The first day had been relatively peaceful compared to what the second was facing up to be. It had started off with Starlight waking everyone up early for supposed room inspections, starting with Sunset of course.
“What do you mean, ‘Room Inspections’?” she asked as Starlight forced her way into the room. Sunset’s alarm wasn’t supposed to go off for another half an hour, and it didn’t look like she had gone after anyone else yet.
“It’s something I’m supposed to take care of up here, to make sure none of you are causing any damage to Crystal Prep property.” the girl replied without giving Sunset even the briefest of glances. She strode around the room, taking note of the mess it was currently thanks to the girl still unpacking things.
“I figured someone coming from a school as supposedly renowned as Richard Johnson’s School for Gifted Girls would be a lot neater.” Sunset scoffed lightly at the comment as she rolled her eyes. This girl was really want to push her buttons.
“Well that’s part and parcel with moving across the globe, I guess. Having to buy all new belongings means having to arrange everything, and while I may be an academic genius, I can’t apply that to trying to unpack everything.”
“Well I suggest that you find a way.” there was a bored look on the prefect’s face as she bent down, gingerly running a finger along the wall. “Ah… I expected no less. It seems you are more than just messy in your uncaring of your environment. The Dean shall hear of this.”
“Hear of what?” she asked as Starlight tapped something into her tablet, walking away with a smug stride, causing Sunset to throw up her arms upon being ignored. “Fine, don’t answer me. I guess I’ll just get ready early then.”
With a sour mood mixed with the grogginess of still waking up, Sunset Shimmer slowly started stomping towards her shower, pausing as she heard the door to her room shut. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Starlight was gone, before scurrying over to her bedside stand and unplugging her phone, walking over to where Starlight had bent down.
It was microscopic at best, but there was indeed a small scuff mark in the paint on the wall. She shook her head as she laid a finger next to it for scale before proceeding to take pictures from multiple angles. If this really was gonna get brought up, she would need to make sure that she had some ammunition to defend herself with. Pleased with the number of photos her phone now stored, Sunset returned her phone to her bedside, but not without snapping a few pictures of her room first, and headed once more for the shower.
The next incident started after Sunset’s gloriously hot shower, the girl wearing nothing but underwear and a t shirt as she towel dried her hair, slowly descending down the steps towards the kitchen area. Numerous other girls sat grumbling in the common area, obviously also unhappy at having been awoken, the sentiment getting voiced by Sour Sweet as she halfheartedly dragged a brush through her hair.
“Why the hell did we have to do an inspection today?” she whined, groggy noises of agreement coming from the other four girls sitting around her. “She hasn’t done one of those in months.”
“That’s because we have a new guest with us.” came Starlight’s response as she exited room number four. “Sunset’s arrival has revealed that perhaps I have been too lax on all of you, as evident by the states you have left your rooms in.”
Was Starlight really trying to push the blame onto Sunset for her actions this morning? Judging by the half dead glares she was getting from the five girl’s it seemed they were somewhat receptive of the message, even if they disliked Starlight as much as they supposedly did.
“Wait, are you supposed to be doing these on a regular basis?” Sunset asked, resting her towel around her neck as she watched Starlight knock on the door for room number two, Tempest Shadow opening it and standing aside as Starlight did an impossibly brief look over before nodding and turning away. “What kind of supervisor puts off their responsibilities?”
“She trusts us.” Tempest spat, scowling as she crossed her arms. “Like we do her.”
“Thank you, Tempest.” Sunset almost shuddered from how fake the comment of Starlight’s was as she addressed the taller girl.
“You say that now, but just wait until her negligence costs you something.” Sunset chuckled as she sauntered over to the kitchen island and plucked a fresh looking apple from it, taking a large bite.
“And that's exactly why I am doing these.” Starlight said slowly, stashing the tablet under her arm. “For the safety of all of you.”
Sunset almost choked on her apple that morning.
