//------------------------------// // Sunset's Teacher // Story: You aren't a bully // by Angrywritingskills //------------------------------// “This Warden guy,” Twilight said, lowering her head into her hands. “What was he like? He seems to be a big part of this.” “He is,” Sunset nodded, now lost in memory. “Truth is I kind of had a crush on him for a while,” Sunset blushed and averted her eyes. “He was this big hunky male. Heh, big hunky male, Twilight. You would know about them, right?” Sunset wiggled her eyebrows causing Twilight to blush. “Aha ha, moving on,” Twilight nervously chuckled. “You were saying how important Warden was.” “Yeah, but I was also saying how handsome he was,” Sunset stretched her hands over her head. Yawning too she suddenly stood up and began walking away. “Where are you going?” Twilight asked, still seated. “Nowhere,” Sunset replied, walking behind the counter of the bakery. She looked around kitchen area at all the cabinets and shelves. They were all aligned neatly along the walls, making the kitchen more spacious. “What are you doing back there?” Twilight had walked over to the counter of the bakery, but hesitated to walk into the actual kitchen area. “Do you think Pinkie has anything to eat back here? I’m a bit peckish,” Sunset opened the nearest cabinet and began rummaging through its contents. “Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight exclaimed using the full name, meaning Sunset was in trouble. “You can’t just go through other people’s stuff. That’s stealing!” “No one’s going to mine,” Sunset replied and continued her search. “Besides I’m not hurting anyone, I’m just trying to eat. I’ll pay back Pinkie or the Cakes if I have to.” “Yeah but,” Twilight wiggled around a bit, “I thought you were above this now. You’ve been making such good progress. Please don’t slip back now. You’re just” “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” Sunset screamed at the top of her lungs. “Holy tits and ass, motherfucking dicks!” Sunset looked at Twilight whose mouth was on the floor. “Sorry,” Sunset blushed. “I guess remembering the bullies brought up some bad habits. This is how they talked to each other.” “What in the world could have initiated that kind of response?” Twilight asked still in apparent shock. “Twilight,” Sunset reached into the cabinet she was looking through and took out a yellow and white box. She smiled giddily while waving the box around and pointing. “Sugar cubes, Twi. Sugar cubes.” Twilight shook her head to try and clear it. She rubbed her temples and blinked several times. “Sunset,” Twilight looked her friend dead in the eye, “bring those muthafuckin sugar cubes over here.” The two girls’ Equestrian side kicked in as they opened the box. Taking turns reaching their hands in, the two former ponies devoured every last cube in the box in a ravenous spree. It left them highly content, cheering up their mood. The added sugar also rejuvenated them and for the time being, got them less sleepy. “Damn, those were some tasty ass treats,” Sunset smirked, suckling her finger. “Know what I mean, B?” Twilight, also suckling her finger, looked at Sunset strangely. “Sunset, you’re doing it again.” The fiery hair girl smiled innocently before laughing. “Sorry, sorry it’s just,” Sunset fidgeted around and burst into a series of giggles. “Sorry, sugar high,” Sunset apologized and tried to contain herself. Twilight sighed happily. To think that Sunset had started this night in a grief stricken panic, now she was actually enjoying herself. It was as if Sunset was lost in a good memory. Twilight figured that maybe there were things that Sunset actually didn’t regret. So maybe she wasn’t as bad a person as she made herself out to be. After getting herself composed, Sunset resumed with Twilight. “So where was I?” Sunset asked still smiling. “I just have a quick question,” Twilight said. “Were you and this Warden guy, friends?” This stopped Sunset’s sugary disposition. She leaned back in her chair and breathed in deeply. “No,” Sunset answered. “Back then I never considered anyone a friend.” She closed her eyes, seemingly unsatisfied with her own answer. “Oh,” Twilight disappointedly looked down. “However,” Sunset reopened her eyes and Twilight looked back up, “we did do things that could consider us friends. We hung out, chatted, and enjoyed each other’s company. So if you want to call him my friend, then he was my friend.” Twilight smiled. “I knew you couldn’t