Paths to Power: not-so-humble beginnings

by FelSpite

Chapter 3

Sunset hummed to the radio sounds, waiting for Lighting Dust to arrive with their food. The whole shopping trip by itself took three hours, not counting two more that she spent waiting for Dust back at home. So, once they threw the bags with all the stuff they bought to the backseat Dust suggested eating something before heading back.

After half a year in a new world Sunset had no more issues with most of the local food, hot dogs and burgers included, so she naturally had no objections and therefore was now sitting in the car looking forward to tasting that "spicy zebrican stuff" that Dust promised her and contemplating the recent developments.
On one hoof, there was a visible improvement in her situation, even in a trivial matters, such as finally solving a clothes issue and getting a decent living place and honestly at this moment Dust's company wasn't actually that bad. Not only was the girl useful during the search for the clothes and some other stuff, like a new phone, sparing Sunset time and effort, but also she wasn't even half as annoying as a typical jock, so considering the girl's supposed magical skill, there was some hope.

On the other hoof, she clearly remembered how such hopes were mercilessly crushed during her time in CSGU. Yes, her first year started great, as after the boredom of the orphanage the company of other unicorns really interested in magic was mostly welcome, and the lectures were interesting and useful at first, but then it all slowly changed. As her skills have grown much quicker than those of anypony else, the defining words for the situation were "waste of time". She had to waste her time while the professors explained the same material over and over again, just because some dunderheads found it difficult to keep up, she had even to explain it to those herself, when she was asked by the smiling teachers, she had to waste her time on various events these grateful morons dragged her to, just because they were stupid enough to decide that she was their friend, ha! And as they were unable to understand and accept any hints, she had to be rather blunt and straightforward about it. Still, it took a while before they finally left her alone as she wanted.

In the end, only her relationship with that Blueblood colt could be called productive. What he lacked in practice was covered either by his theoretical knowledge or by a few days worth of pedantic and sequential search in the library of his family's manor. And his editing and proofreading skills coupled with calligraphic writing earned them A+ for all the group assignments they have done together. To top it all off, he was always calm and never ever bothered her for something pointless, inane or outright stupid.

Sunset frowned, returning from her memories to the present. She needed Crash, that was obvious. But it wasn't that clear in Dust's case...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dust herself, who finally arrived and put the food bag between them.

"Buck, that queue was annoying. Sure, it's Friday and a movie premiere in a theater nearby and all that jazz, but heck I hate those who cannot make their mind before it's their turn to order..." She stopped her rant with some visible effort, before sighing and finishing in a calmer voice "At least we can avoid sitting in a crowded hall... Go, dig in while it's still hot, we can talk after"

Fifteen minutes later Sunset was full and positively content with the changes in her life. The food may have been too spicy for someone else, but that was never a problem for her, not back in Equestria, neither here. And it definitely was delicious, especially those chicken pieces. She probably should start getting to the point, though.

"So, shall we head back now? And what do you want to talk about?"

Dust groaned. "Give me ten more minutes at least. Should have ordered less this time, but I guess it's the training influences..." She lowered the back of her seat before continuing "Besides that, Crash won't be ready with your focus for a few more hours at least and I really rather talk with you one on one without pointless distractions. So let's talk how can we be buddies and avoid getting in each other way." With those words she looked on Sunset, seemingly waiting for an answer.

"Let's." Agreed Sunset. 'Looks like I may have underestimated her a bit. Well, it's even more interesting to hear then.'

"Well, there are four main things for you to consider. First of all, there's a matter of my magical training. Nowadays, it's my top priority which simply trumps everything else, so even if I'm willing to sacrifice some time out of it for you in one way or another during the next week or so, it won't stay this way. I'll have my hours, you will have yours and I'd rather not be distracted, unless something REALLY important happens. Is this clear?"

As Dust talked, her expression changed from what Sunset saw as rather carefree, if a bit brash attitude towards a focused or even a driven one, what with that manic glint in her eyes. Though, she definitely could get behind such reasoning and if it meant less childishness, she believed that it also meant less problems in the long run.

"Crystal." Sunset smiled. "Mayhaps we aren't as different as one may think at the first glance.

Dust chuckled. "That's good to hear. Honestly I just had to get it out of the way.
And yeah, I understand that the rest of the talk may seem redundant, but it's still better than get into some stupid shit just because I missed something."

