One
Every Friday, Rainbow Dash spent fifth period the same way. First, she walked to her locker. Then, she saved the world from aliens.
Fingers moving at superspeed, Rainbow entered in her lock combination and tore her locker open. “Forty-five minutes on the clock,” she murmured in her deep Announcer Voice. “The contract’s been signed. If Captain Rainbow Dash scores twenty half-field goals before time runs out, the aliens leave Earth forever. If she fails, they steal all our babies.”
This one’s for you, babies.
She pulled out her soccer ball, slammed the locker shut again, and zoomed down the hallway. If she hurried – and when did she not? – she could make it to the soccer field within thirty seconds, and make her first goal before the late bell even rang. She zipped through the nearly empty halls, burning her rubber soles until she rounded a corner and saw the double doors leading outside—
—and also Roseluck, walking in the middle of the hall and carrying a box big enough to block her vision.
Rainbow slammed both her feet down flat. “Watch out!” Arms outstretched, she smashed into Roseluck, knocking them both to the floor.
Sprawled across the linoleum, Rainbow groaned. Then, rubbing her head, she sat up and chuckled. “Sorry, Rosey. You okay?”
In front of her, Roseluck crawled across the ground to her cardboard box. The crash had sent it flying, spilling its contents all across the hall. “Ugh, Rainbow!” she said, stuffing bags of balloons, streamers, and confetti back inside. “Can’t you ever watch where you’re going? These Fall Formal decorations need to be delivered, like, yesterday!”
“I was watching!” Rainbow said. She shrugged. “I just, uh, couldn’t slow down in time. You know how it is. Magic superpowers and all?”
“Hmph. You and that magic are always—oh, goddess above!” Roseluck scrambled over to the other side of hall and picked up a crown of roses. Half the flowers had been dented and crushed. “This was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Fall Formal wreath. And you smashed it!”
Rainbow cringed. “Crap. Sorry.”
Roseluck glared. “These roses took a whole season to grow. They’re from my mother’s private garden!”
“Yeah, okay?” Rainbow felt both her chest and face go hot. “I said I’m sorry. What more do you want?”
Looking away, back down to the crooked ring of flowers, Roseluck snorted. “I want some less obnoxious classmates, for one.”
Rainbow blinked—then scowled. “I’m obnoxious? You’re a—”
A third voice cut in: “Buzz off, Rose.”
Rainbow held down her curses and looked up. Sunset Shimmer appeared, one hand on hip, narrowed eyes locked on Roseluck’s throat.
“Buzz off?” Roseluck repeated. She held out the flower crown. “She’s the one who ruined it! These flowers—”
“You can buy more at the corner store right down the block,” Sunset said. “Now why don’t you leave us alone?”
“At the corner—” Roseluck clenched her fists. Grumbling, she picked up her cardboard box and stomped off. Rainbow watched her go with a smile.
Sunset offered her hand. “You planning on sitting around all day?”
Rainbow had gotten so caught up in arguing that she’d completely forgotten she was still on the ground. She took Sunset’s hand and laughed as she stood. “Hell yeah! You totally showed her.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Chewing her lip, Sunset gazed off in the direction Roseluck had gone. “Goddess, that really was mean, wasn’t it? She probably worked super hard on those flowers, and I just went right back into Bully Mode. I should go apologize.”
“No way!” Rainbow said. “She was being a total jerk. I apologized to her and everything, and she still yelled at me!”
“To be fair, you did basically run her over. I heard the crash from two halls away.”
“Yeah, but—whatever.” Rainbow blew a raspberry, but then elbowed Sunset in the side. “Hey, that reminds me: happy anniversary.”
Stifling a yawn, Sunset raised a brow. “For what?”
Rainbow gestured to a banner that hung across the hall in front of them: “Fall Formal! CHS Gymnasium, this Saturday!”
“Oh.” Sunset sighed. “One year since I went crazy and almost killed everyone.”
“Aw, don’t look at it like that,” Rainbow said, grinning. “You went crazy, yeah, but you got better. Tomorrow, it’ll be one year since we became friends! And you’re already, like, the goodest good guy ever. It’s awesome!”
Sunset shook her head, but smiled. “I dunno if I’d say that, but thanks.”
“So, you gonna celebrate?” Rainbow leaned in. “Maybe bring Twilight over for a Sexy Former Demon Party after the dance?”
The smile disappeared. “Way to ruin the moment.”
“Hey, you brought up the demon thing first.”
“No, we’re not having a ‘Demon Party.’” Sunset shrank a bit. “I appreciate Pinkie’s enthusiasm, but I don’t wanna make a big deal out of what happened last year. Twi wasn’t around then. She doesn’t know how bad I got.”
