Shattered Sapphires

Sapphire Dazzle stood at the gates of Canterlot High a week after the incident at White Tail Academy. The news had confirmed it. She was the only survivor, and there were no witnesses, so people just assumed it was an unfortunate accident with the gas pipes.

'If they can truly believe that, people really are too gullible for their own good.'

'Maybe you should just shut up! We don't want a repeat of what happened the last time you were in charge.'

The more her consciousness argued with itself, the more she felt like something else would go wrong and ruin her chance to start over. Deciding that there was no point in just standing around doing nothing, she started towards the doors of Canterlot High. before she could open them, however, a strange pink blur shot past her, almost bowling her over.

"What the-" Sapphire couldn't finish her sentence as said blur turned out to be a girl with pink skin and even pinker, extremely messy and poofy hair.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Canterlot High!" She spoke so fast that most of her words seemed to merge into one, and her voice was so high-pitched that Sapphire thought she might go deaf. Before Sapphire could say anything, Pinkie gasped extremely loudly before continuing. "And if you're new, that means you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely! That makes me so sad!"

"Well, there's no need to be sad i'm used to it. I was never very friendly," Unfortunately, instead of the intended effect, this only served to do the opposite. Pinkie suddenly let out another loud gasp before nearly shouting her next sentence.

"I have an idea! I'll throw you a welcome to Canterlot High party, then you'll have lots and lots of friends!"

'Great! Now look what you've done.'

'Hey, at least she's friendly!'

'But she's so annoying!'

'If you think making her shut up is easy, why don't you try!'

'Very well...'

'No! I didn't mean-'

"Hey Pinkie. Just take the hint! I don't need friends so why don't you just get lost!" Upon hearing this, Pinkie's eyes started watering and she looked on the verge of tears.

'You idiot!' Sapphire's kindness screamed. 'I'll take it from here!'

"I'm so sorry, Pinkie. I've had a really bad week," This caused Pinkie to look up. "Surely you've heard about White Tail Academy?"

"Of course. I heard there was only one survivor... She must be so sad right now,"

"Well that survivor... Was me," Now it was Sapphire's turn to almost start crying. Though she  may have caused it, the memory of what she'd done still haunted her. Pinkie however, perked up when she heard this.

"All the more reason for me to throw a party! You really need something to cheer you up!" With that, Pinkie literally started bouncing away, shouting "The party's at Sugarcube Corner!"

'Well she's a strange one.'

'Agreed.' This was the first time Sapphire's two personalities actually agreed on anything in years, and just knowing that was enough to bring a smile to her face. before she could enter the school, the pink blur returned, slamming the door shut.

"I didn't get your name," Pinkie crashed into Sapphire.

"It's Sapphire Dazzle," Pinkie disappeared just as fast as she had appeared.

'Am I seriously going to that party?'

'Of course we're going. We can't just say we'll go and then forget about it.'

'Fine.' With that, Sapphire opened the doors to Canterlot High and a new start.

o0 P.E. 0o

I there was one thing Sapphire was not, it was athletic. Despite this, she had somehow ended up in P.E.

'Why'd we sign up for P.E again?'

'Because I can just sit back and watch you try not to fail,' Sapphire could have sworn her cruel personality was grinning madly at that moment.

'You're the worst.'

'I know.'

Sapphire was unfortunate enough that their coach, Spitfire had decided to have the students race against each other on that day.

"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! You're up!" barked Coach Spitfire. Sapphire looked up to see a rainbow-haired girl with blue skin and a blonde girl with orange skin heading towards the track. The way they looked at each other at the starting line made it obvious that they were rivals. One could even argue that Coach Spitfire had pitted them against each other just so they could settle it.

"On your marks!" The two girls stood at the starting line.

"Get set!" They looked at each other, fire in their eyes.

"Go!" They took off faster than Sapphire thought was humanly possible. The race seemed fairly even, but Applejack seemed to have a slight advantage. This all changed when they reached a stretch of track that required them to avoid bumping into obstacles. It seemed Rainbow was far more experienced in avoiding objects, dodging all of them. Applejack, however, was not so lucky, and crashed into the last barrel. It was not much, but it was enough for Rainbow to catch up.

