Sudden Departure
"Hush now child. I did not pick you because of your social standing. I told you that I saw great potential in you. It would be foolish of me not to nurture such a wonderful gift." The alicorn wiped the tears away from the foal's eyes. "I do not fault you for your reason on joining the school. Every pony has different goals in their hearts and yours was for a better life. It breaks my heart knowing that such things happen in my kingdom regardless of how peaceful I keep it."
Celestia motioned for the guards to leave the room and teleported herself along with her student onto the large bed. She kept a winged wrapped around the still crying figure and pulled her closer to her body.
"Do you hate them?"
"H-hate who, Your Highness?" S----- replied with a strained voice.
"Your parents. Do you feel as if you can ever forgive them?"
"I... don't know."
"It's okay. You don't have to think about it right now. For now, how's about you and I get something to eat?"
"Okay. I'm sorry for being such a bother Princess."
"Dear, S-----. Do not think of yourself as a bother. You are still young and have much to learn but you are in no way some kind of burden. Guards?"
The door opened to reveal a the pair of stallions in armor that had escorted her to the room.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Please take young S----- here to the dinning hall and have the maids prepare a less extravagant room. Something simple and filled with books. How does that sound?" she asked looking towards her student.
"Thank you, Princess."
Celestia watched the guards take the foal away and waited for a moment. When she was sure that she was alone she stepped off the bed.
"Captain."
A lone stallion in red and gold armor appeared at once having teleported into the room.
"At your service, Princess."
"Have you found anything out about S-----'s parents?"
"I'm afraid not. It's proving a lot harder than we thought to track them down. We have some leads but nothing concrete."
"Very well, inform me once they are found. I want you to make this your top priority."
"As you command."
She walked out of the now empty room and towards the dinning hall. Her thoughts consumed with knowing the reason why any parent would abandon a child such as her student. Was there a reason for such an atrocity? Did they not have enough in terms of financial stability? Did they encounter some kind of tragedy? Or was that they just didn't care what happened to S-----?
"It's been a long time since I've felt this way about anything pertaining to any pony else. I pray that this does not end badly."
"Sun-" a voice softly murmured
"Hmm."
"Sunset?" it repeated his name and something was shaking him.
"I can't eat anymore Princess..."
"Princess? Who are you talking about?"
"What? Huh?" He opened his eyes to see Twilight looming over him with a confused look. "What do you want?" he sprang up and wiped the drowsiness from his eyes.
"You told me to get you for lunch."
"Right..." he stretched and yawned as he looked towards the wall and the clock located to see it was already one in the afternoon. Cracking his neck he started to put everything away as Twilight reached for some of the papers. "Hey!"
"Wha... How did you manage to get this far already?" she kept scanning the pages of finished assignments in disbelief. Sunset snatched them back and stuffed them away before Twilight looked through any more.
"It's not that hard. I honestly thought this place would be a lot more challenging considering how that teacher acted. Did it honestly take you a month to finish all of this?"
"Y-yea..."
"Huh, not what I expected. you're definitely not like her at all."
"Like who?"
"No one. Forget I said anything"
"Is it that Princess you were talking about?"
"Wha- How do you know about that?" he abruptly stood up and glared at the girl causing her to take a step back.
"I-I'm sorry! You were talking in your sleep. You mentioned something about a Princess so I just thought..."
"Well don't! I thought I told you that the less we know about each other the better it'll be!"
"I'm sorry... I just..."
"Whatever, just take me to the cafeteria already."
"Sure, follow me."
The two left stopped by the front desk as Twilight checked out some books. Sunset took a moment to look at the titles and noticed a lot of them had to do with seismic activity and machinery. The books were rather advanced which surprised him to an extent and sparked his curiosity.
"Are you researching earthquakes or something?"
"Huh? Oh, no I'm not really into that. It's part of a side project I'm currently working on. It's still in the beginning phases so I'm really just using these for research."
"Hmm." his tone was slightly apathetic. It wasn't that he wanted to know what she was doing. It was the fact that this Twilight was considered a genius in her own right that piqued his interest and that it involved a subject he had come to love while in this world.
His first month in this world was spent trying to find out as much as possible about how everything worked. The fact that magic didn't exist had caused slight panic but the discovery of there still being science helped to ease his mind. Science was always a subject that ignited his curiosity. As a personal student to royalty it was important to study a slew of different subject matters.
