“Bitch...”
“Freak!”
“You monster.”
"Fucking cunt..."
"She-demon..."
These were some of the many terms the student board made use of when describing and calling out a young girl by the name of Sunset Shimmer. You see, Miss Sunset used to be the school's alpha bitch until she took the time to think on her sins and vowed to reform for the better. For the most part, it seemed to have worked, especially when she exposed a Battle-of-the-Bands fiasco instigated by three girls from Crystal Prep Academy. However, everything happens for a reason, and it seems that her chance at redemption simply wasn't to be.
Saying that Sunset was having a bad week would be nothing short of the ultimate understatement of the 21st century so far. It was just one of many, if fact, that she was suffering through in order for Christmas break to arrive much sooner than later. As such, nobody was more than willing to let her go easy, with her former friends being the worst offenders because they wouldn't give her the benefit of the doubt. Her teachers were no better either, for they would constantly fail each and every single of her tests; the only ones who, despite their own uncertainties, didn't do so were Miss Cheerilee and Mister Cranky Doodle. Aside from these two (and possibly Granny Smith), she seriously doubted that anyone else believed her, but Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had very good reason not to. Manipulation, deception, and aggravation seemed to be par the course for a self-indulging floozy like herself. Not even her best friend outside the group Twilight Sparkle supported her. We say "support" because she did trust her, but the same could not be said for the rest of her family. Her older brother, a police detective at the Canterlot City Police Department, even threatened to arrest her on the grounds that she used to harass his younger sister...while "used to" was the keyword here. His wife eventually talked him down, but she did give her the advice of keeping both eyes open was an easier way to survive. Man, that woman can be frightening, sometimes...
Anyway, going forward with the story, Sunset was currently walking on a Thursday night for the Chinese takeout she ordered. Barely making ends meet by working her ass off at the grocery store and unable to hail a taxi (for obvious reasons), she opted to walk and brave the snowstorm. After all, she figured she would need the exercise. Hugging herself as the snow began to creep up her legs, she finally made it and rested against the door for a few minutes to catch her breath. When they did, she opened the door and stumbled inside, sighing in relief when a blast of warm air greeted her. Paying for and receiving her food, she thanked the female cook in her native language and took a booth to enjoy her food in silent peace.
While she ate away, Sunset began to reminisce on all her times she had with her newfound friends. She didn't discriminate between good or bad, but rather she just pulled out every memory she had with them. The consequences didn't matter, the feelings did.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Sunset's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a boy...no, man. Glancing up from her thoughts, she found herself face-to-face with a man who seemed to entering his mid-20s. He had platinum blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a dark grey long coat above a light-grey suit-and-tie combo. In spite of her best interests, she couldn't help but take this mysterious but handsome hunk of a man in.
He himself seemed to notice this as well, for he lightly chuckled and elicited a small blush. "Yeah, I get that a lot. People would ask me my age, which is exactly 24 when being specific."
"Hold on! You're 24?" Sunset was taken aback; she didn't expect her guess on his age to be correct.
"Well, actually, I'm turning 25 this Christmas. Irony abounds, right?" The man clarified before he was then called over to the counter for his order, thanking the cook in Chinese just as she did. Walking back over, he gestured toward the empty seat across from her. "Mind if I take a seat?"
For some inexplicable reason, Sunset smiled and gestured back. "Not at all."
And so, they talked for hours. For hours, they talked about different subjects ranging from their choice of chicken (Sunset's was orange, the man's was sesame) to how lovely the winter season was. Unfortunately, this particular subject had been broached far too long, replacing Sunset's former look of joy to one of melancholy. The man took notice and tilted his head in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just...a bad memory. Basically, I was accused of something I didn't do, so my friends...and basically the entire school...turned against me."
Appalled, the man was clearly taken aback by this revelation and demanded an explanation. "But why would they do that? For what I've seen so far, you're obviously a sweet and kindhearted girl, not to mention a very pretty one too."
To her credit, Sunset managed to fight back an impending blush, but couldn't help but softly giggle at the stranger's compliment. "Um, thank you. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm actually far from innocent."
"Care to elaborate or no?"
"Well, some time ago, I used to be a...bitch, for lack of a better term. I would manipulate others into doing whatever I wanted, and deceive the others who try to expose me. Sounds pretty depressing, right?"
To her surprise, the man heartily laughed. "Why, not at all! Believe me or not, I can relate."
"What, you used to be the manipulative and deceiving kind?"
"Yes, actually," the man replied with a rather blunt and brutally honest tone, surprising Sunset even further. "When I was your age, I was bullied mercilessly because of my religion and beliefs. Of course, I was determined to fight back by not using only my fists, but also my words."
