As the World Falls Down

by HudsonHawk

Twist of Fate

"Do we deserve a second chance?

How did we fall into this circumstance?

We weren't so straight and narrow

This is much more than we deserve
A higher voice has called the tune

Two hearts that lost the beat will now resume

The gift of life extension

By divine intervention..."
-Olivia Newton-John, "Twist of Fate"

Sunset Shimmer had always hated Friday detention. Back when she was the queen bitch of Canterlot High, she had been to her share of them as, even though she ruled the student body with an iron fist, her power did not extend to the faculty.

She looked up from her copy of "Needful Things" and snuck a look at the clock on the wall: 4:45. In fifteen minutes, she'd be free to go. Good thing, too: she'd only been in the school library since 2:30, and she was starting to get cabin fever. Thankfully, Stephen King's prose helped to keep it at bay.

Despite the gripping tale in front of her, she couldn't help but think back over the events of the past two months or so... ever since she had seen how much of a monster she was... ever since...

...ever since she had managed to fix her greatest mistake... ever since she had saved Dac's life.

Dactylic Pentameter... her new best friend... her former victim. She knew how much of a bully she had been, but she never knew how much she had truly hurt him until that day... the day he nearly jumped from the roof of Canterlot High. Thankfully, she, along with her friends, had been able to talk him down. Now, she, the girls, and Dac were the closest of friends, and things had begun to look up for him. Sunset, for the first time since her reformation, was truly happy.

But something felt... off today. She just couldn't put her finger on why.

She snuck another look at the gray-skinned boy next to her. His mop of brown hair was messy and unkempt, but it fit him somehow. He wore stylish dark-green glasses and a black-and-gray Hawaiian shirt. It looked rather subdued for the type of garment known for it's garishness. Then again, the dark colors could have been an attempt to help hide the pudge in his midsection. The ensemble was finished off with neat blue jeans and a pair of black hi-top sneakers. He was stern-faced, perusing the latest edition of Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, and writing on a small notepad.

Sunset grew curious. All morning, she felt she as if she had seen him somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place him. She looked to the large desk at the front of the room: empty. Vice Principal Luna had left to take care of a personal matter about twenty minutes ago, so there was no harm in trying to talk.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Please don't talk to me." The boy replied, calm and emotionless.

That was rather rude, she thought. She tried again.

"Excuse me-" She started.

"Please be quiet." The boy asked, a bit annoyed.

"Wow. I just wanted to know-"

"I'll slow down so you can understand me, Sunset: Shut. Up. Please."

The boy turned away and continued reading and writing, leaving a stunned Sunset sitting there. It took a minute to process what she heard before her mind went to work.

Okay, brain... let's go to work. I think I know him... I got this strange sense of déjà vu. Now, how do I know him? Of course, maybe he's another victim. That narrows it down to... the entire school...

Sunset was still mulling over everything when the door opened, and Vice Principal Luna stepped in, obviously miffed.

"All right, since you haven't killed each other or destroyed part of the room, I trust I can leave you two alone again for a while? I have to attend to a small problem."

"What hap-" Sunset started.

"If you must know, Miss Shimmer, someone was caught keying my car, and they have to be attended to. I just figured that you two should know."

"Excuse me, Miss Luna?" The boy asked.

"Yes, Mr. Screen?" Luna replied.

"Can I be moved to another room? I can't stand being in the same room as Bacon-Hair here."

Behind his back, Sunset shot him a death glare.

"Mr. Screen..." Luna sternly said. "Has she hurt you in any way?"

"Not recently..." The boy replied.

"Okay... has she hurt you today?"

"No..."

"I will not open up another room unless there is a good reason. If you two have been quiet and civil so far, you two can be civil for a little while more right here. Are we clear?"

"Yeah..." The boy replied, defeated. "...clear."

"Now..." Luna started. "...I will be back at precisely five o'clock to let you out. Good day."

Luna walked out, locking the door behind her, leaving the two kids alone.

"Mr. Screen? Sounds familiar..." Sunset thought.

"Great." The boy said. "Stuck with the alpha witch of Canterlot High for another thirteen minutes..."

Sunset grew miffed. She got up from her seat and stormed over to the front of the boy's desk. She glared daggers at him.

"What is your problem?" Sunset asked, trying to contain her rage and annoyance.

"Life in general, but right now, a certain bacon-haired succubus who can't take the hint and leave me alone." The boy replied, glaring at her with equal rage before returning to his movie guide.

"Okay, that's it."

Before the boy had a chance to react, Sunset's hand had shot out and grabbed his book. She flung it across the room with one fluid motion as the boy sat there, his jaw hanging open.

"Now that I have your attention..." Sunset began. "...why are you so angry with me? What did I do to you?"

There was a short silence before...

"Give me back my book." The boy said angrily.

"Not until you answer my question." Sunset replied.

"I'll get it myself then." The boy said. As he stood up, Sunset's hands found their way to his shoulders and forced him back into his seat.

"Don't touch me." The boy snarled. "Don't ever touch me..."

"Or what?" Sunset asked. "You gonna hit a girl?" She stood back, motioning to herself. "Go ahead if it makes you feel better. However, I don't think you're the type to do it. I can tell."

There was a pause. Then...

"God damn you..." The boy replied, defeated.

"Are you going to tell me what I did?" Sunset asked, her arms crossed and a stern look upon her face.

"You mean you don't remember?" The boy replied, incredulous. "Figures. The day you hurt me and humiliated me was the most important day of my life, but for you, it was just another Tuesday."

"What's your name?" Sunset asked.

"Silver. Silver Screen."

The gears started to shift in Sunset's head. The name sounded familiar.

"Now do you remember me, you deceitful temptress?" Silver snapped, his eyebrows furrowed in slow-burning anger.

"Pretend I don't." Sunset replied, refusing to take the bait and snap back. "Enlighten me."

"Fine. Can't believe you don't remember this. Guess lack of a soul leads to a short memory..."

It was a miracle that Silver's head didn't explode like the poor bastard's in "Scanners" from the glare Sunset had given him. Silver cleared his throat and began to speak.

"This happened before the fall formal. I was putting my stuff away for the day before I headed home..."

Author's Note:

The song I named the chapter after, because I felt it (and the entire story) is summed up by it:

Comments

[Pete100]

She better be lucky he doesn’t hit girls, because that was a gamble.