Sunset was not a huge fan of pep rallies. In all truthfulness, she had never cared for them before her reformation, and she was learning now that the dislike had not been tied to the unpleasant personality she had been prior to the Fall Formal. It didn't help that Pinkie and Rainbow had suggested that they go Ponied-Up, instead of wearing the fake Wondercolt ears and tails…and then made a very persuasive argument about how holding onto their transformations for an extended period of time could be a great test of their magical stamina. Which it was, curse them, but it meant she was now subjected to the sound of the entire student body all talking at once on top of all the other sounds bombarding her sensitive ears. She’d practically buried them in her hair they were pinned so hard to her skull, and it didn't do a lot to block out the noise. Not to mention, some kind of equipment in the gym space was vibrating at a frequency that made her horn hurt.

She glanced around. Most of her friends where nearby, though Rainbow Dash was down on the front row with the rest of the sports teams, all in uniforms, and Pinkie was with the cheerleaders and the Pep Squad, coordinating…because of course Pinkie Pie was involved in anything and everything that could be seen as a party or was about school spirit. Fluttershy was hemmed in between her and Rarity, listening to the tailor and a few of her friends from the drama department discussing costume fabrics, and AJ sat behind the three of them, looking bored. They didn't seem to be having the same issue with the noise level as she was, though…

Blue-green eyes scanned the wider crowd as a new sensation hit her—the feeling of eyes watching her. It brought a prickly feeling of agitation and anticipation, and her ears instinctively overrode the conscious muscle control to prick forward and start swiveling to and fro to search for danger.

There it was! Whispered snatches of her name, people staring at the group then looking away quickly when her eyes tracked to them. What was going on?

A hand settled on her shoulder and nearly made the former unicorn jump out of her skin until she realized it was Applejack. “Relax, Sunset. Ah see it too, but Ah think they're all tryin’ ta get a good look at our Pony-Ups. An’ yer ears are…well, even fer non horse folk, they’re kinda givin’ you away.”

Sunset reached up and ran her finger tips over the velvety texture of her ear. It felt normal, and was moving normally—although the muscles that controlled them felt sore since they weren’t usually in use quite so much on humans. “What’s wrong with them?” she asked, confused and a little worried.

“Nothing’s wrong,” AJ replied with a chuckle. “It's just…well…they move a lot, like a real horse. Rest of us...don't do that.” She pointed up at her own ears, which lay splayed and relaxed because of her ever present hat.

One ear flicked back in annoyance. “Wait. You are saying that people are staring at my ears because I’m moving them?”

“Seems like. It's…pretty noticeable, an’ most folk have dogs or cats and are assumin’ yer ears are like those. From here, kinda looks like yer mad about something, especially with yer face all scrunched up.”

“…I’m not angry,” she defended. “Annoyed, maybe, because the noise level hurts a bit. Also something in the room is making my horn itch in a really unpleasant way.” Her ears drooped slightly. “…I didn't think humans could read my ears like that.”

The blonde shrugged. “Pets can't talk our way, so humans got real good at learning to see what they were saying their way.”

Fluttershy joined in. “It’s very interesting, studying the symbiotic forms of reciprocal communication that humans and certain types of animals have learned from each other. Dogs read human faces completely differently than they read each other’s or even other animals—they do it in a way that mimics how we read each other! And cats have developed a complex language of vocalizations they only use with human companions to communicate different needs!”

It was going to be one of those talks. Steeling herself, Sunset asked, “And your horses?”

“Horses have some of the most expressive emotional capabilities I’ve ever seen,” the other teen gushed happily. “They can suffer from a lot of the same problems we do, like depression or anger management issues, and they are extremely sensitive to our body language, especially when they've bonded with a rider. The best of them stop being a human and a horse and actually function as a unit!”

It was weird. “So what you're telling me,” she clarified, “is that it took me years to master acting human and figuring out what your body language meant, and you all just have an encyclopedia of interspecies body language and communication in your brains? All of you?”

Her friends—even Rarity now—were all watching her. At last Applejack nodded. “Eeeeeyup. Pretty much. Some folks’re better than others—like Fluttershy, or mah cousin who’s a regular horse whisperer—but most people can figure out the important ones.”

Sunset shook her head. “Of course you can. I’m not angry though. Just…annoyed. Maybe frustrated, because whatever is making that noise is driving me a little crazy!” She rubbed the base of her horn, and glanced at Rarity. “Can you feel it or is it just me?”

Frowning fractionally, Rarity nodded. “I had detected a weird buzzing sensation, but I wasn't sure if that was normal or caused by the crowd. This is the first time we have had our powers active while in the middle of a crowd for an extended time like this.”

