> Validation and Redemption
>  by Sir Starshine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 01: Out of Control
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The red demon hovered above the front doors of Canterlot High School, her turquoise eyes burning and smoking with malice, hair a veritable flame atop her head, adorned by the circlet she had so adamantly sought. She turned her attention from the small group of girls who dared to confront her, aiming it instead at the students who had withdrawn into the building and locked the doors.

“I’ve had to jump through so many hoops tonight, just to get my hands on this crown,” she seethed in an unearthly, almost monstrous voice, glaring through the glass entrance, “and it really should have been mine all along!” A moment later, her expression changed to a smirk, though the anger in her eyes was still evident. “But let’s let bygones be bygones. I am your princess now…” A clawed palm rose in front of her face, beaming with a sickly blue light. “And you will be loyal to me!” With one swift motion, she demolished the entire front entrance where every student gathered, crushing the debris into a massive ball and tossing it aside. 

The demon glided into the front hall, causing everyone to scatter. “I’ll see to that personally.” A strange aura emitted from the crown she wore, stopping every student in their tracks.

Including me.

“Now, I want you all to hold down those obnoxious girls outside!” Every one of us obeyed immediately, our bodies running on auto-pilot. “You two,” I heard her call to the newly transformed Snips and Snails, “I want you to hold onto Princess Twilight personally. She cannot be allowed to escape.”

Her minions were immediately at Twilight’s sides, each with one arm gripped tightly. I watched as the other students gathered around each of the girls, similarly gripping their arms, legs, torsos, and even necks.

Stop, I thought to myself. No, stop, STOP! What are we doing? Why can’t I control myself? Why can’t I stop?! It was as if my consciousness had been pushed to the back of my mind, restrained as I could only watch the other students silently obey our new master while I followed as well.

“You,” the demon called out. As if on instinct, I turned my head to face her. “I think you should do the honors of taking out those pesky friends of hers,” she snarled with a vulgar smirk. With a flick of her claw, a pipe came flying out of the school wall, which she caught effortlessly. She held out the pipe for me. I knew what would come next.

Wordlessly, I took the small, but heavy pipe from her, gripping it tightly in both hands. Meanwhile, my mind was screaming for me to stop, but the screams went unheeded. I walked towards the closest of the girls, the animal lover, Fluttershy, and stopped inches in front of her. She had been dragged down onto her knees, and barely had any strength to resist the students who held her tightly, less than half of those required for any of her other friends.

“No, you don’t have to listen to her!” Twilight cried out, straining against the multiple bodies holding her at bay, front and center. She had been turned around to watch the display. “You can fight this!”

“Go ahead,” was the only response, coming gently from the demon princess behind her. Her words were grotesque, yet mesmerizing all the same. “You know you can’t resist.”

The other girls began yelling as well, pleading for the rest of us to regain our senses and control. However, I could hear that most of their vocalization was aimed at me, the one tasked with their elimination. The various cries and threats were deafening.

I peered down to look at Fluttershy’s face one last time. She looked up at me, tears beginning to trail down her cheeks. “Please,” she pleaded in that airy voice of hers, but with as much strength as she could muster, “don’t do this.”

We gazed into each other’s eyes for a brief moment. I felt my eyes burning, my face numbing, and my stomach turning. I literally felt like I was about to vomit. And all I could do was watch actions that were not my own.

In an instant, I raised the pipe above my head, and brought it down full force. There was a sickening crack as it landed on its mark, blood splattering onto the other students holding her, as well as myself. There was a brief instant of total silence. Surely, it could only have been a second or two, but it felt like an eternity as I stared on at “my” handiwork, breath caught in my throat. I’m not sure who was first to break the silence, but in an instant, all five of the remaining girls cried out, screaming for their friend, no doubt horrified as I brought the pipe above my head and slammed it down again. And again. The pipe made contact with the arm of one of the students during one of the swings, visibly breaking his forearm, but he made no sound and no effort to remove himself as I continued my assault.

This demon who had ordered the execution cackled ghoulishly as the others wailed at the sight before them, now a visible mess of blood, bone, and unspeakable soft tissue no longer held in their natural places. The other students who had held her down released her once it was obvious there was nothing left to put up a struggle.

I felt myself wailing along with the remaining girls over what I had just done, unable to tear my eyes away from the unnatural sight of this broken young woman in front of me. Until I turned to the next victim, the young farmer.

Her cheeks were already soaked by the time I made my way in front of her. “You lay a single hand on me, and I’ll make sure you regret it!” She squalled, unable to hold back her sobs for her broken friend. Unlike Fluttershy, Applejack required by far the most numerous and burly students. She was held upright, gripped tightly all along her legs and arms, her hips, and even had two boys holding her neck by the crook of their elbows. She was, after all, reputed as one of the strongest students in the entire school.

NO!!! I tried one last time to put up some kind of fight, to overcome the external force on my body, but it made no difference. All I could do was languish in my lack of control as I immediately swung into the blonde’s ribcage, causing another sickening series of cracking sounds followed by the raucous cries of her friends. She let out a hefty cry, followed by a strained cough accompanied by a trail of blood from her lips. Her head instantly fell as she gasped for breath. There would be no reprieve, of course. I swung again, into the same spot, intensifying her present injury and likely breaking another rib. She let out a faint cry this time, far less audible, though the pain was still prevalent on her face.

As if on instinct, the two girls who had held her midsection in place released her, and my next swing went straight into her newly exposed left hip. Instantly, she lost all control of her left leg and no further resistance was present in her limb. I then switched my stance and went for the other hip, doing equal damage. She was now dangling by the grips on her upper body. 

The remaining girls’ struggling only intensified, as did their cries and protests, but to no avail. The students released Applejack’s legs, and even the boys released her neck, as she was clearly no longer a threat. The next swing fell squarely on her right clavicle, causing yet another squeal of pain as blood continued to trickle from her mouth. From the look in her eyes, I could tell she still had the will to fight, but there was too much damage done for her body to cooperate. The remaining students released her, allowing her to collapse face-down on the ground. She struggled to move her arms and grasp at a handful of grass, but there was no strength to pull herself forward. In one swift motion, I landed one more blow below her skull.

She ceased to move another muscle as blood poured from her lips.

I turned to look at the other three in line, as well as Twilight Sparkle. They all had mixed looks of horror, mourning, disappointment, and anger to various degrees.

“Where’s your friendship now, Princess?” the demon taunted Twilight from just over her shoulder. Twilight could do nothing but look on in pain and sadness, tears staining her cheeks just like the others.

Next was Rainbow Dash. Though not quite as physically tough as Applejack, the school’s renowned athlete was still a force to be reckoned with, and was just as well-bound. And she had, by far, the most visible rage on her face of any of them, as well as an extensive list of obscenities and insults to hurl in my direction.

Internally, I felt myself retch at the abominable act I was taking part in. I wanted desperately to look away, to make myself stop. Hell, if I could, I would have turned the pipe on myself and attempted to swing at full force. Anything would be better than this.

Still, I was forced to watch as I swung at an exposed kneecap. She screamed in agony as her leg suddenly bent into an unnatural direction. A few seconds and removed hands later, and the second kneecap went as well. Her legs were useless. I continued to swing as body parts were exposed; ribs, shoulders, elbows, and finally, her neck.

Still being held upright as I brought the final blow, Rainbow Dash was the first one I stood witness to as the life left her eyes. Seconds later, she was released, slumping onto the ground in a sickly ragdoll-like motion.

“Dashie…” Pinkie Pie whimpered under her breath at the sight. Her hair had gone completely straight at some point, something that escaped my attention during the unfolding tragedy.

I reached Rarity next, the beautiful fashionista that practically half the school fawned over. Once again I looked her in the eyes, the same as the others. I saw one difference, though.  Despite the fear, rage, and sadness showing on her face, she managed to exude an air of… dignified defiance. She didn’t struggle, she didn’t sling insults or threats. Despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, she stared at me with a look of acceptance. She knew she wasn’t getting out of this alive.

“RARITY!! PINKIE!!” Twilight screamed out. She continued to struggle harder than ever, even managing to slip from some of the students’ grips once or twice. But she was still held firmly in place, unable to do anything but continue to watch this horror show unfold.

I moved to start my swing when Rarity’s words caught my ear, and for the briefest moment, made me pause. “It’s okay,” I heard her say through the tears, hiccupping as she strained to continue. “You’re obviously not in control, you are not to blame.” She then shut her eyes tightly.

I felt her words on my chest like a cannonball. I might have cried, if I had even the slightest control over my body. 

Instead, I found myself slamming the pipe down onto one of her feet. She let out a high-pitched scream, wrenching her eyes to close further. The same came from pounding into her other foot. She howled in pain, but refused to open her eyes. However, she sobbed out again, attempting to convey a simple message. “I forgive you…” She couldn’t hold her breath to speak steadily, but it was clear enough. “I forgive you!” She wailed again.

“Enough!” The demon snarled, suddenly on my back. “Who is she to offer forgiveness?! What’s the point? FINISH HER ALREADY!”

The turmoil inside my mind grew worse at this figure’s words. I knew what I was doing was wrong, I was sure I had the power to overcome it and stop it! So why wasn’t I?

The next swing fell squarely against the base of Rarity’s jaw. Her body went slack, but the students held her up and faced her forward. She sobbed again, slurring this time, “I forgive you!” before I landed a second blow on the opposite side. She went totally limp, gasping for air through the pain. Again, she was propped up.

Even my previous actions couldn’t prepare me for the tortured sight in front of me. Her jaw hung loosely with no firm attachment, teeth and tongue leaning against her throat. Her already white skin was somehow even paler now. Yet somehow, I still heard her echo her message, clearer than any time before. “I forgive you…” 

“End her already!” The demon clawed at my shoulder, seething in pure hatred. If I didn’t know better, I would think she’d heard it too.

I raised the pipe once more, this time not pausing as I heard one last echo. “Now you must forgi—” The pipe made contact with her temple, knocking her to the ground, causing yet another sickly crack and spraying more blood as it penetrated, exposing some of the soft tissue from within.

From behind, I simply heard Twilight sobbing and hiccupping. There were no more cries to her friends or pleas to stop. She simply sobbed uncontrollably.

I sobbed uncontrollably.

Finally, I found myself in front of Pinkie Pie, pinned on her knees much like Fluttershy. I didn’t think it possible, but she wore the worst expression of them all. But there was no snarl, no grimace. There were no obscenities or insults. 

The expression she wore could best be described as… nothing. Her face had gone completely blank, without even the smallest hint of emotion. As I looked in her eyes, however, I could feel a burning ache that was indescribable. It was as if, had she been released at that moment, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill me in retaliation.

“You don’t deserve forgiveness,” I heard her whisper. 

It was strange. I had killed the others without hesitation, save the slightest pause for Rarity. Now, I was mesmerized by the immensity of this girl’s visible disdain, her pure thirst for blood, practically unable to move.

