Chapter 6: The truth will set you free
“You think that’s a hairpiece or do you think anyone would voluntarily get a haircut like that?”
Sunset looked up at the phone Gladys Harshwhinny had shoved in front of her face, showing the profile picture of a potential match the almighty algorithm of her latest dating app had come up with. “That’s a lawnmower accident, is what that is,” Sunset replied and went back to the magazine she was reading.
“Hm,” Harshwhinny grumbled and turned to Cranky who had just entered the teachers’ lounge. “Cranky, expert opinion.” She held out her phone.
Cranky took a single glance, raised an eyebrow and uttered two words: “Lawnmower accident.”
“Word,” Sunset said and held out her fist which Cranky bumped on his way to the fridge.
“Fat help you two are,” Gladys complained and swiped left before retreating back to the couch where Cheerilee and Big Mac were chatting.
There was a knock at the door to the teachers’ lounge and Celestia’s voice came through from the other side. “Alright, you lot. I’m opening this door in ten seconds. Put away everything you don’t want me to see, so I can maintain my plausible deniability.”
Sunset looked around, noted none of the other teachers reacting, and gave Cranky a questioning glance.
“She always makes that joke when she comes in here,” he answered her unspoken question. “None of us have had the heart to tell her that it stopped being funny years ago. All clear, Principal!” That last part had been loud enough to be heard outside.
Celestia stepped inside and held up a sheaf of papers. “Finalized electives sign-up sheets. Get ‘em while they’re hot. Had a lot of students flip-flopping back and forth until the last minute this year.”
“Let’s have it, then,” Cranky said with little enthusiasm, taking the papers from her and bringing them over to the coffee table to spread them out. Harshwhinny, Cheerilee and Big Mac had all inched forward to the edge of their seats in anticipation.
Celestia then looked at Sunset. “Sunset, may I have a word with you?” she asked, moving her head to indicate outside.
“Uh, sure,” Sunset replied, halfway over to the others and torn between her curiosity to see and a request from a voice that commanded her respect two times over. She followed the principal outside into the empty hallway and closed the door behind her. “What’s up?”
“I got a very strange call from a parent the other day,” Celestia began. “Sunset, are you making your students call you Empress and extract oaths of obedience from them?”
“Oh, that,” Sunset chuckled lightly. “No, it’s … it was a roleplaying exercise. I was teaching them about the feudal system by having them take on the roles of nobles in a medieval society.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I know it’s not your usual history lesson, but they seemed to be really engaged. Am I … in trouble for that?” Sunset asked, growing slightly worried about Celestia’s serious expression.
Celestia gave her a stern look and then relaxed her shoulders with a sigh. “No, Sunset. I’ve been dealing with Mrs. Cloverleaf long enough to know she’s more bark than bite. But do be a little more careful with what you say in front of your students, please. When parents ask their kids about their day at school, a lot of context usually gets lost. It’s like a game of telephone.”
“Right, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Is there anything else you might have said that could have come across in a weird way?”
Sunset tried to recap the lesson in question as best as she could in her mind. “Uhm, I may have called you ‘God’ in the context of that little exercise?” she said sheepishly.
Celestia went white as a sheet, which was a neat trick considering her already fairly light complexion. “Don’t do that!” she nearly roared before regaining her composure. “Canterlot City isn’t all that religious in general, but it only takes one ultra-conservative housewife with more time than sense on her hands to rake me over the coals in front of the school board for a comment like that.”
“Sorry,” Sunset said with feeling, wondering if Celestia was speaking from experience to illicit that kind of reaction from her.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Celestia sighed. “Well, it is what it is now. You’ll have enough on your plate shortly, so I’ll leave it at that,” she said and turned to leave.
Sunset turned to reenter the teachers’ lounge, but a movement caught her eye from the opposite direction that Celestia had gone in. She frowned and considered going to investigate directly. But she thought better of it. If this was who she thought it was, a direct approach would only lead to the same result as before.
After a moment, she came up with a plan of action and entered the teachers’ lounge, closing the door behind her and crossing the room with quick steps.
“Hey, Sunset …” Cranky began to call out to her.
“Sorry, hold that thought and don’t mind me,” she replied with an intent look on her face before opening the window and vaulting over the windowsill to the outside. Thankfully, the room was on the ground floor and so she landed safely on the grass outside, making her way quickly toward the front entrance along the wall.
