Late-Night Phone Call

Sunset Shimmer had never actually been to detention until she ‘attended’ Canterlot High School in the human world. She’d been suspended a handful of times in Equestria, mostly in middle school, but that was because suspension and detention both were used for very different purposes there.

In Equestria, detention was usually reserved for students that had fallen heavily behind on their assignments due to negligence or defiance, and those students were effectively picked up by the scruff and had their nose applied to the grindstone for an extra hour or two after school or during lunch. This was to hammer it in their head that not every hour could be a free hour and that duties were not for if you felt like it. Equestrian detention was strictly about school performance and work ethic, and if there were issues in school like behavior or other such problems, those matters were brought directly to the family, where the problem could be discussed by all parties and a plan of action could be devised. Meanwhile, suspension was not used as punishment. It followed close behind a plan of action being devised instead, namely one that required a student attend something that would normally occupy class hours, and oftentimes the student’s family would directly participate in the process. Schools worked closely with families to make sure that their children were succeeding, and if they weren’t, then it was up to them to do something about it together. It was for the foals.

The disciplinary actions taken by the schools in the human world didn’t make much sense to Sunset by comparison. There was an element of work management involved in that assignments and study were some of the few things you were allowed to do in detention, but the reasons for being assigned detention could vary wildly and sometimes had nothing to do with how the student was doing in school beyond whether or not they were acting out. Basically, if the student was in violation of school policy but not in a particularly severe way, they got detention. If they violated school policy in a more severe way, they’d be suspended, but there was seldom follow-up from what Sunset could tell. Granted she was looking from the outside and had never actually been a part of that process, but the schools in general seemed very loath to involve the families of the errant student in any way other than to inform them that they were indeed errant, meanwhile allowing the ever-present implication that the family could be held responsible for this if it got bad enough to prompt them to do something without themselves doing anything more than they were required to.

As far as Sunset could see, the entire philosophy for school in the human world was one of the things that the mirror realm’s properties had inverted rather than reflected. Whereas Equestria treated schooling and education as a matter of moral imperative that represented its own reward when done right, the human world regarded it as a necessary but burdensome expense that had to continually be justified by meeting whatever arbitrary standard they’d set as justification. Weirdly, however, humans talked like they regarded it the same way ponies did, but the manner that the institutions composed themselves in told a very different story from the one everyone seemed to believe. It was like the perspective was reflected as most things were, but the reality was inverted out from under it and no one seemed to notice the disconnect.

Sunset had not seen another situation like it since passing through the portal. It was fascinating, but also deeply concerning. The relationship between Equestria itself and the education system of the human world was very intimate for some reason, and while it was almost impossible to know the specifics with so much of the world’s inner workings hidden from view, there stood a not-insignificant possibility that the situation with the human world’s schools was a commentary of Equestria rather than a perversion of it. That, of course, was almost unthinkable to Sunset. It went against everything she understood about Equestria’s values, yet the amount that it made sense based on what she knew was enough to inspire a quiet existential fear that she could never bring herself to fully shake.

Was it some quirk that emerged through the reflection process to represent the differences between the two peoples on either side of the mirror? Or was this the natural consequence of distilling a greater picture down into something more easily comprehensible, where something dark and cold beneath the ostensibly bright and enlightened surface of pony society could be plainly seen? Was this a technical oddity with a self-contained explanation, or a side view of a conspiracy back home no one had caught onto yet? Was it a coincidental glitch, or a pointed truth?

Sunset may be a traitor, but she was also a patriot, and it was for this reason that these questions sometimes haunted her. What did it all mean, and more importantly, what did it mean for Equestria? What did it mean for equinity? Did it mean something? If so, what? What did it mean? What did it mean?

The loud slap of a pile of papers being dropped on the table directly beside Sunset was enough to make her nearly jolt out of her seat. She barely had time to register what had happened when Ms. Harshwhinny pushed several papers from the pile directly in front of Sunset, meeting her wide-eyed stare with her own stern one. There was seldom much warmth to be found in that woman, but in this instance her gaze felt especially glacial. “If you have time to daydream, you have time to work, Miss Shimmer.”

