The Flame of Sunset

Chapters

Chapter 1 New Beginnings
Chapter 2 Thank You for Being a Friend
Chapter 3 One gives, The Other takes away
Chapter 4 Meeting in The Middle
Chapter 5 A Sour Note
Chapter 6 The Tale of Two Sisters Part 1

Chapter 1 New Beginnings

Author's Note

Woooo new story, I’ve had this idea bouncing around my head for almost a year now, so one day I was just like “Hey, why not?” This story is going to be a bit more mature than my other story but I really wanted to get out of my head. Just as a warning this story will bring up topics of depression, self-harm, violence, and bullying. I’m so sorry if it brings up any bad memories and if it gets too intense take break for as long as you need, I know for me its always tough to read stories like this. Take care of yourself and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1 New Beginnings

Come on, Sunset get up, Sunset Shimmer chanted in her head. This wasn’t the first time she had this little morning routine and it wouldn’t be the last. Get up. She wasn’t really tired, far from it actually, Sunset had spent the entire night tossing and turning. What little rest she got was constantly interrupted by her waking up and then laying awake for hours, all together she probably got two hours of actual sleep.

After what felt like an eternity Sunset finally rolled out of her large bed sluggishly. It was about five in the morning but this was about just as late as she could sleep in without oversleeping until 1 PM. School didn’t start until 8 AM but the least she could do was get ready. Despite dragging her feet, Sunset went on about her usual morning routine; taking a shower, brushing her teeth, and struggling to pick out an outfit. She could be proactive at times but she was far from perfect.

Sunset had narrowed it down to about two outfits, her usual leather jacket, a simple magenta shirt with a reddish sun design, and an orange skirt or a new outfit she had bought on a whim. She shuddered looking at her old clothes.

“Ugh, definitely not that one, way too many bad memories.” She cringed, grabbing the new outfit.

The new outfit was definitely more appealing as it included a comfortable pair of jeans instead a tight skirt. Not only that but she had heard somewhere that blue is a more trusting color and she didn’t want to scare anyone off with the Rocker Chick look she sported in the past. That is not who she was anymore and she wanted every part of her to reflect this new change.

Sunset stared intently at herself in the mirror giving herself one final check before leaving her apartment. Sunset Shimmer was 5’10, another thing she despised about herself mostly because in the past she used her height to intimidate others. She stared deeply into her cyan eyes which used to be cold and cutting but now they just looked empty and exhausted. Her tanned skin, which was normally slightly darker but now looked paler as she spent more time indoors, stood out when compared to the cooler colors she was wearing. The only really distinct thing about herself that didn't mind was her hair, it was a bright, fiery red with yellow highlights.

What are you trying to prove with all this fake shit? Sunset tried to ignore the growing doubt eating away at her semi-good mood. She swallowed her fear and grabbed her bag and keys. Sunset spared one final glance at her apartment before heading to the bus station. She whispered self-affirmations to herself while walking to stop by her house. I can do this, I don’t need that stuff. I can get through the day. Sunset put on her headphones and flipped to the happiest playlist she had on her phone while she waited for her bus.

“Fluttershy, it’s time to get up.” Fluttershy’s mother soft voice shook her awake.

Fluttershy’s eyes peeled open slowly. She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms. Fluttershy scanned her bedroom looking for her mother. She stood in her doorway, most of her body hidden by the door.

“I h-hope you had a g-g-good night’s rest, b-b-but breakfast is r-ready.” Her mother managed out with a shaky voice.

Fluttershy sighed deeply but forced a fake smile.

“Okay, Mom, thank you. I’ll see you in the kitchen.”

Her mother nodded and fled to the kitchen. Fluttershy dropped the smile and stared at her empty door. I guess that’s still happening, Fluttershy thought sadly. Fluttershy grabbed the clothes she left out last night. A cerulean blue dress with lace sleeves and was decorated with various shades of pink butterflies. She laced up her pink, heeled sandals and headed to the kitchen.

Fluttershy was greeted by the sight of her two parents and table full of delicious looking breakfast food. Her father was already eating breakfast while her mother applied the finishing touches to the meal. Guessing by her brother’s absence he was already on his way to his school, he probably didn’t want to sit through the awkward display. Fluttershy piled food onto her plate in total silence, praying her parents would read the mood and know she didn’t want to talk.

Apparently this was too much to ask for as her mother cleared her throat signaling her husband. He looked up from his plate and glanced at Fluttershy. Realization lit up his face and he swallowed his food.

“So Fluttershy,” he began desperately trying to think of something to talk about, “is that a new outfit?”

“No, I just haven’t worn it until now.” Fluttershy responded simply.

“It’s looks great on you.”

“Thank you.”

Silence. Fluttershy chewed on a piece of toast. Please just drop it, we don’t have to talk, Fluttershy pleaded silently.

“Dear, about what happened...” her mother began.

“Mom, please can we just eat breakfast in peace today.” Fluttershy begged.

She didn’t want to even think about what happened, especially in the morning before school. Literally any other time would be better but how could she be expected to have a good day after this.

“We’re just worried, dear. Maybe you should talk to someone at school.” Her father added, a placing a hand over his wife’s.

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” Fluttershy stated.

“But Fluttershy...”

Fluttershy stood up, pushing her chair out. She put her eggs and bacon on two slices toast and wrapped it in a napkin.

“Thanks for the food Mom, it was great.” Fluttershy headed to the front door.

“I’ll drive you.” Her father offered.

“I’ll walk, see you guys later.” Fluttershy waved to her parents and left her house.

She inhaled the chilly autumn air, trying to calm herself. Her mind kept flashing to her mother’s fearful expression, she would never get used to it. Fluttershy never understood how some people could live with the knowledge that their parents were afraid of them, it was the worst feeling ever. How could anyone stand this? she pondered, taking the shortest possible route to school. She closed her eyes trying to push the look on her parents’ faces out of her head.

Fluttershy’s past was going to follow her forever, it was almost comical that a few minutes was going plague her for the rest of her junior and senior year. So much for a fresh start.

Rarity was jerked awake by the shrill ringing of her alarm clock, startling her out of her reoccurring nightmare. No matter how many times she had it she would never get used it. Her back was slick with sweat, causing her silk pajamas to cling to her skin. She threw off her blankets and immediately hopped in the shower. Luckily, she set an early alarm and could move at her leisure.

With the exception of the warm water gushing from her shower, her house was completely silent. Normally this would comforting but now she felt isolated like every person disappeared off the face of the Earth. The shower did little to help calm her nerves but at least she felt cleaner. Rarity wrapped herself in a towel and sat at her alabaster vanity. She applied arctic blue eyeshadow and put on her false eyelashes, this was pretty much the extent of the makeup she put on in the morning. It was just enough to stand out but not enough to cause too much attention.

Come on Rarity, you’re practically begging for it.

Rarity froze from the sudden memory. Her breathing pitched up and her hands began to shake. She gripped her vanity for support as she waited for the wave of fear to wash over.

Minutes ticked by agonizingly slow but eventually her breathing went back to normal. I will not let this conquer me, Rarity reminded herself, hauling herself to her feet.

She walked to her drama couch where she had laid out her newly created outfit. A purple pencil skirt with sky blue flared top adorned with diamond shaped designs. She worked incredibly hard on this outfit because no matter what school she went to first impressions matter and she was dead set on making a good one.

After changing she walked to her kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it brewed her mind began to wander, what kind of school would she be going to? Had she had the choice Rarity would have went to Crystal Prep Academy, not only was it extremely prestigious but any college would accept her without a moment’s hesitation. Unfortunately she didn’t get to have the luxury of choice when it came to choosing a new school, she had to just cast out a wide enough net and pray that anyone would accept her.

Her record was probably a mess with suspensions and near expulsions that only a school like Canterlot High would want someone like her. Even her parents didn’t want to deal with her. This beautiful house that they rented for her was basically a large prison cell, she could still remember their proposition to her after she was expelled from her old school.

“You have to believe me, I promise didn’t do any of this.” She pleaded to her parents.

Her mother and father glanced up from the letter her teacher had written explaining what happened. “Honey, at least three teachers saw you do it.”

“Well they’re lying, I would never do anything like this.”

“Rarity,” Her father continued, “maybe you didn’t mean to but the man has scars all over his face.”

“And that bastard deserved it. You don’t even want to hear my side of story.” Rarity snapped.

“You have been getting into fights more often at that school.” Her mother explained.

“I can’t believe you two right now.” Rarity gaped in disbelief.

“I’m just saying, maybe you should stay in the summer home for a while. It’s closer to your new school and you can spend some time alone.” Her father nodded.

Rarity’s jaw dropped. “You’re trying to get rid of me. You don’t want to deal with me anymore and you’re getting rid of me.”

“Come on, dear. That’s a bit overdramatic.” Her mother rolled her eyes.

She didn’t disagree, she just didn’t want to be the one to say it. Rarity recalled pouring her coffee into a thermos. She added cream and sugar while checking her phone. Rarity saw no new notifications more times than she could count. At least her parents were constant in their total disregard for her existence. Rarity laughed humorlessly and grabbed her bag and keys.

She locked the front door and push unlock on her car remote. All her time working in Ms. Hemline’s store had finally allowed her save enough to finally afford an used car although she had to skip her trips to the spa. It wasn’t much just a small white sedan but it was very reliable carting her from work to home for the entire summer.

Her cellphone vibrated shocking her out of her thoughts. Probably another update notification. she thought glumly but still checked it regardless.

Hey sis just checking in, I hope you have a good day at school. Love you. Rarity smiled at the text message. Sweetie Belle, her light at the end of the tunnel. She grown much more mature since she entered the 8th grade and was the only person who believed her after her expulsion.

Rarity texted back a response and an ‘I love you’ keeping it simple as Sweetie probably texted her from class. With a newfound smile she started her car. Maybe today won’t be so bad.

