"Well Diana, now that you've been here for two weeks, what do you think of our school so far?" Luna asked Diana as the two walked down the hallways filled with students, most of whom moved out of the way of the teachers. "I've heard from the students how most seem to...listen to you, though I can't help but feel that they might be afraid of you."
"I'm an intimidating person. I try not to be, but when you're raised like I was it comes naturally," Diana explained to Luna, who raised an eyebrow in response. "But I like the students. Most of them. Rainbow Dash keeps getting on my nerves and some of the other students aren't even trying, but the rest seem like good souls that just need a little help."
"Yes, Rainbow can be a bit of a problem academically, but she does have incredible talent...and magic," Luna whispered under her breath, not knowing that Diana could hear her fine. "Also, you have Sunset Shimmer in one of your classes, correct? How is she doing?"
Diana made sure to watch Luna's face carefully out of the corner of her eye when she answered. "She's been falling asleep a lot in class and that's when she manages to keep herself awake. I don't believe I've had a single class that she's made it all the way through awake."
"Ah," Luna responded while biting her lip.
"But she is an intelligent student and one that is trying her best. That's one of the reasons that I haven't docked her any points yet," Diana continued. Luna gave Diana a stunned look at the news while the other teacher's eyes narrowed. "And I know that the lack of sleep isn't her fault. She's being plagued by nightmares, nightmares that have her scared for her life. I just wish I knew how to help her."
"So do I, Diana. So do I," Luna agreed before thinking the problem over in her mind. But then the teacher was distracted by something that she saw posted on the wall outside of the cafeteria, something that made her snarl slightly. "So that's why sister was so insistent that I go with you to the cafeteria. Because it's freaking taco Tuesday."
"Do you not like Tacos?" Diana asked, but then the both of them heard the sounds of shouting and screaming coming from the other side of the doors, followed by a tray filled with food striking the windows in front of them.
"No, Diana, I love tacos fine. It's just that for some strange reason every time it's taco Tuesday, something bizarre happens in this school!" Luna snarled as she glanced through the other window to see what the damage was. "First it was the sirens singing, then it was some kind of serpent that nearly turned the kids to stone and..." Luna realized what she was saying and whipped her head around to Diana, who was giving the assistant principal a curious look.
"The sirens were a group of singers and the serpent was nothing more than a student in a costume. Still strange, wouldn't you agree?" Luna backpedaled as fast as she could.
"Yes. That is indeed strange," Diana agreed before the screaming got louder.
"Fortunately, it only seems like a food fight today," Luna sighed before giving Diana a glance. "So, think you've been here long enough that you're ready to put a stop to a food fight."
"It has to be easier than getting shot at." Leaving the wide-eyed Luna with that remark, Diana kicked open the doors and walked into the cafeteria to find the place in complete shambles. Students were hurling not only food, but also backpacks and trays. Yet even as she ducked out of the way of a flying muffin and took shelter behind a pillar, Diana felt the strangest traces of magic.
'So, are the students here being controlled? Or is this just usual behavior?' she pondered to herself before one of the students, a blue haired boy by the name of Flash Sentry that she had in the morning class, noticed the teacher behind the pillar.
"We've got a new teacher in the warzone!" Flash called out to the other students as he leapt up onto the desk, turning every head in the room towards Diana. "Let's give her a welcome to Canterlot High that she'll never forget!" Flash called out before taking aim with a bowl of spaghetti in his hands, nearly every other student in the room doing the same.
Diana just had a few seconds before the fight would resume, but in those moment she used her incredible speed to glance around at every person in the room. First was their eyes, which was where she normally saw signs of mind control. But to her fascination their eyes didn't look any different. Another thing that drew her attention was how all of the students were smiling, as if they were having fun.
'So, you kids find breaking the rules and harassing the teachers for fun, huh?' Diana thought as she stamped down on a tray that rested near her feet, launching it off of the floor and into her hands just as the students began to fling food towards her. 'Then let's have fun.'
