Chapter 13. Fast Track to Hell (Part 2)

Sunset idly poked her salad with a fork. The lettuce was dry and insipid. It wasn't like it even tasted good, not for her human mouth, anyway. But today it was especially tasteless. The little cheese cubes felt like plastic, and she was pretty sure that the tomato was spoiled. She sighed through her nose, lazily dropping the fork on the plate.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Rarity's voice came from Sunset's right.

She looked up, realizing that the table was full of people. When she sat down, she had been alone; and in what seemed like just a minute, she was surrounded by girls. Rarity was at her right, then Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy at the farthest seat. In front of her sat Applejack, with Pinkie Pie at her right, and at the far end of the table was Twilight. All of them had worried expressions.

Sunset tilted her head, faking a bored expression. "School food is terrible," she said. Thankfully, they seemed to buy it, and with soft nods, they went back to their previous chit chat. She then decided to stare at her salad until lunchtime was over, ignoring the silent growls of her stomach.

"So, Twilight, how's the life of a bookworm?" Rainbow asked, earning a scowl from Applejack and Rarity. She laughed nervously. "Uh, no offence."

Twilight gave her a small smile. "Well, I'm pretty sure everything I do will sound boring, but-”

“Nonsense, darling,” Rarity interrupted her. “Everything is interesting if you know how to appreciate it.”

Twilight smiled weakly. “If you insist…" She said, and her face lit up in excitement. "I'm going to participate in this year's national science fair. If I win, I will get a full scholarship for almost any university I want!"

"That sounds great, Twi!" Applejack said, spinning an apple in her hand. "Whatcha gonna do?"

Twilight looked around at the cafeteria, making sure that no one eavesdropped on her. She even motioned the girls to lean closer, so they could hear her whispers. "Wireless Electricity."

If Sunset was still a pony, her ears would have automatically perked up at that, but she just raised an eyebrow and slowly turned to look at Twilight. "Is that even possible?" Rainbow asked, and the girls stared at Twilight with the same question written on their faces.

Twilight smiled, part from her excitement, and part from nervousness. "Well, it's not exactly easy. I've spent an entire year working on this project. No one, not even my family, knew exactly what I was doing until I made it work just last week!"

"That's so cool!" Pinkie exclaimed, taking out her phone. "Now we won't have to be stuck in crowded corners just to charge these pesky batteries!"

"Well," Twilight ducked her head a little. "It's still a little unstable. I have to do some modifications and make sure it doesn't interfere with other people's projects. But, it does work, and if it doesn't get me the scholarship, nothing will."

"And when's the nerd con gonna be?" Rainbow asked, earning a punch on the shoulder by Applejack. "Hey! It's not my fault she's a nerd!" Applejack punched her again, effectively silencing her this time.

"On October," Twilight answered. "A week before Halloween."

"What's on October?" A voice asked, and the girls turned around, finding Trixie standing a little behind Sunset with a tray of food. She sat down in the only empty seat of the table; at Sunset's left.

Everyone sans Sunset stared at Trixie for a moment before Twilight answered. "A science fair."

"Oh, cool." There was more silence, and Trixie quickly noticed the confused gazes she was getting. And after a couple of seconds, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Sorry, darling," Rarity said. "I think we're just a little surprised that you decided to join us today."

Trixie pouted thoughtfully. "Well, you're Sunset's friends, aren't you?" They nodded slowly, and Sunset didn't fail to notice the hesitation of their movements, especially Twilight's. "Since Trixie is hanging out with Sunset, she decided to get to know you too!" She explained. "And who knows? Maybe you can be Trixie's friends as well!"

"Sure…" Rainbow said, and then cleared her throat. "By the way, Pinkie's been talking 'bout your magic show. Will it be good, or will it be more smoke bombs?" She dodged Applejack's punch.

Trixie frowned. "Trixie will make your jaws drop in awe! You'll be so amazed, you'll ask Trixie to keep performing forever!"

"You're not really selling yourself." This time, Applejack kicked Rainbow's left leg. "Hey! The legs are off limits!"

