Cinematic Adventures: Carrie

The very next day, the Mane Six and Spike awoke bright and early to take on their newest task ahead of them. Normally on their previous adventures, they’d often be offered to stay with someone. Only this time, they were not afforded such luxuries. This led them to renting a motel room (‘Literally’ a room to fit them all), but thankfully Twilight had plenty of bits. This is where they’d be staying throughout the course of their time here.

Having seen the other day just how badly Carrie was abused, not only by her classmates but her own mother, they realized she truly needed their help. If what Twilight said was true, that she held a powerful magic deep within, if this power ever got out of control it could very well mean devastation for this town… and the world!

“Okay, so how’re we going to pull this off?” Rainbow questioned Twilight.

“Simple,” Twilight responded. “We go to the high school today and speak with the principal. We tell him we are new transfer students starting school today. He gives us our schedules and this way we keep an eye on Carrie while attending the school.”

“Oh, is that all?” Rainbow remarked sarcastically. “I don’t think it’s ‘that’ simple, Twi. We’re full-grown mares and a teenage dragon from another universe. We may look like human teenagers, but we don’t exactly blend well with this crowd.”

“She does have a point darling,” Rarity agreed. “I’m quite certain we’d need some form of proof of a former school we went to. Of which… we have none.”

“Ah gotta agree,” Applejack spoke up.

“Don’t worry girls,” Twilight assured. “If they do start asking questions, I’ll handle it.”

“I just hope we can help poor Carrie before something awful happens,” Fluttershy said worriedly.

“Aw don’t fret Fluttershy,” Pinkie replied, patting her back. “We’ll cheer Carrie up right as rain. We just need to throw her one massive party and hopefully a whole bunch of people will come. Then she’ll be so popular everyone will want to be her best friend!”

“Sure Pinkie, because that will be ‘really’ easy with her crazy religious mom and that weird cult hanging around,” Spike replied deadpanned.

“C’mon guys, we’ve got work to do!” Twilight declared. “So let’s get to it!”

Soon the enter group gathered everything they needed and made their way out of the motel toward Twilight’s car parked in the lot up front. Everyone piled in one-by-one with Twilight taking the driver’s seat and starting up the car. They pulled out of the lot and drove down the road towards the high school.

The minute the car was out of sight, an Eden’s Gate cultist approached their motel door and used a lockpick to unlock it. He soon reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small canister of some sort as he proceeded into the room. What exactly was he up to? Only God knows…

<>

The school day officially started at Ewan High School, as a number of students made their way through the front doors for another day of learning. Twilight and the others made their way inside as well, instantly working towards the principal’s office.

“I’m just gonna say it again,” Spike said nervously. “This is a bad idea…”

“Don’t worry your little head Spike!” Pinkie assured him. “I have a bonified, guaranteed, super-sure way of getting us in easy-peasy rice and cheesy.”

“I’m afraid to ask, but… what is it?”

“You’ll see…”

Soon the entire group made it into the principal’s office and before their eyes was Principal Mortan, a middle-aged, overweight African American man sitting at his desk. The moment he noticed the six girls and one boy walk into his office, he put on a smile.

“How can I help you all today?” He asked.

“Hello sir, we’re new transfer students,” Twilight informed him. “My friends and I wanted to see about getting our schedules.”

“Transfer students?” Morton questioned. “How strange, I hadn’t been given any information on transfers recently. It’s especially unusually this grade, and so late in the school year. But… don’t worry, I can see about completing your transfer.”

“Thank you very much,” Twilight thanked him.

Morton started typing on the computer set up on his desk as he began the process of transferring them to the school.

“I’ll just need your addresses and contact information from your parents or legal guardians so we can put together your transfer requests. I’ll also need proof of your parents’ residency, such as a utility bill, or a mortgage lease, assuming you’ve just moved to town. We’ll also need proof of your parents’ custody of you, birth certificates, or adoption papers if that applies. Your parents will also need to give us your medical records to ensure we know of any health-related issues you might have and be sure you’ve all had the necessary shots. And of course, we’ll need your transcripts from your previous school or schools. Once that’s all put in, we’ll try to push this through in a few weeks and get you into class.”

