitchen while running to school nothing but a fond memory. She wondered if any of her friends would be willing to share. They always had lots of good food. Lucky them.
She was drawn out of her little sulk by the sound of Twilight closing her locker. “What was it like?” Twilight asked quietly. “Living in a place where everything was magic?”
Sunset didn’t reply for a while. She just kept walking, teal eyes fixed ahead. Twilight cringed slightly. Had she said something wrong? She ducked her head, staring at her feet as she clutched her lunchbox to her chest, curling inwards. She really hoped she didn’t offend Sunset Shimmer. Even though Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the athletes of the group and Rarity had more strength then she let on, all of them very clear warning signs, Twilight was actually more scared of the tall girl walking quietly beside her.
Sunset Shimmer had a temper; the verbal attack she had given Twilight during the Friendship Games had clearly shown that. She was also taller than Twilight, taller than the other girls, and there was a sense of power to her, like she knew how to handle herself in a fight. Twilight had a feeling that she knew from experience. It was unnerving sometimes.
Her darker self also hated Sunset Shimmer, she despised her. Sunset Shimmer had defeated her and had given Twilight the strength to fight back. She feared the older girl, the girl with an inner darkness so similar to Twilight’s, and with a much tighter leash on it.
Mostly what scared Twilight was the confidence Sunset Shimmer had. It was a confidence that was very unfamiliar to Twilight, one that none of the others shared. It was different, but obvious in the way she carried herself, proud and cunning and unafraid of anything. This wasn’t an unnoticed confidence. Other students seemed to part slightly to allow her through. Twilight wasn’t sure if this was a remnant of the older girl’s reign of terror that she’d heard a little bit about, but she doubted it.
And as much as she feared Sunset Shimmer, she also knew that it was the other girl’s presence that kept her safe, kept her darker self quiet. She was so grateful for that, for her protection, and for the fact that Sunset had a warm heart under the temper and the confidence. Twilight wished she was as strong as her.
The two girls walked in silence to the cafeteria, Sunset reaching out and placing a hand on the door. She made sure to keep her gaze focused ahead of her, her face expressionless and cold. Her voice was the same, a robotic monotone with an echo of some darker emotions, low and almost sorrowful. “If you really want to know what it was like, the only thing I can say is that it felt like home.” She pushed the door open, holding it for Twilight. Twilight stepped through gratefully.
“Okay. Thank you for getting the door.” And just like that, Sunset Shimmer was smiling again, her body language and expression changing to ‘warm and inviting’.
“No problem, Twilight.” She walked beside her to the table that was pretty much marked out as theirs, three girls already seated with their lunches.
One of the girls was drowning in what looked like an incredibly soft mint green sweater, the sleeves sweeping down to her wrists and pushed back so her delicate fingers were free, and a pink butterfly design stitched onto her front. Her long pink hair was pushed out of one side of her face by a lilac flower clip, a similar shade to her soft lavender eyeshadow. A light tan ruffled skirt and brown boots completed her apparel, emerald green thread patterning the boots with vines. It suited her really well. Fluttershy looked up and spotted Sunset’s fiery hair first, giving her a small wave that diverted the attention of the other girls towards Sunset and Twilight.
The other pink haired girl bounced in her seat, bangles and beads jangling on her pink wrists. Her yellow and white sneakers lit up every time she stomped her feet, neon blue laces tied in intricate bows. She wore a blue skirt with yellow balloons stitched around the hem, a dark pink belt holding it on her waist. The light purple t-shirt she wore already had what looked like a stain of flour, right above the cream heart placed in the middle of her chest. “Sunset Shimmer! Twilight Sparkle! Over here!” Pinkie Pie yelled, her hair bouncing on her shoulders as she waved enthusiastically
“Do calm down, Miss Pie,” the third girl said calmly, applying fresh blue eyeshadow to her eyes. Rarity had apparently been shopping over the holidays, judging by the gorgeous blue dress she wore. It hugged close to her body and flared out slightly around her thighs, the poufy sleeves gathered around her shoulders and a beautiful blue diamond shimmering in the hollow of her throat, hanging from a silver necklace and shown off by the square cut of the dress. Pale blue boots hugged her calves, the soles and short heels dark purple like the treble clef design on the side of the ankle. She looked stunning, her hair perfect as always. There was a reason she was seen by many as one of the most beautiful girls in the school.
