//------------------------------// // Chapter Two - Sometimes You Leave For A Reason // Story: Scars of the Sun // by EchoWing //------------------------------// Indianapoloosa hadn’t changed much in the years since Sunrunner had moved to Canterlot, nor all that much in the months since her last visit, just after she’d graduated from Wing Point and before she’d gone off to her eventful first assignment in the Royal Guard. Sure, some businesses were gone and others had popped up to take their places, but that was common in any large city. The same mayor was in office, the same streetcars still ran, and the school she’d found herself at after her transfer, surprisingly enough, was still open. Then again, Marshmuck Public School Number 101 was a reasonably modern building funded by a royal grant, so perhaps the school board simply didn’t want the crown to feel that it had wasted its money. As Sunrunner climbed off the streetcar, her gaze swept over the school and its surrounding area. Much to her surprise, very little had changed. The Shake ‘n Bake close by was still open, and still seeing regular business by the look of it, as were the odd shops in the nearby plaza. She’d never been to most of them, but her parents tended to spirit her away from campus as quickly as possible after a school day had completed, and her route never took her past any of those shops. Maybe she’d get the chance now, but for the time being, she had other things to contend with. The doors leading into the gym were wide open, and Sunrunner strode in to find more than a few vaguely familiar faces already inside, most engaged in conversation with one another as they set up decorations. One in particular caught her eye, a wide banner displaying the names and portraits of the students set to be honored at the reunion. The usual suspects were there, like Brick Wall’s smug grin and High Note’s all-too-easy smile, but right in the middle was a familiar, nervous but pleasant smile belonging to somepony she hadn’t seen in far too long. “Excuse me!” A familiar voice snapped her out of her reverie as she turned to see a pale coral pegasus mare approaching her, a clipboard in one wing. “You can’t be in here unless, like, you were invited! Either show me some ID or leave, before I call security!” Sunrunner silently pulled her military ID from the bag at her side. “Took you a while to notice me, Hot Trail. You should’ve carded me before I got in the door if you’re that worried about security.” Hot Trail’s magenta eyes went wide in recognition. “Sunrunner! O-D-C, look at you! You haven’t changed a bit!” The mare turned away and called out to the rest of the gathered ponies, “Everypony, one of our honorees has arrived to help with the preparations! It’s Sunrunner, everypony! Sunrunner!” The various other ponies in the room turned at the mare’s beckoning, and surprised and delighted smiles spread across their faces as they congregated around her. All the attention made Sunrunner more than a little nervous, especially as she barely remembered most of the ponies now surrounding her. Thank the Maker for name tags. “Wow! It’s great to see you!” One pale blue unicorn stallion with square-rimmed glasses and an abacus cutie mark approached. “You look great.” “Thanks, Digit Count. You’ve held up okay too.” The stallion turned surprised as he realized, “You remember me?” He then glanced down and gave a nervous laugh. “Oh. Right. Lanyard.” Sunrunner smirked. “And it hasn’t been that long since I left. Plus my memory was never that terrible.” Digit Count managed another nervous laugh. “Well, we’ve still got some decorations to put up. Think you can help while we catch up?” “Sure, just tell me what you need.” Outwardly, she looked calm and confident. On the inside, she wasn’t quite as nervous as she’d been when the gathered ponies had approached her, but she was still a little uneasy. Still, this wasn’t the first time she’d found herself a little anxious, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Nothing to do but dive in and deal with it. - Anxious was a polite way to describe how Sunrunner felt at this new school. The building was smaller and more modern, or so her parents claimed, but that did little to make her feel comfortable. To a little filly, big was still big, and unfamiliar surroundings would make anyone uneasy. “Class. We’ve a new student today.” The stern-faced elderly mare who was her new teacher did little to help, especially as she gave her a cold, prompting glance. The filly stood up straight and gave a friendly smile. “Hello everypony. My name is Sunrunner, and it’s very nice to meet all of you.” “She comes to us from School 18, where many of your classmates are now attending classes.” The teacher cast her gaze towards one corner of the class and ordered, “In keeping with the seating arrangements, all students whose names come after hers alphabetically will move back one seat.” The students obliged, though some looked less than pleased at it. “You may take your seat now, Sunrunner.” The filly did as she was told and quickly moved to her seat. She went past a smug-looking unicorn filly and found herself placed behind a shy-looking earth pony colt, then put aside her schoolbags and settled in. “Now then, those students remaining no doubt recall that you had an assignment due today. You were to write an original story and recite it before the class.” She gestured towards the desk. “I have my copies