Magic was the first and foremost as the main focus of all his lessons was to control his magic. Of course, that meant looking into the various ways to do so. Where Equestria had only a few fields of Science and was built through the use of Magic; this world was built on it. The ones that really drew him in were Physics, Geophysics, Robotics, and Thermodynamics.
There were many other fields available but none had the same pull as these. There was no such thing as the concept of robotics or thermodynamics. Physics and Geophysics were the two fields he'd already studied back home but they were merely theories compared to this world. Robotics and Thermodynamics were two that he studied out of pure interest. The idea behind making machine capable of free movement and the study of heat and other forms of energy was simply too fascinating to ignore.
"You're not going to make fun of me?" came a soft voice causing him to snap out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Why would I do that?"
"Well, most of the other kids just laugh and call me an egg head... among other things."
"And you just stand there and take it huh? Well, it's your life so if you want to live it as a push over you're doing a great job." he adjusted his pack as he finished putting the books he'd checked out inside. "As for why I didn't say anything about it; I just don't see the point. I may not want to know you or what you do but that doesn't mean I don't have an interest in such things. Let's go already."
Twilight watched him walk past a bit shocked at his statement. It was rare for anyone to understand most of what she did, let alone take an interest in it. She certainly didn't expect such a thing from the boy who'd called her a pain the ass.
"Come on already, Sparky!"
"S-Sorry!" she rushed to stuff her books in her bag and ran to catch up to him only to collide with his back when turning a corner.
"Took you long enough. Now whe-" he was cut off as a chime played through the intercom to grab everyone's attention.
"Will the students Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, please report to the Dean's office immediately? I repeat, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, report to the Dean immediately."
"Shit, what did I do now?" Sunset muttered as he turned once more to head to the office with Twilight following close behind.
As they reached the hall containing the location they saw Dean Cadance standing outside her door with a rather worried look. Once she noticed the pair she walked to meet them halfway.
"Twilight, have a seat outside for the moment. I need to talk to Sunset Shimmer alone."
"Yes, Dean Cadance."
Twilight watched as the two stepped into the office and sat down at the only available chair a couple feet away. She kind of hoped to listen in on the conversation but the acoustics of the hallway and the position of the chair made it impossible to make out any of the voices inside.
"So, why was I called back here so quickly? Is there something I need to sign or did you forget to give me something for my classes?" Sunset asked sitting down in front of the desk as the Dean took her position.
"I've heard some very unpleasant rumors about you Mr. Shimmer. It's not been a day and already I have several students saying you've threatened Twilight and even resorted to bullying other students trying to help. Are any of these accusations true?"
"Wha- No! I didn't do any of that!"
"Mr. Shimmer! You will control yourself in my office unless you want to add disrespecting faculty to the list!"
"Fine, but I didn't do any of that."
"Students say that they have seen a boy matching your description looming over Twilight before the first bell rang. They said she looked frightened as you were talking to her. Is this true? Keep in mind that there are several reports of the same thing and that I do not tolerate lying." Cadance said holding several papers in hand and adjusting her glasses.
"Well, it's kind of true but I wasn't bullying her at all! I was just telling her to stay out of my business. I know you set her up as some form of snitch so I made it clear that I didn't want her to be around me 24/7. It's not my fault she can't handle a bit of an elevated voice."
"And the reports of you bullying?"
"Also false, who reported that anyways?"
"Three girls known as Ms. Ivory, Amber, and Lace have submitted a report that you tried to bully them when they tried to stop you from doing so to Twilight. They've also stated that you tried to get a little bit too hands on with your approach."
"They're fucking lying!"
"Volume!"
"Fine!" he yelled in a huff and sat back from his rather abrupt protest.
"I will not warn you again young man. Now, since you've already given me your views on the matter, I will need to talk to the one person present for both. Send Twilight in and have a seat outside. I will call for you when ready and I will ask you to calm down before coming in again."
The boy got up and slammed the door as he left making the bespectacled girl outside jump slightly and nervous. Twilight saw him walk towards her with anger seeping from his body. She swore his normally pristine corneas were now deep pools of darkness which housed his striking green eyes.
"It's your turn." he explained through gritted teeth before taking a seat as she stood.
"A-are you okay? What happened in there?"
"Just go before I lose what little self-control I have left."
Looking back at him one last time as she knocked on the door; Twilight could see Sunset was trying his best to suppress whatever he was feeling. She opened the door once a voice from inside told her to come in and wondered what happened to make him lose it so quickly.
"You wanted to see me Dean Cadance?"
"Twilight, it's always a pleasure to see you but in this case it's more than just checking up on you. Have a seat if you would." The woman waited for her to do so and shuffled around some papers as she let out a sigh. "Twilight, you've been with Sunset Shimmer all day have you not?"
