Sunset's saviors never befriended her despite Twilight's wishes, they left Sunset to deal with the fall formal aftermath all by herself. Now nearly a month later Sunset gets an unexpected text from the kindest girl in school who wants to be friends.
Sunset's saviors never became her friends after Twilight left, they made a promise to Twilight that they never intended to keep, instead of guiding her to the light they left her to rot in the hatred of the student populace. She dealt with nonstop harassment for a month, but one night while she was home she received an out of the blue text from a certain girl known for her kindness asking how she was doing. Things go from there when Sunset responds honestly.
After having her conversation with Fluttershy, Sunset decides that she's not going to take any crap from anybody and she's going to fight back.
This fic includes themes of: Suicide/self harm, Sunshyne shipping, and high school fights.
Sitting on a rough looking couch was Sunset Shimmer, a girl who'd attempted to overthrow a horse princess with an army of brainwashed high schoolers, in her hands was a worn down journal that was vibrating and glowing magenta. Sunset opened it and read the message as it was being written and as it turned out it was Twilight Sparkle, she wasn't surprised in the slightest since Twilight was the only one of her saviors from the Fall Formal that would even look at her, the amber girl hummed and re-read the words on the page.
She sighed and closed the journal, the princess's response was only getting on her nerves, Twilight was in denial that the five humans she trusted to befriend her were leaving the area whenever she came around. "Sometimes friendship fails, princess. Not everything will be sunshine and rainbows."
Sunset sighed again and groaned in frustration, she technically deserved all the vitriol aimed at her but she never would've thought that the people tasked with keeping her in line would be the ones who are the most vocal about their hatred of her. She blew the rogue strand of hair that was hanging down in front of her face out of the way as she stood up and walked over to her charging phone, she turned it on and frowned upon seeing an unread text.
The woman rolled her eyes and unplugged her phone, picking it up gingerly and unlocking the device due to her curiosity getting the better of her. Sunset was genuinely expecting the text to be full of hateful words or someone telling her to remove herself from the census and was very confused when she saw the text was from Fluttershy asking her how she was doing.
'I wanna kill myself lmao.'
She frowned, going over to sit on her busted couch and wait for the response. She was waiting for the torrent of hatred to come, when Fluttershy responded it was not only a normal reply, but it was actually kind.
'Would you like to talk about it?'
'Not rlly, I dont trust u no offence'
She turned her device off and expected the contact to cease, however it didn't take long for her phone to ping and alert her to the fact Fluttershy responded. She stared at the black screen and debated whether talking to her was a decent idea or not, she eventually came to the conclusion that she may as well see what she wants and go from there.
'It's okay, no offence taken.'
'Is it rlly? For u it's okay but for me it's not. I get ur friends might not wanna talk to me cause of what I did but why do u guys have to act like I'm satan whenever I walk into the room?'
'No, I wouldn't say it's okay. But I was thinking the other day about what happened & I wanted to get to know you better.'
Sunset scoffed, the redhead had dealt with so much hatred aimed at her the past month she was suspicious of anyone who was seemingly kind, she knew that they were only attempting to get her guard down to humiliate her. Now her self preservation instincts were screaming at her to end the conversation and walk away. 'Why do u have my #'
It's on your MyStable profile.'
"Well, I guess I forgot to turn those settings to private. Dang.." She mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation, the realization that more people may possibly have her phone number caused the girl to swiftly log onto MyStable and hide those settings from the public to prevent more vengeful students from getting ahold of her number.
'Thx for telling me, fixed it.'
'No problem!'
'I don't wanna sound rude or smthn but why r u really texting me?'
She leaned back on her couch and closed her eyes, that didn't last too long because her phone vibrated which indicated a new text.
'I want to be your friend.'
'Lol funny joke F, but that's mean'
'Not joking.'
'Really? Why?
There wasn't a reply for a while and Sunset was beginning to think that Fluttershy got bored of messing with her and went back to doing whatever she usually did after school, she really didn't blame Fluttershy, she wouldn't want to be friends with herself either. To her surprise her phone pinged a few minutes later.
'Because you seem like you need a friend. Earlier today you I saw you and I wanted to go over, but the crowds scared me off.'
'Social anxiety?'
'Mhm.'
'Well hey, I think u do amazingly good for being in a band n singing in front of a lot of people.'
'You mean that?'
She chuckled and rolled her eyes, of course she meant it, if she hadn't then she wouldn't have said so. 'Obv, if I didn't then I wouldn't say smthn 'bout it.'
'That's the nicest thing someone's said to me in a long time!'
'Your friends don't compliment u?'
'Not really.'
Sunset was speechless, did they not ever build each other up? She huffed and sent the only thing she thought of sending. 'Why don't they ever compliment u? Ur like the NICEST girl in school. >:c'
'Idk, but it doesn't bother me. I'm used to it.'
'Fluttershy thats actually rlly sad.'
'Eh, not to me. I gtg but will you come to school tomorrow?'
Sunset doesn't respond right away, she stares at the text and hums in thought. Even if she legally is required to go, she still doesn't want to have to deal with the vitriol that is unleashed upon her every day. However on the other hand she doesn't have to put up with people's crap if she doesn't want to, and given how much she's dealt with it's only fair that she can start to fight back. 'Probably. Gn Fluttershy.'
'Good night Sunset, I'll see you tomorrow I hope.'
She smiles and properly turns her phone off, going back to plug in the device so she'd have a charged phone for the next day. Given how much the students hate her she sometimes feels like she needs her phone in case of an emergency where she needs police assistance.