be that bad.” “Yeah,” Sunset smiled, thankful Twilight was with her. “In fact, you could consider most of the bullies to be my friends. I hung out with them during the early years.” Sunset stopped, tears welling up in her eyes. “That’s why when I betrayed them, it was so bad.” Sunset quickly covered her eyes and huffed her breath. In response, Twilight reached her hand out and rubbed Sunset’s forearm in an effort to comfort her. “It’s alright,” Twilight said softly. “You’re above that now.” Upon hearing Twilight’s words, Sunset suddenly steeled herself and stopped crying. She decided she had enough for tonight and mustered her confidence to trudge on. It was a step in the right direction to getting herself over her past. “Warden was more than a hunky guy that I now consider a friend,” Sunset said. “He was my teacher.” Twilight took interest at the word teacher. “At the Rumbler he taught me what I needed to know to rule the school.” *** Warden eyed Sunset with his dark black eyes. His right hand was held up and his fingers were engaged in a wiggling fit. An eyebrow arched itself above his eye in an inquisitive way which indicated he was a bit confused with how to continue. Sunset on the other hand just looked at him expectantly with her arms crossed. “So,” Warden said wearily and quiet, “you smoke?” Sunset raised an eyebrow and Warden shook his head. “Never mine, stupid question. Freshies don’t smoke.” He looked back at the fighting, soon after and burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?” Sunset asked, a bit annoyed by his outburst. Warden pointed. “Some guy just got hit in the head with a coconut,” he snickered and bobbed his head. “Why would someone have a coconut?” Sunset looked to the crowd to try and find the culprit. “Exactly!” Warden exclaimed, still laughing. Sunset continued to look at the Rumbler before finally losing interest. What she wanted was to get answers from Warden. He was her ticket to power over the school and Sunset was keen on taking it as soon as possible. So for the third time, Sunset moved in front of Warden, blocking his view of the Rumbler. “Tell me how to get power in the school,” Sunset said with her hands of her hips. Warden rolled his eyes. “Why do you even want power in school? It’s really not that big of a deal.” Sunset narrowed her eyes, surprised and shocked by what he said. However, mostly she was irritated. It was obvious he didn’t want to deal with her right now and Sunset knew it. Her ambition, however, wouldn’t let his laziness deter her. So she answered his question. “I want power because I refuse to be another waste of oxygen that just walks around the halls to each class like a drone. I want to be a person that inspires dread into the normal day walker student. And I want to make my mark.” Sunset crossed her arms. “Well,” Warden rubbed his chin, not really showing how he felt. “You’re ambitious, I’ll give you that. However,” Warden cast his arm over the entire crowd, “do you think any of them will let you do that?” Sunset turned around and looked out in the crowd. She turned back around, scowling. “I don’t care about them. They can all rot for all I care. The only thing I care about is me.” Warden shifted around in his throne, looking bored. “You’re gonna want to let go of that philosophy,” he said. “It’s going to hurt you. Lemme tell you something.” Warden crossed his legs. “With bullies, power comes from leadership. You’re only as powerful as the number of people that support you. These people,” he pointed to the crowd, “will never support you.” Sunset gritted her teeth. “Why? Because I’m a girl, or is it because I’m a freshman?” “Right and right,” Warden smiled. “Did Badger tell you that? He sure can be a smart one if he tries.” Warden tried looking over Sunset while staying seated. “Speaking of which, where is he?” Sunset frowned but moved out of Warden’s way. He peered into the fighting, leaning forward in his throne to get a better view. Sunset too looked but with much less enthusiasm. After a good search neither of them found him and they gave up. “Damn,” Warden leaned back. “Hope he ain’t dead.” He shrugged after that. “I don’t believe you two, by the way,” Sunset blurted out. “I will have power, and I don’t care what you say.” Warden let out a quick laugh which made Sunset angrier. She clenched her fists and took a step towards Warden, making it clear she was looking for a fight. Warden in turn stood up from his throne. The effect was