“She’s right,” I heard from Twilight behind me. I couldn’t move, some instinctual fear of this pink girl keeping me frozen in place, but the words cut through clearly. There was no sign of her previous sobs, which caught my attention. “You don’t deserve forgiveness. Everything about you…” I could hear her whispering in my other ear now, “is deplorable.”

Pinkie returned, “No one will ever want to be close to you.”

The demon turned me around to face her. “They’re right, you know,” she smirked. “Nothing can make up for what you’ve done here.”

In an instant, I had full control of my body again. I gasped, as if I had been choking, before looking down at myself. I was covered in blood, innocent blood from girls who had tried to do what was right. I looked at the pipe. There was a sharp edge that I hadn’t noticed before. A second after that observation, I dropped the pipe in surprise. I looked up at the bodies of the girls I had killed. No longer did they bare bruises and blunt impacts, but carvings and shredded flesh as well.

“If you had been stronger, you could have stopped this,” Twilight accused me from the right, no longer held against her will.

“I’m gonna enjoy watching you squirm and burn,” Pinkie giggled from my left, a long, serrated knife suddenly in her hand as she wore a wicked, demented grin on her face.

“Ignore them,” the demon girl in front of me implored lovingly. “You did an excellent job.”

In the distance, I noticed something odd. The doors to the school were back in place, fully restored. On the other side of the glass doors stood a familiar figure. I couldn’t quite place who it was, but she looked so familiar I had to know her from somewhere. She was banging on the doors, apparently trying to get my attention. I also noticed that, as had been the theme of the night, tears were streaming down her face. She looked bruised and cut up, similar to my victims. I tried to pay attention to her features, the red and yellow hair, the turquoise eyes, the leather jacket, the sun emblazoned on her shirt. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t place her. She tried to yell to me, but the muffling doors stopped her message.

My attention was immediately brought back to the three girls surrounding me. Twilight stared at me accusingly, a vicious hatred seething from her eyes. Pinkie staggered towards me, knife in hand, and a wicked smile of anticipation for what she wanted to do to me. The demon girl strolled up to me, swaying her hips and crossing her arms around my neck, looking at me with a smoldering expression of desire. 

I had nowhere to run. I felt trapped. I started hyperventilating. I was going to die!


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“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!” I popped my head upright, sitting up in my bed. My heart was racing, my head was pounding, my breathing was labored, I was covered in sweat. Immediately, the sick feeling in my stomach hit me, and I barely had time to reach for the garbage can next to my bed. Within seconds, I had emptied my stomach of its contents entirely. 

I took a mouthful of water from the nightstand, rinsed, and spit into the garbage can again, gasping for air as reality quickly returned to my mind. This had become a near-nightly routine since the Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer’s constant bullying had been bad enough, but the events of that night triggered something I couldn’t control. Brief though it may have been, the exposure to magic, seeing a girl turn into a real demon, and having control of my body taken from me was more than I could bear.

I grabbed one of the pillows on my bed and curled up as I began to quietly sob into it.

I looked at the alarm clock on my night stand. 2:43 a.m.
> Chapter 02: System Shock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been two months since the Fall Formal. Everything had generally returned to normal. The other students all seemed to return to their usual activities without a care, none the worse for wear. And repairs to the very real damage that had been done to the building were finally completed just a few days ago.

I sluggishly dragged myself through the glass double doors and into the school building, having gotten so little sleep. I was awake for at least another hour after that nightmare, and keeping to my morning routine proved especially challenging this morning. I barely had the energy or time to eat the breakfast my mother had prepared for me, and actively tried to keep conversation to a minimum, before running outside to catch the bus at the last moment. I even wound up dozing off on the ride to school.

Some nights were worse than others. The dreams were always at least a little different, but the theme was the same. Sunset Shimmer would turn into some kind of beast, Twilight and her friends were somehow overpowered, and I was usually involved in some deed that wound up turning my stomach. Occasionally, I was lucky enough to wake up before the more gut-wrenching details set in. Usually, I had just enough time for my mind to get an eyeful of whatever was going on before coming to.

Last night, however, had been one of the worse cases. It was rare that I couldn’t wake myself up before experiencing so much detail. But the length of the events this time, and the vividness of the gory acts I inflicted were practically seared into my brain. 

It was still early, about half an hour before first classes started. I decided to sit in the cafeteria, hoping to finish the last bits of my homework assignments. Maybe that would take my mind off the thoughts still swirling in my mind.

Several minutes passed before I bothered to look at the clock. It was already ten minutes before class, and I’d barely gotten anything done. I resigned myself to just turning everything in as-is, packed my things back into my book bag, and headed out and towards the hall.

Sleep was still pawing at me, and I must have closed my eyes and started drifting as I walked. I accidentally bumped into someone, and immediately took in my surroundings. I had walked by my classroom and was farther down the hall than I intended.

“Oof! Sorry, darling, I didn’t notice you--” 

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to--” 

She must have stopped, noticing we were talking at the same time. I stopped because I saw who it was I had bumped into. It was Rarity, dressed in a sky-blue blouse, dark new jeggings, and stylish-looking jacket. To her side were Fluttershy, with a white long-sleeved sweater, light pink skirt, and pink-and-white striped leggings, and Pinkie Pie, in her white undershirt with balloons, long-sleeved blue over-shirt, darker pink skirt, and blue-and-white striped thigh-high socks.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I stared at them like a deer caught in headlights. I knew it was just a dream, I knew they were perfectly safe here in the real world. But seeing them each together, smiling and talking without a care in the world, as opposed to the… horrid display still fresh in my mind, so soon after, was jarring to say the least.

My mind was still catching up when one of them snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, pulling me back to reality. “Yoo-hoo, you in there?” It was Pinkie, looking at me curiously. Once my eyesight registered again, I noticed Rarity and Fluttershy eying me worriedly. Meanwhile, a grin returned to Pinkie’s face. I was startled for a moment before recognizing it for what it was, the genuine smile she often wore throughout the day.

“Ryan, darling,” Rarity spoke up, catching my attention, “are you okay? Should we take you to the nurse’s office?” The look in her eyes showed that she was still worried over me.

I finally finished coming back to earth, only to realize I had been holding my breath the entire time as I stood frozen. I let it out at once, taking raspy breaths as dizziness started to take effect. I bent down to grasp my knees for support. “No, no, I’m okay,” I tried to reassure her, as much as myself. “I’ll be fine. I just…” I looked back up at them, all three looking at me with worry now. “I… wasn’t expecting to run into you girls.” This was true, considering I didn’t share a class with any of them until after lunch period.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy moved to place a hand on my forehead before I could react. “You’re so pale, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” She quickly pulled her hand back, rubbing it in the opposite one. “And you’re so clammy! I’m taking you to the nurse right now.”

“No!” I stepped back defensively, perhaps raising my hands, and my voice a little more than I should have. She mirrored my motion just as quickly. “No, I… I’m sorry girls, I just didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’m not really myself this morning.” I looked at each of them, trying to put on the best smile I could muster. “I promise, though, I’m okay. Sorry again for bumping into you, Rarity.”

She looked at me hesitantly, then replied, “It’s quite alright, dear. As long as you’re certain nothing’s the matter.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered half-heartedly. “I’ll see you and Fluttershy in math class, I guess.” I quickly turned and headed back to my English room before there could be any further exchange.


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The morning classes went by quickly and uneventfully. Homework was turned in, new material discussed, blah-blah-blah. Honestly, I just couldn’t be bothered to pay that much attention to any of it today. I tried to jot down anything that seemed important as I caught it, but my mind continued to wander.

I generally only see any of the girls from a distance, and hardly ever interact with any of them. I was always either too shy to strike up a conversation, or too absorbed in something to pay them any real attention. And had this morning gone as normal, without our surprise run-in, my sleep-deprived brain might have had time to properly dissociate my dream from reality.

The bell rang, ending the second period class. The teacher, dressed in his black pants and waistcoat with his white button-up shirt, turned his attention to us as we all gathered our things and got ready for lunch. “Alright class, remember,” he called out in his Scottish accent, “finish chapters 7 and 8 and complete all of the exercises. Chemistry can be intimidating, I know, but it’s not difficult if you pay attention to the basic rules. You have tomorrow and the weekend, so I don’t wanna hear any excuses!”

As I was making my way to the door, however, he called to me. “Oi, Ryan. Come ‘ere a moment.” Everyone who knew me knew I hated my given name, so I just went by my middle name at school. Thank god Mr. Smith was the most accepting of it. I made a detour to his desk, and we waited for the rest of the class to leave.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Smith?” I asked, nervousness already building in my stomach and arms tensing.

He just sighed for a moment, running his fingers through his curly, grey hair, and he looked up at me. I always got this feeling when he looked at me, it was as if he were looking through me, with those old, almost embittered eyes, eyes full of life and yet so tired at the same time.

“Ryan,” he leaned back in his seat, “I’m worried about you.” I just paused, pondering what he could be talking about. He opened a desk drawer, pulled out a paper, then got up and walked around to meet me. “This is your homework assignment. Do ya see it? It’s barely half finished.” He set it down and continued. “This’s been goin’ on for weeks now, you hardly ever turn in a completed assignment anymore. And don’t think I don’t notice you driftin’ off inta space in the middle o’ class.” He took a few steps past me towards the door, and turned to face me again. “Now I’ve spoken to yer other teachers, and they’re sayin’ the same thing. Ya started out the year so well, straight A’s in each class. But over the last two months, it’s like ya’ve just stopped caring.” He stepped closer to me again, speaking softly this time, still keeping eye contact. “I’ve also noticed that this change in behavior started right after what all happened with the Fall Formal. Have ya spoken to anyone about it?”

I just lowered my head in response. However, he refused to take this for an answer, sinking down to look into my eyes again. “No,” I muttered.

“Well, do ya—do ya have any friends who might be able to help you out?” He straightened himself up. “Anyone you can talk to, open up about how you felt when it happened?” I just shook my head. He placed a hand across his forehead, rubbing at it with his digits. “Well, son, best I can tell you is to find somebody to talk to. The whole school went through the same thing, even us faculty members. And trust me, I know it was no picnic.” He gave a quick, dry chuckle and a grin. “A faculty member not in charge of his faculties. There’s some humor for ya right there.” He patted my shoulder with a grin, though I could tell it was forced.

“Ryan, I’m gonna be straight with ya. If this keeps up, if you keep turning in half-completed work, you’re not gonna pass this class. And from what I’ve heard, this class isn’t the only one you’re in danger of failing. Now,” he clapped his hands together, walking to the window, turning, and leaning against the windowsill, “the way I see it, for you to come out of this without risking repeating this grade, there are two options. Option one, you go out there, make the effort to find someone to talk to and spend time with. Make a friend or two, talk to them about what’s troubling you, and try to have some fun to get yer mind off of it. Or,” he came back up off the windowsill, towards me, “option two, I recommend regular visits to the guidance councilor’s office.”

