Her next week back in classes with the rest of the students wasn’t going to go much better than the previous if this second Monday was anything to judge by. She’d gotten body-checked no less than a dozen times in the hall today, and while she wasn't hurt, it was still frustrating and it had made her almost lose her temper by the last time. If someone wanted to get their licks in, fine, but they could come at her swinging instead of this. She just wanted them to get it over with, to “take their pound of flesh” as the human saying went and leave her be. The constant hostility was wearing her down more than she had thought it would, especially on top of her daily detention.

Now though, she was on her way to meet up with Applejack and receive her detention chores. Ever since the Tuesday before, the blonde had met her daily in the office and then done the detention along side her. It was something she’d actually started enjoying, much to her surprise. In spite of the thick accent, Applejack was actually fairly witty and sarcastic, and surprisingly good company. She was also quite interested in Equestria, and asked questions about it, not laughing or disbelieving the answers Sunset gave her. It felt good to talk about her homeland, about the flora and fauna and fantastic beings that lived there. In fact, detention with Applejack, along with Rarity’s morning greetings in their English class, had become the absolute highlight of her time in the halls of CHS.

“Howdy,” AJ greeted her with a tip of the battered brown hat. “Already talked ta Miss Luna. It's moppin’ the back hall today.”

Sunset made a face. “…ugh. Anything but that. Mop water gets everywhere and it always smells terrible.”

“Least it ain’t locker room clean up. Dash an’ Ah got that in freshman year after that fiasco with the barrels in the hall, an’ Ah’d’a liked ta die. It was worse than Big Mac’s socks after harvest season—an’ those socks practically walk themselves ta the wash.”

“….That’s the most disgusting sentence I’ve ever had to hear…and I used to associate with Snips and Snails.” Sunset shuddered, before trudging for the Janitor’s closet. The sour, mildew-and-funky-stale-human-fluids smell of the girl’s locker room was something she could barely tolerate on a good day, just going in there to change for gym class; the idea of having to clean the whole thing from top to bottom made her stomach want to turn itself inside out. Perhaps mopping the hall wasn’t the worse thing ever.

“…an’ that’s why Big Mac doesn’t go out on Halloween anymore.”

Sunset shook her head, trying not to laugh as she pushed the mop back and forth in the hall. “I have a hard time picturing him wearing all that. Or talking—I honestly thought he was mute for over a year.”

“Oh, he kin get ta chin waggin’ sometimes, but its rare. Prefers ta just let actions do the talkin’ instead.” Applejack wrung water out of her mop. For a little while, the only sound was the wet swishing of the mops against the floor, but the tall girl eventually broke it. “Gotta question fer ya. Yer in regular classes, but ya disappear fer lunch. Why doncha join us in the lunchroom?”

Sunset shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably. “Because…I don't think anyone wants me there. I’d ruin lunch for them—or they’ll dump it on me. I eat in my personal retreat in school—the second floor of the library has some old, forgotten study rooms, and I appropriated a key for one of them years ago. It’s my own private home away from home in the school. It’s quiet, and I don’t have to worry about wearing someone’s fruit cup.”

A frown pulled at Applejack’s features. “That won’t do none. Meet me outside the lunchroom at lunch. Yer gonna sit with us, an’ iffin folks don’ like it, they can say somethin’ ta me.”

The former unicorn stared at her. “But…people hate me. If you do that, you might get backlash for it. Guilt by association. I…I don’t want that to happen.”

“Just let me worry about that. Ah’m serious. Tomorrow, outside the lunchroom, ya hear?”

The tone didn’t make it sound as much like a question as Applejack probably felt it did. Instead, it sounded like an order, one that Sunset was expected to follow…not that she wouldn’t have minded spending more time getting to know Applejack or Rarity, or even Pinkie, who was confusing but friendly. Her quiet, private lunches in her library retreat had become a respite from the constant unpleasantness at school. She could send a few messages to Twilight, eat her lunch in peace, and use the time to de-stress, especially if she retreated there early during her pre-lunch free period. Stomach churning, Sunset nodded, unable to find a way to voice the reason for the rest of her nerves. She didn’t think it would be that simple, but she didn’t have it in her to argue. She just knew it would be a disaster.