With precision that very few others could match, Diana began to swat or deflect the food items that were hurled at her out of the way, a smile crossing her face when the students' jaws dropped for a brief moment before a look of rage flashed across Flash's face. A look that no student should be able to make.
'So something is wrong here. Time to find out what.' Diana then began to walk into the center of the room, using the tray to deflect everything that was thrown at her. The dozens of students tried harder and harder to hit her, some of them throwing things like forks and metal trays. But with a smile still upon her face, Diana managed to deflect anything that came at her, even attacks from behind that she shouldn't have been able to see.
"That...isn't possible..." Flash whispered to himself in so low a voice that only Diana heard him. Her eyes narrowed when she began to advance through the gobsmacked students towards Sentry, one of her hands reaching inside of her jacket for the Lasso of Truth.
"Stop it! All of you!" Every head in the room, including Diana, turned to see Sunset Shimmer standing in the doorway to the cafeteria, black bags under her eyes that burned like a fire. Diana took a quick glance around to see that most of the students had stopped moving at her arrival and none of them threw anything as Sunset walked into the room.
"We are Canterlot High! We are the students that fought back against Crystal Prep and fought off the spell of the sirens! And yet all of you are acting like...like..." Sunset tried to finish before she let out a loud yawn. "We are better than this! Our school should act like a team, not throwing food at one another!"
To the surprise of Diana, the room seemed to calm down at Sunset's words. Students began to lower their arms and gazed at Diana and each other with guilty looks. Only Flash remained unfazed by Sunset's words, but Diana could still only gaze at Sunset with an impressed gaze.
"Well done," Diana said with praise to Sunset, who smile tiredly at the teacher before gazing at the students who had started to clean up the room. Then one of the students pointed up and both Diana and Sunset looked up to see that one of the fluorescent lights had fallen out of the ceiling and was heading straight for Sunset.
'She's too tired to move out of the way,' Diana realized as Sunset had only just began to process what was happening. She blinked her eyes right before the light came crashing down on her...only to blink as a fist collided with the light and pulverized it out of existence. If the room could get any quieter, it did as every student gazed at Diana, who retracted her arm before gazing down at Sunset. "Are you alright? None of the glass hit you, did it?"
"No...I think I'm fine," Sunset said with uncertainty as she glanced down at herself. Diana gazed from the student to the light, narrowing her eyes in the process. She then gazed around the room, noticing that Flash had lowered himself off of the table with eyes that seemed confused.
"Well, glad to see that's over," Luna said as she walked into the room, a look on her face that made every student know they were in trouble. "Diana, thank you for putting a stop to that. I would have helped, but honestly after seeing your ninja moves I would have probably gotten in the way."
"It was no problem," Diana said as she gazed down at Sunset, who was holding a hand to her head. "Sunset, I want to see you after class later. Now go get some rest and be careful." Sunset nodded as she left he cafeteria while Luna turned towards Flash and motioned for him to join them.
"Well Flash, what do you have to say for yourself?" Luna asked the boy when he walked over, her tone of voice telling Diana that she was extremely angry. Flash blinked once in confusion as his reply, further angering Luna. "Flash, for this little food fight of yours, I have no choice but to-"
"Detention Flash. Tomorrow. With me," Diana butted in before Luna could finish, her words causing Luna to turn towards her with shock. Diana swiftly moved beside Luna and placed her mouth close to the assistant principals ear. "I do not believe Flash was entirely in control of his actions. There is something wrong here, something very wrong."
Luna gave Diana another strange look while Diana walked out of the cafeteria, needing to consult Athena before deciding on her next move.
-wWw-
The last of the students had cleared out of the classroom as Diana finished erasing her notes from the whiteboard, turning around to find that Sunset was asleep in her seat once more. As Diana watched, Sunset's face became distorted and she began to whimper slightly as she tossed and turned. After a few more moments Sunset shot up in her seat, her face pale as she held a hand to her heart.
