//------------------------------// // Descent // Story: Glowing Embers // by Sun Aura //------------------------------//                 Breaking them up might be harder than she thought. They had each other, so she’d need to do it all at once to make sure no one talked to one another and helped them make up. But they had more than just themselves. All of them seemed to have their own circle of friends outside of this one. She’d have to convince them that keeping the group separated was for the best.                 Some were easier. Rarity’s Popular friends and Rainbow’s sport teams already had some tension, one hated for being ‘prissy’ and the other for being ‘violent’, but the hippies and theatre people both seemed chill with everyone.                 Sunset realized it was getting complicated. But…. Every time she thought of quitting, she remembered how it felt. She remembered the pain and betrayal she felt, having never known ‘Celestia’, but she also remembered the night that sent her down this path.                 If she could have that again, it would be worth it. Even so, it hurt to do.                 Sunset put off actually engaging in the rest of the plan for a while. She tried once, lifting Pinkie’s phone and sending an email to Rarity. But it made her feel sick. She put off doing it again for months.                 But with bigger and bigger things happening back in Equestria, Flash was getting more and more significant glimpses into his other self’s life. She heard of Discord’s defeat, of Changelings invading Canterlot, and of an Empire made of Crystal.                 She started up again when his dreams told of Discord’s reformation, becoming a ‘force for good’ or something like that. She’d expected that, seeing as his Human Counterpart was now her theatre teacher, but it pushed her to try again.                 “Here comes my messenger!” Sunset spoke. “How now, mad spirit? What night-“                 Sunset was cut off, choking on pink hair.                 “Pinkie, move!” Sunset coughed, shoving the pink girl off her ‘throne’.                 “Sorry Sunny!” Pinkie giggled from her newfound place on the floor. “My hair kind of does what it wants.”                 “Ugh,” she groaned, looking out into the seats. “Hey Discord, think you have twenty headbands back stage? Or maybe a pair of clippers?”                 “No, but there is a bandsaw,” Discord mused. “I’m kidding. Please don’t use the bandsaw.”                 “She has a point on headbands!” Pinkie chirped. “Think we can work that into the costume? Wouldn’t antlers be cool!”                 “Yeah,” Sunset muttered. “Choke me with hair or stab me with antlers. I think I’ll take the quick death.”                 As the two ignored her comment and wandered backstage to look for headbands, Sunset wandered offstage to a water fountain. Pinkie’s phone was, for lack of a better word, adorable. And far too easy to get with how their characters were supposed to interact.                 Sunset pulled herself together, sending more emails and matching syntax. She had to. She didn’t have anything left. If she didn’t do this now, it would be another three years. As soon as she was done, she deleted the sent messages and put the phone on the floor upstage. Pinkie thought it just fell out of her pocket.                 Some things she had to do she hated more. She needed to be able to do things, to be able to talk people into doing things, and the only way to do that was blackmail.                 Still, there were lines she wouldn’t cross. She wouldn’t threaten people with personal things, like their family life or hidden sexuality. But the knowledge that one of the techies was getting their spending money by writing others’ assignments? That was fair game.                 She needed to get others to fight. Getting others to break the five up, basically. Causing rumors and ‘pranks’ that made fights between groups of people. And nothing that could trace back to her.                 Fluttershy’s phone was easy to get. She always left it in her gym locker, and it was far too easy to pick the lock. A quick message to Pinkie about a large party at the same time and place at a silent auction, and the rest would do itself.                 On the other hand, getting Applejack's phone was near impossible. Finally, Sunset gave up and ended up ‘accidentally’ spilling a soda on her. She apologized, and tried to apologize in advance for everything, but took her phone all the same.                 Just as she’d been wondering who and what to message, one came in from Rainbow Dash.                 “Hey, when’s the bake sale thing again?”                 Looking through the messages to find the date, Sunset smiled at her luck. She texted back, trying her best to match Applejack’s syntax as well, and told her the day after the bake sale. Then, she deleted the messages and turned the phone in to ‘lost and found’.                 By the time the Spring Fling came around, Sunset was furious. That mare, her Replacement, had done more. She’d become a Princess. Celestia made her an Alicorn, an equal to her in all ways. This mare got gifted with everything Sunset had wanted, everything she fought for and was denied for being somehow ‘unworthy’.                 Why? What did this mare do differently? Why was she so special that Celestia would give her anything and everything? Or was Sunset worth so little to her?                 Sunset tried to be happy again, tried to give up on a mare who’d never loved her. Princess of the Fall Formal had done nothing, so maybe the Spring Fling would. She couldn’t be ‘Queen’ this year, as she was still a Junior, but ‘Princess’ should surely work?                 She did everything, but it tipped her over the edge when Rarity ran against her. She knew this Rarity was not her Counterpart, but she didn’t care. All five of them were a part of this, were the mares that Celestia loved so much more than her.                 She didn’t care about trying to keep things ‘fixable’ anymore. She hated them, and everything they took from her. She wanted them out of her life, away from her, and so she slipped into sabotage. No one could prove what she did, but as the only person to gain from Rarity dropping out of the contest, she was blamed anyway.                 She didn’t care. She didn’t care that they’d started to whisper, started to claim that her Fall Formal wins were sabotage as well. It didn’t matter if they hated her, she would have everything as soon as the portal opened again.                 It hurt that Flash didn’t defend her, but he didn’t accuse her either. It probably didn’t help that she hadn’t denied anything, even if she didn’t confess.