//------------------------------// // Electric // Story: Ashes to Inferno // by Sun Aura //------------------------------// Sunset shook as she walked through the halls. Despite the fact that Vice Principal Luna had ordered that she not be alone for a while, her History teacher insisted that she would be just fine if she took her bathroom break without her ‘escort’. There wasn’t much she could’ve done. Applejack protested, and did say that she would go talk to Luna about this, but that still had left Sunset in the dilemma of having to either go alone or wait and try to use the bathroom between classes. The bathroom won out. Just getting there had been nerve-wracking. As if empty school hallways weren’t terrifying enough. Looking in the mirror, she debated about going back. Perhaps she could lock herself in the stall until Applejack came looking after class. Instead, she reached in her pocket. Over the last few days, Sunset had been taking time in the morning to infuse a crystal with a feeling of Calm. It was just to help her keep it together during the day just in case someone said something she couldn’t handle. It helped a bit, though knowing it was just a crystal did lessen the effect. She headed back, keeping the crystal in her hand as she walked. Every sound made her jump, but it helped her stop from bolting down the hall. Its Aura let her breathe, let her remember that the sounds were just from students in class. Her fears weren’t as completely unfounded as her History teacher seemed to think. Half-way back to her classroom, she felt someone grab her arm. Next thing she knew she was pinned to the floor in a side hall, the wind knocked out of her. The one who had grabbed her was a guy, vaguely familiar. She couldn’t recall his name, but she could remember what she’d done to him. Why he would be upset. “You have no idea how many people want to get you alone,” he growled. “I think I have a good idea,” Sunset replied, trying to free her arms. “I don’t think you do,” he said. “You ruined my relationship!” “All I did was tell her you were cheating on her,” she said. “You’re the one who-“ “Don’t you dare,” he cut her off with his hand on her throat. “You were just being petty since I couldn’t help your blackmail.” “I have standards,” she managed to say. “Says the Demon,” he scoffed. Sunset wanted to protest, but the hand pressed harder, making it difficult to breathe. So many thoughts filled her head. So many scenarios of what could happen. Panic hadn’t quite set in yet, but trying to move her arms was difficult. “Those girls broke you down,” he said. “They parade you around like their little pet. I bet you’re just waiting for a chance to escape, but they have you so tightly on their leash. All you can do is run to the end and bark.” “That’s not-“ she began, just now noticing his hand had moved. Before she could say anything else, he pulled her up to standing. She tried to step away, but she was slammed into the wall, both hands held behind her back. “They should let someone else have a turn with the leash,” he said. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to go somewhere where we’ll have some time to ourselves. And you’re going to do exactly as I say.” She tried to refuse, to come up with some witty way to tell him off while he pushed her forward. Because she could handle pain, she could handle if he just hit her, but she couldn’t be sure she’d make it back if they left. She froze, panic overtaking when she felt his hands shift. Some part of her mind remembered spells and reached for them, though none came. Another part of her remembered when her brother decided to join the Guard, remembered short sparring sessions that taught them both how to fight. She dropped to dead weight, ignoring the pain as he tried to hold on. The drop shook him enough that she got a chance to move. She tried to get up, but he grabbed her by the waist, taking her back down. Scrambling, trying to pull herself up while kicking him off, her hand hit something. The crystal. She had dropped it at some point, back when she was first grabbed. Taking it, she pushed whatever magic she had through it. Flipping back, she aimed and let it go. There was a loud crack and a flash of light, followed by a scream. She kicked him again, managing to get up this time. She ran, only to hit something solid. Without thinking, she hit whoever she ran into. What stopped her from hitting again was that the voice was feminine and familiar. It was then that the realization of the presence of a crowd hit her. Someone, the person she’d run into, led her away and into an empty classroom. Sunset collapsed into a chair, just now remembering to breathe. She felt safer, realizing it was Rainbow who had led her off. Of course, she couldn’t fully relax. Rainbow looked upset, like a fierce anger burned just under her skin, but she couldn’t place why. For a moment, the girl spent her time blocking the door with a chair and its window with tape and paper as other students tried to peek in. “What the hell happened?” Rainbow demanded, turning on Sunset. “Where’s AJ?” “I-She-bathroom break,” Sunset stammered. “Teacher thought I-I’d be fine alone. He attacked me on-on the way back.” “Actually attacked you, or you thought he was going to?” she asked. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?” she glared. