Finally, Sunset thought while heaving breath. Today was the culmination of all her shoveling, paving, and stair building. Starting off, the job didn't seem too hard; most of it was just rejuvenating the Earth from the crater she was responsible for. Other construction workers even said the work would only take a day or two at the most, but the principal soon made it clear that would only be if everyone there was helping.
Unfortunately Sunset was tasked with doing everything alone. Exhausting though it was, she managed to complete the reparations using only a little more than six of her allotted seven days and -- although the labor was not chosen -- delight overtook as she sprinkled one final load of dirt over recently-thrown grass seed. None of which, still requiring cold stratification, would root this year.
Even though temperatures had been consistently just below zero centigrade all week, Sunset found herself helpless to resist the satisfaction given by lying on the cold concrete she placed. Not that it wasn't pleasant, as she'd been working restlessly for hours and the induction was helping to finally cool her down, but she still wished to spite the job in some way. Oh well, she distractedly mused. Maybe I'll think of something later. However, for the time being, her mostly-intact leather jacket laid close -- getting colder by the moment -- and all she wanted was to stare up at a cloud-garnished, blue sky in peace and quiet. Almost as if the universe heard her desire, and decided to poke fun, her wish was granted for all of ten seconds.
"Wow, that is impressive!" Obnoxious was the voice of Parlor Trick 'Magician' Trixie Lulamoon cutting over otherwise tolerable breezes. Two sets of footsteps approached Sunset's chosen locale of rest but she didn't care or need to look to know who they were. During the passed few days council members and affiliates had been coming to the school to both observe Sunset's progress and review the schedules for upcoming activities. "You were not kidding that she was actually doing a passable job!"
Without Octavia, Trixie was never allowed to do much of anything for the council, as she was only a prospective member hoping one day to take the place of her quiet companion. "Hey, O, look at this!" Suddenly Sunset's view of the sky was slightly blocked by Trixie's face looming above. "She's on the ground!" Annoying laughter was accompanied by the equally-annoying sound of a small bell on the end of a pointy blue, 'magic' hat she wore. "Right under Trixie's foot where she belongs!" Momentarily, Sunset thought about making a rebuttal but decided there was no need to stoke the fire of conflict any more than her presence already was.
"Yes, yes, she's absolutely risible." Octavia dully stated as she walked passed the pair without even glancing. "Mess around all you want later Trixie; we're already late." Apparently her to-the-point attitude was working in Sunset's favor today. Alas, it could not stop the pain that arose when Trixie walked over the prone girl's right wrist. Disappointment showed on the magician's face when Sunset refused to wince or cry at the attack, but she continued to walk toward the school nonetheless.
Instead of sitting up and beginning to massage her harmed wrist, Sunset opted not to move. All that she had to do before leaving, after all, was haul the shovel, soil, and seed back to the parking lot and she could leave.
There was no reason to worry about the principal being upset that she'd left without saying anything, for the job was done early and Sunset could always spin a lie for leaving quickly. Relaxation, maybe even sleep, was about to come to her while Octavia and Trixie's footsteps faded, but the elements had other plans.
After hearing the main school door close, Sunset noticed something in the corner of her eyes. Inspecting it farther revealed a large, gray cloud. Being out for a while in the snow didn't bother Sunset at all, but if it had been rain or hail ... there would be a problem. Even though she had not completely cooled off, regrettably, she decided to finish her work for the day and depart. If nothing else, she convicted, doing so much work over the week severely increased her strength and endurance.
Initially she thought two trips would be necessary, as the large bags of dirt and grass seed weighed quite a bit. However, by hoisting both of them up with the shovel's handle as a base, she effectively made it one haul. Wind began picking up while she walked around the school's eastern face and it seemed a storm was really incoming. Over the few minutes it took her to cross between the front and rear of the building, trees began intensely rustling; so much so that the heavy lifter couldn't hear the bickering ahead until she found herself in the middle of it.
