Author's Note

Spell on display: letter sending fire
Letter sending fire is a dragon spell that allows the user to near instantly send a letter to someone by incinerating it. Due to it being a dragon spell, there is very little information on its limitations.

Restrictions and Requirements

• Dragon magic
• A familiarity with the letter's recipient

Advantages over similar spells
You don't need to know the location of the recipient to successfully send the letter. So long as you are personally familiar with the recipient, you can send letters to them wherever the two of you are.

Risks
There are no known risks with using this spell other than accidently burning something you didn't mean to, but that's spellcaster's error.

SHWO ch59 Comunication in its many forms

Sunset’s room
Date: July 21st, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset heard a knock at her door. She hopped up from her chair and opened her door. On the other side stood Brigid.

“How ya doin’, Sunset?”

“Been better, a bit frazzled still.”

“Dat tracks. Hey, Ah’ve been wonderin’ if ya’d be willin’ ta teach me how ta speak n’ read - Ponish, Ah think ya called it?”

“I was wondering when you’d ask me. I actually brought back some books meant ta teach foals how ta read.”

“Still not used ta ya usin’ pony terminology.”

“Well, I’m still not used to the fact that some humans eat horses.”

“Ah c’n one up dat. Horse n’ pony penis is considered a delicacy in some Southeast Asian countries.”

Sunset’s face contorted into what you’d expect after hearing that. “You people will eat anything that won’t rip your stomach lining open.”, Sunset said in disgust.

“Hm, yeah. Have Ah told ya ‘bout da French man who supposedly ate a baby?”

“Yes, you have. You need new stories to mentally scar me with.”

“Damn, okay, let’s get ta da learnin’.”

Sunset took Brigid’s hand and led her over to her couch then grabbed the books and notes from her shelf and brought them over. “Now, one of the first things you’ll notice is that Ponish has fewer distinct sounds. That is because ponies can’t make anywhere near as many sounds as humans. You might have noticed that when you shouted at Celestia.”

“‘Ch’ sounds were definitely harder ta make.”

“Exactly, now, there are eighteen basic letters in Ponish, and the rest of the letters are combinations of those basic letters. As a result, we have nearly seventy thousand letters, but only a fraction of them are actually used.”

“Sweet crap, dat’s a lot.”

“Yeah, when I left, there were talks about streamlining the alphabet, reducing it to the letters that are actually used, but that’s easier said than done due to different areas of Equestria using different parts of the alphabet. At the very least, you can decipher most writings as long as you know the basic eighteen, or you can ask somepony to help you. We also have many words that are just single letter words.” Sunset opened up her notebook to the page that showed each of the basic letters with the transliterations of their names and corresponding English letters. “The first letter is Ahn and is pronounced ‘Ah’, like how you say ‘I’, or makes an ‘A’ sound. The second letter is Bin and makes a ‘B’ sound. The third letter is Ceyn and makes a ‘C’ sound. The fourth letter is Deyf and makes a ‘D’ sound. The fifth letter is Fin and makes an ‘F’ sound. The six letter is P’fp and makes that raspberry pfp sound horses make. The seventh letter is Hay and makes an ‘H’ sound. The eighth letter is Iei and makes an ‘I’ sound. The ninth letter is Len and makes an ‘L’ sound. The tenth letter is M’p and makes an ‘M’ sound. The eleventh letter is Nip and makes an ‘N’ sound. Next is Oo which makes an ‘O’ sound. Next is Pi which makes a ‘P’ sound. Ren makes a ‘Re’ sound. Stir makes an ‘St’ sound. Ta makes a ‘T’ sound. Uo makes a ‘U’ sound. Next is Q which makes a 'Qu' sound. And the last letter is called Ey and makes an ‘Ey’ sound.”

“Okay, Ah think Ah got it, but we should keep dat easily accessible f’r now.”

“Will do. Now, when I say the rest of the letters are combinations of the basic letters, I mean that they are smooshed together.” Sunset opened up one of the word books, in which she added the transliterations of the words and how the letters are formed under the originals. Sunset explained what each word meant and how to pronounce them. The humans’ flat face, ‘L’ shaped supralaryngeal vocal tract, and rounded tongue does make it so they can create a wide variety of sounds, but several of the words were still difficult to pronounce. As much as they both tried, neither of them could not pronounce P’fp correctly. They could achieve a close approximation, but the letter was created by a differently shaped mouth.

“Ah’m startin’ ta think dat written Ponish was made ta be overly complicated.”

“That would be an effective way to keep literacy rates down in the lower classes.”

“What is Equestria’s literacy rate?”

“I’m not sure. We don’t have nation wide standards of - well, much of anything. I do know that proper schools are rare outside of prominent towns and their surrounding settlements, and it’s, oftentimes, completely up to the parents to teach their foals. Equestria is so backwards.”

“Hey, don’t sell y’rself short. We had a good three thousand year head start on ya. Give ‘em time. Dey’ll catch up.”

