Sunset Shimmer: Student of Magick

The house featured an attached garage, which made it impossible for Sunset to be uncertain whether Cookie and Sweetie Belle had returned. She received her answer when she tried the door and found it unlocked. She slipped into the house, unsure how Sweetie Belle would feel after talking with the psychologist. Sunset hoped to avoid making the situation worse.

Sweetie Belle was sprawled on the living room couch. She raised her head about a finger's width from the cushion that was her current pillow when Sunset entered and made a slight motion with her hand that may have been a wave.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle."

"I really like your hair."

Her head dropped immediately, Sweetie Belle's breathing soft and even just a few seconds later.

"She's all wiped out," a voice whispered from behind Sunset.

She was immediately thankful that she had retrained her fight-or-flight reflexes not to sucker punch anyone surprising her from behind. Instead, she started and whirled to face the woman of the house.

"Will she be okay there?"

"Oh, she'll be fine. You kids can sleep anywhere, after all." At least Cookir was comfortable making light jokes. "I don't think she slept much last night, and I guess her appointment didn't go well. Do you mind talking in the kitchen?"

For the second time that day, Sunset found herself seated next to an older woman and sharing a drink. In this case, she did not have alcohol. Cookie did. She did not add much, likely due to her responsibility for her baby, but even the small amount would dull the edge of Cookie's nerves.

"Are you sure you're okay telling me about it?"

"Don't take me the wrong way, but you're probably one of the only people that'll understand. I don't even understand, and I'm her mother." Anger mixed with sadness smouldered in Cookie's eyes.

Sunset's new sixth sense pricked at the edges of her conscious mind to show her flickers of images from Cookie's mind. They were very worrying. She saw Sweetie Belle cowering as faceless people pointed at the girl and laughed at or mocked her.

A brief grimace twisted Sunset's features. She really needed to learn how to turn off that sense before it became overwhelming, especially since it seemed to be getting stronger all the time.

The teen took a light sip, looking softly at Cookie over the rim of the cup. "Tell me whatever you're comfortable telling me."

Cookie smiled wanly. "Thanks, Sunset. The doctor basically told me that Sweetie Belle feels the need to hate herself. He thinks this has been going on for a while. We've set up more appointments to help her work through this. He's put her on some medicine that should at least help her function for now, but it'll leave her like she is now until she gets used to it."

"I think know the stuff. I've probably taken it before."

Cookie swallowed nervously. "Magnum and I will be talking about it, so it's not set yet, but we might pull her from the school for a while."

Sunset waited for any addenda before nodding. "Makes sense. It would take her away from where she did most of the things that make her hate herself."

"She's always been so bright and cheerful, even when bad things happened. She doesn't bring her friends over anymore because they had some kind of a fight, but ... she had Rarity and you after that, so she bounced right back. I just want Sweetie Belle back to normal, you know?"

"She can get there." Sunset laid a comforting hand over Cookie's. "Trust me. It'll take a while, but at least she has family and friends behind her."

Before Cookie had an opportunity to reply, Sweetie Belle shouted something unintelligible and drew them from the kitchen.

The girl was sleeping soundly and mumbling in her dreams by the time they peeked into the living room. They closed the door and shared a laugh.

"I have some news, too: I've got a new place."

"That's terrific. How did you get it so quickly? Last I knew, you were still looking."

"I mentioned to some of my coworkers that I've been looking for a new place and one of them directed me to a farm near the Apple family's. The owner has a private flat attached to her house that she rents out. I got to meet with her today while you were gone." She pulled the ring of keys from her pocket and allowed them to jingle before Cookie, adding, "I even have the keys already. She said she'd bring her truck Saturday for me to take my stuff over."

"If you've already made the arrangements, that's fine, but I'm sure your friends will want to help. I just know Rarity and Sweetie Belle will want to see your new place."

"I'm working Saturday at six, but I'm completely free before that. I'll let you know what the girls say."