Applejack met her just outside the lunchroom, smiling pleasantly. Sunset tried to respond in kind, but what plastered across her face was more of a grimace. The farmer patted her shoulder. “It won't be so bad. Chin up, an’ follow me.”

Sunset adjusted the grip on the paper bag holding her lunch, her stomach already tying itself up in knots. Despite the assurances, the notes on and in her locker told her there would be backlash. Nevertheless, she followed her stetson wearing warden into the fray.

Eyes bored into her from all angles, the tension in the room rising exponentially at her entrance. A large portion of the student body was in the room, and most of them had turned their attention on her—with a few notable exceptions. Vinyl Scratch had her headphones turned up and was casually bobbing her head to the music in her ears, and at the table with the rest of his band (most of whom were happily giving Sunset the evil eye), Flash Sentry seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid looking her way at all. Of all the people in school who had cause to hate her, he was probably the one with the most right to punish her for her previous behavior…and was, strangely, one of the few who hadn’t tried to do so. He seemed as content to avoid her as much as she sought to avoid him.

That was definitely a minority reaction though, because most everyone else was projecting an air of thinly veiled hostility. It pressed on her, to the point where she could practically taste the disgust and hatred, and she couldn’t block out the way the murmur of conversation changed. It made her shrink in on herself a little, shoulders hunching. This was why she’d been eating in her hideout in the library.

Applejack plopped down at a table, and motioned for Sunset to join her. “The others’ll be here in a minute. Line takes time.”

She nodded, not trusting her voice, and unpacked her lunch: a veggie wrap, a pear, and a cookie to go with a bottle of water. Eating at the moment was more mechanical than anything; it all tasted like ash and bitterness.

Rarity and Fluttershy joined them first, conversing about one of Rarity’s designs as they set trays down. Spotting Sunset, Fluttershy fell silent and offered a meek little wiggling of her fingers as a greeting, while Rarity gave a much more pleasant and vocal hello. Sunset shifted, pausing between bites to offer a barely audible, “Hi.” She did notice Fluttershy glancing at her cookie several times with interest, and she quietly slid it down the table towards the timid girl with soft pink hair—the most direct contact she’d tried to have with her since her defeat. That netted the first positive reaction from Fluttershy in all the years she’d been in the human world: a small, shy smile and almost inaudible thanks as she accepted the cookie.

Pinkie’s arrival with a tray mostly made of desserts was preceded by confetti raining down on the former bully. “Oh my gosh! Sunset! You’re eating with us?! Someone should have told me! I would have made it a paaarty!”

“What?” Panic edged into Sunset’s tone. “No...no. No parties, please. Not for me…” she trailed off, casting a glance at the lunchroom before going back to resolutely staring only at her food. The quicker she ate, the sooner she’d be out of here.

She was working on her pear when the last member of the group arrived—vocally. “Hey guys, sorry I'm late! Coach caught me in the hallway and wanted to ask me somethi—Shimmer, what the hell do you think you’re doing here!?” The athlete’s face twisted into an expression of disgust, like she’d just stepped in a pile of diamond dog droppings in bare feet.

There it was. The demand made the lunchroom fall eerily silent, everyone waiting to watch the drama play out. Sunset felt sick—the anger in the air seemed to have transformed into sick glee since she saw more than one nasty smile over Rainbows shoulder. Her mouth opened, but the words died in her throat before the hard stares.

“Ah invited her.” The response echoed through the room, Applejack’s tone one that dared anyone to argue with her.

“You did what?! Why would you do that, AJ!?!”

Applejack frowned, pure obstinacy lacing her words now. “Because Ah wanted ta, an’ cuz Ah figgered it’d be nice ta include our new friend in lunch, since she’s busy after school fer a while.”