Sunset looked at Brigid without emotion on her face. It wasn’t just a matter of time. Ponies have been coddled by Celestia for hundreds of years. The weapons Sunset used were the same ones her parents used. They were still advancing but at a snail’s pace. Any civilization’s greatest periods of advancement come after tragedy or war, but Equestria rarely takes advantage of such periods. “As much as having an incredibly powerful, immortal ruler is useful, it’s also left Equestria stagnant. Equestria’s not going to advance the way it needs to unless Celestia is succeeded.”

Spitfire’s barrack
Date: 19th day of the 7th month, time: 2nd hour AMR

*Spitfire’s perspective*

Still nothing. The search for Sunset has, once again, turned up nothing. Why? Why did you do this? Life wasn’t easy, but we were loved. We were happy. The princess still hadn’t announced anything about Sunset or even placed her on the official most wanted list. She classified Sunset’s records like she would when sending Dad undercover. Is this some big, elaborate ruse so Sunset can go undercover? No, she wouldn’t leave a letter like that if that was the case. “Grr” What the buck, Sunset?! Why are you doing this?! Why did you leave us?! Spitfire slammed her hoof on the desk in anger. The desk was left with a massive crack along where Spitfire hit it and several smaller cracks radiating out from that. “Shit” Spitfire moved some papers to cover the crack. Hopefully, nopony will notice until she could get her mending charm recharged.

Spitfire wasn’t very sentimental, but she did keep a picture of Sunset and herself from back in basic in her desk. They were giving the camera a pair of fang filled grins. Sunset was holding her head in a cocky manner and had her foreleg on Spitfire’s back, and Spitfire was in a pseudo-pounce position. They were being little shits and goofing around when they should have been doing drills. Being a member of and the favorite weapons of the crown got you and those close to you out of a lot of crap.

Spitfire thought back to the lessons they shared. Celestia had this giant book on dragon magic. The spells ranged from simple amplifications of her normal fire breath to fire ring portal. One of the spells the two of them used a lot was letter sending fire. Being able to send letters to Sunset wherever she was was fun; burping up the letters she sent was - less fun.

Spitfire grabbed a piece of paper and quill and began writing. She wasn’t sure about the maximum range of the spell, but hopefully, it would reach Sunset. Spitfire finished the letter, rolled it up and secured the clasp, opened up the window, imagined the spell circle and focused on Sunset, and blew. The green flames engulfed the letter, and it soon became a cloud of green smoke. The green smoke flowed out the window and disappeared into the night, and Spitfire closed the window and returned to her desk. Please come back to us, Sunset.

Donut Joe’s
Date: Aug 1st, time: 1:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“That sounds scary.”, Flash said. Sunset had just finished relaying the events of the previous July. She hadn’t told him about the spirit of her dead grandmother inhabiting her ring. Even with what he witnessed at the school, that was too strange to be believed.

“It was, but they seemed to have gone away now. There was no big hurrah or any sort a’ big final battle. After the CSP lady left, everything just fizzled out. I have no problem with that, but everyone has been on edge for a while now. Ki has even gotten to sleeping with me in my bed, not an easy thing for his old bones.”

“I don’t blame you. Do you think they’ll come back?”

“My dad said that they closed their case on us and shouldn’t bother us any more.”

“What if they do? Will they take you away?”, Flash said around a mouth-full of donut.

“I don’t know and don’t really want to think about it.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“What was your summer like?”

“It was fun. My mom took me to see her family down South. I got to meet all my aunts, uncles, and cousins.”

“Oh cool, what were they like?”

“Exactly like the stereotypes. One of my cousins had an accent so thick, I could barely understand him.”

Sunset giggled at Flash’s remark. Simpler times like these are what life is about.

Katon family home
Date: Aug 16th, time: 8:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Wha’ ‘bout dis one?”

“Inside, hmhm, sounds interesting.”, Rosie said. “But it’s in French.”

“It’s subtitled.”, Brigid said.

“Okay, but be prepared to pause the movie so I can read it.”

“Same goes for me.”, Minerva said.

“How c’n ya two live dis close ta Canada n’ not know French?”

“I just never needed to.”, Minerva said.

“I took some classes in highschool, but I’ve long forgotten.”, Rosie said.

“You seriously haven’t talked ta a French speaker since highschool?”, Sunset said from behind Rosie.

Rosie jumped up and spun around to find Sunset standing behind her. “Sweet Jesus girl, you nearly scared me half to death.”

“Well then, those movies will scare you completely to death.”, Sunset remarked.

“Is dere some‘hin’ ya need, Sunset?”

“I want to watch the movie with you.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?”, Minerva asked.

Sunset looked past Rosie and gave Minerva a ‘seriously’ look. “I’m a horror monster in n’ of myself. My nickname is ‘Vampire’. I can handle a fictional movie monster.”

Minerva and Rosie looked to Brigid for her answer. “Ya c’n watch if ya want, but don’t be embarrassed ta leave if it gets ta be too much.” With that, Brigid started up the movie, and everyone piled onto the couch, with Sunset snuggling up to Brigid. “Y’re tellin’ me dat story late’.”, Brigid whispered to Sunset.