Hearing all the information required just to get into this place made everyone’s eyes widen and they started feeling nervous about the whole thing.

“Okay Twi, time to start taking care of it like you said,” Rainbow whispered to Twilight.

“Now then, can I get your parents’ phone numbers?” Morton asked.

Just as Twilight made to speak, Pinkie held a single arm in front of her stopping her in her tracks. Twilight eyed Pinkie curiously, as the pink party girl approached the desk and stood right in front of Morton. Slowly she waved her hand in front of his face, performing a Jedi mind trick.

“You don’t need to see any of that stuff…” She said.

“On second thought, I don’t need to see any of that stuff,” Morton spoke hypnotized.

“We’re normal trustworthy teenage girls…”

“You’re normal trustworthy teenage girls…”

“So, we can just have the same schedule as Carrie White and get to class…”

“So, you can just have the same schedule as Carrie White and get to class…”

The principal handed them their schedules and they each grabbed one.

“Have a nice day!” Pinkie waved goodbye.

“Have a nice day!” Morton waved back.

The Mane Six and Spike waved with wide smiles, and quickly left the office with the papers. Walking down the halls, they released a sigh of relief before facing Pinkie Pie.

“That was a close one!” Rainbow sighed surprised. “Good job, Pinkie.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Master Yoda,” Pinkie smiled, pointing to the sky.

“Why the hay did none of that come up in Canterlot High?!” Twilight asked.

“Maybe that world worked more on the honor system,” Rarity guessed. “Or… the school really needs to update their security and admissions process…”

<>

Carrie White walked to school that morning feeling anxious and depressed as she always did whenever she approached the horrid place. Every day going to school, she was a constant source of torment, bullied ruthlessly by Chris Hargensen and her friends. All the more reason why she was always so hesitant to even go to school every day.

She decided to just keep her head down, and maybe if she walked as quickly as she could through the halls, she wouldn’t run into any of them. Once again, however, she ended up running right smack dab into someone due to her keeping her head down and not watching where she was going. This caused her to drop all her materials onto the floor.

“Oh, I’m really sorry about that,” A male voice spoke. “I should really watch where I’m going.”

Carrie looked up toward who she just run into and the moment she saw who it was, her eyes went wide. She stared in utter shock toward the young man standing above her, a boy just a slight older than she was with dark brown hair spiked up and a pair of sterling grey eyes. He wore a dark leather jacket, a grey t-shirt, and a pair of jeans with matching sneakers. He was certainly a very handsome young man with white sparkling teeth as he smiled toward her and held his hand out to her.

“Let me help you up,” He offered.

Carrie shied away at first only because she was worried that he’d bully her or torment her like everyone else. However, looking into those sterling eyes though she noticed only kindness and compassion. So slowly, ever so slowly, she reached her hand out and grasped his own as he gently lifted her back to her feet.

“Like I said, I’m really sorry I ran into you,” He apologized again.

Carrie looked like she wanted to respond, but she was so nervous and scared that she just knelt toward the floor to pick up her stuff. The young man in question leaned down as well, helping the girl who merely kept her face down. He grabbed for a white covered book, and suddenly his eyes went wide the moment he noticed the golden Eden’s Gate cross on the cover.

“What’s this?” He asked her.

Carrie looked up and noticed the bible in his hand. She gasped loudly before quickly reaching out and snatched it quickly.

“It’s nothing!” She answered quickly. “Please don’t touch it again.”

“Hey, no worries!” The boy said defensively. “What can I say? I’m a curious guy.”

Carrie stood back to her full height and the boy did the same as he kept looking at her.

“So… Eden’s Gate huh?” He asked.