Without so much as a moment’s pause, the older woman picked up the pile of papers she’d slammed down and began to pass by each of the tables evenly spread throughout the room. A single student sat at each table, all facing the front of the very empty-feeling art classroom. Every student here remained silent, just like they had for the last half hour, and while the fleeting edges of glances cast Sunset’s way were caught out of the corner of her eye as she looked around, each set of eyes left her well before their thoughts could be gleaned. No one wanted to be seen looking anywhere but down at where they were working.

After a few moments like this, Sunset looked down as well, regarding the papers that had been put in front of her with an expression that would eventually metamorphose into a scowl. All these words and the empty fields beneath them served no purpose other than to occupy her and to distract from things that actually mattered, and what else could she be but frustrated by this? Her time was being wasted. There was so much else she could do with the time and energy she had, and she was being forced to squander it with punitive busywork.

This was either symbolic or frivolous, and Sunset wasn't sure which one left a worse taste in her mouth. She shook her head in silent disgust, then picked up the pencil where it had scattered from her hand to partake in the useless activities she had been assigned, if for no other reason than to keep Harshwhinny from jumping fist-first down her throat again.

Sunset hated detention. She disliked the way it was executed in this world in particular, but having it be run by a renowned hardass that had taken a distinct disliking towards her in particular left Sunset at a low simmer that could only run hotter as time passed.

It was decided that there would be words with Luna after this. She didn’t know what words specifically, but there would be them, if Sunset got her way.

And indeed she would. After the rest of the hour passed and Sunset was able to collect her things and make a swift retreat from the art room, she stalked the halls with purpose in her stride until she caught a glimpse of deep blue and the aura of someone who could move heaven and earth with the proper motivation. Unlike most other times she’d see that approaching her, Sunset swiveled on her heel from where she’d been turned and marched straight at the vice principal like a heat-seeking missile.

Before the vice principal could get a word in edgewise to address this, Sunset stabbed a finger in the vague direction of the art room a few halls down and demanded with civility stretched so thin it was transparent, “Hey, so, what was that?”

Luna paused to observe Sunset for a moment, making extensive note of the way smoke was all but literally coming out of her ears, then replied evenly: “Detention.”

“No shit!” The taut civility snapped completely, both halves ricocheting off the walls to the sound of Sunset’s snarl.

“Lower your voice,” Luna demanded sternly, then followed her own advice. “And don’t be so crass at me. You were told what to expect.”

“Yes but- but-” Sunset did manage to bring herself to lower her voice, but only by a notch. She mouthed and gesticulated vaguely as she tried to wrangle her outrage enough to form words, and when she did she stabbed both hands in the direction of the art room across the building. ”Harshwhinny?!”

“-was necessary for the purposes of controlling the rest of the room,” Luna filled in after her. “Besides, what was I meant to do? I can’t very well get anything done if I need to keep one eye on six other students with a history of delinquency.”

Sunset went to say something else, but stopped herself. She physically swallowed as she metaphorically swallowed the embers she was so eager to spit, and she had the wherewithal to cast a quick glance around them to ensure no one was actively listening before she stepped a little closer in a more hushed, if still smoldering voice. “That was not what I had in mind when we talked about this. That woman is a cunt, and that’s before she decided she hates me, and if maintaining appearances means I gotta keep dealing with her ass, I think I might prefer taking my chances with whatever dickhead your education board throws at me.”

“That’s-” Luna cut herself off and closed her eyes briefly, grasping her patience a little more firmly with a measure inhale through her nose. “I’ll arrange something more agreeable when I have a chance, Sunset, alright? I understand the frustration, but helping you has proven to be no small task, and I do still have a job to do here.” The edge in Luna’s voice was not sharp, but it was enough to catch if one wasn’t careful. “I can’t do everything all at once. Please be patient.”

Sunset huffed, and in her mind’s eye a plume of black smoke came out through her mouth and nostrils when she did. From there she was able to curb the temptation to say something biting enough to instead merely grunt, “Fine.”

