Severed Ties

by Carol Heart


Chapter 7

Pain. That was Sunset Shimmer’s first and only thought as she slowly climbed toward wakefulness. Cracking open an eye, she was forced to shut it again as the room she was in was spinning. Even closed, the spinning remained, but at least now the whirling blur of colors that came with her sight was gone. Her stomach was already disliking her current predicament, and Sunset didn’t want to anger it further. Sunset’s head throbbed and there was a mild ringing in her ears. She was also pretty sure the entire right side of her body was a massive bruise.

“Spike,” the unicorn managed to croak out, “Spike!” Her attempts to shout came out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper and only served to make her head hurt worse. As she had gotten no response, she decided it was worth risking another attempt, so she tried opening her eyes again. Doing so slowly, hoping her eyelids might control the speed of the world’s rotation. She was able to make out a purple and green blur appearing right in front of her face.

“Gah! Spike, not so close.” Trying to remember how she’d come to be in her current state she asked, “What happened? My head hasn’t hurt this much since you tried to cheer me up with that bottle of Sweet Apple Acres’ Special Reserve Label Cider.”

Instead of an answer, however, the response the unicorn received was a sloppy, wet lick to the face. At that, Sunset’s eyes flew open the pain forgotten for the moment. She rolled over and raised herself into a sitting position wincing a bit at the sudden movement. As the world solidified from amorphous blobs into actual shapes, she found herself staring face to face with a familiar-looking purple dog.

“Sweet Celestia! Spike, why are you a dog?” Taking a beat, a thought occurred to her, a holdover from years of mistrust and scheming. “Wait, has the mirror been working the whole bucking time and you and Twilight have just been wasting my time lying to me? Was the whole trip to CSGU just some kind of ruse so you could pull whatever stunt you did with the magic surge so you could get me back through the mirror?” The little unicorn stomped a hoof to emphasize her anger.

And then it dawned on her that such an action should not be possible if she was indeed in the human world. This realization prompted a quick appraisal of her own form including a hoof running along the top of her head to confirm the presence of her horn. The action elicited a wince as she also discovered the wound that had been bandaged on her head. Her anger gave way to confusion as she asked, “Um, Spike, if you’re a dog, why am I still a pony?”

With this new realization setting in, Sunset took a moment to take in her surroundings. What she found was not the bright crystalline walls and well-stocked shelves of the private library in the Castle of Friendship she had become accustomed to of late. No, what she saw could best be described as a storage room. Granted, the unicorn had never seen so much gadgetry or high-tech equipment in such a room before, but the room itself was drab and dimly lit as you would expect of an oversized closet.

She was back in the human world, there was no doubt about that. The amount of technology including a computer busily running some program was proof enough of that. Despite the concern that thought caused in the amber unicorn, her focus quickly centered on the giant conspiracy board taking up the majority of the wall opposite the computer. It depicted various graphs, charts, and scientific readouts as well as various information related to...rainbows? All of this information was connected by a web of red string, and in the center connecting it all, was a picture of Canterlot High.

Horse apples! This is bad…like really bad…like taken away in a black van with a bag on your head to be experimented on level of bad.” With another glance around the laboratory setting, the panic Sunset’s voice increased. “Oh pony feathers, it’s already happened. I’m going to be a lab rat.” Grabbing onto the still watching puppy, the unicorn looked him right in the eyes shouting, “Spike, I don’t want to be probed!”

The pup was still unsure what to make of the creature in front of him, but he was used to dealing with freakouts from his owner so he responded the best way he knew how and gave the hyperventilating pony another wet puppy kiss across her muzzle. He was delighted to see it had the desired effect and barked happily. Sunset had snapped out of her downward panic spiral enough for her to reevaluate her situation. Her first thought was that she had obviously spent too much time with the Princess of Panic Attacks as she had rubbed off on Sunset.

Think, Shimmer, think, The unicorn mentally shouted as she took in the surroundings more thoroughly. The lab was little more than a closet, there was no way the scientist’s research was held in high regard, so any findings they might have on magic or the portal were likely not going to be believed. “Just a crazy theory that only conspiracy nuts will believe. I mean look at Lyra Heartstrings. Even with all the magic that had gone on at CHS, the rest of the students still thought her notion of a magical world of unicorns was ridiculous." Pausing to think about that the pony groaned, "Oh horseapples, please don’t let this be Lyra’s house! I don’t know what would be worse; being captured by a deranged scientist or by an obsessed fangirl.”

