Chapter 7 - Fears
Chapter 7 - Fears
(tw for near the end of this chapter: abuse)
A red glow was cast across Twilight’s face as she gazed at the digital alarm clock on her bedside table. The girl was sitting upright in her bed with her blankets cocooned around her as she watched the minutes pass.
‘6:45 a.m. Fifteen minutes until I have to get ready for school.’
A shudder ran through her at the thought of school. Twilight hadn’t slept. A forceful storm of anxiety had swept her up and carried her mind far away from the reaches of sleep.
As her remaining fifteen minutes of peace slowly dwindled, Twilight felt the nausea in her stomach grow. ‘What ifs’ circled through her mind rapidly- what if she said something wrong? What if nobody shared her interests? What if Canterlot High was just like Crystal Prep?
Twilight’s breaths came in frantic puffs and tears blurred her vision. ‘What if Moondancer was right? What if I really am a freak and a loser and unlovable and-’
A knock at Twilight’s door broke her out of the anxious spiral. She looked up, wiping the tears from her face as her dad entered the room, along with Spike.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” Night Light said, giving his daughter a smile as Spike jumped up into her lap eagerly. He sat down on the edge of her bed. “How are we feeling today?”
Twilight’s hands shook as she signed.
“I can’t do it.”
Spike whimpered and moved to lick Twilight’s face, giving her a nuzzle as well. She gave him a watery smile.
“You can stay home today if you need some more time to adjust,” her dad said gently. “How long have you been up?”
“All night.”
“Aw, Twi,” Night Light put a hand on her shoulder, which was still covered by her blankets. She leaned into the touch and let out a small sob. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. Principal Celestia said the students there are some of the kindest she’s ever met.”
“I know, but what if-”
Night Light shook his head. “No more ‘what ifs’ today, Twilight. I can tell you’ve already thought of plenty.” He stood, then bent over to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Why don’t you go on and get some sleep?”
Twilight nodded. She gave her dad a small smile, which he returned as he left the room and shut the door quietly behind him.
***
When Sunset came to lunch that day, Wallflower could tell that the unintentional bonding they had shared over the weekend wasn’t some sort of fluke.
Gone was a large amount of the vulnerability that Wallflower had seen on Saturday; in its place was Sunset’s usual aloof mask, but Wallflower could tell that she had made a chip in her armour. The redhead had greeted her with an almost microscopic smile, and she seemed a little more relaxed as she sat down.
Wallflower returned the smile with one that was slightly less reserved. “Hey Sunset.”
“Hey Wallflower.”
“How’s your back doing?”
Sunset shifted, subconsciously pulling at her blouse. “Still hurts, but that gel helped a ton.” She paused, seeming to think for a second before adding a soft “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Wallflower responded. “I’m happy to help.”
The rest of their meal was spent in relative silence, though it was much more comfortable than the previous lunches the two had spent together. Brown eyes floated across her beloved garden. Autumn was in full swing, coating the ground with oranges and browns as September came to its final week.
Wallflower finished up her sandwich and tossed the remains into her brown paper lunch bag. She stole a quick glance at Sunset as she shoved the bag into her backpack. The redhead seemed to be admiring the scenery, lost in thought as Wallflower always was. The only difference, Wallflower noted, was that she wasn’t eating.
‘Come to think of it,’ Wallflower thought with a small frown. ‘She doesn’t really eat much at all.’
The bell rang, bringing Wallflower away from her thoughts. ‘Hm. I’ll ask her about that some other time.’
The two picked up their backpacks.
“Hey,” Sunset started as she stood.
Wallflower looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Where’s your next class? Maybe we can walk together, um, if it’s already on the way to my class anyways. Might as well.”
It took a lot of self control for Wallflower to bite back the shit-eating grin that threatened to break out across her face. ‘Shimmer’s warming up to me, huh?’
Out loud, she responded with a nonchalant “Sure”- ‘best not to wound her ego’- as she stood up as well.
And that was that. The pair walked towards the school together in companionable silence, and this time did not separate as they entered the crowded halls.
***
Sunset sighed as her final class of the day came to an end. Students jumped to their feet as the bell rang and scurried to their freedom outside the classroom’s door. Sunset sighed, waiting until the classroom was empty until she got up.
“Ah, Miss Shimmer. Just the student I was looking for.”
Sunset jumped as a regal voice greeted her upon leaving the classroom. “V-vice Principal Luna?” Shocked, but still composed, Sunset straightened her posture. ‘This can’t be good,’ she thought.