Carrie quickly made her way to walk by him, to avoid any further conversation with him. But she quickly stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She gulped in fear as she turned back toward the boy, ready for the torment and ridicule she was sure would follow. What caught her entirely surprised, however, was seeing him reach into his own backpack and revealed an identical copy of the bible she had.

“Guess we both follow the word of Joseph,” He smiled.

He once again stuck his hand to her, only this time in a more ‘greeting’ type of fashion.

“Name’s Derick Collins,” He introduced himself.

Carrie merely looked at the outstretched hand for a moment before slowly reaching out and shaking it delicately.

“C-C-Carrie White,” She stammered.

Derick Collins smiled toward the shy teenager and couldn’t help but think how completely cute it was of her trying (And failing) to hide her blushing.

“Well hopefully I’ll get to see you around again soon… Carrie.”

With that in question, Derick turned heel and started walking down the hall as the young girl looked on. A strange feeling started to build inside of her, something she never felt after speaking with ‘anyone’ (Least not in years). But this boy, whom she barely knew, treated her as no different compared to anyone else… and they are apparently both part of the same group. If he was there at some of the sermons she was taken to with her mother, a shame she hadn’t known him sooner. Because the more she thought of Derick, as she looked down the hall, the bigger the smile formed as thoughts raced through her head.

<>

Later…

Carrie White walked around the school swimming pool with several other students. Amongst the whole group, she was the only one wrapped in a towel covering her body from the top of her neck to around her legs. The sound of laughter made Carrie freeze, as several girls emerged in swimsuits just smiling and laughing. These were the popular girls known as ‘The Ultras’ consisting of: Sue Snell, Chris Hargensen, Heather Shryes, Tina Blake, Nikki and Lizzy Thibodeau, among others.

Carrie stood out of the why shyly, as several guys approached the swimsuit wearing girls. One boy, Tommy Ross, hugged Sue Snell and shared a kiss together. Carrie watched the kiss with such envy over their affection for one another. The like of which Carrie has never experienced in her entire life. In the meantime, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were amongst the students dressed in their suits. Truthfully, they were only there because they had the same schedule as Carrie, and they merely wanted to keep an eye on her. But they also knew that unless they took part in some of the school activities, they’d arouse some unwanted suspicion.

“Sue Snell! Tommy Ross! Come on!”

The shout of a teacher’s voice made Sue and Tommy separate and soon all the students dispersed. Before they all got into the pool, Carrie gave one last look toward Tommy, who smiled after Sue before turning to follow. The teacher herself, Miss Rita Desjardin, blew the whistle.

“Let’s go, ladies!” Miss Desjardin called out. “In the water! Caps on, please! Chris and Sue! Let’s go!”

“All right girls!” Rainbow replied, cracking her knuckles. “Time to build some school spirit and bring it to court!”

“Just remember Rainbow, this ‘is’ a team game!” Applejack advised, following her. “It ain’t about you!”

“Aw, come on! This is the Team Captain of the Wonderbolts you’re talking to. I’m all about that team spirit!”

Carrie eyed the girls quietly as she put her swim cap on, while all the other girls jumped into the pool among them Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Two things they noticed: The pool was waist deep, so they wouldn’t have to do a ton of swimming. And the game all these girls were about to play was Water Volleyball, which was a slight advantage for Rainbow and her friends given her two pals have a passing system as they do for Buck Ball (Just no basket).

But as they got ready to compete, Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice that Carrie preferred to stay in the back corner of the pool as if she was intentionally straying as far from everyone as possible. Though given the earlier treatment she’d seen Carrie take when they first arrived, the pink haired teen couldn’t blame her in the slightest.

“I want you to keep it in the air three times!” Miss Desjardin instructed. “All right?”

Carrie stood in the corner, watching the other girls play. Twilight Sparkle, along with Spike, Applejack and Rarity, cheered for their friends on the sideline. Sue struck the ball over the net.

“Yeah, Sue!” Chris cheered.