Pinkie pulled up her new white tights, she wanted to experiment with new looks so she picked a more simplistic outfit. She winced feeling the material rub against a healing wound. There was a quick knock on the door before it creaked open, revealing her older sister.

“Pinkie, are you okay I heard you wince.” Maud Pie asked in her usual slow and measured tone.

Pinkie offered a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, Maud, just bumped into a scar.”

Maud made an unreadable face and closed the door. Pinkie’s smile fell, she hated seeing her sister worry like that but no amount of words could repair the trust she had broken. The only thing she could do was be open and honest with her sister and just hope that one day she would forgive her.

Pinkie frowned and grabbed her bag. She walked uncharacteristically slow and went into the kitchen. Maud ate her breakfast in total silence barely acknowledging her sister’s entrance.

“Hey Maud.” Pinkie greeted, taking her seat at the table.

Maud nodded, not looking up her book.

“So I start school today I was thinking maybe later you could stop by the diner for dinner.” Pinkie offered hopeful.

“I have to work overtime at the University tonight.”

“Oh.” Pinkie looked down, poking at her breakfast.

“Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” Maud asked seriously.

Pinkie nodded, chewing her cereal slowly. Silence took ahold of the kitchen again.

“I’m so sorry.” Tears leaked from Pinkie’s eyes.

“Don’t tell me, show me.” Maud responded not missing a beat.

Pinkie didn’t answer, finishing her food without a word.

After breakfast the Pie Sisters walked to their family’s car. Despite the non-conversation, Pinkie was kinda excited to be back in a school. No matter what kind of school it is, it’s a chance to make new friends, Pinkie smiles and put on her seatbelt.

Rainbow Dash zipped up her hoodie as she arrived at her new prison called Canterlot High School. She left home hours earlier but chose to linger around the coffee shop to waste some time. Rainbow never felt so restless in her life, normally when got like this she would go a run. But that was no longer an option.

Rainbow groaned as she walked up the stairs to the school. Of course no one else would be here who would want to go to a shitty school like this by choice. She wished her parents would let her just let her get her GED from home, it’s practically the same anyway. What did two years of school matter anyway, half of this crap she isn’t going to need anyway.

The worst part was that she wouldn’t be able to try out for any sports clubs even though she would be able to stop CHS from getting murdered from those snobby Crystal Preppers. She growled at the thought of that school especially since a certain yellow haired bitch goes to that school.

Rainbow opened the front door deciding to explore the place she would spend all of her precious time in. The school wasn't exactly awful, it was actually pretty nice. It had a computer lab, a huge library (not that she cared), and lots of different kinds of classrooms. However, the thing that caught Rainbow Dash’s attention was the enormous track field outside the building. It looked so level and had synthetic track surfacing, even at her old school the track was just grass. Even better the track look like it had been recently to ensure the athletes wouldn’t run on a run down track.

I have to get a closer look, Rainbow thought pushing the doors open. She could smell the plastic smell from a newly applied track, it was strange but she loved it. After getting high from the new track smell, Rainbow finally noticed a jogger running laps on the field. She must have caught on her last lap because the slowed down to stop. She grabbed her towel and water and began her trip towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow panicked. Oh god, what do I do! What do I do! She was going to look like a creepy stalker who just watched a girl jog in complete silence for almost two minutes. Just play it cool, Dash. Rainbow nonchalantly leaned against the nearest to the door.

“Sup.” She greeted as the jogger girl approached.

“Howdy.” The girl answered politely.

Since the girl had gotten much closer, Rainbow could finally get a good look at her. This girl was crazy hot! She was taller than Rainbow Dash (which wasn’t saying much as she was 5’3) and despite appearing to be a runner she had a pretty nice rack. She had pretty blonde hair tied back with a red tie, her eyes were brilliant emerald green that reflected kindness and wisdom, adorable little freckles that littered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, and a bright smile that blinded Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, I haven’t seen ya around school before you must be new. I’m Applejack.” Applejack wiped her hand off on the towel and extended her arm for a handshake.

“Right...yeah I’m Rainbow Dash.” She responded dazed reciprocating the handshake.

Applejack squeezed the life out of Rainbow’s hand but of course not wanting to lose face she hid the pain. Applejack went on about the school and how the reputation was exaggerated by outsiders but Rainbow could barely focus. Applejack was only wearing a sports bra and a pair of shorts that had no business being called clothing. Her outfit exposed her toned stomach and her legs. Applejack’s legs were amazing, long and muscular showing her years of training. They looked like they could kick a tree down with just a few hits.

“So you wanna run track?” Applejack’s voice snapped Rainbow from her lustful thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Well Ah jus’ figured ya did ‘cuz ya walked to the track field on your first day.” Applejack explained, chuckling lightly.

“I used to run but now...I can’t.” Rainbow stated simply, looking away from Applejack.

Applejack didn’t push and changed the subject. “Since y’all are new and all, did ya need a guide around campus.”

“Nah, dont worry it about I already looked around the school.” Rainbow waved dismissively.

“Well alright then Ah’ll see ya around school.” Applejack waved and walked to the showers.

Rainbow watched her figure disappear around a corner, totally not staring at her ass or anything. You know what maybe this school won’t be so bad.

Monday morning 8 AM

Sunset’s Homeroom class was suspiciously small she knew that this was a last chance school but six students was just ridiculous. The five other students were all girls and just based on the varying outfits their personalities were completely different. There was a girl with wild and poofy pink hair, her adorably bubbly outfit and excited smile just screamed happy-go-lucky bordering on a manic pixie dream girl personality. Their eyes meet, the pink haired girl waved happily her smile growing even wider. Sunset offered a polite smile but just couldn’t match the girl’s energy, she couldn’t really help it Sunset was currently in ‘low energy mode’.

The other girl was the walking definition of prim and proper. She had by far the darkest skin color of anyone in the room but everything from her cooler azure eyes to her choice in colors complimented it perfectly. Her luxuriously curled purple hair and meticulously ironed clothes hinted at a fabulous but still practical lifestyle. Sunset was no fashion expert but considering the fact that she had never seen this outfit in any stores the girl must have made it herself. If she ever worked up the confidence, Sunset would compliment this girl’s sense of fashion. This girl carried herself with a sense of dignity and sat quietly waiting for their teacher.

The next girl had pink hair like the first girl but hers was a much lighter shade and was bone straight only being curled on the ends. She had pale white skin that almost made look like a ghost her behavior added to this comparsion as she seemed to blend in the background. Her demeanor was very demure, she barely looked in anyone’s direction let alone making eye contact. They shared similar eye color but this girl’s eyes were filled with worry. Just looking at this girl made Sunset want to protect her.

This next girl had bright rainbow colored hair but considering that Sunset had meet people with three toned hair, rainbow colored hair was just the next step up. Her expression was a mix of boredom and frustration, compared to other girls she was by far the easiest to read, she pretty much wore her emotions on her sleeve. Just by looking at her Sunset could tell she was a really relaxed and cool person. However, despite appearing to be a tomboy she clearly took a lot of time picking out her outfit.

The final girl had blonde hair topped with a brown Stetson. She was wearing worn blue jeans, a red polka dot flannel, and a pair of brown cowboy boots. This girl was by far the most mature looking person in the room, she had this kinda big sister air to her. She seemed like the kind of person who would give great advice. Her aura was so calming and reassuring Sunset felt like some of her worries were fading away just by being near this girl.

Finally, their teacher walked into the room slamming the door incredibly hard making everyone in the class to jump. The teacher was a very short, thin man he had inky black hair that was thinning in the center of his scalp. He wore a black suit and tie that looked like it was carefully ironed because there wasn’t a single crease on it. His dark eyes darted around the class taking in his tiny amount of students. He wore a constant frown that looked like it hadn’t cracked in decades.

“All right students, I’m your homeroom teacher. My name is Mr. Smith.” Mr. Smith stood directly in front of the chalkboard.

"I want you to know ahead we will not be friends or acquaintances. Our relationship will be one of a teacher and a student, nothing more. Understood?" Everyone nodded silently.

"Good, now let's move one to roll..."

Never has thirty minutes seemed so long in Sunset's life, if tortoises somehow got the ability to speak they wouldn't speak as slow as that man. For fuck's sake it's just a Homeroom class; you just take roll, try to finish any homework you left to the last minute, and just try not to break anything. What kind of teacher gives you homework in Homeroom? Sunset questioned while heading to her next class. It was a Biology class one she was actually looking forward. Although she didn't look it Sunset actually enjoyed school, it was always so much fun to prove it to those high and mighty prep school kids just how smart she actually was. However she wasn't as smart as certain purple-haired, glasses wearing girl who used to go to school with Sunset, hopefully she was doing much better than the last time Sunset had seen her.

I don't want to hear your fake apology, just leave me alone! A weight like a lump of cold lead felt like it was sitting in the pit of Sunset's stomach. Her throat felt dry and she sighed heavily, she just wanted to go home. Sunset stopped in the middle of the hallway, she grabbed the wall for support feeling her breathing quicken.

Um...excuse me? a small voice shook Sunset from her self-depreciating mood.

Sunset looked up to be greeted by a pair of concerned eyes, it was the sweet looking pink haired girl who was in her homeroom. She approached her, Sunset assumed her shy exterior that it would take a miracle and a lot of sweet talking to make her comfortable enough to speak.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Sunset lied, trying to fix her posture and tone to sound more convincing. The girl didn't look convinced in the slightest.

"Anyway," Sunset carried on, hoping to alleviate the awkwardness, "I'm Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."

The girl blushed and hid her eyes behind her bangs. "I'm Fluttershy..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"My name is Fluttershy."

Sunset guessed this was probably as loud as she was going to get. Just roll with it, Sunset. This is the first real social interaction in almost a week, don't screw up.

