The gym was filled with the sounds of metal hitting metal, the swishing of the springy material of fencing foils. Sunset was breathing hard, her arms shaking, legs sore, but walking away from her opponent to get back to her starting position.

"Hold on there, sugarcube," Applejack said, grabbing her shoulder before she got too far. "Ah think you could use a break. You're startin' to shake."

"No, no, I almost have it-" Sunset protested.

Applejack shook her head, pulling off Sunset's helmet and pushing her towards the stands. "All the more reason to take a break now. It'll be a lot easier to get it when your nerves are settled."

"My nerves are fine," Sunset muttered, but it was hard to disagree when Applejack was pushing. She didn't have enough steadiness to really push back.

"Uh huh. Trust me, Ah know what Ah'm talkin' about," Applejack said, finally getting her to sit before walking away. Soon enough, she was back with a bottle of water for each of them. "Didn't run off, huh?"

"....maybe I needed a break," Sunset said, taking the offered bottle and opening it and downing a good half of it.

"You know, Ah'd have thought you'd be better about this," Applejack said, sitting down beside her, pulling off her helmet to start drinking herself.

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

"The physical therapy? Rarity said you were in some kinda coma?"

"Oh. Yeah, right."

"Ain't it a little early to be pushing it?" She asked in concern.

Sunset stared at the floor. "Doctors said I was fine. All it was now was getting up to speed," she said.

"And fencing is up to speed?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Footwork combined with precise arm movements," she said and shrugged. "And less likely to drag down a team, I just have to worry about my own scores instead of messing up someone else. I have to say I'm surprised though. Aren't you a bit huckleberry to be a fencer?" She raised an eyebrow, putting enough snark in her tone to not be outright insulting.

Applejack laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Yeah, fencing is considered pretty fancy for a sport," she admitted. "It's kind of a leftover from my rebellious phase. Wanted to be fancy like my cousins, the Oranges. Even lived with 'em for a few weeks. Did all Ah could to fit in. Tried to change my accent, dressed up more fancy, tried to do anything that made me look like Ah belonged. That's when I started fencing."

"What changed your mind?" Sunset asked.

"Believe it or not? Rainbow Dash. Not that we knew it at the time. The school has something a little like the friendship games. Whole fair with stalls and events and sports games with other schools competing. Whole day was pretty wild. The animals got loose from the petting zoo and costumes for a performance got set on fire and something about a dog having puppies. Didn't see a lot of that, but I remember seeing the relay race. One of the racers was covered head to toe in mud and feathers, everyone around me was mocking her, saying she shouldn't have showed up. But I could see it. She was the fastest one of her team. If she hadn't showed up, there was no way they coulda won. But to everyone around me, that wasn't important. It was all about how she looked," Applejack said.

"Couldn't stand the snobs, huh?" Sunset asked.

Applejack shrugged. "Those folks had some different values, that's for sure. Ah get how you look can be important, but Ah realized it wasn't to me. And that's what it all was with the Oranges. How Ah looked, the airs Ah gave off. Ah wasn't happy like that, so Ah went home," she said. "A few weeks ago, Rainbow Dash was showing off pictures and realized she was the dirty feather racer. It was a pretty funny coincidence."

"It is pretty funny. But if anyone could have that happen, you guys would somehow affect each other before knowing each other," Sunset said with an amused laugh. "And the fencing?"

"Change of pace," she said. "It was pretty fun when Ah did it and its nice to do something where Ah can just focus on how Ah'm doing alone instead of making sure a whole process is running smoothly for a lot of people. Like ya said, individual score."

"Even if it means training disaster newbies?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

Applejack laughed. "Ah wouldn't say disaster. Just a little green, you'll get there," she said, lightly punching Sunset's arm. "At least you're humble enough to listen."

"What can I say, I'm eager to learn," Sunset said with a smile, rubbing her arm.

"Ah can tell," Applejack said with a grin. "How about Summer?"