The ball came by so fast that Fluttershy jumped back as it splashed in the water near her.

“Don’t be afraid of the ball, ladies! All right, here we go.”

“Oh… it is on!” Rainbow replied.

It was now the other team’s turn to serve the ball. Rainbow Dash took the ball and spiked it so hard, it flew toward the corner of the pool near Carrie. The poor child looked so terrified as the ball floated toward her. All the attention from the other girls fell on the girl in the corner.

“All right, Carrie White!” Miss Desjardin called out. “Let’s get Carrie into the game. You can’t stand on the sidelines all the time.”

“Yeah! Give it a shot, Carrie!” Pinkie called out. “It’s all in good fun!”

Carrie nervously picked up the ball. Chris stared at her with an evil expression.

“Come on! Carrie’s serve!” Miss Desjardin called out.

“Whoo! Do it, Carrie!” Chris sarcastically cheered. “Yeah, yeah! Throw it. Do it. Serve it.”

“What is that girl’s problem?” Spike asked Applejack.

“Ya got me… but I don’t like it,” Applejack answered honestly.

Carrie awkwardly served the ball, and it flew toward the back of Sue Snell’s head.

“Ow!” Sue cried out.

“Ooh…!” The Equestrians cringed.

To say Carrie was mortified was an understatement. Chris and the other girls laughed, even Sue found some good humor in this situation.

“Ow! What the hell?” Sue replied.

Chris laughed hysterically, while Sue joined in (Albeit more sarcastically).

“Ha, ha, ha! It’s so funny, Chris!”

“Are you okay?” Chris chuckled.

“Yeah…”

“Well… always keep ‘em laughing!” Pinkie chuckled, shrugging her shoulder.

Carrie smiled nervously, hoping her blunder wasn’t as bad as she thought. And then… Chris hurled the ball back toward Carrie, and all the other girls (Apart from the Equestrians) kept laughing.

“You eat shit!” Chris shouted.

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” Rainbow called out. “Not cool!!”

Carrie frowned and stared toward the water in shame. Once more, the girl felt more ostracized than before. None of this went unnoticed by one of the girls in the pool, Fluttershy, who looked toward Carrie so sympathetically. For a brief moment, Fluttershy could see an image of herself when she was a young girl… the laughing echoing around the sad little filly. She knew the feeling of Carrie’s pain all too well.

<>

After the game, most of the girls were in the locker room. Most of them were showering the chlorine off their bodies, while others were just changing. As they left the showers, Sue and Chris were in the midst of their discussion… mostly about boys.

“No, he didn’t,” Sue spoke.

“Yes, he did!” Chris answered.

“No, he didn’t. You’re making it up.”

“He came up to me and I said, ‘Well, you have to extend your hand…’”

“Now you’re lying…”

Carrie soon entered the showers wearing a towel, she looked around nervously for the other girls. Her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection, terrified and ashamed over the idea of anyone seeing her naked. But it was either wash the chlorine off or smell like pool water for the rest of the entire day. The whole school would get a kick out of it, but that wasn’t what ‘truly’ terrified her…

All the while, the Mane Six and Spike decided to get some information while they had time. After leaving the showers, they found the red-haired gym teacher, Desjardin, trying to clean up the pool. She soon stopped when she noticed the group walking toward her.

“Hi there!” She called out. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Actually Miss Desjardin, there is,” Twilight nodded. “We were just wondering if you could tell us a bit about this town. Seeing as we’re brand new to the area, we don’t really know much about it.”

“Sure!” Miss Desjardin nodded. “What would you kids like to know?”

“We’ve noticed a distinct lack of people in this town,” Rarity brought up. “Now I understand that this isn’t a small town by any means, but even the smallest towns have more residents than this.”

Miss Desjardin sighed loudly, as she looked toward the ground with a shake of her head. When she looked back toward them, they all could see the upset look in her eyes.