The amber woman climbs the stairs to her loft and changes into her pajamas, she still is very suspicious of Fluttershy's motives for texting her and can't help but feel as if the whole thing will end in disaster, she reminds herself that Fluttershy is the kindest girl in school as she continues having those thoughts while she completes her bedtime routine. It's only after she's comfortably in bed when she concedes that Fluttershy might genuinely want to be her friend.
Sunset shut her eyes, she was curious as to what would happen in the future now that she and Fluttershy are on speaking terms and figures that she's going to find out soon enough.
Getting up in the morning was the worst part of the day for Sunset, it wasn't even because of the harassment she faced daily, she just hated getting up and wanted to sleep until noon. She sluggishly got out of bed and went downstairs to get ready for the day, she grumbled to herself and cursed whoever invented school as she started on her morning routine. Sunset got ready like she usually did and grabbed her backpack, she had confidently decided that she was not going to put up with the crap of others anymore, she may have been a horrible person but she never told anyone to end themselves, she found it sickening how quickly the students of CHS stooped so low.
The chilly morning air cut right through her leather jacket and thin sleeveless shirt, it earned a shiver and a quickened pace as a result, she really wished she'd bought more cold weather clothes when she had the chance to. She powerwalked to school, ignoring anyone who'd attempted to catch her attention to harass her, well in truth she ignored everybody because she assumed they were going to bother her. Sunset only stopped when she got into the school's entrance hall, her eyes drifted from student to student, all of whom had stopped to glower at the redhead.
Sunset politely smiled at them and waved, walking deeper into the depths of the school to locate her locker and prepare for her upcoming classes. She wasn't surprised in the slightest when she found her locker vandalized, it did ruffle her feathers but unfortunately there wasn't much she could do about it so she pretended like she hadn't noticed and put her backpack in the locker, taking the things she needed for class out and humming an old tune to herself.
"Hey She-Demon!"
The girl in question's eye twitched, she slammed the locker door shut and spun around to meet whoever was so keen on harassing her this time and was now face to face with Hoops Score, a big moron if she were being honest.
"I said.. Hey. She. Demon." He hissed and raised his fist to strike the smaller girl in front of him.
"Hello Hoops, anything I can help you with?"
"Don't act innocent demon, you're a jerk."
She raised a brow, tilted her head to the side, and crossed her arms, dropping any books she was carrying before the confrontation. "Am I now? Anything else you'd like to point out?"
Hoops roared and brought his fist down to hit the girl, unfortunately for him she side stepped the swing and his blow not only missed, but collided with the old metal of the lockers behind her. "Ow! That's it Shimmer I'm going to-"
"To what? Hit me?" Sunset smirked, she was taking a little too much sadistic glee at the sight of the brute's fury. "I don't think you can, I mean I was standing completely still and you still missed~"
"Why you little-"
"Mister Hoops! Assaulting students is against school policy!"
He paled and turned to face miss Cheerilee. "H-Hey I wasn't doing nothing to 'er."
"You had your fist raised as if you were intending to strike her." She crossed her arms and looked at him disapprovingly. "You'll report to the principal's office, same with you Sunset. As you're both aware we have a zero tolerance policy."
"Come on!" Sunset protests, anger quickly bubbling up in her chest. "I wasn't even defending myself! I sidestepped his blow-"
"Principal Celestia will figure out what will happen to the two of you, so you both will be reporting to her office immediately. Am I clear?"
"Yes miss Cheerilee. May I pick up the books I've dropped and put them away first?" She struggles to keep her tone even, trying to hide her rage at the fact that not even the teachers would give her the benefit of the doubt despite overwhelming evidence that she was the victim during the incident was insanely difficult and she was going to punch someone's lights out if she was forced to deal with any more crap.
"Whatever." He scoffs and goes over to the librarian, he knew better than to ignore a teacher's directions. The last time he'd ignored a teacher's instructions he got suspended from the basketball team for a few weeks.
"Of course Sunset, but please don't take too long."
Hoops glowers at her one last time, stomping away to go report to the principal's office. The hulking brute stomps off in an insanely comical manner with Cheerilee following in the rear to make sure he does indeed get to the principal's office.
Sunset turned back to her locker and sighed, not even the staff would protect her if things went wrong. She opened the metal storage and bent down to pick up the books she dropped during her encounter with Hoops, she was halfway through collecting her things when a butterscotch hand picks up the rest of her books, she looked up and saw it was Fluttershy helping her out. "Oh, good morning."
"Good morning Sunset, it's good to see you."
"It is? Aren't you like.. Angry. Or resentful?"
"No, I remember every time you were cruel to me, but you do seem to want to be a better person and I'd to be your friend if you'll only allow me."
"I'd like that, a lot actually."
Fluttershy smiled and finished helping Sunset pick her books up, she handed the ones she was already carrying over to her new friend.
"Thank you, I'm sorry that I gotta dip so soon but I got myself in trouble again, and I need to go to the principal's office."
"Oh! Don't let me keep you then, I'll see you in class right?"
"Hopefully. If I'm not expelled." The redhead sighs and made her exit, the walk to the principal's office felt like a death march and the closer she got to the door the harder her heart thumped in her chest. She knocked on the door and waited for a response before she entered, she gently closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair next to Hoops.
"Thank you for coming, Sunset."
She crosses her arms and looks her in the eye, she didn't really have a choice but to go, she probably wouldn't be a student of CHS for much longer and to be honest she really didn't give a flying feather. Maybe Crystal Prep would be a better school for her. "If you're going to expel me, just say so and skip the lecture."
"It'd be good if you're gone, demon." Hoops spat, causing Sunset to stop crossing her arms in order to give him the middle finger.
