The rest of gym class almost left Twilight in shock. Not only did Pinkie’s hair indeed turn to her namesake’s, but when Fluttershy and Rarity tried to help calm her down both of their hair colours changed the second they touched her, sending her back into hysterics. Even Coach Williams shot their group a sympathetic glance as he passed.
Eventually the five other girls decided to leave just Sunset with Twilight and hope for the best.
When the period ended Sunset almost dreaded sending her terrified friend off by herself, but Twilight convinced her she would be alright. In her panic she was desperate to return to something that made sense, even if it was just the periodic table.
(Though, all throughout history Sunset found herself shooting glances at the clock and willing it to to move faster. It didn’t work.)
Eventually the clock hit 3:15 to signal the end of the school day and the beginning of the assembly. Sunset couldn’t get out of class fast enough, practically sprinting across the school to get to the auditorium.
How’s Twilight?
“Sunset!” A bouncing Pinkie near the stage waved her down. The other girls were with her, even Twilight, though she looked just as shaky as she was in gym.
Sighing, Sunset jogged over and plopped herself down beside Twilight. “Hey guys.”
“Don’t ‘hey guys’ us!” Rainbow crossed her arms and shot the two of them a look. “What the hell is going on here?! Magical colour-changing hair and shit?”
Sunset shot Twilight a glance, waiting for the inevitable ‘it’s not magic!’. It didn’t come.
Yikes. She’s worse than I thought. Aloud she said, “We don’t know ourselves, okay? This whole thing is clearly really hard for Twilight especially, so can you maybe tone it down a bit?”
Rainbow visibly deflated and averted her eyes. “...Okay. Yeah. But after this we’re all meeting at the mall, got it?”
Squinting, Applejack put her hands on her hips and said, “Why, so you can grill Twi more? Leave the poor girl alone, Dash.”
“Hey! I meant just to hang out! As pals, duh. Clearly we’re not just gonna send her home like this, right?” She gently clapped Twilight on the shoulder and said, “That sound okay?”
“...” Twilight didn’t say anything, but nodded slowly.
“Good enough for me!”
Fluttershy fidgeted with her new pale pink hair and hesitantly asked, “Um… but, maybe we should give her some space. If I was feeling overwhelmed, I definitely wouldn’t want to be around people…”
“Fair point, darling,” Rarity said. She shot Rainbow a look and said haughtily, “Not all of us can be as extroverted as Rainbow here, after all.” She paused. “Oh, thank goodness for that.”
“Hey!”
Twilight lifted her head, eyes vacant and still focused on the ground. “...I don’t care, really. Whatever is fine.”
The group fell silent. Sunset reached over to squeeze Twilight’s hand reassuringly, but she was brushed off. Yikes. Not good.
Rainbow opened her mouth to say something else only to be interrupted by the lights dimming and the squeal of a mic. She shrugged and whispered, “Later,” to Sunset, before dragging Applejack over to the seats on the end of the row.
“Good afternoon, students,” Celeste said. She stood in the centre of the stage, mic in one hand and the other behind her back. She had also changed her shirt, for the red stain was nowhere to be seen. “It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you all back to Kanterlot High School once again, or, to welcome you for the first time.”
There was a scattered round of applause. Clearly, no one was paying much attention.
Celeste launched into a speech about unity and goals, which was of no interest to Sunset. She decided used the opportunity to sneak in a word to Twilight.
“Hey,” she whispered. Twilight’s eyelashes flickered as an indication she’d heard, but her gaze was fixed on Celeste. “Twi. Everything will be fine. We’ll figure this out together, alright?”
Twilight’s hands bunched in her skirt, knuckles going white. Then she dipped her head in a stiff nod.
“...Thank you, Sunset.”
The rest of the assembly went by in a slow, boring half hour. Sunset had to fight to keep her eyes from closing, envious of Rainbow’s don’t-care attitude - she was snoring away.
“...and, finally, if you have are having any troubles adjusting this school year, don’t hesitate to come and talk to me. That is all.”
