//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Sun's Damage // by MistressAnput //------------------------------// Chapter 2     Lavender stared down at her lunch, feeling the curious stares digging into her back.  She ignored them and poked at her garden salad with her fork.  At least the food was better than at her old school, where the lettuce had been limp and the vegetables had been starting to rot.     She glanced up, seeing Rarity waving at her to join her group at the table, with four other girls smiling at her, but she shook her head and got back to poking at her food. She just wanted to be left alone, to get through these shitty high school years in peace and quiet, then go off to college and get her degree, but she still had to figure out what kind of degree that would be.     After a few minutes of poking at the admittedly delicious-looking salad, Lavender heard someone walk up to the table. Glancing up, she was startled to see a hand being held out to her, and connected to that arm was one of the girls sitting at Rarity’s table. Tall, blonde, and a splash of freckles across her nose, the girl’s presence seemed to fill the room.  Her most amusing fashion choice was the cowboy hat she was wearing.     “Howdy, I’m Applejack. Rarity’s been talking about you and I wanted to say welcome to our school.” Applejack gave her a large grin, waiting for Lavender to return the handshake. “I sure hope you like it here, if you have any allergies, don’t be afraid to tell my Granny Smith, she runs the kitchen.”     Lavender’s gaze darted over to the old woman serving food to the students and nodded slowly. She shook Applejack’s hand without really touching her and went back to her salad, simply mumbling a thank you. She shoved some of the salad into her mouth, hoping the cowgirl would get the hint to leave.     And she did, frowning at Lavender before wandering back to her table. Lavender saw her shaking her head and Rarity frowning and giving the new girl a look.     Shim would have said that they were the pathetic people who thought they could make friends with just about anybody. Lav did admit they seemed like friendly people, but friends only hurt you in the end, so there was no use having any. ... The rest of the day was hell. People gawked at her, whispering about how she seemed to to shun every offer of friendliness from everyone she met. The only dent in her armour that was made was by Rarity, and that was simply an agreement of the two doing business together. This made the famous Canterlot High group of the Rainbooms quite worried. “She doesn’t seem to want to talk to anyone... She just glares or acts a little cranky...” Fluttershy frowned as she turned her tambourine. Lavender reminded her of some of the animals that came to the shelter. Ones that had never been shown love and needed time to be brought out of their shell. “But this is a new school for her, she could just be nervous.”     “She didn’t want my ‘Welcome to Canterlot High’ cupcake. Everyone likes my cupcakes!” Pinkie pouted, flipping through her small book of recipes, her mind whirling. “She doesn’t smile much either, just was kinda.. Blah. Like she’s never had the most terrific party ever kind of blah!” “She does seem to be quite a bit rude.. But she was polite to Granny Smith. Most people just take their food and go, she used her manners.” Applejack shrugged, setting aside her backpack as she took out her base. “But ah agree, all that snapping is no picnic.” “Darling, I talked with the girl myself and she seemed like a fine young lady. Perhaps we are all judging her a bit too much before we get to know her fully.” Rarity glanced up from her sketchbook full of various outfit designs. She quickly erased something on the current dress she was planning and replaced it with something more suitable. “Besides, the dear is going to be dropping off a sample of her delightful perfume so that I may give some samples to customers, see what they think.” “As generous as always, Rarity.” Sunset grinned when she strolled into the room, tossing her school bag into a corner. All of the girls instantly perked up upon seeing their friend. “Sunny, where have you been?! You totally missed the new student today.” Rainbow smirked as her friend took out her guitar, then double checked to see if her own was tuned right. “Her name’s Lavender Bliss. Weird last name, I mean, she doesn’t seem to blissful. I’d call her more sour than anything.” “Let’s just play already!” Pinkie Pie jumped in her seat before smacking her drumsticks together. “One, two, three, four..!!’ … Clutching the box full of small perfume bottles, Lavender made her way down the empty school hallway. It was so different after school, with the silence and the lack of masses of bodies. So much so, it made Lavender a bit uncomfortable, yet also a bit relieved. There was none of the stress of having to talk to people, to play nice. But she’d much rather be home, making more perfume. Perhaps try a autumn-y scent, like pumpkin this time around, since it would best suit the time of year.. Lavender almost smiled as she thought of the different scents she could try and create, but her lips did not quite curve enough to fully smile. This was going to be simple, little to no interaction. She had ran home and gotten the samples. All she had to do was drop them off to Rarity, accept her thankful words with as little speaking as necessary, then leave and get the hell home before she had to talk to anyone else that was there. Simple, clean, and stress-free. Lavender perked up when she heard the music playing just down the hall. As she approached, it grew louder and she ended up wrinkling her nose. Ew, pop music. And from the lyrics, it was the sugary kind that rots your teeth and make the people with any taste nauseous. Once the song was over, she quickly gave the door a few sharp, loud knocks. “Oh, that must be Lavender!’ Lavender heard Rarity’s muffled voice through the door and some shuffling before she opened it. “Come in darling, we’re just finishing up!” When she stepped in, Lavender felt all eyes focus on her. She shifted uncomfortably under their harsh gazes, feeling almost sick from how intent their eyes were. Lavender held up the box, taking a deep breath and glancing up. “I’ve got your samples, Rarity, I hope your customers...” She trailed off when she spotted the fiery haired girl standing in front of the annoyingly hyper pink haired one from earlier. And felt ice flood her veins. Her brain seemed to shut down as her gaze slid over the familiar face, those hauntingly vibrant aquamarine eyes. No, not possible! She was hallucinating, she was seeing things. This couldn’t be... Sunset Shimmer watched the newbie with a concerned look as she seemed to lose all colour in her face, even in her lips. She seemed so in shock that she barely noticed when the box slid from her hands and let out a soft crack when it hit the floor and bottles shattered. A thick, flowery scent filled the room as Lavender began back away. “Hey, are you–” Reaching out to the girl, Sunset’s words were cut off by a piercing scream that ripped from the girl’s throat. She stumbled back as she kept screaming like she had seen a ghost, tears welled up in those fearful blue eyes. “No! You’re dead! You’re DEAD!”     Rarity and Pinkie Pie  rushed forward as the girl screamed herself into a panic before promptly fainting, her head cracking off of the floor.