"Summer?" Sunset said questioningly. "Oh! Right, Summer. What about Summer?"

"How are ya going to keep up this self enforced Physical Therapy? Far as I know, none of the training camps happen until August."

Sunset looked down at the ground, frowning. "Guess I just practice the forms on my own."

"Good way to get into bad habits that. Here just long enough to get them down enough to get them wrong. Tell you what, you can come by my place to practice. Ah'm pretty busy on the farm, but an hour in the evening a few times a week couldn't hurt," Applejack said.

Sunset looked up with wide eyes. "You'd do that?" She asked, looking a bit gobsmacked. Then she frowned. "Why?"

"'Cause you're as competitive as a horse after the last apple," Applejack said.

"I'm not like a horse at all!" Sunset protested, loud enough to get a few glances their way. She slumps down, face going red.

"....it was just a metaphor, Sunset. I'm saying ya don't like losin', even when you know ya shouldn't be able to win," Applejack said, giving her an odd look before finishing off her water.

"...that's still not why," Sunset said sulkily. "I mean, what are you getting out of teaching me?"

"That's what friends are for," Applejack said. "Though if you don't like that answer, could always help with the last few hours of the day or something," she offered. A way to spare Sunset's pride.

Sunset saw it as something else. "....yeah, that sounds fair enough," she said. She preferred knowing what people wanted of her.

"It's a deal then," Applejack said before finishing off her water. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot. I guess you were right."

"Told ya. Like telling it like it is. Let's see if ya can get it this time," Applejack said, pulling on her helmet as they returned to the mats.

Sunset carefully crept by the music room, listening to the radio for any static, or movement from inside. She did her best to not cause a sound until she was passed the music room. She knew the room she wanted and she just hoped it was unlocked.

She tried it and is relieved as it opens and she slips inside, pulling out her flashlight to see in the darkened room.

Sunset needed a weapon. Something that could grant her distant. Something blunt like a baseball bat wouldn't do, not without experience.

What she does know how to do, is fence. She knows how to block and attack and how to redirect blades. A fencing foil wouldn't do her much good however. Those are made to not cause much harm. The only way she'd be able to use that was to break off the tip and that would only be good to do some shallow poking.

Which led her here, to the music storage room.

She carefully moved through it, passed the instruments stored for school use, towards the back corner. She ponders taking one of the colorful flag poles, but no. Even if that had more distance, she wasn't experienced and it would take too much time to maneuver if she had to run.

The colorguard flags did lead her to what she was looking for, however. Right next to them was an assortment of rifles and sabers. Even if the blades were dull, she figured they were made to hit the ground repeatedly on failed throws, it could take a lot of impact, and the ability to parry was still a boon, especially with those Mannequins.

Except...

What Sunset expected to find was a bunch of blades with rounded tips, covered in tape. Except there, mixed in with the blades was a glint of bare metal. She reaches down to pick it up, and pulls it out of the pile.

It's not a dull blade.

The tip ends in a sharp point, not rounded as the rest, and she can see in the light that the edge is grounded down to something sharp. There's some age on the blade, the metal dull, but there was no rust, no obvious nicks in the blade.

It was a sword. A real sword.

Was it....here to give her a chance? Much like the radio had been there?

Sunset did a few test swings with the blade. It was definitely heavier than she was used to, but she could work with this. She could defend herself with this.

Maybe it was better to not question why it was here. She should just be thankful that it was.

The colorguard costumes even came with belts to help carry the sabers. Thank goodness for Rarity embracing function when it went with style and having swords at the side just looked better then carrying them around.

Armed and feeling a little more secure, Sunset now had to figure out her next step. Moving from room to room, even with most of them locked, would take a lot of time. Time she didn't want to waste with dangerous monsters around. She had to figure out where she needed to go, at least stream line it a little bit.

"I appeared in the library," Sunset started aloud. "The nurse's room and this room were accessible, but that might have been more function. My mind trying to make something safe. The first room to open was the music room, which I spend a lot of time....maybe rooms that are important? But which one would it be....?"