Celeste stepped back from the mic and the auditorium immediately dissolved into chattering as the students began to pack up. Sunset stretched her arms out over her head and stifled a yawn. “Man, glad that’s over.”
“You’re telling me,” Rainbow grumped. She rubbed her eyes and slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Mall now?”
The group collectively glanced at Twilight, and, when they received no answer, turned to Sunset.
“Yeah, ok.” Sunset decided. “That sounds fine.”
As they all got up, however, there was a sound louder than a gunshot the threw the whole room into stunned silence.
The doors to the outside had slammed shut on their own.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “What in tarnation?”
Sunset felt cold sweat drip down her forehead and took a step closer to Twilight. All around them the other students started to fidget nervously. A group of boys attempted to open the doors - but they wouldn’t budge.
“Students,” Celeste boomed over the panicked chatter. “Please listen to me.”
Okay, it’s fine. Celeste knows what’s going on. She’ll calm everyone down, get the doors open, and-
“I am very, truly sorry for what I am about to do.”
And then, all hell broke loose.
---
Twilight found that filing her thoughts away in times of stress was particularly conducive to staying conscious. Which was important, really, when your mentor had just unleashed a terrifying nightmare-like shadow of doom from her gauntlet.
As the whole auditorium devolved into chaos, Twilight thought that externally she sounded something like this:
“Ohsweetjesusmaryandjosephholymotherduckwe’reallgonnadie-”
However, internally she was fine. Relatively speaking. There was this tiny, niggling thought at the back of her head trying to pull her back into the throes of panic. She was managing to hold it off for the time being, but she wasn’t sure how long she could.
“Oh shit, what the fuck?!” someone screamed from her left. Probably Rainbow. “What the fuck is that?!”
“Ah don’t know, but ah’m not stickin’ ‘round to find out. Girls, move!”
Though the others found their legs and ran for the doors, Twilight found herself rooted to the spot in fear. Vaguely, she was aware of Sunset yelling her name beside her, but her brain was too busy processing what was going on.
Screaming students, everywhere. They’re breaking windows to call for help; we’re on the second floor so they can’t very well jump. The boys have managed to break down the doors. And- right. The doom shadow. Twilight quickly whipped around to make sure once more that she wasn’t hallucinating.
The humanoid, whirling mass of darkness attached to Celeste’s arm grinned and waved at her.
Twilight froze, and the shadow lunged forwards only for Celeste to yank her arm back and drag it away. She locked eyes with Twilight and shouted over the chaos, “Get out of here!”
Beside her, Sunset took the hint and grabbed Twilight by the wrist. “C’mon, Twi! Move!”
They weaved through the thinning crowds towards the door as the shadow swiped at Twilight again, barely managing to make it through before a massive shockwave slammed into them and knocked them off their feet.
The doors crashed shut behind them. Sunset scrambled to her feet, eyes wide, and tugged Twilight up beside her. “What the hell,” she whispered as the started to run. “What the hell?!”
A few halls later Twilight realized she was still babbling, and cut herself off between a ‘dear baby jesus’ loincloths’ and a ‘sweet mother of all things holy’ with a shuddering breath. Her sides were burning from the physical activity, and fact that they couldn’t find an openable exit of any sort was getting pretty concerning.
“Sunset,” she managed to wheeze after passing through the same hall for the third time. “I can’t feel my lungs.”
“What- oh. Sorry.” Sunset let go of her wrist and watched sheepishly as Twilight doubled over in exhaustion. “Um, let’s find some place to sit down?”
“Y-yeah.”
After trying the side door one more time, but to no avail, Sunset ushered Twilight into the art room, where they flopped down behind one of the counters. Outside the halls were filled with the screams of students and the roar of the shadow, but once Sunset kicked the door closed everything was engulfed in silence.
“...So,” Sunset tried eventually. “That just happened.”
Twilight buried her face in her knees and let out a pained groan. “This is terrible.”