They retired to the living room where Sunset relaxed on a recliner, staying near Sweetie Belle at Cookie's request. Sunset mindlessly browsed some wiki about programming as she reached out with her senses and pushed them at Sweetie Belle. The girl's soul was a brightly shining beacon, yet it was wreathed in tangled bunches of colours that threatened to bury it. The storm was composed almost entirely of dark colours that Sunset could not perceive as anything other than negative. A dark indigo was the overwhelmingly dominant component of the siege, assisted by a purple the colour of an overripe grape and specks of orange that reminded her of vomit. They seemed to blend where they met, hiding or usurping any other surface emotions. As Sunset's perception brushed the emotions she felt and saw in some relatively new part of her mind, they would swirl like cream on hot cocoa but do nothing else.

Surprised at the lack of response, Sunset probed her friend's psyche again to feel the myriad patterns of negative emotions and their connections to the core spark of Sweetie Belle. Sunset was unable to name most of the emotions she felt, not having experience with differentiating them and unwilling to pull bits of them back to her for fear of what would happen. Instead, she danced her senses around the many strands and tried to determine what they were by their limited resonance. She was reasonably certain she could detect guilt and despair, as they were the most obvious. She also thought she felt shame, anger, sorrow, and a few others interwoven amongst them.

There were speckles of other colours, but she was unable to identify what emotions they represented. Lighter greens and blues were interspersed and buried amongst others she identified as positives such as happiness and contentedness. Those cheerful colours were trying to surround and protect the deepest core. Sunset was not easily able to reach the pink and purple crystalline spark at the centre, which seemed to have a reddish tint.

'How do I pull these dark ones away?'

Finding a loose strand of guilt poking toward the deeper core, she grasped at it. That action finally provoked a response. The guilt tentacle pushed along the connection back to Sunset, who shoved more of herself into a barrier to block its path.

The guilt was powerful. The little strand was connected to a much larger weave threatening to engulf a few of the embattled happier parts of Sweetie Belle.

As the guilt strand pushed at Sunset's defences, she turned her attention to its connection. While the mass was not unraveling itself, she could follow the cord. How to exterminate it was a separate matter. Sunset tried pushing her will into the consciousness currently external to herself, asking that part of herself to sever the strand that was reaching at her.

Nothing happened. Sunset pushed again, this time flooding herself with the pleasant feelings that entered her when she thought of her friends. She sorted through them, noticing small changes tied to the most powerful moments. Uniting to defeat the Sirens at the Battle of the Bands, embracing Sci-Twi as a friend for the first time, Sunset's forgiveness to the Crusaders for destroying her fledgling good reputation: They all empowered her but still did nothing to obey her command.

The dual consciousness was starting to drain her. Sunset was ready to quit for the day and try again later when she noticed a subtle change in the guilt strand. When she was remembering parts of Anon-A-Miss, the guilt had become more forceful in its attempts to breach her defences and reach her.

The strand had not been unravelling, but it had been putting more of its colour into its counter-probe.

'Does that mean it would be weaker if I cut this?'

Sunset frowned. Her barrier was decaying exponentially, which meant she could only safely maintain it another few minutes.

The voice that was similar to Sunset's but was not hers again spoke from the third part of herself that she pretended did not exist. 'Do you really expect happy thoughts to attack? They might make you feel stronger, but they aren't the feelings that get you through the battle. Where's the rage? What about the killing intent? Put a little of me out there and we'll leave no enemy alive.'

'Go to Tartarus,' Sunset shot back.

She made one last push into her extended perceptions, pleading with herself to help her friend. No reason existed that should cause Sweetie Belle to hate herself and be so mired in unhappiness. The girl's face was suited to a smile, and her tears should only be happy ones.

Nothing again. Something was not working, if what Sunset wanted was even possible.

The guilt tendril seemed to realise that its connection to Sunset was about to be severed. The disgusting tentacle stopped pushing against her to retreat back to Sweetie Belle. All the bitter darkness of guilt rose like a tidal wave over a cheerful patch of gold.

