//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Sunset's Redemption // by TheNewYorkBrony //------------------------------// Power. So much power. Dark magic flowing through her veins, oh it was intoxicating the way her body pulsed with power. Her movements were her movements and yet they weren't her own. "Finally! More power than I could ever imagine!" She laughed as she looked at her red tinged skin. Her voice wasn't her own, and yet, it was. She smirked when she saw her fellow classmates looking at her with fright in their eyes. "I am your princess now, and you will be loyal to me!" "Gah!" Sunset let out as she jumped awake. It took her a moment to realize she had fallen asleep in her English class and that everyone was now staring at her. "Something troubling you, Miss Shimmer?" Mr. Note Worthy asked, with a raised brow. "Uh, no, sorry." Sunset apologized, shrinking in on herself. She didn't think she'd actually fall asleep in class. She thought she'd had this under control. At least the nightmare was different. It wasn't her being lead to her death. But why did she start dreaming about what she had became? A tingling sensation ran through her body, making her shiver. Yeah, something was going on here. And she was sure it wasn't just some dumb relapse. The more she had these dreams, the more she had the desire to become evil again. She wouldn't tell Twilight and the others about it just yet. She was sure that once she took some sleep medicine the nightmares would go away and she could sleep in peace. Until then though, she had to stay awake for as long as possible. The last thing she needed was another outburst during class. Staying awake proved harder than she thought as her head slumped into her tray at lunch. She jolted up when her forehead met her mashed potatoes. "Jesus Christ. Any longer and you would've had gravy up your nose," Dash commented, twirling her spaghetti around her fork. "You do look really tired," Fluttershy told her, nibbling on a carrot. "Yep, thanks for stating the obvious, Shy." Sunset muttered, using her napkins to wipe the gunk off her face. She pushed her food away from herself in disgust and grabbed the apple off of Applejack's tray and bit into it. The others stared at her in disbelief. "What?" She barked, swallowing. "Nothing," Rarity responded, putting her hands up in surrender. "Just, you're a little irritable today is all." "Yeah, less than five hours of sleep will do that to a person." Sunset sniped, wiping the juice from the apple off her mouth with the back of her hand. "You're being a real bitch." Rainbow told her with a frown. "It takes one to know one, Dash." Rainbow stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You got a problem?! Because we can so go right now!" She shouted, rolling up the sleeves of her hoodie as Sunset stood up too. Applejack got up out of her own seat. "Hey now, c'mon ya'll, let's not do this, alright? Not here." She looked between the both of them for an answer. Both girls sat back down without a word. The table was quiet for a moment, except for the occasional sound of Sunset biting into her apple. "Well, today is certainly turning out to be an eventful day," Rarity said, fanning herself. You could say that again, Sunset thought. But god did it feel good to stir up some trouble again. The anger in Rainbow's eyes was almost if not more delicious than the fear that had been in them before Sunset had attempted to blast her and the others to smithereens. Whoa...where did that come from? And why did thinking things like that feel so good? Unless...She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. The Elements had rid her of all her evil. What was happening was just a short relapse. But that still didn't explain the dreams. "Aw man!" Pinkie groaned. "What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, turning to her. "Flash has a cold!" "Uh, Pinkie, that's sad and all, but what does that have to do with you?" Applejack furrowed her eyebrows. "He was supposed to help me with my math homework! Now how am I supposed to raise my D to a B?!" Pinkie wailed, putting her head on the table. "I....uh, I could tutor you." Sunset mumbled. "You? You're going to tutor Pinkie?" Dash asked her skeptically. "You sure about that?" Sunset frowned, swallowing back the snide comment she had on the edge of her tongue. "Yeah. Why not? I'm really good at math and Pinkie needs a tutor. Friends help friends, don't they?" She responded, giving Rainbow a half glare. "They do indeed," Rarity agreed. "Though I never really saw you as the.... Intellectual type. No offense, darling." Sunset shrugged. "None taken. Being smart doesn't really fit the whole bad girl persona I got going on." She said waving her hands around. "So whatcha think, Pinks? Me, you, and a overnight study date?" "Date?" Fluttershy blinked. "It's not an actual date, dearie, it's an expression." Rarity explained to her softly. "Yeah, plus I'm pretty sure Pinkie and Sunset don't lean that way." Rainbow said proudly, crossing her arms. Sunset snorted. "With what evidence? You've only seen me date Flash and I didn't even like him. Plus I'm from a world where the female to male ratio is like ten to one. I could be bisexual and you wouldn't even know." Applejack whistled. "She's got a point. What about you Pinkie? Who do you fancy?" "What is this, the fifty's?!" Dash barked. Pinkie shrugged. "Meh. I don't know. I can't date yet because of my parents. But I guess if someone had to ask like you just did, I'd say everyone." "Everyone?" Rarity asked, confused. "Pinkie, how can you-" "Will Sunset Shimmer and her five friends please report to Principal Celestia's office." Boomed from the loud AP system. "Oh boy." Applejack muttered, standing