“Yeah, because she’s got detention for everything she’s done! Or did you forget what she’s spent years doing to people? To Fluttershy?!” Venom dripped from Rainbow Dash’s words, cutting and sharp—and the worst part about them is that they were all true. There was nothing Sunset could do to deny any of it, and everyone in the room knew it. A few even called out in agreement with the soccer star’s assessment, throwing out their two cents about the whole matter. In the meantime, Fluttershy made a squeaky sound of dismay and hid in her hair as people looked her way.

Sunset felt nauseous, guilt threatening to make her vomit. She bolted to her feet, backing away from the table. Attention turned to her now, and she couldn’t seem to breathe, seeing sadistic, gleeful smirks on more than one face as her composure cracked and her anguish became visible for anyone looking. “This was a mistake,” she choked out, before turning on her heels and fleeing the lunchroom like she was being chased, tears already clouding her vision.

She ran past some sort of adult at an all out sprint, vision too blurred to make out who, slamming into the nearest bathroom door, and barely making it to a toilet before everything she’d managed to ingest came right back up.

Sunset wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, dry heaving into the porcelain bowl before she realized several things. First, she was crying, complete with tears and snot running down her face. Second was that someone was holding her hair back, humming softly in a voice that made memories surface with agonizing clarity.

Being sick was awful. Nothing would stay down, other than the tea Celestia brought her. The Princess had barely left her side, going so far as to cancel court for the day so she could look after her. That part made Sunset feel warm and happy.

And right now, she sank into the mare’s golden magic that felt like sunshine as it cradled her body and held her mane back while her tummy emptied itself again.

“Its okay, little sun, just let it out. I have you.” And then she started humming, a familiar lullaby that had soothed night terrors and other fears and worries of the four year old filly for as long as she could remember—and probably before.

The memory shattered into glass shards that raked along her heart, and she cried harder, flinching away from the gentle touch and soft voice. “’M sorry…Princess Celestia…I’m so sorry…” she babbled, memory and panic and guilt swirling into a mess in her mind. In that moment, she forgot where she was, what body she had, what had caused her retching, even what world she was in. All she knew was that she hurt all over and she couldn’t breathe, and Celestia was humming Sunset’s lullaby and how could she when all Sunset had done the last time she’d seen her was throw everything in her face, screaming names and obscenities, making demands and hurling priceless manuscripts. The unicorn-in-human-form tried to lurch away, to flee on all fours in a jumble of limbs that didn’t work the way her panicking hind brain told her they should. “…I didn’t mean it…’m sorry…” When she tripped on herself and landed in a tangle on the floor, she shrank away from the towering shadow, curling fisted hands over her head. “…’m a bad pony…please…’m sorry, don’t send me away again!”

And somewhere, between hyperventilation and sheer panic, Sunset Shimmer fainted.

Principal Celestia had been doing a patrol of the halls during lunch when the doors to the cafeteria had slammed open and Sunset Shimmer ran by her like the hounds of Hell were on her heels. Shock built in her as she turned, barely making note of the angry voices in the cafeteria as the doors swung shut, following the teen girl’s flight down the hall. Sunset barreled into the door of the girl’s restroom so hard that the door shrieked in protest before listing to the side, the top hinges broken, which made worry rise in the educator. There was very little chance that the redhead could hit the door like that without causing damage to herself, and Celestia jogged after her to make sure she was alright.

She heard the sounds of retching and gagging as she reached the open doorway, and found herself witnessing the former bully sobbing and throwing up into the bowl of the first toilet she’d been able to reach. The sight was so pitiful and heart-wrenching that Celestia found herself moving to hold back the girl’s loose hair gently while she got whatever it was out of her system, and found herself humming the song her own mother had used when she or Luna had been sick as children.

The principal had seen a lot of things, but she wasn’t prepared for Sunset to react the way she had to her attempts at kindness, and she certainly had not been prepared for the teenager to be so utterly terrified of her that she was willing to scramble away on all fours, only to pass out shortly thereafter. She found herself kneeling on the floor of the restroom, at a loss to explain the grief and terror clouding Sunset Shimmer’s eyes, or why the girl had called her ‘Princess.’