“This town used to have more people living here than it currently does,” She confirmed. “But all that changed the day Eden’s Gate rolled in.”

“Eden’s Gate?” Spike questioned.

“Yeah, they’re that religious cult I’m sure you’ve probably seen wandering this town.”

“What’s their story?” Applejack asked.

“Well years ago, they first appeared in a small community in Montana known as Hope County,” Desjardin explained. “They started out small and friendly, but soon enough it got out of control. They started buying up all the farms in the area, got ahold of the radio stations, entire towns, and before too long even had the cops on their pay roll. There wasn’t a single ounce of territory that they didn’t control. It was their own little sovereign community, built right under the people’s noses.”

“Dear Faust!” Rarity gasped.

“Wait! You said they started small and friendly,” Rainbow pointed out. “Does that mean things started turning ugly?”

“Not a whole lot’s known about this group before they came,” Miss Desjardin admitted. “One thing I do know though is that the government started sending strike teams to deal with the problem they possessed. No one knows of any of them that came back. Soon their reach started getting out of the country and within a few years, they expanded all across the U.S.”

“So why come to Chamberlain?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“That’s what I don’t seem to understand. There’s nothing of real use for them here. I have no idea why they’d want to come here.”

“Can you tell us about the one’s leading them?” Twilight asked.

“Well the cult was founded and still run by Joseph Seed,” Miss Desjardin informed. “Crazy bastard calls himself ‘the Father’. He believes that some sort of ‘Great Collapse’ will hit, and the world will be engulfed in fire and blood.”

Hearing those two specific words made Twilight freeze in place. Fire… and blood. It reminded her of Princess Luna’s nightmare. At that moment, she could confirm this cult was exactly what they were sent here to stop.

“Then of course there’s his brother John,” Rita continued. “He’s the Baptist of the cult. Sends his goons out randomly and they start taking random people kicking and screaming into the woods for some sort of ‘cleansing’. Never heard of any he’s taken coming back.”

Fluttershy visibly trembled and shook hearing such information.

“Then there’s Faith, the little sister. I’ve heard reports of people losing their minds in a place called ‘the Bliss’. From what I’ve heard about Faith, she’s a liar and a manipulator who plays the sweet, innocent damsel-in-distress to fool people into helping her. When she gets you, there’s no going back.”

Soon Rarity joined Fluttershy in shaking in fear.

“And lastly, there’s the oldest of them: Jacob. A former military soldier who lost his mind on the battlefield. Then when he came back, he joined his brothers and became the one training the new recruits for the cult. From what I hear, he’s pretty damn good at it. In his mind, you’re either strong… or you are dead.”

<>

Once she was finally alone, Carrie hung up her towel on the stands under the shower. She turned on the water and run her hands over her head, trying to relieve herself of all the stress. She took a bar of soap and started cleaning the rest of her body. Suddenly, she looked down and dropped the bar of soap in shock… spotting blood upon it. But the horror of it all came from the blood coursing down her legs onto the wet floor. Soon there was blood all over her hands. Poor Carrie was so terrified that she screamed.

“HELP! HELP!” Carrie shouted. “HELP ME!”

Carrie wrapped the towel around herself and ran out of the shower in a panic. Soon she ran right into the other girls.

“Help me!” Carrie begged.

She grabbed for Sue, her eyes begging for help. Sue pushed her away, thinking she’s just acting out.

“Get off me, you freak!”

“Please!”

The girls see a bloody handprint left on Sue’s shirt.

“Oh, my God!” Chris cried out. “Look what she did to your shirt.”

“Please!” Carrie sobbed.

Carrie grabbed Chris, who pushed her away. The other girls were a tad freaked out by the outburst, while Carrie was utterly terrified.

“Stop! Stop! Settle down!” Chris called out.

“I think I’m bleeding to death!” Carrie bawled. “Please!”

Carrie backed up, hugging herself trying to stop the bleeding. The realization hit Chris like a ton of bricks.