The time it took to watch the movie was uneventful aside from normal horror movie stuff. Sunset did touch her facial scar when the protagonist’s face was slashed and tensed up and hugged Brigid tighter when the mother was killed but was otherwise fine. Once the movie was over, they talked about what was going with Striker and the investigation for a bit before Rosie went home. With Rosie gone, the Mac Carthaigh women could talk openly.

“So, how did you end up with the nickname ‘Vampire’?”, Minerva asked.

“My actual nickname is ‘The blood eating fiend’ because we don’t have any vampiric creatures in our mythology. We do have creatures whose name can be translated into ‘vampire’ but would be, more actually, translated into ‘juice sucker'. Either way, I changed my nickname to ‘Vampire’ because it was cooler and still meant the same thing, and the reason why I have that nickname is because I used to lick my opponent’s blood off my blade in order to freak them out. Equestrians have a complicated relationship with blood.”

“That is the best military nickname I’ve ever heard, way better than mine.”

“Oh really, wha’ was y’r nickname?”

Minerva’s face went beet red. “I’d rather not say.”

“It can’t be worse than my sister’s many names. The worst one is ‘Shitfire’ because she crashed into the latrines her first week.” That got a chuckle out of the older women.

“Fine, fine, my nickname was ‘Dolly’. My drill sergeant decided to call me ‘Dolly’ for whatever reason, and it stuck. If either of you call me that or tell anyone else, I will throw you into the ocean, off a steep cliff.” Brigid and Sunset grinned at Minerva’s threat. “Good night ladies. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Reads family home
Date: Aug 19th, time: 7:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura sat in her bedroom while everyone else prepared for her party. It would be just the seven of them. Anura had no friends outside of the clan. Everyone else was afraid of her and either avoided her or lashed out against her. This did not bother her. She was naturally introverted, and having too many people around caused her to become overloaded and get a throbbing headache. Because of that, she had prescription strength painkillers at school.

Anura heard a knock at the door, which told her that they were ready for her. Anura hopped up from her bed and followed Emi out to the dining room.

“Happy birthday!”, everyone shouted. Anura blushed, smiled, and hugged everyone.

“Now, cake!”, Emi proclaimed.

“Yes, please.”, Anura calmly said.

“Children n’ deir sweet teeth… or would it be toothes in dis case?”, Aunt Brigid said while grabbing the plates.

“Both are creepy.”, Sunset remarked.

Canterlot Hospital
Date: Aug 20th, time: 10:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

“So, is he good to be transported?”, one of the patient transport guys asked. To Jiraiya’s glee, the alien nut was being taken to a mental hospital, and more importantly, far, far away from Jiraiya’s family.

“He’s perfectly healthy, physically at least.”, Jiraiya answered. The two burly men entered his room while Jiraiya stayed out of their way, but he could still see them through the glass wall. Striker did not go quietly and was kicking and screaming. No wonder they’re so burly. They managed to strap him into a wheelchair, even putting the tin foil hat one of the nurses made for him back on. One of the nurses offered them some duct tape to shut him up, but they refused. The lunatic was wheeled over and into the elevator. He had stopped screaming and was now just grumbling.

“Good riddance.”, Joy said.

“What? Were his serenades of aliens and alien children not riveting?”, Jiraiya joked.

“Pffa, although, it was chilling how sane he seemed when he wasn’t screaming ‘bout aliens.”

“Mental illness is a scary thing in many ways. One of those ways is how it can hide just below the surface until it’s too late.”

“Is that your way of telling me to be careful of the next Ted Bundy?”

“Something like that.”

Principal Winters’ office
Date: Aug 25th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset listened as Brigid and Winters spoke with each other. When Winters called, Sunset’s parents joked that she, somehow, already managed to get into trouble before the school year even started. However, this was by no means a disciplinary meeting, rather the opposite. Winters was recommending that Sunset be placed in the honors program due to her performance the previous year.

“Ah didn’t even realize dey had honors in middle school.”

“We like to ensure that our students are reaching their full potential by challenging them and mentally and physically stimulating them.”

“What do ya think, Sunset?”

Sunset mulled over the pros and cons of the situation. She wouldn’t be in the same class as the former Friendship Five, which was both a pro and a con. She wouldn’t have Ms. Trees as a teacher, con. New teachers were always a “cross your fingers, toes, and nose” experience. The work will be more challenging, pro. What would be the best thing for me?

“Ms. Shimmer?”, Winters asked.

“I’m thinking.”, Sunset snarked. “Can I go back to normal classes if the advanced classes turn out not to be the right fit?”

“Yes”

“Okay, then advanced classes sound like a step in the right direction.”

“Alrighty then, I’ll put your new schedule in place. You won’t need anything other than go to class.”

“Dat’s great. We should be goin’ now. Have a good rest a’ y’r day.” With that, Brigid and Winters did the usual song and dance, and by the time they were done, Sunset was already out of the office and down the hall. Brigid soon caught up, and the two began walking back home.

“Ki’s bein’ fully retired in September.”, Brigid informed Sunset.

