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                           12:00                           
                      -by Flint-Lock-                      
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                             1                             
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1
It’s hers.
A powerful and magical crown planted atop her head—where it belongs.
Two years of waiting. Rotting, powerless, in this miserable world without even the slightest spark of magic, trapped in this furless ape body, ruling over a miserable school. But now it’s all worth it. Now she can return to Equestria. To fulfill her destiny as a queen.
Power flows through her veins— an adrenaline rush hundred-fold. Maniacally laughter fills the air as she rides the greatest power-high of her life. Why stop at queen? With this power she could create a new world, a new universe if she wished! She could see it now: a whole new world, with her as its goddess
The crown grows hot, the frame around the element slot melts. Laughter turns to screams as the heat channels through her body, burning her from the inside out. Flesh chars and flakes away. Blood boils. Bones blacken.
“Hot… it’s too hot...” Sunset mumbled, stumbling down an empty hallway. The world spun and blurred around her, each second a struggle to keep the churning vomit in her stomach where it belonged.
What… happened? She pressed a hand against her head, fighting to piece reality back together.
Dream! Had that… been some sort of dream? Mmhm, a-an… hallucination maybe? Ack, n-no. That isn’t right. Something's off… s-something’s wrong. W-Where… where am I?
The world ceased to spin. In the settled world, Sunset became familiar once, this hall the center of her once-kingdom… Canterlot High’s main hall.
“Hello?” Sunset cupped her hands over her mouth. “Hello?!” No response. All she could hear were the faint buzzing of fluorescent lights and hissing of radiators.
Where was everyone? The Fall Formal was tonight, wasn’t it? So why wasn’t anyone here? And why couldn’t she hear any music?
Concentrate, Shimmer, concentrate. She closed her eyes, placing her palm against her forehead. Now, try to remember: what happened at the dance?
Easier said than done; her mind felt like some psychic vandal had smashed her memories with a hammer. Remembering anything other than her name made her brain sizzled her brain. She vaguely remembered the Fall Formal, that stupid, talking dog, then the crown, then… nothing.
The memories weren’t hazy or jumbled or anything—they were gone.
Speaking of the Fall Formal, what time was it?Sunset scanned the walls until she found a clock. Her jaw dropped.
Midnight?! The dance had started at eight, and it couldn’t have been more than an hour before she stole the crown. That left three hours missing from her memory!
She compiled the facts in her head. Three hours missing, last memory was stealing the crown, and now she was here. She didn’t have the element of magic. Ergo, her plan had failed somehow.
Fire rushed through Sunset’s veins “Damnit!” She slammed a fist against a locker. So close, so close!
For a while, Sunset poured all of her frustration, all of her rage into the hapless locker. Two years of waiting for the portal to open. Two years of blackmailing, plotting, and preparation, All wasted.  
Once the fires inside her burned themselves out, Sunset took a deep breath, held it for a bit, then exhaled. A counselor had once told her about her cutie mark; how the flaming yin-yang sun represented her burning desire to overcome any obstacle. Fear and failure were just two more obstacles on the path. The old plan was obviously scuttled. It was a setback, that was all. She could always come up with a new plan. But right now…
A jaw-splitting yawn escaped from Sunset’s mouth as she started down the hall. Right now, her top priority was to get back to her apartment, get some sleep, and hammer things out in the morning. Whatever was going on here—magical shenanigans, spiked punch, or whatever—there was no point in staying here. In this deserted school. All alone.
A spring wound up in Sunset’s gut. While she’d mostly gotten used to this strange body, she still had a few pesky instincts leftover from her old life in Equestria: an inexplicable urge to burst into song, a strange craving for hay, and irrational fear of being alone. The former two she’d learned to ignore. The latter wasn’t so easy.
Planning. Quickly, Sunset gave her brain an assignment. “What to do tomorrow? Hmm… guess I’ll start by checking in with Pipsqueak. See if he’s got any more—
“Woah!”
Before she could finish, something slammed into Sunset’s legs, sending her sprawling to the floor.
What the…? Pushing herself up, Sunset looked around to find herself in a room filled with lockers and with ceramic floor tiles, smelling of sweat, soap, and disinfectant.
What...I...? Sunset pushed herself up, smoothing out a few wrinkles on her leather jacket. Did I ...make a wrong turn?
Confused, Sunset walked out the door, her boots squeaking on the tiles ... only to find herself in the cafeteria.
What...how did? How is…? Sunset picked her way through the kitchen, bumping into counters, sending pots and pans crashing to the floor like a clumsy chef. This didn’t make any sense; the cafeteria and the locker rooms were on opposite ends of the school. There was no way she could have walked here that quickly!
The spring began winding itself again. She tried in vain to ignore it as she pushed aside the double doors leading out of the cafeteria...only to find herself staring down the main hallway. Exactly where she’d started.
“I just... spaced out,” Sunset forced out a weak chuckle, wringing her hands “Yeah, I just spaced out while I was walking. My silly old brain got distracted, that’s all.”
She facepalmed. “ And now I’m talking to myself.” She mumbled and took a step, partly expecting to find herself in a broom closet or the boy's bathroom. After that, she took another step, and another step. Nothing. Inside, she breathed a sigh of relief and dashed for the school’s front doors. Not that she was afraid or anything. No, she just...just didn’t want to stay here any longer than she had to.
The moment she saw those two beautiful doors, Sunset almost jumped for joy. This crazy night was almost over; past those doors, only a short walk separated her from her nice warm bed. Already she could hear its siren call.
Come to me, Sunset. Come to me.
I’m coming, old friend! Sunset pressed a hand against the bar and pushed. It didn’t budge.