“Oh, uh, geez Twi. I know it’s hard to believe your mentor would do something like this, but-”
“Not that! Everything that’s happened in the last two days; everything that’s happening now-” Here she paused to take a shaky breath and whined, “-is testing my faith in science to its limits.”
Blinking, Sunset stifled an exasperated laugh. “You don’t believe in magic or anything supernatural even after this?!”
“Of course not,” Twilight spat hotly. “I’m a scientist, and I know there’s a logical explanation for everything. I just…” She shrank back against the counter and mumbled, “I just don’t know what it is.”
Sunset’s expression softened, and she nudged the other girl’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. “Hey, hey. You’ll figure it out once we get out of here.” She winced. “And once you’re not in a completely panicked state of mind, since, uh… ow”
Confused, Twilight looked down to see that she was unconsciously clinging to Sunset’s arm, her fingernails pressing deep enough to leave indents. She quickly removed them and sputtered, “Oh geez. I’m so sorry-”
“No, it’s fine.” Sunset flashed her a confident smile and rolled her sleeves down - though, not quick enough for the faint traces of blood to escape Twilight’s view. “Don’t worry about it. Right now our priority is getting out of here.”
“And finding the others?” Twilight’s mouth moved before her brain could catch up and mentally flinched. Did she really think so highly of the five girls she had met only yesterday?
Thankfully, Sunset didn’t seem to think anything was off. “Yeah, that too. I can only hope they aren’t stuck here like us.”
“...Yeah.”
The next few minutes consisted of gathering supplies from around the room that hadn’t been locked up, which was difficult in the dark. Neither of them wanted to risk turning the lights on in case Celeste moved away from the auditorium.
In the end they ended up with a pile of scrap paper, a mountain of pencils, and a set of crayons that Sunset immediately snatched up and started doodling with, much to Twilight’s chagrin. Once Sunset’s urge to make art was sated, they both had nametags with their - admittedly cute - faces drawn in the corners.
“Okay, now what?” Twilight said. She spread a sheet out in front of her and tucked her pencil behind her ear as she pulled her hair up into a bun - her thinking hair. “Scientific method of problem solving?”
“Oh yeah,” Sunset said, grabbing her own pencil. “Step one: what’s the problem?”
“We’re trapped in the school with a shadow demon that has unknown intentions, and are unsure of the other’s whereabouts,” she replied, writing down the key things she had said. “We also have no way of contacting anyone since my phone is dead…” she trailed off. “Wait, do you have-”
“In my car,” Sunset cut in with a sigh. “Left it there by accident this morning. Stupid, huh?” She doodled on the corner of the paper with her pencil before perking up and adding, “But, if we could get you a charger-”
“-we could contact the outside world-”
“-and let them know what’s going on!” the two shouted in unison. They grinned at each other in the dim lighting for a second before quickly averting their eyes. Twilight scrawled the idea down in the corner and said, “Okay, that’s an option. But then for the whole being stuck in here thing…”
They sat in silence for a second, save for the occasional sound from outside. Suddenly, Sunset sat up straight and smiled a mischievous, troublemaking smile. “Hey, Twilight…”
“Oh God. I’m not going to like what you’re suggesting, am I?”
“You? Probably not. It’s the scientist in you that I’m hoping will understand where I’m coming from.”
A pause. Then Twilight put down her pencil and swivelled in her seat to lock eyes with Sunset. “I’m listening.”
---
Five minutes later Twilight was alone, doing her very best to sneak through the hallways. They were empty, both a good and bad sign - good in that no one evil had spotted her yet, but bad in that there were no other students at all.
You can do this. In and out. You know the lab like the back of your hand, after all.
Of course, life always liked to throw her a few curveballs. As soon as she pushed open the door to the chemistry storage she was clocked on the forehead with… was that a notebook?
“Ow,” Twilight said, though out of habit and not because the flimsy book had actually hurt. “Uh, hello?” She bent down to pick up the book, noting that it was filled with neat and tidy handwriting.
