Equestria Girls 02: The Sunset Sentry
Equestria Girls Episode 02: The Sunset Sentry
The ornate clock on the wall ticked away the seconds like thunderclaps. Seconds in which Sunset Shimmer sat in a hard wooden seat on one side of a thick, sturdy desk. She sat with her hands in her lap, waiting with her head down while the two sisters on the other side of the desk spoke in hushed tones, turned away from her towards the open window. She didn’t say anything to hurry them along, she knew her final judgment would come soon enough now that the front wall of Canterlot High had been fully repaired, and it terrified her.
She’d always wanted to be strong... but now she felt like a mouse in a lion’s den.
After what felt like an eternity despite the clock showing only twenty minutes, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna turned in their seats to face her.
Vice Principal Luna began. “Sunset Shimmer. Over the last week you’ve worked to repair the damage you’ve caused, to both the physical building and the students inside of it. You’ve worked tirelessly, far beyond what we asked of you.”
Principal Celestia finished for her. “But that does not absolve you of your crimes. Your harassment and attacks on our students over the years are well-documented by now, but your final act, to attempt to enslave them all, is unheard of.”
Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes. She’d expected something like this. “Then I accept your punishment… I won’t resist being taken to prison.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Principal Celestia said. “Your act is unheard of… not unforgivable.”
Sunset looked up to see the two sisters watching her with far more gentle gazes now.
Luna continued. “Our job as educators is to look toward the future of our students. Were we to send you off to prison, your future would be assured. We won’t do that unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Are… are you saying you… are actually going to forgive me?” Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise.
“We are.” Principal Celestia almost cracked a smile. “But this isn’t without qualification. If you return to your old ways, we won’t hesitate to do what’s best for the rest of our students.”
“As you shouldn’t.” Sunset Shimmer nodded quickly and stood, feeling the weight of the last week finally lifting from her shoulders. She could practically see Princess Celestia herself standing on the other side of the desk, giving her one of her most patient, kindest smiles. “Thank you, Principal Celestia.” Sunset Shimmer couldn’t stop herself from bowing almost on reflex before turning to leave the office in much better spirits. She could hardly believe it, after everything she’d done, she was free to go…
“Well? How’d it go?” Applejack’s voice broke through her jubilation as she approached from the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, flanked by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, who had been waiting anxiously for news of her fate. “Are they really sendin’ you away?”
“No. They’re not sending me anywhere. They’re letting me stay right here,” Sunset Shimmer replied with an unsure smile. “I hope that’s as good news to you as it is to me.”
The other five girls looked back and forth among themselves for a few moments before Rainbow Dash stepped forward, marching right up to her until they were practically nose-to-nose.
“Yeah, I got only one thing to say to you, Sunset Shimmer… of course it’s good news!” She clapped a strong hand on her shoulder, nearly knocking her over as the other four crowded in around her.
“You’ve been such a big help around the school…” Fluttershy smiled softly.
“Yes, you’ve really come around, darling!” Rarity agreed.
“Everybody deserves a second chance, and I think you’ve done a great job with it.” Applejack nodded almost proudly.
“Plus more friends means more fun at parties, and who would throw that away!?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“I definitely won’t,” Sunset replied with a broad smile. “Thank you all…”
“Now we’re just getting mushy, let’s get something to eat!” Rainbow Dash whirled to march toward the school exit, leading the small group of friends through the empty hallways.
Sunset Shimmer’s smile grew into a broad grin as she walked in the middle of the pack. It seemed like it had been ages since she’d felt like this… and the strange thing was she couldn’t even remember when it had all changed. Not that it mattered now, she supposed.
Dinner was filled with laughter and discussions about some of their past exploits and mishaps, though Sunset Shimmer wasn’t really comfortable talking about her own. She did enjoy listening to theirs though, from the time Rainbow Dash shoved a penny too far up her nose to retrieve to the time Applejack had dropped a log big enough to break a rabbit in half right on her foot.
“I was on crutches for three months. Had Rainbow Dash bringing me things every single day.”
“Sure, make me sound like a slave, why don’t you.”
The laughter continued for a while until Rainbow Dash turned toward Sunset, leaning toward her with her elbows on the table. “So, now that you’re out of permanent detention, I gotta ask something. You’re from the same crazy pony-world Twilight was, right?”