“It's making my horn itch all the way down into the core—the longer it goes on, the more it's making me feel like my brain is itching too!” Her ears pinned back fully. “I’m getting a migraine out of it.”

One of the drama kids sitting on Rarity’s far side one tier lower was watching her, before turning towards the sound booth and waving her hands. Her fingers moved in a deliberate fashion, and Sunset pushed the building headache down a minute. “What…?”

The girl shrugged and glanced over her shoulder. “If it's a weird noise that isn’t people, it might be the sound equipment. I was telling Vinyl to check it.” Her words were punctuated by a horrendous squeal of feedback that rang through the gym and made everyone wince in pain.

When it stopped, Sunset realized that the sensation of ants crawling around in her horn core had stopped, and she slumped back in relief. “Oh bright stars, that fixed it.”

“Great!” The girl made some more hand movements, paused, then made a few more. “Vinyl says that next time you pick up on something like that, give her a high sign so she can check the equipment. A sound cable was plugged in in the wrong port.” She turned and smiled at Sunset warmly. “You don't have to sit and suffer, Sunset, just because we can't hear it.”

“…I guess I didn't…think about saying anything?” The redhead ran a hand through her hair. “Thanks, though.” She felt really bad for not knowing the girl’s name—Golden something? She hadn't really been on Sunset’s radar during her reign, and so the name escaped her completely.

“Happy to help out!” With a smile the girl turned back to her group of friends, returning to their conversation.

Now that she was no longer suffering from whatever feedback had been bothering her, Sunset found it easier to filter out the noise and relax. Her mind wandered for a bit, onto her most recent experiments with their magic. The girls were getting the hang of activating their powers, and using them was definitely becoming less haphazard. Except for Pinkie. Despite all the weirdness that existed around Pinkie Pie, her powers seemed to be taking their time in manifesting in any particular way.

That was starting to worry Sunset—Pinkie was not exactly the picture of restraint, after all.

“Hey, Sunset! Mind if Bonny and I sit here?”

Jolting, she realized Lyra had appeared on her other side. “Oh…sure, no one’s sitting there. Pinkie is part of the organizing committee for this and Dash is sitting with the team, so it's fair game.”

“Fantastic! We wanted good seats for this. Flash wouldn't give us the details, but he said it's going to be a pep rally to remember.” Lyra was grinning from ear to ear.

Next to her, Bon-Bon snarked, “Maybe they’ll burn the Crystal Shadowcolt in effigy this year in some attempt to make the Crystal Prep students tolerable to be around.”

“With likely few exceptions,” Sunset responded dryly, “I doubt even setting the CPA students themselves on fire would do anything to improve their attitudes. Trust me, it didn't work at CSGU. They just got more unpleasant, not less, and the teachers looked for any excuse to come down on me after that.”

Bon-Bon arched an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if that says more about the state of the equine education system or you before you came here, Sunset.”

She wiggled a hand. “A little of both?” she offered. “I didn’t just start out being terrible the instant I ended up on two legs….but by the same token, CSGU was a magic school, so…things like being set on fire or accidentally turning yourself into a polka dotted toad in an alchemy mishap was…planned for?”

Lyra looked beyond excited. “Magic school sounds like so much fun! Did you have a class all for learning about magical creatures?”

“Um…I mean there was a track for those looking into things involving monsters and beasts. Arcanobiology, a few ecology and monster biology courses. Those were mostly on the medical side of stuff at CSGU though, for ponies going into healing professions. The kind of intensive course I suspect you mean wasn't a CSGU thing, it was actually a major part of Guard training.”

Fluttershy piped up on her other side. “Guard training?”

Sunset nodded and explained, “The Equestrian Guard is…it's not really an army or a police force—I mean, yes, guardsponies do serve in a constabulary role when crimes occur, but other than the occasional scuffle, petty theft, or vandalism, there's not a lot of regular crime for them to worry about. What Equestria needs them for more is dealing with dangerous monsters and wildlife, especially on the roads or in more remote villages. Packs of timberwolves or a chimaera—especially a nesting mother—in the forests, hydra and sandmirks in swampy areas, and let's not even talk about things like pukwudgies, tatzlwurms, wyverns, and rocs…these things can be devastating for small communities or travelers, so the guard is our primary source of keeping monster infestations away from ponies. That means they have to know how to fight them, to drive them off or kill them, and how to avoid getting eaten…since most of the problem monsters think pony is a tasty snack.”

“That’s…” Bon-Bon paused, looking at the rest of the group. “Yikes.”