'This just got interesting...'

'I didn't think anyone was that fast.'

Before long, both girls had reached the last stretch of track, and Sapphire could tell it would be close. They crossed the finish line in a massive cloud of dust, each thinking they had won.

"I totally won, AJ!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"No. Ah think ya'll find that ah won, Dash!" Applejack retorted. As the girls bickered, Coach Spitfire looked at her stopwatch and declared the winner.

"It's a tie!" The victory on the girls' faces quickly turned to horror.

"A tie!?" They exclaimed at the same time. "No way. I totally beat her!"

This display caused Sapphire to chuckle at how desperate each of them were to beat the other.

'Seems a lot like us, doesn't it?'

'I suppose...'

"Well too bad! It was a tie," the coach turned to Sapphire. "Sapphire! Sunset! You're up!"

'Oh no.'

'Good luck. You'll need it'

As Sapphire walked towards the track she contemplated all the ways this race could end.

"On your marks!" Sapphire glanced at her opponent. She was a orange-skinned girl and her hair was red and yellow. What really caught her attention was what she was wearing. Her black leather jacket only reminded her of Vicious. She knew he was dead but anything that reminded her of him still made her furious.

"Get set!" Her thoughts were cut short by the coach's words.

"Go!" It all happened so quickly. Sapphire ran as fast as her legs could carry her, determined to beat Sunset, who reminded her of her old enemy. Despite this, she was still surprised to realize that she was winning. Sapphire stayed in front until the last stretch of the race, and Sunset was too far behind to have any chance of winning.

'Looks like I win, Sunny!' Unfortunately, in running so fast, she has exhausted herself far too quickly. Just before she could cross the finish line, a massive wave of nausea overtook her and her legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to the ground.

'I can't believe... I lost to someone like her...' Just when it seemed all hope was lost, Sapphire felt someone grab her arm.

"Sapphire!" Sapphire couldn't believe it. Sunset sounded genuinely concerned for her. "Are you alright?"

Sapphire tried to get up, but another wave of nausea and excruciating pain prevented her from doing so, sending her crashing back down. "I can't... I can't do it..."

"Don't say that. It's just a few more steps. I'm sure you can do it!" Sunset helped Sapphire to her feet. It didn't do much good, as she almost collapsed for the third time that day. The only thing saving her from another fall was Sunset catching her.

"Lets do this!" Sunset allowed Sapphire to use her shoulders as a support, and took the last few steps. Each step burned as if she were stepping on hot coals, and as soon as they crossed the finish line, Sapphire fell to the ground once more. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst.

"And the winner is Sapphire!" shouted Coach Spitfire. Sapphire could hardly hear it due to exhaustion but it made her smile nevertheless.

'I won!?'

"I won!?" For the first time in years, Sapphire was actually happy. It had been so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to win.

"Hey. You did it" Sunset held out her hand. Her paranoia returned full force. Nobody had ever bothered to help her for as long as she could remember.

'Do I trust her?'

'She just made herself lose for you, of course we trust her!' Sapphire took Sunsets hand, and she pulled her up.

"I don't even know you, but you still stopped to help me. Why?" Sapphire's confusion was evident in her voice.

"Because it just isn't right to leave anyone behind like that," she paused for a moment, as if remembering something she didn't want to. Before Sapphire could ask about it, Rainbow and Applejack appeared behind her.

"Well ah'll be. You're a mighty fast runner, Sapphire," Applejack said. "If that there race were any shorter, ah think ya could beat any one of us!"

"Just try not to collapse like that and you'll be fine!" Rainbow was obviously surprised at how someone who looked so out of place here could be that fast. "I'm sure you'll win next time," Rainbow  looked her right in the eye before continuing. "Unless of course, you're against me!"

'Oh that is one overblown ego...'

'Yeah. we could put an end to it right here, you know?'

'As long as it doesn't end up like last time, go for it!'

"You sure about that, Rainbow? Because I think I could beat you," Sapphire challenged.