“It’s called Equestria, but yeah, I am,” Sunset Shimmer replied. “And I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Aw come on, you can understand if we’re curious, right? We were so busy helping Twilight we didn’t get to ask her anything about it!” Rainbow complained.
“Rainbow! Show a little tact, will you?” Rarity insisted. “The subject is clearly a sore spot for her, and we should respect her decision not to speak of it.”
“But why wouldn’t you want to remember your home?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “That sounds so sad…”
“Yeah well… who says it’s still my home?” Sunset Shimmer lifted her fork to spear a piece of broccoli into her mouth to give herself something to do besides talk.
“Well if you wanna call this your home, I think I speak for all of us when I say you’re welcome to,” Applejack insisted with a warm smile. The others echoed the sentiment, and the lunch turned back toward talk of friendlier things.
It wasn’t much longer before lunch was passed and the six girls said their goodbyes out front of the diner, turning to head home their separate ways. There was a chill wind coming in, bringing some dark clouds with it, but nothing that concerned her too greatly. Her thick leather jacket was more than enough protection, and besides, she didn’t live too far from the school. That school had been her entire life while she was here, after all. Building herself up, learning to inspire fear, learning to control, learning to conquer.
What a fool she’d been.
Yet now she found herself without much to look forward to. She’d never planned to stay here indefinitely; this had been her training ground, her staging area for her invasion of Equestria. Yet now she found herself looking forward to a future here, and she barely knew what to make of it. Perhaps in thirty moons she would be able to go back to Equestria… but after what she’d done, what would they do to her there? Principal Celestia had forgiven her… would Princess Celestia really do the same? Twilight Sparkle had made clear she wanted her to stay here, after all…
“You know that’s true, we do need more glue at the school.” Sunset Shimmer’s thoughts were derailed by snickering from close-by on the sidewalk. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were walking down the sidewalk right in front of her, speaking in loud tones among themselves. “I wonder if we could make our own?”
“Ugh…” Sunset grunted and moved to go around the shorter girls, but Silver Spoon shifted just slightly to one side to block her path. One more time Sunset moved to go around the other way, but Diamond Tiara shifted to block her path once again. “What do you two think you’re doing?”
“We’re walking. Mind your own business.” Diamond Tiara snickered over her shoulder. “Why don’t you take a running jump over us? You’re good at those, right?”
“If you think you’re going to piss me off by being stupid, it’s not going to work. Now get out of my way.”
“Hmmm…” Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses with one hand as she exchanged a glance with Diamond Tiara. “She’s giving us commands.”
“It’s not a command, just… ugh, forget you two.” Sunset Shimmer tried to push her way between them, but as she passed her foot slammed into one of Diamond Tiara’s outstretched boots, sending her tumbling to the sidewalk hard on her hands and knees. She didn’t even have time to yelp in pain before several more teenagers lurched up from behind her, jumping on top of her and pinning her bodily to the sidewalk.
“Gah! Get off of me! What do you think you’re doing!?” Sunset Shimmer fought to move, but there were at least four sets of arms holding her from behind, pulling her along the sidewalk towards a nearby alley. “I said let go of me! I’m gonna AAAAUGH!” Sunset shrieked in pain as one arm was yanked powerfully backwards. “Okay… okay… s-stop…” Sunset grunted through gritted teeth. The pressure on her arm eased up as she was dragged into the alley and turned back toward the entrance She was shoved quickly down onto her knees, where somebody stepped on her calves to keep her down.
“Well look at you.” Diamond Tiara slapped her hands together in front of her as she walked into the alleyway with Silver Spoon by her side. “Aren’t you just the most special thing alive?” Diamond Tiara threw her hands up, speaking in a mocking squeak. “Oh Sunset Shimmer, you may have tried to enslave us all, but you’re a good person at heart, so we’re letting you off with a slap on the wrist!”
“I’m trying to change,” Sunset countered. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
“Yeah, we’ve heard that from you how many times now?” Diamond Tiara moved up closer to her, poking a finger into her chest. “But you’re not in charge now, are you? They may have been dumb enough to let you stay and run around free all you want, but nobody is going to fear you, nobody is going to respect you, and nobody is going to be fooled by your tough-girl attitude.”
“Yeah?” Sunset Shimmer grunted and tugged at the arms holding her back. “Is that why you got four cronies just to hold me down? You’re terrified of me!” she was silenced suddenly with a sharp slap across her cheek, hard enough to make her cheek sting. “Nngh!”