(\/):.:(\/)
The morning meeting in Homeroom was no different, thanks to Starlight giving her warning glances and Sunstrike scowling like usual at her. The more things change, the more they stay the same… she thought as she remembered the early days of Anon-A-Miss and all the looks she got. She watched quietly as Starlight raised her hand, interrupting Dean Cadence.
“Yes, Starlight?” the woman smiled as she turned to address the purple girl.
“May I come up and say a few words? It will only take a minute.” the smile the girl wore was agonizingly annoying to Sunset. Cadence nodded and stepped aside, motioning for the girl to come forward; Sunset frowned slightly as she watched Starlight pause for a moment to whisper something in the Dean’s ear, the woman nodding as her eyes glanced towards Sunset.
“Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our second day of classes.” polite murmurs came from the crowd of students Starlight addressed, most of them quite forced. “I just wanted to take a moment to remind you all of the privilege we all have to study at this great academy, and of our responsibility- not only to ourselves, but to each other- in its maintenance. Crystal Preparatory Academy has a reputation of excellence around the world, as evident by our familiar new face, Sunset Shimmer. I ask each and every one of you to take some time when you see her this week to talk with her, and welcome her into our student body. Thank you.”
Sunset decided to show what a true practitioner of deception could do as she smiled warmly at Starlight, the girl pausing as a brief look of confusion flitted across her face, the sound of students clapping out of politeness echoing off the walls. The girl had stumbled for barely a moment, but Sunset caught it before standing up and bowing slightly towards the students clapping for her, thanking them as Starlight returned to her seat. That single frame of Starlight looking like she misplayed the situation was perfect, easily the best part of the morning for Sunset so far.
Cadence returned to the stand, talking briefly to the class before the bell rang and she dismissed everyone except for Sunset and Starlight, instead calling the two of them up to the front of the room. “Starlight said that she was disappointed in the state that she found your room in, Sunset. Apparently one of the walls has some damage to it?”
“I’m certain it happened while her and the movers were bringing things up to her room.” Starlight said, opening up her tablet.
“But weren’t you there to make sure that we didn’t cause any damage?” Sunset tilted her head as she looked towards Starlight, doing her best to keep a confused expression on her face while Starlight’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “If it had happened then wouldn’t you have made note of it?”
“What I meant,” the girl started, her voice peaking before she regained her composure. “is that it could have happened at any point during or after that.”
“But didn’t you just say that you were certain it happened during the move?” Sunset swore she could see steam escaping the purple girl’s face as she continued to feign innocence.
“My apologies, my mind was working faster than my mouth.” there was a hint of aggression to the prefect’s words as she turned back towards the Dean. “Regardless, the room was in a state of disaster, on top of the damage done.”
“Well if I can speak for a moment?” Sunset asked Cadence, the woman nodding in response. “Thank you. Yes, my room is still a bit messy, as I am still unboxing and getting the room set up. I took some pictures to send back home actually, as well as a few of that wall mark, as I wanted to bring it up to you, Cadence.”
The other two watched as Sunset pulled out her phone, powering it on and unlocking it by putting her thumb across the little button on the bottom. She swiped and tapped before handing it to Dean, her photo gallery opened. “It’s the first couple there; I rested my finger near it to show you the size of it roughly. Truth be told, I never noticed it when we did the walk in, nor did I until Starlight brought it up.”
“Hmmm… Well that’s not that big.” Cadence nodded, smiling at Sunset. “It was good of you to take pictures to bring it up to me; most students ignore or hide the states of their rooms.”
“Well it only makes sense to take care of the things around me.” Sunset smiled warmly again, watching as the Dean across to the pictures Sunset had taken of her room. “Unfortunately it is taking me longer to arrange my room than I thought, and with all the tests I’ve got lined up it may take me a little bit longer than I thought it would.”
“That shouldn't be too much of an issue, dear. Just make sure to separate the garbage from the recycling before disposing of it. I think we are done here, you two can head to class, I’ll send a message to your teachers to let them know where you’ve been.”
“Thank you, Dean Cadence.” the two students said, Sunset bowing slightly as she struggled not to burst out laughing at how Starlight was acting. It brought a dark pleasure to her to see the girl ruminating silently like that.