Oh.

Of course.

She groaned, rubbing at her face. "All right. Let's do this."

She's a lot more careful walking through the halls. Keeping an eye out for any movement, listening for static as she approached her destination. Despite the horror she knows could be in this place, there are no signs of monsters. No signs of the mannequins or anything else. No sign of life. No sign of any movement at all.

She had been in the school empty plenty of times. When she first arrived on Earth, she had often sneakily slept inside for lack of anywhere else. She used to always know the security codes and knows for a fact the vents can support someone of her size.

But even all those times, alone and in the dark, the school never felt this...desolate. Not just empty, but entirely abandoned.

She hurried her pace a little.

It doesn't take too long to reach her destination; the familiar doors of the gym. The place of so many dances and events, both good and bad. If she's looking for jewels of her crown, this place was as good as any.

She takes a deep breath, holds it, and pushes open the door ever so slowly. She listens for movement, for static, but nothing comes. She frowns, pushing it open enough to see inside.

At first, it seems so normal. It was just the gym, the risers pulled out, and empty of people. A little old, a little dusty, she thinks maybe there's nothing wrong. She can just look and be on her way.

Until she notices the puddles on the floor. Only a few, scattered around, but what draws her attention is the dripping. Slow, the plip only coming after maybe half a minute, but it draws her eyes to the dark liquid. Then up, up, up to the rafters.

A hand slaps over her mouth at the sight above her. There's bodies, girls judging by the tattered skirts, hanging from the ceiling by their neck. They're too high up and too....too broken to tell who they are. Limbs are twisted to hang at odd angles, dark stains on their clothes, the bodies looking partially mutilated, slowly draining out onto the floor.

Its then the scent hits her. Like rot and decay, like the bodies were old. Left to hang for so long, forgotten.

She does her best to resist, but she can't hold down what little is in her stomach, leaning on the edge of the doorframe as she retches.

Why....?

Why is this in her mind? She's never-she would never-she never wished anybody hurt. Never wished them dead. There was only one time she wished that much on someone and that had been when she had been corrupted by the Element of Magic. But that had been quick incineration, not....

Not whatever this was.

"What the hell is wrong with this spell?" Sunset gasped, trying to get her heart to stop racing. Because this was the spell. Surely this was the spell. There was no way....no way this was her...

Right?

She shook her head. "Get it together, Sunset. They're....they're just there. They can't do anything from up there. Just....just think of it like burgers...ignore it, don't think about it," she told herself.

There weren't dead girls up there.

Dead girls, tortured and broken in something that's supposed to be from her mind.

"Don't think about it," she tells herself on repeat. "Don't think about it, don't think about it."

She needed that jewel. She pushed herself away from the wall, heading for the stage. Where the crown would be awarded. The most obvious place.

She gives the puddles a wide berth, walking a winding pattern across the gym, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yet nothing happens. No static. No movement. Just the faint, occasional, disconcerting 'plip.'

She climbs onto the stage and there it is. At the top of what's usually a mic stand, the kite shaped jewel from her second crown. She looks around, and then makes sure her back is to the side of the stage. So she can see any movement from the curtain or the gym proper. Then she reaches out and takes the gem.

"You must be kidding," Sunset said, raising an eyebrow at the box.

"Of course not, darling. Last time was such a rush job. Really, Flash bringing you to me with two hours before the dance, I barely had time to make sure it would fit you properly before I had to change," Rarity said with a put upon scoff. She patted the top of the box. "This is FAR more fitting for a potential princess."

"You mean soon to be princess," Sunset said.

"Hm, we will see. But whoever wins, it's a must they are fabulous," Rarity said.

"And I'm just supposed to trust a dress you give me?" Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes? I don't understand why this is a hard concept," Rarity said, giving Sunset an utterly perplexed look.