Celestia knew she couldn’t leave the unconscious girl on the floor, so she contacted Nurse Redheart over the walkie-talkie she kept on her belt. Gaining the Nurse’s assessment and signal that it should be okay to move the teen, she picked up Sunset—who was far lighter than she expected—and carried her to the nurse’s office, brow furrowed with worry the entire time. She stood vigil over the unconscious girl—who was out far longer than a simple fainting spell could justify—until Luna found her and pulled her into her office, door shutting firmly behind them both.

“Tia, what happened?”

She found herself recounting what had happened to her sister, pacing her office in agitation. “…By the time I had started humming—you know, like Mom used to do for us?—I think she was having some sort of panic attack, and my voice made it worse.” Celestia’s eyes were actually brimming with tears, and Luna pressed a tissue into her hands. “She was terrified of me. She started trying to get away from me, kept apologizing to me, though she called me ‘Princess.’ It was heart-wrenching, Lulu. I’ve never heard anyone sound so broken—it was like her whole world was coming apart, and I don’t know what I did to cause it. She was so desperate to get away from me, she tried to run on all fours, and when she tripped, she put her hands over her head like she was afraid of being hit.” Celestia wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “…she was practically incoherent by the time she passed out, babbling about ponies and being sent away. I know she did terrible things here, Luna, but….she’s still a child, and I’m starting to really wonder what it was she ran away from in her world!”

"I’m not sure," Luna said thoughtfully, "but I find the implications troubling. We know nothing of this world she or Princess Twilight Sparkle came from and though Twilight Sparkle seemed compassionate, we also have to consider the fact that she didn't seem bothered by the idea that Sunset was essentially being abandoned here to fend for herself."

Celestia considered that. "You think part of the issue with her previously was her simply behaving as a child of her world would?"

Luna sighed with a grimace pasted on her face. "We don't have enough information, and since Miss Sparkle wasn't kind enough to leave us with a manual on 'How to raise a child from another world' it looks like we'll have to rely on our only other source of information. I’m going to talk with her when she wakes up. Why don’t you take your lunch in office and then work on a repair form for the girl’s bathroom. I’m not sure this one is Sunset’s fault.” Luna squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “I’ll have Raven forward your calls to me for the afternoon.” With that, the Vice-Principal set out to get to the bottom of what happened.

Sunset groaned—she felt terrible, and she couldn’t remember her bed ever feeling this hard. She really needed a new mattress. Her mouth tasted sour, her head was pounding, feeling all cottony and sluggish. “…Ponyfeathers…I feel like half of Tartarus took a shit in my mouth, and the other half Is trying to break out through my skull.” She let out another pained noise, and brought a hand up to rub her face. “What did I do last night?”

“The more important question, Miss Shimmer, is what happened in the lunchroom. I am hearing all kinds of very mixed stories, many of them completely outlandish, and the only ones I am inclined to believe came from Miss Apple and Miss Belle.” The voice of the Vice Principal cut through the fabric encircling her brain, and Sunset sat up sharply, eyes wide. “Though I will address your colorful language choices in a minute, as well as the implications of underage drinking.”

The day came back to her in a rush: the lunchroom, the running, the bathroom, throwing up, the humming…and then it all got blurry. “…I shouldn’t have gone to the lunchroom. I should’ve gone to eat in the library. No one wanted me there. Rainbow Dash just said what everyone was thinking, and I had to get out. I couldn’t breathe and I felt sick. I remember…throwing up in the bathroom, and…I thought I could hear humming…I don’t know what happened after that.” She went pale. “…What did I do? I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

Luna looked around. The nurse’s office was empty, but there was a chance a student could come in at any moment. “No, you did not hurt anyone. Can you walk? I think we need to continue this talk in my office.” At a shaky nod, the woman helped the redhead stand, and led her back to her dim, cool office. “Sit. There’s a bottle of water in the minifridge if you are thirsty.” Sunset retrieved the liquid with a murmur of thanks, and sat obediently in the chair. Taking a deep breath and going out on a limb with a guess that would’ve made her sound crazy with any other student, Luna asked, “Who is Princess Celestia, Sunset?”