"Stop bein' a jerk 'n I might not kick yer right leg!"

"Fine, geez!" Rainbow leaned back, crossing her arms. "Party pooper."

"Well, I know it'll be super duper fantastically awesomely amazingly incredible!" Pinkie yelled. "I've seen them practice! They'll blow your minds!"

"Thank you," Trixie said. "At least one appreciates my show."

"Well, I do want to see what you are capable of," Rarity admitted with a small smile. "If Pinkie uses six good words to describe something, then it must be really good.”

Applejack snorted. "True."

As the girls shared a laugh, Sunset could only stare at her salad. Her stomach demanded food, but the plastic-like flavor of her meal made her gag. She already wanted classes to end so she'd go to Joe's for some real food. Her stomach growled again at the thought, and she unconsciously frowned her lips.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Rarity asked

Sunset lift her gaze and looked at her with a tired expression. "School food is terrible."

Rarity pouted for a moment. "Do you want my apple?" she offered, pointing at the yellow fruit in her tray. "Fruit is the only food in this school that is actually fresh and good."

Sunset was about to politely reject the offer, but her stomach complained once again. She snatched the apple from Rarity's tray, muttering a thank you before taking it to her mouth. Sadly, it also tasted terrible, like it had been refrigerated for a whole week and then left to warm in the sun. She gagged when she swallowed and dropped the apple on her tray, coughing a few times.

"Just my freaking luck," she muttered.

Trixie grabbed the apple with curiosity, inspecting it for several seconds. Sunset watched in horror at Trixie biting it and chewing, but to her surprised, Trixie seemed to enjoy it.

"It's juicy and tasty," Trixie said, and then looked at Sunset. "I think you're just in a bad mood."

Sunset deadpanned at Trixie. "Oh wow, that's so very helpful."

"Sunset," Rarity said with a serious voice. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"No," Sunset answered. A small headache was starting to build above the bridge of her nose. She inhaled deeply and sighed. "I think I'll go to the infirmary." And with that, she stood up.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" Trixie asked.

"No, no, I'm fine on my own." She gave Trixie a small smile and started to walk to the cafeteria's entrance.

But just as she gave two or three steps, she tripped over something. She yelped and barely had time to put her arms in front of her before meeting the ground. But she hit her head with her wrist, making the headache grow stronger.

The cafeteria erupted into laughter, with the exception of her lone table of recently acquaired friends. They quickly stood up to help. Before most of them had even managed to leave their seat, however, Trixie was already crouching in front of Sunset, helping her up.

"Sorry," a male voice called from behind. Sunset turned around to see that a guy with bright purple skin, pale blue hair and wearing glasses was sticking out his leg, all the while offering her a smug grin. "I didn't see you there."

Sunset glared daggers at him, and he suddenly was very aware of the possible consequences. But after a couple of seconds, Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. She turned around to look at Trixie and offered her a pained smile.

"Actually, I do want you to come with me."

Trixie nodded, and after glaring at the stupid nerd, she turned around to help Sunset. She noticed that Sunset was limping, so she grabbed her right arm and passed it over her shoulders, helping her walk out of the cafeteria, which still was full of laughter and mocking.

Once they had crossed the door, Trixie turned her head to look at Sunset.

"Why didn't you do anything to him?!" She yelled. "You could have kicked him and we wouldn't judge you!"

Sunset sighed tiredly. "I deserve it." Trixie was about to answer angrily, but she kept talking. "I used to do that to him time and time again."

"You don't deserve any of that," Trixie said, "and if you don't tell Principal Celestia about this, I will."

"You don't understand," Sunset said, sighing heavily. "I terrorized them for years, they deserve a comeback."

Trixie stopped so suddenly that Sunset put her weight on her hurt leg, making her hiss in pain. "An eye for an eye will make the world go blind." Trixie said, using her hand to lift Sunset's chin. "You don't deserve being hurt. No matter how much you bullied them in the past, they don't have the right to do the same to you."

"But-"

"No buts!" Trixie yelled. "Sunset, you're a smart girl, and you want to redeem yourself, I can understand that. But this is not the way to do it."