Of course, she growled and reached into her red-gold hair, fishing around a bit before pulling out a lone bobby pin. Picking out a few stray hairs, she carefully bent and twisted the metal ribbon into a crude lockpick.
It was times like this that she really missed her horn. With it, she could have teleported herself through the door, brought it to life and commanded it to open, or, if she was really impatient, wrenched the door off its hinges and tossed it aside.
The sooner she returned to Equestria- and claimed Celestia’s throne for herself-the better.
Once her makeshift lockpick was done Sunset kneeled in front of the deadbolt, maneuvering the little tool into the keyhole...only for it to slide off something solid.
“What?” Sunset leaned in for a closer look. The “lock” was a solid lump of metal, crudely shaped into something resembling a deadbolt, with a keyhole drawn on with a marker.
Quickly, Sunset ran through the school, checking every possible door and window leading out of the school; the east door, the side entrances, even the emergency exits, trying to ignore the growing ball of ice in her stomach. All locked up tight and their locks replaced by those crude dummies.
Sunset pounded a fist against a wall. A prank. It had to be a prank. During the dance, someone had slipped something into her punch, dragged her out into the middle of the hall, and, while she was unconscious, replaced every lock in the school. All without anyone noticing
It was the most contrived explanation ever. It was also the only one that made sense
Laugh now, joker. Sunset clenched a fist and glared. First thing tomorrow, she was going to check with her contact, find out who this bozo was, then dig up some dirt on them. Were they a secret Bed wetter? Did they have a secret crush they didn’t want their parents to know about? It was going online.
Nobody pranked Sunset Shimmer. Ever.
Revenge would have to wait, though. Much as she hated to admit it, since the doors and windows out of the question the only option now was to call for help. Sunset reached into her pocket, feeling for the comforting little bump of her smartphone.
Damnit! It figured. Not only had that prankster locked her in, but they’d taken her phone! Forget blackmail. This jackass was in for something special.
“Calm down, Shimmer, calm down. There’s a phone in the school office. Just give the police a ring and you’ll be back by…”
Sunset checked the wall clock again. Still Midnight?
“Figures.” She groaned, starting off down the hall towards the office. In this dump, things were breaking down all the time. First the lights, then the clock,
A few drops of sweat trickled down Sunset’s brow. She tugged at the collar of her jacket. And now the furnace. She hated to think about what the school’s gas bills were going to look like.
Now that she thought about, it had the school always been this dilapidated? Maybe it was just the exhaustion screwing with her head, but the sheetrock floor tiles were a bit more scuffed than she remembered, the lockers a bit more dented than she recalled. On the ceiling, some of the pinholed tiles were covered in brown splotches she hadn’t seen before. Even the light from the fluorescents seemed to have a slight reddish tint.
That wasn’t all. Call her crazy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched.
“Keep it together, Shimmer.” She muttered to herself. “Remember, you’re the Queen of Canterlot High.”
Yeah, the Queen. Whenever she walked through its halls, the popular kids- the nobility- crowded around her, while everyone else- the commoners- kept their heads down and avoided eye contact. Earn her favor, and she’d reward you. Piss her off, and she would stomp you into the dirt.
Normally that would comfort her. Now, with no one else around, Sunset didn’t feel like a Queen. She felt like a rat in a maze.
After a walk that took much, much longer than it should, Sunset made a beeline for the secretary’s desk and snatched the phone from its cradle. Fingers flew across the keypad as she punched in the number for the Canterlot police department, then held the receiver to her ear. The phone rang a few times, then there was the familiar clicking, clattering sound of someone picking up.
“Hello, Mr. Turner.”
Sunset dropped the handset, blood draining from her face as the speakerphone turned itself on.
“Oh nothing, it’s just that I’ve come across photographs of you and Miss. Cheerilee getting....frisky with each other. If someone were to, oh, I don’t know, post those pictures online, well…”
A moment of silence. “What do I want? Well, my phone’s a bit out of date.date. I’d buy a new one but, the rent’s due in a week and you know…”
Another moment of silence. “Good. Just get me the phone, and I’ll make sure those pesky photos are never seen again”
The faux politeness dissolved. “Oh, and if you try to doublecross me, I’ll not only post the pics, I’ll also tell Principal Celestia that you tried to rape me! Got it?!”
There was a click, and the phone went dead. For a few eternities, Sunset just stood there, limbs encased in concrete.
“It...it’s just a...a recording.” Her body started to thaw. “Yeah, someone...someone just played a recording over the phone. That’s all. Just part of the prank. Yep, Nothing supernatural or sinister here.”
She almost believed it.
Slowly, Sunset forced herself to pick up the handset again, pushed a few buttons, then slammed it back into its cradle. Well, the phones were no longer an option. Now what?
Sunset suddenly whipped herself around. What was that? For a moment she thought she’d heard something.
She stood perfectly still, cursing this body’s tiny ears. There it was again; footsteps. Leading away from the school office. It had to be the prankster
“Hello?” She leaned out into the hallway to see one of the classroom doors slowly swaying on its hinges.
“Look, I’m not going to hurt you.” Sunset said in the most non-threatening voice she could muster. She gave out a nervous laugh. “ You pranked me. You won. Now just let me go and I’ll forget all about this.” She crossed two fingers behind her back as she reached for the door.
“I gotta admit, this was a pretty good prank.” She said as she swung the door open. . “ I never saw... it...com...ing...”
Every muscle in Sunset’s body locked up.
The classroom wasn’t empty; it was gone; in its place was a featureless black void, like someone had opened a portal to the bottom of the ocean, drinking in light, slurping up heat. Just looking at it made Sunset shiver.
Before Sunset’s mind could reboot, something gave her a violent shove from behind, sending her stumbling head-first into the darkness, swallowed alive by the void. The last thing she heard was the door slamming shut behind her.