pure intimidation felt by Sunset Shimmer. The leader of the bullies easily towered over the girl, much taller than Badger which meant Sunset was puny compared to the goliath in front of her. His shadow engulfed Sunset into darkness. She began walking backwards in fear and to get herself away. Warden responded by stepping towards, and causing her to move backwards even more. They locked eyes the whole time, Warden staring with harsh predatory eyes and Sunset looking back with wide alert eyes. This act continued until Sunset, not looking where she was going, tripped over a small pile of junk and fell onto her back. This was when Warden decided to strike. He bent over Sunset and stuck his hands out. Sunset immediately flinched and shut her eyes as Warden took hold of her. Gently as he could, Warden lifted Sunset up into a sitting position on top of the junk pile. “You may want to have a seat,” Warden said, turning around. “We’re going to have a long talk.” He walked back over to his throne and sat down on it. There was an awkward silence between the two of them, with both fidgeting around a bit. Sunset put her hand to the back of her head. “What are we talking about?” she asked, now calm. Warden’s gentle action confused her but relieved her at the same time. She wasn’t about to try fighting him again but she wasn’t looking to back down yet. Maybe letting Warden do his thing for a while would yield another opportunity for her. “I,” Warden paused and shook his head. “Shit, I’ve never done this before.” He exhaled. “Listen, lemme tell you a story.” Warden leaned back in his throne. “Way back in the day the school you and I go to was a mosh pit of chaos.” Warden smiled, reminiscing. “The hallways were a fight for survival, no one was really left out. The bullies were at war with each other. See, we never took sides back then. Every bully was on his own and we viewed each other as an enemy. So everyone participated in a free for all for control of the school. This lead to many consequences and repercussions, and the smarter of us started to realize we were going to die out if we continued on this path. The school was starting to systematically punish us with detention and even expulsion.” Warden quickly bowed his head and then brought it back up, almost like he had to take a moment to pray. “The smarter of us realized that we needed leadership but we also knew that bullies would never take orders or recognize leadership. So they devised a way to make them follow. Thus the Rumbler was made.” Warden looked at Sunset. “Why tell me this?” Sunset asked, not really interesting in all this. “Because,” Warden explained, “it is history. Bully history is something only a few bullies really study and something that is limited but eventful. Still, it makes me happy to see how much we’ve accomplished.” Warden bobbed his head, grinning in a happy mood. “I’ll tell you what, Sunset. Let me ramble for tonight and I will help you get your power.” Sunset crossed her arms. “Fine,” she spat. “This better be interesting though.” Warden smiled. “This is just how it goes. I had to go through this too. You’ll enjoy it.” “Go through what?” Sunset asked, peering at Warden. “The trials of getting any type of power,” Warden replied. “Remember when I said you’re either born into power or you take it? Well, it can also be passed down.” Warden grinned, giddily. Sunset gasped. “You would do that?” Her mind raced with the prospect of getting her power so easily. Warden frowned. “Not for you, stupid.” Warden flicked his head towards the fighting down below them. “For the guy down there actually fighting the good fight.” Sunset’s eyes widened at realization. “Badger?” she exclaimed. “You want him to be the next leader?” “Maybe not the next,” Warden shrugged. “In fact he can’t be. The other bullies won’t allow a freshman to lead them. But I hope that he can be the leader, one day at least.” “No offence to your choice,” Sunset said. “But Badger is an idiot. He’s just so dumb. There’s no way he could make a good leader.” Warden clearly took offense to this. He snarled. “Oh really? Why, because he can’t read or write like a damn nerd? Or is it because he’s in those retard classes that every bully is in anyways?” Warden sat up straight in his throne. “Knowledge isn’t power when it comes to bullies. Bullies respond to one thing and that’s force. Something you will never be able to show.” Sunset turned her head away. “Hmmph,” she grunted. “Badger just doesn’t