'Screw you.'

Sunset was angry. She was not going to lose to some thoughtless guilt.

Her contempt was quickly reflected in her own emotional probes, sharpening them to blades, which cut at the hostile mass as though it was a mere weed.

Before long, it was nearly severed. The abhorrent tentacle slowly drifted back to its owner.

'Not if I have anything to say.'

Another slash broke the guilt entirely free. The dark emotional strands floated in whatever spectral realm they inhabited, as if ready to infect the next person to be within reach.

Sunset's thought-blades became a wall of murderous fire that boxed the filthy snarl. Her own rage and disgust flowed into the space as an incinerating flame she used to destroy her young friend's dark guilt. Nothing of it remained when she was done.

A gentle hand on Sunset's shoulder broke her concentration. The teen felt exhausted, her mind foggy and muscles sore as though she had participated in an unaccustomed workout.

A glance at the clock showed that it had been eight minutes since she last checked the time.

"Would you like more tea?" Cookie asked, offering a glass.

"Yes, please. Thanks." Sunset gulped her tea, feeling inexplicably thirsty. The drink was refreshing, washing the cobwebs from her head and relaxing her body.

Cookie took the drained glass back into the kitchen. Sunset stood and stretched. She tried feeling the emotional space around her, but her inner spark would not cooperate. Her magick seemed to be too exhausted from her earlier efforts. She wondered if she had exhausted her Mana reserve, though she was unsure how to check it.

"Don't you need to go meet the girls soon?" Cookie asked as she returned from the kitchen.

Sunset glanced at the clock again. "It's not even close yet."

Then she frowned. The hour hand was two hours farther ahead than she had initially realised. She had miscounted; the school day would be ending soon.

"Never mind," she added with a chuckle, rubbing her forehead with one hand. "I didn't even think I'd fallen asleep."

Cookie gave her a smile. "That'll happen. On my days off, I'll think I'm just sitting down to read for a few minutes and then I'm dead to the world."

"Whose head?"

The high-pitched voice startled both. Sunset and Cookie looked to the couch, where Sweetie Belle was pushing herself into a sitting position. The girl’s mother swept in, helping to prop her up.

"Did you have a good nap?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Sweetie Belle yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "I feel-" she paused to yawn again, "relaxed."

"Would you like some tea? I just made a fresh pitcher."

At a nod, Cookie was back in the kitchen, leaving Sweetie Belle staring at Sunset. "I had a dream about you. It was ... kinda weird."

"What was it?"

"Well, I was crying and it was dark and rainy, and then you came and gave me a raincoat that made me look like a kitten. I became a kitten, and you were carrying me around and hiding me from the rain. I woke up when the clouds finally disappeared and the rain stopped."

'How do I reply to that?'

"Huh, that's cool. I have to admit, you'd make an adorable kitten."

Sweetie Belle shuffled her feet for a moment. "Do you mind if I go with you to the Sweet Shoppe? I never get to go anymore since Apple Bloom and Scootaloo don't go there much."

"If your Mum's okay with it, sure." Sunset would need to inform Sweetie Belle of the move soon anyway. She knew it would be easier to answer all questions at once, even though both she and Sweetie Belle knew Pearl. "I'm leaving now, though, so go ask her fast."

The conversation was short. Sunset could not hear the exact words, but the tones were obvious. Cookie sounded nervous, but she agreed. Even without reaching beyond herself, Sunset could still sense some emotional resonance from those around her. When Sweetie Belle returned with a smile, she felt happier than she had been in the past twenty-four hours.

The delay meant the two girls had to walk quickly, leaving them without the breath to chat. They reached the Sweet Shoppe with just enough time to place an order and claim a table before the post-school rush started.

As CHS students flooded the building, Sunset began to reconsider the standard meeting place. There seemed to be fewer hostile glares, but she was getting a number of curious or dull stares. The looks made her think her former schoolmates were surprised to see her. She was spared further thought on the topic by the timely arrival of her friends.