Sunset sighed in defeat, deciding not to respond. They weren't going to get anywhere if they argued.

"I thought I told you not to retire the gauze," Nurse Redheart said as she gave Sunset's leg an exploratory massage.

"Guess I forgot," Sunset answered with a deadpan.

The nurse pressed a particularly sensitive spot, making Sunset hiss in pain. "Sorry," she said, although Sunset was pretty sure that that had been on purpose. Redheart stood up and took off her gloves. "Well, you just twisted your leg, so it'll be fine in a couple of days, as long as you don't put too much pressure on it. I'd recommend you using a walking stick."

"Sure thing," Sunset said and stood up, making sure to put more of her weight on her healthy leg. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Nurse Redheart said with a smile. "But I'd rather not see you here again."

Sunset sighed as she limped to the door. "Can't promise anything." And she got out.

Trixie was waiting for her, leaning on the opposite wall with her arms crossed against her chest. She looked up and smiled at Sunset. “How’s your leg?”

Sunset grinned tiredly. “It’s nothing. Just a little twist, nothing to worry about.”

“You’re not getting away with it,” Trixie stated.

Sunset forced out a sigh. “Fine, geez!” She turned around and began limping her way through the hall. “I’ll tell Celestia after classes. Happy?”

“Yes,” Trixie admitted. They walked in silence for a moment when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch time. Trixie sighed in annoyance. “Well, I gotta go to my class. I’ll wait for you at the principal’s office after classes, got it?”

“Yes, mom,” Sunset answered with a roll of her eyes.

Trixie gently grabbed Sunset from the shoulders, leaning on her toes to make up for the height difference, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Bye.” She said and walked away, disappearing in a corner.

Fortunately, Sunset wasn’t too far from her classroom. She realized that she didn’t have a notebook, but since it was algebra, she shrugged it off. She limped to the door of the algebra classroom and opened it.

She watched an eraser fall to the floor, spreading quite a lot of chalk dust on her boots. She looked around the room. The students were either talking to each other, or whistling. Sunset decided to ignore it and go to her seat at the middle of the room. But before she sat down, something caught her attention, and she leaned down to see what it was.

There were four tacks on her seat, patiently waiting for her. Sunset looked around, and once again, everyone was failing to go unnoticed. She sighed through her nose and brushed the tacks off of her seat before sitting down. She wasn’t so desperate for redemption that she’d willingly get hurt.

The teacher came just a minute later and started his quite boring class. Sunset rested her head on her left hand, not wanting to try and pretend she was any interested. Her mind quickly trailed off, and she found herself remembering the nightmares she had. She shivered at the thought of being punished by Princess Celestia; there were tales of her wiping out entire kingdoms single hoofdedly just because they made fun of her sister. Sunset didn’t want to know what would happen to her, who betrayed her trust and teachings for a stupid crown.

There was soft tap at the back of her head. She absentmindedly passed a hand through her hair.

Sunset was sure that, if she were to return to Equestria when the portal opened again, she’d have to face Celestia’s wrath. Or Cadence’s. Or Twilight’s. Or the three of them at one. But, Twilight had wanted her to make friends, just like Celestia. So, upon her return, she could say that she made friends, thus avoiding being severely punished.

Another tap. This time, Sunset noticed. She looked around, but everyone seemed to be focusing on the class, so she dismissed it.

She went back to her thoughts.

Even if Celestia never forgave her, Sunset was sure that she could avoid going to prison. Maybe she would be able to stay in Equestria. Maybe she would be able to travel and meet new places. She smiled, already picturing herself visiting the beautiful landscapes some of her books depicted in monochromatic pictures.

Once again, she felt a tap, but this time it was near her right eye. Immediately after, she heard something small and light hit her table, and she looked down. It was a paper wad.

Sunset frowned. So this is what they’re going to do? Stick to childish pranks? She thought. Of all the nasty and humiliating things they could do to her, they were resorting to the most harmless. Not that she minded, of course. But it was a bit disappointing.