Taking a deep breath, Sunset tried to collect herself. “No it’s fine, with all the magic at the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands, no one came poking around. Whatever information they have on magic just gets chalked up to great video editing and special effects, and those who claim otherwise are mocked for their crazy theories." But then a thought occurred to her, “They’re only crazy theories until you have a walking, talking unicorn to offer up as proof.” The unicorn groaned, carefully rubbing a hoof to her head as she could feel her already aching head getting worse.

She needed a plan. She hadn’t managed to gain control of Canterlot High without her ability to analyze a situation and find the best way to manipulate it to her advantage. “Okay, what to do first?” Tapping a hoof to her mouth she said, “Make a checklist.” Flinching that that had been her first thought and trying to shake away the notion, the amber unicorn muttered, “Sweet Celestia, I really am starting to sound like Twilight.” The mention of his owner’s name drew a happy bark from the purple puppy. Eyeing the dog due to the unexpected response, her eyebrows slowly rose as realization dawned.

“Step one: assess your surroundings, and Spike, thanks to you I think I have a pretty good guess as to exactly who our mystery researcher is.”

The purple pup responded with a happy bark at the sound of what seemed to be praise. He was a good boy and liked it when he got compliments, even if this time it was coming from a strange creature that smelled like strawberries and hay.

Hearing footsteps approaching the door, a smirk formed on the pony's face, "Step two is one I happen to be an expert at: run away."

***

Twilight made her way towards the cafeteria, the squeak of her sneakers amplified by the echo of the empty hallways. The cafeteria was typically a place she tried to avoid, preferring to eat in her lab and thus avoid having to interact with her peers. It was after school hours now though, so the probability of accidental contact with another student was low, or at least that’s what she kept telling herself as she walked.

Nearing the cafeteria, Twilight let out a breath. Not that requisitioning necessary supplies for her approved experiments wasn’t approved in her by her research proposal when she’d had them submitted. She just didn’t want to have to explain why her research into unknown energy readings necessitated the acquisition of a garden salad and maybe a few apples.

Reaching for the door, Twilight froze at hearing the haughty, clipped voice call from behind her. “Ah, Miss Sparkle, just the student I needed to see. Follow me to my office. There are things we need to discuss.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “P-principal Cinch,” the nervous girl squeaked out, “is s-something wrong?”

The educator stopped and turned her sharp gaze on the teen, arching a brow over the frames of her half-moon glasses. “Miss Sparkle, there is a time and a place for everything, and as I just stated, that place is in my office. Now, come along.”

“Y-yes, ma’am,” Twilight said, falling into step behind the educator.

Walking quickly through the crystalline hallways, internally Twilight was panicking. Principal Cinch knows. How did she find out so fast? Had Cadance figured it out? No, Cadance would never turn her in, at least not without talking to Twilight first. In the end, it didn’t matter how, the question was what was she going to do? Taking the precious little time she had left before they reached the principal’s office, Twilight attempted to prepare an explanation for her trip to Canterlot High and the subsequent appearance of the unicorn now sleeping in the scientist’s lab.

Those thoughts however were derailed when she was ushered into the darkened office, its curtains were drawn, leaving only the two overhead lights to illuminate the room giving it a creepy, foreboding feeling. Seating herself in the low chair in front of the principal’s desk, Twilight was startled when she heard the door click shut behind her. Turning, the teen spotted some familiar faces, those of Cadance and her big brother.

“Shining Armor? What is my brother doing here?” Twilight was surprised she managed to maintain such a calm appearance as she asked, but the panic of seeing her BBBFF at her school in his officer’s uniform seemed to stun her enough to keep the panic from creeping into her voice.

“As an alumnus,” the dean started a bit hesitantly, Cadance seemed almost as surprised at the situation as the teen, “Principal Cinch thought he could provide some…unique perspective.”

