//-------------------------------------------------------// Nightmare Night -by SilverWind14- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue The sounds of sirens wailed across the streets of Canterlot City. Police, firefighters, and ambulances racing through the now crowded streets packed with a few police officers and panicked bystanders. Down across the street, stood Canterlot High School. A once quiet and peaceful little school, now the loudest spot in town. Police barricades, yellow crime scene tape, officers everywhere. In the background lay many bodies, some covered, some not. People behind the barricades struggled and jumped to try and get a better view at the carnage in front of them. “Everybody please back away! Back away now! Nothing for you to see here!” yelled one of the officers. The officer looked back at the bodies behind him. This was definitely something nobody should have to see. “Please miss. I know it’s very difficult, considering the shit show you and your friends just went through, but you gotta try and tell what exactly happened here tonight.” One of the police officers holding a small notepad asked a girl sitting on the front steps of the school. The girl had been mostly unresponsive since the officer approached her and put his jacket over her shoulders. Only responding with simple head nods and shakes when asked yes or no questions. The officer could hardly blame her though. He couldn’t imagine ever going through a nightmare like this. “Please Miss… Dash. Nobody’s going to hurt you anymore. It’s over now ok? So please, try to tell me what exactly happened here tonight.” The rainbow haired girl finally looked up at the officer. The fear, the anger, the sadness, the guilt. The officer could see it all in her eyes. He felt like shit for even having to ask a clearly traumatized high school student to relive these horrible events, but he had to get a statement in. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, ready to speak. The officer got his pen ready to write. Dash had so many things going on in her mind. So many things she wanted to say. To scream. But the only word that she weakly managed to say was, “Sunset.” One month ago Sunset Shimmer eagerly picked the crown up from the ground. The thing she’d been after for so long.Weeks of planning, weeks of preparation. She will stop at nothing until she reaches true power. She will NOT allow any goody two shoe pony princess and her colorful friends to ruin her plans! “Finally! More power than I can ever imagine!” Sunset eagerly shouted as she placed the crown on her head. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity all watched in horror as Sunset began glowing and levitating. As she did, she began undergoing a transformation. Her skin became a fiery red. The sclera of her eyes became jet black. Her hair waving like flames. Huge demon-like wings shot out from her back, helping her stay off the ground. Once the transformation had finished, Sunset looked down and admired her new appearance. She let out a sinister laugh that echoed through the night. Turning into a literal demon wasn’t really what she was expecting, but this power. So much of it! It was exhilarating! “What do we do now Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. She looked over at Twilight, hoping for reassurance, but became even more worried when she saw the panic in Twilight’s face. However despite that, Twilight was able to stand her ground. “I-I don’t know.” Twilight tried but failed to hide the fear in her voice. She really had no idea what to do. She didn’t have any magic. If only there was a way to get that crown back- Her train of thought was interrupted by Sunset’s maniacal laugh. “Oh this feels amazing!” She shouted. “All the power I could ever dream of! Finally mine!” She suddenly caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw some Canterlot High students coming out to see what the commotion was about. She was absolutely delighted seeing the look of terror on their faces. “Ohh what’s the matte?” Sunset mockingly asked. “Did I interrupt your pathetic little dance?” Her hands began to glow and menacing black green aura, and in one swift motion destroyed the school entrance and tossed the ruble aside like a piece of paper. She floated over to the now panicked students attempting to run. How cute. They think they can escape. Now all she had to do was use her magic to control their minds and- Kill. What? No, not kill. All she wants to do is control them. To make her own army of mind controlled teenagers to rule Equestria with and- Kill. Kill. Kill. What’s happening!? Sunset thought. Why was she thinking about killing? That’s not what she wants to do! That’s not- Her eyes locked on to a lone student on the floor, apparently too scared to move. A lone student. A lone prey, she thought. She levitated down to the ground. She then slowly approached the student. The student, Micro Chips, was too terrified to move. The big, evil demon was going to get him. He could only watch as Sunset got closer and closer. He noticed a lack of expression on her face. Before, she had a sinister grin, excitement, thrill, happiness, now suddenly vanished. Now there’s just nothing. His train of thought was violently interrupted as Sunset grabbed Micro by the throat and lifted him up with one hand, choking him in the process. All Micro could do was gasp for