seem like the fit. He’s a bit of a push over.” Warden nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, but he’s a freshy. Right now that’s what he’s supposed to do. When he hits sophomore year that all changes.” Warden laughed to himself. “And think about it, he’s only a freshman. He’s massive for a freshy. Think about him as a senior. Probably gonna be the biggest bully Canterlot High has ever seen.” “Another thing,” Sunset interjected, uninterested with Warden’s conversation, “he follows me around all school day. Does that sound like a leader to you?” Warden nervously stretched. “No, but that’s why you’re going to be there with him.” This took Sunset by surprise. “M-me?” she shifted backwards. “What are you talking about?” “Behind every great man is a woman,” Warden remarked, “or his mom screaming at him. The point is both of you will hopefully lead together.” “I don’t understand,” Sunset said. “How and why? Why would I lead with him?” “Well, I mean I’d hope his girlfriend would be as part of this as he,” Warden smirked. Sunset felt a weird tingling in her chest. Her face flushed. “He isn’t my boyfriend,” she said quietly. “And why not?” Warden asked, crossing his arms. “He’s a great guy and it’s not like he’s ugly. Most of us bullies are just god ugly.” Warden laughed. “And even if you don’t like him that way, then at least do it for the power that comes with it.” The last part gained Sunset’s attention. “Power?” she said. “Yeah,” Warden nodded. “If you’re connected to him while he’s leader then you can possibly have some of it.” He clapped his hands. “It’s just what you wanted.” Sunset thought on it. She had no intention of sharing power with anyone let alone some imbecile. However, if she could bump him off then she would be the only one left. An idea formed. “I see your point,” Sunset said carefully. “But I don’t know if I should go ahead.” “Tell you what,” Warden clapped his hands. “I want you to meet my sister.” He leaned in close to Sunset. “Remember when I told you that there are no female bullies?” Sunset nodded her head and Warden smiled. “I lied about that too.” Sunset jumped out of her seat and ran to Warden. She pressed her face against his. “Tell me everything!” she growled with anger in her voice. Warden grabbed her by her jacket and threw her to the ground. “Sit back down,” he snarled and Sunset scurried back to her pile, sitting back on it but still miffed. Warden quickly regained his composure. “As I was saying, there have been female bullies before. Although they are not identified as bullies, there were extremely similar.” “How?” Sunset narrowed her eyes. “Every since I’ve asked, Badger has been telling me a girl could never be a bully. And I believed him.” Warden laughed. “Badger doesn’t know. He wasn’t there when girls ran the school.” Warden smiled. “It was a vastly different time back then. For those that were there and remember, it was pure pandemonium.” Warden looked at Sunset with a smirk. “I’ll try to get you to meet my sister as soon as possible. She was a bully, one of the best.” Sunset thought on this. It seemed like every moment plans needed to be changed to something more efficient to take over the school. If she could rule the school like these girl bullies then she should be successful like they were. She decided that she would have to sit down one day and make an official plan. “Alright, deal,” Sunset replied to Warden. “Good,” Warden gleamed, “good.” He looked away from Sunset and back to the Rumbler. His eyes became fixated on it and he relaxed considerable. “This is the life,” he said. Down below them the fighting raged on. Bullies latched onto each other and tossed themselves to the ground. Fighting styles ranged from grappling opponents, actually fighting one on one, and even hit and run tactics. Those that didn’t exactly know how to fight wrestled with their opponent, exhausting each other and not accomplishing much. The bullies that knew how to fight maintained a stance and mainly punched and kicked in an effort to seriously hurt their opponents. Still there were some that chose no direct confrontation and instead fought in a sneaky fashion. They chose to sneak up on others and sucker punch them before running into the crowd. A couple of the sucker punches actually sent bullies onto the ground, effectively ending their participation. On the sidelines, spectators cheered or stood silently watching. Those that cheered were mainly girlfriends of the bullies