The lunchroom was a mess. Students everywhere were arguing, and some could be found crying in the corner, being comforted by their remaining friends. This was the last place Sunset wanted to be, surrounded by people who very likely hated her, but she threw on the hood of her black hoodie, covering as much of her face as possible, and made her way through the lunch line anyway. After successfully getting her food without drawing attention, Sunset proceeded to weave through the mass of students in the room and proceeded to sit at her now normal empty table at the back of the room, the best place for blending into the background. Or so she thought.
"got room for one more?" a familiar voice asked. Looking up, she noticed Sans smiling from across the table, holding a tray with a burger and… a ketchup bottle? How'd he pull that off? Normally the school just provided little packets, not full bottles.
"Oh, uh sure," Sunset replied, returning the smile, deciding to ignore it.
"thanks," Sans said, sitting down across from her.
"so, uh, is this much fighting normal?" He asked, looking around.
"No, no its not," Sunset said, starting to use her fork to poke at her food, "It used to be very different." But it seemed something else grabbed Sans's attention.
"is this supposed to be a burger?" Sans questioned as he inspected his food, "what's with the patty?"
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked, reasonably confused, "It's made from plants just like every other patty, unless your school somehow did it differently."
"huh, " Sans said, before comically throwing the burger over his shoulder, which landed straight into a conveniently placed trash can behind him.
"i liked my ketchup plain anyway," Sans shrugged, before taking the ketchup bottle and chugging it. Sunset couldn't help but stare. Wouldn't be too far off to say she was a bit grossed out. Almost reminded her of Pinkie Pie's randomness, just without literally all the energy. But she also couldn't help but feel suspicion rising in her. There was something off about him, but not in the same way as the Dazzlings. Sunset wasn't the only one watching him drink though.
"Is he drinking ketchup?" Applebloom asked, stunned. A few tables away, the trio sat, watching both Sunset and Sans.
"This is exactly what we need!" Scootaloo said excitedly, "Quick, take the picture!"
"I can't," Sweetie Belle replied, putting down her phone,"Sunset's too close."
"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.
"I mean she's in the shot," Sweetie Belle explained,"and if she's in the picture then everyone will know she didn't take it."
"It's okay, we don't need one," Applebloom told them,"we'll just post about it tonight and make it sound like Sunset. C'mon, let's go before they see us."
Nodding, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got up with Applebloom and left the lunchroom.
Meanwhile, Sans placed his now empty ketchup bottle on the table.
"what?" Sans asked with a smile, seeing Sunsets face.
"Uh, nothing," Sunset replied, quickly shaking her head.
"y'know, quite a few kids came up to me, warning me about you," Sans told her.
"Humph, figures,"Sunset said, rolling her eyes as she went back to poking her food.
"ya, especially this really energetic pink girl, who told me you were the biggest, backstabbing, no-good, secret stealing meanie she ever knew," Sans chuckled.
"Then, why are you sitting with me?" Sunset finally decided to ask.
"I mean, if everyones telling you I'm the 'worst person in the world', then why be here?" she asked sadly, hurt that Pinkie Pie would say that about her, even though it didn't surprise her.
"well, let's just say i'm a pretty sans-ational judge of character," Sans joked with a wink. That got Sunset chuckling, despite his bad pun.
"Thanks," Sunset said in a sarcastic but joking tone.
"no problem," Sans replied with a smile, right before the bell rang to signify the end of lunch, causing everyone to head to their next class.
—-------------------
The band room was filled with kids tuning their instruments and getting ready for class, although there was still tension in the air from lunch. After prepping her electric guitar, Rainbow Dash looked over towards her friends to see Fluttershy pulling out her tambourine from her backpack, while also trying to keep her furry friends in, Pinkie Pie warming up on the drums, Rarity turning on her keytar, and Applejack tightening the strings on her bass. Rainbow didn't know how they did it, but even though their instruments weren't usually used for band class, she and her friends somehow convinced Mrs. Lee to let them use their instruments, except Pinkie, who's drums were already allowed.
That's when Sunset Shimmer walked in. Oh, the amount of self-restraint Rainbow needed to not go over to that backstabbing fake and give her a piece of her mind- did she know how much she hurt her friends? The amount of comforting it took for Fluttershy to come back to school, after Sunset posted and made fun of a video of her singing yesterday? How much convincing (not to mention ice cream) it took to keep Rarity from quitting her small fashion business after those photos got out? Sure, Sunset posted Rainbow's bad grades as well, but most people already knew she wasn't the best student. What she cared about was her friends.
Then Rainbow noticed Sunset wasn't trying to sneak in without being noticed as per usual, but she walked in laughing. Laughing at something the boy behind her said and suddenly, Rainbow Dash remembered something. She remembered the laughs they used to share together as well, and all the happy memories she and Sunset gained through their friendship. Sadness and a little bit of guilt started to sweep over Rainbow Dash.
No, snap out of it! Rainbow Dash thought, shaking her head as she pushed her feelings away, It's her fault the school is a mess again.