"So, do you have Biology too?" Sunset desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

Fluttershy nodded.

"Do you like it?" Sunset offered a shaky smile.

Fluttershy's eyes lit like a Heart's Warming tree. "Oh yes, I've loved biology for almost my whole life. I just find it so fascinating the way that knowing how the cells function can explain what's happening to the body. Just knowing that without oxygen muscles produce lactic acid can help reduce cramps can help athletes and anyone who has trouble when going for a run."

"Really?" Sunset remarked, surprised by Fluttershy's sudden shift in behavior.

"Yeah, but what I really love is Zoology. Animals are just so fascinating. Did you know there is a species of jellyfish that is basically immortal, I was reading..."

Fluttershy might as well as be having a conversation with a brick wall for all that Sunset added instead she just walked dumbfounded with Fluttershy to their shared Biology class. Despite not adding anything to their "conversation", Sunset had a big smile on her face. There's always something so beautiful about watching someone talk about their passions, just watching Fluttershy wave her arms excitedly while talking about various animals. For some reason seeing someone else happy helped alleviate the weight that was sitting inside of her, maybe being near others would help more than the medicine. This just proves it, I never needed any of that anyway. They just put me on that because they didn't know how to deal with me. Sunset smirked and followed Fluttershy into their class.

Chapter 2 Thank You for Being a Friend

Fluttershy, despite her name and demeanor, could actually be pretty talkative. Ever since Biology class she was going on and on about various animals and how they are adapted to survive harsh environments, it was all very interesting but Sunset was beginning to have trouble following along. Sunset considered herself fairly intelligent but she couldn't understand when Fluttershy started using binomial nomenclature. Just smile and nod, Sunset. Don't ruin it. she scolded herself as they entered the lunchroom. The girls grabbed their food and entered the line to pay for it, surprising almost no one, Fluttershy chose the vegetarian option while Sunset opted for a bag of chips. She silently prayed that Fluttershy wouldn't acknowledge how small her "meal" was as they chose a vacant table near the exit. The girls sat opposite to each other as their conversation slowed down to allow Fluttershy to eat her salad, Sunset didn't press her to talk she was just glad she finally could sit and eat with anyone.

As people entered the lunchroom they spared quick glances at their table before turning away. Everyone avoided their table like it was a plague island, a group of catty looking girls whispered among themselves gasping loudly at every revelation. Sunset rolled her eyes some little gossipers must of spilled the tea on her past, Of course they would, who could resist gawking at the freak who almost burned down her school. Sunset sighed, feeling that all-too-familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Before she could sink lower into self-loathing, a quiet voice rang in front of her. "They're not looking at you."

Sunset blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"They're not looking at you." Fluttershy repeated, giving one of the saddest smiles Sunset had ever seen, "They're all scared of me."

"Scared of you?" Who could be afraid of Fluttershy, the girl was as threatening as a bunny. She was more likely to talk their ear off than ever actually hurt anyone.

"Why?" Fluttershy shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with talking about whatever it was.

Nice job, dumbass. Way to screw up your only chance at making a friend, let's see you ruin this like you ruin everything else. "Never mind, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." Sunset offered a reassuring smile, despite her hands shaking under the table.

Fluttershy shook her head, "No I...need to say it, for months now I never really said it out loud but I have to. I've just been pretending nothing ever happened."

She exhaled, forcing herself to make eye contact with Sunset which obviously seemed very hard for her. Taking a moment she steeled her nerves and continued.

"At my old school, I...I hurt someone." She poked her salad absentmindedly. "She wasn't the nicest person there but she still didn't deserve that. No one deserves that."

"I've done things in my past that I'm not proud of either so if anyone understands what you going through, it's me." Sunset reached out her hand and let it rest on top of Flutershy's. "If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here, no judgment."

Fluttershy gazed into her eyes, feeling a wave of calmness wash over her entire being. In that moment just hearing that felt so much better, it didn't erase her guilt but it definitely helped. She smiled feeling her eyes water.

"Thank you." She said, her voice full of gratitude.

Sunset nodded, going on to finish her chips so relieved that her appetite had returned slightly. Fluttershy followed her lead and ate the rest of her food in a comfortable silence.

9 months ago

Fluttershy grunted as she was knocked to the concrete floor. She barely had enough time to catch herself, causing her skin her palms. Blood began oozing lazily out her wounds as she felt the dull, pulsing pain spread throughout her hands. She winced, turning to look up at whatever or whoever hit her.

"Oops, didn't see you there." A brash, boyish voice sneered at her.

Fluttershy instantly recognized the voice, rolling her eyes. Of course it was Gilda, only she would be this petty. Fluttershy could recognize that obnoxious white hair with tacky pale lavender highlights anywhere. Despite their school's strict dress code of a dark blue skirts and matching blazers, she still looked like the punk she acted like since middle school. Her hawkish, golden eyes glared down at her, daring her to challenge her statement. Fluttershy pushed herself off the ground only to have her legs swept up from under her making her fall face first hard onto the ground.

"Oh I'm sorry did you trip over your own feet there? You should be more careful, sweetheart."

Fluttershy felt her anger begin to bubble to the surface, her face flushed and her breathing got shallow. She glared hatefully up at her bully, but stood up without a word.

"Yeah that's what I thought, mute." She shot back, purposely bumping Fluttershy as she walked by.

Fluttershy clenched her fists, her entire body tensing up like a coil. Gilda had been picking on her for most of elementary, middle, and high school, her dedication was almost admirable. It seemed like no matter where she was or what she did Gilda was always one step behind her to call out every one of her flaws, from her height as she was easily the tallest the girl at their school to her shyness as she struggled to speak any louder than a polite whisper. Most of the time Fluttershy could blend into the background and go unnoticed by her teachers and peers but Gilda had eyes like an eagle, she could always pick out her flaws and go on to loudly proclaim her shortcomings to the world. The worst part was if she told anyone about the bullying Gilda would become unrelenting, following her home to hurt her or steal her things. Fluttershy learned early on that silence was best option but lately it was getting harder to bite her tongue.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm her growing anger while she walked to her class. A red, hot fury continued to sit in her heart for the rest of her morning, everything else faded out of focus becoming white noise until she realized half of the day was gone and she was glaring down at her salad for most of her lunchtime. She exhaled as if trying to push down years of pent-up resentment in a single moment. Just breathe, I have to calm down. Nothing good is going to come from staying angry, even with these calming words her fist was clenched so tightly that her nails began digging into the palm of her hand causing red blood to ooze slowly out of the new wounds. Before she could register the pain, lukewarm liquid rained down over her head instantly snapping out of her trance.

Fluttershy whirled around only to be greeted by the sight of a smirking Gilda still holding the carton of milk in her hands, that look of amusement was permanently etched into Fluttershy's memory. Time only seemed to move as the smell hit her nose, the milk that was dumped on her was spoiled and considering the chunks clinging to her hair and clothes it was very old. There was a pause but then the entire lunchroom erupted in raucous laughter. Gilda gave her a self-satisfied smirk before turning her back to Fluttershy without a word. At first she felt nothing as if all the emotion was sucked out of her but then she felt her heart beating. Fluttershy heard the distorted, quick rhythm in her ears as if it was so loud that the whole world could hear it, her chest heaved quickly as she lost control her breathing. Her face flushed, she felt the sting of tears blur her vision, and her jaw clenched. Before she knew it her body was moving on its own and Fluttershy took off after Gilda.

Fluttershy snatched Gilda's wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "Oh, you wanna go...” the threat was caught in Gilda’s throat as soon as she saw Fluttershy.

The quiet girl suddenly seemed so threatening she towered over Gilda, she finally straighten up her back standing at her full height. Had she always been this tall? Gilda wondered, feeling the girl's eyes glaring hatefully down at her. Gone were her normal cyan eyes replaced with a brilliant scarlet that burned like a fire, was she wearing contacts? It felt like icicles ran throughout her veins as she stood frozen in one of the most suffocating glares she had seen in her life. Fluttershy’s nails began to dig into her wrist easily breaking the skin, they felt like the claws of an animal more than any human nails. Even through this strange trance she was under, Gilda could hear this inhuman snarl come from Fluttershy as she flashed her strangely sharp looking fangs.

“Let...go...” Gilda could barely form the words as she was trapped by the normally shy girl’s stare.

Suddenly, Fluttershy tightened her grip until Gilda’s wrist made a stomach-churning snap sound. The reaction immediate as Gilda screeched in agony. She tore her now shattered wrist from Fluttershy’s grip, cradling it in her opposite arm. As if snapping awake from a daydream, Fluttershy blinked her eyes returning to their natural color.

The lunchroom erupted in noise, from screams of fear to the sounds of retching at the sight of Gilda’s mangled wrist. Fluttershy gaped at Gilda as realization finally sunk in, she had hurt someone. Teachers rushed over to the two girls, most went to Gilda trying to help the injured girl. Even with the new people arriving Fluttershy stood frozen staring at the injury she caused. Teachers began screaming at her demanding to know what happened, but the girl stood too shocked to talk. A male teacher suddenly reached out yanked Fluttershy’s arm trying to get her attention.

Being caught off guard, Fluttershy took a wide slash with her opposite hand. The teacher yelped in surprise, letting go of her arm. Her claws tore through his sleeve, leaving four long slash marks. The teacher grabbed his arm, searching for injuries not daring to take his eyes off the suddenly dangerous girl.

"What did you do?" He spat, his voice was filled with venom and fear.

Before the girl could form any kind of explanation she ran out of the lunchroom with tears streaming down her cheeks. What had she done?