The former unicorn shrugged. “It is what it is. Most of them are apex predators and a single pony is…I dunno, probably about four or five hundred pounds of food for one of them? Unlike humans…we didn't end up on top of the food chain, so we defend ourselves as best we can.”

Applejack frowned. “Why ain’t ya just gotten rid of them?”

Rubbing her neck, Sunset explained as best she could. “They have a right to live too, and are part of the ecosystem. We focus on pruning them back away from our settlements and make ponies less appealing as food options than easier meals. There's a few exceptions—timberwolves are elemental blights that come from mutant magic, so hunting down and destroying Packhearts is always a priority, but most of them…they're only more dangerous than wolves or lions or bears because they’re bigger or magical. Plus there's plenty of space for all of us. Ponies are nowhere near as numerous as humans are.”

“So what kind of weapons do ponies fight monsters with?” Bon-Bin questioned. “I can't imagine you guys have submachine guns.”

“Oh no—we do have explosives, but most of those are thaumic, not alchemical. Spears, javelins, staves, polearms are pretty popular. Some of them have heads inspired by tools—shovels, pitchforks, hoes, scythes…sometimes you’ll see hammers. Magical spells, for unicorns. Pegasi sometimes uses their ability to manipulate clouds and air as a weapon—the Wonderbolts train to do just that, because a concussive blast or a tight spiral of air can be as devastating as an explosion, and not much is immune to lightning. We also have our hooves—a lot of the Guard has special shoeing done, or wear enchanted guards on their cannons that have blades or spikes when they kick. For bigger weapons, there's catapults, ballista, magic launchers that amplify a spell and hurl it at a target further than any caster can.”

“Ya know, Ah thought Equestria was some kinda paradise,” Applejack drawled, “but it sounds like it's just as scary as this world in its own ways.”

Sunset gave a slight smile. “You’re…not wrong,” she admitted. “Equestria—”

A loud bass track followed by a burst of electric guitar and heavy drums interrupted not only what Sunset was about to say, but also the conversations going on in the bleachers around her. The chatter around her fell off as attention turned to the stage and the open area of the gym floor below.

“Canterlot High!” came Flash’s voice as he took center stage, sporting a pair of Wondercolt ears and a CHS jacket. “Are you ready to rock?!”

The response was…somewhat lethargic, and Pinkie bounced up next to him a moment later, school spirit-wear practically coming out of her pony ears. “Hey! I thought this was a CHS pep rally, not a Crystal Prep one!” She pouted at the crowd of students, looking disappointed with her hands on her hips.

Someone called out, “As if Crystal Prep kids would be caught dead in a place like this! Not enough silver spoons and tacky fake diamonds on everything!”

Flash grinned in challenge. “Then let me hear you act like Wondercolts! We’re a million times better than those snobs!”

This time the cheering was noticeably more enthusiastic, with people stomping their feet and roaring back at the stage. Sunset winced from the volume, and from the surge of aggression she could practically taste in the air… She felt Fluttershy give her a loose hug around the shoulders in sympathy, the other girl also cringing a little from the noise level.

“I guess we’re in the right place after all!” Pinkie chirped happily into the mic once the crowd settled back down.

Strumming a power chord on his guitar, Flash agreed, and gave the room one of his boyish grins. “Which is good, because we’ve got the Friendship Games coming up, and we’re gonna finally show those Crystal Preppers what it feels like to lose!”

Once again, someone from the bleachers called out, “How? By example?”

“Yeah, we never win against them!” someone else yelled. “They’ve already started their victory celebrations on MyStable!”

Sunset frowned, seeing her friends falter on stage. Her magic pulsed with that familiar static shock tingle when Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet. “So what!? We can win this year! Look at what we’ve already done!” Her wings flared, making her look much more imposing than her short stature allowed for, punctuating her statement with a visual reminder of the changes at the school.

Her own magic responding had the redhead on her feet before she could register getting up. “I thought you were Wondercolts,” she said cockily, hands on her hips. She could feel the eyes of every student in the room on her as well as the teachers…and the principals. “Are you telling me that you all are frightened of Crystal Prep…after you stood up to me? A bunch of stuck up rich kids who need their parents’ money to solve their problems are harder to challenge than the ‘Demon Queen of CHS?’ As if.” Sunset let just a hint of the old smirk play across her face, one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah!” Rainbow cried, leaping into the air with a fist held high. Her fluttering wings held her aloft as she spun around in a slow circle. “Where’s that Wondercolt Pride? We’ve fought evil magic, crazy demon fish horses, and pulled the whole school together to help Princess Twilight! A bunch of private school kids are nothing compared to all that!”