“Oh, before I go, I have that bank information for you.” Sunset said, scavenging into her backpack to pull out the large, sealed envelope, handing it to the teacher. “I think everything is in there that you asked for.”
Sunset heard Starlight’s footsteps speed away from her and Cadence, the door shutting firmly as Cadence took the envelope with a friendly smile. “Thank you, Sunset. And please don’t pay any mind to Starlight. Her responsibilities as Student Council President are quite weighty, combined with her schooling. I’ve tried recommending to her to take things easier, but she insists on doing her part for the betterment of the school.”
(\/):..:(\/)
“Um, excuse you?” the student that had pushed past Sunset paused, slowly turning around to face her as he squared his shoulders. Math class had been thankfully short, nothing really worth remembering happening. Now she stood in the hallway, staring in confusion at the student that had so rudely barged past her.
“What did you say to me?” he rumbled as he looked up just ever so slightly at her. He was a massive piece of muscle on muscle, most likely a linebacker for the academy’s football team, his blazer proudly displaying a cleat on it’s breast pocket.
“I said I think you forgot to say ‘excuse me’ as you tried to push me aside.” she said again, much more slowly this time as she glowered at him, adjusting her glasses back onto her nose.
“I didn’t see you.” he muttered as he tried to turn back around, only to freeze when Sunset laid a hand on his shoulder.
“That’s not gonna work, seeing as I’m taller than you.” she could feel her temper rising, all the annoyances from the last couple days swirling in her mind.
“Aw, fuck off, Sunstrike.” came the response as the boy tried to remove Sunset’s hand, the girl refusing to be moved again.
“Another mistake. I’m not Sunstrike- See this scar? My name is Sunset, and I suggest you apologize”
The boy grunted before hefting his weight and tearing himself away from Sunset before returning to trundle along down the hall, leaving Sunset simmering as various students stared at her.
“Feh…” she shook her head, doing her best to swallow the raging emotions as she returned back on the pathway towards AP Social, the second room she’d have to share at the academy with Starlight Glimmer. Everywhere she looked, that girl stared back; innumerable pictures of her lining the walls. Most of them had her accepting some kind of award or giving it to someone, including a number of massive, crystal heart looking trophies to this world’s Twilight Sparkle.
She prayed that Starlight wouldn’t try to cause any other trouble for at least the rest of the school day. She had all those tests to write after class, and hopefully by the time she returned to the student housing she could avoid her for the evening. At least Dean Cadence had told Sunset not to worry about the small scuff on her wall.
“Cutting it close, Miss Shimmer.” Lost Legacy said as he shut the door behind Sunset, the bell ringing right on cue. Surprisingly, she was the last one here; she didn’t know how Sunstrike passed her, but there she sat, a bored look on her face as she opened her binder.
“My apologies, Mr. Legacy. Had… an issue in the hallways.” she gave a small smile as she bowed her head.
“I care not for excuses. Head to your desk, amd try not to make a habit of it.” he dismissed her with a wave of his hand before heading to the front of the room, leaving her alone to scurry to her desk, past a softly chuckling Starlight Glimmer.
“Did he ruffle your feathers?” she whispered ever so quietly as Sunset passed, the girl struggling not to freeze in place. Was Starlight trying to set her up? What was with this girl?
(\/):...:(\/)
The rest of the day had gone well enough, the tests for AP Math were enjoyably easy for her. She had been surprised when she first arrived in this world at just how differently education worked. She knew more than the local students, yet also less at the same time. She had spent many sleepless nights that first year taking out books from the local library to study up on these new subjects that had never been discussed in Equestria.
Sadly, it had only lasted for a year before she ran out of readily available subjects to pursue, her voracious appetite for knowledge not changing on this side of the mirror-portal. At least now she could use all the formulas she had learned; CHS never challenged her during her stay, which is part of why she got so good at blackmailing the students- She had too much time on her hands.
“You’re just getting home now!?” Aria’s voice cried out from the earpiece in her phone.
