Night Class

Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips, who were cowering on the floor, leaning against the desk, jumped, but were alert enough not to scream when they recognized Sunset Shimmer. She and Trixie hurried through the door and hunkered down next to the other two. Sunset noticed that they were holding hands, and that Micro Chips was pale.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sweetie Drops asked. “And who’s this?” She pointed at Trixie.

“I am the Great—“ Trixie started, but Sunset put her hand on her mouth and shushed her.

“This is Trixie,” Sunset replied in a much lower voice than the self-styled magician. “Sweetie Drops, Micro Chips,” she introduced the other two.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sweetie Drops asked again, this time sounding suspicious.

“Hiding,” Trixie deadpanned. “There is a killer running amok in this school.”

“Tell me about it,” Sweetie Drops said. Then she gave them a brief account of what had happened since Sunset Shimmer had stayed behind in the first floor classroom. “… and then we found the entrance chained up, and came here to look for a phone.” She eyed Trixie. “Why are you in school on a Friday night?”

Trixie turned beet red. “It’s… I… the Great and Powerful…”

“It was you, wasn’t it,” Sweetie Drops hissed. “You set up this fake dead body downstairs and made all these noises.” Trixie just slowly nodded. “And why should we believe you that you’re not the killer?”

“Because the killer attacked her too,” Sunset chimed in.

“You’re just saying that!” Sweetie said. “For all I know you could be in this as well, Miss Demon Queen!”

Sunset felt her anger flare up. Unfortunately this was not the right place to put this idiot in her place. “And for all we know, you are the killer!” she shot back.

“At least I didn’t set up a stupid prank with a fake dead body!”

“Give her a break! So maybe the prank was silly—“

“’Maybe’?”

“—but we’re all in on this now, like it or not! Do you think you can just tell that guy with the knife that everything’s just a big misunderstanding, and he’ll leave you alone?”

Their whispering argument was interrupted by the sound of someone rattling a door a few offices down. Trixie and Sunset looked at each other. It was the office where they had first taken refuge. The killer was coming to finish them off.

“Shit, what do we do now?” Micro Chips whispered, his voice shaky and hoarse.

“We can’t stay here where it’s lit,” Sunset said.

“We can’t go out on the hallway either,” Sweetie Drops said.

They heard the rattling again, this time one office closer. The killer was apparently slowly making his way down the corridor.

“I have a plan. Follow me,” Trixie said and got up. She opened the door to the next office and gestured everybody through it. Then she closed the door again and, putting her lock picks to use once more, locked it up from inside. “He’ll move past us. And then we exit through the next office.”

“What if the door here is open?”

The Great and Powerful Trixie obviously hadn’t thought of that possibility and rushed to the front door. To everybody’s great shock the knob turned when she tentatively tried it. In a hurry she pulled out her lock pick and jammed it into the lock, causing a faint but audible click. Sweetie Drops glared at her, and again Sunset had to pull herself together to not punch her. What’s her problem? It’s locked now, isn’t it?

They heard the sound of the next office’s door, the one of Coach Iron Hoof and Miss Cheerilee. Again someone rattled the door, and when it wouldn’t open after a few tries, left it alone.

The four trapped in the next office hunkered down on the floor. Sunset couldn’t help but realize that Micro Chips and Sweetie Drops were both keeping their distance from her and Trixie. Micro Chips was almost shuddering as he leant against Sweetie Drops’ shoulder. Trixie was fiercely staring at the door as if she could will the killer to move past, her jaws clenched. Sunset put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down, but Trixie ignored her.

The door was rattled. The knob didn’t turn. After a few more moments, they heard steps moving to Miss Harshwhinny’s office.

They heard the sound of the door being opened. Someone stepped into the office. Then the connecting door was rattled, again to no avail. “Well done, Trixie,” Sunset mouthed behind her back.

After a few more moments of tense silence they heard the killer leave the adjacent office again, and his steps trailed off down the hallway.

“Wait another five minutes,” Sunset whispered as she saw Micro Chips and Sweetie Drops about to get up. In the meantime Trixie crawled to the office door and readied herself to unlock it again.

“How much more?” Sweetie Drops complained after a while.

“I think we’re good,” Micro Chips chimed in.

Trixie looked at Sunset who nodded confirmation. “Everybody, get ready to run,” Sunset said. “He might still be around.” They got to their feet, and Trixie unlocked the door.