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “That you’re understandably jumpy as hell? I expected someone to get actually hit or judo flipped, but seriously? You armed yourself with some sort of Magic? How’d you even get any Magic again?” “I think I’d know the difference considering what he did!” she snapped. “And I didn’t ‘arm myself’, I used what I had on hand! But thanks for telling me I’m just paranoid!” “I’m trying to make sure!” she snapped back. “All I saw was the fact that you burned one of my teammates before kicking him in the face! If Streamline did anything, or had any reason to attack you, it’s news to me! So explain what happened so I know!” “You want explanation?” she growled. “Fine! Let’s start with the fact that your ‘teammate’ hates me because I ‘ruined his relationship’ by telling his girlfriend that he cheated on her! He saw me alone for the first time in two weeks, and decided this was his chance! I’m just walking by when suddenly I’m pinned to the damn floor! And then-“ “Sunset,” Dash interjected. “He starts in on the threats!” She continued, ignoring her. “Not to mention getting me to shut up by choking me! And then-“ “Sunset!” “-I’m supposed to just ‘go quietly’ with him wherever for ‘alone time’! To who knows where and have who knows what happen! And then he-“ “SUNSET!” “What?!” she glared. “Y-your leg,” Rainbow pointed, her voice having lost its anger. Tearing her eyes away from the girl, Sunset glanced down at her leg. She swore under her breath, seeing blood welling up on her thigh. She looked around for something to stop the bleeding, only for Rainbow to snatch a box of tissues off the shelf in the back. Muttering her thanks, Sunset began wiping away what she could. Rainbow grabbed someone’s water bottle to help too, but unfortunately some had already made its way to her skirt. She made a note for later, to ask if Rarity had any backup outfits. “Are… Are those nail marks?” Rainbow asked, her voice wavering a bit. “Must’ve happened when I tried to get away,” Sunset replied. “He made his intentions very clear. That’s why I zapped him.” “Zapped?” she repeated. “I can use Magic if I have something to focus it through,” she said. “Crystals work with Emotional Magic. I had…. I had been using it to keep myself calm during classes. But when he…. Fear creates a Lightning spell.” Rainbow glared at the marks, as if willing them to go away. Getting up, she walked off a few feet before letting out a scream and kicking the trash can across the room. “Why do I suck at this!” Rainbow screamed. Sunset stayed quiet, wondering what was going on. She felt like apologizing, but she wasn’t sure what for. After a moment of heavy breathing, Rainbow came back, putting her head on the desk. That fierce anger was still there, but it wasn’t dangerous. No, that wasn't quite right. It was as if someone had dumped gasoline on a bonfire, but somehow, it felt safe to her. “I-I’m sorry,” Rainbow whispered. “I just… I wanted to make sure this time.” “Make sure of what?” Sunset asked. “That something actually happened,” she swallowed. “I lost Applejack as a friend for months, just because I felt so betrayed that I refused to talk to her, when the whole time it wasn’t something she’d done. I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t some misunderstanding before I lost…. I feel sick calling him a ‘teammate’, much less a ‘friend’ now.” “I’m sorry,” she said. “If I hadn’t-“ “No, don’t even go there,” she cut her off. “Yeah, you made me think AJ had screwed me over, but I’m the one who refused to talk to her about it. Even when I was being rational and thought ‘maybe she just mistyped the date’, I didn’t do anything. And it’s not your fault that I can’t read a situation. Because… fuck… you’re supposed to be my friend now. Shouldn’t I just trust you?” “I… I think I get it,” she nodded. “You were right. All you saw was the last two seconds of the fight, not the… not everything else. And the idea of me arming myself isn’t totally out there. And I really should’ve told you about what Magic I could still do. “ “But that’s not…” she groaned. “Yes, I saw it like that. But I feel like an ass because of how wrong I was! I feel like even more of an ass because I should be able to trust you about things now. And I feel sick knowing that I accidently defended a guy who wanted to-“ “And now that you know, you’re going to do what you can to fix it,” she cut her off. “Oh hell yeah,” she replied. “The fucker’s dead. As in ‘if you don’t come with me to the Principal’s office to toss his ass in jail, I might actually kill him’.” “I will,” she smiled. “But I think I understand why you do what you do. Why you were so mad at Applejack, even though it might’ve been a mistake.” Instead of responding, Rainbow crossed her arms and leaned back. She nodded, waiting for her to explain. “It wasn’t about you,” Sunset said. “It’s never about you when you’re actually angry.” “I think my temper and ego speak for itself,” Rainbow said. “I know I’m awesome, and I know I can acknowledge it too much. And there's many I've punched in the face over the years.” “Sometimes,” she nodded. “Your ego is well deserved, as you are pretty amazing. And if someone says something to you, you’ll just yell and hit them and that’s that. A quick little snap, and it’s over, nearly forgotten within an hour. But that’s only when you’re the target. “When you thought Applejack messed up the date,” she continued, “It wasn’t about you showing up on the wrong date. It was about getting your team, your friends, involved. And you have trouble fully trusting me, because I also hurt your friends. And here, you wanted to believe the best in both your sort-of-friend and a teammate.” “There’s no ‘sort-of’ about it,” she stated. “You’re my friend. And I’m sorry I wasn’t… you know?” “I get it,” she nodded. “On that note, think you can help me get to the nurse’s office before getting the Principal? I should probably get a bandage on this.” “Right,” she nodded. The halls were thankfully empty once more, students having been herded back to class. Sunset absentmindedly searched for the crystal she’d had, but couldn’t seem to find it. It wasn’t an expensive one, so that wasn’t too bad, but it was sentimental, which is why she’d chosen that one instead of the others for a calming spell. Vice Principal Luna was already in the Nurse’s office