She could just about hear Cranky sigh behind her through the open window. “And here I thought she’d at least last a semester before she started showing the signs.”
Ignoring that, she entered the school through the front entrance and crept her way slowly along the lockers back towards the teachers’ lounge. With last period over, the corridors were mostly deserted and she ran into her quarry before long. No mistaking it. She’d seen that backside one too many times lately. “Where did she go?” She could hear her target mutter to herself and lean around the corner to keep eyes on the teachers’ lounge.
“I’m right here,” Sunset said sternly and added: “And we are going to have a talk, young lady.”
The girl stood stock still for a moment, her muscles tensing and her head going down as if to break into a sprint.
“Sunny Starscout!” Sunset said, raising her voice. “If you run away from me again, you will have the dubious honor of becoming the first student I’ve ever sent to detention!”
The girl relaxed her form after a couple of tense moments of silence and stood up straight again. Finally, she turned around with a sheepish expression. “Ms. Sunset! What a surprise running into you here.”
“Is it?” Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve been following me around school ever since we met. And the other day at the mall? I want an explanation. Now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sunny laughed. “Oh, was that you at the mall? I was only there because I run a smoothie stand at the food court on weekends.”
“Unless there was a smoothie stand behind that trashcan you knocked over, I’m not buying it.” Sunset sighed and walked a step closer. Forcing some softness back into her voice, she laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Sunny, you’re not in trouble, but I want to know what’s going on. I’m worried about you. You’re a good student in class. Why are you so skittish around me?”
Sunny looked her teacher in the eye and let out a long breath. “The truth … is that I’ve been wanting to ask you something, and I’ve been trying to find the right words to say it.”
Sunset gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, you got my attention, and we’re here. Just let it out. I promise I won’t be mad if it doesn’t come out perfectly. You’ll feel better afterwards.”
Sunny took another deep breath, balling her hands into fists at her side, and nodded. “Okay, here goes,” she said and looked back up and directly into Sunset’s eyes. “I want you to teach me magic!”
Sunset tensed and forced out a short chuckle. “You mean like, card tricks and balloon animals? I’m not very dexterous with my hands, but I’ve got a great and powerful friend who can probably teach you a trick or two.”
“No! I mean real magic,” Sunny stated, shaking her head, “like you and those other women did when you saved Maretime Bay three years ago!”
Now it was Sunset’s turn for her muscles to freeze up, and she looked around to make sure nobody else was in the vicinity before grabbing Sunny’s arm and dragging her into an empty classroom. She closed the door and held it shut, trying not to hyperventilate.
“Ms. Sunset? Are you okay?” There was an element of concern in the young girl’s voice.
“Sunny,” Sunset began, failing horribly to keep the panic out of her voice. “You know that magic isn’t real, right?”
Sunny simply gave her an odd look. “But it is, and I know you know it, too. I saw it firsthand in Maretime Bay.”
“No, Sunny! You didn’t!” Grabbing Sunny by the shoulders, she said: “Three years ago, there was some kind of atmospheric disturbance over Maretime Bay, coupled with a minor earthquake, the vibrations of which caused some visual and auditory hallucinations for some people. That’s what they said on the news back then.”
Shaking her head, Sunny replied: “But the news was wrong. I was there! I saw it! I saw one of your friends lift a truck with one hand, and another conjure up some kind of diamond shield to hold back a house fire while people evacuated. And you!”
“Enough!” Sunset all but yelled in her face. “How old were you then? Twelve? Imagination is a great thing when you’re young, but you’re in high school. Act like it! There’s no such thing as magic.”
Sunset could feel the girl’s shoulders shake in her grip and there was something else in her eyes … fear. “Ms. Sunset … you’re hurting me,” she said quietly.
Letting go immediately, Sunset took a step back and turned her back to Sunny. What the fuck are you doing, Sunset? Get a grip. “The school day is over. Shouldn’t you be getting home?”
“But … “
“Go,” Sunset cut her off, “and don’t let me catch you talking about nonsense like this around school again.”
The silence hung between them, and Sunny only spoke up when it became apparent that her teacher wasn’t gonna turn around to meet her eyes again. “Why are you denying it? I know you were there.”
Finally Sunset looked back at her student, with a pleading expression this time. “Just go home, Sunny. Please.” When she saw the tears in the corner of the young girl’s eyes and the silent nod, Sunset had to close her eyes again, because it broke her heart to see it.