Pinkie never really had any trouble making friends, she loved meeting new people and was always eager to please. But this school seemed to test that idea as she stood out in her history class like she did in her family. Most students were wearing simple clothes with muted colors while her choice of white and bubblegum pink instantly caught everyone's attention and not in the good way. Everyone else was content to either talk with their established friends or to not talk at all. Even the teacher only spoke briefly, opting to hand out a worksheet and sit at her desk scrolling through social media on her laptop.

Pinkie was seated by an empty seat on her right and a girl with inky black hair with long bangs hanging in her face. She was wearing a gray hoodie and simple pair of black jeans, her head was down working on her classwork not sparing Pinkie so much as a second glance. Come on, Pinkie you can do this. Just talk about something, anything, if all else fails just talk about the weather or something. Pinkie prayed it wouldn't have to come that the last thing she wanted was to come off like an awkward office worker who cornered you at the water cooler. She cleared her throat.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie introduced, holding out her hand for a handshake.

"Dabria." she answered flatly, not bothering to look up from her paper.

"Oh that's a pretty name." Pinkie offered, lowering her ignored hand.

"Not really, it's the name of the Angel of Death." Dabria shrugged.

"Oh well that's interesting." Pinkie could feel the conversation beginning to flat line as she desperately tried to change the subject.

"Sooooo....some weather we're having."

"Look," Dabria finally looking up from her paper, only to glare frustrated at Pinkie. "You seem...nice enough but the last thing I want is to constantly be forced to sit here everyday and exchange pleasantries with an ignoramus like you. I for one don't want to stay in this abhorrent school for longer than necessary. I just want to get my diploma and move on with my life."

"I just wanted to talk." she answered, feeling some eyes fix on the two girls as if waiting for their conversation to escalate further into a full-blown argument.

"Well I don't, maybe you could use your last two brain cells to pick up on social cues instead picking out those ridiculous clown clothes." A few students snickered while others oohed eagerly awaiting Pinkie's response.

"Right, I'm sorry." Pinkie apologized, feeling a lump form in her throat. She could hear her classmates' disappointment at her tame response.

"That doesn't require talking." she snapped, turning back her paper.

Cut. Pinkie slowly turned back to her paper, feeling the world around her blur like it was going out of focus. Her mind was swarming with thoughts after being shot down. Even though everyone had turned around after all the excitement had died down, Pinkie still felt like she was being ogled like a strange painting at an art museum one that everyone was trying to figure out. She pulled at her leggings out of habit although no one would have noticed her scars. Despite all the work she was doing to break her habit of cutting it always felt like one comment would send her back. The worst part in all this was that she wanted to stop cutting again was not because of her own safety, the reason she wanted to stop was Maud's happiness.

Cut. Pinkie almost laughed at her own plight, it was funny that she wanted to make others happy more than cared for her own well-being. She was so stupid to think that she would suddenly go to a new school and make a bunch of new friends so quickly, like anyone would want to spend more than five seconds with an annoying, hyperactive, motormouth like her. It was amazing that Maud just didn't dump her back at their parents' house when discovered with a razor in her hand all those weeks ago, she wasn't worth all the heartache.

Cut. Pinkie gripped her thighs, barely registering the dull, pulsating pain. It felt like she was adrift in a black sea with towering waves. The water was so heavy like swimming in syrup and whenever she managed to get a rhythm in swimming a wave would come crashing down overhead. At times like these she wondered if it was worth it to fight against the current or just accept it and sink. Before she could fall deeper into self-loathing, the classroom door slowly creaking open catching everyone's attention.

"Please excuse me for being tardy, there was a mix-up with my schedule and I went into the wrong classroom." A well-spoken and fashionable girl apologized, somehow managing to look like so fresh despite the fact that school was halfway over and she had been running all over campus.

Their teacher barely acknowledged her arrival and simply gestured to a stack of papers on her desk. The new girl walked to the desk, her heels clicking with every step. She grabbed a paper and sat down in the only empty seat, right next to Pinkie. The girl's arrival snapped her somewhat out her funk and Pinkie went on to finally starting her worksheet. Fortunately, one thing about school that Pinkie actually liked was that most schoolwork only really tested her memory than any other skill and memorization was her forte. She had near perfect memory as she made it her mission to remember the birthdays, preferences and names of any friend or acquaintance she had made, til this day she remembered that her fourth grade Math teacher, Mrs. Nag was lactose intolerant but still enjoyed cheese platters so she would have to include lactase pills compared to that remembering a little history was nothing.

Just as Pinkie started her work she felt a pair of eyes sizing her up. Just ignore it, just ignore it, it's not a big deal, but her curiosity quickly got the better of her and she quickly glanced around the room searching the source. Her sky blue eyes meet a pair of cooler azure ones, it was the new girl. Pinkie began to sweat under her serious stare, she felt like a piece of meat thrown out to the sharks. The girl was crazy intimidating, she was wearing heavy black mascara and icy blue eyeshadow that made her look more adult. Everything about from her mature outfit, her perfectly styled indigo hair and her confident posture was the exact opposite of everything about Pinkie. She looked like she could be running a fashion empire while Pinkie should still be using safety scissors.

"Very nice choice of colors. Pinks and blues definitely compliment your complexion." Pinkie blinked. Did this fabulous lady just compliment her clothes?

"Thank you." Pinkie said earnestly.

The girl snapped out of her more serious expression and flashed an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare, I saw you earlier in homeroom and wanted to compliment your outfit."

"Oh yeah, I saw you too. But you looked like you didn't want to be bothered." Pinkie remembered the girl's cold expression earlier that morning. Everything about just screamed 'I'm not in the mood to talk and there's nothing you can do to change that' and Pinkie's desire to not be yelled highly surpassed her desire to make friends so she didn't push.

"Your clothes look really nice too. Um...where did you get them?" Pinkie prayed that she would take the bait and continue the blossoming conversation.

"Oh, this old thing? I just made it over the summer break, one must always make a good first impression." Pinkie's eyes bulged.

"YOU MADE THAT! That's amazing!" The girl smiled and blushed.

"Why thank you Ms..."

"Oh um...Pinkamena. My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but..." she paused. "My friends call me Pinkie."

The girl paused, considering Pinkie's words. Pinkie cringed, inwardly cursing her motor mouth. Real subtle Pinkie, why don't you just beg her to be your friend next? She opened her mouth, quickly trying to form words to alleviate the awkwardness she had created.

"A pleasure to meet you, Pinkie. My name is Rarity." Rarity extended her hand for a handshake.

Pinkie eagerly took her hand and returned the girl's firm handshake. She began memorizing Rarity's name and skill with making clothes, keeping it in a special place her mind reserved for information required to throw a party for potential friends.

"That's funny I don't recall signing up for a fashion class." Dabria snapped, throwing down her pencil in exasperation.

Rarity blinked, completely unimpressed with the girl's comment. "Oh please excuse us, Darling, but I don't recall either Pinkie or myself asking for your opinion."

The class oohed even Pinkie was caught off-guard by Rarity's sass. Dabria scoffed. "This is a History class, I'm sure everyone else doesn't want to listen to your inane drivel."

"Oh please," Rarity rolled her eyes. "if the class had a problem I'm sure they would have said something. Unless you're some expert on what everyone is thinking."

"I..." she began but was swiftly cut off by Rarity.

"That's it, right there. You, you have a problem. How about instead of being a passive aggressive brat you put on your big girl pants and just say it out loud."

Dabria flushed, sputtering indignantly."You bumptious..."

"Is your use of those ten-dollar words supposed to impress me or something?" Rarity shot back looking at Dabria like someone would look at a child having a tantrum.

Dabria growled angrily but turned back to her work without a word, while the rest of the class erupted in laughter before being silenced by their practically mute teacher. Pinkie gaped in awe of Rarity, in the short time of knowing each other she never ceased to amaze.

"Wow..." Pinkie remarked, still gaping at Rarity.

"Oh I apologize for that rude display, I just can't stand people like that. I might have went too far with her." Rarity seemed genuinely disappointed with herself.

"Don't worry about it, some people are just really mean. And sometimes they need a strong push to know you mean business." Pinkie reassured despite feeling a pair of eyes glaring at her back.

Pinkie stared down at her hands, "I just wish I could do that do too. It's always hard for me to be mean to people like that."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie couldn't meet Rarity's gaze.

"Whenever someone is being mean to me I...I pretend to be oblivious like I'm too ditzy to understand them, more often than not they leave me alone."

Rarity placed her hand on Pinkie's knee causing her to flinch first the shock of the sudden contact then from the feeling of her leggings rubbing against a recently recovering scar. Rarity's concerned eyes met Pinkie's anxious ones, she always had an eye for details and noticed the underlying sadness as well as the wince when she touched Pinkie's leg. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable or cause her further pain she moved her hand away, offering a smile.

"Well, I'm more than happy to defend you. If anyone is causing you any problems you just let me know."

"Why?" The question came out as a whisper. "Why would you do that?"

Rarity couldn't explain why she wanted to help this girl, maybe it was her inner big sister instincts. Maybe it was because when she first entered into the room Pinkie looked so sad, just the way her bouncy pink curls drooped so low almost a deflated balloon.

The bell rang, shocking the two girls out of their conversation but neither made an attempt to move or look away from each other. Rarity thought for a second, all the other sounds faded out as she stared at the shorter girl. She leaned forward and extending her arms, pulling Pinkie in for a warm hug. Pinkie was caught off-guard but did not pull away from her, simply letting the taller girl embrace her. She paused for a second before reciprocating the hug, this was the one of the few times that she didn't have to start a hug herself.

"Because it's what I wished someone did for me." Rarity finally answered.

Chapter 3 One gives, The Other takes away

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Chapter 4 Meeting in The Middle

Canterlot High 8 am

Pinkie yawned and stretched in her seat as she and her classmates waited for homeroom to start.

“Tired, Pinkie?” Rarity asked sympathetically.

“Yeah I could barely get any sleep last night, my Pinkie Sense was going crazy last night.” Pinkie rubbed her eyes.

