//------------------------------//
// V:Khidr 
// Story: Equestrian Girl 
// by HorseStories 
//------------------------------//

Sunset tapped her foot awkwardly, half-listening to Flash ramble on. Normally, she despised being lectured to, but right now she was merely thankful she didn't have to contribute to the conversation - or pretend to understand exactly what was going on.

Was this a date? She knew absolutely nothing about human courtship, but based on what she'd seen so far, they seemed to have something in common with Equestrian culture. So far, everything she'd read about social engineering in Equestria had applied here. Whenever she wanted something from somepony, she usually got it. It was her most powerful asset, far more powerful than any spell she'd ever learnt. Stranded in this dimension, it was the only one she had left.

But what did she want from Flash? Status? Influence? An ally? All three, she supposed. She wanted someone on her side, someone she could count on. But how best to get it?

In truth, she had no idea. She'd had plenty of romantic entanglements in the past, but had quickly learned that there were more effective ways of extracting compliance and information. In hindsight, even accepting had been a bad idea, made in a moment of regret and... she hated to admit it, but... loneliness. 

But befriending Flash would probably be the better strategy. After all, she knew this was a date. Flash clearly knew this was a date.

But he didn't know that she knew.

"Flash?"

The teenager paused mid-sentence. "Yeah?"

Sunset struggled to find the right words. She didn't want him to take this badly. Her next line could define their relationship - permanently. "Look... You seem nice. But honestly, all I really wanted to do was find someone to chill with. As friends." She added the last part hastily.

"Really?" Flash looked disappointed, but not unhappy.

"I mean, I just moved schools. I'm not ready for a relationship yet. I'm not... I'm not saying never. But just not right now."

"Yeah... I guess. Fair enough." Flash still seemed disappointed, but more relaxed, as he realized he wasn't being judged as a potential boyfriend. "I kind of forgot you were new to our school. You fit in so well. And you didn't even seem nervous in class. Where did you transfer from?"

"Oh. Uh, I'm..." Sunset wracked her brains for a suitable lie. "I'm actually from overseas."

"Really?" Flash looked unconvinced. "What country? You don't sound... I mean, you speak English perfectly."

"Yeah, well, my parents are actually from here. When they died, I had to move in with my sister. She worked overseas, so I had to move with her. Eventually, she decided I was old enough to decide if I wanted to live here alone, and I said yes." Not her best lie, but it should stand up to investigation. Flash suddenly seemed sombre.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize your parents..." He coughed, as if unwilling to voice the word out loud.

Sunset shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I've moved on."

Flash looked sorry for her, but he deterred from asking further questions, just as she'd hoped he would. Sunset lifted her mug and drained the remainder of her coffee, looking for something, anything, to break the silence.

"So, what else do you do to relax? Besides play guitar and argue over band names."

Flash groaned at the mention of his band. "I spend most of my time whipping those guys into shape. If I didn't know where he lives, I swear Ringo wouldn't even show up. And Beats wouldn't show up if Ringo didn't show up, so I have to put up with his bullshit. But he's still the best damn drummer in the school, as much as I hate to admit it."

"What about Ringo? Any good on the bass?"

Flash barked out a short laugh, dry and without humour. "If you learn to play three chords, you'd be giving him a run for his money. Honestly, I think he's only there to sell weed to Beats."

"Weeds?" Sunset didn't understand. "What does he want with them?"

Flash looked at her in confusion. "No, weed. Like, cannabis."

Sunset had no idea was Flash was talking about, but smiled in apparent understanding. "Oh, right." She'd have to look it up later. Maybe it was some kind of drug.

Flash went back to grumbling. "So, I've trapped myself in a band with a egotistical stoner and a musically dysfunctional drug dealer. And I can't boot one from the band without losing the other. I mean, I've known Beats forever, but Ringo's just using me for him, and using him for cash."

So 'cannabis' was a drug of some kind. Well, if this body was going to be temporary, she supposed she could take some liberties with it. "And what he's selling... is it any good?"

"You too?" Flash shrugged. "I don't know, I buy mine from Mr Cranky Doodle."

"Wait, the maths teacher?"

Flash grinned at her shocked expression "I told you our school was a cesspit."

Unbelievable. "Well, I guess I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, don't ask him straight up, he'll have you kicked out on your ass before you know what's happening. Tell him you need some of Wallflower's homework."