of your stories here, so clearly most of you turned in something to recite. Should there not be any volunteers to go first, we will go in alphabetical order.” “Miss Persimmon?” The colt seated in front of her raised a tentative hoof as she looked his way. “Please, may I recite my story first?” The other students looked among themselves in surprise until the smug unicorn turned back and spoke in a mocking tone. “Do you really think that whatever you wrote is worth anything, Lumber Mill?” The colt seemed to deflate as the other students snickered and laughed, which left a poor impression on Sunrunner. The impression faded as the teacher gestured him forward. “Come on then, Quiver Quill. Nopony else is wanting to volunteer, so we may as well start with you.” Sunrunner watched the colt leave his seat and scurry forward to a waiting lectern, then saw him smile as he addressed the class. “My story is called ‘Nightmare’s End’.” He briefly looked down at the sheets of paper before him, then began his tale. “It was a cool morning, right on the cusp of dawn…” The class listened in silence as Quiver told his story, of a lonely young colt confronted by one of the greatest boogeymares known to every foal in Equestria only to ask for a quick death, convinced that no one would miss him when he was gone. Even as the story continued, and the colt found himself being comforted by Nightmare Moon of all ponies, Sunrunner found herself wondering how the colt could feel that way, or what could have inspired a story like this, all the way to the story’s end. Those thoughts were quietly pushed aside as the colt said the last few words of his story. “‘Please remember this for me, little colt, and know that you are loved.’” He closed his eyes, and his blank flanks flashed as marks appeared upon them, looking like quills laid over blank scrolls. She’d seen something like this before, thanks to Shims, and seeing it again made her smile. “What a stupid story!” Her smile and Quiver’s faded as the smug unicorn’s voice started. “Seriously? Nightmare Moon’s just a story for stupid little foals, Blunder Bill. Everypony knows that.” Assorted snickers sounded amongst the other students as the colt tried to defend himself. “But I did research…” “It’s ridiculous, a pony treating something like that like it’s real!” “I found the oldest versions of the story in the senior edition of History of Equestria…” “It’s just some scheme to steal candy from foals one night a year!” “I cross-checked that with entries in The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide and Predictions and Prophecies, I even did the math, it was…” “What kind of stupid retard would even…?” “Hey!” The snickering and giggling halted as Quiver banged a hoof against the lectern, what timidity he had replaced with rage. “You shut up and listen to me! I put a lot of work into this, and…!” “Quiver Quill!” The rage was replaced with fear as the teacher turned her attention towards him. “It is against school rules to use such language. With me. To the principal’s office. Now.” She led the young stallion out, and the snickering and laughter started up again just as the classroom door closed behind them. The smug filly turned back to her and said, “Don’t waste your time with that weirdo, new girl. He’s a joke.” “Yeah, Primrose is right.” A pegasus filly in another row giggled. “Quiver’s the biggest dork in, like, ever. What was that dumb thing that showed up on his flank, anyway?” “It was a cutie mark. Ponies get them when they discover their special talents.” She glanced at the two fillies’ flanks and glared. “Looks like he’s got one up on the two of you.” At their shocked expressions, she pulled a notepad and pencil from her bags and jotted down the names of those books. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. - “Hang on, let me adjust a little…” The banner was adjusted in his magic as Digit Count called, “There! We’re good!” Sunrunner promptly banged a nail into the banner with her hoof, and the banner was fixed. She then came in for a landing beside the two stallions she was assisting and smiled in satisfaction. “Looks good.” “It looked good the first couple times, though.” The other stallion with them, a soft orange unicorn with a cutie mark resembling two screwdrivers crossed over a gear, smirked and noted, “Just had to be mathematically perfect, huh Digit?” “Hey, it’s not my fault certain measurements are more aesthetically pleasing than others.” The bespectacled unicorn turned to the mare and noted, “Anyway, thanks for coming by to be part of this Sunrunner. You’ve been a big help.” “Yeah, I’m a little surprised to see you here. I mean, you didn’t graduate with the rest of us.” The second stallion turned puzzled. “Come to think of it, where did you end up graduating from?” “Canterlot Academy.” She shrugged. “I’m not exactly thrilled about having bounced between three different schools before I went on to higher education, but hey, some things are beyond your control.” The stallion frowned and bowed his head. “Ain’t that the truth.” Sunrunner curiously raised an eyebrow. “And what brought that on?” Digit turned somber. “Bit Stream, now really isn’t the time or place to be bringing that up.” “I know.” Bit waved a hoof as he turned to Sunrunner and explained himself. