//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Oh, Thy Pernicious Hubris // Story: Oddball // by BittyBug //------------------------------// Chapter 4 - Oh, Thy Pernicious Hubris Wednesday brought with it the metaphorical rain on the Wondercolt’s parade, instantly drowning the light mood that most had adopted on Tuesday. Sunset was back. There was no mistaking that head of flaming hair, the confident stride, the look of arrogance on her face. She popped the collar of her back-up leather jacket as she strode to the entrance of CHS, relishing in the whispers and angry looks of her peers. The crowded hallways parted as everyone noticed Sunset. ‘Idiots,’ she smirked to herself. Sunset quirked an eyebrow as she approached her locker, which was being blocked by Lyra and BonBon. They each had identical looks of anger on their faces. “Sunset Shimmer, we’d like to have a word with y-” Sunset scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t really care.” Lyra yelped as she was shoved to the side. BonBon caught her by the arm before she could fall to the floor. “Hey, you can’t do that anymore,” she yelled. Slamming her locker shut, Sunset turned, taking an intimidating step forward. The two instinctively flinched back, and Sunset sneered. “Watch me.” She then turned on her heel, leaving Lyra and BonBon to stare after her, along with the many students that had been pretending not to watch the exchange. Sunset held her head high as she walked to her first period. ‘I might not be in charge anymore, but they still fear me, for the time being.’ She hid a wince as the bandages wrapped around her torso rubbed uncomfortably against her wounds. ‘And I’ll take anything I can get at this point.’ *** Rainbow Dash slammed her tray down at her friend’s usual table. “I cannot believe the audacity of that girl!” Four pairs of eyes turned to her. “Ah take it you heard what happened with Lyra and BonBon,” Applejack sighed. Rainbow nodded and took a furious bite from her sandwich. “I mean,” she spoke through her food. “She’s in no position to be acting like a bitch.” “Please don’t speak while you eat, Rainbow,” Rarity said with a disgusted look. “But yes, I thought she’d be a little less…” “Meany weenie?” Pinkie Pie supplied. “Erm, sure.” Fluttershy, surprisingly, spoke up. “Maybe we can try talking to her?” Everyone stared at her, and she shrunk back. “I mean, um, well, everyone could use a little kindness… Maybe she’ll listen to us if we try-” Fluttershy fell silent, along with the rest of the cafeteria as the subject of the five’s conversation burst through the doors. Hushed whispers soon spread as Sunset entered and got her food, seemingly oblivious to the tension. Tray in hand, the red-head made her way to an empty table at the back of the room. She sat and began eating her lunch as though people weren’t glaring holes into the back of her head. The volume of the room slowly rose to a more average level as people cautiously went back to their conversations. Applejack adjusted her stetson and sighed. “Well, Fluttershy might be right. Ah reckon it’s worth a shot,” she said, and stood from her seat. “Wha- Applejack are you crazy?!” Dash half whispered, half shouted. Rarity stood as well, followed by Pinkie Pie. The athlete’s jaw dropped as the three began walking towards Sunset’s table, leaving her alone with Fluttershy. The shyer of the two looked like she wanted to join the others, but, with a glance at Rainbow Dash, remained seated. The cafeteria once again fell into silence as everybody watched with bated breath. “Howdy there, Sunset,” Applejack said as she approached the girl’s table. Sunset raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. “Er, would you like to join us for lunch?” “Yes, dear,” Rarity chimed in. “Maybe we could try being friends? Let bygones be bygones?” Pinkie Pie bounced on her toes. “It’d be great! We’d all be besties and have best friend sleepovers and we could make best friend cupcakes together-” She stopped when Rarity put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry! I just love making new friends!” “Mhm,” Sunset had a bored look on her face. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Rainbow’s hands clenched as she watched Pinkie’s face fall. Applejack reflexively adjusted her hat again, and Rarity scrunched her eyebrows together. “Well, darling, Twilight said that we could teach you the magic of friendship-” Sunset interrupted with a short laugh. “The magic of friendship? What on earth makes you think I want to be friends?” she spat. “That stupid princess ruined my life! I’m not about to play nice with you all just because she said so.” Rainbow Dash was about to march over there and punch Sunset’s face in when she felt a warm hand cover her own. She looked up at Fluttershy, who was giving her a pleading look. The chromatic-haired girl huffed, but she stayed put and tuned back into the ordeal between her friends and Sunset. Pinkie Pie’s eyebrows were scrunched together. “But at the Formal, you said-” “I don’t care what I said!” The bully was scowling, her arms crossed. “I clearly wasn’t thinking straight if I said I’d rub shoulders with the likes of you.” Rarity frowned and put an arm around the very dejected-looking Pinkie Pie. She looked to Applejack, who sighed. “Welp, we tried,” the country girl said. The three went back to their table, leaving Sunset behind. Rainbow Dash exhaled sharply and returned the patient smile that Fluttershy was giving her. *** The bell had dismissed the school for the day not ten minutes prior, and Sunset was taking her sweet time to get to the principal’s office. The halls were almost entirely empty, with only a few stragglers passing Sunset now and then. ‘Detention. Ugh,’ she thought with a scoff. The girl’s eyes narrowed as she slowed her already leisurely pace. ‘Why am I even going? I have better things to do than whatever she has in store.’ Walking from her final period of the day to the principal’s office should have only taken five minutes, but Sunset had managed to drag it into fifteen. She navigated as many out-of-the-way hallways as possible before even getting close to her destination until finally, the door to Celestia’s office appeared at the very end of the hallway she had just turned the corner to. At the sight of the door, a flicker of something all-too-familiar lit inside Sunset. Fear bubbled up from the pit of her stomach, throughout her chest, and into her throat where it robbed her of her breath. She stopped dead in her tracks and her hands clenched into fists. Her mind was a shameful mess of anger, angst, and a humiliating dose of longing for the pony she foolishly thought of as a mother. Sunset let out a frustrated growl and turned on her heel, marching back down the hall and towards the school’s main entrance. “Detention is so beneath me,” she grumbled. The excuse was feeble, but it assuaged her racing thoughts for the time being as she shoved away the obnoxious emotions and memories that threatened to absorb her mind. Through her tenure at Canterlot High, Sunset had gotten very good at avoiding the principal. Facing the dimensional counterpart of her former mentor was definitely not very high on her to-do list. The prospect of spending two hours of her after school time with the woman for the next five months was sickening to the girl. Sunset pushed open the doors and burst into the cool Autumn air. She inhaled deeply, trying to clear her mind as she began walking to her apartment. The door slammed shut and Sunset dropped her things unceremoniously by the couch. She was not looking forward to once again performing the laborious task of cleaning her wounds. The dim bulb of Sunset’s bathroom flickered on. Sunset sighed as she stripped her shirt and pants from her body, tossing them to the tiled floor where her decimated clothing from the Fall Formal still lay. The bandages, slightly yellowed from her sweat and use throughout the day, peeled off bits of the scabbing that had formed on the girl’s back. They, too, landed in a heap on the floor. Sunset hissed as the hydrogen peroxide seeped into the wounds. The bubbling, fizzy popping was the only sound in the room aside from Sunset’s ragged breathing. ‘I hate this,’ Sunset thought with a grimace. She rewrapped the area with fresh bandages and turned around. Aside from using the mirror to better clean her injuries, Sunset had been avoiding her reflection since the Fall Formal. Something about her sunken eyes, her once brilliant hair turned limp and tangled, the pathetic expression of angst in her eyes… it made her feel helpless. “But I’m not helpless,” Sunset growled, finally meeting her own eyes for the first time in nearly a week. “I am Sunset Shimmer, and I deserve that crown!” There was an acidic feeling that burned bright in Sunset’s chest. It was overwhelming, almost difficult to keep in. She despised those five best friends, she abhorred the students of Canterlot High, and she hated hated hated Twilight Sparkle. A maelstrom of bitter contempt swirled within Sunset, begging to break free. “RRAUGH!” Sunset’s fist found a home in the drywall next to her bathroom mirror. The wall easily gave way to her attack, sending dust flying. The redhead let out several curses as she pulled her hand from the wall. “You know, you probably shouldn’t do that.” Sunset jumped at the sound of a voice. ‘What the fuck was that?’ Her head whipped from left to right, trying to locate the source of the words. “Try the mirror, dumbass.” Sunset’s eyes darted to her reflection, still clutching her injured hand. The reflection didn’t hold the same position as Sunset. Her hands- ‘no, she has claws,’  Sunset corrected- were crossed and her hip was cocked to the side, a stance that radiated power. The whites of the reflection’s eyes had turned a shadowy black, making her teal irises stand out like beacons. What was once yellow skin had darkened into a charred crimson colour, and a pair of bat-like wings unfolded from her back. She looked like a monster. The freakish facsimile of Sunset Shimmer grinned, showing off her sharp fangs. “Hey there, Sunny,” she said mockingly. Sunset’s heart beat fast in her chest. “Okaaay,” she mumbled. “Clearly I’m hallucinating.” “Maybe, maybe not.” The creature in the mirror flipped her flaming red hair, her matching tail flicking arrogantly. “Either way, hurling your fist into shit isn’t exactly smart. Look, it’s already starting to bruise.” Sunset looked down at her hand, which was still covered in white drywall dust. She sent a cautious glance up at the demon, who raised an eyebrow, before gently brushing the powder off. Sure enough, dark purples and blues were already forming around her knuckles. Blood oozed from several cuts in her skin, mingling with the remaining white dust. Keeping her eyes trained carefully on the demon in her mirror, Sunset turned on the sink and rinsed her injured