“You didn't tell her what happened?”
“I did! Kinda,” Sunset said. “I mean, she knows about the whole demon thing, and she knows how you girls took me down. But she doesn't know that all of that was my own fault. Or about my plan to conquer Equestria.” She gave Rainbow a weak smile. “I’ve been meaning to tell her. But it’s like you said—I’m good now, so it’s not important. Right?”
“I guess.” Rainbow shrugged. “I’m just saying, you better tell her someday, or someone else will beat you to it.”
Sunset’s face hardened. “You better not.”
Rainbow shielded herself with her hands. “Hey, I never said me! I’m the best secret keeper ever.”
“Sure you are,” said Sunset, settling back down.
Rainbow took a breath, clearing out her annoyance. “I’m headed out to the field,” she said, jerking her head behind her. “Wanna come be my goalie? I’ll go easy on you.”
“No thanks,” Sunset said, yawning again. “I’m headed to the library to take a nap. I’ve got the next two periods free, and I’m gonna conk right out.”
For the first time since they’d met up, Rainbow took a good look at Sunset, and winced at the result. Frizzled and knotted hair, crooked mascara, inside-out t-shirt—Sunset looked like she’d spent the last week in a blender, being twisted up and thrown back out. She stared at Rainbow with baggy, glazed-over eyes.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked. “Did you get mugged or something?”
“What? No, of course not.” Sunset waved her off. “I just didn’t get much sleep.”
Rainbow looked at Sunset’s neck, from where her magical geode usually hung, tucked beneath her shirt—and realized it was missing. “Are you sure? Where’s your amulet?”
Sunset glanced down, then shot Rainbow a raised-brow smirk. “Taking a good look at my boobs, yeah?”
Rainbow placed a hand on her heart and sent back a smirk of her own. “Let’s just say I’ve got an eye for detail. Now seriously, what’s up?”
“It’s nothing! I’m just... not wearing my geode anymore.” Sunset touched the empty space below her neck, but shook her head. “Don’t worry, it’s pony stuff.”
“So? I’ve got the wings, the weird ears; I’m basically half-pony.” Rainbow grabbed Sunset’s shoulder. “C’mon. If it’s bothering you, I wanna know what it is.”
Sunset pursed her lips—then shrugged. “I guess you deserve to find out. Friends don’t keep secrets, right?”
Rainbow remembered the stash of King Size chocolate bars she kept hidden under her bed. “Yep,” she said. “Secrets suck.”
Crossing her arms, Sunset leaned against a nearby locker. “When I was in Equestria, studying with the Princess, I was a really bad kid. I’d bully other students, stay out until who knows how late. I broke every rule I could, because I thought it made me independent. And y’know, unicorn magic is great and all, but there are still spells you’re never supposed to learn. Never supposed to cast.”
She looked to Rainbow. “I cast one of them.”
“What was it?” Rainbow thought about all the weird and fantastical magic Sunset had told her about over the months—spells to breathe fire, to move the sun, to grow wings and fly. Just how bad did a spell have to be to get banned? “What did it do?”
“I put a monster inside of my own head,” Sunset said. She tapped her skull. “It’s called the Marabunta, and it was meant to keep other unicorns from invading your thoughts. If it captures an intruder, it takes the form of their deepest fear and tortures them until they lose their mind.” She growled and turned away. “It’s not like I was ever at any risk of being interrogated. I just wanted to be edgy...”
“You should’ve just worn all black and gotten a tattoo. That’s what Fluttershy did.” Rainbow craned her neck to look into Sunset’s eyes, trying to find a gargoyle behind her pupils. Sunset pushed her away. “So, what? Is it trying to get out of your head?”
“No, and that’s the problem!” Sunset touched the empty space below her neck again. “I’ve gotten so good with my memory powers—my mind-reading powers—that whenever I even wear my geode, the Marabunta starts freaking out. It scrambles my thoughts, gives me awful nightmares... It’s like it thinks I’m invading my own mind.”
“You put it there, can’t you get rid of it?” Rainbow asked, throwing out her hands. “I’ve read Daring Do. Whenever she gets hit by some ancient spell, there’s always a counterspell to get rid of it. Just get one of those!”
“It’s not that easy,” Sunset said. “There probably is a counter, yeah, but I’d have to cast it on the Marabunta myself, which would mean going inside my mind alone to confront it. What if it takes me before I can kill it? I’m lost forever!” She growled. “I don’t know what else I can do but stop wearing the geode. I really screwed myself over on this one.”