She rested her head on her both hands and stared straight to the chalkboard. She took a deep breath and prepared herself.

For the rest of the class, Sunset was bombarded with paper wads of every size. A couple of times the teacher had looked her way, and she had just faked that she was writing something down. At least she knew that, if the students were focused on annoying her, they wouldn’t be listening to the class, and they’d most likely fail, while she’d get another A+.

The class ended, and Sunset limped her way right behind the teacher to avoid anyone ‘don’t seeing her and spreading their legs in her path’. She knew that half of that class was in the next one with her, so she mentally prepared for more taking back.

She didn’t bother going to her locker, as her current state would make her be late, so she just went right to the last period of the week: English. Just like with Algebra, it was a guaranteed perfect grade for her. It was fortunate that, aside from the specific mannerism, the language was exactly the same in both worlds. And, of course, as Princess Celestia’s prized student, Sunset had to quickly learn every grammatical rule there is, and thanks to days upon days of memorizing complex technicism to understand how many advanced spells worked, it had been like a walk in the park for her to learn human’s specific technicisms.

Especially those used on the internet.

As gracefully as she could, Sunset got to her seat, once again, at the middle of the classroom. She had been the first to arrive, so she didn’t have to check her seat for tacks or any other stupid prank. She just sat there and waited for everyone to come.

She succeeded on ignoring the stares and the muttering as everyone sat down, but it became much harder when they started throwing more paper balls at her. She silently groaned in annoyance, and it quickly became a hum of surprise. Save for the repeated sound of paper hitting her, her armchair, and the floor, the classroom was fairly quiet. Maybe they were trying to avoid being spotted, fearing that she might take revenge if she knew who was bothering her.

She didn’t know how to feel at the thought of them still fearing her. In one hand, it meant they’d never try to hurt her directly, but in the other hand, it meant that she had been a real bitch to them.

She felt a sudden pain in her arm, and she yelped at it. When she looked around, nobody was looking her way. She glanced down at the floor and found an elastic band dangerously near her chair.

They’re getting braver. She thought. A shudder ran through her spine at the thought of them evolving into more harmful ways to take revenge on her.

She took a deep breath and stared at the chalkboard. She wasn’t going to let them win. She wasn’t going to let them see a weak side of her. She was going to endure their pitiful bullying just for one month, until Principal Celestia’s punishment ended, and then she would stop attending to this pathetic school, and only come back when the portal to Equestria opened again.

Another band hit her, and she suppressed the yelp with a low hiss.

She frowned and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the upcoming bombarding of papers wads, elastic bands, and the occasional eraser. She knew that they deserved a get back, and since they were unable to do exactly the same she did to them, it was understandable that they improvised and resorted to these stupid -and quite frankly annoying- ways to bully her.

She certainly hoped, though, that their antics didn’t escalate to insufferable levels.

Fortunately for her, by the time the class came to its end, she had built a certain resistance to the pain of the elastic bands. It may have had something to do with the thickness of her jacket protecting her, but she was sure she would be able to endure that pathetic attempt of punishment.

When the bell rang, she stood up and got out of the classroom as fast as her injured leg let her, making sure she didn’t trip with the many spread legs on her way. Once she was out, she started walking to her right, until the sound of a throat being cleared stopped her.

“That’s not the way to Principal Celestia’s office,” Trixie said.

Sunset straightened up and turned around. Trixie had her arms crossed in front of her and her right eyebrow raised. Sunset gave her a guilty smile. “Oops?”

Trixie sighed. “Come on, ginger girl. The sooner we get there, the sooner it’ll be over.”

Sunset groaned, but decided to oblige, slowly following Trixie. “I’m half ginger, half blonde, by the way.”

“Really now?” Trixie asked with genuine curiosity, observing Sunset’s hair. “I see more red than yellow.”

Sunset passed a hand through her hair, using her fingers to spread it apart, effectively showing the hidden yellow patches. Trixie hummed in surprise. “But I look way better with more red than yellow, so I try to keep it that way.”

Trixie looked away and grinned. “Well, that explains why you keep saying stupid things half the time.”