I stood, contemplating my options. Who could I try to talk to? Few of the students even knew me, fewer still ever bothered to speak to me. How could I possibly just stroll up to someone and start talking about the time we all were placed under mind control?

Mr. Smith interrupted my thoughts. “Now you don’t have to make a decision right away, right this minute. Just give it a little time and thought.” He circled back around to his chair, clasping his hands together. “You’d do well with some friends, Ah’m sure. But if there isn’t an improvement soon, say, next couple or three weeks, I’ll be speaking to the councilor about you.”

I sighed, not knowing what I could possibly contribute to the conversation. “I understand.”

“Good,” he sat back in the chair and leaned back, propping his feet on the desk. “Now, Ah’ve held ya up long enough, go. Eat. Drink. Be merry! ‘tis the season and all that!” He grinned again.

I turned and hurried out the door, making my best effort to keep my head held high. As soon as I passed the doorway, however, I had my second collision of the day. Again, from the grunt and the physical sensation, I knew right away it was another girl. We both dropped our belongings, though she was less fortunate as there was no backpack containing hers. Books, paper, and pencils splashed across the floor. 

“I’m so sorry,” I started without a second thought, bending down to help her gather her things. I grabbed one book, she grabbed another, and we started grasping at papers.

“It’s fine, I should apologize, I was in too big a hurry,” she replied.

I paused, recognizing the voice instantly. My heart fell as I looked up, book and paper still in-hand. There, on her hands and knees, shuffling for her supplies, was Sunset Shimmer. Her crimson red and sunshine-yellow hair draped over her face as she tried to gather her things haphazardly. She was dressed in a long-sleeve purple top adorned with a sun-shaped pattern that matched the colors of her hair, a yellow blouse that draped slightly below the bottom of her shirt, and jeggings similar to Rarity's. However, she was missing her trademark leather jacket. Another second passed before she looked up to me, returning the gaze.

For a moment, time stood still. I stared into her shining, baby blue eyes, and I was at a loss. I felt a hollowness within my chest. Then, with the next breath, a torrent of emotions came rushing at me. It was all I could do to keep from shoving her book into her arms and running off.

“Uhm, I’m sorry for running into you,” she said weakly, looking down to the floor, a heavy blush crossing her cheeks. She returned to gathering the rest of her paper and the few pencils she had, while I grasped my bookbag in my free hand, before we both rose to our feet. I simply extended the hand with her remaining materials, which she took with great care. “Thank you,” she said, almost at a whisper, looking into my eyes again. She wore a sad expression.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I simply stood there, making every effort to control my breath, clenching my teeth and tensing my jaw.

“Everything alright out here, you two?” There was no telling how long Mr. Smith had been standing in the doorway, we were both too distracted to notice.

I couldn’t help huffing as I tried to answer, “Yeah,” and turned away, making my way to my locker before heading to the cafeteria. Behind me, I heard him ask Sunset a question, though I wasn’t sure what. I also heard her give a very faint reply.


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I sat alone at a small table during lunch, as was usually the case for me. I was picking at the chicken and gravy, peas, and other sides on my tray. For some reason, I just didn’t have any appetite. I was hungry earlier, but now… nothing. I looked up. 

It had become a normal sight at this point, this group of girls sitting together during lunch, talking, laughing, probably gossiping. I stared at the group, taking in the sights of each member. The memory of my latest dream had become fainter through the day, less taxing. However, I still watched in disbelief as they went on, completely unaware of the myriad horrors that they could have endured.

Then I watched as Sunset joined them. Their jovial attitude diminished slightly, but they continued their discussion, making a visible effort not to exclude Sunset outright.

I couldn’t help wondering why. It started out with her trying to avoid joining anyone all together, and they would leave her to it. But before long, they started catching her attention and inviting her to join them. Sure, they were visibly uncomfortable, but it was their choice. Now, she could just waltz right up and join them out of the blue. What right did she have to call them her friends? What right did she have to have friends? Why did they make such an effort to make her feel included, after all she had done?! 

I stabbed at my chicken without realizing it, and lowered my head to cross my fingers across the back. Thankfully, no one was paying me any attention to notice. After a moment, I looked at the clock, and saw the lunch break was already half-way over. I figured it was better to at least try to eat while I had the chance. I was half-way through forcing down my meal when a familiar figure sat across from me. I looked up to see Pinkie grinning ear to ear, her tray only containing scraps now. “Hiya, remember me?”

“Yyyyeah,” I hesitated, “you’re Pinkie Pie. You’re one of Rarity and Fluttershy’s friends.”

“Yeppers!” She just sat quietly, staring at me as I took another couple of bites of my meal. Which was very odd for this rambunctious girl. 

I found the silence deafening. “So, uh, why did you decide to come sit with me? Why not stay with your friends?”

“Oh, silly,” she giggled, “we’re all friends here, you know that!”

“You know what I mean!” I couldn’t help taking offense at her pedantic reply.

“Oh, cheer up, silly-billy! I just wanted to see if I could turn that frown upside-down is all!” She clasped her hands and batted her eyelashes excitedly.

“Uh-huh. And how, exactly, did you decide I needed cheering up?”

Her grin faltered at the question. Her eyes ticked side-to-side, as if looking for a cue card for an answer, and somehow, she instantly started sweating. “I, uhh… just saw you jabbing at your chicken, and--” Instantly, she placed her hands over her mouth, as if she’d just spilled a valuable secret. Well, I thought no one had seen me before.

I stole a glance back at the rest of her group, and caught a quick glimpse of them looking in our direction before instantly deciding their meals were much more interesting. Even if seeing their faces had been my imagination, that much hair between so many girls doesn’t sway at once for no reason.

Again, I felt a swell of emotions, my blood surged and my throat tightened. “They put you up to this, didn’t they?” I fixed my eyes back on Pinkie. “They sent you over here to play one of your little games and see if I’d just start smiling along with you, right? Was that it?” Pinkie visibly started drawing back. “Playing the jokester, like always? Or did they send you fishing for something? Trying to learn something about me?” I didn’t realize I had already started yelling, and at the moment, I wouldn’t have cared. I pushed my chair back loudly as I stood. “Well guess what!” I leaned down over the table, getting within inches of her face. “Whatever it is, I’m not interested in talking! I don’t care about any games you wanna play, and if you’re looking for dirt, go talk to your friends! I’m sure at least one of them has plenty!” I grabbed my tray and hastily took it to the return window before running out of the cafeteria. 

“Hey, Beef Stew!” I heard a student call out. I winced. “What’s the matter, breaking up with your girlfriend?” There was laughter all around the cafeteria.

I quickened my pace, and didn’t bother looking back at anyone.
> Chapter 03: Mistrust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Beef Stew!” A student called out to the young man storming out of the cafeteria. “What’s the matter, breaking up with your girlfriend?” A sparse chorus of laughter erupted throughout the cafeteria.

“Oh, goddess, why?” Sunset cringed, placing her hands over her face in embarrassment and frustration.

“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Pinkie said sullenly as she rejoined her friends. “I was really hoping I could at least get a grin out of the poor guy.”

“It’s not your fault, Pinkie,” Rarity replied. “His reaction was totally unacceptable!” She punctuated her statement by placing her palm out in the general direction where he had walked off. “I shall have to speak to him after our class together."

“No, no. It was totally acceptable,” Sunset spoke up, still covering the upper portion of her face. “I shouldn’t have even mentioned him. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“What’d you mean it’s acceptable? What’s his problem?” Rainbow Dash asked, sitting directly across from Sunset. “Pinks just went over to have a nice, friendly chat with the guy, and he totally bites her head off! Not cool!”

“It’s because you girls are friends with me.” She quickly balled her fists and slammed them against the table. “Shit, I can’t believe I forgot about him!”

“What do you mean, darling?”

Applejack decided to join in. “Is this another one of those fences ya need to mend?”

Sunset looked towards her new friends. Her eyes seemed heavy with guilt. “Yeah, but I have a feeling this one’s going to be especially difficult.”

Fluttershy spoke up, luckily sitting right next to Sunset so she could be heard. “That boy said something about beef stew. What could that mean, I wonder?”

“Mm-mm,” AJ casually hummed out as a response, sitting across from her. “Only thing that comes to mind is the occasional dinner at home.”

“It’s a testament to just how awful a person I really was,” Sunset answered. “I’ve done a lot of bad things, broken up friendships and relationships, blackmailed and intimidated students, I even played the occasional prank to embarrass someone when I didn’t get my way.” She looked up in the general direction of the student that had called out the name. “But what I did to him was beyond even my usual style of bullying.” She plopped her head down onto the table and covered the back of it with a feeling of shame. “And I was so self-absorbed through all of that, and even caught up with this friendship thing, I actually forgot about him. At least until I bumped into him earlier.”

Before anyone could ask for further information, Pinkie immediately blurted out the most poignant thought on her mind. “How could you possibly forget about him? We each see practically everyone here, everyday!”

“It’s just timing, I guess. It looked like he stayed late in his class, and I just bumped into him as he was walking out the door. I must just usually be a few minutes behind him for lunch.” She raised her head and sighed heavily, with a hint of annoyance. “I was really hoping that whole thing had died out already. But obviously, it’s alive and well.”

“So, what exactly did you do?” Rainbow asked.

“Hmm, as I keep thinking on it, the name does sound vaguely familiar,” Rarity said. “But for the life of me, I can’t recall why.”

“Believe me, right now, it’s much better that way,” Sunset responded. “If I tell you girls, I’d rather it be alone, and not over food,” she stressed.

“Maybe ya can tell us after school,” AJ offered. “Seems like a decent time as any.”

Sunset just closed her eyes and sighed, not for the first time during the lunch period. “Okay. Just… Do me a favor, girls?” They all looked at her quizzically. “Don’t judge me too harshly, please? Remember I’m really trying to make up for what I’ve done and prove I can be a good person.” She looked at each of them with a remorseful gaze. They hadn’t seen her this rattled in weeks.

“Sunset,” Fluttershy was the first to answer, placing her right hand on Sunset’s left, and offering a consoling smile. “I promise, whatever you have to say, we’ll listen, and we won’t judge you as long as you’re trying to prove you’re a better person.”

“Indeed, dear,” Rarity joined, grasping Sunset’s opposite hand. “We’re your friends now, and we shall not let you suffer this burden alone.”

“Don’t worry, we got your back!”

“Won’t nobody put down one of my girlfriends!”

“We’ll stick with ya tighter than a herd o’ cattle in winter!”