The Vice Principal raised an eyebrow, her face donning a stern expression. “My sister has been wondering where you’ve been for the past week. I thought I made it clear when I issued your detention that your sentence started immediately.”
“Ah, well, about that-”
“I suggest you save your excuses for the Principal.” Luna’s expression softened a bit. “Come on, Sunset. You don’t want to be late.”
Begrudgingly, Sunset followed Luna through the rapidly emptying halls. The students they passed all gave Sunset the same smirk, clearly enjoying the fact that she was in trouble once again.
The walk to the principal’s office was silent, but Sunset’s mind was abuzz with resentful fear. No matter which world, contact with Celestia was not something that the former unicorn wanted to experience anytime soon.
All too quickly, the pair arrived at Celestia’s door, and Sunset froze. For some reason, she couldn’t will her legs to go any further. Her jaw was clenched tightly as she tried to find the determination to move.
In the glass window of the wooden door, Sunset caught a glimpse of her reflection- and nearly shrieked when she saw her demon self once again.
The image’s eyes blazed. She seemed amused. ‘A little frightened, are we?’ The reflection taunted her in a whisper. ‘Just don’t show any weakness. Especially not to her.’
“Sunset…?”
The teen jumped a bit. “What?” She snapped. The demon disappeared, throwing one last toothy grin Sunset’s way. “I’m here now, let’s just get this over with.”
With that, Sunset shouldered past Luna and flung open the door.
***
Principal Celestia startled as her door flew open and Sunset Shimmer stomped in. The girl plopped herself down in the chair across from her, silent the whole time. Over the student's shoulder, Celestia shot her sister a confused look, which Luna returned with a shrug. Her eyebrows drawn together, the principal gestured for Luna to leave.
The woman was relieved to see that Sunset was okay. When she hadn’t shown up for detention the past week, Celestia thought it best to give her the space to come on her own, but Luna had convinced her to let her intervene.
As the door shut, Celestia fixed Sunset with a kind gaze. “Hello, Sunset,” she said, keeping her voice open and warm. She could tell that Sunset felt uncomfortable.
“So,” Sunset started, not making eye contact. “What’ll you have me do? Sit here and think about what I’ve done?” Her words dripped with sarcasm.
‘Straight to the point, I see,’ Celestia thought. She pursed her lips. “Well, I was actually going to have you help Mrs. Smith in the cafeteria. Wipe down the tables, sweep the floor, exchange the daily menus- that sort of thing.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
Celestia nodded. “We could always use an extra set of hands around the school, so your detention tasks will all be pretty similar in nature; just simple, helpful tasks.” She smiled, ignoring Sunset’s sour look. “I’ll have Luna take you down to the cafeteria.”
As Sunset left, the older woman slumped a little at her desk. She simply couldn’t understand the distance that seemed to already exist between her and Sunset. All she wanted was to help the wayward soul that had come to her school those three years ago.
‘I can only imagine her animosity has something to do with the other world’s Celestia,’ she thought. ‘Hopefully she can find a way to separate the two of us.’
***
‘Shit shit shit fuck shit I’m late again,’
Wallflower dashed through darkening streets of Canterlot, barely sparing any attention to odd looks she received from the occasional passersby.
Once again, Wallflower had lost track of time in her garden. Because of the cooling weather there hadn’t been much left to do, but Wallflower could spend hours just basking in the peace and quiet of her little corner of the universe.
That dedication to her garden, however, was her kryptonite.
Wallflower tried to shove down the dread bubbling in her stomach as she careened through her neighborhood and approached the front of her house, a small home near Canterlot High.
She stopped on the dilapidated front porch of the one story house. Nobody wanted to garden there anymore, so the whole of the lawn had gone to shit. Wallflower tried not to look at the long-dead flowers and yellowed grass that surrounded her home.
‘It’s not really a home anymore though, is it,’ she thought. ‘Not since he moved in.’
The sad yard seemed to agree. ‘Whatever.’ Wallflower took a deep breath. ‘I’ve wasted enough time already.’ With that, Wallflower steeled her nerves and pushed the door open.
Immediately she was greeted by a commanding voice.
“You’re late.”
A hand reached out and slammed the door behind Wallflower, trapping her against the wooden surface. She bit the inside of her cheek, schooling her features so that she didn’t reveal the fear coursing through her veins.
“Sorry…” Wallflower mumbled, keeping her eyes low.
The man scowled and forcefully grabbed Wallflower’s arm. “Sorry, what?” he snarled. His breath smelled like alcohol. “And speak up.”
“Sorry sir,” she said a little louder.
“Fucking brat. You better not be late again, I swear, I’ll-”
A meek voice interrupted. “F-Firestorm, please, let’s just eat...”