“Scared? As if. See, now that everybody knows what you really are, and they saw your pathetic little crybaby act, boohoooohooooooo…” Diamond Tiara snickered mockingly. “You are nothing but a worthless wild animal dressed up as a real human, and we don’t buy your crap for one second! Principal Celestia forgives you… but that doesn’t mean we all do!”
“Let go of me,” Sunset growled through her teeth, “or Principal Celestia will hear about this!”
“I didn’t touch you… I have witnesses.” Diamond Tiara gestured behind Sunset, where an arm suddenly circled around her, punching her square in the stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Sunset fell forward holding her stomach, where the hands on her arms yanked outward, planting her hands on the ground.
“The heck are you…” Sunset curled her fingers as she tried to pull up, but their grip was tight. Diamond Tiara approached casually to slide a leg over her back, sitting hard down on her spine. Sunset yelped in pain as her back bent inward under the weight. “HNNNGH!”
“Look girls, I finally got that pony mom would never buy me,” Diamond Tiara declared, drawing laughs from the rest of the girls gathered nearby. “Go on pony, neigh for me!” She slammed the heels of her boots into Sunset’s sides, another grunt of pain escaping her throat, but she refused to cooperate. “Yeah, you’re definitely one for the glue factory.”
“Get the Hell off of me…” Sunset Shimmer panted, shaking in discomfort and, she had to admit to herself, fear. She was completely at their mercy.
The silence was deafening as she felt Diamond Tiara climb off of her back, walking around to her front again to kneel down and look her in the eye. “Still think you matter? Still think an alien freak like you matters? We’re onto you, we’re watching you, and you are never going to get the chance to enslave us again.” She moved up closer in front of her. “We real humans are all watching you.”
Diamond Tiara moved back just before a hand from behind grabbed Sunset’s hair, gripping it to drive her cheek roughly into the ground with a sharp crack. Sunset barely had time to yelp in pain before a series of sharp blows came down across her back, whether they were legs or fists she couldn’t tell, but she couldn’t even turn to defend herself with the arms still pinning her to the ground. The sound of the blows slamming into her leather jacket, and the pain racing up her spine drowned out whatever Diamond Tiara said next.
As quickly as it had started it was over. Sunset winced when she felt the hand gripping her hair shove her down one more time, then release her, along with the rest of the hands. She was free, but she didn’t dare move, looking up to watch Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and a group of girls she didn’t recognize from the back leave the alley, their laughter and mocking tones floating back to her up until they finally faded into the distance.
Panting and shaking, Sunset Shimmer finally pushed herself slowly up to her knees, wincing as she moved her back. It took a few moments to realize there were also tears sliding down her cheeks, dropping to the ground below her even as the rain started to come down, pitter-pattering lightly against her jacket. Whatever, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to even wipe them away. All she wanted to do was get home and slide into a nice warm bath.
She picked herself up from the ground, leaning heavily against the wall for a few moments before turning to head toward the sidewalk, and back toward her apartment. It was over, for now at least… but she couldn’t stop her heart from racing.
___
The drizzling rain had continued through the night, falling from the light gray clouds that dotted the sky. Part of Sunset Shimmer wondered how the humans continued to get along without being able to control the weather. She was really wishing there were Pegasus Ponies here to keep this sort of thing from happening, or at least letting them know when it was going to happen, but she didn’t dwell on it too long. There was still a stiff ache in the middle of her spine that kept her from thinking about much else, and the bruises on her back had yet to begin fading.
Her steps slowed on the walkway up to the school entrance, spotting Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon leaning against the doorframes and speaking in hushed tones, sharing the occasional giggle. Sunset Shimmer could easily take the little brats by themselves, but if she so much as touched them she knew Principal Celestia would immediately send her off to prison. She could go to Principal Celestia about what happened, but it would be her word against the word of Diamond Tiara and all of her cronies, and she didn’t have the sparkling reputation to win that kind of fight.
So she took a deep breath and continued down the walkway. She may not be able to touch Diamond Tiara, but she wasn’t about to go sneaking around the school like she’d done something wrong. As she approached the school entrance the two girls looked up to watch her, their conversation falling quiet.
“Try not to stay out in the rain too long, I hate that wet dog smell.” Diamond Tiara waved her hand in front of her nose mockingly. She and Silver Spoon broke out into fast giggles while Sunset moved between them, shoving the door roughly open to head inside.