Sunset just looked down, deep in thought. “I sure hope so…”

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. The girls got in line to return their trays, and said their brief goodbyes while preparing for the rest of their classes.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


“And that, boys and girls, is how you work out sine, cosine, and tangent for any portion of a triangle!” The trigonometry teacher, Mr. Vector, stood in his stupid-looking “victory pose,” as we’d come to name it, with his left hand on his hip, right hand pointing towards the board with the stick of chalk in hand, head held high with a cheesy grin, and, despite his exceedingly plump abdomen, trying to puff out his chest like he’d just won some kind of battle. He might actually look somewhat impressive if he didn’t also sport a bowl cut, comical square glasses, and an absolutely laughable tracksuit.

On the chalkboard were three diagrams of triangles, each with various lined and bowed arrows pointing between different portions, the definitions of each of the three terms, and at the right end of the board, a large set of abbreviations written in three lines: “SOH, CAH, TOA.”

I sat at the left edge of the class, staring at nothing in particular and letting my mind wander. Occasionally I’d look down and write something on my note paper to avoid suspicion. I noticed I’d been doing that a lot lately. I just couldn’t seem to pay attention in any of my classes. 

“Now, as long as you all can remember these simple rules, the next section should come very easily for you.” He turned back to the board, erasing select bits of diagrams as well as the terms and definitions. He started going on about some new set of information that might as well have been Greek to me.

I decided to take a look at the opposite side of the room, stealing a glance at two of the girls: Rarity, and sitting behind her, Fluttershy. They both had their heads down, copying the information Mr. Vector had been spewing. 

While he was going on, Fluttershy decided to glance up in my direction. I just moved my head a bit so it wouldn’t seem like I was staring. Quickly enough, she’d returned to her paper. 

Mr. Vector continued his onslaught of mathematical nonsense, turning his attention to us occasionally, making sure we were paying attention. After one such moment, I noticed Rarity stealing a glance in my direction as well. I figured they must have been upset with me for yelling at Pinkie earlier. In all honesty, I started feeling kind of guilty myself after a few minutes. I mean, all she did was come over to say “hi” because she… they probably thought I looked like I needed company.

Maybe I did. But something about them just accepting Sunset’s company so casually, so readily, just bothered me in ways I couldn’t explain.

The bell rang in the middle of Mr. Vector’s tangent. “Oh man, and I was on a roll, too.” He turned towards the students, all eagerly packing away our materials. “Alright kids, remember, sections one through three, even-numbered questions only! I don’t want any cheating by looking in the back of the book.” We all filed out the door as he returned to a couple of books on his desk. As I neared the door, without even looking up, I heard him call my name. “Ryan, a moment please.”

Great, I couldn’t help thinking. Ready round two.

I just stood at his desk wordlessly as the rest of the students left. “Young man,” he reached into the top-right drawer of his desk, and pulled out a familiar sheet of paper, then stood straight and turned his attention to me, practically dangling the paper like it were on a fish hook. “Tell me, what do you see here?”

I steadied my breath through my nose as I answered, “My math homework.”

“And, uh, what exactly are the contents of said homework?” He now had a smirk on his face.

I gently pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “Only about half of the assignment you gave us yesterday.”

“That’s right,” he responded with an unfittingly gleeful tone. “Only half of the assignment. And you know what that means, right? It means--” his expression pulled an immediate 180. “-- only half the credit!” He slammed the paper on the desk. “I don’t know what the problem is, Buster Brown, but if you want to pass this class,” he pointed at me with his opposite hand, “you’d better get your rear in gear and focus!” He placed his hands together and paced by me towards the front corner. “I will not have one of my students flagrantly disregarding their work.” He stopped and turned his head back to me. “We have standards at this school, a reputation to maintain, and we strive to abide by them both. And you?” He turned his body as well to face me fully. “You’re not abiding. I don’t believe you’re even trying!” He rushed up to me, grabbing the paper, and scanning it quickly, then began flailing wildly to emphasize his point. “Honestly, even only doing half the work, you’ve still gotten several of these wrong! What happened? You started this year out so well, you hardly ever even got a question wrong, let alone turned in assignments unfinished. And now this?” He slapped my paper with the opposite hand. “This is just sloppy!”

“I’ve had this conversation already, you know,” I commented once I found a sizeable pause in his rant.

He gave me a quizzical look. “You have?” He blinked for a second. “Then I’m sure you know the stakes of your predicament, and the consequences of failing! Oh, sure, you’ll be held back a year, reprimanded perhaps, but your grades, your behavior,” he suddenly pointed to himself with both hands, “they will also reflect on us! And I will not have my reputation tarnished by some hooligan who thinks he’s above doing his schoolwork.” He walked back to the other side of his desk, returning my paper to the drawer. “Now, go on to your next class, but remember: you will begin turning in completed assignments from now on, is that clear?”

My eye began twitching. “Yes,” I deadpanned.

“Good. Now, shoo! I have to get ready for the next class,” he said as he turned to erase everything on the chalkboard. 

I began walking out the door again, and stopped as I reached it. I didn’t want yet another run-in with someone, so I peered around the corners. To my right, I swear I saw tufts of purple and light pink hair disappear around the corner.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


My last class for the day was P.E. I was thankful I had the chance to get this class out of the way before the cold of winter really had a chance to set in. We did our usual stretches and calisthenics with nothing out of the ordinary. I hadn’t really noticed throughout the day, but it was pretty cloudy, and we were warned of the possibility of rain, meaning at some point we may have to finish class in the gym.

As we did our exercises on the track, Rainbow Dash continued to outpace everyone as usual, including as we did laps. However I noticed that despite her usual athletic focus, she would break her attention every so often for just a moment to look at me. She moved too quickly for me to be sure, and maybe my conscience was getting to me, but I was certain she was giving me the stink eye.

When the class was finished, I tried to catch up to Rainbow to talk to her, but as soon as she looked in my direction, she practically sprinted back to the gym. I knew there was no way I was going to catch her, so I decided I’d let it go, and stroll up at my usual pace.

Mr. Smith’s words had been swimming around my head since lunch. As had my verbal attack on Pinkie, and the regret I felt over it. I had been avoiding it, thinking it was a waste of time and energy, but maybe I really did need a friend. And despite how socially awkward I had always been, Pinkie was the type to go out of her way to make friends with everyone. 

I decided I needed to look for her after the last bell rang, and try to apologize.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


It had taken several minutes to stop sweating and get dry before I was ready to change back to my normal clothes. Most of the other students had already left the locker room and were getting ready for the busses, driving, or walking home in their own groups. But it was common knowledge these girls liked to hang out in front of the school for a while, usually around the Wondercolt statue.

Luckily, this allowed the presence of other students to thin out, which meant less chance of anyone else being around to interrupt when I tried to get Pinkie’s attention. I stayed around the foyer for a few minutes longer, until the busses had finished pulling in and I knew anyone who wasn’t driving or prepared to walk home would be boarding. I looked through the doorway, seeing the last of the students stepping onto the busses. What I didn’t see were the girls in front of the statue. I pushed through the door and stepped out into the open to look around. I couldn’t see them anywhere.

This was when I felt the first sprinkles of rain starting to fall, but I wasn’t going to let that deter me. I already had enough on my mind, and I wasn’t going to let a guilt trip over yelling at Pinkie add to it. I pulled the hood of my jacket up and started checking the corners around the school. I’d checked all around the front, looked through the sides, and I ran to check the back of the school with the track. They weren’t anywhere in sight.

I entered the building through the gymnasium again, hoping they were still here. I ran out into the hallway, nearly bumping into Ms. Cheerilee. “Hey, be careful! This is why we don’t run in the halls, you know!”

“Sorry, Ms. Cheerilee,” I tried to apologize sincerely. “I’m looking for someone.”

“Well, you’re unlikely to find them now, pretty much everyone else has gone home already. Uh, why are you still here, anyway?”

“I was hoping for a chance to talk to her alone, so I waited out the crowd.”

“I see.” She put on a thoughtful face. “Well, the last student I saw was Sunset Shimmer, just a few minutes ago.”

I struggled not to groan at the name, but it might be helpful at least. “Okay, did she say where she was going?

“She said she was meeting with her friends in the parking lot. Is she the one you need to see?”

“No, but maybe that’s where she’ll be.” I headed back through the gym, thanking her for the help. 

I ran out the doors, and turned towards the parking lot. They were probably sitting in the sheltered bench station on the opposite side, if they had any intention of staying out of the rain. I rounded the corner, and with a few more vehicles gone, off in the distance, I saw all six of the girls, just as I expected. Even at this distance, I saw Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack were sitting on the bench, with Rarity and Rainbow standing behind them. Sunset was standing in front, facing them, once again wearing her leather jacket.

I moved to the opposite side of one of the larger trucks, trying to calm myself as my heart raced. You’re just asking to apologize to Pinkie Pie, there’s nothing to worry about. They’ve forgiven far, far worse. The worsening rain didn’t do me any favors in calming my nerves. I took one last breath before walking past the truck and towards the benches. The cling-wrapped shielding on the side made it impossible to see in either direction, so I tried to take each second to help calm myself. As I got closer, however, I started to hear one of their voices.

I walked closer. It was Sunset’s voice. I shouldn’t be surprised. The way she was standing, she obviously had everyone else’s attention over something. It took a few more seconds before I got close enough to understand what she was saying to them. As soon as I did, my anxiety returned with full force. It felt like my heart was stuck in my throat and my blood suddenly ran cold.

“... running through the hallway with no pants, and leaving… the worst mess you’ve ever seen.”

Now, instead of being frozen in place, my anxiety drove me to run between the cars and up to the front of the group. Everything seemed to start moving in slow motion, but before I knew it, I was right behind Sunset Shimmer, breathing heavily. 

I don’t know if it was the splashing of my steps or my breathing that caught her attention, but she turned around to face me. I saw her eyes go wide as she placed her hands over her mouth. I stared in shock for several seconds before my mind could get back on track, and realized she was telling this story, my story! Outloud to her friends! I looked at each of them, each with different expressions that I simply couldn’t process at the moment.

I looked back at Sunset, my breath getting heavier as I felt an overwhelming urge to just run. “You…” I barely managed to get out above a whisper. “You told them? You told them about that?!”

She tried to move towards me, reaching her hands out. “I’m sorry! I--”

Suddenly I caught my breath and started yelling. “It’s not enough you humiliated me in front of the whole school! Now you have to brag about it?!” 

“No! That’s not what--” I cut her words short and I jumped towards her and wrapped my hands around her neck. Her friends reacted immediately, all jumping to separate us.

“You bitch! What... What gives you the right to..?” This was all my brain managed to form as my face burned. I felt my grip being pried open, my body being pulled away from Sunset, who just stared at me, clawing at my hands as well.

“Stop it this instant!” Applejack yelled, slowly prying my hands away.

“Let go!” Pinkie cried, helping Applejack with the task.

“Don’t hurt her!” Even Fluttershy managed to scream out, grasping Sunset’s body and pulling her away from me.