hand under the cool water. The demon met her eyes easily. “You’re right, you know.” “About what?” There was a squeak as the water shut off and Sunset shook water droplets off of her hand. Teal eyes glowed hungrily. “You deserve that crown.” Sunset huffed. “All that strength,” the demon continued. “All that power… It should be yours.” “Yeah,” Sunset snorted, reaching for a clean washcloth to dry her hand with. “Tell me something I don’t know.” “Like how to get it back?” Sunset dropped her washcloth, her heart leaping in excitement. “What are you saying,” she asked eagerly, albeit still reasonably suspicious of the talking demon reflection in her bathroom mirror. “If you truly aren’t as stupid as you look,” the monster began, earning a glare from Sunset. “You’ll find an opportunity. Though you’ll most likely have to be patient, which I know isn’t your strong suit.” The demon wasn’t bothered by Sunset’s angry scowl. She merely smiled, one of her pointed ears flicking carelessly. “Fine, just be cryptic and irritating,” the redhead grunted sarcastically, though a familiar spark of ambition was once again present in her chest. She wrapped her mangled left hand in some of the remaining bandages. When the demon didn’t respond, Sunset looked up at the mirror. Only her usual, sallow expression stared back. *** It didn’t take long for the Wondercolts to grow a backbone. By Thursday, people were getting fed up with Sunset. She could feel what little of a hold she had over them slipping, and she was not happy about it. After years of falling prey to Sunset’s vicious rule over their lives, the students were not about to throw away the chance that Twilight had given them and it showed in the glares, angry comments, and crumpled papers that Sunset found were being hurled at her. ‘I thought I’d have more time,’ Sunset thought as she returned the snarl that Sandalwood was giving her from across their shared math classroom. She huffed and went back to pretending to take notes. ‘Stupid pony princess and her stupid powerful magic. I’d be home by now if she hadn’t-’ “Ms. Shimmer!” Sunset’s eyes snapped upwards to meet the harsh gaze of her teacher. Ms. Harshwhinny raised an eyebrow. “I trust you were paying attention,” her words dripped with sarcasm. “So can you please explain Brouwer's fixed-point theorem?” The redhead rolled her eyes. “Brouwer’s fixed point theorem states that, for every continuous function in which a compact convex set is mapped, there is a point, X0 by which f (X0) = X0.” Sitting back in her seat with a smirk, Sunset relished in the irritation in Ms. Harshwhinny’s eyes. ‘Honestly, this stuff is child's play,’ she thought. “...Correct,” Ms. Harshwhinny spoke through gritted teeth. “But I suggest you pay attention, Ms. Shimmer, unless you’d like to have your after school detention duties extended.” Several snickers tittered throughout the classroom, and Sunset growled under her breath. It was a relief when the bell rang, releasing the students to lunch. Sunset packed her things quickly and left before Ms. Harshwhinny could try and reprimand her further. The walk to lunch was just as tense as the rest of the day had been. Sunset discreetly bit her lip as yet another angry student shouldered her when they passed her in the hallway. Going after every student who bumped into her wasn’t worth it, so she simply adjusted her grip on her backpack and continued to the cafeteria, trying to ignore the pain in her back. Luckily, the lunch line wasn’t very long, so Sunset didn’t have to endure too many more shoves. She snatched an orange and a bottle of water, producing a crumpled five dollar bill to pay for the meal. ‘I’m running out of money,’ she frowned as she collected her two dollars of change from Granny Smith. ‘And unfortunately, I don’t think Micro Chips is going to let me steal his lunch money anymore.’ She sighed, carrying her modest lunch to her usual table in the back of the cafeteria, but as she looked towards the location she nearly crushed her water bottle in anger. Lyra sent her a shit-eating grin from her spot next to BonBon… … At Sunset’s table. Sunset stomped towards the two. “You freaks are gonna scram real quick, if you value keeping your kneecaps,” she hissed, temper blazing. Lyra narrowed her eyes. “No,” she said firmly. There was a dangerous look in Sunset’s eyes, but it didn’t scare the seat-stealers. “This is my spot! You can’t just take it-” BonBon stood defiantly. “Watch us,” she smirked. Before Sunset could respond, BonBon grabbed Lyra’s open bottle of apple juice and poured it over Sunset’s head. There was an intense silence for a moment before the room erupted into cheers and laughter. “Woo!” “Yeah, girl!” “REVOLUTION!” At that, a piece of someone’s lunch spattered against the back of Sunset’s head. Then more. Soon, a majority of the students were hurling their half-eaten lunch and Sunset, the others clapping and encouraging them. A few even offered more ammo. Sunset let out a frustrated yell. A grapefruit, of all things, soared across the room, smacking Sunset in the forehead, just above her eyebrow. She dropped her lunch with a holler and ran, escaping to the closest set of doors she could find. The fire exit doors burst open and Sunset flew out of the school. Fiery anger coursed through her veins as she ran. She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t care, just as long as she could get away from the humiliation and find something to punch.