“Good for him. I’m sure he’ll be happy to be able ta jus’ lounge around all day.”

“Or he’d get bored. He’s used ta bein’ a workin’ dog. He will need ta adjust ta not havin’ any‘hin’ ta do all day.”

“He’ll probably become a full time guard dog. His resting bitch face can scare off most intruders alone.”

“Yeah, it will be nice ta have dat little extra bit a’ security.”

“Ah great, ya jinxed it. Now, we’re definitely going to be broken into.”

“Hahaha, Sunset, dat’s jus’ superstition. Dere’s no proof dat jinxes exist.”

Sunset fixed Brigid with a flat look. “You’re still skeptical about this stuff even though you’ve developed your own psychic abilities, birthed the granddaughter of a mythological creature, and are parenting a unicorn?”

“Jus’ because Ah except da supernatural as existin’, does not mean dat will be my go ta explanation f’r what Ah c’n’t understand. Plus, jinxes are in a completely different ballpark. If ya c’n show me proof dat jinxes are real, Ah’ll take ‘em more seriously.”

“Alright, when we get home, I’ll mark down what you said and the date. I’ll continue to mark down any other jinxy things said, and if the jinxed event occurs within an expected time, I’ll call that a concluded jinx. Let’s give this jinx a month to conclude.”

“Sounds good ta me.”

Halls of CMS
Date: Sep 1st, time: 8:25 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood in front of her locker, people watching. She specifically kept an eye out for new students. Hopefully her reputation alone will scare them into behaving, less work for Sunset. Among the new students was a girl with dark blue and light blue hair and rose colored glasses, a girl with blond hair and yellow eyes, a short boy with green hair and black eyes, and another short boy with orange hair and black eyes.

The girl with the rose colored glasses wrote something down on a piece of paper and began showing it to people. She got around to Sunset, and the card read, “Where is Mr. Sockem’s room?”.

“You deaf?”, Sunset signed.

“Mute, hear fine.”, the girl signed.

“Down that hall and two the left, you’ll see the door with his name on it.”, Sunset said.

The girl gave Sunset a thumbs up and ran off to her class. Seeing the time on her phone, Sunset removed herself from the lockers and made her way to her own class. Her new teacher was Mr. Milestone. Sunset had never heard anything about him. That at least meant that he hadn’t done anything that would get kids griping about him.

Sunset filed into the classroom with the rest of the students, and everyone began picking their seats. Sunset took a seat in the back of the class. One thing that was strictly American was their natural ability to project their voices. They weren’t necessarily louder. You could just hear them from much further away. Because of that, Sunset sat away from the teachers.

Sunset vaguely recognized most of the other students but couldn’t put names to most of them. One exception to that was Meg. Meg was a girl of what looked to be Mediterranean descent and average height with orange hair with streaks of lighter orange running down it and teal eyes that were slightly darker than Sunset's, and she always wore a beanie the same color as her eyes. Despite Sunset’s actions towards the rest of the students, Meg still liked her, even if it was complicated. Sunset was one of the only people in her life that she could have a proper conversation with. Her own parents don’t know sign language, which is surprisingly common. Meg decided to sit next to Sunset even though she already had a seat near the front.

Mr. Milestone started the class with icebreaker games, Sunset’s least liked part of the new year. “Okay students, let’s get to know each other by playing some games. What’s your name, how old are you, and what’s something you like to do?”, Mr. Milestone said.

The other students stood up, said their names, ages, and whatnot. Soon, it was just the kids in the back row left, and, to Sunset’s surprise, they were just as preemptively fed up with this as Sunset. Various grumbles and under the breath swearing were emitted as they stood up.

Sunset’s turn came up, and she stood up. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, I’m thirteen years old, and I like leading armies into battle and making the other poor bastards die for their beliefs.”

Mixtures of confusion and fear spread across everyone else's faces as they looked around at each other.

“Ah, you like playing video games, like ‘Armada: Rise of Thunder’.”, Mr. Milestone said.

“Close enough.”, Sunset said. Sunset remained standing as Meg stood up. “This is Megan “Meg” Gagnon. She is completely deaf, so I will translate for her. Please address her directly when speaking to her.” Meg began signing, and Sunset translated. “Hi, I’m Meg, I’m twelve years old, and I like playing ice hockey.”

“Hello Meg, if there’s any way I can make it easier for you to understand, let me know.”, Mr. Milestone.

Sunset relayed what he said to Meg, and Meg began signing her response. “Just write down the important stuff and instructions on the white board.”, Sunset translated.

Mr. Milestone nodded his understanding and began the lesson. It was significantly harder than the normal classes, but Sunset was still able to do it, mostly. History was by far Sunset’s worst subject, and she had a love/hate relationship with it. Sunset was actually going to have to work hard to pass it. She enjoyed a challenge, but history itself was unenjoyable.

A few minutes before the lunch bell, Meg tapped Sunset’s shoulder and pointed to the boy in front of her. With Sunset’s attention, Meg tapped the boy sitting in front of her. The boy turned around, and Meg began signing.

“What is she saying?”, the boy asked confusedly.