The six girls looked so natural together. Sunset wondered if Princess Twilight and her pony friends looked the same when they were together. Then again, the pony equivalents were more mature and had adult responsibilities, so assembling casually was probably not as easy for them. She wondered if her friends' entrance into university would change things.

"Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?" Rarity took a seat caddy-corner to her sister. "Are you, erm, feeling better?

"Mum took me to the doctor and I had a good nap today. Since I was feeling a lot better when I woke up, I asked Mum if I could come hang out, too."

"I'm glad to hear that, dear."

"How are you, Sunset?" Fluttershy glanced about the room nervously. The atmosphere was not tense, but their group always drew attention.

Repeating her earlier performance, Sunset produced her new keys. "I have a new flat. Move-in is this weekend."

All of the girls offered their congratulations and promises to assist, followed by questions. Sunset refused to tell them where she would be living to allow herself to enjoy their surprise on moving day, but she otherwise repeated the story she had told Cookie.

"Darling, you simply must let me prepare some new drapes for you," Rarity stated. "Those blinds most flats include are not exactly what I would call pleasing to the eye."

"Um, if you think you'll ever get lonely, I can help you find a new friend at the shelter to keep you company."

"Did you check the building's structural integrity? Did you ask to see their safety credentials? You shouldn't move unless you're sure that it won't have any problems."

Sunset responded to the overlapping thoughts, questions, and comments as best she could. She was glad her friends were taking the idea so well, given the hesitation they had shown at learning she had lived alone previously. Of course, they had seen that she could take care of herself, and the reassurance that the owner was a woman who rented the space as an attachment to her own home helped soothe most remaining concerns. Twilight still wanted to be certain the house did not sit on a fault line until she remembered there were none anywhere near the city.

The girls avoided much talk of their day until Rainbow Dash gave an extended description of her awesomeness in a scrimmage soccer game during Physical Education class. Once she broke the unspoken taboo, the others exchanged uneasy glances.

Pinkie Pie finally broke the silence. "Things were different at school today. It felt a lot happier."

"How so?"

Again, the rest of the group looked to one another, none of them apparently wanting to answer.

"It would seem, darling, that the dark magic at the school is clearing away faster than we expected."

"My calculations were way off," Twilight added. "When I asked around about you, most students and staff had no real opinion. A few, like Trixie, were still hostile. I'll try to work out a graph or chart to explain the changes and bring it with me this weekend."

"I appreciate that, Twilight, but I think I can guess what's happening," Sunset replied. "When those things started spreading their influence, they decided to use a convenient target and pinned everything on me. Now that I'm gone, the hate doesn't have a specific target present, so it's wearing out faster."

"How do you know that's the reason? You haven't been gone that long. Under that hypothesis, this would have ended after the first weekend."

Sunset sighed. She hated giving her friends half-truths, but there was no way she could explain her limited knowledge of magick. "I'm a former unicorn, and I was one of the best students of magic in Equestria. This might not be the same magic, but I can see the same principle applying here. Some of the higher-level magic I studied before would be just like this.

"Magick uses sympathy and symbols for most of what it does. This infection was tied to me being there physically and symbolically. Weekends would not have changed anything because of the latter."

Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So when you ... left the school, you weren't satisfying both, which meant the magic didn't have an anchor anymore?"

"Exactly."

Sweetie Belle raised her hand. "But how does that explain why it went so fast?"

Sunset nodded. "That's a good question." As Sweetie Belle beamed at the praise, Sunset continued, "I'm not completely sure. This wasn't mind-control, like what happened when I was stabbed. This was more like the Sirens: Manipulating emotions. I do have a guess, if you really want to hear it."

Everyone assented, their faces imparting their eagerness to learn more.

Sunset looked at Twilight as she asked, "What did you use for the baseline when you made your original projections?"

"I based the scale on those that had the strongest reactions."

"When did you start?"

"Monday." At Sunset's raised eyebrow, Twilight slapped her forehead. "I can't believe I didn't think about that."

