Forged in Flame

The four girls had made a quick escape from the scene and held themselves up in the library. Fluttershy pressed herself up against the door to look through the small wire-mesh glass windows, then walked over to the others as they sat on beanbags at the far corner of the library.

"I don't think anyone followed us." she mumbled, sinking back into one of the bags between Pinkie and Rainbow. Sunset was the only one standing at this point, her back to the three girls, with her hands held up before her face. Her eyes were darting back and forth between them, a cold sweat dripping down her face still.

"You okay, Sunny?" Pinkie asked. Aside from her heavy breathing, Sunset was silent.

"Okay? Am I okay? I don't know! How did I do that?! It's... it's impossible!" Too many thoughts were racing through her mind to keep up; she had too many questions, and not one answer. Panic held her heart in a powerful grip, and it wasn't letting go. A hand gently came down on her shoulder.

"Sunset?" Fluttershy spoke softly. Sunset twisted her head so suddenly and faced Fluttershy with horror-ridden eyes, the pink-haired teen jumped back in surprise and quickly retreated to her own personal space. Snapping out of her thoughts, Sunset took a moment to breathe in deep and calm her nerves just enough to speak coherently.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't know." she said with a trembling tone, "This never happened before, not since..." she paused for a moment. The girls already knew what she meant, she figured. Pinkie pulled out her cellphone and hammered the keys with the fury of a sugar rush.

"We gotta tell Applejack and Rarity! Maybe they know!"

"Are you kidding, Pinkie? If the unicorn's not got a clue, what makes you think they will?" Rainbow asked, bewildered.

"You got any better ideas, Miss Smartypants?" Pinkie replied with a grin. Rainbow was about to offer a rebuttal, but her mouth hung open, and she sank back into her beanbag in a sulk. Pinkie cheerfully returned to her text message. Sunset was far from amused, however.

"I can't stick around here! The moment word gets out, the whole school will call for a literal witch hunt!"

"Oh Sunny, you worry too much!" Pinkie smiled.

"Are you real?!" Sunset shouted, unaware of the magic sparking from underneath her as she stomped her foot. "How can you be so calm about this?!" All three girls quickly leaned away from her.

"S-Sunset, please calm down!" Fluttershy squeaked. Sunset stared at her horror-stricken face and slowly retreated from them, a deep breath entering and leaving her lungs, and her muscles starting to relax.

"Sorry, Fluttershy. I'm just..." she said, melancholy showing on her face. It was a few short but agonizing seconds of silence before she spoke up again, "I need to get out of here."

"Outta the school?" Rainbow asked.

"Where else? I can't be here! It's not safe!"

"But what about detention? If Principal Celestia knows you're skipping..." Pinkie enquired.

"Make something up! I just need some time to figure this out." Sunset held her arms and leaned against the bookshelf behind her, taking several deep breaths. The three of the Humane Five looked between each other and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we'll help you out." Rainbow said. Sunset looked up between them with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"If it's what you need, we'll support you." Fluttershy added with a smile.

"Darn tootin'!" Pinkie exclaimed while mimicking Applejack's accent. That was at least enough to bring a tiny smile to Sunset's face.

"Thanks," she said, walking towards the exit, "now I just need a distraction."

"OH! OH!" Pinkie quickly leapt from the beanbag and zipped to Sunset's side. "I wanna be the distraction!" she said with a wide crescent grin across her face. Sunset was visibly unnerved by her enthusiasm.

"Um, okay. It doesn't really matter who does it..." she said, raising an eyebrow. Pinkie bounced furiously fast with excitement and threw the doors wide open, marching out with determination written all over her. Rainbow and Fluttershy stood beside Sunset, watching Pinkie leave on her mission.

"Well, this can only end one way." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a groan. She patted Sunset on the back and smirked. "You best get going before she turns this school upside down. C'mon, Flutters." she beckoned to Fluttershy, running off after Pinkie.

"Oh my. Um, good luck, Sunset!" she squeaked, quickly following behind Rainbow. Sunset stood alone in the hallway until her friends were out of sight before turning the opposite way and making for the exit, left to nothing but her own thoughts.