"Who's Wallflower?"

"Wallflower Blush. Quiet girl, big on gardening. Grows the stickiest shit you've ever tried. I try to keep on her good side." Sunset raised an eyebrow at that.

"Just as a friend. Give me some credit, all right? Look, when she shoots that bitch up, I want her to think of me as the only guy who was nice to her, not another popular kid who laughed at her behind her back."

Sunset was torn between moral outrage at the idea of a teacher buying drugs from his student and selling said drugs to his other students, and admiration of Flash's ruthless social strategy. She twirled her empty coffee cup around on her plate, looking for something else to say.

"What's it like?"

Flash frowned. "I thought you said you'd already tried it."

Sunset shook her head. "Not really. I was just trying to get more information out of you." For some reason, she'd let her guard down and told the truth. Fortunately, Flash seemed more amused than offended.

"And here I thought I was being so slick. Assuming you're not smoking Ringo's shit, it's... I don't know how to describe it. I usually just feel peaceful. Like, relaxed and happy. But I guess you have to try it to understand." He tapped his jacket pocket. "You live alone, right?"

"Please tell me you didn't bring drugs to our first date."

"I was just covering every possibility. And I thought this wasn't a date."

"You're right, it isn't." She paused. "So if I do take you home, you'd better not get any ideas."

Flash held his hand to his mouth in mock affront. "Of course not. I'm a true gentleman, Miss Shimmer."

Normally, Sunset would have accepted the proposal. But the risk of running into Shim was too great for her to risk it. "I have a roommate. Not the kind of woman I'd want to give me a reason to sic the cops on me. Can't we go to yours?"

Flash grimaced. "If my mom came home and found me smoking pot with some girl she'd crucify me. We can go to Ringo's, if you don't mind the company."

"And we won't be bothered there?"

"Not a chance. His parents are some kind of hippies who think weed is God's gift to man, or something. As long as..." Flash groaned. "I suppose there's no point in asking, but you're not... you know... a narc, right?"

Sunset shook her head. "A what?"

"You know, one of those young cops they put in schools to catch kids using drugs. I mean, transfer student, nobody's ever heard of before... it just seems unusual."

"Wouldn't I have already busted you if I was?"

Flash scratched his neck. "I guess so."

"And do I really look old enough to be a cop?"

"I... guess not. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. All right, let me call Ringo and see if he's home."

As Flash began to dial Ringo's phone number into his mobile - a device that continued to fascinate her, even after she'd learned how they worked - Sunset tapped her fingers against the table, deep in thought.

Flash was a perfectly good catch for an ally. But he wasn't enough. She needed someone dumber. Easier to control. But she had plenty of time to search for someone along those lines. For now, best to -

"Done." Flash stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "You coming?"

"Hey, it was my idea in the first place."





Shim groaned, scrunching the paper in front of her into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder, where it joined a steadily growing pile of rejects.

She's spent the last half an hour attempting to write a letter explaining her situation, first to nobody in particular, then to herself, then to Beatrix, then to fictional characters, and finally to meaningless made up names. At first, she had been amazed at how easy it had been, until she'd actually examined what she'd written. Every letter she'd written had turned out to be a meaningless jumble of disconnected words, some of which didn't even make sense.

After that, she moved onto recording videos of herself talking. She found it easy enough to mention the events of the day - except, unusually, her encounter with the man who'd told her about that damn book in the first place. But somehow, she found herself unable to vocalize any events beyond first entering the family's home. She could recall the course of the day in vivid detail - but every time she attempted to continue, her vocal chords simply refused to listen to her brain.

But there had to be a workaround. A loophole, a flaw in the charm's wording. Shim was willing to accept magic was real. But she wasn't willing to accept it didn't have rules.

Next, she tried describing the events of the day in third person. Then, as if it had been something that happened to someone else. Then, she tried using code words. Then she tried using a different language. Then, she invented a rudimentary language and tried using that. Nothing.

It was like slamming her head against a brick wall. Lying in an exhausted heap on her sofa, she recalled Beatrix's exact words. Prevent her discussing these events with anyone else. Presumably, that extended to Beatrix's family members. Shim wasn't surprised. Beatrix had been so skittish when Maxwell had shown up, it was obvious she was terrified of being found out. 