“Oh, my God, it’s period blood!”

“What?” Sue questioned. “Oh, my God.”

“I’m bleeding!” Carrie cried. “I think I’m dying!”

The other girls, though shocked, laughed over what they assumed to be an overreaction. Carire didn’t know what was happening with her, and she cried in sheer terror.

“PLEASE HELP ME!” Carrie begged.

“It’s just your period!” Chris spoke.

Soon Chris opened a locker, revealing a stack of tampons, pads, and sanitary cloths. She grabbed a tampon and held it out to Carrie.

“Just plug it up.”

Unfortunately, Carrie didn’t understand. She grabbed for Chris’ hand in desperation, but the latter pulled away though her hand was now bloody.

“Help me!” Carrie cried.

And Chris just laughed, mockingly imitating Carrie’s panic. The girls couldn’t help but laugh at Carrie’s overreaction.

“Oh, God!” Chris spoke.

“Oh! She got you,” Sue pointed out.

“Help me!” Carrie sobbed hysterically.

“God, just plug it up!” Sue groaned in frustration.

“HELP!”

Soon the girls started advancing on Carrie, chanting ‘Plug it up! Plug it up!’. Carrie backed into the shower area, falling to the floor. She was so scared, so confused, thinking she’s dying and had no idea what’s happening. Only Sue remained behind, her smile shrinking as she realized something really wasn’t right. All the other girls just threw tampons and maxi pads at Carrie, who crawled back hysterically crying, clutching the blood-stained towel around herself.

“I’m sorry… No!” Carrie cried.

The girls’ chanting and laughing continued. Chris pulled out her phone and began recording a video of Carrie screaming on the floor. The chanting from the girls filled the background, as feminine products pelted the defenseless child. Sue kept watch, only now realizing things have gone too far. Carrie curled into a fetal position on the floor, crying her eyes out while Chris kept the phone aimed at her.

All of a sudden, the teacher’s voice came over the changing.

“LADIES! LADIES!”

Miss Desjardin pushed through the crowd of girls, with the Equestrians close behind her. The group gasped in shock when they saw Carrie sobbing on the floor, surrounded by tampons and tissues. Desjardin too was shocked but tried to regain control of the situation. Carrie grasped at her, begging hysterically for help.

“Oh, my Faust!” Rarity gasped.

“What happened in here?!” Spike asked, horrified.

“It’s okay! It’s all right…” Desjardin spoke. “She’s not hurt!”

“Help me!” Carrie sobbed.

“It’s okay, hon,” Applejack reassured. “We’re here for ya.”

“Stand up. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Desjardin instructed.

Desjardin and a few of Twilight’s friends approached Carrie, trying to calm her down.

“Help me, help me!” Carrie sobbed.

By now Sue, and even the other girls, stopped laughing at the situation. All they could now was watch the scene play out before them.

“Come on, Carrie,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “Let’s get you to a nurse. Can you stand up?”

“It hurts!” Carrie cried. “Something’s not right.”

Sue walked beside Miss Desjardin and the Equestrians.

“Okay, okay. What are you talking about?” Miss Desjardin asked.

“Ms. Desjardin, I don’t think she knows it’s her period,” Sue spoke up.

“NO! NO!” Carrie shouted.

By now, Carrie had totally lost her composure. One by one, the tampons and pads around Carrie suddenly jumped backwards across the floor all by themselves. Some of the Equestrians reeled back as some of the pads touched near their feet. Then above them, the lights started to flicker followed by an electrical hum.

“Twi… what’s going on?” Spike asked nervously.

“I don’t know Spike…” Twi answered.

“All right, Sue. Get out of here!” Miss Desjardin spoke. “You’re not helping.”

Sue quickly backed off but the madness continued.

“NO! NO!” Carrie shouted.

“CALM DOWN!” Miss Desjardin shouted.