“Dude, don’t make me hurt you!” Rainbow yelled into my ear as she pulled me back by the chest.

“Ryan, stop this at once!” Rarity stepped to the side of my arm, grabbing my face and turning my head to face her. I remember seeing tears in her eyes.

It was only a couple of seconds before this group of girls managed to pry me off of Sunset. The moment they did, she fell back onto the bench, coughing and grasping her own throat, with Fluttershy checking her neck. Rainbow managed to sling me away before rejoining the rest as they all stood between me and Sunset.

I looked at them for a moment. There was a mix of emotions on each face, but one thing stood out above everything else: fear. They were afraid of me. I came to apologize, and I wound up attacking one of them. I felt a familiar burning sensation growing stronger in my eyes.

“Ryan, wait,” Sunset gasped as she stood up and tried to move in front of her friends. She looked up at me with those same, shining turquoise eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--”

“No,” I stopped her as I backed away. “No, I don’t want to hear it right now. You-- you don’t…” Suddenly, it felt like the world was spinning around me. I turned and ran towards the school, slipping a couple of times on the wet asphalt. I barely made it to the grass before falling on all fours and vomiting. I heard a set of footsteps running up to me, and felt a slender hand placed on my shoulder. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” 

The next moment was just a blur and I was wrestling with the unrelenting anger I felt, so I wasn’t even paying attention as I twisted around to grab the wrist of whoever it was, rise to my feet, and run her into the brick wall. 

“Was it funny, huh?! Did you all get a good laugh?!” It was only then I registered the face and rainbow of colors in front of me, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t even notice I had pinned her with my forearm against her neck and the other twisting her arm in front of her. “How much did she tell you? Did she mention the laxatives? How about how she forced me out?!” I didn’t even notice the footsteps splashing behind me. “What about how she got Snips and Snails to record the whole thing and post it for the whole school to see!” 

Once again the other girls came to the rescue, their combined strength grabbing between my jacket and my body, and dragging my feet through the muddy grass. I turned and swung blindly, not caring who might get hit next.

I felt my right hand make a solid contact with someone’s face. I looked just long enough to see that I had just broken Fluttershy’s nose. She was now lying back on the ground, hands covering her face.

It wasn’t until I was tackled to the ground that I started to comprehend what was happening. Just past Applejack’s head, I saw Pinkie helping Rainbow Dash to breath again, and Rarity leaning over a crying Fluttershy, probably to inspect the damage. And in the middle of it all stood Sunset, doing nothing but staring at me.

“Alright now,” Applejack spoke as calmly as she could, considering I’d just assaulted three of her friends. “I know you’re feelin’ hurt, but that’s no reason ta--”

“Hurt?” I interrupted. “You think I feel hurt? You don’t know what I feel!” I tried to grab her shoulders and push her off, but she held a firm grip on my jacket.

“Listen, Sunset told us what happened, and if you’ll just--”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Of course she did! I heard enough to figure that out! I’ll bet you even asked for all the details!” I looked up with a grin I couldn’t control, as she just looked away with a look of guilt. 

It felt my heart catch in my throat again. I was hoping she had a response for that. Of all the things I could think of, all that had come out of my mouth, I was sure that angry accusation was wrong. It had to be!

“You…” I looked up at Applejack, feeling dread in my chest for the first time that day. “You did. You asked her to tell you what she did to me.”

“I’m sorry!” She was quick to respond after that. “We had to know what it was that made ya snap at Pink-- HOOOGH!”

I couldn’t be here anymore. I had to get away. So I fought. I slammed a fist into Applejack’s ribs, knocking the wind out of her and loosening her grip on my jacket. I did it a second time, and she released her grip entirely. Finally, I swung at her head, knocking her off of me so I could crawl back and get to my feet.

Finally, I had a chance to look at the scene around me. I had a chance to look at what I’d done. I had attacked this group of girls, drawn their blood and left them gasping for air.

Flashes of my last nightmare entered my mind again as I looked at each girl and noticed the unsettling similarities. Rainbow Dash, clutching at her neck and shoulder, gasping for air. Applejack, lying on the ground, blood trickling from her mouth as she held her ribs. Fluttershy, her beautiful, innocent face covered in blood. Rarity, looking between the others and me with a look of pain, fear… and sorrow. Pinkie Pie, her hair straight from the rain, trying to stand between me and anyone else I might attack next, angry and afraid, and ready to fight. 

And finally, Sunset. She just stood in the center, with the rain pouring down and matting her hair around her face. The rain masked it well, but I could see the shock on her face, and the puffy, blood-shot look in her eyes. I couldn’t believe it. She was crying.

I stepped back, slipping on a slick patch of grass and landing on my butt. The perspective was even more painful to see from below. “I… I’m sorry,” I barely managed to gasp out before getting back to my feet and running full-speed in the opposite direction.

I didn’t think about going home. I didn’t know where I was going, or how far my legs could take me before giving out. I just knew, at that moment, I needed to be as far away from these girls as possible.
> Chapter 04: Curiosity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And that, boys and girls, is how you work out sine, cosine, and tangent for any portion of a triangle!” The trigonometry teacher, Mr. Vector, pointed out to the class. 

Rarity and Fluttershy had made a point to outline the abbreviated formulas in their notes. Neither of them cared much for advanced mathematics, but they could at least appreciate how the knowledge could be used in some way, especially Rarity, who understood the intricacies of cutting fabrics at just the right angles and lengths. Besides, their parents had made it perfectly clear that their grades came before their hobbies. So attentiveness and comparing notes at study-sleepovers had become a common occurrence after all the girls had reunited. 

“Now, as long as you all can remember these simple rules, the next section should come very easily for you.” Mr. Vector returned to facing the board, erasing some of his work to make room for the next part of his lecture. “The next section, starting on page 153, discusses cotangent, cosecant, and secant. You see, these are the reciprocals of tangent, sine, and cosine, respectively. This means…”

“Sigh…” Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh, struggling to keep her mind on the information being thrown at her. She had managed to diagram the new abbreviations and their relation to the old ones, but at the moment, her attention was being drawn to the young man on the opposite side of the room. He had a far off look on his face, like he was barely even awake. She watched for a moment as he scribbled on his paper without looking down, wondering if this was a skill of his, or if he was just doodling. He would glance down every few seconds, she noticed, but the expression didn’t change. She tried to return to her own work, copying the examples Vector was sharing so she wouldn’t fall too far behind. After another moment, she looked back up to him, and for a split second, she thought he was looking at her. She blinked, and once again, he was staring into the front corner of the room. 

After a moment of thought, she returned her attention to her paper again. However, her mind simply refused to adhere to the task at hand. “Rarity,” she whispered to the fashionista in front of her. “What do you think?”

Rarity started to respond when Vector turned to face the class, but only for a few seconds. Once his attention was back on the board, she asked, “Think of what?”

“Of Hill-- I mean, of Ryan. Sunset said he had a good reason for snapping at Pinkie. What do you think it could be?”

Rarity paused in her notes, as her mind, too, returned to racing. And she had just gotten it under some level of control, too. “I’ve been trying not to,” she answered. “I’m having a hard enough time concentrating.” She decided to steal a glance in his direction as well, finding the same vacant look with the aimless-looking scribbling on his paper. She returned her attention back to her own paper. “Besides, I was still planning on having a talk with him after class.”

“Are you sure about that? Sunset already promised to tell us what’s got him so upset, and…” She paused as Vector, once again, turned to face the students as he spoke, lingering on a new graph he had just drawn. The interruption felt painfully long, before he eventually returned to the board again. “Anyway, it seems unfair to confront him and tell him he was wrong when we don’t even know his point of view.”

“Fluttershy, dear, I--” The bell rang, signaling the end of class. As everyone began packing their materials, she turned to face Fluttershy. “I have no intention of accusing him of anything, or even saying he was in the wrong. I merely want to ask why he felt the need to bark at her the way he did.”

“Alright kids,” Vector called out before anyone was able to leave, “remember, sections one through three, even-numbered questions only! I don’t want any cheating by looking in the back of the book.”As the girls rose from their seats, they saw Ryan coming closer. Rarity was just about to come up to him when Vector called him back to his desk. She was rather annoyed with this hiccup in her plan, but decided a minute or two wouldn’t make a difference. She motioned for Fluttershy to follow her, and they walked out the door with the rest of the class. However, unlike the rest, they stood a few lockers away from the doorway to try and avoid suspicion.

Once the rest of this class was out of earshot, they heard Vector’s voice. “Young man, tell me what you see here.” Rarity stood as close to the door as possible, trying to filter out the noise from other passing students while also trying to avoid arousing any suspicion. Fluttershy stood by her side listening in as well, though a bit nervously. From what they could hear, Vector was dominating the conversation, only interested in letting the boy know what kind of trouble he was facing.

“Oh dear, I had no idea he was doing so poorly with his work,” Rarity whispered in surprise as Vector pointed out how the boy’s work was so sloppy.

“Didn’t he just say that Ryan started out doing really well? What could have happened?”

“I’m not sure, dear, but--” she paused as she heard Vector mention being held back and facing possible punishment. “Oh, goodness.”

“What? I can’t hear what he’s saying!”

“Shush!” Rarity pulled a little closer to the door. 

“Now, go on to your next class, but remember: you will begin turning in completed assignments from now on, is that clear?”

“Yes,” she heard Ryan answer in a voice that sounded like he was already on his last nerve.

“Uh-oh. We’d better go, now.” Rarity grabbed Fluttershy’s wrist and immediately bolted down the hallway, with Fluttershy barely keeping up. As they rounded the corner, they pressed themselves against the lockers and waited. After a few seconds, Rarity dared to pear around the corner, only to see that Ryan was gone. She sighed. “It seems you were right. Perhaps it really is best to wait until we have a chance to hear from Sunset before speaking to him.” They started walking to their last class for the day.

“I’m worried about what Mr. Vector said about how he suddenly went from doing so well to… well, not,” Fluttershy pondered out loud. “What do you think could be the problem?”

Rarity had a look of deep thought on her face, and was interrupted when Fluttershy had to pull her to the side to avoid running into another student. “Thank you, dear,” she looked back at Pipsqueak, who was running in the direction of Sweetie Belle’s art class. “All I can imagine it would be is the events of the Fall Formal. I mean, everyone was affected by Sunset’s mind control except for us.”

“But everyone else is acting perfectly normal. Sure, they avoid her, some of the students are still a little afraid of her, and even a brave few have started trying to pick on her in return. But I haven’t seen anyone react like that at all. And no one we know is doing any worse in any of their classes.”

“You’re right,” Rarity relented to the facts. “It’s obvious Sunset’s prior behavior is the problem, she said so herself. But if he was still behaving normally and keeping his grades up before, maybe the Fall Formal was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back, as it were.”

Fluttershy just looked ahead, unamused. As such an avid animal lover, it annoyed her to no end how animal abuse was so widely used for common expressions.