"Y-yes. What's this about?"
"Well, I've received reports from several students that he was seen bullying and throwing threats your way early this morning. Is this true?"
"What?" she yelled before putting a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell Dean Cadance."
"It's fine Twilight. Just tell me the truth if you could, and take your time. I want to know your side of things."
"Who's the one that reported such a thing?"
"A Miss Ivory and her friends."
"He didn't do anything wrong at all! They were the ones that were doing the bullying. If it wasn't for Sunset they might have gone through with what they had planned for me."
"So it's true you were being bullied?" Cadance jumped from her seat and crossed the distance between them in an instant. "Are you okay? Were you hurt? What did they try to do? Why did this ev-" she bombarded the girl with the flurry of questions as she hugged her.
"Cadance, it's fine. I'm alright, really." Twilight strained to get out of the woman's grasp and released a breath of relief once she did. "I bumped into Ivory and stained her clothes so they were going to make me pay for it. Though, since I don't really carry any money on me they said there were other ways to make me pay."
"Wha-"
"It was then that Sunset stepped in to help... I think. It was more like they stopped when they saw him and ran when they found out he was on the AP course. I guess they didn't like the thought of not doing anything in the end."
"So he helped you out?" Cadance asked kneeling next to the girl holding her hand.
"Well, in his own roundabout way. I guess he did but, I think he only did so because of wanting to get to the library as soon as possible and away from me." she adjusted her glasses slightly and gave Cadance's hand a tiny squeeze.
"What about the part in the report saying he threatened you? Was that just false as well.?"
"Kinda? He did sort of threaten me a bit but he really just wanted me to stay out of his way since I'd be keeping an eye on him."
"I'm sorry ladybug. I didn't know something like this would happen to you just appointing you to keep an eye on him. I'll be sure to discipline him accordingly."
"Cadance?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Can you not be too harsh? He did help me out even if he didn't really mean it."
"I'll try but, honestly speaking, he threatened a student and I warned him about doing something like this so I'm afraid I don't have much room to do so."
"What do you mean?"
"Argh!" Sunset ran a hand through his hair as he let out a frustrated growl. He found it hard to contain his anger as the usual method would be to go around and release it on an easy target. Instead, he employed techniques he'd read about online in preparation for attending this school.
The woman at the uniform store gave a pretty clear picture as to the nature of the people that attended but apparently he'd underestimated how annoying they really were. "She did say to come back and let her know if I knocked any of these jerks out. The way things are going I'll more than likely see her by the end of the week."
"I bet Bonnie would get a kick out of me getting the boot from this place." he said leaning back into the chair and staring at the ceiling. "I can't ever seem to catch a break. Is it me? Am I, barring the obvious, cursed? Even back when I was with that nag I couldn't calm down at all. Was I just always this kind of pony? Person?"
The door to the office opened and the Dean stepped out with Twilight. Twilight gave the woman one last hug and walked back towards the classrooms sparing only a small sympathetic glance towards Sunset. He thought nothing of it as Cadance motioned for him to follow her inside. As the door closed and he took a seat he realized that the calming techniques might have done their job since the sight of the older woman didn't annoy him as much as before.
"So, what now? Are you going to take away my scholarship? Kick me out of school? Contact Vice-Princpal Luna?"
"I must admit, I did have something along those lines planned when and if you ever seemed to revert to doing the things you did at Canterlot." the woman responded sitting down at her desk and taking out some papers. "However, according to Twilight, not only did you not bully anyone. You helped stop them from targeting her when things were looking bad. For that, I have to personally thank you."
"Personally?"
"Yes, while I don't actually say anything about it, Twilight is very near and dear to me. I've watched over her ever since she was small and knowing anything bad happened without my knowing is devastating enough. So, yes, thank you Sunset for saving her from those girls."
Sunset was surprised that the Dean of a school as prestigious as Crystal Prep would admit to favoring one student over others. Had he any intention of repeating what he did at Canterlot it would be one of the few tidbits of information he'd use to blackmail the woman. That, however, was the old Sunset Shimmer who had died along with any form of ambition other than to return to normal.
"I didn't rea-"
"Unfortunately, that does not change the fact that you threatened her this morning."
"I knew this was too good to be true. So what are you going to do to me then?"
The Dean finished writing on the papers she'd taken out and looked them over once more before handing them to the young man. She waited in silence as he read them and waited for some form of outburst, which, she was rewarded with right away.
