Tuesday. Another day, another detention to serve. This time, her task was in the gym, hefting boxes of sports equipment to the storage room after she’d filled them. It was backbreaking, grueling work, and fifteen minutes in already had her sweating and worn. Sunset paused for a minute to wipe the dampness off her forehead and to search through her bag to find a hair tie to get her mane out of her face.

“Afternoon, Sunset,” drawled a voice behind her.

It drew a noise of surprise from her, a not quite human sound that accompanied her head shooting up to look around wildly, one arm coming up in a defensive move. Seeing the tall blonde in the stetson watching her with a raised eyebrow brought her heart-rate back down to a more normal pace. “…oh…um…Applejack. Am I…in your way?” she looked around for a reason why the farmer was here but could find none.

“Nooope.” She bent down and picked up one of the boxes, carrying it on one shoulder like it weighed nothing. “Ah’m here ta help out.”

Confused, Sunset grabbed a net bag filled with basketballs. “…You have detention too?”

“Nooope. But you do, an’ Ah figgered it’d go faster with help. Chores always do.”

The two of them brought their cargo to the storage room, Sunset still unsure of what was happening. “Why are you helping me?” she asked warily.

Applejack gave her a long look. “Cuz that’s what friends do, Sunset. Said Ah’d help ya out, an’ that's what Ah’m doin’. ‘Sides, thought maybe we could talk while we work. Get ta know each other a bit.”

The former unicorn set the bag down with the echoing sound of hollow rubber on a hard floor, and tried to wrap her brain around what was happening. “…why would you want to know me? You already know all about me—you watched everything I’ve done to this school for years, been on the receiving end of it. That should give you a pretty good idea of who I am.” Her shoulders slumped, her guilt weighing on her as she spoke.

Veridian eyes scrutinized her. “Now, Ah don’ necessarily agree with that there statement. See all that means is Ah know what ya done. Not who ya are. Not really. Maybe Ah wanna get ta know the real Sunset Shimmer under the dog’n’pony show ya put on fer the masses.”

Damned humans and their tendency for animal based adages—Sunset felt her eye twitch and before she could stop herself, she blurted, “Can you please stop with the horse jokes—I can’t tell if I’m being insulted or not when you humans do that!” Her eyes widened and hands clapped over her mouth as if that would stop anything else from coming out without her permission.

Instead of being angry, Applejack kicked her box under the nearby shelf. “…So Ah was right. Yer from Magic Pony Land too, just like Twilight.” She took her hat off her head for a moment. “Ah apologize. T’weren’t tryin’ ta be insultin’, Sunset. Humans just gotta lot o’ sayin’s about horses. Ah’ll try ta avoid ‘em as much as Ah can.” The hat found its way back onto her head. “Though, Ah admit ta bein’ a might curious ‘bout a place where horses talk.”

Sunset, sort of numb with disbelief at the turn the conversation had taken, found herself following Applejack back out into the gym to get more boxes. “…Ponies. We’re ponies. Horses only really live in Saddle Arabia,” she found herself correcting the tall girl. “And we…don’t really look like this world’s equines—though I think our ancient ancestors might have.”

“Izzat so? So what do ponies look like then?” She started filling another box.

“Smaller. It's hard to have much a comparison, since there aren’t a lot of standard size objects between the two worlds, but if I had to guess, based on things like grass and insects, we average about…here at the withers.” Sunset found herself answering the questions thrown her way without even thinking of resisting or refusing. In a way, it was a relief to be able to talk about her home and her kind and all the things she missed. She held up a hand somewhere about three and a half feet off the ground to denote withers height of an Equestrian pony. “I’m guessing I’d stand somewhat shorter as a unicorn than I do as a human.”

A hand came up. “Wait, wait. Yer not just a ponies, but unicorns? A world filled with magical talkin’ unicorns.”

“Uh…Well, there’s more than one type. I am—was, I suppose, a unicorn. There’s also pegasi—ponies with wings—and earth ponies. And alicorns—winged unicorns—like the Princesses, but they’re a special case.” That admission stuck in her throat painfully. Ascension was earned, and Princess Twilight Sparkle had obtained it where Sunset had failed.

“Huh. Learn somethin’ new e’eryday. So what else makes ya different from horses here, besides bein’ super short.”

The redhead snorted, to Applejack’s amusement. “We’re a lot more attractive. Your equines are big, ugly, bony brutes on long spindly stick legs, and their heads are ridiculous. We’re smaller, with legs that can actually hold us up, and smoother conformation lines. Our muzzles don’t stick out quite so far, and our eyes are set more towards the center for binocular vision. Comparing the two would be like me comparing Rarity to a male gorilla at the zoo.”