“Perspective on what,” questioned Twilight this time in true confusion. If they knew about her findings at CHS or the injured unicorn hiding elsewhere in the school, she didn’t think Shiny could offer perspective on that, alumni or not.

“Why the Friendship Games of course,” supplied Principal Cinch having seated herself in the high back chair located behind the ornate desk. “You competed in the Games did you not, Shining Armor?”

The blue-haired officer had been focusing more on the dean than the principal and was flustered by the sudden attention. With a blush and a disarming cough, he finally replied, “I did.”

“And do you happen to recall who won?” continued Cinch.

Shining Armor chuckled, “Crystal Prep did. We always win.”

“We always win,” repeated the principal, rising from her desk and walking over to a shelf containing some of CPA’s many trophies.

“Why did you ask to see me?” Twilight asked. Though some of her initial apprehension had regarding her experiments had faded, the setting and the feeling of being surrounded and ganged up on by those she most looked up to was not helping her nerves.

Hefting one of the golden trophies, Cinch replied, “Twilight, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t matter whether or not Crystal Prep wins or loses.” The educator paused a moment to clean a smudged blemishing its pristine finish and then continued, “The important thing is we are expected to win because Crystal Prep has a reputation. And it is that reputation, my reputation, that is responsible for everything we have here, for everything you have done here, and you’ve done quite a lot, haven’t you?”

“I don’t know. I guess,” the teen replied nervously.

“Oh, don’t be modest. You’re the best student this school has ever seen. What I can’t understand is why my best student wouldn’t want to compete,” coaxed the woman.

“In the Friendship Games?” Twilight asked nervously, fidgeting with her thick frames.

Seeing his sister was uncomfortable, Shining Armor interceded. “Look, Twily, I know it’s not your thing, but representing the school is kinda a big deal. Plus they could really use your help.”

Retaking control of the conversation the principal continued, “It seems Canterlot High is undergoing something of a renaissance. Test scores are up, grades even athletics are on the rise. You see they are developing somewhat of a reputation. This cannot happen,” she finished, stressing each word.

Twilight began to worry. As the top academic student at Crystal Prep, she could have easily secured one of the coveted slots on the Friendship Games team, but she had abstained. While she was forced to compete in academic competitions for the school to help secure money and grants, it was not something she enjoyed. As the Friendship Games was a contest of both academics and athletics, Twilight thought her abysmal performances in all sporting events would help justify her not trying out for the team. The fact a certain group of top performers and perpetual runners-up to Twilight academically had informed her in no uncertain terms what would happen to her if she took one of their spots also factored heavily in her decision.

Knowing those were not reasons that the success-driven educator would accept she decided to try a different approach. “Principal Cinch, I can’t possibly participate in the Games. My work is very-“

“Ah, yes,” Cinch cut her off, “your work.” Turning her attention to the other adults in the room she said, “Cadance, could you and Shining Armor find my contact sheet for the Everton Independent Study Program?”

“Of course,” replied the dean heading out the door followed closely by Shining Armor.

“I understand you applied,” Cinch said coldly, producing the aforementioned paperwork from her desk.

Twilight wilted. Her application to the school was not a secret, per se, after all, any transfer would have to be approved by the principal. Twilight knew her successes were something that was touted as part of Crystal Prep’s reputation. When she had applied and hadn’t heard anything from the principal, Twilight had hoped her transfer would just go unnoticed. Clearly, that was not the case now.

“You see, one of the advantages of having a reputation is a certain amount of influence in such things. So, let me make you a deal. In return for contributing your agile mind to these games, I will use my influence to guarantee your application is approved,” Cinch said sliding the application towards Twilight. The girl eyed the papers but was slow in accepting. Cinch pulled back the papers, gaining the teen’s attention then continued in a cold tone, “Though I suppose I could also have it…denied.”

Twilight felt her blood run cold. When she had applied to Everton, she had worried that Principal Cinch might not want to let her leave, but she never would have thought the educator would blackmail her and threaten her entire academic future. At the same time, she knew what accepting her offer would mean when she was added to the roster at the last minute without having to try out like everyone else. Many of the other students already disliked her and assumed she was stuck up as she was smart and the ‘principal’s favorite.’ This would just cement that belief. Not to mention her participation in the games would take her back to Canterlot High, the scene of her crime as it were.