“Pinkie Sense?” Rarity asked, the other girls ceased their conversation and listened in on the conversation.

Pinkie noticed the larger audience but carried on with her explanation. “Sometimes I get this random twitches in my body and they let me now when something is going to happen. Usually it just tells me if something is going to bump into me but lately its been going off like crazy.”

“Kinda like Spidey sense.” Sunset added.

The entire class turned and stared at Sunset. She laughed nervously, her eyes flitting all around the room as she tried to avoid making eye contact.

"Oh uh sorry I was kinda listening in, uh my bad."

Pinkie shook her head. "Oh no, it's fine. I mean there's only six of us in here, we were gonna have to talk to each other eventually."

The girls laughed and turned in their seats to face one another.

"Perhaps introductions are in order. My name is Rarity."

"Sunset Shimmer."

"Name's Applejack."

"Rainbow Dash."

"Pinkie Pie."

"Um...my name is Fluttershy."

"Welp," Pinkie clapped her hands together, "now that we know each others' names do you guys wanna know more about my Pinkie sense."

The girls nodded and scooted closer to her. Pinkie opened her mouth to begin her explanation but was interrupted by the door suddenly swinging open. Mr. Smith walked to front of the class, looking as if the ground itself was pissing him off. He glared at the circle the girls had formed and turned to write on the board. The girls silently groaned in annoyance (with exception of Rainbow Dash, whose groan was very audible) but turned back to face the board.

"Psst."

Sunset turned towards the source of the sound, Pinkie. "Meet us after school in the field under the bleachers, I'll explain there." Sunset nodded.

"NO TALKING!" Mr. Smith shouted, making Fluttershy jump.

Sunset glared holes in the back his premature balding head and made sure that Fluttershy was okay. This Pinkie sense was it really real, maybe Pinkie just had cramps in the middle of night. Sunset couldn't afford to get worked up on a random statement made a stranger, a very friendly stranger but a stranger nonetheless. But if Pinkie really had some kind of precognition why would she go talking about like this. Okay to be fair Sunset was kind of eavesdropping on hers and Rarity's conversation but still she would have to be a pretty trusting person to tell a room of strangers about her power. Sunset could help but feel excited about the meeting, she would really have to reassure Fluttershy to convince her to come with her. If Pinkie really did have these powers then maybe just maybe...

4 pm Behind the bleachers

"Now I bet you're all wondering why I called you here." Pinkie said in a mysterious voice, pacing back and forth with her arms behind her back.

"Because you asked us to come here?" Rainbow Dash responded in a bored tone.

"Speaking of which, do we have to be under the bleachers? This is absolutely filthy." Rarity complained trying to sit of the metal supports to make sure her skirt did not get any dirt stains.

"Aw c'mon now," Applejack sat right down on the dirt, "A little dirt ain't hurt nobody."

Rarity made a disgusted face a AJ's brazen display and was about to make a comment before Sunset jumped in.

"As much as I would love to sit around to discuss the lethality of dirt, can we please move on to what you wanted to talk about Pinkie."

Pinkie nodded and continuing her speech, "Now girls, my Pinkie Sense is a difficult to thing to prove because it can be super vague and sometimes random. It's basically like my whole body is screaming 'Hey watch out!' so it's hard to tell what I need to watch out for or how I should react. And it's not super flashy or anything so I can't really show it off but I can show you guys something else."

The girls considered Pinkie's words, "Wait, I'm lost do you have powers or not?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh no I do, just watch." Pinkie assured.

Pinkie reached from behind herself and pulled out a bright pink cannon decorated with balloon and confetti stickers all over the barrel. Sunset took a double take, not believing her eyes. Did Pinkie, a teenager, just pull out a military grade weapon from nowhere? Granted it was a pink cannon covered in stickers but how could she possibly get a weapon like that, did Sunset miss the day they were handing out cannons?

"But...where did you...how did you...huh?" Rainbow sputtered looking all around Pinkie to see a possible hiding place for her cannon.

"Don't think about too hard, it's better to just not question it." Pinkie giggled.

Seeing everyone visible confusion she decided to give a better explanation. Pinkie took a deep breath to prepare for this long story.

"Okay so basically, I have this power called Hammerspace which is basically this alternate dimension that I can use to store objects, usually for comedic effect like if I pulled a giant over sized mallet or my party cannon. The objects are created by my imagination because obviously things like party cannons don't exist in real life. And because of that, the objects are not limited to the rules of our reality so it doesn't feel like getting hit with a cannon if I accidentally hit someone. The pockets to this dimension exist everywhere but go unseen by everyone else but..."

"Excuse me, Pinkie."

Pinkie paused her explanation, "Yes, Rarity."

"Perhaps you could summarize your power in a brief sentence."

"Oh okay, basically I have the powers of a cartoon character."

The other girls stood spellbound, no one knowing what to say next. Finally Sunset was the one to break the silence.

"I don't believe it."

"You're like me." The five girls said in unison.

Pinkie gasped, "You guys have Hammerspace too."

"No sugarcube, Ah think we mean we all have powers too." AJ explained much to Pinkie's dismay.

"Amazing what are the chances of meeting five other people with powers," Rarity shook her head in disbelief, "My little sister doesn't even have powers. At least I don't think."

Sunset felt a sense of exhilaration she hadn't felt in a long time, "This is incredible, I thought I was the only one. What can you guys do?"

"Well, I don't want to brag or anything." Rainbow stood up carrying herself with a sense of confidence, "But I'm like really fast. I'm talking super sonic speeds here people."

Sunset had to bite her tongue to stop herself from making a Sonic joke.

"Ooh fancy, I wanna see I wanna see." Pinkie jumped and down with excitement.

"I too am interested to see just how fast you are."

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Go on and stretch your legs, Dash."

"Well if guys really wanna see, I guess I show you." Rainbow smirked confidently.

Rainbow exaggeratedly stretched her limbs, she even made her neck pop loudly. She walked to the edge of the bleachers to make sure there was nothing she could trip over, going super fast and tripping isn't exactly the best combination for not constantly getting hurt. When she was first learning how to use her power she had lost track of how many times she almost crashed into everything from cars to trees or nearly got caught by her parents coming home covered in bruises. Luckily Rainbow was crazy active with sports so she always explain away any scar or injury.

As she got down into a starting position images flooded her mind; dark purple verging on black bruises, the x-ray of her shattered leg, the baseball bat, Lightning Dust. Trying to block out the memories Rainbow started a countdown in her head. Three, Rainbow walked to the the locker room practically glowing from her evening jog with everyone gone she could finally stretch her legs. Two, she didn't hear the others walk into the room after her she didn't hear Lightning Dust stalk behind her. One, there were so many of them that she didn't have any time run away or fight back. Go, for the rest of her life she would never forget that sick smile on Lightning Dust's face as she swung the bat down on her leg.

In just a fraction of a second Rainbow took off becoming a rainbow colored blur sending a huge gust of wind towards her spectators knocking over poor Fluttershy and Rarity who weren't expecting the blast. Rainbow made five laps around the track in just ten seconds flat. She stopped in the exact position she started in, not even looking winded.

"Ha, you should see the looks on your faces right now." Rainbow bragged, her trademark cocky smirk never leaving her face.

The other girls cheered loudly for Rainbow, dumping tons of praise on her with the exception of Applejack. The farm girl had a pensive expression on her face even as Rainbow walked back the group. Rainbow gave her very nervous chuckle and tried to push AJ's serious look out of her mind like she did with her memories of that night but the truth was as undeniable as the sun rising in the morning. Rainbow Dash was slower and no amount of healing or practice would get her back to her past self. The compliments from other girls felt almost like insults but she had remind herself that none of them had seen her in her prime and none of them could know her frustrations. Even with the shitstorm of emotions swirling in Rainbow's head she was going to have to just buck up and deal with it because it was her problem and her problem alone.

"So Rainbow's fast, Pinkie can create anything she wants, what else can you guys do?" Sunset asked, "Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked like she was ready to jump out of her skin. She shook her head vehemently, pleading with her eyes that Sunset not push further.

Sunset took the hint and carried on, "I'll go, I can control fire. I create it, change the temperature, change the color, and even control its properties."

Not wasting a moment, Sunset cupped her hands and closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the flame she wanted to create; the size, the color, the temperature, Sunset was the master. And for a single blissful second every negative, hateful thought Sunset had about herself faded away as she felt the comforting warmth of her inner flame. She opened her hands and revealed a bright orange fire growing and shrinking like a regular flame, Sunset opened her eyes to see the enthralled faces of the girls as they watched the flame dance on Sunset's palms.

"That's not all I can do." Sunset held the flame in one hand, "One of you guys touch it."

Surprisingly, no one volunteered.

Sunset rolled her eyes, "I promise it's okay. Just touch it."

The girls exchanged looks until finally Fluttershy, out of all people, extended her shaky arm towards the flame. She hesitated looking at Sunset for confirmation, Sunset nodded and Fluttershy put one finger in the fire. Her eyes with wide with shock, putting her entire hand in the flame.

"It's cold."

"What!" Sunset smirked at the girls' bewilderment.

She made the flame bigger so everyone could feel the cold fire. Of course the fire wasn't really cold per se, it was just colder than a normal fire. After years of practice, controlling temperature was the first she wanted to master because the last thing she wanted to do was burn someone again. My hands, you burned my hands! Get away from me, you monster! The fire faded from a brillant orange to dull red and began to shrink down until it was only a glowing ember in Sunset's hand.

"Oh sorry about that it's kinda hard to keep a flame like that burning for that long." Sunset closing her hand, Fluttershy looked like she wanted to say something but held her tongue.

Applejack shook her head, "Nothin' to be sorry 'bout it's was amazin' you can make a cold fire like that anyhow."