“Go!”

Trixie burst through the door, turning right immediately, and ran towards the corner behind which lay the center wing. She turned into the next hallway—

—and slipped, falling flat on her butt.

“Trixie!” Sunset hissed, hardly able to avert falling over her. She slid to a halt, but Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips rushing past behind her almost knocked her over. For some reason the floor was extremely slippery here. Sweetie Drops cussed as they ran by.

Sunset steadied herself and pulled Trixie to her feet. Wary of the floor they followed the other two as fast as they could. The others turned into the staircase, heading down. On the stairs Sunset and Trixie managed to catch up.

Maybe being the queen bee of this place was a better workout than being a computer nerd.

When they reached the second floor landing, they suddenly heard steps on the stairs somewhere above. “Into the hallway!” Sunset hissed.

They hurried into the hallway, and Sweetie Drops tried the first best classroom door, only to find it locked. With a smug grin Trixie pushed past her and picked the lock. They entered the room, and in the twilight shining through the windows they realized that they were in the chemistry lab. Out of breath and shaky they settled down at some of the tables.

“Are you trying to get us all killed?” Sweetie Drops accused Trixie.

“It was slippery!” Trixie shot back.

“Erm, Trixie,” Sunset said, “are you sure you’re alright? You’ve got something on your back that looks a lot like blood.”

“I’m not hurt,” Trixie said. “It must be what I slipped on.”

Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips both inhaled sharply. “What?” Sunset demanded.

“It’s probably where Miss Harshwhinny got killed,” Micro Chips murmured. “Sunflowers told us it was out in the hallway, so…” He gagged.

“Eugh,” Trixie made and hurried to take off her bloody blouse.

“You just should’ve been more careful,” Sweetie Drops said.

“Just drop it, okay?” Sunset said.

“Yes, please,” Micro Chips agreed.

“Whatever.” Sweetie Drops stood up and started pacing through the lab. “What do we do now? Any more bright ideas?” She circled the front desk and poked some of the bottles of chemicals that were standing there. “What do we have here? Maybe something useful?”

“Let me see.” Micro Chips joined her and examined the bottles. “This one’s acetic acid.”

“Ohh, acid, we can burn him with that!” Sweetie sounded excited.

“That’s not gonna work, see, the concentration is way too low.”

“Shoot,” Sweetie pouted.

“This is hexane,” Micro Chips read the next bottle’s label.

“It’s flammable.” Sweetie Drops pointed at the warning sign. “We can torch that bastard!”

“That would be very hazardous,” Micro Chips said.

“Yeah, maybe try not to burn us,” Sunset agreed.

“What, and wait ‘til he finishes us off? If you’re too scared you’re more than welcome to get stabbed, but I’m gonna put up a fight.”

Without acknowledging the others any more, Sweetie Drops picked up a cloth from the blackboard, unscrewed the bottle of hexane and stuffed it into the opening. She tilted the bottle, soaking the cloth, and put it on the desk. Then she picked up a box of long matches.

“Erm… do you know what you’re doing?” Micro Chips asked.

“My, um, friend Lyra went through a serious punk phase last year, and she read all these books and pamphlets about the revolution and resistance and whatnot. Of course she had to tell me everything about it. I guess I picked up a few things.” Sweetie Drops’ eyes were again glowing with the same feverish energy as before.

Micro Chips didn’t dare talk back to her, not in this strange state.

“Just aim that away from us,” Sunset said from her table.

“Just make sure you and your little friend don’t fall on your asses in front of me, and you’ll be fine,” Sweetie Drops shot back.

“Guys,” Trixie interrupted. “I think I heard—“

The door flew open, and the killer burst into the room. He charged at Micro Chips and Sweetie Drops immediately. They both tumbled backwards, Sweetie grabbing her fire bomb and fumbling around with the matches.

Sunset didn’t wait for the results of that, jumped up and charged into the killer, shoving him against the wall and allowing for Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips to withdraw. Behind her Trixie was apparently frozen in place next to her table.

“That’s right, you bastard, we got you now!” Sweetie Drops yelled and threw her fire bomb, now with the rag lit on fire. The bottle flew, rotating, spilling drops of burning liquid over the teacher’s desk, and landed on the killer. Flames erupted and Sunset hastened to withdraw from the now burning figure.