up. "C'mon ya'll. This can't be good." The others followed her out the cafeteria and began their walk to the administrative office. Sunset's stomach churned. She felt like she was going to be sick. She hadn't been able to eat much these past few weeks. She'd grab a bite on the way home if she didn't eat breakfast or at school, but now even that was becoming a challenge for her. "You alright there, sugarcube? You look more sick than Applebloom did when she found out where babies came from," Applejack told her, gently rubbing her back. Sunset took a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Nervous is all." That was the second time she had lied to Applejack. And Applejack could always tell if someone in their group was lying. But she guessed since she's been so distant that the other girl didn't persue the subject in fear of completely pushing her away from her and the rest of the girls. Which was a nice gesture, but she didn't really need them to be that considerate of her. She was beginning to feel more like a charity case than a friend. She knew these were just her negative thoughts getting the best of her, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't slept a wink in three weeks, and hadn't eaten properly in two. She was weak, and she hated it. They entered the principal's office without a word. Vice Principal Luna closed the door softly behind them as Principal Celestia shut the blinds. Sunset felt a sense of deja vu, as this was what exactly happened when they had came here a few weeks before to warn them about The Dazzlings. Celestia sat down at her desk and folded her arms. "Good afternoon, ladies." She greeted. "I bet you're all wondering why you're all here." "Wow! She's good!" Pinkie whispered. The other five smacked their foreheads. "Please do continue, Principal Celestia," Rarity told her, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at Pinkie's antics. "Yes, well, you all have probably heard that Flash Sentry is ill." The older women stated. The girls nodded. "Pinkie said it was just a cold. But judgin' by the look on yer face, Ah'd say this ain't no regular cold," Applejack said with a frown. "Very heedful of you, Applejack." Celestia praised. "But yes, you are absolutely correct. This is no regular cold." She reached under her desk and pulled out three different folders which Sunset recognized as student records. "Three students this week have come down with the same illness. Sunny Rays, Trixie Lulamoon, and of course, as you know, Flash Sentry." Celestia gave them all a serious look. "You all are the most magic knowledged at this school and have connections to magic also thanks to Twilight Sparkle. I'm tasking you with the job of finding out what's causing this and eliminating it." "Uh, Principal Celestia," Rainbow piped. "Not to break up the serious mood or anything, but I don't think this is as serious as you're making it out to be. I mean, it's not exactly winter, but people get the flu and stuff like that all the time. How do we know it isn't you know, just that?" Vice Principal Luna cleared her throat to get their attention. "We don't. That's why as a precautionary effort, we're asking you six to be on the look out for anything peculiar." "Got ya." Dash nodded. "Speaking of peculiar, we have a serious problem," Sunset said putting her hands down on Celestia's desk. "Oh? And what would that be?" Celestia asked with a raised brow. "Our Twilight, as in the Twilight Sparkle from our world, has started to stalk around the school looking for signs of magic. She might know about everything that's happened these past few months. We need to get rid of her, especially now that we might have a threat against the school." Celestia hummed. "Understood. Don't worry about her. We'll take care of it." She said with a smirk. Sunset shivered involuntarily. Something about Celestia's words didn't seem....right. "Well, lunch is over and I do want you all to be punctual for class. So off you all go." Celestia said, making a shooing motion with her hands. Once they were sure they were all out of earshot, Fluttershy brought up something they had all been thinking. "Didn't they seem a little...off to you guys?" "Are you kidding me?! Everything about them screamed 'under a bad mojo'!" Dash nearly shouted. "I say we write to Twilight about this whole thing pronto!" "No!" Sunset snapped rather loudly. She coughed. "I-I mean, you had a point earlier. We don't know if it truely is magic, or some sucky cold. We shouldn't worry her unless we absolutely need her help." "Sunset's right," Applejack said, backing her up. "Twilight is a princess. And while we're her friends, she has friends just like us back home too. She has alot to worry about already and us freaking out over every little abnormality will stress her out." Sunset inwardly sighed in relief. Applejack to the rescue. She didn't know where that outburst had came from, but she knew it probably stemmed from her being so adamant about keeping her inner turmoil to herself. She guessed she panicked when Dash brought up Twilight because she thought they were going to tattle on her for being bitchy. Bitchy didn't always equal evil though, and though Sunset had been a real bitch in the past, being one and having an attitude was completely different. But it didn't feel that way. Not to her. It felt like she had taken a giant step back and was resting on the space between start and her past. She felt like she was in limbo, like one wrong move could send her in a blood thirsty frenzy. She started to feel dizzy and her body began to sway. "Sunset? Oh dear...she looks so pale..." Fluttershy whispered in worry. Sunset collapsed on the floor. "Sunset!" The rest of the girls cried, crowding around her.