Applejack stood up, stretching her long legs after sitting for so long on the ground. "Ah'll go next, Ah can't really show y'all like Dash or Sunset but just trust me Ah would never lie to ya and Ah don' wanna break anything here. My power is my strength, last time Ah really checked was when Ah lifted our tractor off my sister almost seven years ago."

The girls gaped at the thought of a ten year old lifting anything that large. Both Pinkie and Rainbow looked disappointed that Applejack couldn't show off her strength, Pinkie even thought about creating weights for AJ to lift but they wouldn't have the normal properties of real weights and would either be way too heavy or way too light. But Applejack didn't seem like someone to lie about this kind of thing so the girls believed her and moved on to the final person.

Rarity cleared her throat, adjusted her outfit and then stood up before saying a word.

"I have the ability to project diamond constructions," she elaborated seeing the confusion on some faces, "basically I can create these force fields that look like gems."

Rarity held out her hand, easily creating three transparent crystals glittering from the setting sun. They floated in her hand, flying in their own unique patterns. Rarity showed them off to group before making them disappear with practiced ease, Pinkie felt a little jealousy at Rarity's mastery of her power. Comparing their skill was like comparing the grace of an Olympic Medalist figure skater to a deer that wandered on the ice, Pinkie didn't even mean to pull out a party cannon she was reaching for a cake to share with the girls. She hoped the girls didn't notice that her hair was beginning to droop slightly, just another she hated about herself she was so easy to read.

"Okay so we all have powers, what now?" Rainbow asked what everyone else was thinking.

Pinkie gasped, "We become superheroes and fight crimes! Now all we need is a hotline for the mayor to call us on and matching outfits."

Rarity considered the idea, starting a mental list of what color looked best on each of the girls. Where was her sketchpad when she needed it?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's just calm down here." Sunset interjected, "First I'm pretty sure there are clear laws on vigilantes and I don't want to go back to juvie."

"Back to juvie?" Rainbow asked, suddenly intrigued in that story.

"Second," Sunset carried on, "There's no one for us to fight. I think it's best if we kept the powers a secret for now at least until all of us can fully control them. The last thing anyone wants is for some government suits to found out about us and we'd be stuck in some lab experimented on for the rest of our lives."

Fluttershy gasped and shrank back, "You... you don't think that will really happen, do you?"

"I don't know what will happen but what I do know is that people don't always react to things that are different. Humans can barely handle that other people have different skin tones I don't think they're ready for people who can control fire."

The entire group went deathly silent, each girl considered their past experiences with their powers. Some with fear, some with anger and some with apprehension; regards of their past they all knew that their abilities had to be kept a secret. At least none of them were alone in keeping this secret.

"Well I don't know about you guys, I motion to call this new group the League of Extraordinary Ladies." Pinkie offered, trying to raise morale.

"How about the Rainbooms?" Rainbow suggested, "I've always wanted to name a band that."

"We ain't a band Dash, why do we need a name Pinkie?"

"Cuz things always feel more official when they have a name like the X-men or the Justice League."

"We could be Sailor Scouts." Fluttershy blushed, "If you guys didn't mind."

"Guys, we're not superheroes. We'll just call it Club to avoid suspicion." The girls groaned at the boring name.

Sunset sighed, "If someone can come up with a non-suspicious and quick nickname for next meeting with we'll go with."

Everyone agreed and grabbed their things so they could head home as the sun already set. Pinkie got another shiver up her spine, although she couldn't prove it she had a feeling that something was very wrong. Something very old and very bad was awake and it was moving. Pinkie just prayed that Sunset was right and they did not have anything they had to fight.

In the hospital

When Twilight woke up, she felt like she was hit by a truck full of cement and bricks. Every muscle ached and her throat burned she hadn't drink anything in days. A bright white light burned her eyes as she slowly creaked them open. As her eyes adjusted she was greeted by the sickly white walls of a hospital room. She tried to sit up but her body swiftly protested causing her to wince in pain and she fell back to her bed.

"Well look whose finally awake, any longer and we'd have thought you were comatose." Twilight instantly recognized that cocky, childish voice anywhere.

"I'm surprised you know a word that big, Zap. Are you sure that you didn't concuss yourself?" She groaned, rubbing her temples trying to alleviate her pounding migraine.

"You know what normally I would be pissed to even be in the same room as you but not today. Not after this gift you've given me." Indigo smirked at Twilight, looked absolutely overjoyed with herself.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight's head felt like it was splitting open, she had absolutely zero patience with whatever Indigo was going about.

"If you two are quite down with your little spat, I could properly explain what is going on." a strict, short voice commanded making Twilight's head pound harder.

Principal Cinch seemed to appear out of nowhere, her heels clicking loudly on the linoleum floor. Despite the location she was wearing one of her trademark dark skirt and jacket suits perfectly ironed, her dark fuchsia eyes cut through like they did whenever Twilight sat in her office when she got into trouble, her deep, multicolored hair styled in a low bun with not a hair out of place. Her pale white skin seemed to blend in with the white walls of the hospital room, it was like she had ice flowing in her veins instead of blood (and with the way she acted it wouldn't surprise Twilight).

"I just finished explaining what has to happened to rest of the girls but since you just woke up I'll fill you in as well Twilight." Principal Cinch carried ignoring the girl's visible pain.

"I am fully aware of the energy that was flowing throughout Crystal Prep, the energy you were trying to keep to yourself." Twilight gaped at Pricncipal Cinch.

"But how did you..."

"The only reason I allowed you survey the school was because I wanted you to come into contact with it, I was curious as to how it would affect you. So you can imagine my surprise when I find six girls in the gym instead of one. At first I feared that you would all be weak but as the other girls have proved even fragmented the energy is extremely powerful, now instead of one powerful student I have six. It seems that something you did caused the energy to grow exponentially so the others have you to thank for their abilities."

"What abilities?"

"God I thought you were supposed to be smart, that weird blob thing gave us superpowers." Indigo blurted out.

Twilight froze, the weight suddenly sinking in. That night really happened, the energy pulled her into itself and mutated her body. Her body slumped onto the bed.

"I'm glad you are finally realizing what is happening, I do not like to repeat myself." Cinch straightened her back and began walk around the room.

"You six are now the most powerful girls in this school maybe in this city, but know this that power you have is not going to just sit idly by. Once you all make a full recovery I expect you in my office so I can go over all the details then we can begin training."

Twilight's head swarmed with thoughts, Cinch knew about the energy and used her as a guinea pig. She wanted her to go there that night and she wanted her to be consumed by the energy. What did she do that made the energy grow like that? What were her powers? What was going to happen to her now? What if her body degenerated? What if her mind degenerated? She had never seen the long term effects of the energy on any living thing let alone humans, what if humans couldn't handle the energy? What if she become just like her?

Unbeknownst to Twilight, who was currently in the process of having a panic attack, her bed was surrounded by a deep magenta aura and began to levitate off the ground. It wasn't just her bed, numerous items from clipboard to monitors began to float along with her as if they were matching her sporadic thoughts. Cinch and Indigo both had to duck to avoid the objects that flew haphazardly around the room.

Principal Cinch watched with delight as the girl subconsciously lifted things with her mind with not much thought considering she was a muttering mess completely obvious to her great power. At least there was no need to put into a stressful environment to force out her powers. With a lot of training she was going to shine like the brightest diamond in Cinch's horde of gems. And with the right motivation she would easy to control, all children are the same regardless of how intelligent they believe they are.

Chapter 5 A Sour Note

Sweetie Belle woke up to the irritating beeping of her phone's alarm for the third time this morning. Normally, Rarity would come into her room and make sure she was actually awake but now she had to set multiple alarms just to wake on time. Sweetie Belle sat up in her bed, her eyes still closed, groaning in annoyance. It took a few seconds before her brain could shake off the sleep and form a coherent thought. Finally Sweetie opened her eyes and grabbed her phone, she grimaced from the bright light. She flipped to her contacts and sent a good morning text to Rarity, then got out of her bed.

Sweetie was greeted by the total silence of her house, the same thing that greets her nearly every morning. Her parents were either at work or on another one of their last minute vacations. As soon as she was old enough to be left alone her parents started to go on more and more trips. Sweetie had a whole drawer full of letters from her parents explaining their absence, they range from 'Someone at work gave us tickets to Manhattan and we couldn't let them go to waste.' to 'Dinner's in the fridge, please don't burn anything again.' but hey it was better than waiting for them all night like she used to when she was young.

Sweetie pulled out her wireless headphones and flipped to her morning playlist so she could get ready for school. The playlist was filled with show tunes and, of course when she was in a bad mood, the first song was Waving Through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen. She laughed humorlessly and got dressed for school. The song wasn't bad in fact it was absolutely amazing, Sweetie Belle cried openly when Rarity took her to the musical but the song perfectly communicated her own frustration with her life. Here she was a footnote in her family's life, the secondary sister. A burden that her parents would throw on Rarity when they couldn't be bothered to deal with her. Sweetie wanted to help her sister more but all she could do was send little good morning messages because she wasn't allowed to visit her. Her parents believed that she would do little more than bother Rarity as she tried to adjusted to a new life at a new school. As much as she loved her sister, Sweetie hated that she had to live in her shadow.

When Rarity started making outfits, everyone was just waiting to see if she was going to follow in her footprints. Sweetie could feel everyone's disappointment when she made it clear that she loved music far more than fashion and had absolutely no talent with clothes. Sweetie didn't even get Rarity's eye for style as her closet full of clashing colors and shoddily made scarves and hats could attest for. She was truly the biggest disappointment of the family, at least her parents' and Rarity's talents were things that always necessary in the real world. People always needed clothes, people didn't need music in fact it's almost a stereotype that young and dumb kids try to make it into the music business only to either fail miserably or lose their soul and die of drug overdose years later.

