Canterlot High was finally beginning to settle down. The Fall Formal was six months behind them and the Battle of the Bands had finished two weeks prior. Now, the student body returned to themselves and the level of bonding and companionship was higher than it had ever been.

Sunset Shimmer had been mostly accepted among the other students. There were still plenty that regarded her warily, and a few still spoke of her past occasionally, but most of the students willingly ignored it. If she was good enough to defeat the Sirens and free the school from their control, she was good enough to be accepted.

The trio of Sirens had returned to the school a few days after the Battle of the Bands, taking care to hide their new jewels from the rest of the student body. The last thing they needed was to cause mass panic and get the attention of the Rainbooms again. Initially, the students had treated them the way they had Sunset Shimmer, but the reception rolled right off the three women. This only served to aggravate the student body. They couldn’t understand why their method of intimidation was failing them where it had succeeded before. They all thought that doing the same thing would work and would make the Sirens want to be good, like it had done to Sunset Shimmer.

When this plan fell short, the other students simply glared at them in disgruntled silence whenever the women passed. The Sirens held their usual smirks all the while, casually swaying through the crowds. Finally, a few of the students grew fed up with their tactics failing and the Sirens walking around the school as confidently as they had two weeks before. Trixie stepped up to them one afternoon, ready to make them turn with their tails between their legs.

“Trixie doesn’t see why you three act so high and mighty all the time,” she snarled. “It’s not like anyone here will ever accept you, not after what you did to us.”

“We don’t need them to,” Adagio smirked confidently with her hand on her cocked hip. “Their opinions won’t matter after they graduate.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Trixie huffed, crossing her arms irritably. The leader of the Dazzlings always seemed to have an answer to everything when confronted and that was another reason why Trixie couldn’t stand the group.

“What are they gonna do to us after we’re no longer constrained to the school?” Aria sneered. “Find out where we’re going and follow us? Restraining orders are a very real thing.”

Trixie gritted her teeth and snapped, “We could always ruin your reputation!”

“How?” Sonata asked in confusion. “It’s not like you can tell anyone about our true nature. Won’t they think you’re crazy?”

“Star Swirl forbid you actually mention magic to anyone who doesn’t attend this school,” Adagio added with her usual malicious grin.

“Cause, you know, that won’t make you seem like a complete lunatic or anything,” Aria finished, snickering.

Trixie’s air blew out and she actually looked befuddled. “Trixiw doesn’t understand,” she murmured. “Sunset Shimmer was a wreck after the Fall Formal. Why aren’t you like her?”

Aria rolled her eyes and grumbled, “High schoolers are so stupid…”

“We are thousands of years old,” Adagio stated, drawing herself up to her full height and using her imposing presence to tower over the white-haired girl. “We have lived countless lifetimes. Your weak attempts to intimidate us mean nothing to beings who have watched this world develop and contributed to shaping it.”

“Not only that, but you all intimidated Sunset Shimmer by ignoring her, isolating her, and making her feel alone since she doubted herself.” Sonata’s summary was a bit on the nose, but Aria picked up.

“Not only that,” the purple siren scoffed, she and Sonata stepping forward so that they were right beside their sister. “You morons keep forgetting: we’re not alone. It’s been only the three of us for thousands of years. We don’t care if some stupid, aging, alternate world school kids glare and whisper about us. While we’re stuck here on this world for eternity, you’ll all grow old, die and turn to dust. Compared to that, your childish anger means nothing.”

Trixie stared at the three women before her and other students gaped at the words. They hadn’t realized that, even though the Sirens no longer had their pendants, they were still from an alternate world and therefore still had the inherent magic that comes from Equestria. Their lifespans absolutely eclipsed those of the people currently trying to taunt them. It made all of the students feel considerably smaller in comparison.

Adagio’s lips spread over her sharp teeth and she grinned down at the subtly trembling Trixie. “I suggest you have a smoke bomb on you the next time you decide to confront a magical being, dear. It would be terrible for them to be less cordial than ourselves.”

All three Sirens smirked and sauntered passed the stumped magician, continuing on their way. Before they got too far, Adagio turned slightly and called, “Oh, and that extended lifespan? It most likely also applies to Sunset Shimmer, thanks to her capability with magic and being a unicorn. Remember that the next time you want to say something about her past. She has the capability of making your futures miserable.”

“As if she would,” one of the other students smirked back at them. “She’s terrified of being the school outcast again. We all made sure of that.”

“We’ll see,” Adagio responded in a sing-song voice as she flipped her hair and continued on her way. She knew it was most likely true, of course, but she wasn’t going to give these children the satisfaction of a confirmation.

As they made their way through the halls, the trio touched the new violet gems at their throats. A gift from Sunset Shimmer, the three made certain to keep any danger away from them, including avoiding the members of their rival band when they were in a group together. Their investigation into why they could feed again had given little results at the moment, but it wasn’t an impending investigation considering they weren’t at risk of dying any time soon.

Speaking of… “I think we should check up on Sunset Shimmer,” Adagio murmured quietly to her sisters. “She’s been acting oddly around her friends recently.”

“Probably realized how lame they were,” Aria grunted, crossing her arms as they made their way in the direction of the music room. The Rainbooms had band rehearsal right now, so it was only logical that Sunset would be with them. The group never got too close to the room when the band was practicing, but they often waited down the hall for the rehearsal to finish.