Sunset caught Flash’s eyes and lifted her chin, a subtle signal for him to go ahead with what she knew he was thinking. Her ex winked at her. “I don't know about you guys, but I dated Sunset—she’s way more terrifying on a bad day than anyone we’ll face at the Games.”

Pinkie giggled. “Have you seen the size of her boots? Those make me super glad you're on our side now, Sun-Shim!”

“It's just Sunset, Pinkie!” she yelled back, half laughing now at the over the top act of her zany friend mock cowering behind Flash Sentry.

“Hide me!” she heard.

Flash looked bewildered. “Hide you? From Sunset? Sorry, Pinkie, friendship’s magic and all that, but a wise man knows not to get between his ex-girlfriend and her target!”

The pair made a spectacle of trying to throw the other into the ‘line of fire,’ all while Sunset stood in the bleachers, rolling her eyes. “It's probably a good thing I’m not trying to get them,” she joked rather loudly to her friends nearby. “With all of that, I’d’ve already kicked their butts and gone out for pizza afterwards.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and she felt good as she found her seat again. Pinkie, who had ‘tripped’ Flash and was hiding behind a fake tree belonging to the drama department, peeked out. “Pssst, Flash!” she whisper-yelled into the mic. “I think it's safe! We gave her the slip!”

The blue haired youth stopped cowering behind a box. “Oh good. We’re safe now—take it from me, guys, those boots are a deadly weapon. It's like getting kicked by a horse!”

As a unit, her friends—led by Pinkie—yelled, “Pony!”

More laughter, and the mood in the crowd had brightened, the faint stirrings of discontent and frustration scattered to the winds by Sunset’s willingness to make her own poor history a point of pride for the school. It…took a lot of the sting out of the reminder, she realized, when she was the one bringing it up as something other than a slip of the tongue or reference to the girls’ track record against magical threats.

It helped that once the attention was off her, she’d been put into a group hug by the girls around her—including Lyra and Bon-Bon—and Rarity had placed a worried hand on her wrist, asking quietly, “Are you alright, darling?”

“I’m…okay,” she said back, equally quiet under the booming audio from the microphones as Flash and Pinkie continued to talk up the Wondercolts in the upcoming Games. “…I…don't like it when I’m…raked over the coals…about what happened, but this is different. It's no secret that I used to be pretty awful to everyone, and…I don't know…they weren’t laughing at me. They were laughing at Flash and Pinkie acting ridiculous.”

“Because no one was making fun of you, Sunset…and I do apologize if it has felt that way in the past. We…do not intend to make you feel bad when we mention what occurred at the formal, I do hope you know that…” Rarity’s lips thinned into a worried frown.

The former unicorn hastened to prevent her friend from following that line of thought further. “I know, Rarity—it's never brought up with anger or anything like that, or directed at me. It's…a reminder…I don't like to have it brought up because looking back…” She rolled her shoulders, trying to push down the prickly feeling in her skin. “…looking back at it, I can see now how much of a miserable, unpleasant, nasty mare I was, and how I took all of my misery out on people here…when none of you humans were the source of how I felt...and when some of you even made the effort in the beginning…to be kind.” Her eyes met the tailor’s pointedly. “It reminds me how much I hated myself, and how I almost ruined everything forever…” The words she’d told her girlfriend came back to her. “…and all for something that was nothing but a delusional dream.”

“You…don't still hate yourself,” Fluttershy asked worriedly, “do you, Sunset?”

Shaking her head, Sunset hugged the other teen reassuringly. “No…I…worked through all of that because of the Battle of the Bands. Helping there, against the Sirens, being able to really start giving back to you girls and making things right in some small way with all the people I hurt…it…felt like…this weight…coming off me.”

“That’s good,” Lyra said firmly, “because you’ve been doing more than just ‘making things right.’ You’re a good friend now, Sunset, and you should be proud of who you are now.”

Her lips turned up at the corners when she glanced towards Lyra. “…I’m just trying to live up to what Twilight and the girls have taught me,” she admitted, knowing that after their discussion the former CPA student would get what she meant.

She was not disappointed when Lyra’s answering grin became more than a little mischievous and she winked at Sunset. “I bet Twilight’s proud of how far you’ve come too.”

Sunset fell silent. Lyra wasn’t wrong—Twilight had told her more than once how proud she was of her…and backed it up with more than a few kisses too. It felt good to hear it from others though, especially those who had suffered under her tyranny. It made her feel like she really was moving forward as a better pony…and a better person. She’d never forget how far she’d fallen, but it was definitely feeling as if it no longer hung quite so ominously over her head, with those around her concerned if she would fall back into her old ways. In many ways, it was a relief—

“Oh my heavens, what have they done with their outfits!?” Rarity exclaimed with horror.

