Vanishing Act

by redandready45

Experiments and Choices

Tuesday Morning, 6 AM.

Sunset sat in the lab, fiddling with the screwdriver, trying to get the device just right. She gritted her teeth as she twisted the screw. Her eyes, baggy and bloodshot, remained solely focused on her work. Her hair, unkempt and shoddy, was tied into a pony tail. She could not make one mistake, or she would be back to square one. She felt sweat bead down her neck. She had to do this right.

When the screw was installed, Sunset let out a sigh of relief. She looked up saw a mass of pink flesh and fur in front of her.

"AHH," Sunset yelled, disturbed by the sudden intrusion. Once she saw who it was, she let out an annoyed grunt.

"Pinkie, what are you doing here," Sunset growled with some exasperation, "Didn't you read the 'Do Not Disturb Sign'?"

"Yes," Pinkie said cheerfully, not feeling an ounce of guilt, "but I also read the 'I'm tired and I need some fun' sign on your face and decided you needed some cheering up."

"Pinkie I am not tired," Sunset said, before letting out a heavy yawn, "I'm just-,"

"That's why I brought you my Pinkie Pie-brand Coffee Cake," Pinkie Pie said, pulling out a white box with a clear plastic top. "It is delicious and it will help you stay awake." The coffee cake was covered with white frosting, and words written in red icing that made Sunset's heart soar.

"We Believe In You Sunny."

Sunset looked almost on the verge of tears. She held them back, and gave her pink-haired friend a warm hug.

"Thank you so much Pinkie," Sunset said, her voice full of warm gratitude, "This means a lot to me." Pinkie was an oddball, sure. But in the end, she just wanted everyone to be happy.

"Just cheer up," Pinkie said as Sunset released her from her hug. "Don't let what happened keep you from being happy."

"Sure," Sunset said, returning to her workstation.

"So, whatcha doin'," Pinkie asked with the curiosity of a bored cat.

"Trying to get the amulet to capture our thaumic energies in an efficient and stable manner to avoid a future calamity," Sunset said. Pinkie just stared at her with a smile.

"Oh, are we playing the gibberish game," Pinkie said jumping up and down with joy. "Can I go next? I'll-,"

"Pinkie," Sunset yelled, cutting off Pinkie's jabbering. Sunset let out a sigh before muttering, "Man I've been reading so much of Twilight's stuff, I sound like an encyclopedia." Sunset let out a chuckle. "I am trying to build another amulet." She pointed at her desk. It was covered with Twilight's old amulet with the parts needed for a new amulet. "In order for me to study magic, I need to be able to contain it."

"Why not use Twilight's," Pinkie said. "I mean, Human Twilight's."

"Because it isn't safe," Sunset said. "Human Twilight did OK for someone who didn't even know what magic was, but she didn't put in safety measures to properly absorb the magic." Pinkie gave another blank stare. "I'm trying to build an amulet that will let me control how much magic I absorb, so that the next one that won't suck up all the magic and vaporize the nearest person, ."

"Why not just fix the old one," Pinkie asked.

"Because I still don't know how it really works, and if I break it by accident, I lose any chance of being able to properly capture the magic," Sunset sighed.

"If only Human Twilight were here," Pinkie said, "then maybe she could tell you-," Pinkie paused when Sunset gave her an angry glare. "Sorry."

"It's OK, Pinkie," Sunset said with some exasperation.

"Anyways," Pinkie said. "I have to get to the diner." Pinkie turned around and left the room with a happy grin. "See you later, Sunny. Have fun."

"See ya," Sunset said kindly to Pinkie, watching the other girl leave with a tired smile. She returned to her work with the new amulet. She looked at it hopefully.

"Well, I should try to give it a field test," Sunset said. She pulled on some safety googles, and lifted the amulet. It was similar in appearance to Twilight's except instead of being various shades of purple, it was various shades of red. She pointed it toward herself, and pushed the button.