“Har, har,” Sunset replied humorlessly.

After that, they just walked in silence. Fortunately -or unfortunately for Sunset- they arrived at Celestia’s office fairly quick. Trixie was about to knock the door when a voice interrupted her.

“Yes?” Principal Celestia walked up to them.

Trixie turned to her, cleared her throat, and pushed Sunset. Sunset grunted before looking up at Celestia, and then at the interesting wall next to her.

“Do you need something, Sunset?” Celestia asked. Sunset felt her stomach fall. Her voice had that little crescendo at the beginning of the sentence that screamed that she already knew what was going on.

“I uh… Hello!” Sunset faked a smile. She didn’t want to chicken out at Celestia. She had never been a teller, preferring to deal with her problems on her own.

“Sunset...” Trixie muttered.

“Fine, geez!” Sunset snapped at Trixie and then looked back at Celestia. She knew that Trixie wasn’t going to let her get away. “I…”

“But first,” Celestia interrupted her. “Please come in.” She motioned to the door of her office, opening it wide. Trixie practically shoved Sunset inside, leaving her no time to complain. Celestia closed the door behind her and sat on her chair, motioning to the girls to do the same. “Now, what is it you want to tell me, Sunset?” She asked with a gentle voice.

As Sunset sat down, she began pondering her options. She looked at Trixie, who gave her an encouraging nod. Sunset sighed and fixed her gaze at Celestia’s nameplate.

“I, uh…” Sunset pressed shut her lips for a moment. “I think my leg hurts.” Trixie grunted loudly, making Sunset roll her eyes. “Fine, I tripped.” Trixie flicked Sunset’s arm. “And with ‘I tripped’, I mean that someone made me trip.”

“How so?” Celestia asked.

Sunset sighed and looked away, idly stroking her arm, there where Trixie last touched her. “At the cafeteria, someone kicked my legs while I was walking, making me fall. I twisted my leg because of that.” She frowned when Trixie forced a quick sigh through her nose. “It was Poindexter.”

Celestia tilted her head. “Well, he came to my office right after lunch and said that you tripped trying to kick him.” Trixie was about to complain, but Celestia silenced her with her hand. “Several other students corroborated his story.”

“Of course they did.” Sunset sighed. She had known this was a waste of time before she even came here. What had she really expected to happen? That Celestia would just believe her? Maybe that would have worked before she’d been exposed as a monster. She sunk in her chair, waiting for Celestia to increase the days she’d have to be on detention.

Trixie was torn between looking guiltily at Sunset, or looking angrily at Celestia.

“However, I believe you,” Celestia said, giving the girls a small smile.

With an overly enthusiastic tug, Trixie pulled Sunset a little too close, beaming from ear to ear. “You see?!”

“You do?” Sunset asked. She stared at Celestia for a moment, failing to find any sign of lying on her face. Celestia’s smile was a little twisted downwards, and Sunset quickly realized why. Her eyes widened in realization. “You do… but you can’t do much about it without proof, can you?”

“Not immediately, no.” Celestia admitted. She shook her head slowly, sighing heavily. “However, I can promise that you don’t have to worry about suffering any penalties for false accusations by other students.”

Sunset could feel her shoulders lightening up, as if a weight she didn’t know was there had been lifted.“Thanks.” She muttered. Somehow, the fact that Celestia -even if it wasn’t exactly the same- trusted her, was enough to make Sunset’s heart beat at a normal rhythm again.

“I know this must be hard for you,” Celestia continued, “but please, keep telling me about anything that happens. You know you can always come here, Sunset.”

Sunset’s gaze moved to the nameplate again as a small smile appeared on her face. “Thanks…”

Celestia tapped her fingers on her desk for a moment as a thought occurred to her. “I may be powerless to help you… At least, for now.” She said, and Sunset looked up at her with an expectant gaze. Celestia gave her a comforting smile. “But, I will ask your teachers to be on the lookout for any more incidents that should arise. That way I’ll get the proof I need to help you.”

“What? No!” Sunset objected. “I don’t need to be babysat!”