Fixing the sweating student with a stern gaze, Cinch asked, “What do you think I should do?”

***

Twilight exited the principal’s office in a daze, a worried frown adorning her face. The sound of the door closing drew the attention of Cadance, her tri-colored locks falling in her face as she continued to search through the secretary’s desk for Principal Cinch’s contact sheet.

“Twilight, you’re done already?” Seeing the look on the girl’s face the dean’s eyebrows knit in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Snapping out of her trance, the bespectacled girl replied, “Nothing.”

Rising from the seat, the former babysitter went to her young friend and carefully raised the girl’s face to meet her own. After studying her for a moment, the woman embraced the girl in a tight hug.

“Oh, Ladybug, I’m so sorry. I knew you didn’t want to be on the team, but Principal Cinch wasn’t taking no for an answer and then she went and got your brother involved.” At that, the dean let out a frustrated huff. “You know I love him, but sometimes he’s just so oblivious when someone’s using him. Plus he’s still into the whole Crystal Prep/CHS rivalry.”

Cadance continued to support Twilight, and the younger girl enjoyed the comfort, finding a little comfort after a day that had been nothing but a disaster and that seemed to still be spiraling out of control. The teen considered revealing everything to the older woman. She had been Twilight’s confidant and pseudo-big sister for years. If there was anyone who would believe her about all of this and be willing to help her without question, it was Cadance.

But Cadance was also the school’s dean and Principal Cinch was her boss. Cinch had already threatened Twilight’s academic career. What would stop her from threatening Cadance’s actual career, and as her superior, it would be easy for Cinch. No, Twilight couldn’t do that to the woman. Cadance loved her job and was one of the few bright spots here at Crystal Prep. Twilight was smart. She was sure she could handle competing in the Friendship Games, and then she’d be able to go to Everton and study in peace.

“It’s alright, Cady,” the teen mumbled into the other woman, “I told her I’d be on the team.”

Pushing the shorter girl away so Cadance could look her in the eyes she said, “But she shouldn’t have gotten your brother to help bully you into doing it. Do you want me to-“

“Don’t worry about it, Cady,” the teen said, shaking her head. “I’ll be fine. What’s one more competition, right? Who knows, maybe Shiny’s right and I’ll have fun.”

The woman held her gaze for a moment no doubt debating if she should step in any way before finally relenting. “If you say so, Ladybug. Go ahead and get back to Spike. Give him an extra belly rub from me. Shiny had to head back to work, so I’ll drive you home. Might be a while though. I have to finish up the paperwork for the Friendship Games to send over to CHS. I guess I’ll have to update our team roster now as well. Meet me by my car in a couple of hours?”

“Sounds good,” replied the teen heading for the office door before turning back, “and, Cady, thanks for being there for me.”
The woman smiled, “Any time, Ladybug.”

***

Twilight returned to her lab empty-handed; the purpose of her trip forgotten after the conversation with Principal Cinch. She would no doubt hear it from Spike as the promise of treats had been made and that was not something the puppy was not likely to forget. She would have to make it up to him when they got home tonight.

That thought reminded the scientist of another problem she would have to work out before Cadance came down to take her home; just what was she supposed to do with the unicorn? While she might be able to sneak it home tonight and probably keep it a secret through the weekend as her mother had to attend some writers’ convention and her father had opted to tag along. Her BBBFF, Shining Armor, was supposed to be keeping an eye on her, though she was oftentimes more mature than her older brother. Also, his work as a member of the Canterlot Police Department meant that he was usually working the hours Twilight was home, as apparently was the case tonight. Cadance had volunteered to help out with taking her to and from school, but Twilight figured she could keep the pony hidden for the times Cadance was over, at least temporarily.

With her mind still a buzz with mapping out the potential long term logistics of housing the mythical creature she had secreted away in her lab, Twilight opened the door absently, only to have the creature she’d been preoccupied with bolt past her and take off down the hallway in a mad dash. Following right behind her, Spike barked happily as he ran off to chase after the pony. Twilight stood in a dazed shock for a moment before the realization of the situation set in, and then promptly followed suit after the two.