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. Just some bad luck at a poker game a while back.” “Followed by him meeting his fiancée.” The blue unicorn smirked. “Evened out alright, I’d think.” “Yeah, but…” The orange unicorn looked up at the banner and the ponies displayed upon it and noted, “I’d like it if I was up there getting honored too, y’know? I mean Primrose and Brick and High Note are no-brainers, and we all know why Quiver’s up there…” Digit snickered at that, while Sunrunner barely had a chance to question why before Bit continued. “But still, I’d like something to be proud of.” The mare found herself shaking her head. “It never hurts to prove the inverse to an old proverb right though.” She took on a reassuring smile as she noted, “And you’ve got plenty to be proud of. We all do. Still, I can understand you not elaborating. Say anything more, and certain someponies might hear the scuttlebutt and take advantage of it.” At the strange looks she received at her choice in words, she explained, “Scuttlebutt. It’s military for ‘gossip’.” The two nodded in comprehension before Digit wondered aloud, “So, are you dating somepony in the Royal Guard, or working with them, or…?” “I’m in the Guard.” She stood a little straighter and explained, “Save for one mission right out of the Academy, I’ve been stationed in Canterlot for the last year or so.” Bit let out a low whistle. “Nice. You must be enjoying a cushy gig like that.” At the mare’s surprised expression, he elaborated, “The Royal Guard. It’s one of the easiest jobs in Equestria the way the papers talk about it. You stand around all day wearing nice shiny suits of armor, get nice pay and health benefits, and nopony ever gives you trouble. And if they ever do, they get swatted aside like the changelings did when they attacked Canterlot last February.” Sunrunner restrained herself from doing anything beyond narrow her eyes in disapproval at that comment as she considered her next words. “Excuse me a minute.” She then turned away from the two and made her way towards the doors leading into the rest of the school, hoping to find the nearest restroom and get some privacy. She’d heard a great many opinions about the Royal Guard both before and after she’d joined, ranging all across the spectrum. Some were positive, playing up its heritage and roots in groups such as the Mighty Helm and the Royal Legion, groups that dated back to before the founding of Equestria proper. Others were less so, with more than a few feeling that the Guard was oversized and unnecessary in a nation devoted to the ideals of harmony and friendship, and even a few fringe claims that it wasn’t nearly adequate for its job of protecting the nation and its borders. This was the first time that she’d heard anyone speak like it was a cakewalk, however, and her own experiences had more than proven otherwise. Explaining to Bit Stream exactly how misinformed he was, meanwhile, was likely to be a difficult and daunting task, and that was assuming he was even able to listen. “You think he’ll show up? I mean, he’s kind of a big deal now.” Sunrunner found herself curious as she heard conversation coming from within the mare’s restroom, the door propped open for whatever reason and allowing her to more clearly hear the conversation going on therein. The first speaker’s name escaped her, but the second one… “You kidding? High Note sent us his RSVP! That attention whore fag’s gonna be here for certain.” Definitely Hot Trail. “And it’s a good thing too, considering who else is gonna be here. High Note’s gonna love seeing his little coltfriend again after all this time, and everypony’s gonna love the show Primrose has planned with them.” “But Quiver hasn’t sent back an RSVP!” Sunrunner’s eyes shot open at the mention of her friend’s name as the unfamiliar mare continued, “What makes you think he’ll be here?” “Well it’s, like, obvious! The only pony who was nice to him is gonna get him here!” Her cyan eyes narrowed in rage as she turned a complete one-eighty and marched back towards the gym, bitterly reflecting to herself on how the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. - “Miss Persimmon? May I speak with you about something?” The elderly mare flashed a cold expression at the filly before her. “Recess has been called, Sunrunner. Run along.” “I know, but this won’t take long, I promise.” The filly pulled some papers from her saddlebags and explained, “I’ve visited the central library, and I read the books that Quiver mentioned about his story, and…” “The contents of Quiver Quill’s story have nothing to do with his punishment. He disrupted class.” “Because Primrose mocked him over his story!” The filly looked up at her teacher with pleading eyes. “She started it! Why isn’t she getting any punishment?!” “Because Quiver Quill was the one to write such a ridiculous tale in the first place, and thus invited trouble. Principal Fairweather agreed with my assessment, and that is the final word on the matter.” Her next words had an air of cold finality as she ordered, “Now as I said, recess has been called. Run along.” Sunrunner frowned sadly, then turned away from her teacher to do as she was told. It was unfair, but she didn’t see much that she could do about it at this point beyond what little she’d already attempted. She tucked her papers back into her saddlebags, then set the bags aside near her desk, and made her way out of the classroom and off to the playground, only just getting out of the way as one of her classmates rushed past her back into the classroom. She thought little about