Sunny put her hand on the doorknob to open the door, but paused to speak quietly. “I, uhm, I’m sorry, Ms. Sunset. Sorry for the trouble, just … You saved my dad’s life that day, you and your friends did. I’ve been looking for answers for years, and then when I ran into you on the first day of school, I … I just wanted to say thank you. So, … thank you.”
When Sunset heard the door open, a cacophony of voices from her memory assaulted her, her own voice, her own stupid voice from her younger days. “Why won’t you just tell me?” “If this spell is so dangerous, shouldn’t I know about it?” “What’s so wrong about me just wanting to know?” “You’re not doing this to keep me safe! You just want to keep me from becoming as powerful as you are! More powerful even!” “If you won’t teach me, then I’m just gonna have to find the answers myself.” “Goodbye, … Princess Celestia.”
“Wait!” Sunset found herself saying the word before she could stop herself. When she looked over, she found that Sunny had stopped and was looking over at her, expecting Sunset to say something else. The next voice that spoke was in Sunset’s head again, not her own this time, but a warm Southern drawl that had never steered her wrong and which drowned out the demons of her past. “I’ve found that honesty is usually the best policy, sugarcube.” Drawing in a deep breath to get the shakes out of her system, Sunset now spoke calmly. “You’re right, Sunny. I’m sorry. I was there that day, and if you were too, then I reckon you deserve to know the truth. Sit down, please.”
No sooner had the words been spoken than Sunny had slammed the door shut, sprinted over to a desk in the front row and sat straight at attention as if class had just started.
“Okay,” Sunset said, gathering her thoughts. “But first, you gotta promise me that what I’m about to tell you stays between us. Nobody else at school can know.” She grimaced. “Especially not Principal Celestia.”
Sunny thought about that for a moment. “Oh, I see. She’d probably call us both crazy if she knew.”
“Worse,” Sunset replied, “she’d probably call me unemployed. Don’t ever use the word magic around her, she’s allergic to it.”
Mulling that one over for a moment longer, Sunny gasped. “She knows!?”
Sunset rolled her eyes and nodded. Walking over to the window, she pointed towards the entrance of the gymnasium. “See that spot? I turned into a demon right over there my senior year.”
With a puzzled look, Sunny asked: “You mean figuratively, right?”
“No, I mean literally. Red skin, fangs, claws … bat wings,” Sunset answered, scratching the back of her head. “The whole shebang. If you were in Maretime Bay three years ago, you should have a good idea of why the principal wants to keep magic as far away from this school as she possibly can.”
Sunny nodded in understanding. “Alright. I promise I won’t tell anybody. But what I saw that day wasn’t a demon. It looked more like an angel to me. Why would you want to hide that from the world?”
Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, that was the other form. I like the eye shadow that comes with it,” she said, moving her finger in front of her eyes. “Never liked the dress, though. Pink’s not really my color. At any rate, you’re doing yourself a favor by not talking about it. Something about magic in this world makes it so that it can’t be recorded. There was a dozen teenagers with camera phones there when I pulled that stunt back in the day, all the videos ever showed was some girls cat fighting over a stupid crown.” She grimaced at the memory. “Which is mortifying in a different way from the demon thing when I look back on it. But it was the same in Maretime Bay. With no proof of magic, the news came up with some one-of-a-kind natural disaster to explain what happened.”
“Is this why you wouldn’t talk about it? Are you saying magic is dangerous?”
Sunset thought about that for a good long while. “No, magic isn’t dangerous in and of itself. Magic is also wonderful and can be used to do great things for you and others.” She smiled to herself, recalling a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. She walked closer to Sunny with an odd look. Taking out her pendant and holding it in her left hand, she touched Sunny’s arm with her right. She stared intently for a couple of seconds, waiting for something to happen.
“Uhm, Ms. Sunset?” Sunny said after the silence had stretched into uncomfortable territory with a quizzical look on her face. “What are you doing?”
Sunset let go and shook her head. “Nothing. Forget it,” she said, tucking the geode crystal back into her shirt, feeling foolish for expecting something to happen and too embarrassed to explain herself any further. “But magic definitely can be dangerous in the wrong hands,” she went on, “and some of it is even dangerous inherently. I wish every day that we could have tracked down the Horn of Sombra before it was activated in Maretime Bay.”
“Is that what caused it? Who’s Sombra?” Sunny asked.