“Thank you.” It was at this point that Luna resumed a normal speaking voice. “Now go to my office. I need to take care of something, and I’ll be with you when I’m done.”

Sunset nodded wordlessly and stepped around the vice principal to do precisely that.

But first, a detour. A nice winding circuit through the halls before she eventually made her way to the vice principal's office sounded rather agreeable to Sunset right then. It would be nice to have a chance to stretch her legs after having been more or less tied to a chair with a Harshwinny-shaped gun pointed at her head for an hour. Her fellow detentionmates had scattered to the wind the moment freedom presented itself, and with it being an hour after everyone else had already gone home, there would be little in the way of other bodies to be concerned with.

…on the topic of bodies, Sunset pulled her phone out of her pocket and flicked to her texts as she power-walked through the hallways. She’d gotten a text from Rarity earlier and had managed to glimpse only the fact that there was a preview, which betrayed the existence of an image file present. That was almost always a good thing.

Sure enough, without any witnesses to have to be concerned with, Sunset opened up the latest instance of self-photography from Rarity, timestamped just shy of 20 minutes ago.

The photo was of Rarity, phone raised at a mirror that had used to capture the whole of her from across the room. She was sitting on the edge of a countertop by a sink in what appeared to be a particularly cramped bathroom, and judging by her outfit, it had been taken at her workplace. Her uniform was most definitely not in a work-compliant state, however; her button-down shirt was around her waist where it had been pulled open let slip from her shoulders, and just barely visible behind her was one strap of her bra, which was most pointedly not anywhere on her body. Her black skirt was hitched up and one leg was propped up on the toilet, which left her legs open and her underwear clearly visible. Her face was covered up with the phone where it had been raised, but from what little Sunset could make of the way the muscles on her face were pulled, it was clear to her that when Rarity had taken the picture, she’d been grinning.

Immediately after the picture had been sent, a text had followed:

Rarity
Felt a little naughty. I thought you’d appreciate it
Today at 3:42

Now see, that? That was a sight for sore eyes. Sunset broke into a grin herself, one that would no doubt match Rarity’s behind that phone when she sent it.

Something about viewing pictures like this in the open in school was…weird. And kind of funny. Sunset saved the selfie and was then typing up a reply of her own, 20 minutes late though it was:

You
I’m having a hard enough time keeping you out of my head already and then you hit me with this
Absolute goddess
Today at 4:03

That would have to do. She’d be working right now, so a timely response wasn’t likely. This would probably make her smile, though, so it was good enough.

She was getting bolder with her photos - bold enough to be a bit more explicit and revealing in these exchanges. There was the obvious reason why this could be viewed as a good thing, but Sunset was also pleased by this for other reasons. Rarity was getting bolder, which meant she was feeling more comfortable and confident with her body, and that was a major contributor to the smile on Sunset’s face right then as she walked. Good for her, well and truly.

That was nice. That was really nice, actually. A nice palette cleanser after the grueling Harshwhinny incident.

While she had her phone in her hands, Sunset checked for other texts. She got one from Fluttershy asking if she was going to come over today, to which Sunset replied (if also rather late from when the original text had been sent) that she probably would, once she got free. Ideally that’d be soon. Of all the things that Sunset had expected Fluttershy to have a lot of experience playing, she didn’t think it would be the Street Fighter games, but a fair bit of time lately had been dedicated to showing Sunset the ins and outs of it. She was still pretty trash at it, but it was novel and something fun for them to work together on, and it was something she looked forward to later, even if it did mean she’d probably be getting her ass kicked repeatedly by bots in the main storyline. Whatever, it’d be fine.

The sound of a locker firmly closing ahead made Sunset’s head snap upward away from her phone. Her route through the halls had brought her to the locker segment that one of the kids from detention had just pulled their bag from and was now staring at her, leaning on her locker with the arm she’d just used to close it.

The name escaped Sunset - Water-something. Drama kid. Skin like strawberry-flavored yogurt. Short, violently green hair. Wearing one of those round flat hats from a place she couldn’t think of the name of, nor the hat...beret or something. Purple-pink eyes. Someone she’d had no use for in her scheming days and continued to have no use for now.