Rainbow looked away—and then turned right back. “I could go with you.”
“What?” Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “How?”
“You step into other people’s minds all the time,” Rainbow said. “So, what’s stopping you from bringing someone into your mind?”
Sunset stared. Then, scratched her head. “That’s not a bad idea. I mean, I dunno if it would work, but we could try.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow pumped her fist. “I’ll grab the girls, then we’ll go into your head with you and hold down the Maribelle while you blast it!”
“I don’t think I could handle having that many people in my brain at once,” Sunset said, touching her head. “Channeling too hard into just one person’s thoughts gives me a migraine as is.”
“Fine. The two of us can go by ourselves, then.”
“It might be dangerous,” Sunset said. “Are you sure you want to try this? If you get caught by the Marabunta, it’ll try to drive you insane with your deepest fear. Can you handle that?”
Rainbow scoffed. “I don’t have a deepest fear. I’m not scared of anything!”
Sunset’s wary gaze lingered for a moment, but she soon nodded. “Alright. Next period, I’ll grab my journal and ask Princess Twilight if she can find a book with the countercurse. Assuming she does, why don’t we meet at my place after school?”
“Fine by me,” Rainbow said. “You need me to bring anything?”
Sunset tapped her chin. “Yeah, actually. I think we should have a third person with us, to look after our bodies while we’re in my head. We’re gonna basically be comatose; what happens if the apartment burns down? It won’t matter if we kill the Marabunta or not if we get barbequed.”
“Have anyone in mind?”
“It’s gotta be someone responsible,” said Sunset. “Someone who’s quick-thinking, and can help if something goes way wrong and the Marabunta escapes my head.”
Rainbow smiled. “I think I know just the girl.”
Fluttershy twiddled her thumbs. “If the building does burn down, chances are I’m only strong enough to carry one of you.”
“Eh.” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s Sunset’s apartment. Let her go down with the ship.”
Sitting together in the back of their Woodshop class, Fluttershy put the finishing touches on a two-story birdhouse, outfitted with its own balcony and bird bedroom, while Rainbow Dash just tinkered with a doorstop.
“So Sunset has a... monster in her brain?” Fluttershy asked. “That sounds scary. How are you going to fight it?”
“Of course it’s scary, that’s what makes it so cool! Sunset’s gonna get her counterspell, then we’re gonna go in her head and kick some Macaroni butt!” Laughing, Rainbow picked up her hammer and swung it out like a sword, making Fluttershy scoot back. “She’ll hold it down, then I’ll rush in there like zip, zoom, zap—and then it’ll be like ‘Oh nooooo!’ but I’ll be like in your face!”
Eyes closed, Rainbow thrust out her hammer, hit something solid, and heard a sharp cracking sound. The entire class stalled. Going stiff, Rainbow turned her head, and found her hammer stuck through the side of Fluttershy’s birdhouse.
Fluttershy covered her mouth.
“Crap, crap!” Rainbow said. She pulled out her hammer, tearing off another chunk of wood. “I didn’t mean to do that!”
Fluttershy stared at the broken foundation of her birdhouse with wide eyes. “I spent a week on that,” she said. She took a quivering breath. “It was supposed to be a present for all my bluejay friends.”
A murmur rose from the class behind them. Throat drying up, Rainbow leaned into Fluttershy and hissed, “I’m sorry! I swear, it was just an accident—”
Rainbow saw a single tear forming at the edge of Fluttershy’s eye, and terror gripped her chest.
“Miss Dash!”
The temptation to superspeed out the window fell over Rainbow. Gritting her teeth, she turned around to face Mr. Doodle.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Mr. Doodle yelled, stomping up to their workbench. “No playing with the tools! This is the third time this semester that your inconsiderate recklessness has ruined someone else’s work!”
“It’s not ruined.” Rainbow glanced back at the birdhouse, and found that half of the second floor had caved in. Her eyes fell to her shoes. “Sorry.”
“Yes, yes, you’re always sorry.” Mr. Doodle scowled. “Sorry isn’t a magic word, you know. It doesn’t just make everything okay! There’s gonna come a day when just apologizing isn’t gonna cut it anymore!”
Rainbow took the scolding like a newspaper to a dog’s head. She studied her shoelaces. “Yeah.”
The class hung around them, silent, staring—until Mr. Doodle stomped his foot and made everyone jump. “What is everybody gawking at? We’ve still got twenty minutes left, people! Get to work!”
While the room kicked into normal gear, Rainbow turned back to her desk and slumped across it. “I hate this class.” She looked to Fluttershy. “I’m not reckless, am I?”