"Well at least I don't go around hitting girls, Hoops. If anyone's the demon here, it'd totally be you."
He sputtered and threw his arm up to point at her. "See? She's a-"
"Enough! Both of you, be quiet." Celestia slammed her hands on her desk and leaned forward to watch the two students in front of her with narrowed eyes. "You aren't being expelled Sunset, security cameras caught the whole incident on tape, I called you here to fill out an incident report while I fill out Hoops's suspension sheet."
Sunset quieted down and slunk back into her seat, the principal's outburst had reminded her of whenever she earned the princess's ire back home and she knew better than to press the issue.
"But principal! She turned into a raging demon!"
"I am aware mister Score, but that is no excuse on why you would attack another student. She posed no threat to you and it was not self defense. I've left a message for your parents regarding the incident today and your family will be expected to appear before the expulsion board. As for you Sunset, I have an incident report for you to fill out. It's an opportunity to give your side of the story."
She nods and folds her hands, she's pretty surprised that she's actually getting justice for what happened between her and Hoops. The girl gingerly takes the paper that principal Celestia holds out for her to take, in addition she also grabs the clipboard and pen she's offered.
"She-Demon if you fill that report out bad things are going to happen."
The amber girl's eyes didn't leave the form nor did she pause filling it out, he'd fallen right into her trap and currently she had even more ammunition to use against him if she so wanted to. She smiled down at the form and contemplated pressing charges anyway simply to prove that she wouldn't take crap from anyone. "I wouldn't recommend continuing your harassment unless you'd like to face criminal charges."
She turned her head only to gauge his reaction, as much as she was trying to be a better person she could still be very sadistic and may have been taking a little too much joy in his panicked expression and clear discomfort.
The rest of her time in the principal's office went by peacefully, she completed filling out the form and handed it back to Celestia, Hoops got suspended and she had asked to be dismissed back to class. "Principal Celestia?"
"Yes?"
"I don't feel well, may I be excused for the day?"
"Stomach?"
"No, in general. Everyone's cruel words is really starting to get to me I think."
Celestia sighs and takes a hot moment to reply to her. "Of course, I can only do this once however."
Sunset fights back a smile, she was expecting Celestia to tell her no and to go to the nurse or something and hearing the usually by the book principal agree to help her out this once restored a little of Sunset's faith in humanity. "Thank you, I promise I won't be a menace to society again."
"What?" She sounds confused, probably because Sunset never cracked a joke when in the same area as her. "Oh, joke?"
"Mhm, bad timing probably so I apologize."
"Will you be back to school tomorrow? I'd like to know whether I inform your teachers that you'll be absent for today and tomorrow or just for today."
"I'll be back tomorrow, I just.. Need to take today off as a mental health break. Not putting up with anyone's bs is harder than I thought." She chuckles softly and rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, she was going to really struggle with standing up for herself and she wasn't looking forward to the next time she was forced into self defense.
"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow morning, have a pleasant day Sunset."
Sunset nodded and didn't bother speaking, she wanted to go home and take a forty-five minute nap to process the fact that some people are stupid enough to threaten her in front of an authority figure. She was unbothered at the glares that were sent her way by the vengeful students of the school, she even flipped people off and giggled when they shouted insults that they thought were original as she passed.
The second she got outside she let out a breathy chuckle and sat down on the front steps of the school. She deserved the insults and jeers from her fellow scholars, however she didn't believe that the physical assault was warranted, she held her head in her hands and let out an exasperated grunt, the tears were flowing freely now and she was at her breaking point.
"Sunset? What are you doing out of class? You didn't get expelled did you?!"
She didn't remove her head from her hands, she couldn't face Fluttershy's disappointment. "I spoke with Celestia and I asked for the day off to take a mental health break."
Fluttershy sat down beside her and placed her hand on her shoulder, the pale yellow girl wasn't afraid of being late for class because her friend seemed like she needed someone to comfort her. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know. I know I deserve the hate I'm getting, but it's.. It doesn't make it any less painful, I never called anyone a slur or attacked anyone for their sexuality but then they turn around and do and say what I would never dare to dream of."
Her friend said nothing so she continued speaking, looking up and wiping the tears off her cheeks. "I feel like I'd be doing everyone a favor by removing myself from the gene pool so to speak."
"No! That wouldn't be doing people a favor.."
"I guess not.."
Fluttershy frowned and pulled Sunset into a warm embrace, she never was good at talking to people let alone comforting them, even then it never stopped her from trying her hardest to brighten their day even by the tiniest bit. "You do want to be better, right?"
"Mhm."
"That's all that matters. You're making an effort to change and if they can't see that then shame on them."
"But your friends-"
"Aren't real friends."
Sunset broke the hug and stared at the girl with wide eyes, shock was plastered on her face at the revelation didn't consider the other girls her friends. "What? But-"
"Real, good friends, no- good people- wouldn't be so cruel to someone who clearly needed their help and friendship. I'm sorry I took so long to realize that.."
"It's not your fault Fluttershy, I don't blame you at all for not wanting to be my friend in the beginning, I was awful to everyone and I singled you out because of your shy nature."
".. I meant it last night when I said your compliment was the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time."
"I had a feeling." She looked down at her lap. Sunset felt very conflicted, she really wanted to be her friend but at the same time she worried about the shy girl being bullied because of her association with her. "Hey, I don't want to have to end our conversation but I really should get home and you should be getting to class, don't want you to be even later than you already are."
"I'll be okay, I'm sure if I explain that I couldn't get my locker open in time miss Pansy will understand and excuse the lateness."