“Hail Satan.”, Sunset translated. Just as Sunset said that, Meg’s nose started bleeding, and the boy freaked out. The boy jumped out of his seat and started screaming incoherently. Everyone turned towards the commotion and leaned out of the way when necessary, and Meg was laughing her ass off.

“Okay, okay, everybody calm down. Ms. Shimmer, what just happened?”, Mr. Milestone asked.

Sunset looked over to Meg for answers, and Meg began signing. “Can feel nose bleeds coming. That kid hyper religious.”

“It was just a prank, sir, and Meg has a nose bleed. May she go to the nurse’s office?”, Sunset said.

“Yes, go take her.”

Sunset translated Mr. Milestone’s orders, and the two girls left. “Good one.”, Sunset signed. Meg smiled at her. Meg and Sunset had never been in the same place together outside of the arena. She would have never pegged Meg for a prankster. “No, keep head down. You can choke on blood.”, Sunset signed. She had noticed Meg holding her head up to keep the blood from running down her face.

“Will get everywhere.”, Meg signed the best she could with one hand.

Sunset pulled out a piece of cloth from her pocket. It was a habit she kept from her guard days. A towel was even a part of the rokubou. The amount of uses for a simple piece of cloth was truly impressive.

Meg took the cloth and crammed it up to her nose. “Thank you”

The trip to the nurse’s office wasn’t quick. By the time they got there, Meg’s nose had stopped bleeding. When they got to the office, Meg showed the rag to the nurse, and Sunset explained that it was just a random bleed. Given that there was nothing to take care of, the nurse just handed Meg some tissues, in case it started again, and sent the girls on their way. Given that the lunch bell would go off before they got back to class, they just decided to go straight to lunch and be first in line.

The girls got to the lunchroom just as the bell went off. The lunch ladies gave them disapproving looks, but neither girl cared. They were a bunch of cranky skeletons with skin anyways. Remember the adage about never trusting skinny chefs?

After getting what barely passed as food, the girls sat down, and the other students started getting their food and sitting down. They were soon joined by Flash, and Sunset explained who Meg was.

“I didn’t know you knew sign language.”, Flash said.

“My mom taught me. It’s similar to writing as it’s partially muscle memory.”

“Can you tell me more about it?”

“What do you want to know?”

“How do you communicate names?”

Sunset held her left arm horizontally and held her right arm vertically while pinching her index and thumb together. She then brought her right hand down to where it was also horizontal and below her left arm. “That’s my name. You can also just letter sign your name, like Meg.”

“Cool, so what’s my name in sign language?”

“It can be whatever you want. Names are just arrangements of sounds or symbols assigned to you.”

“So, maybe something like this.” Flash held his left arm horizontally, like Sunset did, and moved his right hand in a long ‘z’ shaped line down his arm, similar to a lightning bolt.

“Yeah, that would work.”

Flash smiled then turned to Meg and got her attention. He then pointed to himself and signed his new name. Meg signed his name then gave him a thumbs up. Meg turned to Sunset and letter signed “dork”.

“Also cute… and great in bed.”, Sunset signed back. Meg’s face went beet red, and Sunset doubled over in laughter, nearly missing her “food”. Meg slapped Sunset upside the head which only made her laugh harder. Once Sunset got her laughing under control, she could see just how confused Flash was.

“What did you say?”

“Don’t-don’t worry ‘bout it.”, Sunset said through residual chuckles.

“I’m going to see if there’s a sign language club. I want to learn it.”

“There is one. I checked.”

“Maybe you should start one.”

“Ha, do you really think anyone in this school will willingly join a club I’m the head of?”

“What you talking about?”, Meg asked.

“He wants create ASL club.”

“We only two signers in school.”

“There new girl signer.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know name. Has light skin, dark blue and light blue hair, and rose colored glasses.”

Meg stood up and looked around the lunchroom. She apparently found what she was looking for as she got out of her seat, signed “BRB”, and walked off.

“Where is she going?”, Flash asked.

“I don’t know.”

Meg soon came back with the girl from earlier. “This [girl’s name].”, Meg signed. Meg signed the girl’s name as the left arm in a position similar to holding a table and the right arm held in a similar position but with the hand moving back and forth.

“My English name Vinyl Scratch.”

“Okay, what does your signed name mean?”, Sunset asked in English.

“Turntables”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Wait, she can hear?”, Flash asked.

“She’s mute, not deaf.”, Sunset clarified.

“Meg told me you form ASL club. I want in.”

“Form club but without me. Everyone afraid of me. Nobody come if I part.”, Sunset signed.

“We need translator. You only translator.”, Meg signed.

Sunset looked between the two of them. She didn’t know if she really was the only translator, but she was the only one they knew of. “I help, but I can’t be president or vice president, and I can only be there after student council Mondays.”, Sunset signed.

Both agreed, and Sunset relayed the convo to Flash.

“We can also do Fridays. We can push our guitar lessons back an hour.”, Flash said.

“Okay, that sounds good.”, Sunset said.