“Sunset-”

“No, Trixie!” Sunset interrupted her. “I already agreed to swallow my pride here! I don’t want to be treated as a baby too!” She turned to look at Celestia. “Please don’t do that. I can just come and tell you everything that happens.”

Celestia’s face was unreadable for a moment. “Fine,” she said. But when Sunset momentarily closed her eyes in relief, she gave Trixie a quick wink.

Trixie smiled and then looked at Sunset. “Come on, let’s go practice my show.”

Sunset looked at Celestia, who just nodded. “Go ahead. And remember that my door is always open.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said once again. She stood up and slowly limped out of the office, being closely followed by Trixie.

They walked in silence for couple of minutes. All the while, Trixie would occasionally look at Sunset’s limping. She gradually stopped, allowing Sunset to mimic her. “You know,” she started, looking at Sunset with a mix between a smile and a pout. “I just remembered that I have to get home early today.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Trixie frowned. “No, I actually want you to go home and take a good rest. You need to let your leg heal, and the practice won’t help it.”

“I’m fine,” Sunset answered. “Besides, we still need to work on the synchronization.”

“We can work on that tomorrow. If we stay all day, both Saturday and Sunday, we’ll get it just right.” She put her finger on Sunset’s lips to avoid her complains. “Please, go home and have a good rest? For me?”

Sunset groaned and grumbled for a moment. “Fine.”

Trixie smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “See you tomorrow at eight in the morning.”

Sunset sighed, giving Trixie a smile of defeat. “Sure thing.”

Sunset was running. Her breath felt hot against her nose, her hooves ached, and her lungs burned with every pant. The grown grass and flora did nothing but hinder her way, and the coldness of the night frizzled her fur.

She heard yelling, and it was getting closer at each passing moment. Sounds of hooves stomping against dirt and plants filled her ears. She didn’t know who was pursuing her, but she knew that it was big crowd. She didn’t know why they were chasing after her, but she knew, deep down, that she didn’t want to find out.

She turned left when the path bifurcated, then right, then left again. It seemed like she was trapped in a labyrinth, but she was the only one that didn’t know the right path. And just when she was starting to lose all hope, she turned right, and found herself in Canterlot’s Castle main hall.

She stopped for a moment, eyeing the guards very quickly before running upstairs. She could still hear the crowd getting closer, and she knew that she only had one chance to salvation.

After a few more turns, she got to the throne room. The door was closed, so she charged her horn and blasted it open. She ran desperately, skidding right below the throne. Looking up, a smile appeared on her face when she saw the pony she was looking for.

“Princess!” She cried, “Please! You gotta help me! They’ve been chasing me for hours!”

Princess Celestia looked down at her, at first with an even glare, which then became full of glee. “Oh, Sunset Shimmer! I was just looking for you!” She straightened up and cleared her throat. “I was afraid you might have gotten lost. But now that you’re here, I’ll make sure you never escape again.”

“What?” Sunset asked, but before she could process what was going on, Celestia lit her horn, summoning heavy shackles around Sunset’s hooves. Sunset looked up in horror, and she could hear the crowd right behind her, yelling the most obscene insults she had ever heard. “What are you doing?!”

“Don’t worry, Sunset,” Celestia said. Her natural tender voice sent a chill through Sunset’s spine. “I won’t let them hurt you. That’s what I’m here for.” She smiled, and the next word was spat with so much hatred, it was impossible it had been said with a smile.

“Monster.”

Sunset’s eyes shot open, and she gasped heavily through her nose. Her heart was racing, furiously pounding against her chest. She blinked a couple of times, finding herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom.

Another nightmare. She thought as she slowly sat up. She noticed that she was covered in sweat, and so the top of her pajama was stuck at the middle of her back. She heaved a sigh and took a hand to her mouth.

“At least she didn’t kill me this time…”

Author's Notes:

Is this a dream? No! It lives!

I want to thank crowscrowcrow for helping me put my ideas together. He's already editing the chapter. But I couldn't wait and decided to publish it before the edition end. It's been so long that I just couldn't wait!

Criticism and snarky comments are well received!