when they got there. Thankfully, her attacker wasn’t there, as he ended being sent to the hospital due to a broken nose and electrical burns. When asked, Sunset told them about what little power she had, and how it was used. Luna was still Vice Principal, and had to remain neutral and ask questions as if she didn’t already figure out the answer. They avoided most of them the moment Sunset stopped and asked for Redheart to bandage her leg. Deciding she could fill in the blanks herself, Luna had only one question left. “At the very least he will be expelled,” the Vice Principal stated. “Usually I would have already called the police, but considering your circumstances, I don’t know if you want to try that. Explaining how you defended yourself without saying ‘Magic’ might be difficult, and while we may have ‘overlooked’ your lack of records with our ‘outdated systems’, the Legal System might not.” “Good point,” Sunset nodded. “We can’t just let him walk!” Rainbow shouted. “Sure, expel him, but that’s it?” “I will look into it,” Luna said. “My niece’s boyfriend is a cop, so perhaps he can think of something. In the meantime, I think we should update your History teacher on safety precautions.” While Luna offered to write a pass allowing Sunset to go home early, along with a pass to let Rainbow make sure she got there safely, but she declined the offer. It wasn’t supposed to be a stubborn show of bravery. She just didn’t see the point in leaving, considering her usual support system would still mostly be in class. As a compromise, Luna pulled Applejack from class to head over and be with them. Well, she had Celestia do it. Because the Principal is much better at that ‘oh so sweet’ reprimand, reminding their history teacher of what exactly she meant when she said ‘this student is in danger and I do not want her to be alone’. Rainbow called it awesome, Sunset called it terrifying. Other than the obvious, Sunset wasn’t sure what upset her more; the fact that the bandage could be seen poking out from her skirt, or the fact that her skirt was already kind of ruined with blood. She had spent time in the office bathroom, trying to wash it a bit before her next class. A few minutes in, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, Rainbow’s hand poked in, holding her own skirt out to her. Rainbow’s shorts were technically within school rules, and while the skirt was a little too small for Sunset, it was enough for the rest of the day. By the time they met Rarity and Fluttershy for their next class, they’d already heard there was a fight and guessed it had something to do with Sunset. They were even more upset when they heard the full story. When lunch came around, they learned just how far rumors had been flying when they assured Pinkie that, no, Sunset didn’t fight off a ‘gang of ninjas’ with ‘Sith Lightning’ and a ‘Samurai Chop’. While that had been one of the more… interesting rumors, a lot more down to earth ones were being discussed. A few versions were as expected, saying that Sunset had ‘randomly attacked’ a student. Yet she was surprised to find more of the ‘accurate’ versions floating around. Some were a bit toned down, saying that she’d only thought there was an attack. Others were far exaggerated, claiming worse things had happened. And though no one could properly explain the ‘explosion’ sound, they all agreed that Sunset had looked absolutely terrified. Even so, other than the bandage rubbing against her leg, Sunset was able to ignore it. She’d gotten used to ignoring the whispering, so why was this any different? It lasted until the tail end of Theatre class. “Can I…. Can I talk to you for a moment?” Sunset was sure that Pinkie and Discord had actually materialized at her side, since they were there in the time it took Sunset to turn around. The girl speaking to her had been one of the two who had harassed her on her first day back. Yet, today, she didn’t look aggressive. “What do you want?” Sunset asked, hoping that didn’t come out as impatient as she thought. “Just… to apologize,” the girl said. “About… about what Viola said the other week. About what I said too.” “What changed your mind?” she wondered. “Nothing and everything,” she sighed. “But mostly Viola. I still don’t like you. And honestly, it would take a lot for me to even be generally friendly. But some things that have been said… and done recently, they cross the line. I probably crossed the line too, but I convinced myself you deserved it.” “I… thanks?” she said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. For, well, everything I did before. Both what I meant for, and for all the, you know, ‘turning into a Demon and brainwashing the students and staff’ bit. You might not believe me, but I didn’t want that to happen. But it did, so I’m sorry.” “I think I do believe it,” she nodded. “Thanks for that though. Oh, I almost forgot.” The girl reached into her pocket, before holding out a small object. Taking it from her, Sunset was surprised to find the crystal she’d lost earlier. “How did you-?” Sunset began. “I was, uh, in the crowd,” she said. “After the… you know. I didn’t know it was yours at first, but it shocked me when I picked it up so I figured it had to be.” “Thanks,” she sighed. “Just… I know you said you still don’t like me, and I really get it. But I’m trying to be different, you know? Better. Just… thanks again. And sorry, but I don’t think I ever caught your name?” “Masquerade,” she nodded. “And good luck with the whole being better thing.” With a small wave, Masquerade headed off the stage and back to her project. Looking to her sides, Sunset found both Pinkie and Discord to be relatively confused, but pretending that they were ‘totally just working on something and not at all eavesdropping’. She was glad to be making some form of progress, even if she wasn’t sure what kind.