The flames burned all around her covering every inch of the horizon making it impossible to see anything to figure out where she was. Even the sky seemed to be made of fire as she couldn’t see anything at all, be it the sun, the moon, or the stars. She did get the feeling that something very powerful and dangerous was watching her, even if it didn’t feel as if it had any ill intent towards her. She guessed she should be thankful that it wasn’t burning her, it actually felt really good. Almost too good as the more she let her mind wonder, the more she wanted to lose herself in it.

“You have conquered your darkness, yet haven’t accepted your light. Run along little fairy, your time is yet to come.” A booming voice echoed from everywhere as a large pair of slitted golden eyes opened in the flames making Sunset take a step back. Throwing her eyes open she struggled with whatever was wrapped around her until she sat up discovering it was just her bed sheets as she was having a weird dream.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Flora asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed next to Sunset. Not for the first time Sunset found herself wondering why their beds were so huge. Not that she was complaining as it was the most comfortable thing she has ever slept on.

“Yeah, just a weird dream.” Sunset groaned, wondering for a moment if that was the demon. It had been so long since she had nightmares of it though, but it felt different to her somehow. It felt more real and in the moment unlike her past nightmares. “I wish everything was a dream.”

“You mean from last night?” Flora asked with worry. When Sunset came back with the blonde haired specialist, she seemed distracted. She managed to tell all of them about what she did to the ring box to teach the Trix a lesson while she seemed embarrassed about something while Brandon seemed almost giddy, which was clearly annoying to the flame haired girl.

“I can’t believe I kissed him.” Sunset whined as she flopped back down on the bed, pulling one of the many pillows over her face. She had to wonder who needed so many pillows as she tried to distract herself from what she did while feeling vulnerable. Not that it was an excuse, she did feel attraction for him unlike anything she had ever felt. She never really felt an attraction to anyone, not even Flash. With Flash, it was just her going through the motions while using his rising status and popularity to boost her own. With Brandon, she felt a warmth and safety she never felt with anyone before along with a whole set of urges she never felt before. When Brandon was in the room, Sunset could even feel a pull toward him. It wasn’t much, but she noticed it.

“You kissed Brandon?” Flora choked out, jaw hanging open in disbelief. She wasn’t fooling herself, she knew Sunset was still having problems settling in with all of them after what they heard about her old school and those people who wanted to claim they were her friends. Flora understood this, and she accepted the fact that their first meeting may have made it a bit worse with her reaction to dark fairies. The girl telling Flora this was shocking as she was sure if Sunset was going to spill anything like this it would have been to Stella.

“Don’t remind me.” Sunset whined from under her pillow. “What was I thinking?”

“Do you like him?” Flora asked, getting Sunset to drop the pillow as she sat up and turned to her.

“Well, yeah, I wouldn’t have kissed him if I didn’t.” Sunset said, wondering where Flora was going with this.

“Well then, I don’t see anything wrong with a kiss.” Flora smiled, “It wasn’t like it was a full blown make out session, not that it would be wrong to do anything like that. Things happen when your emotions are running high, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you meeting up again soon?”

“Yeah, I told him if he meets up with me at the arcade and beats me two out of three times then I would go on a date with him.” Sunset explained.

“That sounds kind of romantic actually.” Flora grinned, “So what happens if you beat him?”

“I don’t know.” Sunset mused, never really thinking about it. If she has to do something for Brandon if he wins, shouldn’t he have to do something for her?

“Well, here’s an idea. If you really like him, what if you are the one to take him out if you win?” Flora asked, making the fiery haired girl’s stomach flip.

“I don’t know.” Sunset said, trying not to blush and failing miserably at the thought of being the one to take Brandon out. She was always the type to like being in charge and while a part of her liked being held and comforted by the boy, there was still the part of her that liked being the confident badass she used to be before the fall formal. That part of her was slowly chipped away by every little dig and backwards compliment the girls threw at her before actually seeming to truly open up to her. Before Anon-A-Miss chewed up nearly the last bit of strength she had left, leaving her an anxiety riddled mess with trust issues that kept letting digs and words get to her.

“Well, think about it and what you want out of whatever kind of relationship with Brandon. If you decide you want to just be friends, then that’s ok. If you want to pursue more with him I know Stella will be there to support you and so will I. All of us will be.” Flora said with a mischievous grin that Sunset hadn’t really seen on the girl before. “And don’t worry, you aren’t the only one to get kissed.”

“Huh? Wha?” Sunset asked, more than a little shocked at the little tidbit of gossip from Flora. It wasn’t something the girl was exactly as prone to as Stella as far as she has seen so far.

“She will deny it, but Stella has actually been seeing Prince Sky on and off since last year. She tries to hide it from everyone, but we aren’t blind.” Flora giggled, “And on top of that, Tecna did kiss Timmy on the cheek. The poor boy nearly had a meltdown.”

“I would have loved to see that.” Sunset giggled, the mental picture of the poor boy melting with steam coming out of his ears couldn’t be kept at bay.

“Anyway, it’s time to get up! Don’t forget we had plans of going into the city for breakfast and some shopping.” Flora reminded her as she stood up and stretched. “I’m really happy to see you smile and giggle, Sunset.”