"Excuse me! 'Give her a chance,' after everything she-" Directly around the corner was a semicircle of familiar faces and contrasting visuals. Looking at them was like standing in front of ice cream dispensing machines. Rainbow Dash stood in the center -- with her eccentric multicolored hair which suited her name -- arguing with purple-haired Rarity to her right. Between them, Fluttershy nervously played with light-pink locks and Pinkie Pie stood directly to Rainbow's left sporting a much darker pink. Applejack, who was left of Pinkie, ended up being the odd one out with plain, blonde hair.
Everyone, including Sunset, was dressed almost identically save for color differences; tights, skirts, boots, jackets or sweaters adorned the conspicuous lot. Mainly, the difference in apparel between the six were Sunset's less-versatile slippers. Nobody spoke as all eyes were transfixed onto the motionless laborer. Rarity was the first to break silence but was soon interrupted by who she addressed.
"Sunset, I, we were just-"
"Talking about me? Don't worry, I noticed." No way was Sunset about to allow another trivial conversation stand in her way. Unwavering, she walked passed them to deliver the three items into the back of a parked blue truck before wordlessly walking back through the group without stopping. Rainbow, seeing this obvious disregard, forcibly jogged ahead with annoyance written on her features.
Her tone grumbled with discontentment when she growled, "Don't just ignore us!" Irritating her more was Sunset's decision to roll aqua circles at the exclamation. "We didn't just happen to show up here you know!" Favorably to Rainbow, this at least received verbal recognition.
"Fine, fine, let's just get this over with. What do you want?" Rather fast, Sunset found herself surrounded by the five girls and the school's wall. Fluttershy began the group's statement with a soft tone.
"Well, we weren't really prepared to deal with you, but then Principal Celestia asked-"
Pinkie rudely stepped forward to add -- though she seemed to be beating around the main issue -- to her friend's sentence, "Others too! Principal Celestia and others asked us to, uh, well..." With another trailing off, Sunset looked to Rarity, but received no resolution. Applejack finally shed light on their ineffective babbling.
"For cryin' out loud, Principal Celestia and the Council asked us to keep an eye on you just before classes were officially back in session!" Ire and irony flashed through Sunset's mind. You have got to be joking, was her first impression. When her second impression came she decided to voice it, as it was much more productive.
She sighed out, "May I ask for what exactly?"
Rainbow, seeing an opportunity to make her position clear, dashed to explain, "People at the school don't trust you, slippers, and I quite frankly don't either!" Ugh, Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "I would bet you already have some ridiculous revenge scheme already cooked up." 'People' were apparently pretty observant, as Sunset did mull over such plots. However, lacking in resources or opportunities, there was no possibility she would be able to do anything anytime soon. Even if it was something small designed simply to spite her defeat; there were basically too many eyes already watching for her to so much as breathe in the wrong direction.
"Oh yes," Sarcasm oozed from an annoyed Sunset. "My most recent machinations are all stored in my 'Nefarious Plots' folder under lock and key." Rainbow's face intentionally displayed vexation at this.
... Pinkie acted as though she didn't pick up the verbal irony. "Really? Well, give us the key!" Sunset was uncertain if Pinkie was just joking, but Applejack shaking her head gave some implication. Apparently, the five didn't much appreciate Sunset's humor, and the blonde girl ignored it almost as soon as she heard it.
"Whatever, why don't we just go to Sugar Cube Corner and figure out how to handle this somewhere warmer?" Sunset was bothered by this suggestion, as it was basically an order they were giving.
Rainbow nodded upon hearing this and approached Sunset with a fist in the air. "The real question is whether or not we're going to have to drag you there." Staring at the fist urged Sunset to just play along, but her desire to be alone outweighed the intimidation. All she had to do was somehow make an opening.
"Unnecessary, though I'm sure you're disappointed. Let's just go." Rainbow did show dissatisfaction, but the whole group turned toward the corner nonetheless. This was Sunset's opportunity; with a very quick turn of the heel, she dashed in the opposite direction. Applejack was in the way, but she did not react fast enough to Sunset's head-first tackle. Everyone else in the group turned toward the commotion to unhappily see Sunset rolling to her feet and bolting.