Laughing, Applejack made a calming motion. “Ah get it. No more comparisons ta the horses at the farm…elsewise Ah’m gonna be made ta think o’ a Silverback in one o’ Rarity’s frou-frou dresses.” She picked up the next pair of boxes and slid one towards Sunset with a foot. “Ah gotta better question. What do ponies like ta eat? Can’t imagine the cheeseburger is popular ta them.”

Sunset shuddered at the thought. “…Considering that cows in Equestria talk and often barter their milk for other goods and services, I can assure you that we do not eat cheeseburgers. The human propensity for meat was a very large culture shock.” She bent down and hefted the box tiredly. “…We eat a surprising number of similar foods to humans—other than meat—but with a heavier stress on fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other bits of vegetation that earth ponies are good at cultivating. Chickens are not intelligent, so we use and eat eggs. Pegasi tend to include fish in their diets—its an easy source for the oils that help waterproof their feathers, and considering most of them live in the clouds and work on weather-teams in some fashion, necessary, since soaked feathers don’t fly well.”

“So….Should Ah be askin’ iffin ya want a bale of hay from the farm?” Applejack was grinning at her, suggesting that the question was more a joke than anything.

The former unicorn shook her head, sighing sadly. “As much as I miss a plate of delicious hayfries and a hayburger, it makes this body sick if I try to eat it.”

The farmer stopped, almost dropping the box as she tried to parse what Sunset had just said. “…Uhhh…Sunset...Are ya tellin’ me that ya already tried ta eat hay?”

She looked at the blonde, head tilted in confusion as she slid the box on the shelf. “…I mean, not recently? I learned my lesson about it years ago when I first came here. I hadn’t really found a place to live, and I didn’t have money, or know anything really about humans yet, so I didn’t know this body couldn’t eat it. And there was just…so much growing near the roadside that no one seemed to care about…” She shrugged. “…I ate a whole bunch, only to be sick all night long. Learned my lesson….Besides, it didn’t taste like it should. Human taste buds are weird.”

The farmer was quiet for a long few minutes as they moved equipment, her expression pulled into a frown. Sunset fidgeted in worry. “…Did…did I say something wrong?” she asked carefully, afraid she’d somehow offended Applejack.

Applejack shook her head vehemently. “No, ya didn’…” She took off her hat, running a hand through her bangs. “…Ya…are gettin’ enough ta eat now, right? Yer not…fishin’ fer scraps in the trash, or havin’ ta steal from the markets, or worse, just ta avoid starvin’, are ya?”

Sunset was starting to feel like she was developing mental whiplash from the rapid changes in conversation. “…No? I have food at my place, and money to buy things I need.”

The stetson was plopped back on the blonde head. “…Alrighty then. Ah ain’ gonna let ya starve. Apples always got plenty ta offer friends an’ family iffin they need it. Ya ever need anythin’, Sunset, food or a place ta stay, or anythin’ like that, all ya gotta do is say.” Then she perked up, making a thoughtful face. “…Ah gotta ask. What does hay taste like ta a pony?”

---

Blue-green eyes stared at her gym teacher in something akin to abject horror and gut-wrenching dread. Dodgeball. They were going to play dodgeball, all because Wednesday had dawned with black thunderclouds overhead and cold fall rain coming down in buckets. It was already a ‘sport’ Sunset detested, but as she stared out at a class full of people who had plenty of justifiable reasons to want to hit her with a projectile, she could feel her stomach twist in on itself.

The nausea doubled when Gilda Griffen was selected as one of the team captains, and she turned towards Sunset with a predatory grin that would have done an actual citizen of Griffonstone proud. She knew then that this was going to hurt and that she’d be lucky to escape gym without a black eye.

“Ooo! Ooo! Sunset Shimmer! You can be on my team!” Pinkie Pie was waving at her from a spot next to Applejack.

She paced over to join them, wondering if it was too late to claim lunch wasn’t sitting well so she could escape to the nurse.

—You could try throwing up on Coach Will’s shoes. That’s sure to get you a pass.—

Oh look. The stupid voice from her subconscious was back to make the torture worse. Good idea. Too bad she was not one of those ponies who could vomit on command.

In rapid succession, the mass of students was divided up between the two teams, and they retreated to their separate sides of the gym floor. Sunset flinched under the expressions being sent her way from the other side of the line, making a decision to devote her time in the game to dodging the balls that were about to be hurled violently at her face. She chose a spot near the back, placing herself in a position where she would have plenty of time to see the danger coming.

True to her predictions, she was the preferred target of the other team, once they had eliminated the ‘easy marks.’ It took everything she had to duck, dodge, weave, and twist out of the way of the balls that came her way. She didn’t bother trying to catch the balls or throw them back—anyone she hit might use it as a reason to cry foul, and she wanted no reason for the Vice Principal to come down on her head.

And then she mistimed her jump, and found herself right in the path of a ball that might as well have been a heat seeking missile courtesy of Gilda. There was no way to dodge, so she brought her arms up in an attempt to protect her face...