“Thanks, Flora.” Sunset said, truly thankful for the girl.

“So, where to first?” Musa asked as the group walked out of the small café after having a small breakfast.

“I kind of want to spend some of the money King Radius gave me as an allowance since he warned me to have it spent within the first thirty days of being here.” Sunset said as she studied the holographic map that Tecna gave her. “I want to get a bike, some art supplies and maybe a guitar.”

“That’s funny.” Musa giggled, Flora and even Tecna joined in.

“What is?” Sunset asked, crossing her arms, “Think I can use any of it?”

“Heck no, what’s funny is Stella can’t wait to spend her dad’s money while you have a hard time buying a drink.” Musa giggled, “King Radius must be happy you aren’t as bad as Stella.”

“Hey! I resent that!” Stella huffed, crossing her arms.

“I was only kidding, Stella, chill.” Musa said, trying to get her giggling under control.

“Even so, the statement is pretty factual.” Tecna said making Stella huff and roll her eyes good naturedly as she knew her friends were only teasing. “Do you girls mind if we stop over there? I want to grab a few books.” Tecna asked, pointing to a large bookstore with a lot of girls their age milling around both inside and out. Taking a closer look at the signage, Sunset noticed that it was actually a magic book store mainly for students.

“I actually want to check it out too. I might get some more advanced books than our coursework so I can get ahead.” Sunset said, feeling eager to delve more into the magic she would be learning as a fairy and seeing what other magic she could maybe use as a fairy that she couldn’t do as a unicorn.

“Great, there’s two of them now.” Musa groaned, throwing her hands in the air.

“Nothing wrong with getting ahead, Musa, you should try it sometimes.” Tecna snorted as the group headed into the store and broke up to look at their own sections. Being a dark fairy, Sunset supposed the section on dark magic would work. As she walked that way she read off a few titles as she passed that didn’t really scream school setting, not that she was buying them anyways. ‘101 Poisons and How to Use Them’ ‘Arranged Marriages and Binding Rituals’ ‘Potions, Potions, Potions’ and ‘A Royal Court Jester’s Book of Pranks’. She had to wonder why there was a need for so many physical books when Alfea mainly used digital copies except for a few tomes that couldn’t be used digitally.

“I don’t think I’m going to have enough to even cover used copies.” A red haired girl sighed as she was looking through a pile of books. She dropped her list and Sunset picked it up, noticing that it was for Cloud Tower which meant the girl was obviously a witch. She didn’t seem like the Trix though, which was a point in her favor.

“So, you’re a first year at Cloud Tower?” Sunset asked, handing the girl back her list.

“Yeah, thanks, my name is Mirta.” The girl said, seeming a little shy. “I’m just trying to figure out the books I need the most for now.”

“My name is Sunset, I don’t have a list, mind helping me find copies of all of the books?” Sunset asked, giving the girl an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, sure.” Mirta said as the two browsed through the shelves where Sunset found a few interesting books about theory and a few actual grimoires. “I still can’t believe the Trix have to clean the mess they caused at Cloud Tower. I know they are supposed to be top students, but wow they messed up.”

“The mess?” Sunset asked.

“You didn’t hear the explosion last night?” Mirta gasped in shock, before narrowing her eyes. “Actually, I don’t remember seeing you among the girls at orientation. Are you a second year?”

“I don’t go to Cloud Tower, I’m a fairy.” Sunset said as they put the books she talked the girl into helping her carry on the register. “Can I please get these bagged up separate please?”

“What do you mean you’re a fairy? What were you doing in the dark magic section?” Mirta sputtered as the cashier bagged the books and Sunset swiped the card that had her allowance on it.

“Is there a rule that fairies can’t be interested in dark magic?” Sunset asked, handing the girl one of the two bags.

“I…guess not.” Mirta said, taking the bag automatically before realizing what was handed to her.

“Good luck with your courses, Mirta.” Sunset smiled as she spotted her friends heading towards them.

“Why would you help me like this?” Mirta asked, tears in her eyes.

“Why wouldn’t I help out a new friend if I can?” Sunset grinned, hoping to encourage the girl.

“Thank you, nobody has ever been so kind to me.” Mirta sniffled, hugging Sunset quickly before jumping back. “I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry, friends hug sometimes. Nothing wrong with it.” Sunset reassured the girl.

“I’m so sorry, I have to go or I’m going to be late. See you around, I hope.” Mirta said before rushing off.

“Awww, look at you, all grown up and making new friends on your own!” Stella teased, giving Sunset a side hug. “I’m proud of you.”

“Oh shut up.” Sunset groused.

“No, seriously, I’m proud of you! I was worried about you, but you seem to be doing better.” Stella said with a genuine smile.

“Thanks to you and the girls.” Sunset said, returning the smile.

Author's Note

A big thanks goes out to Sunny Scriber for editing this chapter and the awesome additions he added. Also, thanks to ScisetShimmerEvan and Seven Fates for showing me fixes than needed to be made.

If interested, this is what Mirta looks like.

I kind of wanted to give Mirta a reason to think fairies and witches can get a long and also to give Sunset a friend outside of her friend group that she made on her own.