Sunset looked back at her, confused herself. Rarity seemed so genuine in her offer, was known for being genuine in her offers, it was hard to see malice in it. Even though there should be, shouldn't there? After all, Rarity was running against Sunset.

And yet, here she was, offering a dress.

"Thank you....?" Sunset said with uncertainty.

Rarity's smile widened. "I knew you would see sense. You'll look absolutely lovely, I promise."

With that, Rarity had walked away. Later, as Sunset put on the dress, it was true. She did look lovely, a dress of purples and yellow accents, and decorations of her Cutie Mark sewn in. Not only was it a lovely dress in general, Rarity had taken note of the symbol that she had on her favorite shirt and earrings she would wear.

The only other who had noticed that was Flash Sentry, before he had gotten her those earrings.

Sunset had thought then perhaps competition really COULD be friendly. Perhaps Rarity could be trying to win and still wish her the best of luck and be genuine.

Sunset thought that perhaps it wasn't so bad, getting to know these people. Maybe even become friends with them. It seemed possible as she spun around, admiring herself in the dress.

Then Rarity won the crown.

Sunset was holding onto the gem tightly as the light faded. She wasn't sure how she felt about this forceful trip down memory lane. Its not...its not like she hasn't been dealing with these memories. She knew how much that lost had hit her. How it had led to her obsessing over the crown. Popularity. Getting attention and admiration.

How many people she had hurt to lessen the popularity or others, how it had turned from just manipulating people to actually being cruel and forcing them to bend to her will through blackmail and lies.

All the bonds she had started to make before that was no longer important. The tentative friendship with Applejack now that she could recognize she really hadn't been seeking free labor, she had simply understood Sunset was prideful. A friendly rivalry she could have had with Rarity, who had meant it when she wanted whoever to win to look fabulous and it applied to both. All the people who had showed her such kindness and care and had been willing to start a friendship with her that she had just been too scared to entertain.

The relationship she had with Flash. She had turned his means to make her feel welcome and cared about and turned it into such an ugly thing. He had done so much to help her adjust after her 'coma,' helping her stumbling, and explaining things she had simply 'forgotten' because of lingering side effects of reduced cognitive functions. Sure, the start had been a lie, but its not like she could tell the truth and the lie had been only to keep herself safe in a new world.

A world that would have been a lot harder to navigate if he hadn't been so willing to take her at her word.

A patience she tested for two years until even he had enough of her cruelty.

Perhaps if she hadn't-

A new sound, Sunset looking up as a siren went off. She frowned, wondering what that was about...until she felt it.

She felt a shiver go through her as the temperature dropped and she looked around as ice started to form across the wall, the structure groaning from the freeze, cracks forming from the stress. The room darkening as the ice consumed more and more of the area, the ceiling vanishing in the darkness.

And the bodies...

The bodies all fall and Sunset can't bite back the cry of horror as she sees the first one hit the ground with a thudding splat, the sound making her stomach roil, and she steps back, a hand over her mouth as body after body hits the ground, bones crunching and blood gushing out.

The smell of rot made all the more pungent, mixed with the smell of copper, and she's shoving the gem into her bag.

But most worrying of all was the door. The ice had grown thickest over the far wall, utterly encasing the door. That...that was fine, right? She could just go out the back.

Her radio began to buzz.

Groans started to fill the gym and with sickening dread, she turned to look at the bodies again. Broken limbs starting to twitch and writhe as the lumps of broken flesh started to move. More slapping sounds as they slipped on the ice, making it difficult to move.

She turned and bolted through the curtain. She needed to leave.

She could see the ice was traveling over the wall and panic filled her chest as she ran. She knew where the emergency exit was. She just needed to get there first.

Her boots slipped on the ice and she yelped, falling to the ground and sliding across it with a hiss as she slams against her injured arm. She curled up for a few moments, but the buzzing was getting louder.

She needed to get up.

She pushed herself with a groan, grabbing a clothing rack, hissing at the cold metal. She reaches for a costume to yank closer and cover the metal as she moves up, looking to the exit, her heart falling as she sees the thick coating of ice over it. It would take so long for her to chip through it, even with the saber. There had to be a way out. Some means to escape.