Sunset felt a little plain compared to her friends. She was still wearing the same outfit as she had before the holidays. She didn’t exactly have money to spare for clothes shopping, unfortunately.
She sat next to Rarity and stretched her arms to the sky, leaning back until she heard a wet pop somewhere in her middle back. Rarity cringed. “As lovely as it is to see you again, could you please refrain from doing that? It’s a little...” she looked like she was struggling for the right word.
Sunset grinned playfully. “Disgusting? I guess I can ‘refrain’ from doing so. You look great, by the way.”
The other girl smiled. “Thank you. I’m very proud of it. Did you notice the pearl stitching I did on the hem?”
Sunset shook her head. “Sorry, no. But it’s a gorgeous dress.”
“I was trying to make sure it wasn’t too flashy. It had to still look casual enough, but elegant. I wasn’t even sure how that was going to work, I went through so many fabrics but none of them looked precisely right. And then I realised, satin would be perfect! It was graceful, had that beautiful sheen to it, but it wasn’t extravagant like cashmere or silk, and nowhere near as expensive. In fact, the boutique had an excess of satin come in, far more then was necessary, especially since satin’s a little out of fashion this season, and Ms. Saddles allowed me to take some of it for experimenting!” She clapped excitedly and gestured to her dress.
“So I decided to make this, and a beautiful scarf which was perfect for my little sister. I had a bit left, if you’d like it Sunset. I think it would suit you if you decided to use it to put your hair up.” She handed a piece of blue satin to her friend. Sunset accepted it with a smile, placing it in her pocket. Jinx might like it. It might suit his black fur.
“Thanks. So I’m guessing you had a good holiday, then.” She rested her elbows on the table.
“It was divine, darling.” Rarity smiled and turned to Fluttershy. “And yours?”
Fluttershy blinked for a few moments, blue eyes wide and cookie crumbs dotting her chin. “Oh, oh yes. I had a great holiday. I spent almost all my time at the shelter, and there was a new dog in, a beautiful black Labrador cross, and she had a litter of seven puppies just five days ago. They’re so cute,” she smiled shyly. “I have a picture if anyone wants to see it.”
She ended up pulling out her phone when all four girls let out a resounding yes, all of them cooing over the adorable newborn pups in the pictures. “What are y’all looking at?” There was a country drawl behind them and they all turned around as one, grinning at the farmer.
“Applejack!” She crossed her muscular arms over her chest, a button-down orange flannel over a white tank top, the sleeves buttoned in at her elbows. She wore cut-off denim shorts and a brown belt, a bit of dried mud already visible on heavy work boots. Her hat was in its usual place, a forest green tie in her hair. They all remembered the unfortunate incident with Rarity’s new kitten, who had decided the red tie that Applejack usually wore was exactly what she needed to consume at that moment. At least Rarity had a spare lying around that Applejack seemed to like as well.
The girl next to her wore a denim jacket that was buttoned over a tight black shirt, the collar of the jacket turned outwards. Simple black leggings stretched down to her running shoes, a red lightning bolt emblazoned on the side of each shoe. She blew her polychromatic fringe out of her face, grinning wildly. “Why don’t you show us too?”
Fluttershy held out the picture, watching as the grins on both girl’s faces widened. They sat down at the table, Rainbow Dash giving Sunset a high five. “We haven’t seen you for ages. Where the hell have you been?”
Sunset returned her grin. “Work, mostly. It was long, it was boring, there’s not much to tell. It’s good to see you, Dash.” She hoped they didn’t ask.
Pinkie Pie began vibrating in her seat again. “Guess what I did over the holidays!” She beamed. “I threw, like, six sleepovers and one that lasted two days and made lots of cake and got a part time job at Mr and Mrs’s Cakes as a babysitter!” Her voice rose in pitch with her excitement.