”What’s it like to be mortal again, Shimmer?”

It wasn’t obvious by the tone whether it was meant belligerently or not, but the body language wasn’t friendly, which told Sunset to put her phone in her pocket and direct her eyes straight ahead. She resumed walking and had no intention of stopping.

This didn’t seem to dissuade Water-something. “Took ‘em long enough to finally catch you on something.”

As Sunset passed, she dismissively replied, “I’m not caught yet.”

Water-something let out a derisive snort at this. Sunset didn’t look, so she couldn’t see her expression. ”Looking pretty caught to me.”

Sunset didn’t respond. She kept walking, and Water-something neither said more nor pursued. The conversation with the first of her peers that wasn’t a Rainboom in four months ended as suddenly as it started.

Sunset didn’t know how to feel afterwards. She tried not to think about it, nor the barely detectable quiver of nausea in her stomach after the fact.

Sunset cut her intended circuit through the halls in half to get to Luna’s office faster. Once she arrived, she closed herself in the shaded room that was illuminated only by the ribbons of light filtering in through lowered blinds. It was barely enough to find her seat by, even with the midday sun just outside.

As she was sitting there in the dark trying to empty her thoughts, Sunset’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She retrieved it and checked her latest text.

Rarity
❤
Today at 4:07

Sunset’s lips cracked into a small smile.

You
❤
Behave, you
Today at 4:07

Unexpectedly, Rarity responded before Sunset could lower the phone again.

Rarity
I’m afraid you’ve rubbed off on me a little too much by now, my darling
Today at 4:07

Definitely work-texting. Sunset didn't think much of it at the time, however. She missed Rarity, and now Rarity was here. She was just happy to talk to her.

You
Damn. Hoisted by my own petard
I taught you too well
Today at 4:07

Rarity
That you did
Misbehavior is all I want from life now
Today at 4:08

You
Ah, to suffer from success
At least the view is to die for
Today at 4:08

Rarity
Glad you like it ❤
Today at 4:08

You
It's a little more than like ❤
Today at 4:08

Rarity
❤❤
Might be more where that comes from if you behave
Today at 4:08

Sunset’s smile had only grown throughout this conversation, and it showed no sign of letting up any time soon.

You
I’m suddenly feeling incredibly well-mannered and obedient
Not sure where that came from. Weird
Today at 4:09

Rarity
Truly mysterious
We'll just have to see ❤
Today at 4:09

You
❤
And what would you like to see, oh divinely beloved of mine?
Today at 4:09

Rarity
You ❤❤❤
Today at 4:09

It was perhaps far more tempting than it should have been to comply with this. As she was seriously debating following through with what might not have even been intended as an earnest request, the consideration of making her way to the school bathroom was cut short by the sound of the door handle turning and the vice principal’s office door opening.

What tragic timing.

You
ttyl sorry love you
Today at 4:09

Luna’s expression was often hard to read, and the dark room did not help this as she stepped in and shut the door behind her. “Apologies for the delay,” she said, tone slanted ever so slightly towards something like weariness.

Sunset simply shrugged and crossed one leg over the other, betraying nothing of her thoughts. Her phone went to her pocket, where she tried to sequester the feelings she’d been having up till now. Her pocket buzzed shortly after, but she didn’t check it. Business before pleasure.

Luna opened and closed some desk drawers, somehow able to navigate their contents and do something Sunset couldn’t see - it was impressive that the vice principal could, even without the desk in the way. Eventually she’d placed everywhere where she intended to and the relative quiet was punctuated by paper hitting the desk. Sunset could just see the notebook, but the lamp for Luna’s office clicked on a moment later, letting her see it and about half the now orange-tinted room fully.

As Sunset was about to ask, Luna spoke. “I’ve been compiling my thoughts on everything and considered available options since we last spoke.” She’d retrieved a pencil by now, and the well-filed lead tapped twice on the paper in front of her, which Luna began scanning over like a student trying to work out a particularly trying answer on a test. “Your situation is…tricky.”

Sunset could only nod. This wasn’t news.