"Fluttershy." Sunset felt her lips twitch upwards, she had to seriously fight back a smile in order to appear serious so her friend would concede and go to class without further protest. "I will not have my friend get a lunch detention on my behalf. I'll be home so you can shoot me a text after school, alright?"
She pouted and stood up to go back inside. "Fiiine, I'll text you when I'm able to. Please be safe getting home."
"I won't."
"What?"
"It was a joke, I'll be careful Fluttershy, don't worry."
Fluttershy's look of absolute horror rapidly shifted into a relived smile, she waved to Sunset and walked to the door to go back inside the school.
Sunset got up and checked that everything she needed was in her bookbag, for the first time since the Fall Formal she felt like she actually had a future to look forward to. She knew she'd probably have to fight and earn her future, it might not even be a bright future, but at least she won't be taking an eternal dirt nap anytime soon.
Shockingly enough Sunset managed to get to school early the next day and was sitting on the front steps idling on her phone before school. With a little sigh of displeasure, she stood up and went inside to prepare for the day, undoubtedly she'd have to face another day of vitriolic jeers hurled at her. Without fail her fellow classmates would unleash a torrent of hateful, vile insults whenever she'd stop even for a brief moment in front of them.
Her locker was unsurprisingly not yet vandalized considering how she's at school early and the vandals hadn't been given a chance to crudely decorate her personal storage space, she hummed and grabbed her books, she was about to pull them out when she felt someone tap her shoulder, Sunset jumped like a cat seeing a cucumber for the first time and spun around on her heels to see who required her attention.
Fluttershy blanched and threw her hands up defensively, she'd misremembered how tense Sunset could be while on school grounds. Not that cast any blame on the redhead, the students were absolutely horrendous when it came to the harassment they subject Sunset to daily. "Sorry! Sorry.. I probably should've said something and not touch you when you had no idea I was here. Sorry."
"It's okay you just startled me. G'morning Fluttershy, you're here early."
"I like to be a little early, it gives me time to spend a little time with Angel before school starts."
"You bring your pet to school?"
She blushed and nodded, as if on que the bunny in question poked his head out of her backpack to angrily stare at Sunset. "Mhm! I'm not supposed to bring him, but he helps calm me down if everything gets overwhelming."
"Like an emotional support animal?"
"Basically."
"That's adorable, but how do you hide him from the staff? How long have you even been bringing him?"
"Oh, since sophomore year."
"Jeez- That's a long time. What, two or three years?"
Fluttershy giggled adorably, nodding in agreement as she held her backpack, and thus Angel, closer to her chest. "Close to three, it'll be three years in a few days."
"Aww, but you still didn't answer my question. How'd you manage to keep him hidden from not only me, but the staff?"
"Oh I don't keep him inside my backpack all day, that would be dangerous for him! I let him wander around outside during school hours, he likes to stay in and around the school gardens and the gardening club has adopted him as their unofficial mascot because they think he's a freeroaming rabbit."
"Oooh, okay that makes a lot of sense. Do you go outside if you get overwhelmed to take a breather and he comes up to you then?"
"I do, Angel usually comes over to me covered in dirt though. I wonder what he gets up to when he's outside."
Sunset rolled her shoulders back and chuckled, she didn't know what Angel got up to and she wasn't interested in imagining a million different scenarios, mainly because the looming threat of being late for her first class kept her from trying. "Oh crap, oh crap we're going to be late!"
"We-" She couldn't finish what she was trying to say because the late bell rang, they'd evidently been chatting for longer than they'd realized and instead of being early for their first class, they're going to be tardy.
The amber skinned girl's eyes widened and she spun around to hastily grab her books, she didn't acknowledge Fluttershy as she grabbed her necessary items for class and powerwalked off in a mild panic. The glare everybody sent her way when she walked in was fierce to say the least, she shrugged it off and went to sit in her usual spot, she was in school to get an education, not to make friends so it didn't matter what they thought of her.
Sunset paid no attention to the people who threw things at her and occasionally glanced at them to see how angry they were that their harassment had no visible effect on her. She smirked as the bell rang, getting up and making her way outside and towards the lady's room to take a quick bathroom break before her next class, blissfully unaware that she was being followed by a girl who had less than peaceful intentions towards her.
She hummed, taking a few steps into the room and doing a precursory glance around the area to spot any danger before it sneaks up on her. Once deemed safe, she was heading into an empty stall to do her business when her name was called by someone who was behind her, Sunset's eyes widened in response to the raspy, angry sounding voice. She knew too well who's voice it was. "Mmh, yep?"
"You've been hanging around Fluttershy, what have you been doing? Blackmailing her into spending time with you because you're such a demon that nobody wants to be your friend?"
"No?-" Sunset turned around to look the person in the eye, and as it turned out that person was Rainbow Dash, the most aggressive member of her little clique. "She spends time with me because she wants to, I didn't do or say anything to force or intimidate her into being my friend."
"Bullcrap!" Rainbow spat, narrowing her eyes and punching her palm to appear intimidating. "You better stay away from Fluttershy or else."
"Else what? You'll attack me? You do realize that if you assault me then I'm going to press charges and make sure they lock you away for a long time, right?"
"Who's going to believe you? You're a liar and a mani-pula-tior!"
"You mispronounced 'manipulator', Dashie~ Oh also I don't give a s- a flying feather about if they believe me or not, the police will listen to me because of the overwhelming evidence. Attack me if you want, but you'll go to jail and I'll be pressing charges if you do try anything."