Except the impact never happened. Pinkie Pie, laughing and giggling, bounced right in the way, catching the ball. “Thanks, Giiiiilllldaaaa!” she called, flinging the ball back at the other team. Sunset boggled for a moment before she twisted out of the way of yet another ball.

This became a bit of a theme in the game, with Pinkie defying gravity, logic, and even the laws of physics to catch dodgeball before they smashed into Sunset or some of their other teammates. The redhead watched with more than a little shock as she caught them with her hands, legs, even her hair, laughing and bounding around with seemingly endless enthusiasm.

Trying to understand Pinkie might’ve given her a headache, but Sunset wasn’t going to complain when the party planner’s antics meant that she was able to leave the gym on that Wednesday without any injuries.

---

Traversing the hallways after lunch ended was quickly becoming something akin to an obstacle course. There was the now familiar feeling of resentful and nasty stares setting her hackles up, but she was learning that she had to look down frequently for a more important reason than not wanting to see people glaring at her: feet and other things put in her path to try and trip her up or send her face first into a variety of surfaces. Sometimes those attempts to trip her were coupled with hard shoves or shoulders that checked her roughly into the lockers or wall.

It wasn’t everyone, but even those not actively doing anything to her didn’t seem to be in a hurry to try and interfere with the greater population of the school getting little bits of punishment in where they could. With a few notable exceptions, at the least—the first time she’d been knocked to the ground in the hall, she’d been helped up by the gray skinned blonde girl with crossed eyes she’d only ever heard addressed as ‘Derpy.’ The girl had given her a cheerful smile, asked if she was alright, and told her to have a good afternoon as she wandered into the crowd. Another time, Sunset had been sent pitching forward, only to be steadied by Vinyl Scratch. The silent DJ had tipped her shades down, given her a long and steady look followed by a wink and a thumbs up before sending her on her way.

Today was proving no different, as she tried to keep herself to the wall and away from the thick press of students. When she paused to let a group of people exit a classroom, someone checked her hard enough from behind to send her into the wall with a considerable amount of force, her head bouncing off the white-painted cinderblock painfully. The blow disoriented her for a few seconds, long enough for the perpetrator to melt away into the mass of students. Sunset rubbed the sore spot, before adjusting her bag and continuing on. Just one more day after this, and then she had the weekend and Twilight to look forward to.

---

Her locker opened to a flood of paper scraps, and Sunset had to kneel down to pick them up. Every day there were more and more of the tiny pieces of paper, each with a different and creative way of saying “I hate Sunset Shimmer.” She read through each and every one, the pain having slowly morphed from sharp and stabbing to an ache she was resigned to. It was still less than she deserved, she knew, and if this was the price for her second chance, she would get through it—she had to, there was no other choice. Sunset Shimmer was a lot of things: monster, unicorn, human, sorceress, student, former she-demon, fallen tyrant, manipulative, black-hearted bitch…but she wasn’t a one to quit.

Sunset had just finished throwing them out and was focused on shuffling around what she was carrying home in her backpack when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning sharply, she found herself face to face with the Vice-Principal, who was holding a pair of slim volumes in one hand. “Vice-Principal Luna…Is something wrong? I didn’t forget something, did I?”

The woman shook her head. “No, Miss Shimmer, you did not. I actually wanted to catch you before you left for the day. I have been keeping an eye on you this week, and I am very pleased with how you have conducted yourself. I wanted to let you know that both I and Principal Celestia are quite impressed by the way you are determined to succeed at this.”

The former unicorn stared, more than a little surprised by the words. “…I…thank you, Vice-Principal Luna…”

Luna inclined her head, before holding out the books in her hand. “On a more personal note, I have a couple of books I found quite helpful myself when I was younger. They contain some useful knowledge and techniques for someone who is trying to supplant bad habits with newer, better ones, and I had thought perhaps you might find some benefit in their pages, as I once did.”

Sunset took the offered books, completely floored. “I….I don’t know what to say…but…I’ll be sure to read them…”

“Keep them as long as you like, Miss Shimmer.” With that, Luna departed, leaving Sunset alone in the hall, trying to process the encounter.

Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket and she retrieved it in a hurry. A new message from her favorite person greeted her eyes, bringing new life to them.

-Milkshakes? Its been a particularly trying day. Also, are we still on for a movie binge and sleepover tomorrow night?-

-Sparky,- she sent back, fingers dancing over the keys. -You have no idea how good that sounds right now. Am I picking you up or meeting you?-

The reply took bare seconds. -Come get me? I’m at home.-

Shaking her head, Sunset slammed the locker and spun the lock, restraining herself to a jog in the halls.

Next Chapter: Chapter Ten: Panic At The Bookstore Estimated time remaining: 56 Hours, 55 Minutes