The amulet opened up and began to slowly absorb some of Sunset's magic. Sunset flipped a switched, and it stopped. Sunset let out a grin that resembled that of a child in a candy store.

"It worked, it worked," Sunset yelled happily, "yes, yes, yes, yes" she said happily jumping around. "I finally managed to get it to-," she paused when she began to feel her amulet shaking. Soon, she started to feel the amulet heat up on her chest.

"Ow," Sunset said, feeling the amulet burn through her clothes. In a panic she flung it against the floor. It cracked open, releasing a burst of her magic. Sunset ducked as it began to ricochet across the room. She heard the sound of glass breaking, and stood up.

She saw that the magic burst broke one of the windows in the room. Everyone nearby ran over to the commotion, looking through the broke window at Sunset, apprehensive looks on their faces. Sunset approached the window, and saw that behind the crowd, Micro-Chips was lying on the ground barely conscious, moaning in agony as smoke poured from his body, with two students running over to help him.

"Celestia damn it," Sunset muttered as she ran her hand along her face.

******

Study Hall, Crystal Prep Academy, 10 AM.

Sunny went into the commons room where most CPA students spent their study halls. As usual, only about 10% of students actually used their time for anything except chatting with friends and video games.

When she saw Suri at the table, she immediately ran over to her.

"Hey Suri," Sunny said. taking a seat next to her, "how are you?"

"What were you thinking," Suri said with an incredulous look on her face.

"What do you mean," Sunny asked, confused.

"Why did you invite someone to the party without asking me," Suri said with a frown on her face.

"What do you mean," Suri pulled up her laptop. On the screen was the MyStable group page set up for the party. Suri pointed at the picture of a blue haired girl with pigtails.

"Oh Juniper," Sunny replied.

"Sunny, you know the rules. My party is for the crème de la crème, not some needy little nerd like...Tulip," Suri's facetwisted into absolute disgust. "I don't want...that into my party." Sunny narrowed her eyes slightly at Suri's use of the word "that", as if Juniper was some subhuman creature, and the fact that Sunny did not even get her name right.

"I'm sorry Suri Suri," Sunny replied, trying to ignore that she was unconsciously clenching her fist. "But...I had no choice."

"What do you mean," Suri said angrily. Sunny paused, trying to think of an excuse.

"Juniper is...tutoring me," Suri said. "My parents cut my allowance, so letting her into the party was the only way I could pay her."

"Then just get her a milkshake or some nerd thing," Suri said with some disdain.

"Uh...Juniper whined to Cadence about how mean I was to her," Sunny said, her eyes looking down for a second. "If I don't let her into the party, Cadence will give me detention".

"Oh so Tulip is just a wimpy little rat," Suri growled, her eyes narrowing. "I definitely don't want that at my party." Suri took a deep breath, and grinned. "You know what to do."

"What," Sunny said. Suri rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Tell her the address of the party changed," Suri said, as if she was speaking to a small child, "and give her an address that will send her on the other side of town. If she's smart, she'll get the message then that she's not welcome."

"Uh, are you sure that will work," Sunny said, her stomach starting feel like it was full of bile.

"Of course it will work Sunny," Suri said, giving her an unhappy smile that made Sunny feel cold. "It better. I would hate for our friendship to end because you got soft on some loser." Suri said. "I'm letting you host the party because you're my friend. I gave you my trust Sunny", Suri said in a not-so-sad tone, as if Suri's trust was the most valuable thing in the world. Suri then stood up and pressed her face up against Sunny's, giving her a vicious grin. "You don't want to ruin my trust...do you?"

"No Suri your right," Sunny said, feeling cold sweat run down her face as the small warning Suri was giving her. "I'll make sure she gets the wrong address."

"Good," Suri said, a satisfied smile on her face. "Anyways, lets decide what snacks we want. Nothing with peanuts because Fleur is violently allergic..." Sunny listened as Suri blabbed about the party plans. Sunny responded and gave ideas, while trying to suppress a feeling of anger brewing in her brain.