“In any case, Rainbow shares gym class with him next. Perhaps I should give her a heads up not to draw his attention unnecessarily.” She then pulled out her phone to text Rainbow Dash before she and Fluttershy entered their final class.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Rainbow’s phone buzzed just as she was finishing changing into her gym clothes, a form-fitting set of a white t-shirt and bike shorts. She checked the message she had just received from Rarity.

I was wrong. We need to hear out Sunset before speaking with Ryan. Avoid contact if possible.

“Oh, for the love of…” Rainbow pinched the bridge of her nose. “What does she think I’m gonna do, go out of my way and antagonize the guy?” She grabbed her stacked clothing and set it in her gym locker, tossing the phone on top of the pile.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” Flitter asked as she was about to exit the locker room.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just a message from Rarity about a boy.”

“Really? Is something wrong? Are you two fighting over someone again?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “No, Flitter, it’s nothing like that. It’s… complicated. Just something me and the girls gotta talk about after school.”

“Okay,” Flitter answered with a worried look. “I just hate seeing you fighting with your friends, especially over a lover.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Trust me, Flitter, that’s the last thing that’s gonna happen.” Rainbow joined her at the opening, draping her arm across Flitter’s shoulders. “My friends are everything to me.” She hugged Flitter close before they both walked out into the gym to join the class.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


“Come on, kids! Let’s see some hustle!” Coach Spitfire barked after whistling at the class on the track. “I only see a couple of you putting in any effort!” She was, of course, referring to Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust, both of whom were literally running laps around most of the other students. “Come on, you wanna finish this mile before nightfall don’cha?”

“Jeez… What a… hardass,” Flitter huffed at the far end of the track where she was sure Spitfire couldn’t hear. 

Rainbow just happened to come up in earshot at the same time. “I keep telling you,” she told her, slowing as her breath barely labored. “If you’d train with me outside class, you’d improve in no time!”

“I just… wanna get… this class… over with!”

“Well, your call!” Rainbow picked her pace back up. December had just rolled around, and the chill was easily evident in the air. Only the most athletic students were able to push past it without any significant problems. Students like Rainbow Dash. Many in the class were moving at a much slower pace, trying to balance on the edges of hyperventilation and hypothermia. 

She was coming up on one of those students now, a few dozen feet ahead of Flitter. Despite her good sense, and Rarity’s message, she couldn’t help glancing at him whenever she passed him. What has him so pissed off? She wondered. He was wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt and full-length black pants that looked like tight-fitting sweats, as well as an expression that seemed like a mix of determination and anger. Rainbow was familiar with the various expressions of people running through their fatigue, and she knew for some people, adding a little anger to the mix for an adrenaline boost helped do the trick. She figured that was the case for Ryan as well, but she couldn’t get his earlier outburst out of her mind, even as she continued dominating the track.

She was, of course, the first student to finish the mile run, and spent the next few minutes at the fence catching her breath as the rest of the class continued the assignment. Unsurprisingly, Lightning Dust finished less than a minute behind Rainbow and joined her. The third to join, to Rainbow’s surprise, was Flitter. Rainbow figured she must have miscounted Flitter’s laps, since Coach Spitfire let her join the other two. Lightning Dust decided to strike up a conversation about the mini-marathon event coming up in the spring, and the others’ plans to join.

Rainbow was only half-attentive of the conversation as she continued to watch the others continue running, including Ryan.

Coach Spitfire stepped into the field within the track, blew her whistle, and raised her bullhorn for everyone to hear. “Alright, kids! You have 5 minutes left! Anyone not finished by then is looking at jumping jacks for the rest of our active time!”

“Man, she is brutal,” Lightning Dust commented. “Just look at everyone still out there. They’re sweating up a storm, but they’re barely moving! It’s gotta be the winter air.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow answered, “but it’s not such a bad thing to help them build up their tolerance.

True to her word, after five minutes, the handful of students that hadn’t finished the mile were forced to spend the last five minutes of their time scattered across the field doing jumping jacks. Among them was Ryan. Rainbow just considered it bad luck since he was on the last lap, and didn’t have much farther to go. Coach Spitfire told the ones who had finished that they were allowed to head back inside. However, Rainbow, Lightning, and Flitter were still in the middle of their conversation, onto a new subject. They absentmindedly made their way towards the doors, but continued to hang around in the grass. 

It wasn’t until Coach Spitfire blew her whistle again and called through the bullhorn that the physical activity was over that they were brought back to reality. Rainbow looked over and saw the students all heading towards the doorway as quickly as their legs would allow them, and decided it was time to cut the conversation short. They quickly went in and made their way to the girls’ locker room, where they stripped and allowed themselves to stop sweating before changing back into their regular clothes.

Rainbow grabbed her stack from her locker, and saw a new alert on the screen from Sunset. The message simply read, “Meet at the bench on the other side of the parking lot, ten minutes.”

“Alright,” Rainbow whispered to herself, “now we’re gonna get some answers.” She made quick work of changing back into her long-sleeved navy-blue and pink-striped shirt and blue jeans. Once she was done, she simply waited in the exit of the locker room impatiently until the bell rang. Once it did, Rainbow made a bee-line for her hallway locker, then immediately bolted through the parking lot.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Sunset was one of the first out of the door of the Home-Ec class, walking at a mild pace towards the front exit. She wished she could put this off, hoping some excuse would present itself to avoid explaining the situation to her friends. But she also knew they had been waiting for hours for an explanation, and she couldn’t just stand them up. 

Since her final class didn’t involve leaving items unattended for a long period of time (at least not today), she already had her books and paper in hand as she meandered through the hallway. Just my luck that my bookbag would bust open on me first thing this morning, she lamented. And then I run into him again. I should’ve just stayed home… Sunset was so caught up in her swirling thoughts, she didn’t see Ms. Cheerilee walking right into her around the corner. They collided, and each of their supplies fell to the floor. “Oh my gosh, Ms. Cheerilee, I’m so sorry!” Sunset found herself on all fours recollecting her supplies for the second time that day.

“Sunset?” Cheerilee bent down to start collecting her teaching materials as well. “It’s alright, but you should really watch where you’re going. You never know who might be around the corner.”

Sunset couldn’t help smirking at the ironic sense of the statement. Tell me about it…

“What has you so preoccupied, anyway?”

Sunset paused, considering how best to answer. “Well, I gotta meet my friends and talk about a few things. I already sent them a message that I’d meet them in the parking lot.”

“Okay,” Cheerilee said, a bit confused. She knew these girls often preferred to hang around the Wondercolt statue if they had free time to spare, or if the weather was threatening, they would at least head off together to a different location. “If you don’t mind my asking, why exactly are you staying at the parking lot today?”

“Oh,” Sunset rose to her feet after collecting the last of her things. “Fluttershy invited all of us to a sleepover at her place tonight, and it’s easier to just wait until her mom can come get us.”

Cheerilee couldn’t help smiling at this as she stood as well. “You know, Sunset, a lot of us have been watching you lately, and I’m glad to see that you’re making such a serious effort to be kind to everyone, not to mention how quickly you’ve already made some friends.”

Sunset blushed a little at the complement. “Uh, thanks. It hasn’t been easy. In fact, those five are still the only friends I have right now.” She looked down solemnly. “It seems like everyone else still hates me.” She paused for a moment, wondering if there was anything else to say. “Well, I really need to get going now. See you later, Ms. Cheerilee. And sorry again for bumping into you!”

“It’s alright, just be careful!” She called back as Sunset was already in the foyer and headed out the front doors. She smiled to herself, thinking how lucky Sunset was to have such close, forgiving friends after all that had gone on in her past. 


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Rainbow Dash had met up with Rarity and Fluttershy as the first to make it to the bench. “Hey Rares, what was up with that text earlier? Did you think I was gonna go and try to pick a fight with the guy or what?”

“Of course not, Rainbow. But, uh…” She was having a bit of a problem simplifying what she knew of the issue so far. Then she saw Pinkie and AJ making their way, too. “Hmm, perhaps it would be best to wait until everyone’s here before saying anything.”

“Say anything about what?” Pinkie piped up as she jumped forward to join the group, grabbing at one of the poles to swing around and roll across the side panel. “Whee!”

Rarity loved the pink party animal to pieces, but sometimes she hated how keen Pinkie’s hearing was. “Rainbow was asking about a message I sent to her earlier. I decided we should all be present before discussing anything, lest any vital details be left out.”

“Ah still think one of us oughtta give ‘im a piece of our mind,” AJ joined in. “‘taint right, snappin’ at Pinkie the way he did, no matter what’s runnin’ through that noggin’ of his.”

“Applejack, dear, I still agree he was completely in the wrong for that. But there seems to be a bit more to the situation than someone simply letting off a little steam at the wrong moment.”

“Maybe the guy’s just cookoo-bananas,” Rainbow piped up, illustrating the statement by twirling her index fingers across her temples while spinning her eyes.

“I dunno,” Pinkie answered. “I’ve seen all sorts of reactions to my greetings, from happy to annoyed to just plain old angry. But that…” She looked around at the girls before sitting on the end of the bench. “That just seemed like he had a real problem on his mind. I mean…” She looked around at the friends she’d had for years before Sunset came along and managed to break them up. “You girls know, even I have days when I’m not so chipper.” She looked off distantly, deep in thought. “You’ve all seen me at some of my worst moments, and helped me through them.” She stared silently for a moment, then clenched her eyes shut and shook her head, returning to the present. “I think maybe that’s what Ryan needs now.”

“Well, whatever it is , we’re about to find out,” Fluttershy pointed out as she saw Sunset walking in their direction.

Sunset saw the girls all gathered, and stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm herself. It’s alright, Sunset. They’re your friends, and they’ve already forgiven you for what you’ve done to them. Besides, you owe it to Pinkie to explain why she was yelled at… why he hates me. She looked back up and continued at a slightly quicker stride until meeting them all under the awning. “Hey, girls.”

“Hello, Sunset,” Rarity answered first, and the others followed with their own greeting.

“So…” her eyes darted back and forth as she wracked her brain searching for something to say.

“So…?” Pinkie leaned forward curiously.

“Sunset, please just tell us what’s wrong,” Fluttershy came up and took one of Sunset’s hands and looked at her pleadingly.

“We already promised we ain’t gonna get mad at ya,” Applejack reminded her as she leaned against the edge of the bench.

Sunset looked each of the girls, each of her friends, in the eyes. Then she sighed, taking a seat beside Pinkie. “You girls might all want to have a seat. This is gonna take a few minutes.” Fluttershy smiled and sat directly against Sunset, while Rarity decided to take a seat on the end, next to Applejack, who now leaned against the side panel next to the bench. Rainbow chose to lean on the opposite edge of the bench.
> Chapter 05: Technical Advisory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “It started a little over two years ago, just a couple of months after I got here. I’ve always prided myself on being a quick learner, but the technology here is unlike anything in Equestria. I could barely operate a computer to type out homework assignments, and the phones were just plain too much. Simply put, I wasn’t exactly tech-savvy.”