"You're kicking me out of the AP course?" Sunset yelled only to be stared down by older woman.
"You're lucky I didn't take away your scholarship. I warned you this morning that if there was any hint of you regressing to your old ways there'd be consequences. In light of you actually saving a student from bullying and not escalating into anything physical, I've decided that it would be best for you to attend regular classes where a teacher will be able to watch you during your time here."
"But I've already finished a lot of the course work! You're telling me I did all of that for nothing?"
"No. I'll personally see to it that the work you have done is graded and you will be able to take the AP exams if you want but, you will be attending the regular classes and the freedom to use the facilities will be revoked until you've proven to me that you deserve it."
"This is because of that loser isn't it? It's not about me threatening a student at all it's about me doing it to that idiot!"
"Do not raise your voice at me Sunset Shimmer! This is not about Twilight, this is about the fact that you were squandering the opportunity given to you without so much as a second thought! Now, sit down!"
"No! I came here to get away from people trying to mess with me and get through the rest of my time in school without any trouble. Yet, the first thing that happens is you setting me up with her! The fucking double of the person who did this to me! I said you were setting me up to fail and this is proof! You wanted me to fail, you want me to get kicked out!"
"Enough!" Cadance yelled as she stomped her heel on the tiled floor. "I meant what I said about giving you a chance Sunset. I set you up with Twilight because I wanted to see if you truly wanted this for yourself. If this is the way you act with just a minor punishment then it's no wonder Luna wanted someone to keep an eye on you."
"I never asked for anyone to look out for me! All I want is to get through all of this in peace and yet you stick me with the one person that could cause all of that to crumple! Just admit that you never wanted me here in the first place!"
"Mr. Shimmer! Either you calm down now or I'll be forced to have security escort you off campus until you are of sound mind!"
"No need! I'd rather be a drop out if it means I won't have to put up with people like you! You say you're trying to help but you never even thought to ask me how you could and now you're blaming me after setting me in a situation that would be less than ideal for my wanting to change! Be it here or Equestria nothing ever changes!"
He grabbed his bag and walked out ignoring Cadance yelling for him to come back. The feeling that drove him wasn't anger so much as regret. Regret at thinking anything would change if the environment changed. Regret at thinking he could have some kind of chance at a peaceful life before the portal opened up. Anger at the fact that no matter where he went something or someone would always make things work against him. The hallways were empty as every other student was in class which was for the best as any who would have crossed his path might have ended up wishing otherwise.
"Sunset?" a voice called out as he reached for the handle to the school's entrance causing him to pause.
"Not now... please not now..." he whispered before turning to see an unwelcome sight.
"Where are you going? What did the Dean say? Are you okay?"
"Stop. Just stop."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked stepping closer.
"Just leave me alone! My life was fine until you stepped in it! I had everything going my way but then you and those other girls ruined everything! I had a way to get back at her for what she did to me! A way to make her realize the mistake she made when she threw me away! Yet, when you showed up I realized she didn't care! She never did and she never will!"
Sunset had moved Twilight up against a wall all the while ignoring the hot tears flowing down his face. "I hate you. I hate you! I hate that you won! I hate that she choose you! All I ever wanted was for her to acknowledge me once more but now that you're around that'll never happen!" he punched the wall leaving a bloody dent and causing Twilight to flinch away from the small bits of debris that flew her way.
He dumped the books in his bag and turned to leave once more as he heard the girl behind him start to cry. Whether it was because of what he said or the way he said it, he didn't care what she did. "Stay out of my life." he muttered before leaving through the door and down the street.
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Sheesh...what an asshole.
That was sadly predictable. Sunset was out of line in his actions and reactions, but he was dead right about what Cadance did, as opposed to intended, in setting up the situation.
She knowingly put a vulnerable girl into the way of someone with a history of bullying, who she knew had previous reason to dislike her, or rather her mirror image. Either Sunset was still a bully, in which case SciTwi was put into a position that risked her wellbeing and safety, or he was trying to change, in which case putting him with SciTwi was effectively rubbing his face in his mistakes and not allowing him a chance to heal and move on. Guaranteed disaster waiting to happen either way.
Edit: Corrected gender pronouns.
Favoritism much?
wow Cadence sure set Sunset up to fail.
I’m pretty sure it’s you.
Technically, the old sunset didn’t die. There were just some modifications.
That’s not so bad.
Maybe a little bit of both.
Technically, you did it to yourself.
Why is he blaming everyone but himself?
11112058
Everyone favors someone.