it. The pegasus filly probably forgot something when she rushed off to recess and had come to retrieve it. She put the thought out of her mind as she walked to the doors heading to the playground, right past the door to the little filly’s room… “Hey-!” Sunrunner was jerked into the room in somepony’s magical grip, and soon found herself knocked onto the floor, one wing slightly crushed between the floor and her body. “Hello, Chum-Scummer.” The filly barely had time to recognize the voice before she was flung about once more, ending up on her remaining wing and the opposite end of the bathroom from the door. She felt a hoof press against her head and another against her body as the source of the initial attack approached. “Primrose.” Primrose Thorn sneered over her with all the confidence of a hawk having caught a small rabbit. “What’cha been doing, Rum-Chugger? Trying to help your new friend, Putrid Swill?” The earth pony mare standing over Sunrunner laughed at Primrose’s remark as another filly rushed into the room. Sunrunner turned alarmed and struggled as she recognized the saddlebags in the other filly’s grip. “Hey! Those…!” She was silenced with a stomp to both her head and torso as the mare holding her down barked, “Hay’s for horses, freak.” “Well said, Roxy.” Primrose pulled the contents of Sunrunner’s saddlebags out and examined them. “Well look at this, girls. She’s another stupid little weirdo who actually believes that Nightmare Moon was real.” “Where are they, like, coming from?” the third filly pondered aloud, waving her pale coral wings for emphasis. “Well, considering her old school was the one that all the asses ended up going to…” The three bullies laughed at that remark as Primrose chucked every book and paper into the nearby toilets. She flushed them, then approached the still-struggling Sunrunner and noted, “Let me educate you on something, you stupid little filly. I run this school. Not the teachers, not the principal, me. I’m better than everypony else here, better than them, better than that dork Quiver, and better than you. Because my daddy is the Mayor, and Fairweather’s such a plot-kisser that he won’t dare do anything to get on my daddy’s bad side. And if anypony’s stupid enough to think they can get away with anything, well…” Several pairs of scissors floated around her head menacingly as she remarked, “This is a school, isn’t it? Time for an education.” Sunrunner continued to struggle, but that only prompted another stomp from Roxy before the lesson continued in earnest, the blades of the scissors cutting and tearing through her mane like sharks after a bleeding body. Once or twice they pressed into her flesh, not deep enough to bleed but enough to hurt, but that only seemed to delight her tormentors more, until after what felt like an eternity, Primrose was satisfied. As the bully and her two toadies laughed and marched out of the bathroom, Sunrunner collected herself and, with a throbbing headache and pain in her sides, rose to her hooves and tried to examine herself in a mirror. What she saw almost took her past the threshold to tears. Her mane, formerly long and free-flowing and styled to look like her self-proclaimed surrogate sister, was reduced to a shredded mess, some patches cut all the way down to her scalp. She had to do something. She had to tell a teacher, Miss Persimmon, Principal Fairweather, anypony about what had happened. Primrose had to be lying, they couldn’t ignore something like this! She pulled what she could of her papers and books from the toilet, left them to dry, then rushed to the door, only to find that it wouldn’t yield. “Wha..?! Hey! Let me out!” She banged against it with her front hooves and shouted, “LET ME OUT!” She had no way of knowing the door had been wedged from the outside, a clever application of a trick that Primrose had learned from her private magic tutors. She could only bang fruitlessly against it until she tired out, and began to sob, powerless and alone. - A great deal had changed for Sunrunner since that day. She was older and wiser. She’d learned a thing or two about hoof-to-hoof combat, how to wound and maim and even kill if necessary, and discovered that she was more than capable of doing exactly that. There were a number of dead changelings that had experienced that for themselves a number of months previous. She was far less likely to end up the victim of a trio of bullies now than she was then. But many things weren’t different. She refused to be used as a pawn in somepony else’s game, and she refused to let anypony else use her to hurt her friends. Even ones she hadn’t seen in years. And the sooner she got the buck out of here, the better. She marched right back into the gym and made her way towards the doors leading outside. Her return didn’t go unnoticed, but nopony paid much mind as she went on her way, and she didn’t dwell too much upon why. She was about halfway out of the gym before somepony finally called to her. “Sunrunner! Like, what’s the rush?” She turned back to see Hot Trail trooping after her, a bright yellow mare following close behind. Likely the one she’d been talking to in the restroom. “Listen, I need to ask you a favor.” “No.” The coral mare closed the distance and pleaded, “You don’t even know what…” “You want me to get in touch with Quiver Quill and make sure he comes to this reunion.” Hot Trail rolled her eyes and noted, “Well, he is one of the guests of