Fluttershy, picking chunks of splintered wood out from her birdhouse, sniffled. After a too-long pause, she said, “No. Of course not.”
Rainbow stared for a moment, hands clenched. Then she sighed and grabbed a glue-gun. “Here, lemme help.”
“So, tomorrow.” Sunset moved close to Twilight and grinned. “Am I finally gonna get to see you dance or what?”
“I don’t think so,” said Twilight, giggling. “After the Crystal Prep Freshman Ball, I made a vow to never dance again. Count yourself lucky: this way, you won’t have to fetch the nurse when I fall on my face.”
“You can’t hide forever. One of these days, I’m gonna see you shake that cute little butt of yours.”
Cheeks pink, Twilight rolled her eyes. “In your dreams.”
Sunset held down a yawn. “I wish.”
The two of them walked this path home most days, cutting through the woods behind CHS to get downtown faster. The two only shared one class, so sometimes this was the most time they spent together all day.
“By the way,” said Twilight, “Pinkie Pie wanted to see you. She—”
“I know,” Sunset said with a groan. “I already bumped into her. She wants to throw this big party for me after the Formal to celebrate my ‘anniversary,’ and wants me to give a speech or something.”
“Ooh.” Twilight smiled. “You’re good at making speeches.”
Sunset snorted. “I just wish people would stop reminding me.”
“It’s a big occasion, isn’t it?” Twilight asked. “Even if your last Fall Formal wasn’t the best, that’s no reason to keep sulking.”
“It’s dumb!” Sunset said, throwing up a hand. “It’s like celebrating a serial killer going on a rampage! Police might’ve taken them down afterwards, but a whole bunch of people still got hurt.”
“Don’t say that.” Twilight frowned. “You are not a killer. You’re a girl—a very cute girl, in fact. Even if your shirt is inside-out today.”
“Some people still look at me funny, like I’m about to grow claws again and tear their throat out. Trixie asks me to teach her demon magic at least once a month.”
“You shouldn’t pay attention to them,” Twilight said. She squeezed Sunset’s hand. “All that matters is that you’re trying your best to do good. Are you trying your best?”
Probably not. “I think so.”
“Good!” Twilight nodded. “Keep doing that, and you’ll keep being amazing.”
Sunset couldn’t have hid her grin, even if she wanted to. “Goddess, you are so cheesy.”
“I’m the cheesy one? You spend Calc class drawing pictures of us fighting monsters together.” Twilight offered Sunset a tiny smile. “All your friends have forgiven you. Pinkie just wants to make you happy, in her own silly way.”
“I know.” That’s not the problem.
They stumbled out of the forest, exiting onto a forked intersection. One road led deeper into the city to pass by Sunset’s apartment, while the other led to the quieter residential areas where Twilight lived.
“Speaking of calculus—do you wanna come over and start the integration problems Miss Cheerilee assigned?” Twilight asked, voice cracking in excitement. “We could probably finish in twenty minutes if we worked together! That’d leave us time to do—y’know. Other stuff.”
A primal heat filled Sunset’s body. She grinned and opened her mouth to accept, but then remembered the bare space above her chest. “Sorry,” she said, “but I can’t. Rainbow is coming over to help me with... something. A project.”
“Rainbow?” Twilight tilted her head. “You two don’t have any classes together, do you?”
The truth nipped at Sunset’s gums, trying to wiggle its way out of her mouth. But she swallowed it back down. What was she meant to say? That she’d broken at least five magic safety laws and created a monster? That said monster now lived in her skull, and was tearing her mind apart from the inside?
I told Rainbow. Why can’t I tell Twilight?
The grin Twilight wore when she called Sunset “amazing” stuck in Sunset’s head like the most beautiful painting. She couldn’t taint it.
“No, actually, I’m the one helping her,” Sunset said. Old instincts flaring back to life, she put on her practiced fake smile. “She needs to study for her Precalc test, and asked me to tutor her.”
“She asked for help?” Twilight gaped. “Is she sick or something?”
Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “I dunno. I guess she just really wants to pass this test.”
Twilight pursed her lips, and the cold fear that she’d see through the lie crept over Sunset—until Twilight shrugged. “Well, okay. I suppose it is for a good cause. And who better to teach Dash than the Calculus Master?”
Sunset chuckled. “I’m glad you finally admit the truth.”
“Don’t get a big head.” Twilight turned around and walked off in the direction of her house. Waving, she called back, “Good luck with Rainbow! See you at the Fall Formal tomorrow!”