"Who's that?" Applejack asked, looking over at the boy with Sunset.
"Yes, and why is he hanging out with… her?" Rarity questioned, apparently too disgusted to say her name.
"Oh, that's the new kid, Sans," Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice,"I met him this morning, he's really nice."
"Do ya know where he's from?" Applejack asked.
"No, he didn't say," Fluttershy replied.
"Who cares where he's from," Rainbow Dash said, joining the conversation, "what we should be asking is why he's conspiring with the likes of Sunset Shimmer."
"He doesn't seem to be 'conspiring'," Fluttershy pointed out as they watched them interact.
"Ooo! I met him earlier too," Pinkie remembered,"I warned him this morning about her, but I guess he wasn't really listening."
"Fluttershy's right, just because he's talking to her doesn't mean he's someone bad, just someone who doesn't know better," Applejack said, before Mrs. Lee got up to address the class, causing them to go silent.
"Good morning class. Before we start off, I would like to introduce a new student that will be joining us today. Sans, could you please stand up and introduce yourself, and tell us what instrument you play?" Mrs. Lee asked.
Sans, who was in the back, shrugged before standing up to introduce himself.
"sup. the name's sans, and i play the trombone. i guess coming in halfway through the year means i'll be behind, but don't worry, i'll play it by ear," Sans joked with a smile.
https://m."Pinkie Pie, what did I tell you about using the drums for comedic purposes?" Mrs. Lee scolded.
"Sorry Mrs. Lee, I couldn't help it," Pinkie apologized, snickering.
"Anyways," Mrs. Lee continued, looking back at Sans, "if you don't mind me asking, why the trombone?"
"heh, that's a long story, mostly including a dead pun. i won't try telling you the pun though, it's pretty bad to the trom-bone," Sans joked again. Unlike the last joke, however, this one gained a few snickers from the class.
https://m."Pinkie Pie!"
"Sorry!"
Mrs. Lee sighed.
"Well, thank you Sans for the introduction. You can sit back down now," Mrs. Lee told him, causing him to sit.
After that band class went back to normal, with everyone practicing the music they've been working on as a class. Rainbow Dash, who thought she was obviously doing the best, noticed Sans was really good with the trombone. He was only just given the sheet music for the song they've been practicing for the past week, and yet he could easily keep up without mistakes, much to Rainbow's annoyance.
"Great job today everyone," Mrs. Lee said at the end of class,"homework will be practicing lines 30-40, make sure you have them memorized for tomorrow."
Right after she finished talking, the bell rang, causing everyone to pack up their things and start heading out. Leaving the room with her friends, Rainbow Dash noticed Sunset and Sans talking, before seeing Sunset wave goodbye as she left down the hall.
"C'mon y'all, let's go say hi," Applejack said, motioning for the group to follow her as she approached him.
"Hey, you must be Sans," Applejack said, walking up to him.
"the one and only," Sans replied with a smile, turning towards her,"and you guys must be sunset's old friends. she told me quite a bit about ya."
"Oh ya? Like what?" Rainbow asked, a challenge evident in her tone.
"i'm pretty sure she mentioned you guys were in band,"Sans replied, seeming to not notice Rainbows tone,"heh, as a matter of fact i told her i got one too."
"Really?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"yep, got it right here,"Sans winked, pulling out a rubber band. Only Pinkie Pie laughed, leaving the others to either groan or face palm.
Guess now I know what Sunset was laughing at earlier, Rainbow Dash thought.
"hm, one out of five. tough crowd, huh?"Sans noticed, still smiling as he prepared his next joke,"welp, at least it was 20% cooler than it could've been, eh Rainbow?"
This caught Rainbow Dash off guard, causing her to take a step back.
"H-how did you-?" She started to ask, before Sans cut her off.
"so, what can i do ya guys for?" Sans grinned, getting back to the point.
"Well darling," Rarity began to say," we couldn't help but notice you hanging out with Sunset Shimmer, and we-"
"im gonna stop ya right there, darling,"Sans said, cutting her off,"i'm assuming you guys are here to warn me about our 'secret stealing' friend?"
The Rainbooms nodded.
"*sigh* well then, i've got a question for ya," Sans said, and Rainbow Dash could've swore she saw the white in his eyes darken for a moment, as well as the lights around them, before going back to normal as if nothing happened.
"do you think even the worst person can change? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try? did you believe sunset could change? or was it just out of pity that you accepted her friendship? sunset told me about how she used to be the school bully, before you five somehow changed her mind. she told me about how lonely she felt while being 'in power', and how happy it made her to have friends. but i guess it was too good to be true, huh?"
"Sunset's a liar," Rainbow Dash retorted, "She only acted like our friend so she could steal everyone's secrets and cause this mess again."
Sans shrugged,"you guys may blame her for the state of this place, but is she the only one doing the teasing? is she the one doing any of the actual friendship breaking, or starting all the fights? if anything, i'd say she's the true victim here. i don't know about you, but i haven't exactly seen any good come out of this for her. she lost friends, a decent reputation, not to mention any sense of safety she might have had here. i mean, have you seen her eye? heh, i guess you can imagine how that happened."