honor. We don’t want him to miss out…” “On what you and Primrose have planned for him?” The fiery-maned pegasus’s voice had gone cold as her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Well I do. And I won’t be a part of it.” Sunrunner turned away, but barely got a few steps before Hot Trail goaded her. “Why do you even care about that stupid little fag anyway?” She stopped as the mare continued, “Honestly, was it because both of you were weird little freaks? Him and his Nightmare Moon story was bad enough, but you? What made him so special?” The gym went silent, the other ponies’ attention on Sunrunner as she answered. “What didn’t make him special?” She turned around and stood tall as she recounted herself. “My first day at a new school after transferring out, and I saw this skinny colt go up in front of his classmates and tell a story to them. One that he’d written, after digging through history books and scrounging through centuries-old accounts of legends and myths and folklore, that took an old mare’s tale and showed it through a different lens. He turned a monster who’d gobble up little foals if her sweet tooth wasn’t satisfied and made her a tragic figure, who would cause the end of the world as we knew it simply because she thought she’d been shunned. It was different, and interesting.” She quickly looked over the gathered ponies and snarled, “And all of you laughed at him over it.” Hot Trail scoffed. “Well, it was a stupid…” “And he turned out to be right. Or have you forgotten the Summer Sun Celebration before last? About Princess Luna’s return from her thousand-year imprisonment? Sure, Quiver got details wrong, but the gist of it was right, and name me a single writer who doesn’t take liberties or finds themselves proven wrong when history or science marches on.” She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Anypony wonder what would have happened if that long night hadn’t ever ended? I have, and I thank the Maker every morning that certain ponies were in the right place at the right time to make a difference. And so does Quiver, probably.” “Well, those dumb books…” “I looked over those dumb books, and tried to stand up for him. And what did I get for it?” Her gaze was locked on the mare across the room from her. “Come on, Hot Trail. Don’t you remember that day? You and me and Roxy and Primrose, in the bathroom? You chucked my things into the toilets. Roxy stomped on me and held me down. Primrose sheared me like a sheep.” Her eyes narrowed even further as she recounted, “I was stuck in there for an hour, because somepony had forced the door shut. I only got free because the janitor came and forced it back open. And I remember what happened after that.” Again, she looked over the gathered ponies and snarled. “How all of you laughed at me. I’d been assaulted, and it was treated like a damn prank!” Her focus turned back to Hot Trail as she noted, “And the ones responsible were never punished.” The coral pegasus looked, for a brief second, intimidated by the mare before her, but regained her composure as she stammered, “Well, you deserved it! Besides, you don’t do anything wrong if you don’t get caught!” “Horseshit!” Sunrunner’s eyes were alight with fury as she roared, “The only reason you and Roxy and Primrose got away with any of the crap you pulled was because of the cowards and bastards that allowed it! Our apathetic teacher! Our toadying pig of a principal! And of course, his honor, Mayor Crimson Thorn, or as Primrose always called him, Daddy!” Her attention turned to the rest of the ponies as she added, “And that includes the rest of you! You all sat back and watched while Primrose and her goons had their fun, while Roxy and Brick Wall shoved me and Quiver around, and I bet some of you laughed every time Quiver and I were on the playground, me trying to teach him to sing, only for High Note to come along and break out with…” She took a deep breath and sang out, intentionally off-key, “Oh WHAT a Beau-Ti-FULL MORN-NING! Oh what a Beau-Ti-Ful DAYYYY!” She snorted and declared, “Bastard’s lucky he isn’t here right now, or I’d tell him right to his face how much of a rutting plot-hole he is.” Hot Trail huffed. “Well if you hated us all so much, then why bother coming?!” “Because I hoped that you’d all pulled your heads out of your plots and grown up!” The mare regained her composure. “Because I hoped that events had led to all of you reflecting on and reconsidering what had happened, and regretting what you had and hadn’t done. But obviously, I was wrong.” She narrowed her eyes at Hot Trail and spat, “This school taught you all the wrong lessons. That it’s fun to laugh at other ponies’ misfortunes. That it’s okay to be cowards and monsters, because nopony will ever punish you for it. I’m glad that I learned otherwise, and the only reason I’m glad to be here now is so I can say this.” She turned around and marched out as she called, “Good riddance to all of you.” A tiny part of Sunrunner considered this was probably an unwise idea. Someone complained to the right ponies, and enough fuss was made over it to the right places, and she could be dragged into a military hearing. Her career would be tarnished, probably more than her awards could overcome, and that was the best-case scenario. But at the same time, it felt good to voice her ancient frustrations, and finally let them out. It wasn’t much punishment, but it was better than nothing.