Rainbow began instant pursuit with hope to more physically relay anger while the others aided their assaulted friend. Surprisingly, Sunset found her improvised maneuver to work better than expected. Only one chased her and there was a comfortable margin between them. Just one slip, however, changed that margin; about half way to the school's Western face, Sunset's slipper nearly tripped her. Fortune kept her on her feet. Though her left slipper practically flew behind her and she concluded there was no time to retrieve or reequip the shoe. Stepping out of the other slipper turned out much more effective for maintaining speed.
Instead of heading into the school through the back, where Rainbow could easily follow, Sunset chose to try her luck with the same door she'd worked her way into six days back when running into Octavia. Each of the other four girls had by then began the chase too but Sunset was not deterred from trying. Of course, she didn't know if she could make it into the building before Rainbow caught up, but escape would be much easier if she could manage to open the side door in time.
Upon rounding the familiar corner, and arriving in front of the metal entry, Sunset furiously fiddled with its handle. Rainbow displayed ignorance about the door's flaw, for she stopped for a moment when she noticed Sunset trying to break through. Amusement on the colorfully-haired chaser became surprise as the door swung open. Pride of skill seeped into Sunset's mind and she expediently entered -- trying to pull the door shut quickly. Only an inch of space was left between the door and frame ... but her hope became concern when a small object suddenly wedged into that gap.
One of her own slippers had been launched so that it would not enter the building, yet it kept the door from closing. With the shock arisen because of the obstacle, she let the door handle go, and what was supposed to become a barrier swung back open in the reactive force. Instinctively, Sunset tried for the handle again, but Rainbow's hand also reaching for the door changed her mind.
Pursuit was back in place and Sunset ended up making the exact same decision she had six days ago: left at the hall's end toward the cafeteria. Only this time she was running, and the person chasing was hot on her heels.
They passed the music room, and when Sunset made it to the cafeteria doors she found them locked. Rainbow's fingers had only been a hair's breadth away, but the stop and shift of direction produced just a little more space. Not once did Sunset dare try running into a classroom, for if they weren't locked there was only one way out. Rather, she chose to continue through the halls. All she had left, before running full circle by the front office, was the auditorium. If it too was locked, then she would be done for, but if she made it inside then she could escape through another side door.
Pushing the auditorium's wood double door open produced immense relief yet she couldn't help wondering, Why is this room open? Curiosity was warranted but she didn't care that much. Rainbow had been slowing down, and once Sunset vaulted onto the auditorium's stage the thought of escape overjoyed her. All she had left was to push through the curtains, the stage double door exit, and-
CHINK!
Sweltering pain first entered her lower leg and -- soon after -- her forehead smacked into the stage floor. Crying out, she curled up and hugged her left ankle. Who tripped me? There's no way one of the other girls got ahead, so what happened? When the pain slightly calmed down, she looked up to see Trixie placing a steel support on the floor. Rainbow's footsteps got louder, stopped, and the footsteps of the other four pursuers soon followed. The same, annoying to Sunset, laugh from earlier came to her ears, and suddenly the pain from having her wrist trampled seemed like a playful punch.
"Am I glad now that Octavia asked me to situate this curtain frame!" Satisfaction came to Trixie from her attack after all, as it was impossible for Sunset not to express the harm of heavy metal bashing her bone. Rainbow thanked Trixie for the assistance, and then asked what Sunset thought a very disturbing question.
"Is there any extra rope?" Very rapidly Sunset's willingness to comply increased.
"Wait, wait, is that really necess-" Lifting her by her jacket collar was a bloody-nosed, upset Applejack. Had Sunset escaped, she never would have dreamed of repenting. Considering the circumstances, though, she figured it might be in her best interest, so she tried to flash the blonde an apologetic grin. "I'm really sorry for your nose?" The sorrow came out more like a question rather than a statement and Trixie smiled -- giving Rainbow a length of heavy duty polyester cordage.
Applejack then dropped Sunset -- who yelped as her ankle buckled under the sudden weight load -- and convicted to her friends, "I'll tie her myself."