breath and pound his fist on her arm. Though his efforts were ultimately in vain. There was nothing he could do against this monstrosity. Sunset looked into his eyes. The life slowly being drained from them. Her prey was dying. Kill. Kill. Her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly Twilight and her friends all simultaneously jumped on top of her. “We need to get that crown off her now!” Twilight shouted. Sunset let go of Micro Chips. He dropped to the floor, gasping for some much needed air. A few more seconds and he definitely would’ve blacked out, or worse. He looked up, still holding his now sore throat, and saw that new girl and her friends now fighting Sunset. “Run darling! Get out of here, quickly!” Rarity shouted at him. She suddenly felt a hand around her neck and in the next instance she was thrown into some nearby lockers. The wind was definitely knocked out of her. “Rarity!” Applejack shouted. She turned to Sunset with a look of anger. She threw multiple hard punches that connected with Sunset’s face. The force of them was able to briefly knock some emotion back into her. “What the? Get the fuck off of me!” She lashed out backhanded Applejack, causing her to also go flying, making her crash into Rarity, who was just barely able to stand up. She then grabbed Fluttershy by the face, causing her to let out a terrified, ear piercing shriek. Rainbow and Pinkie, now running on adrenaline, quickly moved in to save her. Pinkie grabbed on to one of Sunset’s pointed ears and Rainbow went behind her and grabbed both her wings. They both yanked as hard as they could. Sunset yelled in pain. She quickly let go of Fluttershy’s face. No! There was no way these insects were hurting her. Especially when she has all this power! She then began charging a blast in each of her hands and looked over at Rarity and Applejack, who were leaning against the lockers trying to catch their breath. She smirked. Time to get rid of these pests once and- “Now Twilight!” Pinkie Pie’s sudden yell distracted Sunset. But before she could even react, Twilight jumped up and grabbed on to the crown on her head. However, try as she might, she just couldn’t get it off. It’s like it was glued on or something. Sunset screamed, both in pain and panicked. Without thinking she picked up Twilight and threw her across the hallway of the school. Making contact and sliding across the floor then crashing into some lockers. Sunset growled angrily. Enough was enough! Time to destroy these- “No!” She exclaimed when she turned over to Twilight and saw that she was holding on to the crown. Somehow she managed to keep her grip on the crown as she threw her. “NO!!!” In a sudden burst of light, Sunset transformed back into her normal self. Her clothes slightly torn and hair very messy. She dropped down to her knees. So many emotions were racing through her head. Anger, fear, embarrassment, shame, and… she couldn’t hold back the tears as she brought her hands up to her face and wept loudly. ***** “You’ll look after her won’t you?” Twilight asked the other girls. Although she might already know the answer they’ll give. “Hell no!” Shouted Rainbow Dash. “You saw what she did to us! She’s insane!” “Honestly darling,” Rarity chimed in. “Even if we were willing to forgive her so easily, I’m not entirely sure she’d be open to the idea of friendship.” “She’s right, Sugarcube.” Applejack said. “Ain’t no way she’d be willing to hang out and be friends, not just with us, but with anyone at this point.” Everyone turned over to Sunset, who at this point had stopped crying and was standing near the ruined school entrance. If looks could kill, the glare she was giving them would definitely be enough to take all six of them out. Twilight couldn’t really blame them. Aside from Tirek back in Equestria, this was most certainly one of her toughest battles. However, she knows these girls could still reach through to her. They can show her true friendship. “Please guys. All I’m asking is to give her one last chance. Teach her the ways of friendship. I know there’s still good in her.” “She’s right guys.” Fluttershy finally spoke. Twilight turned and gave the shy girl a warm smile while the rest of the girls looked dumbfounded. Out of all of them, she was probably the closest one to dying. Yet here she was, willing to forgive the one that almost ended them. “It can’t hurt to try right?” Rainbow Dash quickly smiled. That’s Fluttershy for ya. Arguably the most kindhearted person on the planet. A heart of gold without a doubt. “Well that settles that!” Pinkie excitedly chimed in. “Looks like we’ll be making a new friend!” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were still pretty skeptical, but ultimately decided to agree. Maybe Sunset could turn over a new leaf. That’d be interesting. Sunset stared out at the girls standing next to the statue. Looks like it was almost time for Twilight to return back to Equestria. Good riddance to her! Though that should’ve been her going through that portal! She had the power. It was all hers. If only that damn nerd hadn’t distracted her she could’ve- Kill. A sharp pain in her head suddenly hit her. There it was again. That same malicious feeling she felt when she was a demon. Why was this happening to her? All she wants to do is rule, not kill. The pain slowly but surely started getting worse. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Vice Principal Luna walking toward her with what appeared to be a trowel in her hand. Upon reaching her, she handed the tool over to Sunset. She looked up at Luna with a confused look on her face. “The hell is this for?” Sunset asked coldly. “To clean up, Miss Shimmer.” Luna replied. Sunset could practically taste the venom from her words. She was NOT happy. “I hope you don’t have any plans later tonight, because you are not leaving until you’ve cleaned up this mess!” Of course that wasn’t really true. Psychotic or not, they couldn't keep a student here all night. However, she was going to make sure that she stayed as late as possible. “You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m gonna spend my night cleaning this shit up by myself.” Sunset almost let out a chuckle. The audacity of this old hag telling her what to do. Luna was unfazed. She expected her to say something like this. Even before tonight, Sunset had always been very difficult to work with. Even when she got humbled and defeated, she still had the nerve to think she was still “in control” so to speak. It was almost quite amusing. Luna crossed her arms and stood her ground. “You will and that’s final! You’re lucky Twilight insisted on not having you expelled. Or even arrested for that matter.” “Yeah?” Sunset’s anger was now boiling over. “Well you’re lucky i don’t-” Kill. The pain in her head returned. Now even stronger than before. She yelled out in pain as she grabbed her head, hoping it’d ease the pain. “No!” Kill. Kill. Luna looked on confused. Was she about to throw another tantrum? Seriously? “That’s enough Sunset Shimmer! You can’t cry and scream your way out of this. Now get to-” Before she could finish her demand, Sunset suddenly fell to the ground. Her body violently spazzed out as she still held on to her head. Luna dropped to her knees, now worried about her student. “Sunset? Sunset, what's wrong? Sunset!?” She looked over to the group of friends near the statue. “Twilight Sparkle! Come quickly!” Twilight and the others looked over and saw Vice Principal Luna kneeling next to Sunset. After hearing her cries of pain they quickly rushed over to see what was wrong. “What is it? What happened?” Twilight asked frantically. “I don’t know! One second she was fine, then the next she was in pain or something!” Luna was now terrified. She’s known Sunset long enough to know when she was throwing a hissy fit to get her way. This wasn’t it. This was something else. Something serious. Twilight also kneeled down next to her. “Sunset Shimmer? What’s wrong? Tell me!” Sunset let out a terrifying scream as she held onto her head, which now felt like it was about to explode. It was hard with the minimal lighting, but Twilight could almost see Sunset’s cyan eyes turning dark. Almost black. Kill. “No!” Kill. No!!” Kill. “NO!!!” Author's Note Yes, I realize the start of this is sorta similar to Phoenix, but like, come on LOL This will be my main focus for the next month for obvious reasons. Maybe hopefully I'll get a new chapter out for Broken, Phoenix, and maybe even Blazin. We'll see! :duck: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/duck.png //-------------------------------------------------------// Vice Principal Luna //-------------------------------------------------------// Vice Principal Luna Vice Principal Luna and Twilight stood at the door of the nurse’s office as they carefully and quietly watched over Sunset. She layed on the blue first aid couch with a small ice pack on her forehead. At some point during her screaming she passed out. Luna could feel her temperature rising as it happened. Between her and Twilight, they carried her to the nurse’s office where they did the best they could to render first aid. Luckily for them, Sunset seems to be doing good for now. Probably best to sleep this off. “I can’t believe I almost just made her stay here all night.” Luna said as she and Twilight began walking back towards the school entrance. Twilight looked over and placed a hand over her shoulder. “You had no idea, Vice Principal Luna. None of us did.” Hearing Twilight's reassuring words brought some relief to Luna. Although she won’t openly express it out loud, she’s glad she met Twilight and happy about all she’s done in her short time here. As they reached the entrance they could see the girls waiting for them as well as Principal Celestia, who rushed over as soon as she heard about what happened. “How is she?” The principal asked with a slight hint of worry in her voice. “She’ll be just fine, sister.” Luna replied. “I think it’s best if we let her rest for a while. We can just clean up tomorrow. Luckily it’s a Saturday so we don’t have to worry about the students.” Celestia gave a quick nod. “Any idea why that happened to her?” Rarity asked. “I’m not entirely sure myself.” Twilight responded. “My main theory is the dark magic she had while wearing the crown. Must’ve had a negative effect on her body. And even though we removed it, she could still experience some pretty nasty side effects.” “That there was already a pretty nasty effect.” Applejack stated. “Ah just hope we don’t see anything that crazy again.” “I agree.” Rarity added. She turned over to Twilight. “Twilight, darling. I’m always down for helping someone in need, no matter how unpleasant she may have acted in the past, but wouldn’t it be best if she got better help from Equestria? You know, where magic is more of a normality?” “I wish I could Rarity. But I’m not entirely sure if Princess Celestia would welcome her back. I mean, she was technically banished after all. After all, if I do take her back, I’d have to explain what she did here and what she was planning on doing. I wouldn’t want her getting into serious trouble.” Everyone else nodded in agreement. They had no idea what Equestria was like. They don’t want to break any rules or anything. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna still found it strange that they were full blown princesses in a distant pony world while here they were just mere principals. Which is kind of the same thing but definitely not. “We understand Twilight.” Celestia finally spoke up. “We’ll do our best to take care of her. Even if she ultimately refuses our help. Words can’t express how truly grateful we are for everything that you’ve done. Hopefully we see you again once the portal opens again.” She and Twilight both smiled as they went in and hugged each other. Twilight went over and hugged everyone else before picking Spike up and walking towards the portal back home. “Goodbye everyone! Please take care!” Twilight waved. “Bye guys! Hope to smell ya later!” Spiked also waved before Twilight finally walked through the portal back to her home world. “Y’know,” Rainbow Dash said. “Despite all the weird shit that happened tonight, I still can’t get over the fact that there was a talking dog.” ***** Sunset’s eyes shot open and she quickly sat up with a gasp. She felt something fall on her lap as she did. It appeared to be an ice pack. She looked around and found that she was sitting in the nurse’s office. That’s weird. What was she doing here? Did she pass out or something? Last thing she remembered was- “Oh good! You’re awake.” Sunset looked up. Standing at the doorway were Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. They didn’t sound angry or upset at all. Were they concerned? Worried about her? Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea. Sunset’s smile quickly disappeared. “What happened to me?” “You passed out.” Celestia replied. “Luna and Twilight carried you here to the nurse’s office. You really gave us quite the fright, Sunset.” Sunset scoffed. “Oh I’m sure I did.” Luna spoke up. “We are serious, Sunset. Twilight told us that it might have something to do with the crown and it’s dark magic or something. Said that you could have more side effects like this.” Sunset simply nodded. She hates to admit it, but Twilight could be right. She did turn into a demon after all. But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would Princess Twilight’s crown of all things have dark magic? She let out an annoyed groan. None of this made sense. She turned over to the two women. “And Princess Twilight? Did she run back home with the rest of those little ponies?” Celestia nodded. “She left not too long ago. She told us to watch over and take care of you for her.” Sunset scoffed again. “Of course. Big surprise. Well guess what ladies. I’m not some fucking charity case or anything, so, no thank you.” She slowly stood to her feet, tossing the ice pack aside. Celestia now looked annoyed. “Listen Miss Shimmer, we-” “Sister.” Luna interrupted. “It’s getting awfully late. Why don’t you gather your stuff and wait for me in the car, please.” Celestia looked over at Luna confused. It wasn’t like Luna to just interrupt her mid-scolding. Especially to someone like Sunset. Despite that, she trusted her sister. She gave a small nod and began walking back to her office. Luna smiled before turning back to Sunset. “Listen Sunset. I get it. I know exactly how you might be feeling.” Sunset chuckled. “No, I don’t think you do. You have no idea, whatsoever. Luna smiled, expecting this response. “You have no idea how much I understand. I’ve been in your shoes before. Bullied people, ruled the school with an iron fist, caused as much misery as I could.” “You?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You, of all people, were the big bad bully?” “You don’t know the half of it. I was horrible to say the least.” Luna let out a big sight and crossed her arms. “It had to take fighting my sister and getting arrested to get me to stop and think about my life choices. The days I spend in a jail cell I’d find myself asking the same questions. What the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this? Was it worth it?” Sunset sat back down on the couch. She honestly couldn’t believe it. The now beloved vice principal of Canterlot High School was once a huge asshole. “Wow. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. You and the Luna of my world aren’t so different after all. Both of you tried to rule, both fought their sister, and both ended up essentially banished.” Luna was shocked. It was so uncanny hearing about how an alternate pony version of yourself was also a bully. “How long was I- she locked up for?” “Technically she wasn’t locked up. Princess Celestia banished her to the moon for one thousand years.” Sunset replied so nonchalantly. “Oh.” Luna blinked. “Well I was only in jail for a week before getting bailed out.” She paused for a moment. “Is she, a good person now? Or… pony?” “From what I found out while I was briefly over there, yes. She’s back to ruling Equestria together with Celestia.” Luna smiled and sat down next to Sunset. “Well, now do you see? Being the big bad bitch of the school is not worth it in the end.” Sunset looked at Luna surprised with her colorful language. “Take it from me.” Luna continued. “Well, me and pony me as well I guess. You’re young. You can still turn your life around and become a better person. Don’t wait until it’s too late.” She placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset looked down at her feet. Luna was right. She hates to admit it, but she’s right. What if she had killed someone during this whole magic fiasco. Could she ever live with herself if she did? She took a deep breath and smiled. “You’re right, Vice Principal Luna. I… I’m very sorry about the mess I made. I’m ready to pay for my actions. I’ll stay up all night cleaning up!” Luna laughed. “Nonsense, my dear. I was only going to make you stay fairly late then sending you off. Though not any more. You go home and get some rest. We’ll just settle for some after school detention insead.” Sunset smiled. She’s slightly relieved actually. A sudden wave of tiredness suddenly washed over her and she let out a big yawn. “Alright then. Thank you.” She stood up and began walking, then stopped at the entrance, turned, then said, “I promise I’ll do my best to be better from now on.” With a final smile, she exited the nurse’s office and began walking towards the destroyed school entrance. Luna let out a sigh of relief. She honestly couldn’t believe that she managed to get through to her so easily. Maybe Sunset wasn’t as bad as she made herself to be. Regardless, she’s happy with the outcome and is ready to go home now. It’s been quite the day to say the least. She quickly gathered her things from her office and made her way to the parking lot. Celestia stood by the only car on the lot. “Well?” She said, “How’d it go?” Luna smiled. “Got through to her. She promised me that she’ll try and do better from now on.” “She actually listened to you.” Celestia sounded surprised. “How’d you manage that?” “I told her about my past and how I almost ruined my life. You remember how bad I was, right? Remember that fight we had?” Celestia nodded. Now that she thought about it, there were some similarities between Luna and Sunset. Unfortunately for her sister, she didn’t have a magical pony princess from another world coming to save her. She had to learn the hard way the consequences of her actions. She’s happy that she managed to learn and become the person she is today. “Yeah.” They both got into the car and fastened their seatbelts. As Celestia turned the car on she turned to her sister and smugly said, “I totally won that fight by the way.” Luna laughed. “In your dreams, sister.” Author's Note Not me totally forgetting about Spike's existence LOL oopsie :moustache: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/moustache.png //-------------------------------------------------------// Dark Temptations //-------------------------------------------------------// Dark Temptations BEEP BEEP BEEP The sound of that dreaded alarm clock rang throughout Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. Monday already. This had to be the fastest weekend ever. Dash felt like she barely had time to rest since the Fall Formal. Regardless, she groggily got up from her bed, brushed her teeth, and got dressed. She threw on a magenta jacket and sweatpants. After tying her hair in a ponytail, she quietly made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle, careful not to wake her parents up. It was still super early. 5:00AM to be exact. She quietly made her way out of the door and into the dark and chilly Autumn morning. An early morning jog has become part of Rainbow Dash’s everyday routine. It’s a great way to stay in top top shape and maintain her status as Canterlot High’s sports prodigy. She usually tried to persuade one of her friends, Pinkie being the more eager one, to tag along with her, but not today. She felt like everyone deserved a much needed relaxing weekend. Especially after… She stopped under a tree to catch her breath. Sunset Shimmer. The biggest menace of Canterlot High School. Somehow Princess Twilight saw potential in her. Either that or she really didn’t want Sunset going back to Equestria. Now it’s up to her and her friends to take care of her. Dash loathed the idea, but she had no choice. They owed it to Twilight. After all, she did save- “BOO!!!” Rainbow Dash felt a light jab to her ribs. Her weak spot. She let out a frightened yelp as she nearly jumped out of her trainers. She turned around throwing her fists up ready to fight. There she saw three individuals wearing weird masks, laughing hysterically. One of them was wearing a funny looking skull mask, which almost looked like it had a smile. Another was wearing a strangely scary old lady mask with long strands of white hair falling over a wrinkly face. The third had on a creepy looking white mask with dark brown hair. This one looked the creepiest. The lack of emotion was really uncanny. Rainbow Dash immediately recognized the voices behind the masks. The fear she felt earlier had now gone away, and anger took its place. “Oh you fucking assoles! The fuck’s the matter with you guys?!” The three people removed their masks and revealed themselves to be none other than Rover, Fido, and Spot, or as they like to call themselves, The Diamond Dawgs. It’s no secret that everyone in the school thought that their “gang” name was just as dumb as them. “What’s wrong Dashie?” Findo said, holding his stomach as he let out a few more chuckles. “I thought ya loved pranks!” “Yeah Dashie!” Spot added. “You love pranks. Especially harmless Halloween pranks!” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “First of all, only some people can call me Dashie. Second, it’s still September you dumbasses!” Rover chuckled. “Silly Rainbow. It’s never too early to start celebrating Halloween!” The three boys all put their masks back on and ran off down the street laughing and yelling “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” Dash let out a frustrated sigh. Idiots, she thought. She shook her head in disappointment and then went back to jogging. ***** Sunset Shimmer let out a frustrated sigh as she approached Canterlot High School. She already wasn’t a big fan of Mondays in general, but she’s especially been dreading this day in particular. She’d now have to go and face everyone. Everyone that she’s wronged. Now that she had lost her place atop the school. The worst part of this is, she’s now going to have to make friends. She’d be lucky to even talk to people who aren’t teachers, let alone befriend them. Sunset looked up to see that she had already arrived at school. She noticed immediately the very poorly rebuilt school entrance with caution tape and orange construction cones scattered about. Next to it, she noticed a sign that read “Please go around”. If she had to guess, the school must’ve wanted it fixed before Monday. Typical, she thought. She made her way through the cones and under the tape. She can’t be bothered to go all the way around just to enter the school. Immediately upon entering she was met by the angry looks of the students around her. The once fearful looks they once gave her are now nowhere to be seen, and in their place was hatred. Sunset wasn’t surprised though. She did make their lives a living hell after all. She continued to walk down the hallways trying her best to ignore the looks. That’s all they were though. Hateful looks, and Sunset knew it. Almost everyone had witnessed her that night. All that power. All that- Kill. A quick jolt of pain shot through Sunset’s head which made her stop in her tracks and wince in pain. It was just like what happened at the Fall Formal. A sharp pain in her head, and an unsettling urge to- “Hey there, Sunnyset!” Sunset looked up to none other than Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. All of them save for Pinkie and Fluttershy seeming very distrusting. Pinkie, as usual, seemed to always have that annoyingly huge smile on her face. Out of all of them, she was the most difficult to bully due to her never ending happiness. So Sunset just chose to ignore Pinkie all together. Fluttershy had a look of concern on her face. She was the easiest to bully due to her quiet and timid nature. One of the others would almost always have to step up and save her. Sunset wonders if these girls will ever really forgive her. Only one way to find out. Sunset walked towards the girls, groaning as she rubbed the side of her head. “Hey,” she managed to say. “You alright?” Rainbow Dash asked, almost sounding genuine. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a mild headache I guess.” “You don’t have to go to the nurse’s office do you, darling?” Rarity asked. “Ah might have some medicine in my backpack ah could-” “No really!” Sunset interrupted. “I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” There was a long, awkward silence before Pinkie Pie spoke up and said, “So! How was your weekend, everyone? Anything fun or exciting happen? Well, besides almost dying to an evil flying demon. No offense, Sunny.” Sunset sighed. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this new stupid nickname. “None taken. And besides, well, that, my weekend was alright.” “Ah just spent my weekend picking and selling apples. Nothin’ different really.” Applejack replied. “I helped out at the animal shelter yesterday.” Fluttershy said quietly. It was almost hard to hear her. “Nothing too different for me as well.” Rarity chimed in. “Working at the Carousel Boutique as usual.” Just then, they heard the voice of Principal Celestia over the intercom. Everyone in the hallways stopped talking and listened. “Good morning students! Hope you all had a great weekend. Glad everyone is okay after the… fiasco on Friday. Anyways, just a reminder to those who want to plan out next month’s Halloween dance to please come see me, Vice Principal Luna, or Pinkie Pie to discuss food, decorations, and other party essentials! That’s all the announcements for today. Have a great Monday everyone!” Everyone began talking once again and the hallways were now once again filled with the voices of students. Pinkie Pie let out a short squeal that almost sounded like a squeaky toy. “I can’t wait to start planning this year’s spooky spooktacular Halloween dance!” She turned to her friends and Sunset. “You guys will help me out with this, right? Last year everyone was all moody and sad to help out with anything fun.” Sunset didn’t have to look around to know that the girls were now staring at her. She only let out a small sigh. “Fine. I can help out, I guess.” “Same here, darling!” “Count me in too, Pinkie Pie!” “Y-Yes.