'Wait, *what!?** We can't beat her!'*

'Sure we can! We just have to make sure the race isn't too long, and there are no obstacles.'

"Well bring it on, then!"

"Alright, looks like a challenge!" the coach announced. All the students present gathered to watch the race. As Sapphire walked to the start line, she could hear people muttering things like 'This can't be happening' or 'She'll never win this one'. She had been underestimated before and she hated it.

'We'll see about that!'

"Go!" Sapphire took off faster than she could remember doing in her entire life.

'I can't lose, I can't lose, I can't lose...' She repeated to herself.

'Might want to rethink that. Look to your right,' Sapphire did so, and saw Rainbow running right beside her, and she didn't even look tired!

"Tired? I knew you couldn't win!" The smug look on her face sent Sapphire into a frenzy.

'I'm *not** losing to her!'* Sapphire gathered all the energy she had left, and unleashed it all in one massive burst of speed, easily overtaking Rainbow, shocking the entire crowd. None of them expected her to even stand a chance.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Rainbow growled, and sped up to catch up to her opponent, but it seemed like Sapphire was too far ahead.

Sapphire was nearly at the finish line when the nausea returned.

'No! Not now!' This time, however, Sapphire knew what was coming. When she started falling, she put both arms in a forty-five degree angle above her head, and used her last step to boost the rest of her body forwards, using the momentum to do a flip. Seeing this, Rainbow used all of her energy to catch up. She was a few steps away from the finish line, but was slowed when the dust from Sapphire's landing bombarded her eyes. When she could see clearly again, she had crossed the finish line.

"It's a tie!" Exclaimed Coach Spitfire. Neither Rainbow nor Sapphire could believe it. The new student had just raced the fastest girl in Canterlot High to a tie.

'A tie!?* Next time I get the chance, i'll make sure she loses!'*

'Well at least we didn't lose.'

"You!" Rainbow stormed across the track.

'Uh oh.'

'We're doomed.'

"You are awesome!" This surprised Sapphire. A lot.

"Wait, what?" She thought she was dead for sure. Fortunately for Sapphire, Rainbow seemed to respect people who could keep up with her.

"Anyone who can race against me and not lose is awesome in my book," Before she could say more, the pink menace that was Pinkie Pie slammed into her, knocking her back.

"Lets not forget i tied you just after another race where I used up so much energy that I collapsed," Sapphire smirked. "I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't raced Sunset."

The crowd suddenly backed up a bit. Rainbow Dash was a very proud student and everyone knew that messing with said pride was a very, very bad idea. Before she could say more, and before Rainbow could react, the pink menace that was Pinkie Pie slammed into her, knocking her back.

"Oh hey, Sapphire. I'm just here to invite Rainbow, Applejack and Sunset to the party!" Pinkie seemed oblivious to the fact that she had just bowled someone over and started running around so fast that she was almost invisible to the naked eye. Within seconds, everyone was holding an invitation, and by the looks on their faces, not all of them were sure where exactly it had come from. Once Pinkie was sure everyone had gotten one she stopped just long enough to say one sentence.

"I'll see you all at the party!" Once she was done, she did something Sapphire never thought possible. Pinkie ran over to the nearest flowerpot, turned to wave goodbye, and dived headfirst into the pot. Even more puzzling, she seemed to disappear into it as it there was a hole in the bottom.

'What in the world?'

'Oh that'll take some getting used to...' the shock was enough for Applejack to approach Sapphire without her noticing.

"Ya'll get used to it," she chuckled.

Suddenly, said flowerpot suddenly leaped into the air as a huge wave of sound blasted from the top:

"And don't be late!"

It was so loud that those closest to it fell to the ground covering their ears. It was quite obvious that even those who knew Pinkie very well were not prepared for that. Sapphire just happened to be right next to the flowerpot when this happened. Her muscles went limp and she collapsed, her eardrums exploding from the torrent of sound. She heard hurried footsteps and voices screaming. As her vision went black, she saw Sunset next to her trying to help her up. Just before passing out, she managed to say one sentence:

"Pinkie Pie...  you will be the death of me..."