“For realsies!” Sonata added, obviously grabbing the phone away from her sister. “It’s, like, quarter after eight!”
“Yeah, I had to wait a bit for the bus to arrive.” she replied as she scrunched her shoulder up to her ear as she fiddled with her wallet for her ID card. “Just wait till I tell you what I had to deal with today.”
This time, Adagio responded. “It wasn’t that Sunstrike girl, I hope? We contacted one of our… friends to do some research for us on her.”
“You really didn’t have to do that.” Sunset chuckled as she walked in the door, pausing to make sure the door slid shut behind her.
“I know, but it helps to have something prepared should you need it.”
“Heh, I guess… Thanks you three.” Sunset was glad that she had the Sirens watching her back. She might not necessarily agree with their methods, but who was she to judge? She had spent countless weekends stalking various Wondercolts, finding out different things to pressure them with. She was just hesitant to do that again, as much as the little voice in the back of her mind kept bringing up Starlight. No, she had something else in mind.
“So are ya sure you aren’t gonna have any time free until the weekend?” Aria asked, her voice surprisingly tentative.
“Yeah, I’m really sorry. I got tests every day after classes that need to be done before Monday, and then I have a presentation to make for AP Social as well.” she could hear the frowns from the other side of the phone. The Sirens had been trying really hard to spend time with her, and it was slowly starting to get to her. “I promise that we will get together soon!”
“Hey, could you pipe it down?” Suri Polomare said loudly from the sofa, the girl looking across the back of her seat along with Starlight, Tempest, and Twilight Sparkle, the bespectacled girl giving a reserved smile and a small wave as Sunset paused to look at them. Some kind of movie was playing on the screen that the four of them had been previously watching.
“Did I just hear that right?” Aria’s voice carried that protective aggressiveness it had from the night at the bank, something that Sunset had been surprised to observe from the Siren, given her attitude during the Battle of the Bands, constantly harassing everyone.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sunset said quietly, shaking her head as she passed by the girls who returned to watching their show. “Not worth the effort. Anyways, today was a bit of a different day.”
“A good different?” Sunset couldn’t help but smile at how Sonata sounded, though it seemed even she could tell it wasn’t a positive tone on Sunset’s voice.
“Sadly no.” Sunset chuckled as she opened the door to her room, slipping inside quickly and locking it behind herself. “Have I mentioned Starlight Glimmer yet?”
“You said something about not being able to stand her, yeah.” Aria said, the other two Sirens adding their own noises of affirmation.
“Well she runs the school it seems. She’s the prefect- the head student of the twelfth grade, as well as the President of the Student Council apparently.”
“Something something, absolute power, some thing something, corrupts absolutely.” Sunset burst out laughing at the tone of Sonata’s comment, a tear running down her cheek.
“I-I’ll be honest, Sonata…” Sunset managed to get out as she tried to reign in her giggles. “I don’t think she was ever a nice person. I mean, she made it seem like she was the one behind the brute that tried to run me into the lockers.”
“...Starlight Glimmer, you said?” Adagio said softly, calming her boisterous sisters.
“Please don’t put a hit on her, I’d be suspect number one! Besides, I’m sure she still just thinks I’m another Sunstrike. Once I prove I’m here to play nice, she’ll leave me be.”
(\/):....:(\/)
Sunset continued to have run ins with either Starlight or her underlings through the next two days, her mood souring further as the girl continued to grate on her. She had even tried to politely pull the girl aside to try and figure out why it was that she was being targeted.
“Look, I get that Sunstrike may have done some stuff during her time here, but I’m not her, so could you please lay off me?” Sunset asked, sounding just as exhausted as she felt by this point. She had cornered the prefect after arriving back at the student housing, her daily catch up tests over for now.
“That’s pretty low to blame her for your actions.” Starlight crossed her arms as she looked up at Sunset, a smug look playing across her features.
“Well considering I haven’t done a damn thing while I’ve been here, I see no other reason that you’d be picking on me.”
“As long as you refuse to fall in line, I don’t think we have anything to talk about.” the girl flipped her hair as she giggled, turning and walking away from Sunset, who stood there looking slightly lost.