"Really?" Sunset leaned forward, now filled with intrigue. "How did you do that?"
"It was rather simple," The man explained with an equally simple shrug, "I discovered their weaknesses and used it against them; by playing the part of the wounded gazelle, I revealed the ugly truths of my seemingly innocent peers and called them out for the frauds they really were."
Needless to say, Sunset was beyond impressed. In fact, she was star-struck senseless by this man's methods of justice. Blinking in bewilderment for a moment's notice, she almost forgot how to speak properly.
"Wow..."
"You're impressed, are you?" The man smirked as he leaned against the table and rested his head on his hand, "I can tell you're impressed."
"Yes," Sunset nodded giddily, "I am very impressed. In fact, I am very tempted to take a page or two out of your book."
"Feel free, madam."
. . .
. . .
. . .
"I'm sorry?"
"Don't be. It's been a while since I've been using my old tactics on a career criminal or justified victims. Believe me, only in the most dire situations should I resort to them. Honestly, in this case, I think you need them more than I do."
Sunset was taken aback more and more for the man's friendly demeanor. As far as she was concerned, he was just another common stranger in the guise of a Good Samaritan...but she had a strong feeling that it was vice versa. However, she knew when to keep her guard up and never lower it; this perceived guardian angel was could be the Grim Reaper in secret, while her choice of taking justice/vengeance was nothing short of a secret test of character. But with her friends and family turning their backs on her...what else did she have to lose?
"Are you sure?"
"By all means."
Making her final decision, Sunset nodded and threw her empty Styrofoam box into the trash before exiting the restaurant. Stopping in her tracks upon realizing that she forgot something, she turned to find the man standing behind her...waiting for his turn to exit.
"Oh! I...forgot to give you my number..."
The man merely shook his head before pulling out a slip of paper to give her, "No need. Here's mine."
Scanning it for a moment's notice, Sunset noticed the man's number, but not his name. That's what she forgot: his identity. Glancing up to find the man already outside, she headed out to catch up with him. "Hey! Wait!"
"Hmm?" The man turned to find Sunset sprinting towards him. Taking a breather or two, she stood up and flashed him a nervous smile.
"Thanks, um..."
"Daniel." The man flashed her an equally goofy smile, "And you're welcome, um..."
"Oh, Sunset... Sunset Shimmer."
"All right then. See you later, Sunset Shimmer."
"You too...Daniel."
As the man began to walk off again, Sunset watched from afar. When he was out of sight and out of mind (not entirely for the latter), she started to smile and giggle. She again couldn't help but notice the irony in this situation: a stranger brought her solace than her friends did in the past few weeks. With that, she skipped on her way home and hummed a blissful holiday tune, all the while setting her plan in motion...
The next day, Sunset arrived at the school with nothing but justice on her mind. Working herself up to be as somber as possible, she entered her currently empty homeroom as more and more students began crowding in. Among these students was Gilda, the resident bad girl besides herself. Given her hair-trigger tempered reputation, many people could tell that she was currently...less than pleased at Anon-A-Miss because of a rumor that had spread. She wasn't homophobic by any means, but the rumor that stated her to be in a risqué relationship with Rainbow Dash (as you do) left much to be desired as opposed to their actual relationship. That being said, her being in the same period as the presumed secret thief was basically recess for her. Little did she know...
Miss Cheerilee was the last one to arrive before she realized that (like Sunset before her) she had forgotten something important. "Class, get started on Chapter 13. Amethyst Star, you're in charge."
The student in question nodded in response as the teacher exited the room to retrieve her warm beverage. A few minutes in, Gilda and three of her six friends decided to start up a conversation with Sunset.
"Gilda..."
"Don't worry, teacher's pet. I won't hurt Sunslut."
"Ugh, fine. But if she goes batshit crazy on you, I'm not stopping her."
Gilda merely rolled her eyes in disinterest before donning a sinister smirk as she marched over to confront Sunset. "Hey, Shimmer? Got any more secrets to post?"
As she and her friends began to chortle in amusement, Sunset noticed from outside the window behind her that Miss Cheerilee was heading back inside the school with her coffee in hand. Deciding now was the best time to set her plan in motion, she bowed her head down in faux shame before smirking and chuckling under her breath. "You know what? I do, actually. It involves your little sister..."
The laughter immediately ceased the moment Sunset mentioned Gilda's younger sister. After processing what she said, the gang leader went for her jugular and threw her against the wall, starting to strangle the living daylights out of her. Most of the students began to panic and began to back up and distance themselves from the fight at hand, while a fair few, including her friends, cheered her on. Amethyst Star approached in an attempt to diffuse it.
"Gilda! What are you doing?!"