******

"This is insane. How could this happen to me? If it were Twilight Sparkle or her friends, then sure. But me?" The world was an empty one-way street for Sunset as she argued all the possibilities to herself, her legs on auto-pilot, her head down, and her eyes staring into space. At first it seemed unnaturally easy to switch off her senses to the outside, but the hallways were practically deserted. Whatever Pinkie Pie was doing, it seemed to be doing the trick. "Well, far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth... heh." A tiny grin crept across her lips.

Sunset took a turn around a corner only to be met with a face full of torso, enough to send a startling jolt through her and knock her back to reality.

"Oof!" She leapt back quickly and rubbed her nose with a slight build-up of tears in her eyes. "Hey! Watch where you're-!"

"Sunset!" a familiar male voice rang Sunset's ears. A mix of surprise and dread filled her gut; prayers filling her head she was just imagining it. She took a moment to look up, and grimaced at the sight.

"Oh. It's you." she groaned in a lidded stare. Flash Sentry was predictably unaffected by the cold reception.

"Nice to see you too." he remarked.

"Spare me." Sunset was quick to dismiss and walk around him. She found herself coming to a sudden halt as her wrist was grasped and jerked back slightly.

"Whoa, wait a second. What's the rush?"

"I've got better places to be, now let go." She refused to turn around, her weight pulling against his grasp. Flash complied quickly, but responded just as fast.

"Can we just talk for a second? I haven't seen you since the Fall Formal." Sunset took a step to balance herself, but stopped in place after that. Her annoyance was clear, but she didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave any more. She took a moment to sigh and turned to face him, hands in pockets.

"What do you want?" she asked with venom in her tone.

"I just wanted to... talk. Y'know." he awkwardly answered.

"Well, we're talking. Now what?"

"I... I just want to know what's going on with you." Flash rubbed the back of his head, visibly nervous. Whether out of fear of her or the awkwardness of the situation, Sunset wasn't sure.

"I think you know enough. I turned into a demon and nearly enslaved the school. Now I'm the most hated student in the entire city, and every day is a fuster cluck. What more could you want?"

"Well, to know if you're alright." he answered. Sunset's eyes opened up a little more at his claim. There was an awkward pause before she could think of a response.

"Why?"

"Because you've had it pretty rough lately."

"No, I mean why do you care?"

"Oh, well, because you're trying to be better." he replied. Sunset raised an eyebrow, following up with a frown.

"How do you figure?"

"Well, Twilight told me." There was that name, the one that flawlessly made Sunset's stomach turn. It never seemed so bad to speak it herself, but when it came out the lips of others, it somehow rubbed her the wrong way. "Before she left, she asked me to help you out, since we have, um... history."

"Understatement of the millennium." she snidely remarked.

"I tried to talk to you earlier, but you kept avoiding me before I could say anything." He appeared a little stung as he recounted her alienating him. While she secretly relished in causing grievance to her ex-boyfriend, a part of her felt guilt, much to her own dismay.

"Yeah, well... to be fair, I was doing that to everyone. Didn't have much choice." she claimed while turning her head away, her eyes remaining locked on his. Flash stared at her with an unfamiliar look. "What is that, concern? Pity?"

"I saw." he said, scratching the back of his leg with his foot. "Look, I know the last we spoke, it didn't end well-"

"You broke up with me."

"Y-Yeah, but..." he trailed off for a second, "I saw how you've been getting on with Twilight's friends lately, and if you girls could get along so well, then why not us?"

"You want to be friends?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't mean that because Twilight asked me! I mean, it's partially, but..." Sunset watched Flash expose his vulnerability so quickly. A week ago, she would have killed for an opportunity like this to stick it to him, but now the moment didn't seem nearly as appetizing.

"You can't be serious. Why would you waste your time on me?" she asked. "Urgh, that came out wrong."

"Hey, if you girls can forget the past, couldn't we at least try to?" Flash returned with a seemingly genuine smile. Sunset stared at him for a few seconds, then folded her arms and looking to the floor.

"Friends? With him? You've got to be kidding. I don't need a goody-two-shoes like him to get by! I can do without his face... and his carpools... and his food... and his talks... Oh for crying out loud." she thought to herself behind closed eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with a groan. Flash's smile disappeared, and he slowly motioned to turn until Sunset took a deep breath.

"Look, I... we'll see. I've had a long day, and I just want to go home." Sunset looked up with tired eyes, a positive change from the daggers she was glaring with a minute ago. Flash appeared speechless at first, but his expression softened quickly.