By the time both Rarity and Sweetie Belle would become adults, Rarity was going to be traveling the world making fabulous creations for millions meanwhile Sweetie will be married to some idiot she settled for out of college just to get her mother to stop asking when she was going to settle down. She'll go down in mediocrity while her sister will be remembered and there's nothing Sweetie could do to stop it.

"You want to be remembered?" a calm, feminine voice asked.

Sweetie froze, Who said that? After a few moments Sweetie relaxed realizing she still had on her headphones, an ad must have popped up her music service. She really needed to just bite the bullet and update to the premium service already, Sweetie walked over to her bed and grabbed her phone. Sweetie pushed to home button to check the time but her phone didn't light up. She pushed it again, no response. She pushed the power button, no response.

"Oh come on, don't break on me I need to get to school." Sweetie held the power button trying to reboot the phone.

"I'm not broken, in fact I think this is an upgrade." There it was again, did she get hacked or something.

Sweetie didn't remember going to any sketchy websites last night unless her parents used her phone. Somehow old people always manage to screw up their technology and then gain amnesia about what they did. Even when she was just nine years old Sweetie remembered having to fix her Dad's phone after he changed his language to Japanese. How he did manage that she would never know.

"Sweetie Belle, you didn't answer me. Do you want to be remembered?"

Sweetie dropped her phone in fear. How did the hacker know her name? Had they been watching her for a while, did they see her change her clothes?

"BE CAREFUL!" the phone shouted angrily into her headphones.

Sweetie reached down, her hands shaking, and picked her phone. The phone gave a nervous laugh, which did nothing to calm Sweetie down.

"Ahaha Sorry, it's just I'm a phone so it kinda hurts to be dropped like that. Please be careful."

Sweetie nodded.

"I know this is scary, honestly it's a new thing for me too. You don't know how terrifying it is to suddenly wake up with a conscience."

"I didn't think about that." Sweetie never considered what it's like to suddenly and exist. Is it like waking up? Do cellphones dream?

"How did you get like this?" Sweetie asked.

The phone hummed thoughtfully, "I just kinda woke up, you know. It's like I was off and you turned me on. I'm not sure how to describe it but enough about what about you?"

"Me?" Sweetie caught off guard, her phone wanted to talk about her?

"Yes, you Sweetie Belle. You're the reason I'm awake, my only goal is to make you happy. Whatever you want I'll do for you, all you have to do is ask."

What she wanted? No one ever ask want she wanted, her parents would shove her onto Rarity whenever they wanted to go somewhere. And Rarity would just quietly tolerate as long as she didn't break anything or get in the way of her making clothes. But now for the first time someone or something wanted to hear want she wanted.

"I need some time to think about this." Sweetie answered.

"Of course take as much time as you need, for now I'll be your personal assistant." Sweetie Belle liked the sound of that, it's like having magic fairy godmother that fits in your pocket.

"I should probably let you know that you're late for your first class."

Sweetie gasped, she scrambled around her room looking for her backpack. Why does she never put her things in the same place every time, you'd think she would learn considering she does this every morning. Her phone chuckled at her panic making Sweetie deeply uncomfortable. God it almost sounded human.
"You know Sweetie, class is already pretty much over and it's the beginning of the year. You're probably not gonna miss much if you just skip."

Sweetie stared at her phone in disbelief. "I-i can't just skip, what if..."

"The school isn't going to call your parents I wrote an email from your Mom's email and then deleted it so she wouldn't notice. Don't worry I got your back."

"Thanks, um...What should we call you?"

"Hmm, how about Kubrick. It's not really feminine but hey I'm not actually a girl."

"Thanks, Kubrick." Sweetie considered the name, it sounded really familiar.

She smiled and plopped down on her bed. Sweetie Belle could definitely get used to this.

Sweetie talked with Kubrick for hours; they talked about plays, music, and everything else Sweetie Belle loved. Kubrick listened, she told jokes, she laughed with Sweetie; she was almost like a human. No she was way better than a human because she was a phone she had access to the limitless knowledge of the internet and could easily access anyone's information. Kubrick hacked into both Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's social media, posting embarrassing photos of the two (Kubrick never said where she found them). She was like the Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee all wrapped in a convenient and easy to carry case.

"Oh my god, are you serious." Sweetie managed in between giggles.

"As serious as a heart attack, Diamond Tiara's internet history is full of the 80's movies. She studies the bullies and then uses their insults. She doesn't even pick the good ones, she picks movies that aren't even cult classics so no one can't call her out on the insults." Kubrick teased causing Sweetie erupted in laughter.

Sweetie clutched her sides imagining Diamond writing copious notes on how to be a good bully. Kubrick giggled along with her before going silent.

"Oh." Kubrick stated simply.

"Hey, what's wrong Kubrick?"

"Oh nothing, your sister just texted you."

Sweetie sat up, "Oh okay, can I see what she said? I want to text her back."

Kubrick hesitated. "But we were talking, I'm sure she can wait just a little longer."

"I always text her after lunch, she'll think something is wrong if I don't text her back."

"Oh so she can talk to you on her time but when she answers you have to drop everything. That's totally fair."

"Hey!" Sweetie snapped,"Don't talk about my sister like that. She loves and cares about me."

"Not enough to tell you about her powers."

There was a long and palpable silence.

"What are you talking about?"

Kubrick sighed, "I'm sorry for telling you like this, I wanted to bring it up more carefully. It just pisses me off that you are giving more than she is."

Sweetie considered Kubrick's words, "My sister has powers?"

"Yep, she's had them ever since she was born. She kept them a secret from you."

"No," Sweetie refused to accept that. "There's no way she would hide something like that from me. We said we talk about everything since she would watch me when Mom and Dad would leave."

"Sweetie, she joined a club at her school completely devoted to her powers. She told five random strangers about her powers." Kubrick showed text messages between Rarity and some other girl.

Sweetie read them, feeling tears form in her eyes. Rarity trusted this 'Pinkie' girl more than her own sister, after all they had been through together. How could she do this to her? Sweetie had never felt more betrayed in her life. They were supposed to work together, it was just her and Rarity against the world. Sweetie was the only one who believed her about her teacher trying to sleep with her. Sweetie Belle didn't even have to hear the full story she trusted that her sister wouldn't just beat him up for no reason and could see that the school was covering for him to not cause a scandal. She comforted Rarity when their parents forced her to stay at the summer home.

"Why did she lie to me?" Sweetie clenched her fist, ignoring the sting of her nails digging into her palm.

"It's because she thinks she's better than you." Kubrick spat venomously, "She thinks she's so high and mighty with her stupid powers but they're only for defense. You can be so much better than her."

Something clicked in Sweetie's mind, Kubrick was right she could be better than Rarity.

"You can grant any wish?"

"Anything your heart desires."

Sweetie smirked. She would show them, she would show them all. She wasn't going to be in Rarity's shadow forever, Sweetie Belle's name would go down in legend. People would speak her name in hushed voices for fear of her wrath. If the world wasn't going to love her, she would teach it to fear her instead.

"Kubrick, give me powers stronger than my sister."

Kubrick chuckled, "As you wish, Sour Note."

Dark energy poured out of Kubrick like smoke, crawling up her right hand. Sweetie closed her eyes, fully embracing whatever her new power would be as long as it gave her strength. The energy completely surrounded her body, entering every one of her cells. She felt she could run a marathon, Sweetie had never felt so energized in her life. She became taller, her normal curled two toned hair became a shorter cut with half her head shaved on one side. Her clothes were changed from her bright school uniform to a pair of black ripped jeans, a leather studded jacket, a black tee with a jagged music note inside of a broken heart, and a pair of black lace up combat boots that nearly with up to her knees. She had dramatic black makeup and black lipstick which made stark contrast to her brown skin. Despite the fact that Sweetie Belle never had so much as her ears pierced but now her ears, nose, and bottom lip were studded with piercings. Even her tongue was pierced.

"Oooh I love this new look." Sweetie twirled in her mirror to get a full view.

"I'm glad I did research on good looks for you." Kubrick turned from a cellphone into a mic, although Sweetie could still hear in her headphones.

"Now Sour Note, why don't we pay your sister a visit?" Sour Note gave a twisted grin.

Wait for me, Sister dear.

1 pm at Canterlot High

Pinkie loudly gasped, her eyes looked like she was millions of miles away. Her body began shivering despite the fact that she was outside on a bright, sunny day in the middle of P.E. doing sit-ups. After almost half a minute, Pinkie finally stopped shaking. Her gym teacher looked over at her.

"Are you okay Ms. Pie?" Pinkie didn't respond.

She stood up without notice and ran. She ran despite her teacher yelled for her to come back. She ran despite the fact she knew she would get into trouble. She ran leaving all of her stuff behind, not even bothering to get her clothes from the locker room. She ran, wracking her brain to remember Rarity's schedule. She ran despite the fact she didn't know exactly what was going to happen and she didn't know if she could actually help. She ran because her friend was in danger and she was going to do everything in her power to save her.

Pinkie got back into the main building, not pausing to catch her breath she ran to the Chemistry Lab. She exploded through the door, pushing it so hard it bounced against the wall. Everyone in class jumped shocked from the loud bang.

"Um excuse you, Ms. Pie. Didn't anybody teach you to knock, you are disturbing my class!" The science teacher's lecture fell on deaf ears as Pinkie scanned the room for Rarity.

"Pinkie, what's wrong darling? You're as a white as a ghost." Rarity stood up and comforted her friend.

"We need to go. We need to go now, something's coming. This was the biggest doozy I've felt in my life, we have to get the girls and get away from the school."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Can you tell when it's going to get here, it might take a while to find the others." Rarity had a vague idea of what classes the girls had but she knew for a fact that Rainbow Dash was having lunch right now.