fighting. They encouraged their boyfriend to win but when he inevitably was incapacitated, a couple of the girls would drag him out. Then the girls would grieve over the defeated bully or reprimand him for losing if that was their relationship. The people silently watching were either nervous freshmen not yet ready to fight or bullies that chose not to participate. Each bully not participating had their reason and instead they strangely patrol the perimeter. Most of the time, they stood still and watched. About ten minutes had gone by and at least an eighth of the bullies had been ejected from the Rumbler. They either laid on the sidelines cuddling their wounds and watching or were still out cold. Sunset watched the Rumbler with confusion. “What happenes now?” she asked Warden. “Now, we wait,” he replied. “The truth is the Rumbler usually lasts about half an hour or so. The longest was like forty five mintues.” “Really?” Sunset said her opinion about this fighting changed negatively. It wasn’t so bad if it ended quickly, right? “Yeah,” Warden shrugged. “The most important night of the year and the action ends too quickly to be really exciting.” He rested his head on his chin. “Reminds me of my first time having sex.” His comment caused Sunset to blush at the mere mention of sex. Warden looked a Sunset with a grin. “Sorry, forgot you freshies are shy about that type of stuff. That’ll all change soon,” he stretched. “Soon you’ll be talking about sex, birth control, and dicks.” “Could we please talk about something else?” Sunset asked, turning her head to the side so Warden wouldn’t see her blushing. “Sure,” Warden nodded. “Want to learn more about the Rumbler?” Sunset nodded, still not looking at Warden, and Warden started. “Well, no one knows when the Rumbler was first started but it is rumored to have stemmed from fights on school grounds. These would be mass fighting at schools which supposedly were power struggles. Eventually bullies got expelled so they decided to move it to somewhere else. The Rumbler’s location has changed every couple of years but it’s always been a grand spectacle to decide who will be kind. One king to rule them all.” Warden smiled happily. “You mentioned this Rumbler is between Canterlot High and the neighboring communities,” Sunset said, recovering from her embarrassment. “Does that mean you rule over those communities too?” Warden looked over the crowd. “No,” he said with scorn. “The other comminutes just come for the enjoyment but they don’t participate in Canterlot High rule.” Warden held his arm to the left. “The farm boys,” then he held his arm to the right, “and the hoodlums. They are the two basic groups that come here.” Warden grinned. “They hate each other. Two opposite cultures coming together to vent their hate in an arena. Pretty poetic. Then there’s us. The suburbs. Best of both worlds if you ask me.” Warden pointed his finger. “See the guys patrolling around the Rumbler? Well those are some of the guys that are from the other communities. Some of them patrol the place and make sure the fight is good. Quite noble of them, it’s very appreciated.” Warden turned to Sunset. “This is as much a competition as it is entertainment. Everyone wants to see the good fight and some will make sure it is.” Sunset took in the information, cursing herself for not bringing paper to take notes like she did earlier. “What is it like being the leader? All that power and control must be exhilarating.” “Hah!” Warden spat. “That’s what I thought when I took the job.” He looked at Sunset. “Trust me, being the leader of all the bullies isn’t what it seems. It’s more of a job, in fact. I’m more like a bully moderator, trying to keep everything in check.” Warden slammed his fist down in frustration. “I have to deal with such bullshit sometimes!” “But they listen to you,” Sunset argued. “Yeah,” Warden agreed. “But it’s not like they do what I say because I’m their leader, they do it out of fear. A fear I put in them and I have to constantly remind them that I did it.” “Sounds like a good deal to me,” Sunset leaned back. “Sure,” Warden flicked his head. “But it’s really taxing, exerting control. If there was a way to bring about order without having to manually use force that would be amazing.” Warden slumped on his throne. “Have you seen Badger, by the way?” Warden asked Sunset. “I haven’t been looking,” Sunset turned to the Rumbler and glanced down. In the swirly vortex of violence she narrowed in. Eventually she spotted a shirtless boy skulking around the outskirts. “Found him,” she pointed down. Warden followed Sunset’s finger down to the fighting. Eventually he too spotted Badger. “Good eye,” he grinned at Sunset. “Figured you’d be able to find your boyfriend.” Sunset turned red with embarrassment. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she muttered, again denying any romantic ties she might have. They continued to look down at Badger, tracing his movements. He seemed to move quickly like a mouse in a maze. However, he wasn’t like the other bullies. He didn’t fight and instead moved around. This seemed to upset Warden. “Come on,” he groaned under his breah. “Fight someone, kid.” Down below, Badger made his way through the chaos. The ground beneath him was muck and it seeped into his shoes, making each step an awkward squish. Worse was he felt bare without his top. He curse to himself, at times out loud, to whatever predicament was ailing him at the moment. He cursed Warden, the muck, the fighting, but not Sunset. Somewhere up there she was watching him and Badger knew it. It gave him the slightest comfort. Around him, bullies fought with the fierceness of wild animals. There was punching, kicking, throwing, and even a bit of biting. Badger did his best to weave in and out of the disorder but had a couple close calls with bullies trying to hit him. At times he stepped over the bodies of the defeated and always looked down to give them a quick look before continuing on. His mission to himself was to avoid conflict. He didn’t want to fight but he knew that if he was pushed into a corner he would have no choice. So he ducked and dodged, feeling awkward and bare in the midst of pure violence. After stumbling for some time, he found himself at the edge of the Rumbler. Behind him was a sea of aggression, in front of him was a field of staring eyes. Badger had trouble deciding which was worse. Before he could make a decision where to go next, he found someone was grabbing his arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” A bully snarled and pushed Badger back towards the Rumbler. “I… uh… so,” Badger didn’t have any words and he found he couldn’t concentrate on speech. The bully pushed him again. “You better not be trying to leave. You got yourself into this situation, so get yourself out.” The bully continued to push Badger along until they got closer to the crowd of fighting bullies. Then the bully shouted. “Someone kill this runt!” he pointed and then ran away. Before Badger had time to wonder what was going on, he was approached by two other bullies. These two bullies had signs of battle of them, scuff marks covered their arms and chests. They looked at each other and then at Badger, forming a quick truce with one another. With smirks they began walking towards Badger who began to quiver. They were about to get within striking distance when they was a beastly roar. A bully behind the two bullies fell down and over him stepped a huge bully. Badger recognized who it was immediately. “Boxer?” Badger murmured. Boxer looked like a demon. He too was shirtless like Badger and this exposed his muscular body. It was the body of a fighter that Boxer possessed and it drew fear into Badger’s stomach. Badger himself was in good shape but he wasn’t like Boxer. Boxer lifted and he did it often. He had the barreled chest and big biceps. More than that, Boxer knew how to fight. It showed all over his body. His chest was covered in mud like he had been wrestling on the ground, and his knuckles were red from the stress of punching. Images from their previous fight flashed in Badger’s mind. He knew that if it hadn’t been for Warden, Boxer would have trashed him. Now there was no escape and no one to save him. “I’ve been looking forward to this,” Boxer started his monologue. “We never did finish our fight at school. I guess that okay because now I can really fuck you up in front of an audience.” Boxer held his arms open. Badger gulped down a bit of his anxiety and let it settle in his stomach. “I’m going to be the one to fuck you up,” he said looking Boxer in the eye. His words were not threatening at all. Boxer laughed in an almost evil way. “If it wasn’t for Warden, I would have rocked you. And now Warden isn’t here to fight for you.” Boxer took a step forward. “You’re gonna leave this place in a body bag,” he sneered and charged at Badger Badger squeezed his eyes shut and accepted his end.