Though it went without saying, asking the entire female population of the school to gather in the cafeteria, with no prior warning, and without explanation was quite an undertaking. And yet, no matter what classes they were in the middle of, or what other activities they were up to, the girls of Canterlot High nevertheless did as their Principal had instructed. So, with half the school now packed into that cafeteria, the air was abuzz with speculation and rumours as to what was going on. But, behind the scenes, or rather, behind the lunch counter, in the school's kitchens, Sunset Shimmer looked out amongst the gathered crowd, filled with both anticipation and worry. She was confident this would work, that much was certain, and yet, there was still a nagging doubt within her. Sighing, she turned, looking upon her friends, who were gathered in the kitchens beside her.

"Okay. You all know what to do?"

The group of girls all gave her a nod, with Pinkie speaking up first.

"Yep! Mix the herbs into the water; give them out to the girls. Right?"

Sunset nodded, confirming that.

"Right. Now, remember, the mixture has to be exactly right. Too little, and it'll have no effect whatsoever."

The girls all nodded to that, turning in unison to the still-open box of herbs that had been brought here. Taking a deep breath, Sunset walked over to the thing, reaching inside and bringing out a small handful of the exotic plants. She regarded them carefully, feeling the texture of them between her fingers, before taking it over to a nearby counter. There, there was a pestle and mortar ready for her. After placing the leaves within it, she took the tool and began grinding it hard, memories of past attempts returning to her as she continued with her work. Her friends watched her; half eager and half curious as to how this process went on. It took some time, but eventually, the leaves had been ground up into what appeared to be a fine powder. Again, Sunset reached in, feeling what she'd made, and when she did, she let out a brief sigh.

"Okay...this should be right."

Looking at it, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be stopped when Pinkie zipped in beside her, carrying a full glass of water in her hands.

"Okay-dokey-loki! Let's get this stuff mixed up!"

But Sunset was more wary, taking the glass in an appreciative manner, while still looking carefully at the crushed herbs.

"We have to be careful about this, Pinkie. This'll be the first time you girls, or anybody here at CHS, will have ever had something like this."

To that, Rainbow started adding her voice to the proceedings.

"Pfft! Come on, Sunset! After everything we've been through the last few years, I think we can handle a little medicine!"

However, Sunset did not seem convinced of that, and as she took her herbs and finally added them to the water, her doubts began to grow.

"I know you're all eager to get rid of this problem of ours, but rushing things will probably only make things worse."

Taking a spoon, which had been laying on the side, Sunset mixed the herbs in earnest, watching as they dissolved into the water, causing it to turn into a slightly green colour. It was, understandably, not an appealing-looking drink, and the other girls started to grimace at the sight of it. But Sunset, by contrast, looked to it not with disgust, but rather curiosity.

"Actually...I think it'll be a good idea to test it first."

The girls all looked to her with surprised expressions, after which they looked to each other, as if daring one another to challenge her on that. In the end, it was Applejack who spoke up.

"Sunset. Ah know ya like ta be careful, but ya already said this stuff helps heat. What else could there be ta test?"

Sunset shook her head as she turned to her farm friend.

"It's just...look, I know this is the right kind of plant. If nothing else, I don't think Twilight would send us the wrong stuff. But...let's not forget, this stuff is meant to be drunk by mares. By ponies. And, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but none of us are ponies."

To that, Applejack looked to the glass in Sunset's hand, seeming far more wary of it than she had been before.

"What...ya think it'll poison us or somethin?"

Sunset shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure. But, just in case...I'll drink it first."

Many of her friends widened their eyes when they heard that, with several stepping forward, as if to stop her. But, Sunset raised her hand, stopping them instead. As they halted, the girl regarded them with a soft smile and an appreciative expression.

"Out of all of us, I'm the one who knows what this stuff is supposed to do, what it feels like and such. If there's anybody who should be testing it, it's me."

The girls all looked to her like they wanted to protest further, but they knew in their hearts that Sunset was right. The former unicorn looked to the green drink once more, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"...Here goes nothing."

And with that, she opened her mouth and raised her glass, downing the entire drink in just a few gulps. Her friends, naturally, continued to look worried, but, after Sunset set her glass down and let out a deep exhale from her efforts, she turned, looking up at the clock on the nearby wall.