Vinyl relayed the conversation to Meg, and Meg got excited. How Meg showed excitement is by bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands. It was really cute. Meg and Vinyl spent the rest of lunch discussing stuff related to the ASL club, and Sunset and Flash talked about what they were going to wear to the Fall Formal.

CMS gym
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

“Hello, Pinkie.”, Sunset said from behind Pinkie in a sultry voice.

Different parts of Pinkie’s body had different reactions. A cold chill ran down her spine at the same time her body heated up. It caused Pinkie’s head to spin, and she had a feeling that was exactly what Sunset wanted. Pinkie regained control over her body and turned around to face Sunset. Sunset had a smile on that was predatorial, and the way she was looking at her made Pinkie very uncomfortable.

“I would like to sign up for the princess of the Fall Formal.”, Sunset said while reaching a hand out.

Pinkie hardened her expression and mentally prepared for confrontation. “Sure, but first, you need to tell me how you were able to sneak up on me.”

Sunset grin somehow became even more predatory, and Pinkie could’ve sworn her pupils became slimmer, almost like a cat or fox’s eye. Sunset didn’t answer verbally but rather tapped the side of her head.

“Oh, now that’s just not fair.”, Pinkie protested.

“Clipboard”, Sunset demanded.

Pinkie handed Sunset the clipboard, and Sunset quickly signed her name and handed the clipboard back to Pinkie. “Hm, still no challengers. Say, what would happen if someone was actually dumb enough to run against me?”

“It’s a popularity contest. You can do whatever you want, so long as it falls inside the school rules and, of course, the law.”

“That sounds like a very bad way of picking your class president.”

“It’s not like you have any real power.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Sunset grabbed Pinkie by the shirt and snarled at her. “Did I say you don’t have any real power? What I meant to say was, “Yay, all hail Queen Sunset.”

“That’s better.” Sunset released Pinkie and even straightened out her shirt for her. “Now, be a good subject and stay out of trouble.”, Sunset said in that same predatory tone while caressing Pinkie’s face. That same chill ran down Pinkie’s spine while the rest of her body heated up again, and she was left just watching as Sunset walked off. What just happened? Am I - in love with Sunset?

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Emi, you’re getting more cake on your face than in your mouth.”, Sunset quipped. Emi smashed another chunk of cake into her face and gave Sunset the bird. Sunset was so tempted to steal Emi’s plate but also wanted to not have her cake end up on the floor.

“Ya ready f’r y’r presents?”

“Yes”

Brigid, Jiraiya, and Minerva got up from their seats and retrieved the gifts they brought. Brigid went upstairs while Minerva and Jiraiya just grabbed the gifts from the breakfast bar. Brigid soon returned with a large box. What could need a box that big?

“Ah suggest ya open Minerva’s first.”, Brigid said.

Sunset complied, and opened up the purple bag. Inside was a black jacket with studs around the collar. “Wow, this is cool.” Sunset put her new jacket on. It was a bit big. “Thank you”

“You’re very welcome.”, Minerva said.

“Open ours next!”, Emi demanded.

Sunset opened the cardboard box that was decorated with crayon drawings. Inside was a clay statue, clearly made by a child, but it was made by her sister and cousin. That made it perfect. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re just saying that. It’s nothing compared to what you can make.”

“I thought we did a good job.”, Anura meekly said.

“Hey, you two were the ones who made it. That makes it perfect.”

“Eew, Mom, Sunset’s being mushy.”

The adults started laughing, and Sunset’s first reaction was to punch Emi’s arm but stopped as she raised her arm to strike. Instead, Sunset pulled Emi into a light hug.

“Okay, okay, let go. Finish opening the presents before I die already.”

Sunset let Emi go and turned back to the remaining two gifts. As the adults were clearly nudging Sunset to save Brigid and Anzhong’s present for last, Sunset decided to open Jiraiya’s present next. Inside was a tablet.

“Admittedly, I don’t understand digital art or art in general, but I asked around and downloaded all the art programs.”, Jariyai said.

“Thank you.”, Sunset said, not sure what else to say other than that.

Sunset placed the tablet down and moved on to the final present. Her eyes grew in shock as she pulled out a beautiful acoustic guitar. The edges around the front were a dark brown that became lighter as you got closer to the center, and there was a design coming from the soundhole that looked like a purplish night sky, almost like a portal to the sparkling beauty of the stars. “You didn’t have to. I was saving up to buy my own.”

“We wanted to, Sunset. Why don’t you play us something?”, Anzhong said.

Sunset brought the guitar up to her chest and began playing. “I always thought this needed a beat.
There's a monster that lives beneath your bed?
Well then, he's a coward
What a boar
He should come out and say ‘hi’
There's a creature that lurks behind the door?
I've checked there many times
When I leave, they arrive?

Well then, tell the monster that hides beneath your bed
To try somewhere else instead or you'll whack them in the head
Tell that creature that lurks behind the door
That they are welcome no more
And you're kicking them out, at the count of four!

