Cliche
"That... that was..." Twilight stammered as she adjusted her glasses and rubbed at her eyes, dropping her pencil and pad into her lap. "The most adorable and sad story I've ever heard."
Shimmer felt her cheeks warm up as she denied her friend's statement. "Y-You can't be serious, Twilight. It's just an account of what happened last night..."
"And it was heart wrenching. By far the best thing I've heard in a while." Twilight scribbled down something before reading over everything she wrote. "I honestly wasn't expecting you two to be so intimate, not at this stage of the game and not like that. You guys were always arguing before."
"It wasn't intimate! It was just us being a little loopy from our head injuries," Shimmer concluded. She bit into her forgotten breakfast bar and huffed defiantly.
Twilight glanced at her friend and smirked. "Really? Because it says here that it was only Sunset that had a head injury. 'Sunset's arm provided a thin barrier against the concrete during the collision. There was no wound on Shimmer's end. Sunset, on the other hand, hit her head and was bleeding from her right temple.'"
The purple-haired girl propped her arm on the table and presented a smug grin to the other girl. "Weren't you the one holding Sunset in your arms when she was crying? And weren't you muttering small words of comfort to her? According to my notes, it even says you two woke up tangled in each other's arms."
"Wha-- No way! Give me that!" Shimmer unsuccessfully swiped at her friend and received a jolt of pain in her shoulder. She grimaced before gently cradling her arm. "It wasn't steamy like you make it out to be. You need to write accurate accounts, Twilight. Isn't that what you were fussing about before I even began to tell you what happened?"
Just then the bell rang for students to report to First Period. Twilight stood up from her seat and tapped her glasses. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you. Everything's written in an objective manner. I'm just glad you two don't seem to be quarreling as much anymore. It's a wonderful development in my research."
Shimmer sighed and followed her nerdy friend to Mr. Peace Sign's class. As per usual, the teacher was resting in his chair with his feet kicked up on the desk and a flask partially hidden by his long, itchy looking sweater that read "100% Recycled Material". The sweet yet smoky aroma of incense drifted into her nose and she closed her eyes. There was something about the smell that made her sleepy and more relaxed.
Shimmer walked over to her seat and sat down, smiling as she remembered something from before. Sunset a while back claimed that the perfume in the incense was used to cover up the smell of weed. While it would definitely explain the strange feeling that came over her, there was no way anything as light as the incense fragrance could disguise such a pungent stench.
"Stupid," she muttered, and grabbed her thermos from her bag's drink holder pouch.
Taking a sip from her cup, she looked around the room. Most of the other students had filed in by now or were hanging around the doorway. Twilight sat at her seat with a bunch of papers on her desk, no doubt a whole mess of calculations for some experiment of hers. On the radio that Mr. Peace Sign always had playing quietly in the background was one of the DJs covering last night's car dilemma. They spoke of the driver as being a criminal from Trottingham and concluded that he was far out in Neighbraska now. There was no mention of a near hit-and-run. Shimmer sighed and set her thermos down. It was a good thing; had Sunset not been there a reported casualty would be talked of right then on the radio.
A few moments later, the bell rang and the students in Mr. Peace Sign's class slowly made it to their seats.
"Alright, everyone, settle down in a chair," the English teacher drawled in his husky voice. Mr. Peace Sign placed his flask inside a drawer in his desk and grabbed his Attendance Book. He casually called out people's names and listened to the monotone "here" that came with it. When he called for Sunset and got no response, he looked up.
"Is Sunset Shimmer not here today?"
"Uh, no. She isn't," Shimmer spoke, raising her hand slightly. The class turned their attention to her and she sank into her chair. "Well, not her, at least."
"Huh, no Sunny? Is she sick or something?"
"Um...she's definitely not in an ideal condition."
Mr. Peace Sign nodded and marked Sunset's name in his log. "Tell her I said to chill out 'til she's feeling tubular." And with that he closed the book and cleared his throat. "Good morning, dudes. I hope all of you have had a great night's sleep. Today, we're going to do something a little bit differently. Instead of our normal chill session, I have some work for you all to do."
The quiet murmur of the class died down and the teenagers all turned their attention to him. Work? He actually had an assignment for them? Shimmer blinked in surprise and glanced around, finding similar looks of shock and confusion on other people's faces. Looks like she wasn't the only one who saw that it was an odd occurrence. Mr. Peace Sign cleared his throat and snatched off his hat, revealing his wild hair. He scratched at it vigorously and began to speak again.
"I know, I know. This is weird that I'm making you all do something, right? But relax. I promise you that it'll be entertaining. Besides, I have to put something in the gradebook." He leaned forward and planted his palms flat on his desk and smiled. "Now... Who knows the English requirements for this year?"