Rainbow Dash wanted to argue, but instead she just looked down at her feet as the feelings of guilt she tried to push away earlier came back twice as hard. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember seeing Sunsets left eye looking blacker than it should've during class, and she knew it was no accident. Glancing at her friends, she could tell they were also guiltfully rethinking their situation.
"but, hey, what do i know? i'm just the new kid,"Sans continued," you guys know her better than i probably ever will. but, maybe anon-a-miss is not the only one at fault, even if it is her. maybe it's the kids fighting each other, defending their own self image or putting down others that's to blame as well? all i know is, this anon-a-miss person only has as much power as you guys give them…does that make any sense?"
The Rainbooms remained silent, contemplating their actions, too stunned by his response to speak.
"welp, that's my take on your situation. i guess i'll be on my way, seeing as i'm gonna be late for class," Sans said with a wink as he began walking away, before stopping and turning towards them to say one last thing.
"take care of yourselves, cause a certain someone still really cares about you."
And with that, Sans left, leaving the guilt-ridden Rainbooms standing there, before eventually heading to their next class as well.
===============
"So, how did your first day go?" Sunset asked Sans as they walked out of the school doors after school had ended.
Sans shrugged,"eh, besides the overwhelming amount of drama i was thrown into, it was fine."
"Ya, sorry about that," Sunset apologized, "anyways, thanks for giving me a chance. I know how cringe it sounds, but it's nice having a friend again."
"no problem," Sans replied with a smile, "so how's your eye doing?"
"Eh, its ok. It'll feel much better once I figure out who this Anon-a-Miss is and show them exactly who they're messing with," She replied darkly, before Sans's phone began ringing.
"huh, that's weird," Sans said before taking his phone out of his pocket. He barely ever used the thing, only holding on to it in case his brother Papyrus needed to call him, although Sans'll also sometimes use it to anonymously troll him on the Undernet by sending him bad puns in the comic sans font whenever Sans would get bored, which was even funnier 'cause Papyrus still doesn't know it's him. Taking out the phone, he looked to see who it was.
"Who is it?" Sunset asked, who was also wondering what was so weird about receiving a call.
"its my brother," Sans replied in surprise, "sorry, i've gotta take this."
how is he calling me? how is this even possible? Sans wondered as he answered the call after walking a short distance away from Sunset.
"sup."
"SANS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" the angry voice of Papyrus asked from the phone speaker, "I'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! I EVEN ASKED UNDYNE AND SHE SAID SHE NEVER SAW YOU AT YOUR POST IN WATERFALL OR HOTLAND! SANS, I SWEAR IF YOU'VE BEEN HIDING AT GRILLBYS' AGAIN-"
"bro chill, i'm ok," Sans replied casually.
"THAT STILL DOESN'T TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!"
"oh ya, i'm in another world."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE IN ANOTHER WORLD?"
"i went through some kind of portal thingy, and now i'm here."
"WELL, GO BACK THROUGH! METTATON'S SHOW IS ABOUT START AND I DON'T WANT TO MISS IT."
"well, uh, i can't exactly do that."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?"
"the portal closed."
"OH, WELL I'M SURE YOU CAN FIGURE OUT SOMETHING, EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME TO BE THERE TO HELP YOU OUT!"
"thanks paps, but i think i might be here awhile."
"BUT THEN WHO'S GOING TO READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY?!"
"i could tell ya one over the phone later if you want."
"GREAT IDEA SANS, I'LL CALL YOU LATER. OOH, MAYBE I COULD INVITE UNDYNE AND WE COULD HAVE A SLEEPOVER!"
"sure, just try not to burn the house down. you know how undyne gets when she cooks."
"OKIE DOKIE! ALSO, YOU LEFT YOUR SOCK BY THE TV. I'LL LEAVE A STICKY NOTE SO YOU'LL REMEMBER TO PICK IT UP WHEN YOU GET BACK."
"sounds good. also, could ya feed Johnson for me while i'm gone?"
"SANS, FOR THE LAST TIME: YOU CAN'T FEED YOUR PET ROCK. IT'S A ROCK."
"sure ya can, it's easy. just sprinkle some sprinkles on it every once and a while, and make sure it doesn't go anywhere."
"FINE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU NAMED IT THAT. KNOWING YOU I THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOME BAD PUN."
"ya well, i didn't want your relationship with it to have a rocky start."
" *Frustrated sigh* WHATEVER, JUST GET A BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN, IT CAN GET PRETTY LONELY HERE."
"don't you mean bonely?"
". . . GOODBYE SANS."
And with that Papyrus hung up, leaving Sans chuckling a bit.
"so, uh, sunset?" Sans asked as he walked up to her.
"Ya?" She replied, noticing him walking back towards her.
"you, uh, don't happen to know how to open up a magic portal, do you?"