The former unicorn jerked her head up. “Who? What?”

One pale hand gestured imperiously towards the cheerleaders who had taken center stage while Sunset had been talking. “There, darling! Look at what they’ve done to themselves!”

Blue-green eyes followed the gesture in puzzlement and confusion as the cheerleaders began some complex routine that was part dance, part gymnastics routine. “Um…” Sunset wasn't an expert on cheerleaders by any means but she’d seen them at the games and pep rallies she’d attended in the past, and they didn't look much different than any other time. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

Rarity huffed in exasperated annoyance. “Their skirts, Sunset, honestly, how does no one else notice the terrible stitching and the awful choice of materials? And don't get me started on the cut and style…”

Riiiiight. Skirts? Sunset tilted her head looking at the skirts more critically, but she couldn't figure out what her friend was talking about. They…seemed to be about what she expected…if shorter than most girls wore, exposing a host of long, lean legs to her eyes. Her gaze lifted to see if anyone besides Rarity had noticed anything. They hadn’t seemed to, though a number of the boys looked fairly invested in the routine…

Freaky monkeys and their hormones…

Sunset looked back at the cheerleaders, absently noting how the whole thing was meant to entice those who were attracted to the human female form. Even trying to imagine her girlfriend in one of those skirts didn't really make it any more interesting to watch, hunting for whatever Rarity was still complaining about.

“…it's nothing more than a cheap thrill to tease the boys and they could have done that without showing off the short shorts they are all wearing underneath the skirts to prevent flashing anyone…why, if they had just come to me, I could have designed…”

Sure, Sunset had snuck a few glances at Twilight’s rear and thighs, especially when she wore some of the tighter pajama pants, but she just couldn't picture her favorite bookworm in a skirt like that in a way that was appealing—the mental image was more comical than anything, of Twilight being flustered and awkward and that making her more clutzy than normal. The mental action sequence ended with Sunset having to catch her when she inevitably tripped and crashed into her.

Okay, so she would enjoy that part of it, but in her defense, Twilight was very huggable. And cute in a dorky way when she got all flustered.

Now that was an idea…

Looking at the skirts more intently, she wondered if she could find something in her favorite colors that did that when she moved…to wear in the privacy of the loft, of course, when Twilight was over? She could finagle a whole self defense lesson on fighting in a skirt to justify it…

Twilight would be a blushing, stammering mess in less than five minutes, and Sunset would enjoy absolutely every moment of it. It would make wearing a skirt like that worth it. She could even picture the expression on her girlfriend’s face, a twin to the one from the previous Saturday, eyes wide and cheeks practically glowing, mouth hanging slightly open.

Sunset liked the idea the more she thought about it, and wondered what other things she could do to elicit specific reactions from her best friend. Not just interest or embarrassment, but other things too, like surprise or delight, or even prod her into laughing. It could even be fun to try and predict how Twilight might react to something…

“…nset?”

She blinked, realizing that the cheerleaders were done and she’d gotten lost in thought for not one upbeat song, but three. “Huh?”

Lyra smirked at her, leaning close to one pointed pony ear so only Sunset could hear. Obliging, Sunset swiveled the appendage to catch what she whispered. “Look, I know Emerald Lace has an ass you can bounce a quarter off of, Sunset, but you probably should be a little more discreet if you want to enjoy the view.”

Her eyes bugged out of her skull at that. “What?!”

“It's considered rude and creepy to stare like that even if you're a girl.”

“But—I wasn't—it’s not—I don’t—” Sunset sputtered, feeling her face heat up.

Lyra laughed. “It’s okay if you were, Sunset. There's no harm in looking—Bonny and I look all the time. Just don’t be weird about it, or do it in places like the locker room, that’s all.”

“It's not like that!” she managed, face burning up. “I was lost in thought!” Her voice sounded shrill to her own ears.

“Okay,” the other girl said soothingly. “They must have been some good thoughts, though, judging by your expression.”

“…was working on plans for something I was going to do later,” Sunset offered nebulously.

Lyra glanced back at the cheerleaders hopping down from the stage, then towards Sunset, her face growing speculative. “Hmmm…”

“What?”

Her expression became a broad and cheery grin. “Go for it. You definitely have the figure to pull it off, Sunset.” Then she turned back to Bon-Bon and picked up a conversation with her, leaving Sunset staring and not sure how to feel.