The killer didn’t even seem to notice the flames. He just continued past the desk in pursuit of Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips.

What again was in those other bottles on the desk?

A flash fire engulfed the killer as he was just behind the desk. Sunset threw herself around as the flames washed over her. The heat was intense. Somebody screamed in agony, possibly it was Sunset herself.

Somebody grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Her left arm was on fire, she realized. The pain was almost unbearable, a living, liquid thing that was trying to consume her entire being.

Then suddenly a jet of water hit her head from above. Steam erupted as the flames were extinguished. The cool water numbed her arm. Someone was holding her under the water until the fire was entirely gone.

The emergency shower?

“Trixie?”

“You’re okay, you’re not going to burn, you’re fine,” Trixie stammered.

“Trixie, the fire’s out.”

The water stopped. Trixie put Sunset’s uninjured arm around her shoulders to steady her. The pain in her arm had stopped for the time being, but seemed to lurk underneath the surface. In the front part of the classroom several small fires were still burning happily. For the moment Sunset was unable to do anything else but lean on Trixie, grateful for her steady presence.

Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips, both with blackened faces and clothes, but apparently unharmed, got up behind a table. Sweetie Drops was grinning like a crazy person. “I told you I was gonna torch his ass!” she cried. “I torched his ass!”

Sunset felt Trixie tense, as if she was about to run off and charge Sweetie Drops. Instead she yelled, “Are you insane? You almost killed us all!”

“But only almost!” Sweetie Drops howled. “You’re fine, aren’t you?”

“You set Sunset on fire!”

“She looks fine to me.”

“Only because I shoved her under the emergency shower!”

“So you’re actually mad at me for saving is all?” Sweetie Drops made a few steps towards Sunset and Trixie. “Would you rather he had stabbed us all?”

“I’d rather he—“ Trixie audibly shut her mouth before completing her sentence: stabbed you.

“Well screw you then. I’m not gonna lift a finger for you again. You may as well just rot for all I care!”

“Fine, I feel much safer already!”

“Guys, please,” Micro Chips shyly chimed in from behind Sweetie Drops. “Can’t we get out of here first? Or call for help? And you can hate on each other as much as you like then?”

“Fine, whatever, we’re safe now anyway, thanks to me,” Sweetie Drops cried. “C’mon, Chipper, let’s see who he really was!” She took Micro Chips’ hand and pulled him towards the front desk behind which the smoldering remains of the killer lay.

Trixie and Sunset followed. Sunset’s arm was throbbing with pain, but she found that she could walk quite alright. She didn’t quite want to let go of Trixie yet, as she was still shaking from the shock of suddenly being on fire.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“I came to the conclusion that I’d rather have you around for this,” Trixie replied, her voice shaky. “It’s scary, and I’m less scared thanks to you.”

“Yeah, same.”

Sweetie Drops stood in front of the mess behind the desk and carefully poked the pile with a foot. “Still hot. Maybe I can—“

In that moment there was a convulsion under the half-burned army blanket.

“Shit,” Sweetie Drops whispered. “How can he still be alive?”

“Nobody could survive—“

Then the figure rose from the ashen heap in one fluent motion. Sparks and smoldering remains of the blanket where drifting off its limbs and its head as it turned to Sweetie Drops, who was too shocked to even step back, staring at the charred and blackened skeleton that was now facing her. In one fleshless hand it was still holding the knife.

Micro Chips quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door. The abomination charged after them and caught up with them as they were passing through the door, crashing into them and sending them tumbling into the hallway.

Sunset and Trixie hurried after them. Trixie stopped long enough to pick up a still smoldering chair, letting go of Sunset.

In the hallway the skeleton was kneeling over Micro Chips who had fallen down while Sweetie Drops was trying to shove it off and at the same time block his knife. Trixie rushed into the skeleton with the chair as a battering ram and managed to throw it over. “Run!”

Micro Chips scrambled to his feet, and Sweetie Drops took his hand and pulled him down the hallway.

“This way!” Sunset shouted pulling Trixie along in the opposite direction as the skeleton was scrambling to its feet. Looking back over her shoulder she saw that the skeleton was going after Sweetie Drops and Micro Chips.

Thank goodness. She didn’t even feel sorry for the selfish thought. She just wanted to get Trixie and herself out of this nightmare.

How is that thing alive? What is that thing? What the hell is going on here?