Most of the group asked some form of "What?" when Twilight did not immediately explain.

Face bright red, she expounded, "I didn't account for the change in temperament from the height of the infestation. My numbers were skewed. I'm guessing the change follows an exponential decay pattern?"

Sunset shrugged. "I'm just guessing based on what I learnt in the past. It's not like I'm an expert on these spirits. Even if my leaving the school remained a secret, you could say that the magick would know. That would negate it and allow a much more rapid change."

Thanks to a few illustrations, Sunset and Twilight were able to clarify the explanation for their friends. When everyone claimed to understand, the conversation moved to happier topics.

They were preparing to leave when Rarity turned her attention to Sweetie Belle. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were asking me about you during lunch today. I told them you weren't feeling well, and that I would ask you to send them a message if you were up to it. I'm sure they would love to know that you're feeling better."

"I will. Thanks, Rarity." As the group stepped between packed tables, Sweetie Belle trailed the older teens out the door, already sending the requested messages.

"Hey, girls, what do ya think about invitin' those two ta help with Sunset's move?" Applejack asked once they were standing in front of that building.

"I don't think they'd agree," Sweetie Belle replied.

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Fluttershy said.

Rarity nodded. "I didn't mention Sunset to them, but I did notice they seemed more accessible today."

"And I could measure their reactions for my calculations," Twilight exclaimed, excitement in her voice.

"Do you want me to ask them?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Let's wait until Friday. If this is wearin' out already, maybe they'd be willin' ta help by then."

The girls parted. Sweetie Belle manoeuvred between Sunset and Rarity, taking their hands as they walked. While it surprised Sunset, she was glad to see her friend seemingly feeling much better. They enjoyed a comfortable silence until they entered the suburbs, where Sweetie Belle asked, "Would either of you mind if I invite Button Mash, too?"

"Oh? When did you two get so close?"

"We've been friends for years, Rarity." The slight blush to her cheeks belied her calm response. "Our programming class has a big assignment, so I was thinking him, Sunset, and me can work on it once we finish moving. It's not like it'll take all day."

"Sunset has work that evening, Sweetie Belle, but I'm sure our parents wouldn't mind you two working together at home."

"I don't mind if he wants to come and help. I may not have a lot of time, but I'd be happy to work with you guys before I leave that day."

The evening's post-dinner discussion was as Cookie had said: Whether to pull Sweetie Belle from the school. While Cookie and Rarity both thought it would be a good thing, Magnum and Sweetie Belle were opposed to it. Sunset remained in her room for the time, not wanting to involve herself in private matters. She could still hear them and get some sense of their emotions.

Their talk never reached the level of an argument, but parents and sisters did spend time in two groups each trying to persuade the other. The debate ended for the time being when Sweetie Belle said, "I know you think it'll help, but my best friends are at school and I don't want to leave them. I'm not going to let something happen again like last night, I promise, so please don't make me stop going."

Her mother and sister finally relented. Sunset was glad that they had solved their disagreement without the need for raised voices or angry proclamations. With her mind and body rested, she projected her senses as she had earlier and aimed them straight to Sweetie Belle.

The guilt was still tightly woven into the girl's emotional pattern, but it had lost much of its angry colour. Cheerful colours were much easier to see, and they looked to be pushing back against the knots of unhappiness.

'We burnt away that darkness when it attacked us. The girl owes us,' the other voice whispered.

Sunset pulled her extended sense back into herself. Not only was her magick still weak, she was afraid to be connected to another when that voice was speaking. 'No, she doesn't. I've hurt her several times. It's only right to do what I can to help her.'

'You're such a little bleeding-heart. Someone's going to take advantage of that someday.'

'Better that than becoming a she-demon again.'

The voice chuckled in Sunset's own mind. 'Oh, you silly little girl, what makes you think you can't be both?'

Her dark companion went silent after that. Sunset allowed herself to drift into sleep. If she dreamt, she did not remember it when she woke.