In fact, for all Shim knew, the charm could be self-aware and actively modifying itself in response to her attempts to break it. She knew absolutely nothing about magic. As much as it shamed her, she would probably have to ask Sunset how charms worked, to see if she could help break it.

Would she even be able to ask Sunset such as question? Sitting upright, Shim began to talk.

"Magic exists." Sure enough, her voice sounded out loud and clear.

So, she could say that much. But that statement didn't carry much weight on it's own. She needed specific evidence, or examples.

She tried again. Beatrix is a magician. Nothing. 

"Magicians exist." Pretty redundant - if magic existed, magicians would have to exist.

Beatrix placed a charm on me. Nothing. I was placed under a charm. Nothing. Charms exist. Surprisingly, that seemed to be covered. Maybe the existence of charms was considered too specific.

She shut her eyes and furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She couldn't tell anyone else. But she could tell Beatrix. It would be a simple matter to call her up and talk about what happened and record it, or to text her the information, and show Sunset. But there was no way she could do that without Beatrix figuring out what she was doing. Besides, she'd already tried to write a letter to Beatrix, to no avail.

That was interesting. The charm could clearly tell that although the letter was addressed to Beatrix, it was really meant to be read by someone else. Could it read her mind? If so, all of her efforts could be for nothing.

Besides, even if she was somehow able to communicate this information with Sunset, it wasn't as if she had anything important to share - other than that the Household of Quartz really was addled with black magic. For some reason, that made her laugh. She sounded like a conspiracy theorist.

She checked her watch. It was nearly five in the afternoon. Sunset had been out for a long time. Much longer than she'd expected. What on earth could she have gotten up to?

Shim couldn't help but feel concerned. She knew Sunset wasn't really a teenager, but some part of her still didn't like the idea of her being out on her own. Still, Sunset was clearly intelligent and mature. Shim was sure she wouldn't do anything stupid.





Sunset blinked slowly, staring intently through the thin layer of smoke that filled the room at a crack in the wall of Ringo's room. She felt warmed, relaxed... and yet somewhat bored.

Despite her euphoria, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd made a mistake. Flash had assured her the effects would wear off in an hour at most, but the smell was overpowering, and she was keenly aware it was all over her. Hopefully Shim was as liberal-minded as Ringo's parents. On the other hand, it was the first time she'd been able to relax since she'd fallen into this dimension, and for that, she could forgive anything.

Flash and Ringo seemed to be taking it much worse than her, in any case. The two of them had begun arguing about Ringo's bass playing ability - or lack thereof - pretty much as soon as they had walked through the door, an argument which had culminated in Ringo pulling his guitar out from under his bed and attempting to play... something. Given he hadn't bothered to plug it in to anything, it was pretty hard to tell. His incoherent singing didn't help.

Still, he'd shown her how to roll a cigarette, something she still didn't seem to have the manual dexterity to accomplish, so she supposed she could overlook his boasting for now. Although she got the feeling Ringo wouldn't have been quite such a gentleman if Flash hadn't been there. The poster of a bikini-clad model hanging above his bed didn't do much to exculpate him.

All in all, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling - like being drunk, but without the drowsiness. Though she didn't think she'd be using it on a regular basis. Unable to bear the sound of Ringo shredding his guitar - and his lungs - any further, she rose to her feet, finding them surprisingly steady under her. 

"Flash?" She couldn't help but trip over her words. "What time is it?"

Flash glanced back at her for a moment. "About seven. Look, back me up here, will you? I don't -"

Sunset shook her head, uninterested. "Look, It's getting late. I'm gonna go. Just... sort it out." Ignoring Flash's surprised look, she stumbled over to the door and wrenched it open.

The air outside Ringo's room was wonderfully clear, and seemed to bring some clarity to Sunset's train of thought. Behind her, the muffled sounds of Ringo and Flash's argument continued unabated.

Taking slow, deep breaths, Sunset began to make her way downstairs. Ringo's parents hadn't even been home, sparing her the mercy of explaining her presence to yet more inquisitive humans. Unlocking the front door, Sunset blinked at the surprising brightness of the setting sun. The world around her was bathed in orange light, and the chill of the evening air bit into her skin, causing her to pull her arms in close.

She had barely taken five steps from the door when a crashing sound caused her to turn around. Lying in a heap at the foot of the stairs was Flash. Upon spotting her gaze, he scrambled to his feet and ran through the open door to stop her.