“Hey, there you are!” Applejack’s voice sounded above the crowd of students milling back and forth between their lockers and their classes. Applejack approached with a wide smile. “I was wonderin’ where you were. You were almost late.”
“It took me a while to get dressed this morning,” Sunset grumbled, unable to help a small blush on her cheeks.
“Ah, yeah I know that feelin’. Schoolin’ and workin’ the farm at the same time ain’t no picnic. Sometimes just gettin’ outta bed is a feat.” Applejack moved up right in front of her. “Speakin’ of which I was wonderin’ if you wanted to come by the farm after school. I know you haven’t done much outside of school since you got here, so I thought you might like to see what some of us do in our free time.”
“Some of ‘us’? Like some of you humans?” Sunset glared.
“Er… no, like your new friends…” Applejack cocked her head worriedly. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good…”
After a moment’s pause Sunset shook her head. “Yes, I’m fine, sorry. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night either.”
“Yeah, I know that feelin’ too.” Applejack smiled. “So whaddaya say?”
“I don’t think so, I still want to focus on my schoolwork for a while. Got a lot of catching up to do, you know,” Sunset Shimmer lied. She’d been Princess Celestia’s personal student, and that meant being good at more than magic. Everything they were trying to teach her here she’d learned long ago, and she got all A’s without even studying on everything except subjects like history, and that was simple enough to read up on. Still, her back wasn’t feeling up to farm work at all.
“I completely understand, you’re still getting’ used to things, I can respect that.” Applejack took the rejection with a bright smile. “When you are ready, feel free to come by Sweet Apple Acres any time, y’hear?”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Sunset Shimmer smiled. “Thanks… but I really should get to class.”
“A’course, I’ll see you around.” Applejack waved as Sunset Shimmer turned to head into the hallway, which was quickly growing empty as the students found their way into their respective classrooms.
She had barely rounded the first corner when she slid sideways into the row of lockers, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Ugh, suddenly it felt like she was about to throw up. It must have been lingering physical trauma, combined with the stress of the situation. Of course, being smart enough to know this didn’t make dealing with it any easier. The unconscious mind was notoriously bad at listening to reason.
“Ugh…” Sunset Shimmer rested her forehead against the cool metal locker with her arms holding her stomach, waiting for the nausea to pass. She stayed there for several minutes until she suddenly felt a hand press into her back, sending a jolt of pain through her as it laid across one of her many bruises.
“Don’t touch me!” Sunset whirled and slapped the hand away, leaving Flash Sentry standing right behind her with his arms up like he’d just been caught in some dastardly deed.
“Hey, sorry, it’s just me.” Flash Sentry gave a suave smile.
Sunset frowned. “Yeah, it’s you, and what I said still goes. Don’t touch me.”
“Fair enough.” Flash lowered his arms to his sides and took a respectful step back. “I was just worried is all, you look sick.”
“I’m perfectly fine, it’s nothing you need to worry about.” Sunset took a deep breath and adjusted her jacket on her shoulders. “Not that I would expect you to care about me, seeing as you broke up with me.”
“I didn’t break up with you because I stopped caring.”
“I told you at the time I don’t care why you did it, and I still don’t.” Sunset turned to march down the hallway again, still holding her stomach with both arms.
“Sunset, please, I want to talk things out.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Nothing’s changed between us.”
“Yes it has.”
Sunset whirled in exasperation. “Oh yeah? What’s changed?
Flash met her gaze unblinking. “You have. For the better.”
Sunset stared up at him in surprise, unable to stop a slight blush spreading across her cheeks. The chime of class starting echoed through the now completely empty hallways.
“You’re missing class,” Sunset told him.
“So are you.”
“I can afford it.”
“So can I.”
Sunset stared at him in almost stunned silence. She could have moved back when he stepped forward, laying his hands lightly on her biceps. She could have pushed him away when he gently began to move her back across the hallway, but she didn’t. She went with him, lifting her hands to his arms, holding them in a light grip. She could have pushed him away before her back pressed firmly into the lockers behind her, and millions of searing stabs of pain raced through her body.
“Mrrrghn…” Sunset whimpered as tears welled up in her wide eyes, shaking from the sudden pain.
Flash Sentry immediately released her and lifted his arms. “Oh God, are you okay? I was trying to be gentle!”