'That's more among the lines that i initially expected' thought Sunset. 'No reason not to play along though' "As long as it's not some long-ass and boring 'welcome to the gang' speech, I'm ok with it. And I never reject learning something useful."

"Well, I'm not a bucking teacher to do boring" replied Dust smirking "Now that you mention gang, let's actually talk people. Aside from Crash, me and Gilda there are more actual griffins members and, well, some other people who work for Crash one way or another. With an exception of Wrench, who is an ok guy, those do not really matter aside from their jobs, so like with our teachers a bit of fake respect and politeness works fine, especially as you won't see them much anyway. As for griffins, well, it's more about being sorta yourself but not entirely, simply because magic is a big secret and we definitely do not trust them completely. And yeah, we don't play nice, so even being jerk is fine as long as you don't go overboard with it."

Dust sighed and made a short pause to gulp her soda before continuing:
"Now, there's also my parents. Buck if I know what's wrong with them, but something is, and I really got tired on being dismissed and stonewalled so I just gave up on it. Even though I'm not gonna introduce you, eventually they would get your contacts and start bothering you as well. As, unfortunately, a simple ignore or having no phone doesn't work, the correct answer is sticking to some positive image of you in their eyes as long as it's consistent with your school behavior, keep the talk as short as possible without being outright rude and always talk that you have no idea where I am unless I'm right there or explicitly told you otherwise."

"Something else on it?" Asked Sunset. Well, it's not like she really cared, but she never saw Lighting Dust that snarky or bitter, so it should have been important.

"I wish." Grumbled Dust. "But enough with them. After all, I'd rather talk about those I actually care about. I'm not going to drone on how awesome my first true friend Gilda is, or some other sentimental crap, but honestly it won't be hard for you to get along. Yeah, nowadays she's even more of a goof than she ever was before and she can't keep up with me in terms of magic, but, well, not everyone can be the best, so at least give it a chance, kay?"

Sunset shrugged. "You know, I'm not being Jerk to someone for fun unless they deserve it, so there shouldn't be a problem" And honestly, both her CSGU and CHS experience told her, that Jocks were perhaps the easiest to get along with, so it wasn't even a lie. Also, it was perhaps the best moment to ask some questions on her own. "Dust, now that we are all that straightforward, are you and Crash a thing now or is it something in your plans?" Yeah, it could have been worded better, but she was sure that it was passable right now.

Lighting Dust smirked. "Well, the first answer is just no. I mean, I'm really happy to have him as a friend that I can both hang out with and truly respect and rely on if necessary, but it's more than just this curse of his to prevent our possible get-together"

Now that was also interesting "What's about his curse?" she asked.

"Well, that's something he will answer you himself rather soon I believe. Practical side of it is a bit personal and all that magical theory mumbo-jumbo ain't my strong point anyway." answered Dust. "Also, let's get to our third concern: the school and all that's actually important in it. We are obviously cheating with magic all the time, simply because all the subjects there are mostly irrelevant for us at this point and wasting time on homework is just stupid. Actually there are three main reasons why we are bothering with CHS at all: First, the issues with our legal status, which we could actually solve with some effort if it was the only matter; Second, we had an interest in you for some time, so being around helped; And last, but actually the most important thing there is that weird magic source that Crash wants to research and use."

"Magical source?" And the whole situation just got much more serious. Could it possibly mean...

"Yeah, it's actually the main reason why Crash got to be here in Canterlot in the first place. Supposedly some really hardcore magic shit is occasionally happening around, so that it could be detected from all around the world. And the most funny part is that the center of it is somehow tied with this statue in front of the school." Lighting Dust laughed as if telling some really good joke "I mean, I've read some really trashy comics about teens with superpowers and all the jazz, but actually having your ordinary school as a magical center of the world of sorts is a whole different story."
So it meant that at least He actually knew at least something. So, the million bit question was either 'how much?' or 'what should I do about it?'. Sunset frowned. It was big. She absolutely needed to figure it out, and damn it all to the Tartarus she needed her magic back!

Meanwhile, Lighting Dust returned the back of her seat in a vertical position before fastening her belt. "Well, I think I'm good to go. And while we're at it let's speak less work more fun. Have you ever tried a bike before?"

So, that was it. Now, as getting closer to both Crash and Dust became an obvious priority, perhaps she could or actually rather should get the most of it and just leave most of her reluctance or carefulness behind. Yeah, it looked more clear with each passing moment that meddling could have be more risky than rushing forward.

"Not really. Simply couldn't afford one, but I'm definitely interested."