“I cannot claim to know what precisely the federal government would do were they to catch wind of who and what you are, but it is wholly out of our hands and could be anything from a polite conversation to…something a little more unthinkable.” She tapped a few spots on the paper as though going down a list. “Much as I’d like to hope compassion would prevail, we have to assume the worst. Detection by the state must be avoided at all costs.”

This also wasn’t news, and Sunset resisted the urge to roll her eyes for it.

“In saying that, every interaction with society that presents an opportunity to fact check is a risk.” Luna turned a page in her notebook, focused intently on the orderly notes that had been sketched all over its surface. “This all comes back to the fact that - as you made mention of in our last meeting - this world already has a Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset finally couldn’t contain the sarcasm. “Who I’m sure is living a full and happy life right now.”

At that, Luna reached for her pocket. “Funny you should mention that. She’s been missing for three years.”

That got Sunset’s attention, and she couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “Has she?”

Luna nodded as she scanned what she had brought up on her own smartphone. “Reported missing in August, 2010.” She turned her phone around and showed Sunset the screen: a particularly youthful-looking version of her human self beamed back at her with a vibrant smile, the image marred by the wrinkles of the laminated missing person’s poster that had been stapled to what looked like a telephone pole. The text on the poster was written from the perspective of the family, presumably the parents, and it mentioned a suspected runaway and pleaded that any information be brought forward about the whereabouts of their 'little sunshine.' “These are still scattered around in Manehatten right now. As far as I can tell, there’s been no updates.”

Sunset felt several things all at once that pulled into and against one another in an ugly knot. The image of her own human face many years younger than her - a face she had never once worn, yet still managed to be familiar - was uncanny, but that phrase at the end hit her like one of the staples pinning the weathered poster to the pole. The payload of nostalgia entered her body and immediately curdled. It was enough to make her writhe in her chair, and Sunset removed her eyes from the phone in favor of something else in this room. ”…buck, alright then.”

Luna let the matter hang to see what else Sunset had to say on it, which was so far no more than wordless discomfort. Luna observed, then retracted her phone. “The timeline isn’t perfect, but I could not help but note a certain familiarity about the whole situation.”

“Sunset Shimmer runs away from home to go do something stupid and avoids detection from the people who would bring her back?” Sunset chuckled dryly, shaking her head. “Yeah, that’s me alright. About what I’d expect.” As she said that, though, something stood out to her, and her brow furrowed. She looked at Luna. “Manehatten, you said?”

“That’s correct. It’s a stretch to say they’re all over the city,” Luna gestured with her phone to indicate, “but these posters are dotted throughout a few different neighborhoods and in front of several businesses that get a lot of foot traffic. I assume there were more at one point, but it’s been three years.”

“But I’ve never been to Manehatten. I was born and raised in Canterlot.”

Luna gave Sunset a look like she didn’t entirely comprehend what she’d said. “...so...it is not just people there are duplicates of in your world, but places as well?”

“Uh…yeah.” Sunset tried to situate herself in her chair a little more snugly where she’d shifted in place out of the optimal comfort zone. Her back still didn’t much favor angles that weren’t orthodox. “The major cities around here are all places that exist in Equestria. And, uh, smaller places too, I assume, but I uh…I don’t get around much.”

The vice principal nodded, visibly straining to digest this information.

“It’s not always one-for-one,” Sunset went on. “But for the most part, there’s a consistent translation of people and places in Equestria which you can see in the human world- and, you know, vice versa. It kinda goes worldwide, I think? I’m not positive though. It doesn’t look like things are quite so spot-on the further out you go from this region in the human world.”

“Earth.”

Sunset blinked. “What?”

“Earth,” Luna repeated. “Our world is called Earth. The planet. We’re on Earth right now.“

“I…I know.” Sunset was taken aback by this enough to almost not know how to reply. “I just call it that. Cuz it’s the…it’s the human world. The world of humans.”

“And your world is Equestria?”

“Equestria is my home country,” Sunset replied slowly, almost carefully. “The world is Equus.”