There went her stomach again, bottoming out. Just when she was sure it couldn’t sink to a lower point, it found new depths to plummet to. She rubbed her forehead where her horn once was, and kept her voice as level as she could. “…This world and mine are…parallels, of a sort. Locations, individuals, lives, personalities…there’s a lot of overlap. Its not perfect, clearly, given the difference between the natives and the vast difference in magic versus technology. That means that a lot of people have…counterparts…in the other world. Princess Celestia and Principal Celestia are…an example of this.”

“In my world, the sun and moon don’t move on their own, any more than the weather functions properly without hooves to plan and execute its schedule. Instead, long ago, the first alicorns ascended—Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, and her sister, Princess Luna, called the Dreamwalker, Princess of the Moon. Immortal…humans might call them goddesses, or demi-gods, at least, but nopony worships them quite like that, though I’m sure a few have tried over the centuries. Princess Luna spent some time…locked away, and was recently freed and reinstated. It’s a complicated mess involving the moon, and a being of dark magic and eternal night. I…was here while most of that went on, so I’m not…quite sure on the details?”

The administrator quirked an eyebrow but motioned her to continue.
“When I was there, it was just Princess Celestia. Goddess of the Celestial Spheres, Monarch of Equestria, and role model for everypony in the kingdom.”

“Everypony? Let me make sure I am not misinterpreting…Are you saying the native denizens of your world are sentient, sapient ponies?” Sunset nodded. “Hmm…That would explain the ears at the formal, and the name of the kingdom. Continue.”

The redhead rubbed her arm. “…She was also my teacher for as long as I can remember.”

“I cannot say I am surprised to find my sister dabbling in education in more than one potential reality in a multiverse, but that seems a bit strange for a Princess and a veritable goddess to personally tutor a youngster.”

Sunset slumped. “…it’s…complicated, but the long and short is, there wasn’t any other option for me. Unicorn foals get occasional magic surges before they can be taught to control them, and parents usually apply a forbearance spell to inhibit the magic, but only it only works if the parents are as strong or stronger than the foal’s magic surges. My magic surges were too strong for anyone other than somepony like the Princess to handle, especially at one of the state funded homes for orphaned foals—most of those are run by earth ponies, not unicorns and certainly not trained magi.” She rubbed the center of her forehead again. “I was the Princess’ ward out of safety and necessity, and her personal student because even the curriculum at CSGU wasn’t advanced enough for my magic.”

The former unicorn paused, realization dawning, and she blushed as she fumbled over her words to elaborate. “…horseapples…that sounded arrogant, didn’t it? I’m not sure there’s a way to explain it that doesn’t. I guess you could say that I had so much innate magic and skill that CSGU’s standard pace and outline for teaching weren’t designed for a unicorn like me. I was bored there, and in many cases had more magic and aptitude for magic than a lot of the professors…I needed a teacher who was more advanced than I was, who had more power and knowledge and skill. That’s where Princess Celestia came in. She does that sometimes…takes on personal students of extremely high talent and potential; most of them go on to become famous in one field or another.”

“CSGU?” Luna frowned, puzzled by the acronym.

“Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Think…uh…Hogwarts? Except in Equestria.”

“I see. It does not explain what happened in the restroom.” When the girl looked at her in confusion, Luna clarified. “Sunset, according to my sister, you had a traumatic meltdown worthy of a victim of child abuse or a shell-shocked soldier. That’s not the reaction of a child encountering a disappointed teacher.” The dark haired woman came around the desk to kneel before Sunset. “I will refrain from telling my sister if you do not want me to, but I am asking you to tell me the whole truth. We are very worried about you.”

Twilight’s voice whispered in her mind, “…people make mistakes, Sunset, but you have to be willing to keep trying. And when you have friends, you trust them to help you.” Her friend had consistently been right, and Luna had been…perhaps not friendly, but patient and empathetic…

The dam broke, and she looked into Luna’s eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. “…She was my mom, in every way that mattered…except the one I wanted the most…”

Not sure if I should be evil an leave it there for the week, or if I should post the next bit to complete the story...