Sunset patted Flash on the shoulder. “Do the rest of the homework problems from that section just like that, and then I’ll walk you through the second batch and how to do them.” Then she stepped back to survey the cafeteria.

The unofficial tutoring she and her friends had started had grown into a huge hit after school, with students coming in for help but also offering it, leading to small clusters at different tables where the tutors held court over the handful of people needing their help, or pairs and trios of kids going through their homework and taking turns helping each other. Even though it was only once a week, many of the regular attendees had bragged about drastic improvements in their worst classes—like Dash, who had gone from almost failing to a solid B+ in her math class. It certainly had helped Sunset’s own history grade where she had even managed to get an A (if barely) on her last essay. She would never be top of the class in the subject, but it was better than the C she had been struggling to maintain since she started human school.

One hand slipped into her pocket to retrieve her phone, checking worriedly for a response to her earlier text. Twilight had been quite chatty that morning and at certain points during the day, but had gone fairly quiet after school let out. Sunset hoped it was just that her nerd had gotten invested in working on her project and nothing more sinister. Her phone showed no new messages, which made her crib her thumb in order to resist the sudden urge to hurl the phone at the wall.

It didn't help that her agitated worry was being paired with the burning hum of want and desire that lay just under her skin and craved privacy and Twilight’s touch. The mixture was leaving her on edge and ready to crawl out of her own hide at the slightest provocation. She’d nearly melted another guitar during lunch practice when Pinkie had startled her and three separate times during the day she’d accidentally set things on fire, leaving her hands reddened and slightly painful from minor burns. Each time, that stupid little voice had mocked her from its cage, even as it tried to talk her into letting it out. Sunset wasn't sure she’d make it to afternoon the next day before she combusted, and was already planning for a very long shower when she finally got home.

As she slid the phone back in her pocket, she happened to gaze out one of the windows, her eyes sliding across the lawn and parking lot, past the trees that were only just starting to blend in with the foliage in the surrounding neighborhood as spring was coming into full swing everywhere else. It was a rainy day, but the sort of warmer rain that made it clear winter was over for good, rather than the icier varieties that plagued them over the colder season.

Then her eyes found a color and pattern that shouldn't be there, a pattern she almost overlooked because she was used to seeing it on her best friend’s slight frame. For a minute, she was worried something had happened to drive Twilight to CHS for help.

Except that wasn't one person, it was two, and one of them was clearly a boy. Both were Crystal Prep students, dressed in the uniform, lingering on the sidewalk outside the school and staring right at her from under their shared black umbrella. “What the—?” she managed, trotting to the window to get a better look. This had the side effect of alerting the entire room to something going on.

A rush of air and Dash was at her side, looking out across the school yard. “Oh hell no,” she hissed. “Not on my watch! There’ll be no mascot statue vandalism this year! Flash, grab Teddy and Curly and tell them to meet me by the statue! Flitter, Kicks, you're with me!”

Before she could storm off, Sunset grabbed her elbow. “They may not be here about the statue, Dash. Don't give them anyone’s names, and don't answer any questions that might be about the magic.”

Her friend nodded and took off, two of her teammates on her heels. They hit the side door exit a few heartbeats later, and Sunset could see them heading across the grass right towards the pair of CPA students. What followed was a tense exchange with Dash clearly giving them an open challenge and the pair finally backing down when half the boy’s lacrosse team showed up right from the practice field, caked in mud and all carrying their sticks.

“Guess they didn't want to face down an entire sports team,” Bon-Bon observed idly.

Sunset snorted. “I’m not sure I’d want to face down five to one odds against a dozen big guys all armed with metal staves either, and I can set things on fire,” she pointed out wryly.

Laughter rippled through the room, cutting some of the tightly wound tension in everyone but Sunset herself. She refused to look away as the CPA students vanished from sight, or as Rainbow held a brief discussion with the various athletes, sending them scattering to search the school yard for any other lurkers. Her stomach twisted when Dash finally turned back towards the school, meeting her eyes with a grim expression that told her everything she needed to know.

It had never been about the Wondercolt statue at all. They were watching for her, trying to spy for their principal.

—For their master,— the voice within corrected. —Don't be fooled into thinking that thing that calls itself Principal there is in charge of anything. It’s a slave…one just as sick and twisted as its master, but still bound in servitude.—

A shiver went through her. This was bad.

Dash’s words played back through her mind as Sunset headed for the office.

“They were looking for you, Shimmer. Described you and everything. Tried to say you got into a fight with one of theirs. Total bullshit, and I told them off. No names, like you said—they didn’t like that. And I could feel it—the evil magic. It was like being covered in diesel exhaust. No wonder it makes you puke.”