"You little-" Rainbow roared in anger, charging forward to strike the girl she was asked to befriend. "I'm going to-"
Sunset frowned and scrambled out of the way, she knew she couldn't defeat Rainbow Dash outright so she'd have to outsmart her somehow. The girl ran over to the nearest stall and opened the stall door, swinging it outward to use as a temporary shield, luckily for her the enraged jock's face collided with the door in a show of perfectly timed karmic justice. "Rainbow please- Just leave me the hell alone!"
"I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget, she-demon!"
"I didn't even do anything to you to deserve this, Rainbow, why are you doing this to me?!"
Dash recovered from the blow quickly, she felt blood trickling from her nose and brought her hand up to figure out how bad her bloody nose was, the life sustaining liquid that was on her hand when she pulled it away was enough to make her panic and think her nose was broken, she quickly circumvented the stall door that Sunset was hiding behind and got a grip on the redhead's arm. "Alright you demon, time to teach you a lesson on why you shouldn't've forced Fluttershy to be your friend."
"But I didn't force her to do anything you braindead nine year old troglodyte! She texted me out of nowhere and we talked." Sunset tried shaking her arm to force the prismatic haired woman to either loosen her grip so she could wiggle her arm free or let go of her entirely. She unfortunately was unable to and Rainbow tugged her hard enough to send her falling to the ground, her fist connecting with the former bully's face as soon as she was down. The surge of sudden, dull pain caused her to cry out loud enough to wake the dead.
The furious athlete kept landing blow after blow on the 'she-demon', dragging her into the center of the bathroom by her hair where she continued to viciously assault the school's least popular student, ignoring the cries of pain coming from the former bully.
Sunset was able to roll onto her back to get in a good couple hits in on Rainbow Dash, stunning her temporarily and getting up against the wall so she'd be able to defend herself much easier. She wasn't going to put up with this harassment and wasn't going to shy away from a fight especially when it's self defense. "I'm not backing down Dashie, I'm going to protect myself. You're much worse than I was even at my lowest, you know that? I never physically attacked anyone, nor have I ever gone after someone for their sexuality, skin color, or political party so why are you stooping down lower than I have even at my worst?"
She glared intensely at Rainbow who froze and seemed to be thinking, her sour expression wavering. Sunset took the opportunity and lunged forward to get in a few hits before the athlete was snapped back to reality and resumed her attack before Fluttershy or someone else walked in on their fight. Sunset struck Rainbow in the jaw and nose a good five times before she got shoved back violently, the unexpected push caused her to stumble and fall onto her rear. "Oof."
"You're just a no good, rotten demon Sunset Shimmer. I wish you died in that crater." She spat at her, slowly walking towards the redhead and watching with sadistic glee as she scrambled back away from her, trying to delay the incoming beating.
"So do I Rainbow, but sometimes you can't get everything you want."
"I'm going to put you in the hos-"
"Rainbow Dash!"
Sunset chuckled blithely and looked past the athlete at her best friend, she knew that Rainbow Dash's friendship with Fluttershy was all but over now that she walked in on her assaulting a student for an awfully invalid reason and she was going to rub it in her face to make it hurt. "Uh oh Dashie, I think our sane mutual friend doesn't like that you're attacking people~"
Rainbow had obviously paled, she turned around slowly and chuckled nervously. "Uh- Hi Fluttershy.."
"How. Dare. You."
"Uh- Excuse me?"
Fluttershy scowled and marched up to Rainbow, her face was only an inch away from Rainbow's when she stopped using her indoor voice and started yelling in a volume that was highly unusual for the normally very quiet girl. "How. Dare. You?! You- You assaulted an innocent person!"
"She isn't innocent Shy, she tried to-"
"I. Know. What. She. Tried. To. Do."
"Hey now, I just-"
"Well you're wrong, whatever you thought was wrong, whatever you did was wrong. You're not a good person to be around, and you're not my friend."
"What?! Fluttershy-"
Fluttershy ignored Rainbow and turned to take care of Sunset who was without a doubt injured, she knew she was hurt but she had no idea how severe her injuries might be. She put her hand on Sunset's cheek gently and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, her chest ached and she felt as if tears may start flowing freely in any second. "Sunset, oh goodness, can you stand? Walk? We need to get you to the nurse's office!"
Sunset clenched her teeth and stood up, hissing in pain in response to her battered and bruised body trying to keep her down. "I'll be.. Fine."
"Wait here, I'll get help from the teachers."
"No. They can't know-"
"Please, you need help!"
"Fine, I'm so dizzy.." The amber skinned girl slid down the wall took a seat on the floor, to her the room was spinning and she wasn't sure when it would cease, if it would at all.
"You might have a concussion."
"Grrreat. Please hurry, I feel like I'm dying, I know I'm not but it feels like I am. Soooo maybe I am, I dunno man.."
Fluttershy's eyes widened and she nodded, quickly exiting the bathroom and passing Rainbow in order to find a teacher to help get Sunset to the nurse's office, she almost instantaneously found the vice principal doing her regular hallway patrols and flagged her down in a near panic, hastily explaining what had happened to Sunset and who'd attacked her.
Vice principal Luna rushed into the bathroom, eyes widening in shock at the image of bloody and beaten girl before her. "Oh my g- Fluttershy I'd like you to wait in my office, I'll bring Sunset to the nurse's office so nurse Redheart could tend to her."
"But-"
"Go. I'm positive she'll be okay, I'll make sure she gets proper medical attention."
She reluctantly nodded, turning to leave the bathroom to wait in the main office, she wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks as she walked to the office. She couldn't fathom why her former friend was so willing to ruin her friendships and possibly her life over pretty revenge, they were much worse than Sunset was as a bully. Fluttershy sluggishly walked to the main office, she couldn't stop worrying about her friend despite the reassurance from the vice principal that she would be alright.