*SLAP!*

Miss Desjardin slapped Carrie across the face, snapping her out of her hysterics. Carrie finally quieted down, while the entire was dead silent. Twilight, the other girls, and Spike gasped in shock seeing a teacher strike a student’s face like that. But they had no words to describe what they saw.

“Everyone get out!” Miss Desjardin called out. “Now! Out!”

The other girls obeyed and turned to leave. Even Twilight and her friends had no choice but to step aside, leaving Miss Desjardin to comfort Carrie.

“Okay, deep breaths,” Miss Desjardin instructed calmly. “Come here. Come on. It’s okay. You’re okay, sweetie.”

Miss Desjardin slowly hugged Carrie toward her.

“It’s totally normal. Shh… do you know what it means?”

The thought of which made Carrie twitch. The overhead light suddenly sparked and went out. The girls, as well as Miss Desjardin, gasped or yelped in alarm. The Equestrians looked on as the teacher held Carrie, shielding her from any damage from the light. The other girls made a hasty retreat, all except for the Equestrians and Sue. When Twilight Sparkle looked back, she could see the guilty expression on Sue’s face. By now, Carrie was more calm yet still confused.

“Okay, sweetie…” Miss Desjardin sighed.

<>

*RING!!!*

The school bell rang across the school. Carrie, now dressed in normal clothes, was brought into Principal Morton’s office along with Miss Desjardin. The Equestrians happened to be outside the office, listening in on the conversation.

“Are you, uh, feeling better?” Principal Morton asked. “Can I get you some aspirin?”

Carrie gasped and flinched as he tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He backed away, realizing it’s not going to help.

“Some juice or something?”

“’Juice’?” Miss Desjardin groaned. “Really, Henry?”

Carrie sat in the chair in front of the principal’s desk. Principal Morton sat behind his desk, and Miss Desjardin leaned against the desk, hovering over Carrie.

“Maybe you just want us to leave you alone,” Principal Morton suggested.

“Carrie, honey, I am so sorry that I slapped you,” Miss Desjardin apologized. “I should have handled it better. It’s totally normal for young girls to get their periods. It usually actually happens a little bit earlier. Is this your first time?”

Carrie just looked toward Miss Desjardin with a total blank expression. She didn’t understand anything that’s happened or what her teacher was talking about. Miss Desjardin motioned to sit beside Carrie. Principal Morton could see the bloody handprint and looked a slight queasy. A sigh escaped Miss Desjardin’s lips before she continued.

“Honey, do you understand what’s happening to your body? Do you know what it means?”

Principal Morton approached the water cooler in the office corner, filling up a cup

“I don’t know,” Carrie spoke quietly. “I felt something moving down there.”

“Oh honey…” Miss Desjardin sighed.

“Well, maybe you could, uh, talk to a counselor about that or-or a nurse,” Principal Morton suggested, sitting down. “Um, what I need to know is who started throwing… um… things.”

“It was Chris Hargensen and all of her friends,” Miss Desjardin frowned.

“Casey…”

“’Carrie’,” Miss Desjardin corrected.

“Carrie, did Chris Hargensen start this?”

“Honey, you don’t have to protect them,” Miss Desjardin reassured. “What they did was unforgiveable.”

Carrie merely looked down in trepidation, clearly not wanting to talk.

“Okay, uh… it doesn’t seem that Carrie is going to point the finger,” Principal Morton sighed in defeat. “So Ms. Desjardin, I need you to get to the bottom of this. Let the punishment fit the crime.”

“Okay,” Ms. Desjardin nodded, facing Carrie. “Carrie, you’re excused from P.E. class for the rest of the week. Just take study hall, okay? At the library.”

“Yeah. We’re gonna have toc all your mom.”

The mention of her mother made Carrie’s eyes widen with fear. Outside, the group caught on to what the Principal suggested, and they faced each other nervously.

“… What?” Carrie spoke up.

“We’re going to have to call your mother, Carrie,” Principal Morton repeated.

Carrie faced the principal with horror and shook her head. The water cooler behind her started bubbling.