There were magics…old ones, sympathetic ones, that could affect a pony if you had something of theirs: blood, hair, saliva…even deeply personal objects or anything imbued with their magic. A lot of families had magic like that, tied to blood and kinship, especially the old unicorn ones. There were even theories that you could use a cutie mark in some way to connect you to a specific pony magically for a spell or ritual—something Sunset suspected was more than supposition, given Princess Twilight’s notes on cutie marks.

It made her wonder…could names be used the same way? The stupid little voice seemed to think so. A shudder went through her. That was a terrifying thought.

Either way, the principals needed to know that she was being stalked now, by CPA students. That Cinch might be…fishing for information. So she had left the tutoring in Rarity’s hands and headed across the building. Now, as she neared the office, she could hear a raised voice, one that sent even greater shivers down her spine. Principal Celestia was very upset at someone.

“—have about had it with your overblown sense of entitlement and self-aggrandizement, Abacus,” the principal barked sharply, her voice carried into the main part of the office through a partially open door. “You are a high school principal, not some ancient feudal queen or oil baroness from the nineteenth century!”

In the space of heavy silence, Sunset crept into the main office, where Raven Inkwell and Vice Principal Luna both stood in uncomfortable and somewhat dumbfounded disbelief, staring at the door to the principal’s office. Her arrival netted a quick glance from Luna and a motion for continued silence.

“The last time I checked, your authority extends the edges of the schoolyard and until the moment school lets out for the day,” Celestia countered whatever had been said. “And only for those students whose parents made the mistake of entrusting an arrogant witch like you with them. There is no policy or rule of law that says a student from another school cannot come to the parking lot of yours after school has ended to provide one of your students a ride.”

Sunset felt the urge to bang her head into the nearest wall. This was getting ridiculous.

“No, I absolutely will not divulge that information to you! You heard me! N. O. No. A statement to the negative. A denial of your request. A student parked after school for ten minutes in your parking lot with a legally owned and operated vehicle is perfectly allowed within law, and you have no justification for demanding personal information about one of my students who just happens to be friends with one of yours.”

Her vice principal turned towards her with a raised eyebrow and made a motion towards the door, then towards Sunset questioningly. Sunset nodded and mouthed, ‘Picking up Twilight,’ at her. Luna rolled her eyes in response.

“At this point, I grow weary of your whining, Abacus. Were it my choice I would have canceled the Friendship Games my first year in this position, solely to be able to minimize the amount of time I am forced to spend listening to the incessant whining of an arrogant, self centered egomaniac like you. And while I lack the political capital in the city to talk the board into completely eliminating this farce of a competition, I do have some influence of my own. You will stop attempting to dig into any of my student body, and cease whatever campaign of harassment you’ve concocted to get even with a teenage girl and my sister for having to come to your campus and do your job for you, or I swear to God, I will be on the phone to the FBI and the state to report your sudden and unhealthy fixation on a high school student who doesn’t even attend that Hellhole you have the audacity to refer to as a school. Have I made myself perfectly clear, Abacus?”

Silence, expectant and pointed.

And then, “Unless there has been a law broken or it's in regards to the Games, do not call me again. I neither need nor want your advice on how to run a school. Given that none of my students are currently looking at potential felony charges for theft and vandalism, I would say I feel pretty confident in Canterlot High’s methods of dealing with student behavior.”

The phone was slammed into its cradle with the sound of heavy plastic, and Principal Celestia let out a noise that was practically a growl. “The nerve of that woman!”

“That makes three calls since last week’s incident,” Luna observed casually, pushing the door open to the principal’s office all the way. “She is getting desperate for some reason.”

Principal Celestia turned and jolted at the sight of Sunset standing there. “I apologize, Sunset, if you overheard any of that. I should have shut my door, but I was not expecting the call.”

Gripping her elbow awkwardly, the former bully shook her head. “It's fine, Principal Celestia—I was actually coming here to warn you about pretty much the same thing.” She paused, grimacing. “At least, if that was Principal Cinch calling about me.”

A frown marred the woman’s features. “It was. She was…demanding to know your name and information because of your trespassing and assault of students at her school.” Her eyes met Sunset’s and she hastened to add, “It was very apparent to me that it was a complete fabrication—even when you were troubled, you did not make a habit of attacking other students.”

Sunset sighed. “I’ve been picking Twilight up from CPA this week right after school. I told Miss Luna about it, so I could get permission to leave a few minutes early from my last class.”

“I am aware,” Principal Celestia responded with a gentle smile. “Luna told me on Monday at lunch, and I am very proud of you for going out of your way to support someone in need, Sunset. Are you willing to come into my office and tell us what actually occurred?”