"Excuse me, did you hear me? Pinkamena, return to your class and Rarity go back to your seat." The science teacher again went ignored.

"I know where they are but we need to hurry because whatever it is, it's fast, angry, and very strong." Pinkie grabbed Rarity's hand and headed to the door.

The teacher blocked them from leaving.

"Are you two ignoring me? No one is going anywhere, you are to return to seat and Pinkamena, you are going to the Principal's office."

Pinkie opened her mouth to talk but froze. Her eyes grew distant and she gripped Rarity's hand tightly before falling to the ground. Her entire body shook like a leaf in a windstorm.

"Pinkie!" Rarity shouted, trying to get a response from the girl.

Rarity knew about the Pinkie sense but this was more like a seizure than a shake. Pinkie's hair seemed to deflate like a balloon, going from a normal chaotic mess of curls to pin straight hair that hung all the way to her back. Her expression went from absolute terror to the deepest sadness Rarity had ever seen in her life. It was as if the color faded from Pinkie; her bright blue eyes looked darker, her skin looked paler and her hair was a more dull shade of pink. She turned her empty eyes to Rarity.

"It's here, I wasn't fast enough. I am so sorry, Rarity I messed up. I messed up big time." As if to punctuate Pinkie's point the entire school shook following an earth shattering boom, nearly knocking Rarity off her feet.

"RARITY!!!" The entire class flinched as the every glass object in the lab shattered, sending shards flying.

Rarity's blood ran cold, this was the "doozy" Pinkie was trying to warn her about. Someone or something has some kind super sonic scream ability and they are currently after her. Oddly enough the voice does not seem to damage human ears considering that all the glass broke but no one is bleeding from their ears. But there was no way of knowing for sure because they could just be far from the source of the sound.

Rarity helped Pinkie to her feet while the class was thrown into complete disarray. Students began to scramble around, some people suffered cuts from the glass while the others were trying to avoid the spilling chemicals from the beakers. The poor science teacher was struggling to both calm her students and contain the spill. Using the ensuing chaos Rarity snuck Pinkie out of class.

Outside the classroom was even more chaotic with students leaving lunch and some exiting their classes to see what was going on. Teachers were running around trying desperately to control the students but whatever was causing the chaos was doing it's damnedest to make sure that didn't happen. Students pushed and shoved each other trying to get away from this thing, Rarity gripped Pinkie's hand harder to ensure they didn't get separated. Pinkie was still in shock but allowed herself to pulled along.

"I'm gonna find you, Rarity!" the scream sent people flying. The trophy case at the front of the school shattered sending more glass flying at students.

"Don't let go of my hand, Pinkie!" Rarity had to shout over the noise.

The pink-haired girl didn't respond, she seemed almost catatonic until she nodded, showing that she was not completely out of it. Pinkie looked up at Rarity's panicked expression, her eyes scanning wildly around the pushing and shoving bodies. Pinkie opened her mouth before being swiftly cut off.

"Don't even suggest me leaving you behind because it's absolutely not going to happen."

"Rarity..."

"I am not leaving you behind, Pinkie Pie." Rarity stated matter-of-factly, putting an end to that conversation.

Rarity shoved and fought against the crowd and finally managed to get to the track. There were no people there as most headed out the front doors to escape the chaos. Using one hand she pulled out her phone and dialed Applejack's number as she was the first contact in her phone. The phone barely rang once before it was picked up.

"Rarity! This is her y'all. We've been worried sick about you, we can't find Pinkie. Is she with you? Please say she's with you." Rarity could hear the voices of the other girls with her.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, Pinkie's with me. We're at the track right now, I think we're safe for now but we can't go through the front."

Sunset suddenly piped up, "We're in the parking lot, we'll come to you that girl is after you. You can't let her see you."

"I kind of put that together with the deafening shouts of my name."

"Hide somewhere on the track guys, we'll get there in a second." Rainbow added.

"Be careful." Rarity hung the phone and put it on vibrate to make sure the ringtone would give up their position.

Rarity scanned the empty track for someplace to hide, the only place big enough to hide both of them was behind the bleachers and even then they could easily be spotted if anyone got close. She pulled Pinkie behind the bleachers, crouching down to try to hide better. Why do I always insist on wearing bright colors everyday? Rarity thought, looking down at her bright blue shirt. There was no way they could hide, Rarity was going to have to fight back. At least she could test if her shields were soundproof.

"Rarity..."

"Yes, Pinkie?"

"I'm so sorry." Rarity turned around and saw Pinkie's state. She had somehow faded to much darker pink she almost looked gray at this point.

"Why are you sorry, Pinkie. None of this is your fault." Pinkie started to tear up.

"Because this was the only I was supposed to do and I screwed up. My Pinkie sense is the only thing I'm good at and I wasn't fast enough to warn you. Now you're stuck here and she gonna find us and...and..."

"Pinkie!" Rarity grabbed by her shoulders, shocking her out of her self-hatred spiral.

"Because of you, I know what's going on. Without you I would have been sitting in class none the wiser to what was coming. Now I know what her power is and how to fight it, you've helped me so much today."

"But..." Rarity swiftly cut her off.

"As your friend, I will not sit by and let you insult yourself like that. You did something amazing today, now instead of just of me fighting alone it'll be six against one." Pinkie light up a bit, color returned to her skin but her hair was still straight as a bone.

"Pinkie, when this girl shows up until the others get here I'll be our shield and you'll have to be our sword."

Pinkie snorted in disbelief, Rarity glared at her. Rarity heaved a heavy sigh and continued.

"Pinkie, my powers aren't like yours or the other girls. You guys can do all kinds of different things; Sunset can create fire that doesn't burn, you can create anything you want. I can make shields, that's it. If I'm left alone in a fight someone could be faster than me and move behind my shield or they can be strong enough and break it. I need you, please, please understand that I can't do this alone."

Neither of the girls said anything after Rarity's admission. They stared into each other's eyes, letting the full weight of her words sink in. Even with the door of the school being kicked open and the girl chasing them finally coming into view, Rarity and Pinkie still just stared at each other. In Rarity's azure eyes, Pinkie could see many emotions; terror, concern, frustration, exhaustion. In Pinkie's cerulean eyes, Rarity saw doubt, self-hatred, hurt, fear. Both wanted to hug the other and hold them until those emotions went away but they both knew that neither could make those thoughts fully go away. As the girl's footsteps got closer to their hiding spot, Rarity and Pinkie nodded coming to a silent agreement to hold her off until the girls got there.

Pinkie reached into her pocket and pulled out a wood baseball bat. It was covered in stickers but it was very much a real bat that would certainly feel like a real bat when she brought down on her skull. Rarity readied a shield to summon and got in front Pinkie to defend her. Not wasting a second the girls jumped out from their hiding spot and were instantly spotted by the punk rock looking girl.

"Well, well, look what we have here, Kubrick. A relic trying to fight the newer model." Sour Note chuckled darkly.

"I don't know who you are or what you want but if you want to hurt my friend," Rarity stood taller, conjuring a shield, "You'll have to go through me."

"Awww you don't recognize me, I'm hurt Rarity. Truly I am." she clutched her chest in mock pain.

Sour Note smirked at the two girls but neither of them smiled back. Pinkie raised her bat while Rarity summoned another shield on her other hand ready to expand both for a double enforced barrier. The smile on Sour Note's face fell as soon as she saw Pinkie sending a cold chill up her spine. Her Pinkie sense went crazy, screaming at her to just grab Rarity and run. Whoever this girl was she certainly was not Pinkie's biggest fan.

"You really don't recognize me, Rarity. Your little sister gets a new look and suddenly she's a totally different person, is that it?" Sour Note spat, clenching her fist on her mic. Her gaze never left Pinkie.

Rarity gasped, lowering her hands making her shields disappear. Recognition light up her face as she took a step closer towards her sister.

"Sweetie?" Sour Note lifted the mic to her mouth.

"My name is not Sweetie!" The force of her scream sent Rarity and Pinkie falling.

The girls fell to the ground with a hard thud, Rarity's ears were ringing and black dots danced in her eyes. The world seemed to spin as she fought to stay conscious, pushing her suddenly heavy body to sit up. Sour Note walked nonchalantly to the girls, humming a song to herself. Pinkie used her arms to push herself off the ground, her bat somehow managed to stay in her grasp.

Sour Note reared her leg back and kicked Pinkie hard in the face with a sickening crunch. Pinkie's head flew back causing her to roll onto her back. The girl swung a boot into Pinkie's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Pinkie cradled her stomach coughing violently as she tried to catch her breath. Sour Note roughly yanked Pinkie by the hair holding her up to stare in the girl's pained face. Blood oozed from her nose and mouth being mixed with tears that flowed freely from Pinkie's eyes. Sour Note tsked, her face scrunched with disgust.

"Pathetic. What does she even see in you?" Sour Note threw Pinkie to ground before turning to the barely conscious Rarity.

Rarity began to crawl towards Pinkie much to the ire of Sour Note. She stomped over to her sister, stepping on her out reached hand. Rarity cried out causing Sour Note to crush harder, her green eyes cold as she watched her sister claw uselessly her boot.

"Is this seriously the best you got? And here I thought you were supposed to better sister. But you're nothing. Just some stuck-up bitch who can only make shields to cower behind." Sour Note laughed a hollow and humorless laugh.

"Sweetie, please..." Rarity begged.

Her cries went on deaf ears as Sour Note lifted her foot off of Rarity's hand and held it above her sister's head. Her irises morphed from the light, pale green that Rarity had known to an empty and cold black color.

"Your sister is dead, Rarity. There is only Sour Note."

And with that she brought her foot down hard on Rarity's head. Darkness greeted Rarity as she fell deep into unconsciousness.

Author's Note

Miraculous Ladybug? Sailor Moon? Never heard of them.

Chapter 6 The Tale of Two Sisters Part 1

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