//------------------------------//
// Cracks in the Crystal Sunset Part 02 
// Story: The Shadowbolts Adventures 
// by DragonShadow 
//------------------------------//

Sunset Shimmer turned off the intercom with a flick of her finger and leaned back in the principal's heavy swiveling chair. From the computer screen in front of her she had been reading Sugarcoat's fanfiction story, posted under the name SugarHopps. Her hand pushed the microphone away from her lips as her eyes continued to skim the lines of text with idle curiosity. From her time in Starlight Glimmer's orphanage, she had rarely ever been exposed to such things. 

Cinch's hands clapped together from her position on the other side of the desk, where she had been listening the entire time. "Exactly as I would expect from my prized pupil, Sunset Shimmer." Cinch gave her a Cheshire grin with her hands clenched in front of her. "Very well done indeed." 

"Thanks, I guess." Sunset shook her head and ripped her eyes away from the text so that she could vacate the seat, which Cinch promptly took back. "Can I go now?" 

"Of course." Cinch nodded as her finger closed the web page with a click of the mouse. "I will meet you at the house later. Perhaps we'll have your favorite meal tonight." 

"Great..." Sunset Shimmer left the principal's office in a hurry, pulling the door tightly closed behind her. 

The day passed in a daze of curious gazes out in the hallways. Some laughing, some glaring, some unsure of how to look at her. She had never cared how the others saw her anyway though, so she paid their reactions no minds as she went through the motions of her remaining classes. She was somewhat surprised not to see Sugarcoat or her friends anywhere for the rest of the day. Either she got lucky, or they were avoiding her. 

Sunset Shimmer's hand tugged on the tie around her neck as she emerged from the hallways of Crystal Prep out into the parking lot at the end of the day, surrounded by the sea of students leaving in sets of two or three, or even by themselves. She emerged from the crowd marching towards the parking lot. She pulled her thick leather riding gloves out of her pockets as she approached the shining red and chrome motorcycle parked in the first spot in front of the school's double doors. She slipped the gloves onto her hands and unlocked her helmet from the handle bars to slide it on. 

Before she could, however, she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Hey, what in the world is your deal?" 

Sunset Shimmer didn't look back. "Is this really necessary, Indigo Zap? I think we both know what the deal is at this point." 

Indigo's heavy footsteps marched right up behind her back, but stopped short before the smaller, but beefier girl would touch her. "I thought you had some kind of understanding with Sugarcoat! I thought you were changed!" 

"I think we established before that you're not very bright." Sunset turned around with a wry smirk on her lips. "So I'm not very surprised to see you confirming it again." 

Indigo Zap growled. "This isn't a joke! Sugarcoat was seriously hurt by that! She thinks she's not gonna be able to show her face in Crystal Prep again!" 

"That was the idea. Now if you don't mind." Sunset Shimmer slipped her helmet on, but Indigo grabbed her wrist to pull her away from the bike. "Hey!" 

"I don't care why you're doing it, or what kind of influence Cinch has over you." Indigo Zap squeezed her wrist painfully tight and turned her around so that they were face-to-face. "If you go after any of my friends again so help me..." 

Sunset smirked back again. "Yeah yeah, you'll get yourself expelled retaliating. I'm pretty sure I've heard that line from you before." Sunset Shimmer dropped her helmet to the pavement as she took a step towards her, pushing their chests together into a long staring contest. "The problem with threats is that eventually you have to make good on them, or nobody will take them seriously anymore." Indigo Zap gritted her teeth, with a combination of anger and uncertainty in her eyes. "So go ahead. Do it." Sunset Shimmer opened her jacket with both hands, exposing her torso to her. "Get yourself expelled. I won't fight back." 

Indigo narrowed her eyes sharply. "You have changed..." 

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. "And you haven't. Now if you're not gonna grow a spine, back off so I can get out of here." Indigo Zap took a few steps back, so Sunset swept her helmet off of the pavement again, sweeping it onto her head and tucking her hair underneath as she moved to straddle her bike seat. 

"I think Sugarcoat likes you, you know." Indigo's statement caught Sunset off-guard. Her hands froze on the bike's steering column. "As a person, I mean. She's not gay." 

"I don't care either way." Sunset slapped her facemask down. "You're all a means to an end. That's all you'll ever be to me. Including Sugarcoat. Tell her that." The engine between her legs roared to life and she pulled out of the parking space before beginning the long, needlessly winding ride back towards Principal Cinch's house. 

When she got there she shot right through the living room, and managed to make it to her bedroom on the second floor without a peep from Cinch, which was exactly the way she liked it. She pulled her boots off and leaned back on her luxurious, freshly scented bedsheets. Though her eyes kept drifting curiously towards her computer.