"You got some fucking nerve, Shimmer!" Gilda screamed into Sunset's face, completely ignoring Amethyst. "Throwing your friends under the bus was idiotic enough, but you bringing Gabby into your little scheme is unacceptable! If I had a fucking weapon, I would fucking kill you right on the spot!"
Sunset herself noticed two things: a brass knuckle and Miss Cheerilee nearing the entrance from the corner of her eye. Going for broke, she decided to feign crocodile tears for her own and shake her head in terror. "Please! Please, Gilda! Don't hurt me!"
"Or what?" Gilda cackled mercilessly, "Your shitty ass acting skills aren't going to work on me, Anon-A-Miss! I swear when I'm fucking done with you, you're gonna regret everything you've done up until this very moment, bar none!"
"What was that, Miss Griffin?"
At that moment, the door opened and revealed to Miss Cheerilee a quite horrific scene unfolding before her: Gilda was threatening to assault Sunset six ways in Sunday, the majority of her students were cheering her on, and Amethyst Star (the poor girl) was now curled up into the fetal position whilst rocking back and forth. She could hear the noise a few feet away from where she previously stood before she even entered the homeroom. Upon discovering what was really occurring behind the scenes as a means to investigate the commotion, she wished that she didn't.
"Put. Her. Down!"
It took Gilda to register the presence of Miss Cheerilee, but she eventually complied with her, albeit a little roughly than expected. She still wore the angered expression on her face when she turned to face her superior.
"I'm going to ask you again, Miss Griffin: what was that?"
"Oh, I'll tell what the fuck was that: Sunslut basically threatened me while you were gone!"
"No, I didn't!" Sunset cried in distress. "I was trying to apologize for Anon-A-Miss and she attacked me!"
Gilda's six friends began shouting in protest, stating the opposite of the supposed truth. In actuality, Sunset was stating the obvious as it was, but she was stretching it to its extreme with her faked anguish and sobs. Miss Cheerilee silenced her entire class with a wave of her hand before glancing between the tormentors and the tormented. She frowned in uncertainty, a bad feeling swirling around her stomach. Taking the latter's prior track record into consideration, she located little to no very good reason to defend Sunset. However, she clearly saw the remorse in her eyes (or it could've been another track of hers), and she found it within herself to believe her...just this once.
"Sunset, step outside for a moment. Gilda, go to Guidance now."
"What?! No, you can’t–"
“Oh, yes, I can.” Miss Cheerilee crossed her arms, “From what I can tell from the scene before me, you attacked an innocent student.”
Gilda and her friends were stunned even further, as their arguments grew as such. “Hold on! You can’t be fucking serious!”
At that point, Miss Cheerilee had lost her patience and snapped at Gilda... “Miss Griffin, do not talk to your teacher like that!”
...just as Gilda responded to Miss Cheerilee in kind. “You know what? Don’t FUCKING tell me how to talk to you!”
She then grabbed her belongings and exited the room with a kick to the door. Proceeding to vent out her frustration on the wall and a couple of lockers (all of which were at least partially dented already), she managed to attract the attention of many a student and teacher. Glancing at the traumatized Amethyst and the solemn Sunset, Miss Cheerilee pinched her nose bridge and led the former outside before contending with the latter.
“Miss Amethyst, go on ahead to the nurse’s office, okay?” She wordlessly nodded before doing just that. Closing the door behind them and waiting until the hallway was empty, she turned to Sunset now.
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Miss Shinmer?”
Sunset really wanted to tell the truth...and that’s exactly what she did. “I tried to get her to back off, but I snapped. I made an offensive comment about her sister which I didn’t want to, and that’s when she lunged at me. I saw a brass knuckle and thought she was going to punch me."
Miss Cheerilee nodded in understanding before sighing, "Well...I would say that you did a wrong thing for the right reason. You would make sure that this sort of occurrence never does again, yes?"
"Yes, ma'am." Sunset nodded back. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
"Of course."
After heading to the lady's restroom, Sunset locked herself in a stall and sat on the toilet seat...before giggling to herself. I can't believe that actually worked... I should probably think him later on... /I]
Author's Note
I saw this amazing movie called Blame (2017), in where a teacher's relationship with an mentally unstable student spirals out of control. Then I noticed its parallels to The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and figured that this story must be written. I'm not rewriting the same story of a bullied student who takes revenge on his or her tormentors, but rather rethinking it (or, at the very least, trying to).
Besides The Stepford Wives (1975) and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1992), I also watched films such as The Changeling (1980), Obsession (1976), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) while trying to connect the story to Gothic horror and Lovecraftian suspense. I also try to make it a contemporary fairy tale without the magical elements.
Also, the keyword is "try", so...you can judge me for a lack of it.