Luna nodded along and wrote something down in her notebook near the top of the page. “Noted.”

Sunset’s train of thought had been thoroughly derailed by this curveball, so it took her a few seconds to get her head back on straight enough to recall what she’d been saying before. “So uh…yeah.” She cleared her throat and pushed through the awkwardness. “I’ve never been to Manehatten, so...that’s weird.”

“Quite. However, I believe you are in a far better position to discern what that means than I.”

“Right…” The momentum was returning. “Yeah, I…I don’t know that it means anything, I guess. Sometimes it’s one-for-one, the uh, the details between both worlds, but sometimes it’s like…it’s like ballpark similar, you know? More vibes-based than like, directly copied over. No reflection in the mirror is perfect, and..." She waved a hand dismissively. "All that.”

Luna nodded along thoughtfully, adding additional notes to her page. “Fascinating.”

“Yeah.” Sunset hadn’t meant it to sound as flippant as it came off, so she repeated a bit more earnestly. “Yeah, it is. It’s…I think it’s pretty cool. An existential nightmare, maybe, but that’s just part of the cool factor, right?” She chuckled, though it sounded as forced as it was. “Who doesn’t love a little fridge horror in their daily life?”

“Indeed,” came the absent response. Luna stared a bit deeper into her notes, tapping the tip of her pencil pensively against the page, though after a few moments more her posture shifted and the matter was set aside. “The takeaway I meant is that Manehatten is not a good place for you to be right now. I feel lingering there would be a very effective way to attract attention that can’t be afforded.”

Couldn’t argue with that. “Not like I’m swimming in ways to get there, but I’ll go ahead and just blacklist that area on my list of vacation destinations.”

“Wise.” Luna touched her pencil to one point of note in her notebook. “That this world’s Sunset Shimmer is not accounted for does not necessarily make the situation easier, unlike what first glance may suggest. She’s vacated her position in society, so there’s some amount of overlap that can be avoided with your own activity, but there are people with a vested interest in restoring the spot that she left, namely in her household and with law enforcement." Luna's voice picked up a distinctly tepid quality as she went on with, "It’s also a potential solution to your problems, if you like...her parents would likely not be able to immediately discern the difference between you and her, but…”

“I would uh-” Sunset cleared her throat, “-strongly prefer to not do that.”

Luna nodded with certainty. “Good. There’s some ethical hurdles there that I would prefer not to have to navigate myself.”

“Same.” That, and on the list of people she didn't want to see in any world, her parents were very near the top.

Luna looked over her notes for a moment or so longer, then quietly sighed and placed her pencil down. “I’m afraid that even knowing this, the situation has not overmuch changed. Every effort should still be made to avoid bringing your name up in official contexts for the sake of safety, and given the danger questions being raised represents, avenues available to us - even with an elevated level of acceptable risk - are few. It,” and Luna looked to Sunset with an apology on her face, “ultimately comes down to dependency on your peers and neighbors, I’m afraid. Anyone willing and able to keep the secret.”

Sunset had known that. Much like most of what Luna had said here, this wasn’t news. To hear it coming from someone else, however, confirmed what she already knew deep down and cemented its validity in her mind. It felt like a weight was lowering down over her shoulders as some of the last holdouts of vain, stubborn hope finally winked out. She sat back the rest of the way in her chair as a despondent sigh left her.

“I will do some exploration,” Luna assured. “While I can’t say I know people in high places, I do know people, and my sister’s influence is not insubstantial either. I’m confident that between the two of us, we’ll be able to figure out something more sustainable. As it stands…” Luna parted her hands and gave a resigned half-smile that said, ‘it is what it is.’ “Beyond advising you look for sympathy in your classmates and their families, I can offer access to my home, if need be.”

“Iiiiiiii don’t know about that one,” came the quick response. Sunset’s hands raised slightly as though trying to physically keep that one down. “Like- like look, it’s not like I don’t appreciate it, but-“

“It would be easy.” Luna’s voice wasn’t quite hard, but it was unyielding. The stone soldier had planted her sword where she stood. “It would be exceptionally easy to prepare a single space in my home for one girl to rest her head for a night. Repeat instances would be just as easy, if not easier.”