"I fell asleep in class again, didn't I?" she asked after having a moment to recover, Diana's nod causing Sunset to groan as she held her hands in her hands. "I'm so sorry. All I can seem to do nowadays is mess up." Diana and Athena shared a glance before Diana walked over to Sunset, sitting down in the desk before her and placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"Sunset...what is the matter. And please be honest with me." Sunset averted her gaze from Diana, yet was unable to hide the fear in her eyes.
"It's...nothing. Nothing you can help me with."
"Then you need to see someone who can. Maybe a sleep doctor or-"
"No. No one can help me. Not with this."
Diana's face hardened at her words and she placed her hand under Sunset's chin, lifting the girl's eyes so she was looking directly into Diana's. "Sunset, I have dealt with problems the likes of which you could not believe. I am your teacher. I am not only here to teach you, but to help you when you need me. You can trust me."
For a long moment, Sunset just gazed up into Diana's eyes before letting out a sigh and hiding her head in her arms. "I've been having nightmares. Terrible nightmares. In them...my friends need my help but I'm unable to help them. In some of the worst ones I'm actually the one that kills them. And at the end of all of my dreams, this thing with metal limbs tells me how I'm going to fail, how I'm going to be the one responsible for the downfall of this world. All because I'm not good enough. And then it kills me. Over and over."
"And you believe it?" Diana asked after a few moments of silence.
"Of course. Because it's right," Sunset said with a nod. "Because I failed those who believed in me in the past. I'm nothing more than a-"
"Do not finish that statement," Diana cut her off with such force that Sunset actually managed to open her eyes all the way in surprise. "In the two weeks I have been here, I have had no other student that has impressed me as much as you. You are exhausted, to the point where you constantly pass out, but you still manage to do well on tests and earlier today stopped students from throwing a massive food fight with nothing but your words. You are an amazing person, Sunset, and you shouldn't listen to what a nightmare has to say."
"I'm scared, Diana," Sunset finally admitted to Diana. Sunset's body shivered and she wrapped her hands around her arms, gazing down at the desk with fear shaking her. "Scared that every time I fall asleep that thing and its voice will be there. Scared that one day I'll go to sleep and won't wake up. I'm so scared...that this nightmare will kill me."
Diana gently gazed down at the student who was shivering in her seat, wondering what she could do to help. Then Diana reached into her jacket with one hand and placed the other over Sunset's. "Sunset, do you trust me?" Diana asked Sunset, who gazed back at her with scared eyes. "If you do, I want you to try and sleep here. Trust me," Diana continued before Sunset could argue. "And I promise that this time will be different."
For the longest moment of her life Sunset gazed up at Diana. Then she took in a shaky breath and lowered her head onto her arms. With how tired she was, it only took a moment before Sunset was fast asleep on her desk. The moment Diana sensed that Sunset was asleep she slipped the Lasso of Truth out from her jacket and gently placed it into Sunset's grasp.
"What are you doing?" Athena asked Diana as the teacher stepped away from the desk, watching Sunset's face with held breath. Sunset let out a sigh as her hand began to glow gold before a smile spread across her face, which in turn caused a smile to spread out across Diana's.
"This nightmare that Sunset has been having has been telling her that she's a failure, that she will be the downfall of her friends and that she's better off dead," Diana informed Athena, who raised an eyebrow in response. "And after so long of being subjected to those lies, I think she was beginning to believe them."
"So that's why you gave her the lasso."
"Correct. I don't care how powerful the nightmare or how strong the lies, with that lasso Sunset will only be able to dream about the truth about herself...and from the look on her face," Diana said as she glanced over at Sunset, who was sleeping with a smile spread across her face and finally resting peacefully. "I'd say that she's finally having a good dream."
Diana then walked over to her desk and pulled out the papers that she still had to grade. She knew that with her super speed she could grade all of them in a matter of moments, but then she glanced over to Sunset who was still sleeping with a smile on her face. A soft smile spread across Diana's face before she turned back to the papers, planning to take a long time grading them. As long as Sunset needed.