The buzzing was louder.

She could hear thudding movement beyond the curtain.

She needed to get out of sight.

She grabs the costume and bites into it, tearing it in two as she turns, eyes scanning the back. Please be there, please be-

There.

She's wrapping her hands in the fabric as she stumbles and slides to the ladder leading up to the catwalk, scrambling to climb up. She almost slips once or twice, the ice and cloth making it hard to get a good grip, but she manages to stay on, and drag herself onto the grating.

Turning back to see if she could pull the ladder up.

And stopped.

Staring down at the broken figures.

Likely they wouldn't be able to climb the ladder. Even from here, she could see how difficult it is for them to move across the ice. With their broken limbs, their balance and ability to move is already bad, and near impossible to maintain on the ice, mostly moving forward with stumbling movements. Usually getting caught as the blood leaking from their body freezes them to the ice temporarily.

But that wasn't the most disturbing thing of all.

The bodies had been human. She knew that. She could even see how these bodies are meant to be human in shape.

But they weren't that right now. Not simply a broken mess, but instead configured in such a way as to...

Resemble ponies.

It was a terrifying performance of puppetry, body twisted and distorted to match the four legged form, with extra...extra meat used to make thin arms and leg look thicker, some even having pulsing organs, and torso made so short to give it the stout appearance. The skull caved in such a way to almost seem to have a snout.

She has to cover her mouth with her hands to keep from throwing up.

Or screaming.

Or crying.

She's not entirely sure which.

She shudders and its not slowly from the cold, but that is becoming a concern. She can feel the cold metal grating through her jeans. She would have to be careful to keep her skin away from it. The clothing rack had hurt to touch, it had only been fear that kept her from fully registering the pain.

She grimaces, and with the...broken hybrids obviously incapable of the dexterity necessary to climb a latter, she pulled the fabric from her hands. She winces at the red marking left on her palms, but it looked like her skin was undamaged. She sighed, and tears the fabric with more precision, using it to wrap around her hands in make shift gloves so she didn't grab the metal again by mistake.

She pushed herself to her feet, slowly moving along the catwalk. Watching the broken hybrids as she moved along the top of the theater, trying to see where she might go.

The doors were out. The way she took in, the back entrance, the fire exits were all iced over.

She looked to the windows. Could she break them? She had dismissed the idea before because of the puzzle, but that was then, and this is now.

She looked around the cat walk until she sees it. A rope for one of the harnesses. She moves over there, trying to keep her steps from being too loud on the metal and pulls the end of the rope to her. Sighing in relief as she sees one of the safety harnesses on it, including the hooking mechanism. It takes a bit to untie it after she tugs off a makeshift glove, hissing as her fingers brush over metal, but she manages, and she moves to the closest point on the catwalk to one of the windows.

It was likely to make sound. If she was right next to it and she couldn't safely drop to the other side, she would be too easy to corner. But if she made a fuss now, then maybe she could hide in one of the darker corners until the monsters calmed down and could approach with more stealth.

This is why she needed the harness piece. It was hopefully a small enough bit of metal that it would just shatter through the window even thrown from a distance.

She ties up her hand again before grabbing the hook in her dominant hand. She looked to the window. She takes a deep breath, hopes this isn't another parakeet episode, takes aim. Releases her breath.

And then throws it with all her might.

The hook slams squarely into the class, even on the narrower side, and Sunset is sure its a perfect shot, biting back the sound of celebration as she waits for it to shatter as the loud thud rings throughout the gym, followed by the ringing of metal on metal as it falls down to the bleachers.

Then she realizes there isn't a mark on the window.

Which is when another loud sound fills the gym, the broken hybrids suddenly shrieking.