“You know… I came here to get away from my past. I did things… I just want to study now.” Starlight paused, but didn’t look back as Sunset spoke loudly. “I’ve earned my scars for my actions, but if you want me to earn more… Keep doing what you’re doing, Starlight. Just remember that I didn’t ask for any of this...”
Sunset’s voice had been empty as she pleaded with Starlight to drop the hostilities, but as soon as she finished her speech, Starlight resumed walking to her room, leaving Sunset alone to stand in the empty foyer, her heart beating irregularly as hurried up the stairs and into her room, pulling her phone from her pocket as she entered her room, dialing a familiar number.
“Hey, Adagio? I… I need to talk…” she said uneasily as the lead Siren answered the phone. “Cause I think shit is about to hit the fan.”
“Sunstrike? Or Starlight?” the Siren asked calmly as Sunset flopped down onto her bed in a messy pile.
“Starlight. She’s really out to get me for not, and I quote, ‘falling in line’, whatever that means.” Sunset grumbled as she rolled over onto her side. “Like, I’m not causing any trouble here; I’m mainly staying by myself, but I’m not letting her roll over me.”
“Yet you personally admitted that you played it like a total creep when you met Sunstrike.” Adagio chuckled softly into the amber girl’s ear, causing a small blush to build on Sunset’s cheeks.
“Yes, but I realized after the fact that I played it totally wrong, and I tried to apologize but she wouldn’t listen to me. I-I mean, I don’t blame her. But that’s not who I need to talk about. I… I pulled her aside and tried to talk to her just now and I think I chose the wrong things to say again…”
“Did you threaten her?” Adagio asked, Sunset swearing she could hear the Siren shifting around and crossing one leg over the other, like a mother does when talking with a child.
“Maaaybe…” came the sheepish response. “I mean, I just asked her to leave me alone- more or less…”
“And?” Adagio didn’t ask so much as demand.
“I told her that if she kept going that I’d really stand up for myself. Look, I’m on edge enough thanks to students thinking that I’m Sunstrike still, and treating me like her. The voice in the back of my mind is really telling me to snap and show them that I’m not Sunstrike, but that's exactly the opposite of what I really want. I don’t want to go back to that point, I just want to study and get my diploma so I can get on with my life here; that’s all. But I keep saying the wrong thing, almost like I’m going back to who I was when I first arrived here.”
“...Sunset… Do you know who you are?” Adagio said after a long silence between the two Equestrians.
“What kind of question is that?” Sunset couldn’t help but give a slight chuckle.
“What I mean is… When I found you that night out on the street in front of our house, you were broken, so to speak. The whole time you were with us that night you were doing your best to forget about everything before that moment. And during the Battle of the Bands, when you showed us around the school you kept trying your best to be friendly with every student, even as they ignored you or warned us to be careful around you; you still tried to keep a positive outlook when you were talking with us, but as soon as you though we weren’t looking you started to sulk.”
“When you confronted us in the halls, you were trying to protect people that the instant we brought up what we learned of you, you shut down. Until you stepped up to defeat us, you were tossed aside, yet you never spoke out about it; you just accepted it quietly and resumed pitying yourself. Compare that to what you were like before that. Confident. Assertive. Proud. Maybe you were a little too much so for your liking, but you stood up for yourself, and everybody respected it. You only went after those that needed to be put in their place; and you limited yourself to how you did it. You may have been the ‘Alpha Bitch’ of the school, but you didn’t cross certain thresholds- you respected yourself too much to fall to those levels.”
“You may not want to go back to blackmailing students and lying to the faces of every teacher, and I understand that. But maybe in this case, you need to show what you are capable of. You have changed so much since you moved in with us. You got over what happened before the holidays and are able to walk around with your head held up, but now it sounds like you are going back to rolling over, hesitating on what you should be doing.”
“Now, who are you? Are you the girl that will roll over when something starts going against her? Or are you going to prove that you don’t need to earn their respect, but rather, that they need to earn your respect?”