Moments later, Sunset was entirely immobilized on the auditorium stage -- staring at doors she was so close to. Just a few more steps, or if she had just anticipated Trixie, and she would have been well on her way to a cozy room. Instead, captors surrounded her and she was anything but cozy. Trixie, the piece that toppled Sunset's hopes, excused herself a few minutes after, as Octavia was very intolerant of distractions. Rarity, on the other hand, was still present and very patient of the preoccupation.
"We can't just keep her like this the whole weekend." she pointed out. Applejack disagreed, though, seeing no reason they couldn't just leave Sunset to be miserable. Obviously, Sunset didn't much care for the idea and became only more willing to acquiesce. After a few moments of practically useless debate, Fluttershy addressed the prisoner.
"Celestia pretty much mandated us to watch you." Sunset looked at the quiet girl and was grateful to be close enough to hear. "That means you'd only run into more trouble if you actually got away, you know?" Pink hair fell to one side as Fluttershy tilted her head. "We were even prepared to treat you pretty normally, so why run in the first place?" At that Sunset looked to the side. Why run? Simple answer.
She grumbled, "I wanted to be alone; is that so wrong?" Applejack kneeled at this and narrowed her eyes.
"Given the wrongs you've done and the suspicion around you, I'd say you should understand why that concerns us and others." Applejack made sense to Sunset, but she still felt somehow attacked. Wriggling in the excessively tight bonds -- Seriously, this is a terrible feeling of helplessness! -- brought her to resignation, and she simply made one final plea.
"Okay, okay, you're right, so I made a hasty choice." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Look, follow me around, spy on me. I have nothing to hide, so I don't care. Just please let me go to my room and spend my last weekend of relative peace with some semblance of solitude." Fluttershy sympathized with Sunset's position even if only a little, and didn't see any harm with the idea.
"Couldn't we technically keep tabs on her at home anyway?" Applejack wasn't particularly fond of her soft-voiced companion's idea, but Pinkie had immediately been excited about the idea. Jumping up in agreement expressed her imagined anticipation.
"Oh! You mean Like a stakeout? That could be fun."
"I'm not sure. It sounds a little risky." Still somewhat tired, Rainbow voiced skepticism and Applejack concurred. After being tackled unaware due to Sunset's duplicity, she didn't like any plan where their captive got her way. Eyes ended up on Rarity -- who had been quiet for most of the conversation. "Majority vote?"
"Hmm..." There was reason for her silence: she didn't quite know how she felt. On one hand, she wanted to give Sunset a chance. However, their prisoner didn't have a particularly wholesome track record for such opportunities. Even so, Rarity remembered Sunset crying in her defeat; She seemed completely confused -- yet curious -- regarding their reason for lenience. Surely there had to be someone in there worth a little kindness. "Why don't we just try it? If she throws it away again, then we could take more extreme measures right?"
Rainbow huffed and named just one term. "Alright Sunset, we'll try things your way once, but on one condition." Sunset's eyes narrowed and she was uncertain whether or not to be afraid. "All of us were going to go to a show downtown the day after tomorrow, but then we were asked to do this." Sunset could see where this was going from a mile away. "You go with us, we mostly leave you alone tonight and tomorrow, and we're done with you from Monday onward." Without much choice in sight Sunset agreed.
"Deal, okay, just untie me already. My ankle is exploding." Rainbow, glad to have things over with, began fulfilling the request. Only, she made sure to take a healthy amount of time doing so, and made a scene to yank on the knot by Sunset's recent injury.
"Ouch! Could you be a little more careful!" Rainbow was pointedly not cautious, but Sunset found herself painfully placing weight on her legs soon enough. When the group walked outside, Sunset having retrieved her shoes, they found it to be flurrying. For a moment, she thought the walk home might be somewhat comfortable, but that idea was thrown out the window when Applejack and Rainbow clung to either arm. Flashing a puzzled look, she asked them what the idea was, and Applejack gave a blunt answer.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't bust my nose again."