“So, this switch controls the strength of the spotlight, and you raise the curtains here,” Sunset was explaining patiently in the technician’s room backstage.
“Alright, got it.” The student who was manning said switches kept his eyes resolutely on the equipment.
“Hitch, if you need any …”
“Thank you, Ms. Shimmer,” he interrupted pointedly, “I can figure the rest out on my own. Got a lot of free time on my hands in the afternoon these days.”
Sunset stood there for a while, hoping he’d at least turn around and meet her eyes. “Alright, I’ll leave you to it, then,” she said quietly. There was little she could think of that would get through to a teenager who was making a conscious effort to be stubborn.
She stepped out of the technician’s room and caught Sprout looking at her. The moment their eyes met, he immediately looked away and busied himself with painting more scenery for his set design. She wondered if any of the relationships with her students could be repaired at this point.
“Ms. Shimmer!”
Sunset looked up to see Gladys standing at the door to the auditorium, with one hand on her hip and a cowed-looking Izzy and Sunny standing in front of her. “Is there a problem here, Ms. Harshwhinny?” she asked as she came closer.
“You tell me,” she replied with a quirked eyebrow. “I caught these two arguing behind the auditorium. There was talk of killing a cat, but neither would tell me where the cat was.”
“Killing a c… oh, I see.” She looked at her two students and cocked her head. “Hauke and Trien?”
The two of them nodded vehemently, confirming Sunset’s conclusion immediately. “There’s no dead cat, Ms. Harshwhinny, and they weren’t arguing. They were just running lines. It’s dialogue from the play.”
Gladys raised her eyebrows. “I … see. Well, in that case, be more careful where you practice in the future. Someone could come to the wrong conclusion if they overhear you.”
Izzy and Sunny nodded silently.
“Run along, you two,” Sunset said, “I believe Pipp was looking for you to practice the dance hall scene, Sunny.”
The two teachers waited until the students were out of earshot, and Gladys heaved an exasperated sigh. “Kids. Why didn’t they just tell me that in the first place?”
“I dunno, Gladys,” Sunset said wryly, “but you are kind of intimidating. I know when I was your student and you would turn that glare on me, my gut reaction was always to clamp up, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong.”
Gladys beamed at that. “Thank you.”
“Wasn’t really a compliment, but you’re welcome, I guess,” Sunset said in spite of herself and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Hey, are you okay?” Gladys asked quietly.
Sunset looked up and saw that look of concern she’d learned to recognize under the tough facade. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“You don’t look fine. I figured Christmas break would do you some good, but you honestly look worse than before.”
Sunset didn’t need to be told. She never had been one for wearing much make-up, but these days her morning routine included covering up the dark bags under her eyes. The lack of any developments in the case involving the break-in at the lab had gnawed on her. There had been no magic incidents, thankfully, but waiting for something to happen was just as grinding on Sunset’s nerves. And to make things worse, all of this had triggered the return of certain recurring nightmares. “I’m just dealing with a few things lately, not all of it related to the students.”
“Like what?”
“Car trouble,” Sunset lied. “Getting this sort of rattling under the hood.”
“Huh,” Gladys said, seemingly satisfied with that answer. “I dated a mechanic once. Don’t know if he is any good at fixing cars, but he was certainly good with his hands. Let me know if you want his number,” she said before leaving.
Sunset’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to see the latest update from Twilight. “Shiny is getting some push-back from the commissioner’s office about wasting resources, since nothing valuable was stolen. Unless we get some solid leads soon, he might have to close the case on his end.”
As she took that information in, a shadow fell over Sunset from the corner of her eyes, and she spun around with a yelp to find a wide-eyed Misty standing there. “Misty, you scared me,” Sunset said, clutching her chest.
“Sorry,” the young girl replied. “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you, Ms. Sunset. It looked like you were looking at something important.”
Get it together, Sunset. “Just checking my socials,” she replied and put her phone away. “What’s up?”
Misty handed over a stack of papers. “I think everything’s set for the dress rehearsal. Ms. Rarity finished all the alterations, and I’ve confirmed the catering orders with Donut Joe’s and Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Nice work, co-director,” Sunset said and began to look through the documents. When she reached the guest list for the dress rehearsal, she quirked an eyebrow. “Misty, you didn’t put anyone down for a guest you want to bring.” Sunset had decided that the dress rehearsal would have a limited audience of friends and family. She’d found that it helped in getting the jitters out to have a practice with an audience before the premiere. “Everyone else wrote a name down but you.”
“Oh, there’s … not really anyone who would come to see me. I’m just the narrator, anyway.”
Sunset wanted to inquire further on that, but her recent foray into meddling with her students’ lives hadn’t exactly gone over well. Not wanting to alienate one of the few who still had a positive opinion of her, she instead went with: “How’s your hand?”
“It’s fine.” Misty held up her hand. “See? Didn’t even scab.”
The conversation was then interrupted by a sudden scream from the stage. “Oww! You stepped on my foot, you oaf!”
They both looked over to where Sunny and Pipp had been practicing the dance scene. Pipp was hopping around on one foot. “I didn’t do it on purpose!” Sunny said immediately. “I’m sorry, Pipp. Are you okay?”
Pipp rubbed her ankle for a bit, then threw up her hands and stormed off. “Argh! Amateurs!”
Sunny looked after her, then over at Sunset, shrugging her shoulders and holding out her hands.
“Zipp tells me she gets like that close to a premiere,” Misty said with a frown. “I’ll talk to her after she’s had a few minutes to cool off.”
Sunset sighed. “It’s not just her. Everyone seems a little on edge lately.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this is exactly like that time when the Sirens riled everyone up with their magic before the Battle of the Bands. “Why don’t we finish practice early today? It’s no good if we’re all at each others’ throats.”
“Okay,” Misty said with a nod, “I’ll let everyone know to get started on the clean-up.”
As Misty turned around, Sunset couldn’t help but feel like she had wanted to continue their interrupted conversation a little longer. “Hey, Misty,” she called after her.
“Yeah?”
“… You know you can always talk to me if there’s something troubling you, right?”
Misty looked back over her shoulder with a bright and genuine smile. “Sure. I know that, Ms. Sunset.” Without adding anything else, she walked off.
As Misty left, Sunset could swear for a moment it looked like her shadow was moving in a weird way. She blinked her eyes, and it was gone. Sunset felt so tired.