Firestorm’s eyes narrowed, but he released Wallflower’s arm with a shove. Wallflower winced and rubbed the area while his back was turned. ‘It’s probably already starting to bruise.’
The green-hued girl avoided eye contact with both her mother and her mother’s boyfriend as she made her way to the dinner table. The food was, of course, lackluster and cold, but she poked at it to keep up the appearance of busyness.
“Um, how was school Wallflower?” The shy voice of Daisy Charm broke the otherwise stoic silence that so often descend between the three. “Roseluck tells me you made a new friend.”
Wallflower tensed, but kept her eyes low. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Doesn’t really matter.”
Daisy pursed her lips. She looked as though she wanted to press the topic but, with a glance at Firestorm, said nothing.
The trio finished their meal silently. As per usual, Wallflower was the first to excuse herself. She quietly stood, scraped what remained on her plate into the bin, and walked to the end of the hall where her room was.
The teen shut her door softly behind her and collapsed face first onto her green bedspread. She lay there for a bit- content to pretend that, just for that one moment, the world did not exist- before sitting up and reaching for her backpack.
‘Running low,’ Wallflower thought as she extracted the tupperware container of green paste from her backpack. Sure enough, her skin was already darkening where Firestorm had grabbed her. She popped off the lid and removed a sizeable blob of the material, which she then spread across her upper arm with practiced ease.
She finished quickly and put the paste back in her backpack. ‘There aren’t many places that still have Lavender and Arnica at this time of year,’ Wallflower thought, lightly ghosting her fingers across the bruise. ‘I’ll have to ration out the rest.’
That daunting thought was pushed to the back of Wallflower’s mind as she lay back down on her bed. She needed a nap.
IM BACK BABY 
Sorry it's been a hot second, the last few months have been aboslutely crazy. School let out, I'm moving soon, and I flew out to visit some family, so I've been pretty busy.
Worry not, though, I should be back to regular uploading! I hope y'all are enjoying the story. Next chapter is going to be pretty long; Twilight and Sunset meet 
Oh! By the way, I forgot to post these pictures last chapter, but here are the designs I made for Daisy Charm and Aster Bloom! I also have the design for Firestorm done, but I'm going to refrain from posting it just yet; y'all are smart, you might figure out the big twist for Arc One if I post it now 
~Bitty Bug
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
925 users online
336,832 hits today, 2,244,100 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.®
Err...how does she know that? I don't think the story ever acknowledges that she knows it's a parallel world.
9732773
Good question! I personally think that, given that Twilight already knew who Sunset was and was actively working against her in the first movie and that Sunset both knew about the portal and the crown, Celestia probably picked up on the fact that Sunset was from Equestria. No matter which world, Celestia isn't stupid; she and Luna probably figured it out after watching three students turn into demons, six students turn into half-pony things, and another student disappear into a horse statue.
In my mind, Celestia put the pieces together; ridiculously smart student comes out nowhere with no real documentation and climbs the social hierarchy whilst somehow managing to avoid her the whole time, then transforms into a demon and turns two other students into demons like she has no trouble wielding this otherworldly magic and is defeated by friendship rainbows after actively displaying knowledge about the oddly specific patterns of a world mirror to their own- yep there's no way that's a normal human being.
I definitely didn't communicate my train of thought very well, so sorry about that
9733180
That all makes sense, except for the last bit. I don't think anyone ever tells her, and she never meets any doppelgangers, so how does she put together that it's a parallel world with a duplicate version of her?
Sure hope Firestorm gets what's coming to him soon
9733333
Perhaps this is the one time where Sunset's cruelty could be what the doctor ordered.
We get only 5 seconds of Firestorm & already I want him dead. Too strong use of that word, but I had to say it...
9733193
Welp. You got me there I guess, lol. I don't really know, but seeing as she saw Twilight go into a weird statue portal and then (in this fic) immediately get a new student that looks and acts almost exactly like the weird portal student, plus Twilight's consistent use of phrases like "this world" and "my world" and at pne point basically says 'these aren't the same ones as my friends back home but theyre still the same people' (paraphrasing but you get the idea), I like to think she figures something out.
Or just pretend she does because I kinda lost track of what she knew/didn't know
Either way, it's not the main focus of the story and it's not an essential thing to fix, so let's just say in this AU she already knew shit because she's Celestia and Celestia's just cool like that
Been a while. Can't wait for an update.
This is excellent stuff thus far. Looking forward to seeing what else you do with it. Especially how certain burnt bridges will be mended, and how Sunset may help get some friends out of some nasty circumstances.