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “I don’t know. I’m already not feeling so festive today. As I was out for my early morning jog, those asshole Diamond Dawgs came out of nowhere and scared the shit out of me wearing stupid looking masks.” “Already?” Fluttershy asked. “September isn’t even over yet.” “That’s the Diamond Dawgs for ya! Always so festive!” Pinkie said. Sunset finally spoke up. “I still think Halloween is such a stupid name.” Everyone looked at her with confusion. “What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “Back in Equestria, we had something very similar called Nightmare Night. It’s basically the same thing as this Halloween holiday of yours. Foals- or kids, dressed up in costumes and go from house to house getting candy. Only instead of celebrating to ward off evil spirits or whatever, we did it as an offering for Nightmare Moon.” “Who’s Nightmare Moon?” Fluttershy asked. “Basically an evil version of Princess Luna.” Sunset replied. “Wait wait wait.” Dash said. “Luna as in Vice Principal Luna? You mean to tell me she and probably Celestia are princesses in your world?” “And what do you mean ‘evil version’ of her? Rarity asked. “It’s a pretty long story. I’ll tell you guys about it later.” Suddenly the school bell rang, indicating that classes were about to begin. “Time for class.” Applejack stated. She looked at Sunset. “Tell us that story durin’ lunchtime. Ah sure would love to hear more about it.” “Same here, Sunny!” Pinkie exclaimed. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. Sunset chuckled. “Fine then. I’ll tell you guys about it during lunch. See you later!” She turned around and began walking to class. Looks like forgiveness isn’t so impossible afterall. ***** “You sure you don’t want to come with us, Darling?” Rarity asked Sunset. They had gathered at the statue after the final bell of the day rang. “Yeah Sunny!” Pinkie exclaimed. “It’ll be fun! Who could say no to an after school cupcake at the Sweet Shoppe?” Sunset chuckled. “I could,unfortunately. I’m scheduled to work all week to make up for not showing up these last few days, since I kind of thought I was going to go back and rule Equestria and all that.” “I still can’t believe you managed to get a part time job as a mechanic at such a young age.” Rainbow Dash commented. “How’d someone like you end up learning about cars and shit in such little time?” “Because I learned.” Sunset replied, rolling her eyes. “I may have been an evil terrible no good person, but I was still top of my classes every time. I was taught by an all mighty princess afterall.” “Yeah, the same princess that you betra- ow!” Dash felt a strong jab to her left arm. She turned to see Applejack, smiling sheepishly. “Don’t you worry about it, Sugarcube.” She said, waving her hand. “There will always be more time for us to hang out. Ah’m sure of it.” Fluttershy only nodded in agreement as she gave a small smile to Sunset. “Thanks guys. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Bye!” Sunset turned and began walking over to her job. Most of the girls waved at her as she departed. Rarity stopped waving and turned to Rainbow Dash. “So? What do you think, Darling?” She asked. Dash turned to her with a confused look on her face. “What?” “What do you think about Sunset? Do you think she can fully redeem herself?” Dash shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really know. After all the shit she’s done to us and the school? It’ll take a good while to fully forgive her.” She and the rest of the girls then began walking to Sweet Shoppe. “However,” she continued as she walked. “I do appreciate her willingness to try. I thought for sure she’d tell us to go to Hell or something.” “I agree.” Fluttershy replied. “I think she has the potential to be a great person.” Rainbow Dash was surprised to hear that coming from Fluttershy. Being the one that got bullied the most, she thought for sure she’d have no hope for her. How wrong she was. That’s Fluttershy for you. Kind hearted, even to those who aren’t. She smiled at her friend, who then blushed and looked away from her, causing the athlete to giggle. “Well I for one fully forgive her!” Pinkie squealed. “Of course you would Pinkie. She hardly bothered you at all.” Rarity added. Pinkie just shrugged. “I stand by what I said! Now let's go eat some cupcakes! The girls laughed and continued to walk as they watched Pinkie bouncing ahead of them. ***** “Well well well. Look who decided to show up to work.” “Yeah yeah yeah. Rub it in now, Mr. Will” Sunset sneered. “How many times has Iron Will told you, Sunset? Refer to Iron Will as Iron Will!” “You really gotta stop talking like that. You’re reminding me of that bitch Trixie.” Iron Will used a clean towel to wipe some oil from his hands. The big, muscular man of 45 years looked at Sunset with a confused look. “Who now?” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Nevermind.” She paused for a moment. “So,does this mean I’m not fired?” Iron Will looked at her and smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Shimmer! Just glad to see you didn’t quit out on us.” Sunset looked down at her feet. After learning as much as she could about cars, she began looking for places to work. Though most of the places she went to either told her to get lost or come back when she’s older. All except for Iron Will. He seemed to take her in with open arms and loved how good she was with cars. He somehow even managed to put up with her nasty attitude and somewhat lack of attendance. She always wondered why. Why put up with her? “Listen, Mr- I mean, Iron Will. I-” Iron Will put a hand up, cutting her off. “Don’t worry about it, Shimmer. I’m sure something important came up at home or school. Besides, I ain’t letting you go that easy. You’re too good at this job to get fired.” He chuckled. He and Sunset exchanged a smile before tossing her a ratchet wrench. “Now go get changed and help me with this here oil change! Iron Will ain’t payin’ you to stand around all day!” “Yes, sir!” Sunset gleefully replied as she hurried to the locker room. Once there, she opens up her locker and pulls out the still dirty and stained coveralls. The once clean blue coveralls were now covered in oil stains, causing them to look more darker navy blue. She really should wash these at some point, but really what's the point in washing something that’ll just get dirty again. She quickly removed her jacket and boots and slipped into the coveralls. Luckily they were just big enough to where she didn’t have to take off her shirt and skirt. Which was a good thing for her since there weren't really any separate locker rooms for women, since she’s really the only female mechanic there. After she zipped up and put on her black steel toe boots, she tossed her regular boots, her jacket, and her backpack into her locker and shut the door. She rushed back out to where Iron Will was. He was in the middle of lifting a car using the column lift. He turned towards Sunset and said, “Ah, Shimmer. Hand Iron Will a filter wrench, would ya?” “Sure thing, boss.” Sunset replied and she began looking for a filter wrench. She looked in one of the tool boxes and found a black and green colored jaw style filter wrench. She grabbed them and began walking back to Iron Will. “There you go, bo-” Kill. That familiar and unsettling jolt of pain returned to Sunset. She winced in pain as her head began to hurt again. Why? Why now? Why again? “Shimmer? You okay there?” Iron Will sounded a bit concerned. “Y-Yeah. Just a bit of a headache. I’ll be-” As she turned to face Iron Will, another flash hit her. Only this time, it came with something disturbing. For just a short second, she saw a sort of vision of Iron Will on the floor, dead in a puddle of blood with screwdrivers sticking out of his body and the hook end of the filter wrench lodged into his eye socket. “Oh fuck!” Sunset yelled as she tossed the wrench to the side. “What? What is it?” Iron Will yelped. “What’s wrong? Was there a spider on it!? Is it dead?” Sunset couldn’t answer him. She was panting now, her hand over her heart. What in the fuck was that? Was that some sort of vision of the future or something? A warning? Or maybe… something she wanted to do? “No no no,” she said to herself. “That can’t be. I would never. Right?” ***** “You sure you’re okay, Shimmer? You really gave Iron Will a fright back there.” It was now 8PM. Closing time. Sunset was luckily able to make it through the rest of her shift without any more… dark thoughts. Still despite that, her head was still kind of hurting. She rubbed her temples and said, “Yeah. Yes. I don’t really know what happened. I’ve been having these weird jolts of pain lately, only this time, I started seeing visions of… doesn’t matter. Once I get home, I’ll take some medicine and go to sleep early. Promise?” “Hmm.” Iron Will began rubbing his chin. Clearly something was bothering Sunset. Something she clearly doesn’t want to share with him. “Alright, Shimmer. You head on home now. Get plenty of rest. And if you need anything, you could always talk to Iron Will!” Sunset managed to give a small smile. “Thank you.” With that, she exited the building and began waking home. It was now dark and a bit chilly out. Chillier than usual. She placed her hands in her jacket pockets and continued to walk. That vision of Iron Will dead was still fresh on her mind. She’s still shaken up. “Come on Sunset. Get it together.” She said to herself. “This isn’t permanent. Just a little side effect from the crown’s dark magic. No need to pa-” Meow! She looked down to see a stray black cat walking towards her. It stopped and began purring and rubbing against her legs. She knelt down and began to pet it. “Hey there little guy. What are you doing out here all by yourself?” She continued to pet the cat and rub its chin and belly. This was definitely needed right now. Something to take her mind off of the dark thoughts. She looked at the cat. Such a tiny creature. So warm and fluffy. So small. So… fragile. So… vulnerable. So… alive. Without thinking, she slowly stopped rubbing its chin and began to wrap her hand around its neck. The cat, sensing something was off, meowed and jumped away from Sunset before she fully grasped its neck. This sudden move was enough to jolt her back to reality. Was she… was she about to harm the cat? “Fuck.” She said before getting up and running home. She ran as fast as she could until in no time she arrived at her house. She unlocked the door and ran in, slamming the door shut and locking it immediately. Her heart was pounding. Beating fast. Her knees were now shaking. “What the fuck is happening to me?” Author's Note Yes, i spelled it as Dawgs instead of dogs. Idk, i just felt like it'd be something the human versions of these idiots would do lol