“Mmmmmmmmm…” Sunset tried to claim everything was fine, but the electric pain felt like it was gluing her mouth shut as she slid stiffly to her knees on the floor, leaning forward.
“Sunset…” Flash Sentry knelt down beside her worriedly, reaching back to lift the back of her shirt just enough to see her waist. “You’re not sick you’re hurt… come on, you need to go see the nurse.”
“N-no, I’m fine…” Sunset tried to push him away.
“No. You’re not.” Flash Sentry’s tone left no room to be argued with, and neither did his firm grip as he took her arm and helped her climb to her feet.
Sunset didn’t argue anymore, letting herself be led down the hallway towards the office of Nurse Redheart, who looked up as they entered with an immediate expression of concern.
“What happened here?” Nurse Redheart demanded.
“I don’t know, but there are bruises on her back.”
“What? Bring her into the back room and let me have a look at her.” Nurse Redheart led the way into the back room, where Flash Sentry helped Sunset slide into a seat on the small examination table.
“Flash, I need you to leave please, I need to take her shirt off to examine her back.” Nurse Redheart demanded.
“What…? But…” Flash began to object.
“Oh for crying out loud, let him stay, I don’t care.” Sunset waved off her concerns with one hand. Honestly, the human aversion to nudity was one of the strangest things about them. She’d never known of any creature so paranoid about their own bodies.
Nurse Redheart looked back and forth between them, then seemed to think better of arguing, locking the office door behind them and approaching Sunset Shimmer’s back. “At least go stand by the door, Flash, instead of gawking over here.” With a blush and a nod Flash retreated back towards the door, watching with a concerned look on his face. “Here, let me help you get those off.” The nurse reached up to take her jacket, carefully pulling it off of her back.
Sunset grunted softly as her arms bent back to let it come off, then reaching up slowly to pull her shirt off, leaving herself in a plain fire-red bra.
“My goodness…” Nurse Redheart gasped from behind her. “Your whole back is covered in bruises.”
“Thanks for the newsflash…” Sunset grumbled under her breath, then hissed through her teeth in pain as several fingers prodded gingerly. “Ow… watch it…”
After a couple of minutes of poking, prodding, and ordering Sunset to contort her torso in strange ways Nurse Redheart stepped back. “It seems to be just bruising, thankfully. I’ll get some ointment to help with the swelling, and I’ll give you some medicine to help with the pain in the meantime.”
“Thanks…” Sunset sighed softly as Nurse Redheart walked over towards her cabinets, then returned with a small jar of white cream.
Flash Sentry pushed away from the door to approach Sunset’s front, staring her in the face. “Who did this to you?”
“I fell.” Sunset replied smoothly as she felt the cream being slathered across her back.
“You know hiding whoever did this isn’t going to make things better for you.” Nurse Redheart spoke from behind her. “I’ve seen too many students try to hide bullying and keep coming in with worse and worse injuries.”
“It’s not bullying, I can handle it,” Sunset insisted.
A soft sigh came from behind her as the hand finished rubbing the cool ointment over her burning back. “If you insist, there’s nothing I can do about it. That should about do it.” Nurse Redheart went back to the sink to return with a small cup of water and a pair of plain white pills, while Sunset Shimmer pulled her shirt back on. “Take these, they should help for a couple of hours at least. If the pain continues you can keep taking medicine, but make sure you follow the directions.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know how to not poison myself.” Sunset took the pills and down them swiftly, then grabbed her jacket and climbed to her feet to leave with it held under one arm. She stopped at the door to glance back. “Thank you.”
“You can thank me by taking care of yourself,” Nurse Redheart told her with a hint of concern in her voice. “I don’t want to see you coming in here with worse, you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” Sunset nodded and left, making her way out into the still-abandoned hallway with Flash Sentry following close behind her.
“Are you at least going to tell me what happened?” Flash Sentry moved to walk beside her. “You know I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
“No, I’m not,” Sunset replied smoothly. She was already feeling a little better, much more like her normal self. “More importantly… did you mean what you said?”
“About what?” Flash asked curiously.
“About me changing.” Sunset hugged her jacket against her chest with both arms and gave him a sideways glance. “Have I really changed that much in a week?”
“Yeah, I’d certainly say so. You remind me of when you first got here… curious, eager to learn… but still stubborn and willing to push to get your way. I admired all that about you.”