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Sunset sat in front of one of the numerous computers in the library, hunting and pecking each key as she typed her way through her English assignment. She had felt herself get into a groove (or as close as one can get while hunting for every key), and typed out what seemed like a passable paragraph before looking at the Macrosoft Text document she was working on.

“What?” She examined the words on the screen. To her dismay, there were typos throughout the entire thing. “Agh, damnit,” she whispered under her breath as she moved the mouse to one of the typos and clicked. Intending to “delete” the previous letter, she pressed “del” only to omit the wrong one. “No,” she growled, retyping the letter before looking closely at the keyboard, and hitting another button. Her eye twitched as the screen showed she had started a new paragraph at the same location. “No!” Acting desperately and without thinking, she grabbed the mouse and accidentally selected both paragraphs while mashing a row of keys, replacing all of the text, which was really most of the work she had gotten done up to that point. She just stared for a moment, a drop of sweat sliding down her temple as her eye twitched more rapidly. “Celestia damnit!” She yelled as she slammed a fist on the keyboard, producing a random jumble of letters.

“Miss Shimmer!” The librarian, Mrs. Wordsworth, called out, standing from her seat behind the desk. “This is your last warning, young lady! If you raise your voice again, I will remove you from this library. And if I hear such language again, I will escort you directly to Principal Celestia’s office! Is that clear?”

Sunset just groaned and slammed her head on the keyboard in annoyance, arms hanging at her sides. After a moment, she looked up to see that Mrs. Wordsworth had sat back down, but was still glaring in her direction. Sunset looked back at the offending screen, full of now jumbled text and lines of “h’s.” She whispered now, to avoid either punishment, “It’s like you’re mocking me. Why won’t you just make the words I want appear like you do for everyone else? What am I doing wrong?!” She just leaned her head back on the keyboard, arms still dangling.

She felt a light tap on the left shoulder of her leather jacket. “Uhm, e-excuse me.”

“Whatever you want,” she growled without lifting her head, “it had better be important.”

“I, uh, just… wanted to see if you wanted any help. You seem a-uh, little frustrated.”

Sunset looked up to her side to see a young man, she figured just in his early teens by this world’s standards. His hair was a dirty blond mess of waves and curls. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with splashes of white and blue that gave the illusion of a waterfall, along with black dress pants. He also had a full backpack hanging over one shoulder. She sighed and, grabbing the table a bit tighter than she intended, stood before moving aside. “Fine, go ahead. It’s not like you could do any worse than I have.”

“Uh, okay.” He placed his backpack on the floor and sat in her seat, examining the screen. With a few quick keystrokes, he had managed to remove the entire jumble from the screen and return her actual work, such that it was, in a matter of seconds. She just watched in awe as he went through so many motions so quickly, from returning text she was sure she’d lost to fixing her typos and saving the document, all within about a minute. “There ya go,” he looked over to her, but seemed to have trouble looking her in the eyes. “This should be everything you had.” 

He rose out of the chair when she put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “Wait! You…” she looked back at the screen. “You made that look so easy! I can’t even operate one of these things without risking destroying whatever I’m working on.” She turned him around, and he looked up at her on instinct. “You’ve gotta teach me how to use these computers!”

“Really?” He blushed, flabbergasted. He’d never even spoken more than two sentences to a girl at any given time in his young life, and now this girl was asking him to spend time with her, to teach her. “I-I don’t know, it’s a little more difficult for some people to pick up than others. And, uh, de-depending on wh-what it is you wanna learn, it could, uh, take a while to pick up.”

“I’m a quick learner,” Sunset shot back. “I just…” She paused and glanced away, letting go of him while trying to think of the best way to word her explanation. “... haven’t had any experience with them before moving here, and the computer class was already full.”

He simply couldn’t believe it. She was actually insisting that he help her. “Uh, o-okay. Where do you wanna start?”

Sunset looked at the screen that, just moments ago, seemed to mock her mercilessly. “Start by teaching me how to type quicker, and whatever you did to my work just now.”

He gulped, nervous at the inordinate level of attention he was receiving from this fiery-haired girl. “Uh, well the typing thing would take a while, plus visiting one or two external websites. But I guess I could show you what I did with your work.”

“Awesome!” She grabbed both his shoulders as she lowered her head next to his to begin watching whatever he decided to show her first.

“Sunset Shimmer!”

She winced, realizing she’d yelled out again. “Sorry,” she answered back in a loud whispering voice. 

Mrs. Wordsworth stood and made her way around the wide desk. “No more apologies, Miss Shimmer. I gave you your final warning, and yet you insist on making a ruckus! Grab your things immediately!”

“What?! But…” she looked back at the young man and the computer. “I haven’t even finished my homework yet!”

“Well, you should have thought of that before continuously raising your voice in the library!” Wordsworth stopped next to the computer table. “Gather your things, now!” 

Sunset growled, shooting daggers at the librarian, before relenting and grabbing her bookbag. “Fine! At least I can still get my other work done at home!” She pushed past the librarian before making her way to the doors. “Bucking bitch,” she said under her breath as she stormed out, pushing through the glass doors so forcefully it sounded like they might shatter.

Mrs. Wordsworth sighed after the display. “What that girl’s parents were thinking when they raised her, I have no clue…” She thought aloud before returning to her own seat.

The young man just looked back and forth between the doors and the computer in front of him. A thought crossed his mind. After a few minutes of internal debate and hesitation, he began typing…


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Sunset got off the bus the next morning, her anger mostly subsided, but she was still perturbed at the thought of having nothing to turn in for her English class. Despite not having parents to answer to for her grades, she still despised the idea of not being able to complete a task, let alone actually failing any kind of assignment. “Jeez,” she clutched her arms together as she jogged past a few other students to the front entrance, “spring cannot get here fast enough!” She winced as her hand touched the cold metal of the handle, and rushed into the foyer, meeting the relief of warmth.

She made her way to the cafeteria and got her breakfast, and found a seat to eat her meal in relative peace. She had noted how in many ways, this world was not that different from Equestria. There were still schools, of course, and entire towns with industries, internal commerce, etc. It even seemed that many of the ponies she’d known growing up, including Princess Celestia herself, had a human counterpart in this world. But she’d also noted the differences, one of the biggest (and in her opinion, most annoying) being the length of time one was considered a “child” and expected to attend school. She was a full-grown mare, damnit! She shouldn’t be back in school, rehashing math and science! And it wasn’t as if the history of this world had any major impact on her. 

Sunset was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t notice the boy approaching her. “Uh, excuse me?” he asked as he stood opposite her at the table. She simply took another bite of her biscuit without response, a focused look in her eyes. He decided to try again, waving his hand in her sight this time. “Excuse me, Sunset Shimmer?”

Her train of thought was broken immediately as she was brought back to the world around her, and saw the young man from yesterday. “Oh, hey,” she said with a slight grin. “Sorry, I was just… off in my own little world, I guess.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” he smiled back as he took a seat. “Happens to me all the time. My mom likes to tell me I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached.” 

This got a chuckle from Sunset, much to his delight. As she stopped though, a thought occurred. “Wait, how did you know my name?”

“Well, I’ve heard people talking about you here and there, the new girl with hair like a fiery mane. Kinda hard to overlook. Plus the librarian practically screamed it out yesterday.”

Sunset lowered her gaze, a small sneer appearing on her lips. “Don’t remind me. She’s part of the reason I’m probably going to fail my English class now.” She took a long sip from her cup of juice.

“Oh, yeah, about that…” The young man reached into his backpack and pulled out a few sheets of paper stapled together, setting them on the table.

One glance at the front page was all it took before her mouthful of juice was all over the table. She instinctively brought a hand up in front of her mouth as she coughed, while reaching for napkins with the other to start cleaning the mess she had made. “What the hell?!” She wiped as quickly as possible before tossing the napkins onto her tray and grabbing the papers. “You…” She looked over the page, seeing what little text she had originally managed, poorly, to type out, followed by many more paragraphs, spanning three pages. “H-how..?” She scanned the paper, seeing that the additional work had kept to the original ideas she had put down in the first place. She looked up at the young man in shock. “You did this?”

He looked away, not sure of the intent of her question. “Well, you left in such a hurry, and you basically said you wouldn’t be able to finish it at home, so… I thought I’d just try and help out, ya know? I kept the body on point and double-checked the spelling and grammar, so you should, you know, at least get a decent grade.” He stopped and waited for a response. When none came, he looked up to see Sunset just staring at him, her expression softened to unreadable. His heart began to race. “Uh, I-I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds, I was just trying to help.” He reached towards the paper. “If you don’t want to use it, I’ll throw it aw--”

“No!” Sunset jerked back, pulling it out of his reach. Seeing the looks of confusion and slight hurt on his face, she relaxed and held the assignment in front of her again. “No, I mean… Thanks, for that. I just… I didn’t expect…” She looked him in the eyes, a soft smile on her lips. “I’m not used to people going out of their way to help me.” She looked down at the paper in her hands. “I certainly didn’t expect someone to just do my homework for me.”

“Oh,” he smiled with relief, blushing slightly. “Well, I’m glad I could help out!”

“By the way,” Sunset leaned over the table, making sure she had his attention, “I meant what I said yesterday. I could really use some help learning how to use computers. Especially with so many assignments having to be typed out instead of hand-written.”

The boy hummed to himself in thought. “Well, I could just help you with your homework after classes in the library today. And tomorrow’s Friday, so I could bring my laptop, and we could go somewhere so I can start teaching you what you need to know.”

Sunset sighed with relief. “Ooh, you are a life-saver. Thank you so much!” The morning bell rang, signaling the students to prepare for their first period classes. Sunset slid the assignment into her bookbag and stood with it in one hand and her tray in the other, smiling. “So, the library again, right after the last bell, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” he answered, hoping he didn’t sound too eager.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

He paused, thinking on his answer. “... Just call me Ryan.”

“Okay then, Ryan. I’ll see you this afternoon.” Sunset turned and walked to the tray return window. Ryan headed straight out of the cafeteria. Each made their way to their lockers, then their first classes of the day.


_________________________  *   *   *  _________________________


Ryan was sitting at a table at a cafe near the school, typing on his laptop and clicking various commands in his Macrosoft Text program. Sunset sat closely beside him, watching with intense interest, holding a pencil and notebook to take notes of specific, commonly used commands, as well as shortcut keys that Ryan made a point of mentioning. He currently had a Print Options box open, and was explaining to Sunset what each section’s function was. “... make sure you select the right printer option,” he hovered the cursor around the list of available printers to illustrate, “and print enough copies of your work.” He showed her the Copies section and the box asking how many copies to print. “It’s also good to know, if you only want to print specific pages, like you’ve made certain changes in one or two areas, you can click here, and just type in the page numbers you want.” He looked to his side to see Sunset scribbling away, as she had been doing for the last two hours since they started.