Fluttershy went into the office and took a seat, miss Inkwell already knew why she was there and offered her a cup of water while she waited for Luna. She politely declined and folded her hands, her stomach felt tight as she immediately assumed the worst about Sunset's condition, luckily for her Luna soon walked into the office and motioned for her to follow.
Sunset had been sent home early due to the assault, she was laying in bed staring off at the wall wondering if it would be better if she'd ended her life when the opportunity presented itself. She shut her eyes tightly and sniffled, she felt awful all around and didn't want to be alive and she knew for certain that her school mates didn't want her to continue living either. The pinging and buzzing of her phone alerted her that there was a new text from Fluttershy likely asking how she was doing.
Sunset groaned and took a moment to sit up in her bed, reaching for her phone on the nightstand next to her, she gently pressed on the power button and watched as the phone screen came to life.
'Hello Sunset, are you feeling any better?'
She chuckled bitterly, so very tempted to tell her that she was maybe one minor inconvenience away from committing the unthinkable. 'Ya. Im going to be sore for a long time tho cause yk, assaulted by a dumb dumb walking pride flag. Such a disgrace to pride flags smh'
She grabbed her phone and walked downstairs, she hadn't bothered to change into her pajamas since there wasn't a need for them and nobody was going to judge her for wearing clothes in her own home, she slowly sat down on her couch and turned the TV on, there was nothing but boring news and daytime TV on but she didn't really care as she simply required the backround noise.
'Rainbow's being expelled, her parents are furious at her for what she did. I don't really know if it helps you feel better but you're getting justice.'
'It does Flutters, thx for telling me.'
'Np.'
Sunset sighed sadly and stared down at the text, she felt comfortable enough to tell Fluttershy that she was incredibly close to ending herself. 'Hey Shy? Can I tell u smthing personal?'
'Sure!'
'I've been thinking about everything- I just wanna die, I don't wanna live anymore bc who'd wanna be friends with a bully and demon? Dash said some things and I'm slowly realizing she's right. I should've died in the crater when u guys blasted me in the face with that weird friendship gay laser. I guess I'm just not happy with the person that I am, I've been sitting in my room counting down the hours until I finally kill myself Fluttershy. I never can bring myself to go through with it because I'm not only a bully but a demon and a coward, it'll be better if I die and u get ur friends back bc u can say I forced u into hanging out w me.'
She winced and re-read her wall of text after she'd sent it, it read like a whiny little brat complaining that she was facing the consequences of her actions and it only served to make her feel worse, she set her phone on the couch cushion next to her and held her head in her hands. It was a mistake to tell the very kind girl that she was about to kill herself and she knew it, it would only make her worry and Sunset wasn't ready to lie through her teeth and say she'd be fine.
Her phone buzzed but she didn't move or look up, she sat there and thought about what she was going to say to Fluttershy to reassure her that she'd be okay even if she planned on being dead by next week. She eventually looked up and grabbed her phone, hesitating for a good few moments before unlocking it and starting to look over the wall of text her friend sent in response.
'Sunset you're not a coward, bully, or demon! You're changing for the better and I'm so proud of you, what Rainbow did was wrong and will never be right and I'm so sorry that you want to die, I love you Sunset. So SO much, you're a kind, empathetic, and sincere person and the fact that nobody else is willing to give you a chance is telling that they're lacking in character.'
'I am. I ran away from home bc I couldn't handle not being a princess, I tore ur friendships apart, and then I tried to freaking kill u and ur friends. All bc I wanted to make princess Celestia proud of me so she would see me as an equal not as a subject.'
'Princess? Also former friends, remember?'
'Long story, I'll tell u tmrw. And srry, keep forgetting.'
'You'll still be alive tomorrow for school?'
Sunset's fingers were hovering above her phone's keyboard as she prepared to type her reply, she hummed and looked blankly at the wall behind her TV, if she was going to be honest with her she didn't know if she would be alive tomorrow or not. 'Sure. I'm sorry Flutters I just don't feel good rn. I think I just need to get some sleep..'
'Alright. If you need anything or even want to talk I'll always pick up unless I'm asleep.'
'Thx Flutters, gn.'
'Good night Sunset, pleasant dreams.'
Sunset chuckled and sent a thumbs up emoji back and turned her phone off, she stared at the device in her hands and wondered if she would be able to return to Equestria one day so she would be able to apologize to the one mother figure who ever truly cared about her. She stood up and walked to where she usually plugged her phone in for charging, the device quickly was plugged in and she walked up to her loft, she all but threw herself onto her bed and groaned loudly, she had no particular reason for groaning, she simply felt like it.
She didn't care that she'd be sleeping in her everyday clothes as she got under the covers and closed her eyes to let sleep overtake her, she just wanted to get to bed and try to salvage what little normal sleep schedule she had left. She was under the blankets one second and the next she heard her alarm very rudely assaulting her hearing and disrupting her happy dreams, it was time to get up and she was not ready for it.
Getting up in the morning never failed to be the extremely difficult part, she opened her eyes and hissed in displeasure, her body was extremely sore and she didn't want to have to go to school in that state. The girl took much longer than usual to get out of bed and get dressed, she sighed and contemplated skipping school for the day so she wouldn't be forced to deal with the people who'd inevitably try to start a fight with her in her weakened state.
But alas she was legally required to attend school so she got up and out of bed pretty much blindly since she had just woken up and was not nearly alert enough to do much of anything, walking downstairs somehow without injury to brush her teeth and get out the door. She didn't bother to brush her hair or take a shower, she didn't think she looked or smelled all that bad so there was no point in cleaning herself that day. It was good she didn't smell because she didn't give enough of a crap to bother showering anyways. The drive to school was as peaceful as it could be in a bustling city, honking horns, car alarms, and people down the street yelling was what she heard for most of her short ride to school.