Schooling her features before the rest of her friends noticed, Sunset forced her attention back to the pep rally—and resolved to be more careful about where her eyes were focused the next time she got lost in thought. Thankfully, the next bit of the event seemed safe—a couple of big guys from the lacrosse and football teams—Curly and a boy who insisted everyone call him ‘Teddy,’ if she remembered right—carrying the largest piñata Sunset had ever seen, shaped vaguely equine like and done in Crystal Prep’s colors in what, to Sunset, looked like a mockery of the official Wonderbolts stunt uniform. They brought it to a cable hanging down from the gym’s rafters, hooking it up and starting to hoist it up into the air.

A flash of light and bright blue smoke heralded the return of Flash and Pinkie on the stage, drawing her attention. As Pinkie bounced forward comically, Sunset caught a glimpse of Trixie backstage, the magician meeting her gaze briefly and giving her a slight nod. The former bully returned it—it looked like her guess about the silver haired braggart was at least a little accurate.

“Look-ee what we have here!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Where did this come from?!”

Flash smirked. “We caught the Crystal Prep Shadowcolt trying to sneak onto school grounds to see the Wondercolt!”

The pink girl gasped. “What was it doing there?! Planning a surprise party?”

“Maybe it was a forbidden romance?” Flash joked. He wiggled his brows suggestively at the crowd. That drew laughter and jeers from the assembled students, and he held up his hands placatingly. “Okay, okay, you're right. It probably wasn't fraternizing with the enemy. It was probably part of the plan to redecorate the Wondercolt…but it failed! So what should we do to the Shadowcolt?”

“I think the cheerleaders have a suggestion,” Pinkie giggled.

Sure enough, several of the cheerleaders had stepped back out on the floor with a detached broom handle that had been painted blue and gold.

“I think you're right—hey girls! See about finding an audience volunteer! Get some participation going!” The proclamation made people yell, stand and wave, or stomp their feet, eager to get picked to have a shot at the piñata. A shiver passed through Sunset at the barely restrained violence bubbling to the surface in her classmates—she wasn't sure what bothered her more at this point: the predatory aggression surrounding her, or the way the mood tugged on a part of her that had frightened her own kind that would fit right in with the humans around her. She also wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that question.

The cheerleaders went into a huddle to confer, before one of them skipped over to retrieve someone from the bleachers, a quiet, but awkwardly smiling Bulk Biceps. The towering frame of the surprisingly sweet and kind boy was led almost by the hand out into the center and turned in a circle to show him the cheering, excited crowd. Bulk’s pale cheeks were flushed, but he smiled and waved at everyone, before the painted stick was pressed into his hands.

“Go ahead, Bulk!” Flash called. “Give that Shadowcolt your best shot!”

Looking at the stick, Bulk gave a testing jab at the piñata’s side, only to look startled when he ended up going straight through it and out the other side….and then the stick got stuck inside it and Bulk started trying to wiggle it free, sending it bouncing and swinging on its tether wildly.

“Oh maaaan,” Pinkie called. “It’s super good piñatas don't feel pain! Cuz that looks like it would hurt!”

“Then maybe it's good we stuck to a piñata instead of kidnapping the real mascot like some people suggested,” Flash joked. “I’m fairly sure the fursuit Shadowcolt is not filled with a candy surprise.”

“And who can say no to free candy?!” Pinkie seemed aghast at the very notion. It was Pinkie Pie, Sunset mused, so the odds of that being exactly the case were…pretty high.

Meanwhile, Bulk’s efforts to free the stick had torn open the side and taken off most of one front leg, candy spilling out onto the floor. He was grinning happily now, as the cheering and chanting rose to a fever pitch, and he completely forgot the stick as he yelled out, “Wondercolts! Yeah!” and struck the neck of the faux-mascot with one melon sized fist. The piñata didn't stand a chance.

Candy, tissue paper, and bits of paper-mache exploded onto the gym floor, and the cheer squad scattered, grabbing handfuls of sweets and tossing them into the crowd of students. Two of them were parading Bulk around like a king, holding his arms up in a victory pose.

The cheers had turned to excited laughter, as people jumped and scrabbled for the candy. Even Sunset found herself laughing as candy pelted her, fingers reaching and snatching the sweets from the air. A few pieces she tucked into her jacket pocket for later, but most of it she passed to her friends around her—she still had a bag full of much better candy from her girlfriend’s house. “You know, this is…actually kind of fun when I’m not trying to put on a show or hated by the student body,” she commented to Fluttershy, handing the animal lover some mini 3 Musketeers bars.

“I’m glad to hear you're having fun,” came the soft murmur in response. “I…don't usually like these things, but I want to support Dashie because I know they're going to to pick her for the Games.”