When she nodded, the three of them convened in the principal’s office with the door shut. Sunset then outlined the previous two days picking her girlfriend up from school, and all the different people—mostly boys—who had approached and tried to chat her up, who she had realized were fishing for her name, or where she lived, or anything else that could be used against her. She talked about her magic’s negative reaction, how she had somehow accidentally burned one of the nicer people to talk to her when she shook his hand…and then graduated to explaining why she was even there that day.

“Rainbow and the lacrosse team chased them away, but Rainbow said that they were trying to get my name.” The redhead sagged against the wall, hugging herself. “I’m sorry, Principal Celestia. I know the magic is part of why she’s looking into me, but I didn't realize she’d be this intent on finding out who I am.”

The two women exchanged a long look, and her principal folded her hands on her desk. “Sunset, you have no reason to apologize. You did not do anything wrong. It is Abacus Cinch who has crossed just about every conceivable line possible, and what she is doing is towing the line between unpleasant and illegal levels of harassment and abuse of her position. If there was no magic involved, her behavior would be extremely suspicious—she is not your principal or guardian, and her abrupt interest would be downright unacceptable and inappropriate.”

Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Actually, I would go so far as to refer to the behavior as predatory,” she remarked. “Removing our knowledge of magic, Miss Shimmer is a legally emancipated minor—children with troubled backgrounds are considered vulnerable and at risk for predators, because of the lack of adults invested in their safety and wellbeing.” There was a shrewdness there in stormy eyes. “Maybe we should add some more pressure from an external source by doing our due diligence as mandatory reporters and tip off someone higher than the local branches of the right Alphabet Soup Agencies.”

At this point the conversation was going over Sunset’s head. “Um…what? Are you saying you can get her in legal trouble for being nosy?”

Principal Celestia watched her for a minute, then seemed to come to some sort of realization. “That is a simplistic way of explaining it, yes. As educators, Luna and I are trained in recognizing behaviors that indicate a child may be in some kind of dangerous situation, such as abuse from a parent or guardian, and part of our jobs is being what is called a ‘mandatory reporter.’ That means we are required by law to inform the appropriate authorities if we even suspect a child is being targeted or harmed in some way by an adult, or we could lose our jobs and be investigated ourselves. This is true for teachers and principals, but also medical professionals, emergency service personnel, law enforcement, and anyone involved in social welfare organizations.”

The gears began to turn. “Would they investigate me?” she asked warily. She was certain her identity would hold up to most scrutiny, but she wasn't sure about how well it would do with being picked apart by a government agency. “I don't want to risk exposing myself and Equestria to the human government. We would never survive an invasion by your species. I might be an exile but I have to protect my homeworld.”

Principal Celestia frowned. “I don't think so, no. Other than taking a copy of your information for the file, the investigation would be against Abacus, since your first interaction with her was barely a week ago, in an emergency situation that your vice principal was present for. At most, you might be questioned by someone for your side of events…” She sighed. “I will not file such a report without your consent, Sunset, but only because I am aware of magic and the extenuating circumstances, but I am concerned with the level of interest she is showing. Can you think of why the magic there would need your information so badly?”

Tension that had begun to fade with the knowledge that her identity as a fairly illegal alien was safe returned with a vengeance at the new question. She wasn’t certain how much she wanted to believe what the voice inside had to say. “…it’s possible that if there is a mastermind behind all the magic there, they could be trying to figure out about our magic. Or they could be looking to use human means to remove me from the picture—there is something there targeting my Twilight specifically, and I’ve been trying to keep it away from her.” The former unicorn began to pace along one side of the room, scouring her brain for everything she could remember about sympathetic magic or attuning spells to a specific individual. “There are ways to use somepony’s identity to target them with spells or rituals, but those methods usually require something of the pony’s, like hair or blood or some object that they imbued with their magic or have a deep attachment to…”

She hesitated, then asked, “Is there a human belief in magic associated with a human’s name? That seems to be the one thing that keeps getting asked, and she was not happy when I did not offer my name last week—she even tried to get it from Miss Luna.”

The dark skinned woman’s brow furrowed. “I’d almost forgotten about that,” she commented. “…now that I think about it, some sort of nagging feeling told me not to use your name in the building.”

—Yeah, there was a reason for that,— came the snarky remark from Sunset’s internal peanut gallery. —And before you ask, yeah, it was a nudge to her from us. You knew then it was bad news to let them have your name.—

Feeling nauseous, Sunset ducked her head. “I felt the same way…and I’m beginning to think my magic has been reacting in ways I can't control and was completely unaware of, to combat whatever the source of the dark magic is. I’m sorry! I’m not trying to use magic to control minds again, I promise!” Her breath caught, as she recalled the way it had felt to dominate minds at the formal, enslaving them to her will. “I don't ever want to be that demon again!”