Sunset had barely taken a step onto the perfectly kept school lawn when she heard her name called out by her friend, she took a deep breath and turned towards the direction where she thought Fluttershy was coming from. "Hey Flutters, good morning."
Fluttershy jogged up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here today!"
"Thanks.." She chuckled bitterly, gently returning the embrace. "Here's to another day of hateful words being thrown my way and if I'm unusually unlucky then hands will be thrown too."
"Don't say that, only Rainbow was the one who thought it was a good idea to attack you."
"I guess." She freed herself from Fluttershy's hug. "I still don't necessarily want to go to school today though."
"Do you want to ask principal Celestia for the day off?"
Sunset took a deep inhale and nodded, of course she did but she didn't think that the principal would just let her skip school for a few days unless absolutely necessary. "Yeah.. But I can't go up and say yo let me skip school for a week, so I'm just going to power through the day and see what happens."
The pale yellow girl nodded and hummed, she knew Sunset was right but it didn't stop her from attempting to suggest a course of action. "You're right, but you should at least have some time to recover. I'm sure principal Celestia would understand."
"Well.." Sunset paused and put her hand on her chin in a thinking gesture, it was something she often did when she was contemplating her next steps. "I could try, but I feel fine right now so let me make you a deal. If I start feeling crappy during the day I'll ask principal Celestia for some time off, deal?"
"Deal, but I'm still worried about you. You might accidentally hurt yourself or- Uh.. Sorry."
"Or what? That I'd get attacked again?"
Fluttershy nodded sheepishly and decided to stick with that narrative, in truth she was extremely worried about Sunset's mental health since their conversation last night where she admitted that she wanted to die. "Mhm.."
To the pale girl's surprise Sunset started laughing softly, she gently wrapped her arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Hey now, I'm not some weak girl who gets blown over by a gust of wind, and considering how well I can hold my own when I fought back against Rainbow, I'll be okay Fluttershy."
"You promise?"
"I promise." Sunset said uncharacteristically gently, bringing her arms back down to her sides. Something about how Fluttershy sounded so vulnerable when asking her if she promised made her decide that her friend was precious and would be protected at any cost and it caused a strange fluttery sensation in her stomach. "Now we probably should get inside, I really don't want to be the cause of you getting lunch detention."
"Right, we have second, third, and fifth period together so I'll see you in an hour or two!"
"C'ya then."
Sunset watched Fluttershy and her peers go inside the building to get ready for school, she sighed and took several deep, calming breaths before putting on a mask of cruel indifference as she walked towards the doors to the main campus. It took an incredible amount of self control to not run the opposite direction and skip school for the day, she knew she had to remain seemingly unshaken and not let them clue into the fact she was close to breaking, the harassment would only increase if they knew their torments were cutting deep into her heart.
She got to her locker and opened it swiftly, she wasn't interested in being late nor being harassed by any bitter students who decide it would be a great time to mess with her, she grabbed her books and powerwalked through the nearly abandoned halls in a semi-frantic attempt to make it to class on time, unfortunately for her she was unable to get to class on time and Mr. Kelp had already began speaking when she sauntered into the room and took her seat.
"Miss Shimmer, may I have your reason why you were late?"
"I had trouble getting the lock off of my locker, it won't happen again I will make sure of it."
Mr. Kelp nodded and picked up his clipboard, marking something down on it. Sunset knew it was likely him marking her down as tardy but she couldn't care less, at least he was one of the nicer teachers she had and she was glad he seemed to understand her predicament. Now the amber teen had the great joy of sitting through a class that was so easy that it was mind numbingly boring, she spent most of the class fiddling with her hair and pretending to be busy so she wouldn't be given more work that she would never have the energy to finish, or even start for that matter.
The ringing of the school bell assaulted her ears suddenly, causing her to jump and look up from her long completed worksheet. She remained silent as she gingerly picked up her paper and walked to the front to hand it in to Mr. Kelp for grading.
"Sunset, could I speak with you?"
Sunset had turned around and had taken a few steps towards the door when she heard her teacher call her name, she inhaled sharply and silently prayed to Celestia before turning back around to face him. "Yes sir?"
"I would like to ask you if you'd ever considered asking principal Celestia about being put into advanced algebra, your performance in this class is remarkable and you seem like you would be perfect for an advanced class."
"I've thought about it, yes, but I don't think now is the right time. Maybe next semester." Mr. Kelp nodded and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a late pass for the girl. "Here, this'll save you from being marked as late, and don't worry, I know how finnicky the locks can be at times and I understand completely why you were late today. They were such a pain when I attended this school so it would be unfair to punish students for something they can't necessarily control."
Sunset nodded and took it gratefully, she said nothing else as she left the room. She just wanted to get the day over with so she would be able to go home and play some Tirek's Revenge for a few hours. The rest of the day was relatively peaceful for her due to the fact that news of her encounter with Rainbow Dash spread around the school and nobody dared to bother her, once the final bell rang she beelined it for the exit stopping only when Fluttershy called out to her.
"Sunset!"
Sunset stepped to the side as to not be in the way of the other students who were simply trying to leave school, she turned and scanned the crowded hallway for any glimpse of her friend. To say she jumped a foot off the ground when she felt someone tap her shoulder would be an understatement, she spun around and only began to calm down once seeing that it was only her. "Goodness- You scared me!"
"Sorry, I didn't think that-"
She smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Fluttershy, I've just been extremely tense and on guard because of everything that's happened recently so it's not your fault."