“Yeah…I…figured I’m going to be cheering Dash and some of you girls on from the sidelines,” Sunset agreed. “Though I draw the line at embarrassing posters and body paints,” she quipped.

“Hoo boy…now don't give Rares no ideas,” Applejack warned. That earned her a swat from a pale hand and a petulant frown from the tailor.

“No promises—she probably could design spirit-wear that doesn't look terrible.” Sunset grinned unrepentantly.

“Already done, darling. Tasteful Wondercolt spirit-wear designs have been submitted to the student council, and the designs have gone through. They’ll be sold as part of a pre-Games fundraiser in March.” Rarity smiled. “I do hope all of you will consider purchasing something—the money goes back into the school, into the Spirit and Dance Committee, and a good portion will fund prom this year.”

Sunset smiled back and nodded, mentally doing some budgeting math. She might have to contact Max and have him increase her monthly budget. Having a social life and a girlfriend was not going to be sustainable much longer on what went into her account, and there was no way she could find the time for a job right now, not with all the magic problems. Maybe over the summer? If the magic settled down and they stopped whatever was going on that possibly involved CPA students…or at least the one CPA student she cared about. “I’m sure we’ll all find something to support the—”

Thud-Thud. Clap.

Her sentence ended abruptly, as the noise ripped from the speakers with bass she could feel. Sunset took a long second to realize what the thumping noise had been, and her eyes widened as her hackles prickled. It came again, the sound of heavy boots on a hard surface and she remembered the one thing that had always bothered her most about pep rallies…

Stomp-Stomp. Clap.

It was downright unnerving, watching some seven or eight hundred humans fall utterly silent in less than ten seconds, every single set of eyes drawn to the stage where Flash and Pinkie were already getting in on the percussion.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

The bleachers vibrated from the force of the entire student body, even her friends around her, joining in on the opening to a song that seemed to be the go-to song for riling up sports fans and high schoolers alike. It didn't seem to matter that her research into music history told her that this song was older than some of the teachers, let alone the student body, every human she’d ever seen exposed to it seemed to know all the lyrics and felt the urge to sing and stomp and yell along with it at the top of their lungs.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

If the earlier yelling and cheering had left her feeling rising aggression and predatory dominance from the crowd, this was on a whole other level. The music hadn't even started yet, and people were on their feet, a rising fervor sweeping through them like some kind of pack mentality.

In every pep rally prior to this, Sunset had been forced to grit her teeth and fight the instincts in her hindbrain that wanted to either challenge the predators or run away before they decided mare was on the menu. It had always left her unsettled, and after the third or so pep rally in the first year she’d been in the school, she had always pretended to need a bathroom break about halfway through so she could miss this part.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

Then Applejack was pulling her and Fluttershy up with help from Lyra, and a surge of something went through her. She didn't feel the urge to leave…

No.

She wanted to join in.

And when Fluttershy grinned at her and raised her own foot to stomp in time with everyone else, Sunset Shimmer followed suit, her boot slamming down in a way, that to a pony, was even more a gesture of raw aggression than to a human.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

She’d never really done any illicit substances—there was one Gala where she had drank way too much champagne for a thirteen year old filly, but that had also been when she’d almost gotten into it with some of the aristocrats present too. And despite the greenhouse accident that left an entire three terraces of Upper Canterlot higher than a pegasus setting a flight record, she had avoided anything that might have messed with her head…but she was starting to feel like she had heard people describe being drunk or high…

A buzzing tingle had taken up residence in her brain, and was traveling down her spine and through her nerves, leaving her heart racing and her emotions swirling. She wasn't in danger because she was part of this herd, this pack, this group, and their enemies were her enemies, and she would protect them from those who sought to bring them harm. Or humiliation, or distress, or anything like it.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

Her magic agreed, pulsing under her skin and then out in a nimbus of scarlet flames that somehow didn't burn the friends around her. As she laid her ears back and slammed her hoo—boot, she was human right now—into the wood with such force that it stood out even among a sea of noise, the magic in her leapt to her friends, reaching out for familiar tendrils within them, and pulled them to the surface.

This was their school, and they weren’t going to let anything bad happen, even losing the Games.

STOMP-STOMP. CLAP.