Sunset wanted to refute that, but it was clear in her mind Luna wouldn’t hear her case of being burdensome. She felt a pang of frustration, but also helplessness, and the argument ended before it began with her hands slapping down into her lap with an air of vexation.

“Think about it.” Luna’s voice and stance softened. “That is all I am asking: think about it. My door is open to you.”

Sunset nodded somewhat stiffly, and in the moment her gaze felt best suited for something else besides the woman at her desk. “I’ll think about it.”

Luna gave a nod, and the matter was left at that. After a few moments of quiet, Luna cast a brief glance down at her watch, then returned it to Sunset. “We should consider leaving school at some point today. What do you think?”

“Don’t know what you mean, I’m having a great time.” Sunset couldn’t completely keep the vitriol out of her voice as she stood up. “I love catching up with my best buddy Harshwhinny. Highlight of my bucking day.”

“I’ll arrange for something a bit more bearable,” Luna reminded patiently. “The latest you’ll need to wait will be Monday.”

…suboptimal. That still potentially left Friday, but one more day of the turbobitch was probably survivable. Hopefully whatever Luna intended to orchestrate didn't somehow make the arrangement worse, though it would be a genuinely impressive feat in Sunset's mind if she did. ”Fine I guess.”

“Just hang in there.” Luna rose from her seat - while Sunset didn’t have to, she allowed herself to wait for the vice principal to open the door for her for no other reason than the sake of custom. It seemed proper. “Things will only improve from here.”

Sunset nodded without commentary and stepped out into the hall, hands shifting into her pockets. The door clicked shut behind her, but Sunset’s feet didn’t move yet. Her head fell back a little as she stared up at the spot overhead where the ceiling tiles of the hallway met the wall, letting slip a quiet, weary sigh from her nose.

She was going to need a support network. That much was clear to her: she couldn’t just rely on Fluttershy alone, and even if she decided she did want to lean on her, Luna wouldn’t be enough either. She needed a real support network, and for that, people were going to have to know.

She still didn’t want to. Some part of Sunset - some stupid, petulant part of her that refused to give up the fight despite everything - wanted to keep up the ruse. It wasn't too late to keep it quiet still, and with what she had, she’d be able to coast for a while without doing more. She could still go it more or less alone.

But Sunset Shimmer was tired. She’d been hellbent on giving herself absolutely nothing to work with, and while that part was easy, living with it was hard. She could handle it for a little while, but then the weeks passed, and while they were at it, months passed. She had grit her teeth and dug in her heels and clenched her fists and pulled on all that willpower she was known to have, and it just didn’t matter. She was a rock in a river, and the river was winning. It wasn't a contest; the river would always win.

Sunset didn’t know if she deserved a better life or not, but she was at the point now where she almost didn't care about that. She just wanted the pain to stop. She was tired of suffering.

...she was going to have to tell Rarity about this. She was going to have to tell several people about this. Maybe the other Rainbooms…probably the other Rainbooms, even. They were the only ones who seemed willing to even consider giving her a chance.

…yeah. That’s what it would take. She’d have to do that eventually.

Not now, though. Not today. All Sunset wanted to do today was go to Fluttershy’s house and play Street Fighter, or whatever other games she had on her PS3 that sounded fun. She wanted to call Rarity when she got out of work and pull both girls into a conversation where they weren't doing anything and nothing mattered and tell them stupid jokes that were definitely stupid but her friends thought were funny anyway.

It felt nice to make people laugh. She wanted more of that - more smiles, more laughter. It was nice to leave something good in her wake for once, even if all it amounted to was fleeting little moments of silliness they wouldn't remember in a week.

Making up her mind in that moment that this was what she wanted, Sunset crisply nodded to herself, stood up straighter, and walked down the hall and out the front doors to CHS. She continued to walk as she made her way down the street, took a right, and kept on walking.

There were plenty of things to see in Canterlot, if she at all felt like it, but there’d be no detours and no slowing down today. She had places to be. Normalcy wasn’t going to feel itself, after all.