"You shouldn't have to be so on guard, what's been happening to you just- Just isn't right! Even if you hadn't changed you still wouldn't deserve it."
"That doesn't change the fact that it still happens, but don't worry 'bout that, do you wanna get out of here and go for lunch?- No dinner- Wait no, ugh whatever meal of the day it is."
"Of course! I'd have to tell my parents where I'm going so they wouldn't worry though, please give me a few minutes."
Sunset grinned and gave her a thumbs up gesture in response. "Sounds good, if they say to not go, would the weekend be a good time for lunch?"
"Mhm! I'm going to have the weekends all to myself since the people I thought were my friends.. Aren't."
"I'm sorry Fluttershy, I wish things could've been different where you were still their friend and maybe even I could've become a friend as well."
"Speaking of." She paused and looked up from her phone that she'd since pulled out of her skirt pocket when Sunset wasn't looking. "I had a dream the other night that they listened to Twilight and you joined the group."
"Really?"
Fluttershy chuckled and hummed, pausing for a second to think of her next words. "Mhm, we were all at Sugarcube Corner laughing and discussing movies, games, and Rarity's work. We all seemed to be so happy." A sigh escaped her as she finished tapping the text to her parents. "I don't know why I had that dream, but it was pleasant to see everyone getting along. Even if it was only a dream."
"Eh, princess Celestia used to say that sometimes dreams could be windows into alternate realities."
"Really? How?"
The amber girl shrugged. She really didn't know, if she had the ability to universe hop she would conduct extensive research to attempt to find out why some dreamers can temporarily view other universes, but unfortunately she didn't so she would have to settle on coming up with theories. "Dunno, me and her always used to bounce theories off one another about them but we'd always end up coming up with something that would debunk it."
"That's incredible!- Also terrifying.."
She chuckled and let a comfortable silence hang between them, she couldn't deny that she loved spending time with the kindest girl in school, she truly was deserving of her element. Sunset looked around at the now nearly empty hall around her and hummed in thought, a frown slowly spreading across her face. She wasn't falling in love with Fluttershy, was she?
"Oh, hey my parents said I could go!"
Fluttershy's sudden speech brought Sunset back down to Earth with a slight jolt, she turned and nodded. "After you, do you have a place you'd want to eat at?"
"Not really, my mom and dad usually cook, but when we do eat out it's usually fast food."
"So you've never gone to a restaurant?"
"Oh no no, I have, but rarely because restaurants are usually for celebrations."
"Well I usually like to go to a place called Silver Court, very good food and it's not that formal. Do you want to try that?"
"Sure! But isn't it pretty far away?"
With a smirk and a soft giggle Sunset reached into her jacket's pocket and pulled out a key. "I've got a motorbike~"
The look of pure wonder and barely contained joy caused the redhead's heart to skip a beat, she wondered if her shy friend had even gone on a motorcycle ride, but if she hadn't, she will soon. "Oh goodness, you drive a motorcycle? Since when? I've never seen you drive it to school!"
"Eh, you probably just weren't paying attention, I drove it since I got my license." She moved her hand to scratch the back of her neck, it was something she did when she was flustered or nervous. She knew she was indeed falling for Fluttershy, and she was falling hard for her, she was never going to confess her feeling, it was too dangerous. She couldn't risk to jeopardize her friendship with the only friend she had in the human world and it made her nervous that she may one day accidentally let it slip and ruin everything.
"Fair point, I don't necessarily pay attention to what cars people drive unless I'm expecting them."
"Yeah that makes sense, though are you ready? I'm starving."
"Oh! Right, sorry. I'm ready when you are."
"We were probably about to be kicked out anyways, come on, my bike's out front. Only one in the lot so we can't miss it." Sunset gestured to the door and started walking, she made her way over to her bike and mounted it. "You'll have to wrap your arms around my waist tightly so you won't fall off, but you'll be okay I promise."
"I've never been on one before, could you please go slow? I-If you don't mind."
"Not at all, if you feel I'm going too fast please tell me and I'll slow down." The sheer willpower it took not to make a not so innocent joke about first times was indescribable and the biker girl was amazed by her own ability to stay safe for work. She put the key in the ignition and turned it, the motorcycle's engine revved to life which caused the butterscotch skinned passenger to yelp in surprise. "You okay?"
"Y-Yes, it just.. Startled me." Sunset hummed and waited for her friend to wrap her arms around her torso, it took a few moments for her to get the hint and move to hold onto her, but once she made sure that she wouldn't tumble off the moment they started moving she backed her bike up and revved the engine, deciding to do a few slow circles in the empty school parking lot simply to get Fluttershy somewhat used to being on a motorbike. "Do you feel a little more comfortable now?"
Sunset didn't get a proper reply, she instead heard Fluttershy giggle happily and took that somewhat answer as a 'yes' so she stopped doing the circles and moved onto the main road, she decided to take a slight detour and give her friend a proper bike ride to the restaurant.
"Ahaha! Sunset I know why you drive a motorbike, this is amazing!"
"I know! It's fun to just go for a drive sometimes!"
Fluttershy laughed in response, the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her feel more alive than ever and she loved it, the happy feelings were only amplified by the presence of her best friend. "WOOOO!"
The rest of the drive was peaceful and but quick, it didn't take long at all for them to arrive at the place they wished to eat, but by that time the sun was beginning to set and the temperature was starting to drop and the drive to drop Fluttershy off at her parent's house would be a tad less pleasant.
For the time being they didn't have a care in the world as they parked and entered the restaurant, all they wanted to do was eat and have a nice evening.