Sunset returned the wave limply, guilt weighing on her. But with a deep breath, she pushed the bad feelings to the back of her mind.
She doesn’t need to know. I’ve changed—all the bad stuff is in the past.
As the sky outside grew dark, Sunset leafed through her journal, Fluttershy chatted with Sunset’s pet gecko Ray, and Rainbow lounged on the couch.
For the fifth time since she’d arrived at Sunset’s apartment, Rainbow hesitantly laid her head down on the cushions and sniffed. “Has anyone ever told you your couch smells like strawberries?”
In her loft bed, Sunset went rigid. “Uhm,” she said, looking away. “No. No one’s told me that.”
“Ooh, strawberries are nice,” said Fluttershy. She smiled. “Speaking of, has Twilight told either of you about that new strawberry shampoo she’s been using? She makes it sound so luxurious.”
Rainbow grinned. “Sounds like she’s been giving Sunset some free samples.” She thought for a moment about what she’d just implied, then leapt off the couch with a yelp.
Face bright pink, Sunset said, “Could you guys quiet down? I’m trying to memorize the Marabunta countercurse Princess Twilight sent me.”
Fluttershy flinched. Rainbow snorted and sat back down. In a different seat.
A few minutes later, Sunset shut the journal. “Alright, I think I’ve got it. Rainbow?”
“Finally.” Rainbow ran up the stairs to Sunset’s bed and jumped on, nearly knocking Sunset to the first floor in the process. When she saw Sunset’s glare, she snickered. That just made Sunset’s glare deeper.
Fluttershy looked up at them. “Are you sure you two will be alright?”
“We’ll be fine,” Rainbow said, flopping down onto her stomach. “We go into Sunset’s mind, grab the monster, blast it, and come right back. It’ll be easy!”
“Thanks again for babysitting us.” Sunset pointed at her jacket, draped over a chair. “My wallet’s in my pocket. If you wanna order a pizza or something while we’re under, go crazy.”
“No, no, don’t worry.” Fluttershy tickled Ray’s chin. “Ray and I will be perfectly happy entertaining ourselves.”
Sunset turned back to Rainbow, then grabbed her geode from the nightstand and tied it around her neck. “Ugh, just wearing this thing, I can feel the Marabunta raging inside my head. When we find it, it’s not going to be happy.”
“Sounds like a challenge,” Rainbow said, puffing out her chest. “Anything I need to know before we beat this sucker?”
“I’ve walked around inside my own head before, so I’ve got some experience.” Sunset fingered the amulet. “I think I’ll be able to guide us through it, but there’ll be side effects: using the geode is going to make the both of us way more emotional. Spend too long inside my head, and we might just start having wild mood swings.”
“So it’ll be like we’re on our periods.”
“You’ve got such a way with words, Dash.” Giggling, Sunset offered her hands. “Here’s hoping this works. Ready?”
With a smirk, Rainbow grabbed them. “You know it.”
Sunset closed her eyes. A tinnitus-like ringing filled the air as the amulet hanging from her neck sparked to life, glowing a bright red. Rainbow could feel the magic flowing along Sunset’s skin, a sharp tingle, like tiny flickers of lightning jumping between their entwined fingers.
Sunset’s eyes snapped open, beaming with pure white energy.
Rainbow started to flinch back, but the apartment disappeared.
A swirling purple vortex surrounded her, magic boring into her eyes and ears and skin. She tried to scream, but couldn't open her lips, couldn't move at all. The flashing lights blinded her, the magic twisted up her guts and wrung them back out.
Then, nothing. Then, she fell through the sky.
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Nice interweaving setup. You captured Fluttershy very well too.
i cant see sunset acting that way to roseluck her first instinct is to show empathy to others it feels kinda forced to create this drama for sunsets ive changed thing
also i ant see sunset putting a demon in her head ever feels like a way to put the blame for her past actions on it rather than her self cheapining her development
I suddenly want to see Fluttershy's goth stage.
I feel like a Rainbow should have noticed this sooner. But, then again, Rainbow is a deeply stupid horse.
Plot hole: they cannot all fit in the house at he same time. Fluttershy, too, is a plot hole for making them share the house.
In between doodles of Starlight Glimmer being dunked in boiling grape cough syrup.
Anyway, you should probably finish this, or you, too, will be deemed a plot hole.
And Sunset herself did go into 'bully mode' infront of Roseluck too. Sooooo, they're both tied.
Now there's something Eleven from Stranger Things would agree with.
Talk about a serious problem alright.
I find that hard to believe.
This is why you shouldn't play with hammers, or else that will happen.
Damn!