"Hey, how come you're leaving so soon? I didn't do anything wrong, right?"

Sunset gave him a hazy smile. "No, really. I need to get home before my sister does. She's been jumpy about me being back home ever since we arrived." The relief on Flash's face was evident.

"I guess. Look, I'm really sorry for misinterpreting things earlier. You don't want to take things too quickly, I totally get that -"

Sunset leaned in and pressed her lips to his, tracing her finger across the back of his neck as she did so. She lingered there for a few seconds before breaking away, pausing to appreciate the look on his face, a swirling mess of excitement, ecstasy and astonishment.

Giving him a gentle push to the chest, Sunset couldn't help but smile at his expression. "Don't sweat it. I'll see you tomorrow."

Flash returned with a weak smile of his own. "You bet."

Sunset wasn't sure why she'd done that. In fact, she wasn't even sure how if it benefitted her in the long term. Still, she reasoned as she turned her back on the ecstatic teenager, it ought to make things more interesting.





"Shim?"

Sunset pounded against the apartment door. Just as she was starting to worry she'd picked the wrong house, the door opened slowly. Shim looked tired and irritable. 

"Where have you been?"

"Out. Someone else took your parking spot, by the way." Sunset pushed past her and collapsed on the couch. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had today."

"I guess we have that in common." Shim's nose wrinkled. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

"Give me a break, all right? I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Oh, you've been under a lot of stress? Look, I know you don't want a lecture, but -"

"Yeah, right first time, Shim!" Sunset snapped back. "Do you have anything to show me, or are you going to sit there and play the concerned parent?"

"Oh, real mature. Aren't you supposed to be my age?" Shaking her head, she closed the front door. "Tell me what happened today, then."

Shim listened in silence, not reacting once as Sunset recounted the events of the day in precise detail - except for her encounter with Flash outside Ringo's house. That was private.

Shim couldn't suppress her laugh at the end. "So you're a high school student now? That seems like quite a change of pace from being a magical criminal on the run."

"Bite me." Sunset reclined on the sofa. "So, what did you find out?"

Shim paused. Sunset noticed this, and sighed. "I'm guessing you didn't find shit, then. I didn't have high hopes."

"Guess what happened today."

Sunset gave her an odd look. "What?"

"You heard me. Guess."

"I'm not in the mood for games, Shim."

"Please, just do it." Shim looked sincere. "Trust me."

Sunset mockingly obliged. "I don't know, did you finally realize dressing like a sanitation worker wasn't a good fashion choice?"

Shim gritted her teeth. "No. And take this seriously, it's important."

"Fine." Sunset was intrigued, despite herself. "Did you find any magic?"

"Maybe."

Sunset slapped her hand to her forehead in frustration. "I thought you said this was serious?"

A vein in Shim's forehead twitched. "It is."

"Then why don't you give me a straight answer? Wait, can you give me a straight answer?"

"No." Shim waved her hand, coaxing her on. "Keep it coming."

"You've been placed under a curse that prevents you from divulging specific information about something that happened today that someone else didn't want you sharing with anyone else, and now you can only refer to the events in either negations or ambiguities?"

Shim's eyes boggled. "Maybe, maybe, maybe!"

Sunset groaned. "So, not only have you let yourself be cursed, but you let yourself be cursed by an amateur who doesn't even know how to obliterate memories or make negation-inclusive lip binding curses."

"...maybe."

Despite her sarcasm, Sunset's heart began to race. "Could this person take me back home?"

"Maybe."

"Wait, is that 'maybe, as in I don't know', or 'maybe, as in yes'? Do you know for sure this person could take me back home?"

"No."

"Do you know for certain they couldn't?"

"No."

Sunset ran her hand through her hair. "Damn it. If I had my horn, I could remove that curse in a second. This... person... did they have some kind of artefact that could be used to channel magical ability?"

"Maybe."

"O...kay... Could you get hold of one of those for me?"

A pause. "Maybe."

"You mean you could?"

"Maybe."

Sunset punched the air, exhilarated. "Yes! How soon could that happen?"

"A few days?" Shim was surprised she was able to speak again - but since stealing from Beatrix hadn't even occurred to her back at the mansion, she shouldn't be surprised. "It depends. And you're sure it could..." She was unable to complete the sentence.

"Remove your curse? Sure. Call that person as soon as you can. I want my magic back."

With the right tools? She could do whatever she wanted.