Luna stopped her with both hands on her shoulders. “Sunset Shimmer, look at me.” When she did, shaking and afraid of anger or reprisal, the woman squeezed her shoulders and fixed her with a firm stare. “It kept us safe, and you were the one who came out of the whole thing much worse for wear. If your magic had to influence me to not give the enemy an advantage, I can understand and respect the necessity—I could have chosen to ignore the feeling at any point, but I did not, because I have long learned to trust my instincts. At no point was I unable to act and think on my own. I was not enslaved or controlled.”

Sunset let out a low sound in her throat. “But…I didn't ask. My magic could have been making you feel and do things without permission. Just like the Sirens or at the formal when I turned into a demon.”

“It is not the same thing, Sunset,” Principal Celestia said gently. “Last week, your sole focus was on protecting Twilight Sparkle from both mundane assaults and magical ones. You did your best to keep that same twisted, evil magic away from her, from my sister, from Twilight’s family, at what sounds like a considerable cost and risk to yourself. It sounds to me that your magic may have reacted to a perceived threat with the best of intentions to protect the people you cared about to the best of your abilities. If part of that was your magic keeping those people from inadvertently opening the gates and letting the enemy inside the gates, then it did the right thing. There’s a very big difference between that and removing someone’s free will and right to choose. It’s certainly not what the Dazzlings did to the students and staff here—as one of their victims, I can speak from experience on that, and so can my sister. Do not punish yourself.”

She didn't have a response for that, and her innards churned. It still felt wrong, the idea of her magic pressing on others like that, even if it was to protect them. “…I still don't want to be doing that,” she mumbled, gripping her elbow tight. “And it doesn’t answer why the name thing is such a big deal.”

Principal Celestia glanced at a stack of books on a nearby shelf, one of which was a brand new hardback fantasy novel. “I do not know if it has any bearing on real magic, but in a number of tales from folklore and myth the concept of having a magical being’s True Name gives a person power over them. It sometimes appears nowadays in fiction. Could that be it?”

“True Name?” The former unicorn searched her memory.

“It stems from the idea that certain beings, unlike humans, have multiple names, and the one that is their truest identity is a very closely guarded secret. Faeries, some gods, demons, nature spirits, underworld guardians…” The vice principal had paced to the window to stare out at the statue. “Do you suppose such a legend might have originated in fact?”

—No, of course not,— snarked the stupid little voice rudely. —Clearly the warnings were just rampant paranoia and delusions of importance. What is it with no one wanting to believe two plus two equals four without four pages of citations?—

Maybe people—herself included—would be more inclined to actually believe such things if they didn’t come from what was either an abomination against the natural order lingering like a bad smell inside her thoroughly messed up soul or an extremely complex manifestation of a mental illness that did not bode well for the state of Sunset’s sanity.

—We really need to work on this self-loathing of yours, horn-head.—

“…in Equestria, most legends have a kernel of truth to them, so I don't see why that might not be true here too.” Sunset frowned, trying to ignore the voice. “We don't have…fairies, and gods…are a bit different, because ponies don't do religion. Princess Celestia actively discouraged that sort of thing, because it made her uncomfortable…but…” Her mind dug up some of the oldest legends. “There are stories…old stories, ones that are too old to prove, ones that are more fantasy than fact. Like Grogar, the Nightmare King, or the fox-folk story about how Inari bound their sibling to a form through a name…and it’s not names, but there are suggestions in a few books I…wasn’t technically supposed to have read about binding souls or imprisoning by their true essence, which I figured was about spell forms and getting a piece of them.”

Luna rested her palms on the window sill. “Then perhaps whatever is behind the magic at Crystal Prep believes you must operate under those rules. That may be to our advantage, because it leaves them scrambling in the wrong direction for a weapon against you and your friends, Miss Shimmer. It suggests that whoever or whatever is running the show—whether that is Abacus or someone else—is ignorant of your magic and how it works. That provides a tactical advantage.”

“And I dare say we can use every tactical advantage we can get.”

Despite her misgivings, Sunset couldn't help but feel her vice principal was right.

*Adds more fuel to the fire*

I want you all to know, writing Principal Celestia going off on Cinch on the phone was extremely cathartic. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Cinch and CPA are not prepared for the changed Canterlot High at all. No sirree. The Games are going to be a mess.

Seems like Cinch is also getting desperate.