“I still had those qualities when you broke up with me,” Sunset pointed out.
“No, you didn’t.” Flash shook his head. “But I don’t want to get into that. What’s really important right now is your health. If you’re not going to tell me who did it at least… at least tell me why they did it. You’ve done nothing for the past week but work towards helping everyone and setting things right.”
Sunset slowed her step until she came to a stop, turning to meet Flash Sentry’s concerned gaze. “Maybe not everyone is as forgiving as you or the girls.”
“That still doesn’t make it right.” Flash Sentry met her gaze with a fierce look of his own. Without warning the bell rang once again, signaling the end of the first of the day’s classes.
“We should get to at least some of our classes today.” With a grunt Sunset Shimmer raised her arms to slip her leather jacket back on as she turned to head down the hallway towards her locker, leaving Flash Sentry staring after her with a worried, almost longing look in his eyes.
___
The rain had come to a stop by the time school let out, leaving the Earth shining with moisture, reflecting the little light let through by the lingering gray clouds overhead. Sunset Shimmer paid the weather no mind, however, tugging her jacket a little tighter around herself as a chill wind swept through the front courtyard of the school. With a quick stride she made her way down to the sidewalk and turned toward home, but slowed to a stop when she saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon leaning against a street light a short ways ahead.
“You’ve got some guts, you know that?” Diamond Tiara smirked.
“You already made your point, pipsqueak.” Sunset Shimmer didn’t move any closer, but didn’t back down either. “Now leave me alone.”
“You’re still acting like you belong here.” Diamond Tiara pushed off from the light post, turning towards her with her arms folded across her chest. “Well you don’t, and you don’t deserve to date Flash Sentry again either!”
“What?” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Were you spying on me!?”
“I told you we’d be watching you. Did you think I was kidding?”
“I thought you weren’t completely stupid and crazy.” Sunset marched up to Diamond Tiara, her fingers clenching into a pair of furious fists. “I mean it, what I do is none of your business, so leave me alone!”
“Go ahead, hit me!” Diamond Tiara didn’t back down, stepping right up to her front. The commotion was starting to draw a crowd of onlookers. “Hit me right in front of everybody! Show us how little you’ve actually changed! Show us why you deserve to go straight to prison!”
“You’re out of your mind! I’m not like that anymore!”
“I think we both know that’s not true! We all know it!” Diamond Tiara sneered and looked around at the crowd. “She ruled this school with an iron fist, leading up to trying to use us as pawns in her sick little game! We could have all died and she wouldn’t have cared! And we just sat around and let her! Just because she’s putting on an innocent act now instead of beating people up doesn’t change who she is! Are we really going to fall for it again!?”
There was a growing rumble of agreement surging through the crowd, many pairs of eyes turning to watch Sunset Shimmer with a mixture of suspicion and anger.
“I’ve apologized more times than I can count!” Sunset whirled on the crowd herself. “What am I supposed to do to convince you people I mean it!?”
“You can’t.” Diamond Tiara turned to meet her eyes again with a victorious grin. “We all know what you are. What you can do is leave.”
“Leave?” Sunset turned to look through the crowd, at all of the suspicious eyes. “You all want me to leave?” Some eyes turned away from her, some continued to stare, but many began to nod.
“I think the people have spoken.” Diamond Tiara’s grin only grew wider. “The people don’t need an evil monster pony galloping around the campus threatening us all.”
Sunset’s fists clenched even tighter, her shoulders shaking. Fine, if they all wanted her to leave anyway, she was going to make that little bitch regret this first.
She whirled and raised her fist, but ran head-first into Flash Sentry’s chest just as he broke into the circle between her and Diamond Tiara, throwing his arms around her torso in a firm embrace, which was still loose enough not to press in on her bruised back. Sunset could scarcely believe it, and for a moment she tried to pull back, but he continued to hold her tightly.
“Oh look, it’s the ponyphile,” Diamond Tiara snickered. “Just need some pony to hold onto since Twilight Sparkle left?”
Sunset Shimmer struggled harder against his arms, but he held her tightly against his chest, looking around at the crowd. “I’m not even going to tell you people why this is wrong. You know why it is.” He turned carefully to look down at Diamond Tiara, an almost malicious glint in his eye. “And I think I can guess what happened yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Diamond Tiara smiled innocently. “Yesterday Silver Spoon and I took a walk through the park. It was nice and peaceful.”