******

Sunny left the commons room, having completed half the work for the party. She made a mental note to start shopping for supplies after class with Suri. She was so engrossed in her list, she didn't notice someone walking up to her.

"Hey Sunny," Juniper said with a happy face.

"Hey June," Sunny said, trying to give her an honest smile. "How are you?"

"Good," Sunny said. "Uh, listen Juniper there is something I wanted to tell -,"

"I just wanted to say thank you so much for inviting me to your party," Juniper interrupted with a smile. "Without the help of you and your friends, I would be really lost here. You've made me feel like I'm a part of something."

"Uh, don't mention it," Sunny said with a forced smile, trying to suppress the guilt brewing in her stomach.

"Anyways," Juniper said. "You were saying?"

"I was saying," Sunny said. She paused for a few moments. "I was, uh, saying that you can wear casual clothes at the party. We aren't wearing anything fancy."

"Thanks for letting me know," Juniper said. She looked at her watch."I got to get to my class. See you later." Juniper turned around and walked away.

"Yeah, see you," Sunny said quietly, watching Juniper ran off. She then put her hand to her face and sighed.

"What am I gonna do?" Sunny thought to herself sadly. She then looked up and smiled. "Maybe if June proves herself, Suri will accept her," she reassured herself. She walked to class, thinking of a plan to make June the toast of the party.

Comments

[Corascal]

I really only have one question: Who is that magic going to hit?

[Corascal]

You are no fun.

[Linkonpark100]

Oh boy, this won’t end very well.

[redandready45]

9707247

Never mind. I realized you were right, and edited the story to include that happening.

[PonyPuffy 2012]

Sunny should of just told Suri to go fuck herself. It's shameful how even after everything that happened to Twilight the CPA snobs are just as full of crap as ever.

[Drago Cadenza]

9707260
Yep.

[redandready45]

9707260

9707311

Well...

If life worked that way, then America would've passed a gun control bill after so many school shootings.

If life worked, then human beings would've abandoned religious terror once its effects became clear.

But...life doesn't work that way. People only change when there is a personal reason for them to do so. But even then, it can be very hard.

Sure, the CPA student body had the decency to feel bad about what happened to Sci-Twi, and had enough decency to help Cadence fire their idiot principal, but lacking any personal connection with the girl, they wouldn't feel a need to abandon their shallowness.

The reason why the Shadowbolts want to change is that they feel directly responsible for what happened to Twilight, pushing her to open the magic. Sunny especially wants to change, but only because a minister she feels close to told her prodded her into doing so.

The Shadowbolts, by their very nature, don't want to waste their time with a socially awkward person. Only their guilt and bargain with Cadence drives them to do the bare minimum. Even Sunny, the person who wants the most to change, still feels weighed down by her shallow desires.

If nothing was pushing them, the Shadowbolts would most likely ditch Juniper.

But seeing Shining Armor mourning, getting yelled at by an angry Spike, and learning more about their dead classmate has given the Shadowbolts, especially Sunny, more of a reason to want to change.

But again, Sunny's desire for popularity and being in the in crowd still looms large. This is why she doesn't really tell off Suri. Sunny's known Suri longer than Juniper, and Sunny doesn't want to sacrifice her relationship and chance at being on top of the school for some girl she's known for two days.

So instead of telling Suri to fuck off, or abandoning Juniper, she is instead trying to compromise: to both remain in Suri's good graces and give Juniper a chance to meet people and prove herself. Will it work? Well, Sunny hopes it will.

The point is, changing who you are is very hard, and even people who witness something terrible won't really change quickly, not even if that tragedy directly affects them.

[Drago Cadenza]

9707601
Yeah, I know; Life is a Cruel Mistress sometimes. And I can understand why Sunny would not tell Suri to get lost...yet.