Passing a reflective locker on their way, Adagio paused and scrutinized her appearance. She was flawless, as always, except for one hair that didn’t want to curl properly like the others. “I need to stop in the bathroom,” she grumbled, stalking toward the nearest lavatory. “Stupid hair. Can never sit just right.”

“Makes you wish you had straight hair, huh?” Aria chuckled, flipping one of her twin-tails.

Adagio scoffed as she pushed the bathroom door open and replied, “Aria, I prefer there be nothing straight about me. I just need to tame this naughty hair back in place and then we can-.” She stopped at the sight of the very person they wanted to see standing on the far side of the room.

Sunset Shimmer had removed her jacket and was clutching it close to herself, having hurriedly turned away from them upon their entrance. However, that did not stop Adagio’s eyes from going to the mirror beside her. The yellow siren could just make out something odd on the orange woman’s skin. Walking closer, a small gasp tore from the leader’s throat.

Adagio motioned to Aria and pointed at what she had seen. The other two Sirens strode forward and also took a look, Sonata’s hands covering her mouth in horror. Aria strode forward and grabbed Sunset’s wrist, turning the other woman around and showing her sisters what was on the skin.

Eyes of varying degrees of violet took in the expanse of skin on both arms. Small pink lines, clearly visible and not at all faded, covered Sunset Shimmer’s arms. Most of them were on her upper arms, but the number near her wrist and elbow still made the Sirens’ chests ache. They were of varying sizes as well, becoming longer the closer they were to the inside of her wrist.

Adagio stared at the other woman’s arms in absolute horror. Behind her, Sonata’s expression was heart-wrenching sadness at the small pink lines and even Aria appeared disturbed at the sight. “S-Sunset…” Adagio breathed.

“Th-they’re old!” Sunset told them, pulling her arm back and rubbing it self-consciously. “I was only c-covering them with makeup. The rehearsal made me sweat it out, so I wanted to reapply. I-I haven’t gone back to that habit in ages.”

“How long?” the yellow-skinned girl demanded softly, amethyst eyes glued to the daunting pink lines.

“Not since the Battle of the Bands two weeks ago,” Sunset stated proudly.

Violet eyes traced her form and Aria inquired, “And how long had you been doing it before that?”

Now Sunset looked guilty and her rubbing grew worse. Without thinking, both Adagio and Sonata reached out to stop her; rubbing too hard could cause problems to the scars. “I… Well, the Fall Formal had only been half a year prior, so… every day, about every few hours each night…”

“For six months…” Tears welled in Adagio’s eyes. She wanted to cause havoc, chaos, hatred… but had the Sirens even needed to? The student body already had the hatred within them, it was just concentrated toward one person. Really, all the Sirens did with their spells was spread that hatred out so it was directed at everyone. Even then, they would never dream of driving others to force someone into a corner like… like this.

Blinking quickly to stop the tears from falling, Adagio took a deep breath. “Come with us,” she ordered, clutching tighter to Sunset’s arm and leading them all out of the bathroom.

“W-what?” Sunset found herself tugged toward the school exit. “Why?”

“Duh, silly!” Sonata chirped. “We’re going to patch you up!”

Glares were the initial reaction to their reappearance, but then the crowd looked closer at the quartet. Students whispered as they passed and several gasped in horror at what they saw. A few even reached out sadly, but hesitated before making any contact. None of them had known what they were doing to Sunset Shimmer, what they had pushed her into. Trixie’s jaw dropped in utter shock at the marks marring the orange skin and Sunset dug her heels in.

Adagio paused and glanced back at her in confusion. She recognized the stance Sunset Shimmer had taken now; the shaky-kneed, shrinking posture only happened when the other woman was under an unwanted spotlight. Aria glared at everyone around, baring her teeth at a few that still looked ready to say something. Sonata shielded Sunset from view as Adagio pulled the former unicorn closer.

“What is it?” she asked gently, placing a finger under Sunset’s chin to make the other woman look at her. “What’s wrong?”

“C-can I put my jacket back on?” Sunset pleaded. The looks coming in her direction only served to make her more nervous than usual. The students had largely forgiven her for what she had done at the Fall Formal, but many of them would never let her live it down, regardless.

Adagio snapped and Sonata handed over the leather quickly, helping Sunset slip into it. Some of the more observant students noted how the sleeves easily covered the scars on her arms and their expressions fell even further. Trixie looked borderline hysterical, along with several others.

Once the jacket was secured in place, Adagio took a gentler hold on Sunset’s hand and continued her stride toward the school’s exit. Before they could get there, Security Alarm, the policeman on duty to watch for any trouble, spotted them leaving and intercepted their path. “Where do ya think you’re going?” he demanded. “School is still in session. You need a pass from Principal Celestia or Vice Principal Luna to leave.”

Adagio glanced to Aria and the purple siren nodded. Lifting the security officer by the back of his pants, she slid him down the hall and out of their way. The trio headed for their sleek car with Sunset Shimmer protectively nestled in the middle of them. The school watched them go forlornly as the front doors shut.

Author's Notes:

I've finally decided to continue with the next part of Dazzling Sunset! This one sets up a few plot points in the following installments, so I hope you enjoy this one.