No one raised their hand. The only thing that was raised at the moment were their eyebrows.
"Anybody want to give it a gander? It's pretty basic stuff."
Shimmer shifted in her seat and wrapped her hands around the edge of her desk. This couldn't get any weirder. The stifling awkwardness in the air reminded her of the first day of school at a new learning facility. There was always this strange feeling of tension and discomfort among the students when they met their teachers and themselves. It was the day when people examined the crowd and judged, eyeing potential friends, enemies, boyfriend/girlfriend(s), outcasts, popular peeps, that one odd ball that even the outcasts wouldn't hang around, the clown, the handful of nerds, dorks, geeks, normal kids, and that one child who almost no one remembered existed.
This feeling rivaled that of the one you feel when you're on the bus surrounded by people you don't know. The first day was always iffy. And it almost always grew worse when the instructor suggested an icebreaker.
This sensation was, of course, about ten times less tense than that. After all, it was Mr. Peace Sign's room. The 25 by 30 foot room held the world's most relaxed man along with his scented incense.
"Nobody?" Mr. Peace Sign said aloud, not in the slightest bit upset. "Well it's easy to forget. The English Requirements for this year is this: you have to demonstrate communication skills and cooperation amongst your fellow classmates, show a high school level degree of literacy, write essays and papers, create and present presentations to the class, and be well versed in classic literature."
He cleared his throat and smiled at everyone. "Remember all of this, class. Without passing these necessary requirements, you cannot pass this English class. And that's just the general outline. There are more specific points to follow since English subdivides into English I, English II, Honors English I and II, and so forth. So class, to make sure all these points are hit, I've come up with a class project that incorporates all of the requirements!"
Mr. Peace Sign bent down next to his desk and lifted up a heavy box. With a loud thud, he dropped the hefty thing onto his workspace. "Will someone volunteer to pass these out?" He pointed at the contents inside the cardboard box.
By now, the students were thoroughly intrigued. An assignment in Mr. Peace Sign's class was the last thing they thought would happen. Shimmer watched as one of her classmates stood up and reached into the mysterious container. She saw their eyes light up with excitement as they drew out whatever was in there. They were books. Very old looking books.
The wonderment in everyone's voices only escalated. Shimmer eyed the box curiously. What's in there? By now the volunteer started passing the books around to her fellow classmates. Shimmer took a sip of her tea as she waited patiently for her copy of the book. She watched Twilight light up tremendously and crack open the publication with glee.
I wonder if Sunset would be just as excited as Twi...
"Here you go," a voice said to her left, interrupting her thoughts.
Shimmer muttered a thanks and took the object offered to her. To say that Shimmer was as pleased as everyone else was...eh...if anything, she was even more curious. The fiery haired girl delicately placed the ancient tome on the desk and examined it carefully. Her earlier observation had been right. These books were very old; the hard cover dusty and faded from being in the sun, the threaded binding loose and flimsy, only just holding the browned and crinkled papers together. Shimmer drifted the pad of her index finger over the work of literature and frowned distastefully at the specks of dirt it had gathered. With the amount of filth on the thing she couldn't even read the title.
With a quick puff of air from her mouth, she blew at the tome and was greeted by a swirling cloud. She swatted aimlessly at the air and coughed once, twice, and rubbed at her eyes. "Shouldn't have done that..."
At least the cover was readable. Well. Almost. Shimmer found that the gold letters were chipped from old age and made it hard to read. She squinted at it while sipping some tea from her thermos. It read Th raged of Rom o and li t...
"Alright, class! You all have your books now! What do you think?" Mr. Peace Sign asked.
A wave of approval came from his students as well as confusion. Mr. Peace Sign sighed happily, delighted with the mixed response. "Now, I know some of you might be thinking 'This is so corny! Why are we reading this?' Well, my dear class... Shakespeare is a must! An absolute requirement in English. You can't go off to college without reading at least several of his works and this is one of the most well known and beloved plays to have ever graced the face of Earth."
Shimmer frowned slightly. Shakespeare? Then this title... it must be...
"A story full of drama, rivalry, humor, plot twists, lovable characters, and most importantly forbidden love. This is a tale that stirred the world in its day and is still performed all over the world 500 years after its publication. A compelling story that's so out there that there's no doubt that all of you know how it ends," Mr. Peace Sign said. He held up his own copy and waved it slightly. "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is the perfect classic anecdote for this year's big project!"
Shimmer's eyes widened in surprise. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? She had never thought that she'd ever actually read it in class. She had seen shows and cartoons wherein which they'd do their own play about it but she didn't think that it'd be a real thing people did. That was so... cliche!