Sleep well monster killer, sleep well
Now it is time to close your eyes
There's demons to slay and monsters to hunt
They’ll cower when they see you
From the giant to the runt
Sleep well my little killer
You have battles to fight

Tell the monster that eats children, that you taste bad
And are sure you'd be the worst they’ve ever had
If they eat you, don't fret, cut them open with an knife

Tell the tengu that land on your bed
That you'll burn them alive, at the count of five
Tell the shinigami it's time you gave them their due
Because the mightiest creature is you

Sleep well monster killer, sleep well
Now it's time to close your eyes
There are demons to slay and monsters to hunt
They’ll cower when they see you
From the giant to the runt
Sleep well my little killer, sleep well
You have battles to fight

I won't say, there's nothing beneath your bed
I won't sell you that it's all in your head
This world is not as it seems
The monsters are real, but not in your dreams

Learn what you can from the beasts you defeat
You'll need it for some of the humans you meet

Sleep well monster killer, sleep well
Now it's time to close your eyes
There are demons to slay and monsters to hunt
They’ll cower when they see you
From the giant to the runt
Sleep well my little killer sleep well
You have battles to fight

Sleep well, sleep well, sleep well”, Sunset sang.

“Huh, those lyrics aren’t as traumatizing as I thought they’d be.”, Anura remarked. Traumatizing?

“I’ve never heard that song before. Where did you learn it?”, Jiraiya asked.

“It’s Daddy’s lullaby.”, Emi clarified.

“Leave it to you to write a badass lullaby.” Anzhong merely shrugged at Jiraiya’s comment.

“Thank you”, Sunset said.

ASL Club
Date: Sep 5th, time: 3:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in the darkest corner of the classroom as she, Flash, Vinyl, and Meg waited for people to arrive. They did get some sign ups during the week, but Sunset had very little hope that anyone would actually come. All other clubs have already started.

The way everything was set up was that Flash would greet the people when they came in and get them situated, Meg and Vinyl would teach them ASL, using the black board to communicate with the non-signers, and Sunset would only intervene when a translator is absolutely necessary, so as to not scare people off.

“Hey Vinyl, can you get Meg’s attention for me?”, Sunset asked.

Vinyl nodded, poked Meg’s shoulder, and pointed to Sunset.

“What up?”, Meg signed.

“You like music?”

“Heavy bass, feel in chest.”

“Neat”

“Excuse me, is this the ASL Club?” Sunset recognized the voice as Octavia Melody. She was one of the students that tried to oppose her, but Sunset had put her in her place.

“Yes, hello, I am Flash Sentry, and these are Meg and Vinyl. They’ll be teaching us ASL.”, Flash said chipperly. Octavia looked around the room and noticed Sunset in the corner. Her body went rigged, and she got a deer in the headlights look. “And Sunset, over there, is our translator.”

“Sup”, Sunset said in a neutral-bored tone.

“Um, hi.”, Octavia said nervously.

“I say we get started.”, Flash said.

“Um, sure.”

Vinyl relayed what they said to Meg, and the two of them began writing the alphabet and basic words on the black board. Flash and Octavia took a couple seats, and Sunset walked up to the front of the classroom.

“Alright now, this is how things are going to work. We’ll first start out by teaching you the basic alphabet and some simple words. You’ll also eventually choose a signed name. These names can be your English name letter signed, like Meg’s; the signed version of her name, like mine; or something more abstract that represents you, like Flash’s or Vinyl’s.” Sunset moved out of the way, going back to her seat, and gave the floor back to Mag and Vinyl.

Meg and Vinyl pointed to the sentences that introduced them and showed how to sign each word. They then moved onto the alphabet. The session went smoothly, but Sunset’s hopes for the club were at rock bottom. I need to find a way to get these shits interested, but how?

Outside Rainbow’s house
Date: Sep 6th, time: 12:00 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

Pinkie stood outside Rainbow’s house with her mom sitting in the car, waiting to make sure Pinkie got in safely. She hadn’t told her mom why she wanted to see Dash after all this time. She was just happy that Pinkie might be reconnecting with her friends. Pinkie hadn’t really talked to any of them since everything blew up, except for AJ. She could get her a great deal on apple cider. Neither of them wanted to talk about what happened, which left Pinkie trying to piece it together from rumors and random scraps of info. From what she could gather, one of them stood the other up or something.

Rainbow lives on the second floor of a motel that was converted into an apartment building. Each apartment takes up what was three to four rooms. It was a nice place, for what it was. Pinkie tentatively rang the doorbell, and Rainbow’s dad answered. Rainbow’s dad was a gym trainer so was quite built and intimidating, but Pinkie knew that he was a giant teddy bear. His wife was the one with the claws. Pinkie could remember a time when a racist was shouting at him and his mom and calling them ‘wet-backs’ and Mr. Hothoof was holding on to Mrs. Hothoof’s and his mom’s arms in case he had to keep them from attacking the butt-face. That was the day Pinkie learned that Mexican grandmas are the single scariest thing on the planet.

“Pinkie? I wouldn’t have expected to see you.”

“Hi Mr. Hothoof, is Rainbow home?” Early on in the time they knew each other, Mr. Hothoof would say that Pinkie could call him Bow, but the idea of calling an adult by their first name was not one that computed with Pinkie’s brain.