“We know about the sleepovers, Pinkie. We were there.” Dash rolled her eyes. “Dad and I went for a camping trip for a weekend, if anyone’s asking.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Aside from that, nothing much.” She laced her fingers behind her head.
Applejack noticed that Twilight seemed to be quieter than usual. “Are you alright, sugarcube?” She placed a hand on her shoulder.
Twilight flinched. “Hm? Oh, yes. I’m perfectly fine.” She was just so tired from all the sleepless nights.
“Are you sure? How were your holidays?” Applejack asked softly, giving her a kind smile. Twilight thought she liked her the most. Applejack was just so nice to her ever since the archery contest.
She smiled back, pushing her glasses up. “They were fine. Thanks for inviting me to all those sleepovers, Pinkie Pie. I’m sorry I couldn’t make all of them. My brother bought me this fantastic new book series and I just had to keep reading.” She crossed one hand over her chest, holding her left bicep in what everyone could recognise as a nervous gesture.
“It’s fine, silly,” Pinkie Pie giggled. “You didn’t have to come to every party. Sunny didn’t come to any at all.”
Sunset cringed slightly. “Yeah… sorry about that. Does anyone have any spare food?” It tore at her pride to ask like that, it was pathetic. But her stomach decided to overrule her pride. She was hungry.
The table went quiet for a moment before Fluttershy nodded and handed her a cookie, Twilight doing the same with half her sandwich. It was cut in a triangle. From what Sunset had observed, that was the only proper way to cut a sandwich. She smiled bashfully, her cheeks darkening in embarrassment. “Thanks. I accidentally left it on the table this morning. It’s pretty stupid of me.” She laughed, not willing to let them know that she had no food. She’d need to go shopping after school.
“It happens to everyone, darling. Don’t worry.” Rarity smiled, flicking her hair out of her face. “Why didn’t you just buy lunch?”
Sunset shrugged. “I need to catch a bus to the city today after school. Have to save some money for that.” The grocery store in the city was way cheaper than the one here, and it had a bigger selection as well. She just had to get in, go shopping, go back to the motel, drop everything off, and go back into the city for her shift at the Fireworks Café. It was a small place and not hugely popular, and her boss was horrible, but it got her money, and tips, and she was eternally grateful to Halt and the guy in Room 3 for helping her forge some legal papers to let her get a job.
At least she didn’t have to worry anymore about where to live. Halt gave her nearly free rent, as long as she kept her room clean and paid what she had to on time. The fact that she did all the work on his motorcycle for free and did it well may have had something to do with it. The man loved his bike. And to be fair, it was a gorgeous bike. One day she wanted to get one just like it.
She realised that she’d been staring into space for the past minute or so when she felt Dash poke her cheek. She looked over into confused magenta eyes. “Hm?”
“You kinda zoned there, buddy.” Rainbow Dash looked like she was fighting a smile.
“Oh!” She blinked in surprise. “Sorry. I was just thinking about what I have to do in work today.” There was a hum of agreement from Rarity and Applejack. They both knew about hard work.
Pinkie Pie pouted. “Awwww, but I was going to throw a ‘first day of term’ party. You won’t be able to come?”
Sunset shook her head. “No, but I’ll be off work tomorrow. I work more over the holidays.” And Wednesday she’d be gaining her pay check from her other ‘job’. At least Halt let her use his bike for that, and her job paid for the petrol.
“If you’re sure…” Dash shrugged. “So who here’s seen the new kid yet?” She asked the others, kicking her feet up onto the table.
Fluttershy raised her hand. “Uh, I did. He seems sort of… nice. He did keep laughing at other people though. And he kept shuffling this deck of cards in his hands.”
Rarity tilted her head. “That’s a little odd, don’t you think?” She asked, the school bell catching the end of her sentence and drowning her out.
Twilight was a sudden flurry of movement as she packed up and stood, eager to get to class on time. She looked at the other six girls. “Shouldn’t we get to class?”
“Calm down, Twi,” Dash laughed. “We got time.”
“But the bell went.” Twilight looked incredibly perturbed by Rainbow Dash’s casual attitude. “Shouldn’t we go? I have physics.”