I still get the feeling that something bad will happen that'll result in a Friendship being destroyed; as Sadly, you can't please everyone.

[redandready45]

9708128

Again, are YOU willing to throw away a chance at being on top of a social pyramid, and a relationship with someone at the top, for a person who you just met?

[Pr1deM0rn1ngstar]

I don't know if I would have been the same way it's her because I never was socially inept in high school but I definitely will told the bitch to go fuck herself I hated bullies and I still do

[redandready45]

9998196

Again, a lot of us would like to think that.

But what if the bully was someone you grew up? What if you were his/her friend? What if this bully was loaded and had connections?

Would you suddenly want to sacrifice that for someone you've met?

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Thank you so much Pinkie," Sunset said, her voice full of warm gratitude, "This means a lot to me." Pinkie was an oddball, sure. But in the end, she just wanted everyone to be happy.

Count on Pinkie to bring you a smile.

"Because it isn't safe," Sunset said. "Human Twilight did OK for someone who didn't even know what magic was, but she didn't put in safety measures to properly absorb the magic." Pinkie gave another blank stare. "I'm trying to build an amulet that will let me control how much magic I absorb, so that the next one that won't suck up all the magic and vaporize the nearest person, ."

one won't suck up all the magic and vaporize the nearest person."*

"If only Human Twilight were here," Pinkie said, "then maybe she could tell you-," Pinkie paused when Sunset gave her an angry glare. "Sorry."

Not helping Pinkie.

She saw that the magic burst broke one of the windows in the room. Everyone nearby ran over to the commotion, looking through the broke window at Sunset, apprehensive looks on their faces. Sunset approached the window, and saw that behind the crowd, Micro-Chips was lying on the ground barely conscious, moaning in agony as smoke poured from his body, with two students running over to help him.

So close, but yet too far.

"I'm sorry Suri Suri," Sunny replied, trying to ignore that she was unconsciously clenching her fist. "But...I had no choice."

sorry Suri,"*

"Uh...Juniper whined to Cadence about how mean I was to her," Sunny said, her eyes looking down for a second. "If I don't let her into the party, Cadence will give me detention".

detention."*

"Tell her the address of the party changed," Suri said, as if she was speaking to a small child, "and give her an address that will send her on the other side of town. If she's smart, she'll get the message then that she's not welcome."

I hope Sunny stops being her friend in the future as Suri's nothing but a jerk!

"Of course it will work Sunny," Suri said, giving her an unhappy smile that made Sunny feel cold. "It better. I would hate for our friendship to end because you got soft on some loser." Suri said. "I'm letting you host the party because you're my friend. I gave you my trust Sunny", Suri said in a not-so-sad tone, as if Suri's trust was the most valuable thing in the world. Suri then stood up and pressed her face up against Sunny's, giving her a vicious grin. "You don't want to ruin my trust...do you?"

trust Sunny,"*

"No Suri your right," Sunny said, feeling cold sweat run down her face as the small warning Suri was giving her. "I'll make sure she gets the wrong address."

at the small warning*

"Good," Suri said, a satisfied smile on her face. "Anyways, lets decide what snacks we want. Nothing with peanuts because Fleur is violently allergic..." Sunny listened as Suri blabbed about the party plans. Sunny responded and gave ideas, while trying to suppress a feeling of anger brewing in her brain.

Yep, I can tell she's thinking about stop being her friend.

"Good," Sunny said. "Uh, listen Juniper there is something I wanted to tell -,"

I think it be best to add another line prior to this sentence as it sounds like Sunny didn't let Juniper answer her on how she's doing. Like imo, it should/be something like this.

"I'm doing great!" Replied Juniper.

And then keep the line seen above the same.

"What am I gonna do?" Sunny thought to herself sadly. She then looked up and smiled. "Maybe if June proves herself, Suri will accept her," she reassured herself. She walked to class, thinking of a plan to make June the toast of the party.

Let's hope it works.