“T-Twilight?” There was a rustle, and the lights flicked on to reveal a cowering Fluttershy holding an armful of notebooks. “Oh thank goodness! I thought you were the shadow thing, o-or a monster, or-”
She’s got more nerves than me, Twilight thought to herself. Outwardly, she gave the book back to Fluttershy and started fiddling with the locks on the cupboards. “Nope. Just me. What are you doing in here by yourself?”
“Um, well…” She ducked behind her hair and mumbled, “I don’t run very fast, but I was too scared to stay with Rarity since heels are a real disadvantage when you flee…”
“Ha. Relatable.” The lock clicked and slid off the door, and Twilight sent a silent prayer of thanks out to Shining that the trick he’d taught her still worked.
Fluttershy peered into the shelving and frowned. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t we be looking for a way out? Or a better hiding spot?”
“Oh, this is our way out, don’t worry.” Twilight scanned the shelves before settling on on the large bottle marked 'glycerin'. She paused, then passed it to Fluttershy. “Hold this.”
“But-”
A funnel, a beaker, a Bunsen burner, and a bottle of red liquid labeled 'RFNA' followed the first bottle, forcing the poor girl to drop her notebooks to fit all of it in her arms. Twilight finished up their pile by pulling the fire extinguisher off the wall and looping its end around her arm. “Think we need anything else?”
Fluttershy tottered on the spot, but managed to keep it all from falling. “I, um, don’t really know what’s going on. Maybe that little shiny thing?”
“What?”
There was a purple rock in a plastic baggie shoved between the jug of hydrochloric acid and jar of pipettes. Shrugging, Twilight snagged it and shoved it in her pants pocket before speed walking to the door. “Okay. Let’s move.”
“But, where are we going? And why do we need all this? Twilight?!”
---
The two of them ran into Rainbow and Applejack in the shop, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a battle-ready Rainbow in the process. Twilight somehow pushed the urge to freak out again to the back of her mind and instead ordered the other two to help her carry some plywood, a toolkit, and lots of bungee cables.
They agreed, but asked why. Twilight refused to answer.
Finally, finally, they made it back to the art room. It seemed Sunset had managed to find Pinkie and Rarity, bringing their group’s headcount back up to seven once again.
“Jesus, Twilight,” Rainbow wheezed, and tossed the bundle of plywood to the floor with a crash. “I don’t see how all of this junk is supposed to help us, I don’t know, defeat a literal fucking demon?!”
“Not a demon,” Twilight corrected. “Whatever it is, there’s probably an explanation. And we don’t need to defeat it, we just need to get out.” She took the rest of the materials from Fluttershy and spread them out on the counter in front of Sunset. “This all good?”
“Oh yeah. This is perfect.”
Rarity frowned at the seemingly random bunch of materials and crossed her arms. “While I do appreciate a good sense of mystery, I’d quite like to know what is going on here. I mean, this can’t possibly help us unlock the doors.”
“Or build a ladder,” Pinkie chirped. She eyed the bungee cords and added, “Unless your plan was to make a zipline, and-!”
“We’re doing neither of those,” Sunset interrupted, smirking in the way only mad scientists could. “Twilight and I came up with something way, way better than anything you could think of.”
Frowning, Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah? Better than a laser cannon?”
“Let’s be realistic here, Superman.”
“Jesus, fine.” She rolled her eyes and tried, “Battleaxe.”
“Science hammer,” said Applejack.
“...A call for help?” Fluttershy attempted. She shrank back into herself as the others shot her a look and mumbled, “No, um, never mind.”
Sunset wrinkled her nose. “Nope, nope, and definitely not. No, girls, we…” And here she paused for dramatic effect before slamming her hands on the table with enough force to shake the paintings on the wall. “...are doing something that would most definitely get us in trouble on a normal day. Twi?”
Slowly, Twilight held up the bottle of glycerin and forced a smile.
“We’re going to build a bomb.”
