The Ballad of Sunset Shimmer

by Child of Stars

Chapter 2: Radiant Rumors

PR

Chrysalis sped off down the halls and towards the school’s entrance, Twilight and co in tow. Starlight and Trixie prepared to follow but were stopped by a frowning Sunset. Sunset for her part was still thinking about that name, Radiant Hope, and who it was. ‘That pony, they’re important,’ Sunset pondered, the answer on the tip of her tongue, ‘But why? Who are they to me?’

“Ummm, Sunset? You okay?” Trixie spoke to her friend.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just can’t remember who Radiant Hope is,” Sunset replied.

“You don’t?” Starlight questioned Sunset.

“No? Should I?” Sunset asked, puzzled.

“Y-yeah, she’s the other mare who ran against you for prom queen last year.” Trixie responded with a nervous stutter.

“She is?” Sunset inquired. Then it all clicked, she knew Radiant Hope. She was that absolute nobody who ran against her and Twilight last year. Radiant Hope got a total of three votes, three out of hundreds. ‘Wow, that’s the loser everypony is freaking out about? Literal roadkill?’ Sunset internally laughed, ‘So she went and got her leg crushed. Well, guess she’s finally relevant in some way.’

“So why didn’t you say something when Chrysalis brought her up?” Sunset said as she, and consequently Trixie and Starlight, started walking after Chrysalis.

“W-well,” Trixie began, “You told us never to interrupt you or speak to you unless we thought it was important.”

“So I did it seems,” Sunset commented, not really paying attention, before exclaiming, “Alright, let’s hurry up and find that doormat!” At this the three mares all quickened their paces into a light jog. They hurried down the increasingly crowded halls of the school and made their way to the building’s entrance. Students parted as Sunset made her way through, she stopped just next to Chrysalis and Twilight’s group right at the front of the crowd. There in all her three legged glory was the mare of the hour Radiant Hope. She was currently getting helped by a few ponies, as walking for her was proving a bit difficult.

‘How pathetic,’ Sunset thought as a sly smile crossed her muzzle, ‘That amputee needs help walking and someponies are actually willing to help her? What losers!’ Right as Sunset was thinking this Trixie began to move towards Hope, reaching her hoof out.

“Don’t.” Sunset simply stated, scaring Trixie back in line. Sunset continued to watch the struggling pink unicorn, staring her down. Hope looked up and locked eyes with Sunset for just the briefest moments before swinging her head over to the crowd of ponies on her right. She looked like she was going to say something, but before she could she stumbled and fell with a yelp. She hit the ground hard as she grunted in pain. Sunset couldn’t help herself as she quietly snickered at the pink mare’s misfortune. And her quiet laughter only grew louder as the poor mare began to speak.

“Can somepony please help me?” Hope questioned, gazing at the crowd. All the ponies there, even the ones previously helping Hope, stood back from her as they all stared fearfully at a laughing Sunset Shimmer. Hope looked at Sunset with pleading eyes, only causing Sunset to laugh harder at the pathetic display. At this point Sunset was starting to tear up from laughter. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to rein in her laughter, turning to look down at Hope.

“Now why would anypony help a nobody like you.” Sunset said with barely restrained laughter, “You are one of the lowest-” The rest of what Sunset had to say died in her throat when she heard a very familiar sigh, a sigh that belonged to a stallion who had trotted over to Hope and was currently helping her up. ‘Sombra is helping her…?’ Sunset’s brain stopped working as her world went red. Her rage built to its boiling point in an instant, her features contorting into a furious scowl. She ran full speed at Sombra and Hope, shoving Sombra off the amputee and magically slamming Hope to the ground. Hope’s body smacked the tile hard, her head violently snapping backwards hitting the school’s tiled floor. Sunset pounced on her and seethed in anger.

“Bitch!” She screamed in Hope’s face. Tears started to stream down Hope’s face and the student body around the two mares looked aghast, but Sunset didn’t care. Screaming at the top of her lungs she continued, “How dare you! First, you have the audacity to run against me in last year’s prom queen nominations, a piece of trash like you! Now, you even dare get near my coltfriend! You fucking waste of space, you probably got yourself hurt on purpose just to get sympathy and attention. Whore!” At the end of her tirade Sunset had saliva hanging from her mouth and Hope looked terrified, her eyes like pinpricks. Tears streamed down Hope’s face as Sunset wiped a single tear from her own right eye.

“I-I just…” Hope tried to utter, but only succeeded in getting Sunset’s full ire to be back on her. Sunset spit right into Hope’s left eye, before clocking her across the face with a hoof and making Hope bleed slightly. Sunset turned to walk away and gave the stunned crowd around her a hard stare. Hope in indignation attempted to stand up, only to be bucked back into a wall by an enraged Sunset.

“Fucking disgusting slut.” Sunset said aloud, throwing her head back and smiling at Hope as she did.

“Sunset!” Sombra yelled in desperation, a slight bit of fear and anger in his voice. Sunset turned towards him and frowned in disapproval, he backed down in almost an instant.

“You’re awful!” Hope yelled at Sunset tearfully, “How could all you ponies stand there and take this?”

“Because they know what happens to those I don’t like,” Sunset turned towards Hope and replied, “Example one, you. Besides, they have to love their queen, no?”

“No.” Hope simply stated.

“Well I hear no complaints from them,” Sunset looked at the crowd and asked, “Any problems?” The crowd quickly made it clear that they had no grievances with Sunset, all of them still shocked at Sunset’s unprecedented display of anger. Everypony to some degree feared Sunset, some less than others, but never had they seen her do something this violent. Hope just sat up against the wall shivering and crying as Sunset left her, beckoning her friends to follow, which they did in a fearful hurry. As the crowd began to disperse and share nervous looks amongst each other nopony came to help Hope, except one. Sunset couldn’t see but Sombra cautiously made his way over to Hope and helped her up. He talked with her and tried to calm her down as she watched Sunset make her exit.

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Sunset got called down from the math class she was currently in and to the principal's office. She assumed it was for her extreme outburst in justified anger from earlier, and she was right. The principal was reserved and clearly a little fearful at Sunset’s presence. He worked for Sunset’s father as a part time job on the side, one that raked in a lot of cash. So, as usual this call was just to keep up appearances. The principal would never dare get his boss’s daughter in trouble and because of that it was no more than five minutes before Sunset was already on her way back to class. This was a noticeable outburst though, Sunset barely got away with it and she knew she'd have to be more careful form now on.

On her way back Sunset could have sworn she overheard a few ponies saying that they were going to vote Radiant Hope as prom queen. She scoffed at the idea that anypony would actually vote for a loser like that. She was surprised that Hope even had the gull to run against her. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Sunset thought, ‘It’s not like she’ll actually win, or even get close.’ But, as Sunset kept hearing more and more rumors throughout the school day she began to grow worried. ‘I can’t rig the election, it’s controlled by faculty who I don’t have any hold over,’ She worriedly thought, ‘But even if it’s true that she’s really running, why would anypony even vote for her? A pity vote perhaps? It doesn’t matter, I'll just pay anypony stupid enough to vote for her off and secure my victory. Prom is everything after all!’ The bell rang for its final time signifying the end of a school day and the beginning of the newest prom election cycle.