“Yeah, she’s in her room.” Mr. Hothoof let Pinkie in, and Pinkie went straight for Rainbow’s room and knocked on her door.

“Yeah, come in.”

Pinkie opened the door to find Rainbow laying on her bed, reading a Daring Do book, and that her room looked like a hurricane swept through, as usual. Rainbow’s room hadn’t changed much since the last time Pinkie was here. She still had models of various planes and spaceships on every horizontal surface in the room. Her ceiling is painted midnight blue and has glow in the dark stars glued on it. Rainbow has wanted to be an astronaut ever since they were shown the video of the moon landing in class. “Hey, where’d your floor go, Rainbow?”

“Pinkie?” Rainbow was surprised but also happy. Rainbow sat up and put the book on her night stand then properly addressed Pinkie. “Whatcha doing here? It’s not that it’s not great to see you but… ya know.”

“Everything blew up.”

“Yeah”, Rainbow said sadly.

Before she spoke again, Pinkie closed and locked the door to Rainbow’s room. “To get straight to business, I need advice, love advice.”

“Love advice? Pinkie, I’m not exactly the best person to ask when it comes to that.”

“True, true, but you’re the only openly gay person I know.”

“Oooh, so who’s the lucky girl?”, Rainbow asked in a joking tone.

“That’s the problem. It’s Sunset.”

-

“Oh, have a seat. This sounds like it’s going to be a while.” Pinkie complied with Rainbow’s request, and Rainbow took a more serious posture. “So, what exactly is going on?”

“Well, when I was setting up for the Fall Formal, Sunset came in to sign up. Before she left, she caressed my face and my body heated up. It scared me, but I also kinda liked it, in a way. From what I read, that means you like someone, but I don’t want to like Sunset. She’s mean and a bully and-”

“I understand, Pinkie, and luckily for you, that doesn’t mean you love Sunset. It means you're attracted to Sunset.”

“What? Isn’t that the same thing?”, Pinkie asked, now very confused.

“My mom describes it like this, loving someone means you want to be with the person; attraction means you want to be with the body. Basically, you think she’s hot, but her personality is not, and I don’t blame you. I sometimes sneak a peek in the locker room, and she ain’t shy about it.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Thanks, Rainbow.”

“No probs, Pinks, and welcome to Gay Club. Now the first rule of Gay Club is don’t talk about Gay Club.”

“Good bye, Rainbow.”, Pinkie said with a grin before leaving.

Student council meeting
Date: Sep 8th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched as everyone began packing up and leaving. She had her eye on one person in particular. She had a mission. She liked having a mission. It distracted her from the emptiness. Anything that can distract her from the emptiness was good. Sunset watched as this particular person slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the door. Sunset grabbed her bag and got up to follow. Sunset walked out into the hallway and ran to catch up.

“Hey, Rarity!”, Sunset called out.

Rarity tensed up and slowly turned around to face Sunset. “What do you want?”, Rarity spat.

“I want you to join the ASL Club.”

“What?”

“The ASL Club only has five members. You’re a popular girl that everyone isn’t afraid of. If you join, others will too.”

“What exactly will this club entail?”, Rarity asked skeptically.

“We teach people how to use and understand sign language. I’m not joking when I say that there are only three signers in the whole school, faculty included, and I’m the only one that doesn’t have it as my only way of speaking.”

“Oh, I guess only having two other people to talk to would be rather boring.”, Rarity said while pondering. “I think I will join.”

“Good, because it’s starting in thirty minutes.” Sunset grabbed Rarity’s hand and began dragging her to the club.

“Hold on, I need to call my mum first.”

ASL Club
Date: same day, time: 3:35 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Alright Rarity, since Flash and Octavia have a bit more experience than you, we’re going to be doing some catching up. So, this is how things are going to work. You’ll first learn the basic alphabet and some simple words. You’ll also eventually choose a signed name. It can be your English name letter signed, like Meg’s; the signed version of her name, like mine; or something more abstract that represents you, like Flash’s or Vinyl’s. Do you understand?”, Sunset said.

“I understand. Say, what’s the sign for ‘diamond’?”

“You form your right hand into the letter ‘D’ then place it on your left ring finger, left palm facing down.”, Sunset said while demonstrating.

“Well then, it looks like I have my signed name.”

“You want to be known as ‘Diamond’?”

“Correct, unless there’s a sign for ‘rare’ or ‘rarity’.”

“There isn’t really. So, I guess you’re Diamond.”

“Excellent, now, what are everybody else’s names? I don’t want to be rude and not be able to say-sign their names.”

“Mine is the sign for sunset, Meg’s is just ‘M’ ‘E’ ‘G’ letter spelled, Vinyl’s is turntables, Flash’s is this which doesn’t mean anything beyond his name, and Octavia hasn’t come up with one yet.”, Sunset said while demonstrating each one.

“Okay, I think I can keep that all straight.”

“Don’t sweat it. You’re here to learn. Now, let’s go over the basic alphabet.”