“I bet it was.” Flash Sentry looked around at the crowd again and shook his head sadly. “I thought we were above this since Twilight Sparkle united us. I guess we can only come together in acceptance for someone who’s similar enough to us, huh?”
The murmur across the crowd was more uncertain this time, but Flash Sentry didn’t even wait for them to come to a consensus or conclusion, slipping an arm around Sunset Shimmer’s shoulders and turning to push his way through the crowd, which parted enough to let them through.
“Hey, where are you going!? You can’t leave in the middle of this!” Diamond Tiara demanded. “I demand you come back!”
“In the middle of what? Your bigotry? I think we can skip out on that.” Flash Sentry dismissed her with a lazy wave of his free arm, not bothering to look back.
Sunset Shimmer didn’t look back either. She was afraid if she did she’d go charging in again and tackle Diamond Tiara to the ground. Her entire body was shaking in rage, making every step difficult were it not for Flash Sentry helping to hold her upright. His steadying arm guided her down the sidewalk in what she realized was the direction of her apartment nearby. By the time they actually reached it her shaking had subsided, leaving her leaning against his side, drained.
His hand squeezed her shoulder as they approached her apartment on the bottom floor of a much larger building. “You gonna be all right going in on your own?” When she didn’t respond after a few moments he craned his neck to look at her face. “Sunset…?”
“I’ll be fine… I just feel wiped.” Sunset Shimmer didn’t move away from him. “Honestly… I wouldn’t mind some company.”
“Okay, you got it.” Flash smiled and moved his arm away as Sunset moved forward to unlock the door, pushing it open to head inside. “You know, I never asked… if you don’t have parents here, how do you afford this place?”
“Certain gemstones that are extremely rare and valuable here are less so in Equestria…” Sunset replied tiredly as she closed the door behind him. “So valuable here I’ve been living off of the money from selling them since I got here…”
“Sounds… efficient.” Flash turned back to her with a smile.
Sunset nodded without a smile and turned to walk up to him again, looking at her shoes until she finally looked up at his eyes. “Thank you, Flash Sentry… I would probably be in a cop car right now if it wasn’t for you.”
“What was I supposed to do? Not stop you from beating someone’s face into the floor?” Flash smiled slightly.
“It would have been satisfying at least.” Sunset leaned forward to wrap him in a gentler hug, letting his arms circle around her again.
“Temporarily satisfying, maybe.”
“Mmmh…” Sunset grunted softly. “So… you and Twilight…?”
“Mneh… it was a small crush. We flirted a little, danced together… it was a passing thing, really,” he told her.
“You really must have a thing for ponies…” Sunset pulled back with a soft, teasing smile.
“I prefer to think I have an eye for exotic beauty.”
“Sounds good to me…” Sunset Shimmer leaned forward slowly, catching his lips with her own. He returned the kiss without hesitation, his fingers dancing lightly over her back, strong enough to feel without pressing into the many bruises.
The kiss lingered on and on, helping to drown out the frustrations of the world. Sunset Shimmer had always found it difficult to relate to these humans; Twilight Sparkle hadn’t even scratched the surface of how different they were from the ponies of Equestria. Yet she’d always felt a special connection with Flash Sentry. It had devastated her when he broke up with her, and she’d never understood why he had done it.
Now she was starting to understand though… and having him back let her know, even if she wasn’t exactly an angel… she was at least on the right track.
Next Time
Episode 03: Heart of the Dress
Author's Note
I feel like I don’t have much to say about this episode. It kind of speaks for itself. There are a few things I’d like to get out there though.
1: Once again I would like to thank my good friend CarcinoGeneticist for taking on editing duties and telling me when I’ve done something stupid.
2: It looks like I will in fact be able to maintain a fairly consistent updating schedule of Monday each week for the foreseeable future.
3: It’s been commented on that it feels weird for Diamond Tiara to be “picking on” Sunset Shimmer when she’s several years her junior. And while I can kind of see that, Diamond Tiara is a headstrong little bitch and doesn’t seem to care who it is that crosses her line of sight. Hell she’s picked on Granny Smith before, I doubt she’d hesitate to go after someone a couple years older, especially when she has, in her mind, a righteous reason for doing so. The fact that they go to the same school levels the playing field somewhat as well.
So that’s it, I hope you enjoyed this episode and I hope you enjoy the next one too.