Then the lyrics started, Rainbow Dash jamming in the air near them with sparks of errant energy bursting and popping, drawn close by magic that called to Its own. All around the girls—when did Pinkie end up in the bleachers, bouncing and screaming along like everyone else?—the air was glittering with rainbows refracted again and again off the crystalline manifestations of Rarity’s powers, and the wood of the bleachers creaked warningly under Applejack’s boots…

Sunset couldn't focus on anything but the rush of magic and adrenaline, of fire and flame and the powerful connection between herself, the five girls with her, and the Elements of Harmony, of the tsunami of feelings and emotions she was drowning in, screaming the lyrics she would have sworn that morning she did not know as if they were engraved on her scarred soul like a defiant epitaph to the Sunset Shimmer she had once been.

Ok. Not gonna lie. I loved doing this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.

More of "Sunset's naturally a horse" at the start--horsey ears are very very telling about an equine's mood, especially because where I've noticed dogs and cats tend to use ears together in a lot of body language, horses tend to use them individually as much as together.

Of course, humans do have this weird ability to communicate cross species. So much of our brains is devoted to abstraction and communication that we don't think about how complicated it really is to learn other methods of communication...yet all we really have to do is be motivated in the right environment or exposed to forms of communication at a young age, and humans can learn a complex language in...a few years or less. And the fact that we can both interpret and mimic other species is pretty nuts. (We've had our current cat for about 1.75 years, and I've already memorized a dozen different vocalizations and behaviors that mean different things. I can tell his "I want to play with Cat-Mom [my spouse]!" meow from his fussy "Its dinner time!" cry to his "hey, my water is unsatisfactory, please fix it" mews, and dont get me started on the conversations I used to have as a teenager with my dog Molly, where we'd grumble and woof and growl back and forth.) And that doesnt even begin to get into how humans have changed the psychology of our closest companion animals like dogs and cats.

All of this is completely different for Sunset, who wasnt born human, and has no instinctual reference for humans. Her ancestors weren't domesticated by talking apes. So she had to learn by natural perception and intuition and a little reading. (We can do that too--psychologists make an entire study of reading non-verbal cues, and some people are particularly adept at it naturally.) So yeah, she's having a moment of "...that's really unfair. Stupid apes."

She does let a few things slip about CSGU--you cant tell me a magic school wouldnt be prepared for a few awkward accidents. Magic can be dangerous, after all. Of course, Lyra is all into cryptids, and given that she's of an age to have read Harry Potter as a kid, of course the first thing she'd ask about is a class studying magical creatures.

Which gets into some of the Equestrian worldbuilding I've done. (I should really get back to the behind the scenes stuff). In this case, the whole "role of the guard" in Rubicon, which, as Sunset mentions, is less as a military and police force, and more this mix of park ranger, wildlife control, and guard force, whose biggest jobs involve patrolling major roadways, having outposts near groups of towns and villages, and dealing with monster problems that crop up, with the Wonderbolts as their air support. (Like the episode with Spike growing from greed.)

And of course, I make reference to some of the monsters. Most of these are from MLP itself, but I snuck a few others in there. I'll give a cookie to anyone who knows what I added and where I got it from.

Lessee...yes. I figured out how big ponies were, and looked up the weight of the average IRL pony of similar height and build. The four hundred pound range is accurate. Horses are heavy.

Pony weapons, that was fun. So many weapons would be a waste for a non-unicorn pony because ponies dont have fingers. Swords, for example, could exist, but likely would have been invented by other species who possess hands...because you need hands with an opposable thumb and all your fingers to properly use one. Plus, after the warring tribes era, ponies have avoided war as much as possible...so....many of their weapons would either be designed for monster fighting or be appropriated tools. (and most of the sentient races in equestria are quadrapeds. We didnt use swords against cavalry, we used pikes.) Couple that with magic and ranged tools and they fight in a completely different way than humans. So that was fun. I like to imagine that ponies have a few weapons humans have no concept of, because they are meant for ponies.

Straight up, having Flash and Pinkie MC the Pep Rally was hilariously fun to write. The pep rally was modeled after the dozen or so I went to in my own high school career 20 years ago, so yeah. I've been informed by my editor/co-writer that they are a distinctly american phenomenon. She was bemused by the whole concept.

Look! School Spirit! Even Sunset found a little. She's not been impressed by CPA students, so there's a little pride and ego in the "fuck that, you guys faced me down, and you're afraid of these stuffed shirts? Come oooooooooon."

Also, jokes about Sunset's boots. You know she's used them on a few people.

Lyra's a bit of a cheeky bitch. Gotta love that.

...and magic. Oops?

As for the bit at the end....I don't think I even need to name the song. If you don't know what song it is by the percussion line and the fact that its a song used at pep rallies and sporting events for riling up the crowd, then I'm not sure we can be friends any more.

...it feels a little appropriate to close out the chapters posted in Pride month with a reference to a song by a queer icon. :}