DESPAIRPAINSADNESSCURSEDONEDESPAIRLONELINESSREJECTIONDONOTBELONGNOTWANTEDREJECTIONREJECTIONREJECTIONLONELINESSABANDONMENTCURSEDCURSEDCURSEDCURSEDCURSEDHELPMEHELPMEHELPHELPHELPHELPHELP

A shock of pain against her neck and Sunset jerks up from where she had collapsed, crying out as she feels a sting and heat at her neck.

She's breathing harshly, tears stinging her cheeks from the cold, and she looks down at where her neck had been pressed against the railing and the bit of skin still sticking there.

Her neck was bleeding.

Superficial, but it was.

Her head snapped down to the broken hybrids, watching as they were all stumbling towards the window.

The window without a single mark on it.

The hook had done nothing.

At least...at least the creatures didn't know where she was.

But now she knew they didn't need to touch her to bring her down.

She absolutely couldn't be spotted.

With shaking hands, she reaches into her bag, pulling out a bit of gauze from the medkit and medical tape to slap it onto her neck. She would need to give it better attention, but later. She needed to figure a way out.

The doors didn't work.

The windows would take a lot to shatter if they weren't outright shatter proof.

How was she supposed to get out? She sat on the catwalk, shivering as the cold was starting to get to her, trying to find a way out. Doors. Windows. The vents were too high.

Her eyes went down to the stage.

There was a trapdoor below it.

There may be more vents down there.

She looked to the broken hybrids near the bleachers.

Okay. She could do this.

She takes a few more breathes, and pulls herself to shaky feet. She moves along the catwalk, trying to think of some way to make this less tricky. There is a sound system. Maybe there was headphones there. There was no guarantee there was a way out through the trapdoor. She's hoping for vents, but she can't be sure. The headphones could be a good back up.

But wearing them also means she can't hear them moving or the radio static, and the icy room was...dark.

Sunset stops at the top of the ladder. The backstage currently...LOOKS clear. But she had to be certain what she would do.

She had to go to the trapdoor and she could remember where that was. She knew where the sound system was, though she'd need time to find if it had headphones. At least it wasn't the complete opposite way, just a detour.

She hasn't run into more mannequins.

But she hasn't been here long.

There was also a chance of more sound based monsters. Music was such a large part of her life, it would make sense.

She takes another shuddering breath, shivering hard.

Okay.

Headphones.

Trapdoor.

She looks around as best she can one more time before carefully climbing down. Her heart pounding in her chest, her pace slow to keep from slipping. Making sure her boot is firmly on the bar before moving her other leg, moving one hand at a time to make sure her grip is secure.

Its slow.

She's freezing.

But she can't risk a sprained ankle now.

After what feels like an eternity, she finally steps down onto the stage.

The buzzing in her tote is still low. Nothing is immediately on her.

She moves carefully, using her time from sneaking around the school to the fullest, moving to the sound board. Nothing is on top of it, so she has to open the drawers and cupboard, trying to keep from rustling everything until she finally find a pair buried under a mess of old wires.

She grabs it.

Only to find out the cord was still plugged in, and as she tugged them out, it yanks on a switch on the board.

There's the sound of feedback from the speakers.

The sound of a shriek-

She slams them over her ears.

There is still the echoes of those painful feelings, the ones that left her feeling so hollow, but she was quick enough to drown them out.

But she needed to move. She was sure they were moving to the stage now, where the speakers were, and she looks to the trapdoor. She breaks into a run, slipping on the ice, but maintaining forward momentum, letting herself hit her knees at the trapdoor and throwing it open with...quite a bit of effort.

It was heavier than normal, metal, and she sees the heavy chain inside.

She drops down into the place beneath the stage, grabbing the chain to start tugging it closed.

Only to feel resistance as she sees a handhoof grabbing onto the edge of the trap door.

"No!" She shouted, and tugs harder, looking around. There! An anchoring hook in the floor. She just needed to get the chain to it.