"Heh, fair enough. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah... maybe." she replied, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets again before she turned on her heels and walked away. "Later, Flash."

"See you..." he slowly waved, and watched her leave with a smile.

"I'm so not in the mood for this."

******

"ALRIGHT, YOU MAGGOTS! HUP-TWO! HUP-TWO! HUP-TWO!" Every student in sight was at attention and marching to Pinkie's orders over her megaphone. As she was busy herding the flock, Rainbow and Fluttershy watched from the sidelines in silence. They were eventually joined by a bewildered Applejack and Rarity.

"What in good gracious is going on?" Rarity asked.

"We're covering for Sunset while she skips school." Rainbow bluntly answered. Applejack and Rarity looked to each other in confusion, and the former returned to Rainbow.

"Is this about that explosion?"

"Pretty much. We're just giving her an opening out of here so she can do her own thing."

"And your answer is... this." Rarity responded with a deadpan expression to match her monotone voice, motioning her hand over to Drill Sergeant Pie, cracking her jockey whip in the air, and forcing the students down pre-determined routes.

"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Rainbow replied, smug as ever.

"That's not what that means, Rainbow." Applejack said with a slight groan.

"Eh, po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"Oh my goodness..." Rarity rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb, and turned away from Rainbow.

"Were there any witnesses?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy quickly squeezed in-between her and Rarity.

"T-There was Rainbow Dash's friend... um... Gilda?"

"Oh yeah," Rainbow groaned, "she saw it all. I doubt she'll keep her fat mouth shut." She leaned against the lockers with a foot held against them and her arms folded. The rest of the girls all fell silent, save for Pinkie, and stood adjacent to either side of Rainbow.

"What're we gonna do?" Applejack asked.

"Well, first thing's first. We need to keep everyone in the dark." Rarity chimed in with her two cents. She took a step forward, twisting around on her heel, and standing tall and proud before the other three with her hands firm on his hips. "If word gets out that this was Sunset's doing, we may lose all hope in showing the school she is changing! Secondly, we have to ensure this doesn't happen again!"

"How?" Fluttershy asked. Before Rarity could reply, a pink blur whizzed past her and pulled Fluttershy forward, a pair of hands clutching her cheeks tight, and a pair of big blue eyes filling her vision.

"Easy peasy, Flutter-squeezy!" Pinkie chimed, squeezing Fluttershy's cheeks at the same time, "I know what'll do the trick! A good ol' smoothie down at Sugar Cube Corner!" She let go of Fluttershy, causing her to stumble while Pinkie danced her way in front of the rest of the Humane Five. "Nothing cheers a friend up like having shakes with someone you care about!"

"I suppose it's worth a shot." Rarity admitted.

"She did seem awfully mad when she used that magic..." Fluttershy added, rubbing her shoulders anxiously, "maybe it'll calm her down?"

"Then that's what we'll do! Pinkie will handle Sunset, and the rest of us will deal with Gilda!" Rainbow grinned. The five girls grouped together and held their hands in the middle, one over the other.

"Okay, we got our plan. Operation Sunrise is go!" Applejack smirked.

"Hooray! This'll be the best week ever!" Pinkie jumped for joy. The girls then broke and departed.

"Let's just hope that's all we gotta worry about." Rainbow remarked.

******

The damage to the hallway gained an audience rather quickly once word got around. The school staff were quick to label it as the work of vandals, though there was no clear evidence to suggest who was involved. Students were kept at a distance, forced to inspect the chaos from afar whilst the teachers conducted their investigation. Whispers were exchanged on the cause, but it was nothing more than mere guessing at best. Everyone appeared invested in uncovering the answer behind this mystery, but none were nearly as intrigued as a particular student watching a few feet away from the crowd.

She held her hand up, hovering it an inch from her blue steel face over her lips, piercing amber eyes scanning the scene behind her short black bangs, with a single thick navy blue highlight running down over her right temple. She tapped her black and purple sneakers against the floor in a slow and steady rhythm, while her other hand rested on her thigh over her dark denim shorts. As she pondered, the student let loose a smirk and turned around, slipping her hands into the pockets of her black and purple-striped sweater, and walked away, a deep chuckle rising at the back of her throat.

"Someone get Anne of Brittany on the phone,"  she said aloud, "cuz I'm about to hunt down a unicorn."