Once Sunset finished writing down the information, she looked back at the laptop screen and waited for a moment, expecting to hear him continue with another point on the program. When he didn’t say anything, she turned her attention to him, and saw a smile on his face. “What?” She giggled lightly.

Ryan realized he had lost his focus, and looked away, blushing again. “Oh, i-it’s nothing. I just…” He couldn’t think of any way to tell her how pretty he thought she was, or how nice it was to just have her attention, even for something so mundane as teaching her how to use software. “... I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Sunset laid her notebook on the table, watching him. “Wait, is it my hair?” She quickly started brushing her fingers through her full mane of hair, trying to make sure it looked okay. “I swear, sometimes it’s just out of control!”

“No, no! Your hair looks be…” he stopped himself. She glanced up at him as she finished brushing through it and swept it back over her shoulder. “... It looks nice.”

“Oh, thanks. It always seems to give me trouble in the winter.” She looked out the window, seeing the rain soaking everything in sight, not that there was much to see. They were still in that period where the sun set early. “And the humidity doesn’t do it any favors,” she grimaced.

Ryan looked out and grimaced as well. “Hey, Sunset. Do you have a ride home?”

She turned her attention back to him with a neutral expression. “No, why?”

He looked at the time on his laptop, and double-checked with the clock in the cafe. “It’s just that, I told my mom to pick me up here a few minutes from now. But, I’d hate to know you’re just walking through the rain, especially in winter.”

Sunset just flapped her hand down and trilled. “Please, I’ve got my jacket, plenty of layers of clothes, not to mention I live just a few blocks away. I’ll be fine.” She was lying, of course. At least partly. True, she had her jacket and wore thermals beneath her shirt and pants, but she had not prepared for rain, and she had learned at an early age that she despised the cold with a passion. Her clothes would be soaked through long before she reached her apartment, and she was not looking forward to the idea of walking through pouring, freezing rain. However, she didn’t want to intrude on this young man who had already devoted a large portion of his Friday evening to teaching her the basics of using a computer and getting her homework done.

“Well…” Ryan was also uncomfortable with the idea, and thought for a moment before continuing. “Maybe I can see if my mom will drive you home. It sure beats walking through this mess.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to,” Sunset objected, though limply. “You’ve already done so much for me today.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be any trouble,” he answered back. “If you’re just a few blocks away, it would be nothing at all.”

“Well, okay. If you’re sure,” Sunset gave into the offer. It would definitely be nice to avoid walking right now.

As if on cue, a minivan pulled into the parking lot of the cafe, the headlights shining at the front entrance before cutting off. Ryan immediately recognized it and started packing his laptop into its case. “There she is now! Give me just a minute and I’ll see if she’s okay with it.” He zipped up his jacket and flipped the hood up, grabbed his bookbag off the floor and carried his things outside to the vehicle. He placed them behind the driver’s seat, and took a moment to speak to the driver through the window. 

Only seconds later, he walked back in, his jacket already very wet. “Good news,” he told Sunset with a grin. “You get to stay dry! My mom’s happy to drive you wherever you need.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much!” Acting purely on emotion, Sunset jumped out of her seat and hugged Ryan as tightly as she could, pressing her cheek against his. “I’ll be honest,” she pulled away with a slight blush and a chuckle, and slipped her notebook into her book bag while grabbing her own jacket, “you have no idea how much I was dreading walking home.”

They walked out and made their way quickly to the passenger’s side where Ryan opened the door for Sunset to enter before closing it and entering on the opposite side.

The driver turned around to catch Sunset’s attention. “Hello there,” she said in a joyful tone. “You must be Sunset. It’s nice to meet you.” She reached a hand out.

Sunset accepted the handshake. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Miss…” 

“Windy Willows, dear,” she answered. “It’s nice to see that my son has a new friend,” she continued smiling, though a bit more softly.

Sunset paused, hearing the word “friend.” An uncomfortable feeling started in her belly, but she fought quickly to quell it. She tried to study the woman in the brief moment she could see her face. She saw her amber hair and matching eyes, the dimples in her smile, lovely white teeth, and the earrings that she couldn’t quite make out at that distance.

“Well, I-I don’t… I don’t know if I’d say we’re friends just yet,” Ryan blurted. Both girls turned their attention to him, one curious and one somewhat perturbed. “I’m just helping her with some schoolwork right now.”

“Well, regardless,” Windy tried to cut him off, “I’m glad he’s found someone to get along with.” She turned around to start the vehicle back up, then looked around as she backed out of the space and began to exit the parking lot. “So, Miss Shimmer, was it?”

She smiled and waved, “I’m fine with Sunset, Mrs. Willows.”

“Alright then, Sunset. My son said you live nearby. Just tell me where to turn and we’ll have you there in no time.”

Sunset agreed, and they were on their way. A handful of turns and about a mile and-a-half later, they arrived at a complex. Despite the darkness, there was a dingy discoloration to the white exterior. Sunset pointed Windy to a parking space close to her apartment. “Well, here you are, honey. Home sweet home.”

“Yeah,” Sunset whispered under her breath, “I guess…” She exited the minivan and walked around to the driver’s side. “Thank you again for the drive, Mrs. Willows. It means a lot.”

“It’s no problem, honey. I’m happy to help one of my son’s friends.” Ryan visibly sank in his seat.

Sunset turned her attention to him. “And Ryan?” He looked up at her curiously, seeing the slightest hint of something familiar in her eyes. “Thanks again for all the help. I’ll see you at school.” She turned away and headed for a set of stairs that led to the second floor.

Windy watched her walk off for a moment before turning her attention to her son in the rear-view mirror. “She’s a very pretty girl. And she seems nice.”

Ryan kept his attention on her as she climbed the stairs. “Yeah, she is.”

Windy frowned slightly. “You know, son, I’d like to see you make an effort to make a real friend, not just another acquaintance to run from at the first sign of trouble.”

Ryan continued to watch as Sunset pulled out her keys and unlocked the door to her apartment, then disappeared from sight. “I’ll try, mom,” he answered. “I’ll try.” With that, Windy backed out of the parking spot and they headed home.

Sunset dropped her book bag on the couch in front of the window, pulled the curtain aside and watched as they drove off. Windy’s words echoed in her mind. “... one of my son’s friends.” She turned around, and slid to a sitting position on the floor next to the window, wrapping her arms around her legs.

Her mind wandered to a time, a very recent time, when the mere mention of the word “friends” filled her with confusion and anger. Princess Celestia, her teacher, her mentor… her adopted mother, had practically disregarded all of Sunset’s academic achievements and pushed her to explore friendship, but she simply couldn’t understand the point of it. And no matter how hard she tried, no matter what offers she made, no matter how nice she was, or who she tried to talk to, she could never seem to make friends with the ponies around her. Some would ignore her, others would actively avoid her. And the more she failed, the harder Celestia would push her. 

Sunset grit her teeth and drew herself up tighter as the painful memories flooded her mind. She had wanted to become a more powerful pony, hoping to one day take her mother’s place as the ruler and protector of their land, but she could never quite understand Celestia’s discussions on humility and serving others. She tried to understand, she really did, but no matter how much Celestia went on about them, the concepts never quite seemed to click for Sunset. When any attempt at making friends would fail, she would return to her books and her magic lessons for solace. She would return to Celestia asking for more advice. And she would try again. And again.

Things only seemed to get worse after she discovered Celestia with the magic mirror. Sunset had been curious about the mirror, but Celestia simply refused to ever discuss it with her, always saying that she wasn’t ready or that she wasn’t skilled enough. To Sunset, this felt like not only an evasion to allowing her to learn about something new, but also a direct attack on her magical competence, her knowledge, the only thing she could take complete pride in.

Eventually, after so many failed attempts at making friends, Celestia had outright banned Sunset from the library until she did make friends. But after even more failures, she eventually ignored Celestia’s order, and once again returned to her source of solace: the library. Angry and desperate, Sunset had made her way to the restricted section of the library, and eventually found a book on the mirror. She didn’t hesitate to begin pouring over the information she had been denied for so long.

But it wasn’t long before Celestia had caught up with her. After this, Celestia decided on a far more severe punishment, one Sunset had never even considered possible: Celestia dropped Sunset as her protege entirely, and banished her from the castle.

Sunset felt her tears begin rolling down her cheeks as the fresh memories flashed through her mind, burning in her chest and throat. How dare she? How dare she?! What right did Celestia have to force Sunset into a corner like that, to take away her only comfort, to make her feel so helpless and worthless?! To deny her what she wanted the most?! To accuse her of not even trying when everything Celestia suggested had failed?!

What right did her mother have to abandon her?!

Celestia was a leader. She was royalty! … She was a bureaucrat and a politician. For all her talk about friendship, Sunset knew that Celestia herself didn’t even have friends. She surrounded herself with advisors and servants and yes-ponies. She saw diplomats who also ran countries and dealt with politics. When she was among commoners, she wasn’t treated with respect or friendship, she was fawned over and feared! No amount of humility could change that fact!

And Sunset couldn’t stand being there anymore. Although she was graciously allowed to stay in Canterlot, she had been kicked out of the only home she had known for years. That was why she left, why she took a cowl and a suitcase packed full to bursting with bits, and in the dead of night, burst through the library, attacked the guards, and ran through the portal.

It was because of Celestia, and her hypocrisy that Sunset left. It was because of her bullish insistence on shifting Sunset’s focus to the one thing she simply couldn’t understand or accomplish, and Celestia’s refusal to so much as lift a hoof to do anything to help. It was because of Celestia’s need to cut the ties between herself and Sunset. 

Sunset choked out a sob and fell forward onto her hands and knees, balled up a fist and punched into the hardwood floor.

Why couldn’t she just let me study like I wanted to?

She punched the floor again, harder.

Why did she force me to try to talk to ponies who wanted nothing to do with me?

She punched again, harder still.

“Why couldn’t she just leave me alone?!” Sunset cried out, punching at the floor repeatedly. “Why couldn’t she just accept me?!” The pain surged in her knuckles and up her arm. Her tears fell to the floor, forming a puddle. She tried to ignore the pain, and kept punching, trying to take out all of her frustration, but it didn’t last long. The punches began to leave behind her blood, and the pain became too much to tolerate. She fell over onto her side and wept through the bitter memories.

After all the pain, the uncertainty, the sheer pressure she had endured as the protege to Princess Celestia herself… after all of the effort and determination that Sunset had poured into her studies, her attempts at new skills, her desire to show Celestia what she was capable of and just know that she was proud of Sunset... It was only after betraying her teacher… after leaving the mother who had abandoned her… that Sunset had finally found someone that wanted anything to do with her.

She had finally found a friend.