“Yes and not important right now. The important thing is, this world isn’t ready for magic. When I was your age, maybe a little older, I thought that maybe magic could be a part of this world. But it was too volatile and I wasn’t wise enough to be the guide this world needed. Where I come from, magic has always been there. Society itself has evolved along with it, found ways to properly and safely use it. Introducing it here, it was like dropping a bomb on this world, and I’m partially responsible for the collateral damage it caused when it went off. Magic is gone from this world now, and on balance I think that’s probably for the best.” Her eyes strayed into the distance and there was a sadness behind them. “Yes, my friends and I were pretty magical in our youth, and it was awesome most of the time. … We also paid a heavy price for it in the end, and all the magic in two worlds couldn’t fix it.” Sunset went silent and continued to stare into the distance.
“Hold on,” Sunny spoke up, “you keep saying things like ‘this world’ and things about society where ‘you come from,’ where magic exists. … Ms. Sunset, just who are you and where do you come from?”
Pulled back into the real world from her reverie, Sunset chuckled quietly and looked towards the clock indicating four in the afternoon. She knew that every answer would beget another question or several for a good long while. “Ah, what the hell? I told you this much already, and I am a history teacher. So let me back up and start at the beginning.” Sunset made herself comfortable by sitting on the edge of Sunny’s desk. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived two royal sisters …”
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Do I even wanna know how Sombra's horn got on Earth? Dude has gotten obliterated 3 times now and his horn still survives...
I only have my cellphone or I'd link the theme song for Welcome Back Kotter
It was John Travolta's start.
11390711
I know. Seems like it is ONLY SLIGHTLY less hard to destroy than Grogar's Bell (I mean, that thing pretty much took a TRIPLE-STRENGTH blast from the Elements of Harmony without a dent - it's pretty safe to say that Grogar's Bell is - or at least WAS - virtually indestructible). Definitely harder to destroy than its owner (who wasn't exactly easy to destroy either).
REALLY loved the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. DEFINITELY appreciated Celestia's dialogue with Sunset concerning her lesson on feudalism (indeed, Celestia DOES have a point concerning how something that is meant to be both fun and educational can be misinterpreted by some who have the time and resources to be a real problem later on). Also appreciated Sunny and Sunset levelling with each other - the former concerning the fact she was there in Maretime Bay when Sunset and the girls saved the town from Sombra's Horn [and saved Argyle as well] and Sunset concerning some of the stuff she learned concerning magic (which will probably be helpful when the magic eventually returns). Sunset starting to mention that she used to be from Equestria also includes a good Mythology Gag to the first episode of the "Friendship is Magic" series.
Admittedly, this is just an extremely wild guess and more likely to be wrong than right, but I can't help thinking that, after magic eventually returns, Sunny is going to end up gaining a combination of Sunset's touch telepathy and Twilight's telekinesis, Hitch is going to get a combination of Applejack's super-strength and Fluttershy's animal speak power, Zipp is going to get Rainbow Dash's super-speed, Pipp is going to get Rarity's gem construct power and Izzy is going to get Pinkie's power to super-charge sugar. However, as I said, that is just a guess and I am quite willing to admit that it is very likely that I'm wrong.
At any rate, definitely looking forward to more of this.
11390888
Given the similarities between Sunset's Daydream form and pony Sunny's alicorn power-up, I can see Sunny gaining that as well.
11390896
That's certainly within the realm of the possible, yes. I could see that happening, indeed.
oooohhhh Grabbing a student, that could be bad too
Wow, this is getting interesting.
And wait, her geode is not working anymore? What happened?
11391633
It was mentioned in the first chapter that after the Maretime bay incident when the girls took the last bit of magic out of the world that leaked out from the portal, the geodes stopped working.
While it hasn't been mentioned yet, I think it's safe to assume the only working magical object left in this world (other than the portal) is the journal.
11392106
Huh, didn't realize that.
11392108
Here's the paragraph in question if you're wondering:
11392110
Thanks for telling me that.
11392127
No prob
Hmmm, Sombra's horn must have has 'Escape Clause' engraved on it somewhere (probably with a hidden 'Revive Body' that takes more [magic] to activate).
Actually
Magic is dangerous, in the wrong hands and when its out of control.
11390724
11390711
I am such a dummy, I was picturing a trumpet 🎺
Lol
Of course it was magic.
Well, that partly answers my question on the incident. :
Celestia won't like this.
https://m.Wouldn't it make more sense it be during her junior year seeing forgotten friendship and the remaining specials afterward continued?
Now that makes sense!