Sunset shivered. Physics was a subject she did not find fun. “Good luck. I need to get to chemistry anyway. See you later girls.” She smiled, leaving the hall and walking to her locker to collect her books. At least chemistry was simple enough. Besides, acids and bases were fun.
Her boots clicked on the hallway floor as she strode proudly through the crowded hall, opening her locker and grabbing her supplies, holding the cookie Fluttershy had given her in her teeth. She took a bite and pulled the remainder out of her mouth as she walked, finishing it off as she reached the science labs and wiping her hand on her dress to remove the crumbs.
She pushed the door open and sat down in her usual spot, right up the back of the class. Hardly anyone else ever sat here and it was nice to not have anyone copying off her notes.
She rolled her eyes when she noticed that they had a substitute already today. Great. That meant they’d be watching one of those awfully filmed videos that tried to explain basic concepts and failed horribly at it. She could tell he was nervous. The outline of his aura was frazzled and jerky. The concept that auras changed colours according to exactly what someone was feeling was a myth for her. Emotions only ever affected the shape of an aura, only ever detectable if she was looking for it or it was incredibly obvious.
The ability to see auras, to see magic itself, was something she had been born with. She could see the energies of a person, or pony. Colour was linked to personality, and she was never able to describe it. There just weren’t any words for it. Magic, any sort of magic, changed an aura, shot it with a different colour that she had always been able to see on the end of a rainbow, even though everyone else had said rainbows only had seven. She could never truly describe it, but the closest she could get was some sort of indigo-gold.
Magic itself was all sorts of colours. She could always see those colours, but the essence of magic visible in an aura was different. It was nearly invisible in this world. It had even disappeared from the auras of her friends. She wondered if the same had happened to her. She couldn’t see her own aura. Not unless she looked in a mirror, able to see the proud colour clinging to her outline like a faint mist.
“Uh… it says here that I have to introduce the new student to the class,” the sub muttered, reading over whatever notes he’d been left. “If you’d like to come in and introduce yourself Mr…”
“Maverick. Name’s Maverick.” Sunset looked up from her book at a new voice that sounded incredibly familiar, the deep bass making her blood run cold. The boy was tall, probably taller than most people in the school, and skinny as a rake. While she could appreciate the leather jacket he wore and adored the look of the spikes adorning it, her gut churned in fear when she realised that something about him was off, just plain wrong. He had no aura. Her instincts screamed at her to bolt, to run away from the lean boy in the tattered jeans and combat boots. She hated those instincts; the herbivore in her was such a coward. She was NOT a coward.
She gritted her teeth and steeled herself, looking him over to see why her panic instincts had gone into hyper drive. He had brown skin, ebony hair streaked with chocolate and pulled back into a messy ponytail. With what looked like a tie-dye ribbon. What? She moved on from that, chuckling slightly at the admittedly hilarious slogan on his shirt.
Her eyes flicked back up to his sharp features and she realised that he was walking, having finished introducing himself and was about to take a seat. His dark russet eyes twinkled with mischief as he pulled out the seat on her right, moving far more gracefully then she would have thought. She would have expected someone of his body type and a teenager to boot to be all gangly and awkward.
He crossed his arms and looked over at her, offering a hand to shake. “Don’t know if you caught it, but my name’s Maverick.” She raised an eyebrow and shook his hand, his black fingerless gloves adorned with metal and leather. She had to admit, he didn’t seem as terrifying now that she had decided to quash any terror she may have felt at his presence and lack of aura.
“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer. And I caught it,” she said coldly, fixing her attention firmly forward. She was going to ignore him. Even if she wasn’t ever going to let herself be afraid, she definitely wasn’t ever going to trust him. He was obviously bad news. Especially if he didn’t have an aura.
If she had been looking, she’d have noticed the malicious quirk his grin gained as he looked down to his deck of cards, the Queen of Hearts shifting to the top of the deck before he reshuffled. “My dear, I know exactly who you are.” He muttered under his breath, his eyes flaring vivid scarlet for the briefest of seconds. It looks like he found who was looking for.