“Well, I know she’s had problems with us in the past,” Principal Morton explained. “Ever since the state stopped her from homeschooling you anymore, but we’ve got to bring her into this, okay?”

“Mm-mmm…” Carrie shook her head. “No…”

Carrie’s shaking grew more adamant. The bubbles in the water cooler started coming faster, a cracking sound could be heard. Twilight could sense something was happening in there… and knew something was wrong.

“Sweetie, we have no choice,” Miss Desjardin explained. “We have to tell your mom what happened.”

“No!” Carrie shouted.

The bottle on top of the water cooler suddenly shattered, sending glass and water everywhere. Principal Morton and Miss Desjardin jumped to their feet in surprise. Carrie just squirmed at the thought of her mother being brought in. She got up and left without another word, only to run into Twilight and her friends.

“Carrie! What happened?” Twilight asked.

But Carrie didn’t answer, instead she shoved her friend aside and stormed away sobbing.

“Carrie!”

<>

At the front of the school, through the distorted glass of the windows, Margaret White walked towards the school. Looking out the window, Carrie was terrified as she watched her mother approach. Carrie sat on a bench near the front doors of the school, waiting for her mother like a prisoner waiting the executioner. Twilight and the others kept a close distance from Carrie, wanting to give the girl some space but also not wanting to risk being seen by Margaret.

Unfortunately, few of them couldn’t keep their distance for rather long. For two boys, sitting beside her, grinned viciously at her.

“Hey! Hey, you!” One boy spoke.

Carrie faced the boys, and the second one made an obscene ‘blowjob’ gesture with his mouth while the other boy just laughed. Rainbow couldn’t stand the way they were teasing her and without thinking she raced forward and shoved one of the boys aside.

“Why don’t you back off pal?!” Rainbow called out. “Who do you think you are talking to her like that?!”

“Hey, you better mind your own business bitch!” The shoved boy threatened. “Or I’ll—WHOA!!!”

The boy didn’t finish when he felt himself lifted off the floor. He was turned around and forced to look right into Applejack’s face, as the girl lifted her with her inhuman strength.

“You’ll wut?!” Applejack asked, frowning.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” The other boy called out. “It’s cool, all right! We were just fooling around! Can’t you girls take a joke?!”

Applejack merely shook her head and dropped the boy aside, the latter squirming toward his friend as she took Rainbow’s side and they walked away but not before catching Carrie glimpsing toward the girls for a moment.

*RING!!!*

The school bell rang again, and soon the hall filled with students. Carrie closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Soon a shadow fell over Carrie, and she was forced to open her eyes, as a gasp escaped her lips. Her mother, Margaret, stood over her glaring down at her frame by the lights in the ceiling. Carrie quickly stood without hesitation.

Outside, among all the students leaving, Margaret held Carrie by her arm and shoulder quickly ushering her away. Miss Desjardin walked out, angrily staring over the sidewalk where Chris, Sue, and the rest of their group had gathered.

“Tina, give it to me!” Chris beckoned. “Give it here!”

Tine passed Chris her phone. She held it up showing the footage to her boyfriend, Billy.

“This is brilliant. Look at this video.”

Chris and Billy watched, both of them smiled. The ‘Plug it up’ chant can clearly be heard in the background. Billy took off his sunglasses to be sure what he’s seeing was legit.

“She got her period!” Chris pointed out.

“Whoa-ho-ho-ho!” Billy chuckled.

“On my hand!”

Margaret opened her car door, Carrie right next to her. Carrie could hear the laughter and it was easy to figure out the cause. Sue looked very guilty as Carrie’s mother slammed the car door as Carrie got inside. Carrie looked out the car window, back to the ultras. Chris and Billy are making out, obscuring Sue from her view, and all the others crowded around the phone laughing at the video. The only ones not laughing were Twilight and her friends staring toward the car. Margaret stared at the group with contempt before she too got in the car.