But the broken hybrid was fighting her, and even using all her body weight, it was proving difficult to overpower it. She wasn't even slamming the handhoof into the edge. If it was that strong and got a hold of her-

She wrapped the chain around her injured arm, hissing at the cold metal presses against the flesh exposed under her damage sleeve, but she bites through the pain as she draws her sword and swinging up-

Another burst of the pungent smell of decay as the handhoof hits the floor.

Her falling without the resistance.

The wire of the headphones caught at the edge of the trapdoor, tugging them off as she drops.

The sound of the shrieking as the trapdoor slam shut, the rush of hollow agony through her frame and its all she can do to slam the hook onto the anchor before she blacks out.

Sunset Shimmer approaches the field. Her aunt said to go out and try to socialize. She was too busy to entertain Sunset and really, its been six months, she should have made a friend by now.

Sunset had never had the easiest time making friends. It was a fact she recognized rather early. A poor winner, her mom had said, with gentle admonishment. A young filly with a lot of talent and drive. She couldn't help she was smarter than her peers and wasn't some weak bookworm! Still, her mom has told her to try and win with more grace and she had been learning how to do that and had even made progress.

Now though?

It was...it was just hard to make friends. It was hard to smile. It was hard to be friendly.

She tried. She really was. But it was hard to match the other kids' energy, to get as invested in their games. She wanted to try. She wanted to get along.

There were two girls that she seems to connect to. Kiwi and Zap. They were a little older, so Sunset things it was easier to match their energy than those of her young peers. Zap was especially friendly despite...everything.

She was supposed to meet with them today. They said they wanted to do a song for the talent show next month and asked Sunset if she wanted to do any special affects for the show. She had always been good with magic.

Only to stop at the edge of the field.

Lily Valley.

Lily Valley had been the other factor that made it hard to make friends.

"You're really asking her to do pyrotechnics? Are you crazy! You know what she's cursed. You're begging for it if you're asking her to do that!" Lily Valley said in a sincere panic.

Which was the worst part.

She wasn't saying things to be cruel, she believed her words.

"Oh come on, Lily! She's really nice. A little quiet, but I mean, anypony would be quiet after what happened," Supernova Zap said.

"They would if they were the cause!"

Sunset felt her stomach drop.

"Now you listen here!" Kiwi Lollipop snapped. "She's already going through a hard enough time! You can't just say things like that, Lily. She's not cursed, something bad just happened."

"That's suspicious! She was the only pony who-"

"Sunset!" Zap shouted, shoving a hoof over Lily Valley's mouth. "You're here."

Sunset hesitated and approached. "...hey guys," she said quietly. "What are you talking about?" Maybe if she made Lily Valley realize how awkward this was, she'd stopped.

"I was warning them-" Lily Valley started, still utterly convinced.

"To not miss signs up tomorrow," Kiwi said sharply. "And then she was going home."

"But-"

"Go. Home." Kiwi said sharply.

Lily snapped her mouth shut. She huffed and looked at Sunset. She could see the fear flicker in her eyes before she turned and fled.

"...did you hear any of that?" Zap asked.

Sunset looked after Lily before finally looking at the two girls who looked concerned. She shook her head. "Not really," she said. They had defended her. She...she didn't need to put more pressure on them.

They looked relieved.

They moved on to talking about the show.

Sunset showed off what magic she could do, and it had been largely successful.

Right up until the actual pyro part of the pryotechnics instead of just illusionary light.

She....she doesn't know what happened. Maybe it was the stress. But she had lost control of the fire. Had set a tree ablaze. There was no damage beyond it, the adults had been quick to arrive to put it out and the girls had assured Sunset that it was all right. They could keep to the illusions.

She ignored the doubt she could now see in their eyes.

Author's Note

I mean, there's no proof that AJ wasn't officially part of the fencing club in Queen of Clubs. Plus I always found it interesting it was Applejack who said Sunset does a nicey-nice act and then backstabs. It seemed most likely she had a first hand experience with it instead of simply knowing how Sunset operates.

...also sometimes the inspiration bat hits you years later.