"Here's how it works. The effects should be noticeable after five minutes of consumption. We'll wait at least that long, and if I start to feel my heat lessening...then we'll distribute the rest."

The girls nodded to that, but nevertheless continued to seem unsure. So, they each took a seat nearby, watching the clock as the seconds, and then minutes, started to count down. Many twiddled their thumbs or tapped their fingers on the side in a display of nervousness, but all remained silent. Sunset never let her eyes stray from that clock, given how invested she was in all of this. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the five minutes finally passed. Her friends all looked to her, waiting to see if she had anything to say. But Sunset just kept on staring at the clock, waiting as yet further seconds passed. The other girls looked to one another, again egging each other on, until, surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who broke the silence.

"Um...Sunset? Are...are you feeling any different?"

At long last, Sunset stopped, looking down from the clock and towards her friends. Seeing the eager and expectant looks upon their faces, she knew she could not lie to them. So, in the end, she sighed, looking down at the ground as she gave them her answer.

"No...I don't feel any different."

To say that they all looked disappointed would have been an enormous understatement, as they all reacted to this with looks of utter despondence. Rainbow especially seemed frustrated by this answer.

"Ugh! This sucks! So we waited all this time, and the stuff doesn't even work?!"

Sunset got up from her sitting position, ready to try and comfort her friend. However, when she did so, something happened that she had not been expecting. She felt a sudden and unexpected pain, a sharp one, right where her stomach was. Instinctively, she clenched it, her face wincing and showing clear pain. Her friends noticed this immediately, rushing over to her side.

"Sunset! What's wrong?" Rainbow asked.

The former unicorn shook her head, making it quite clear that she had no idea. But, as she stood there, the pain continued, forcing her to sit down again. Her friends stood by, all ready to help, but none of them knew what to do right now. As the moments rolled on, Sunset continued to grasp at her middle, enduring this stabbing pain she was going through. Eventually, it became too much, and soon, she bolted upwards, rushing forward and past her friends. The girls watched her go, forcing her way past and straight towards a door that all of them knew led to a bathroom, typically for use by the kitchen staff. The door slammed behind Sunset after she entered, and her friends stood still. Sure enough, after a few moments, they heard it; a loud and very distinct retching sound. They turned to each other, all worried and concerned for their friend, with Fluttershy looking to Rainbow in particular.

"Is...is there anything we can do?"

Rainbow turned to her childhood friend, but sadly, she had no words of comfort to offer her. Instead, she continued to stare at the bathroom door. Quite a long time, about five minutes in fact, passed before they saw some activity, and that was the door slowly opening. They took a step forward, watching as Sunset slowly re-emerged from the bathroom. She no longer looked in pain, but instead, she looked utterly drained. She was panting heavily as she took slow step after slow step, eventually making her way back to her chair. When she sat down once more, her friends gathered around her, waiting for her to say something. When she did, she did so with a low tone, almost a whisper, even to the point of not even looking at them as she spoke.

"I...I was a fool. A stupid...stupid fool!"

The girls looked to each other, clearly confused at those words, before looking back to their friend as she continued.

"Why didn't I think of this sooner? A potion for ponies...being used on humans...and I actually thought it would work?"

She shut her eyes tight, reaching up with both hands and burying her face within them.

"...Stupid."

The mood in the room was dour to say the least, and none of her friends seemed that eager to speak to her right now, if only because they feared upsetting her further. Sunset's plan hadn't worked. This little incident proved that without a shadow of doubt. This had been it, the one plan the girl had pinned her hopes on regarding this issue they all endured. And now, it had blown up in her face, with her friends in full view of the whole thing. Things were pretty bad. But, in the awkward silence, it was Pinkie, seeing the unhappy looks on her friends faces, that finally spoke up, giving Sunset a small smile as she approached her and got on her knees, looking her right in the eye as she tried talking in that usual upbeat manner of hers.

"Aw, come on, Sunset! Turn that frown upside-down! I mean, you'll get us through this, right? You've faced worse before and come through, so you'll get through this."

At last, Sunset looked up from her hands, at the smiling girl before her. But, in spite of Pinkie's efforts, no smile came for her, causing the former's own smile to fade somewhat, especially when Sunset spoke.

"I...I don't know if I can, Pinkie."