Mr. Peace Sign grinned as he set his book down. "Spring Break is in a day or two. Your assignment is to read Act 1 and write a five paragraph essay on what it's about. Use the last paragraph to share your thoughts on the play. you all have about thirty minutes of class left so get to reading!"
And with that, small conversations began buzzing among groups of students. Shimmer stared at the play in front of her in amusement. Mr. Peace Sign, the most relaxed guy anyone would ever know, had given them a project. She carefully opened the book and almost immediately the smell of worn paper hit her. The dusty, slightly burnt aroma of old books made her sigh in contentment. There was something about that smell that was oddly satisfying. She looked down at the pages and found it overflowing with poetic English from Ye Olden Days.
Looks like I'm in for a difficult read...
Putting the thermos to her lips one last time, she began to read the story of two star-crossed lovers.
Stats
Page generated in 0.038 seconds
Total duration
1,012 users online
1,316,975 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well first of all, hooray for update.
Secondly, some Shakespeare in old English.
orig05.deviantart.net/1b23/f/2015/082/7/c/luna_approved___badge_by_mremerald34-d8mt56j.png
My favourite Shakespeare quote is this one: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
As for ideas to help you. The only thing I see that would oblige her to go back to CHS would be the Sirens and go with the events of Rainbow Rocks. Though at the end Sunset muss decided, now that she has been forgiven and accepted, either to return back to CHS and give a second chance into friendship or stay at the other school, still filling too hurt to comeback. But whatever she choose, she will stay in contact with the humane 5 plus Sci-Twi and try to make her relation with Shimmer work.
Yep, liking Sci-twi in this fic. She seems fun.
And not to mention that
1. Methinks you have some words missing here.
The paragraph is cut off completely here.
I would expect a story like this one to end when all major obstacles are taken care of and both parties completely accept their feelings with a nice passionate smooch (something spontaneous and in good spirit) followed by an epilogue.
Edit: Or like above, but they get separated. In which case: move the kiss to the epilogue as a sort of sweet reunion thing.
7423092 Thanks for the feedback!
7422228 Kind of. Sunset has messed up some of the dances in the past. They weren't going to outright ban her from coming since:
A.) She's "turned over a new leaf"
B.) Principal Celestia would not agree to the Student Body's proposition
C.) Some of the students secretly wanted her to show up so that the dance would be a humiliating experience for her
Since Sunset was planning to go, the contract was a written agreement not to do anything outrageous. She could still dance and everything, but it her actions had to be in line with the contract.
Fluttercord? You have my interest. I'll have to check it out. Thx.
An ending eh?
Well, with Sunset there by herself recovering, it would give her a good opportunity to reflect on things. Her attitude, her doppelgangers, etc. A good time for introspection, perhaps she has an epiphany, sets a new goal for herself. If you end it on something like that, then there's plenty of room left over to take up the story again later.
Personally, as with any story I really like, I hate to see it come to an end. But whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be well done.
7424355
No problem.
My suggestions are bordering on trope territory so feel free to change it up a bit. Not that tropes are necessarily bad, because it's more in how you use them that determines their value. The kiss, for example, can be replaced with any personal gesture of affection. Heck, Toradora did it with a headbutt to the chin.
The real issue here is actually getting them to that point without making it feel forced, but you've done a good job so far so I have complete faith you can work something out.
7441844 Thanks for the feedback!
7443042 Aw, thanks! I'll do the best I can.
Thought I'd read the first few chapters of this before going bed
Now it's 4:34am and I regret nothing
The Sunset x Sunset ship is an obvious one and the lack of fics around it is criminal! And the way you write it, the image of two Sunsets snuggled up asleep on a couch together is just too adorable
And I like that this one focuses around evil Sunset! Makes for a very nice change
I have a question, towards the end of this story will we see her returning to CHS for the events of Rainbow Rocks, making this a midquel, or is it an entire AU? It would be cool to see her encounters with Shimmer eventually inspire her to return to CHS to give friendship another try. Plus I think we'd all love a Rainbow Rocks adaption with the inclusion of Sci-Twi and Shimmer!
Either way, can't wait to read the rest, keep up the good work
7473466 Thanks for the comment! I hope you got enough sleep to run the next day. As for the ending, I'm still deciding. While taking this story down the path to becoming more canon (returning to CHS for R.R.) is a common suggestion, I still feel as though I could twist it in some way. Long story short, this story might conclude quite differently from what any of us would expect. But I make no promises on the ending!
Have a good day!
CONTINUE: Y/N
Keep it up! Looking forward to more!
7611150 Thanks for pointing that out!
A change has been made to one of the paragraphs in Saying Sorry Couldn't be Any Harder. What do you think?