BURNING SUNSET TO THE PUBLIC – OR –BURNING SUNSET HAS NEW FRIENDS
It was a Monday of a normal week in Ponyville. The school bell rang for class to start. The fillies in this town were heading towards the Ponyville Schoolhouse. Also, like every other weekday, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were bullying Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Cheerilee walked up to the front of the class and took her seat behind her desk.
"Let's quiet down please," Cheerilee humbly spoke. "We have a new student joining us today." After the teacher said that, the whole class broke into a conversation.
"I wonder who the student is?" asked Apple Bloom to the rest of her friends. "Is the new student like us… you know with no Cutie- Marks?" She heard a scoff behind her.
"I hope not," Silver Spoon said. "If he or she is, then it won't be long until the whole class is piled up with 'Blank- Flanks'!" Suddenly, the door opened and everyone shushed down. The class then saw a red Earth pony with a blazing red mane walk into the room, slightly nervous because every pony was looking at him. The Cutie-Mark Crusaders also noticed that he didn't have a Cutie-Mark, but Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were too busy being fixated on the new filly's burning mane.
"Okay, my little ponies… can you stop staring at him?" Cheerilee asked, "He's getting nervous." Most of the fillies didn't even listen to their teacher. They just kept looking at the new filly in their class.
"ENOUGH!" yelled Cheerilee, getting the attention of every-pony in the class. "Now that I have every-pony's attention, my little pony, can you come in front of the class and say your name?" The filly, who nervously walked to the front of the class, said his name.
"Burning Sunrise," the filly answered. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo gasped at his name.
"I heard he took the Princesses hostage yesterday at their old castle!" Apple Bloom whispered to the rest of the Cutie-Mark Crusaders.
"I heard he summoned some evil spirit to finish off Princess Celestia!" Sweetie Belle whispered back.
"I heard that his mane isn't that color but that there is actually a Phoenix on his back!" Scootaloo joined in.
"Excuse me, Burning Sunrise, but why is your mane glowing red and on fire?" asked a random filly in the class. Burning Sunrise chuckled nervously.
"Ah… I… ah," he tried to answer. Fortunately, another question was asked. Unfortunately, this was a bad question for his seemingly-innocent reputation.
"Is it true you took the Princesses hostage at their old castle, and that you also summoned some evil spirit to finish off Princess Celestia?" Apple Bloom asked. All eyes were locked at the new filly; the new filly's pupils shrank. Burning Sunrise had to think of some story to convince them that he didn't actually mean to do it!
"Why, Apple Bloom, that's the most absurd story I've ever heard!" Ms. Cheerilee exclaimed. "Where in Equestria did you hear that?"
"Applejack told me that he took Princesses Celestia and Luna hostage at the Castle of the Two Sisters and Rarity told Sweetie Belle that he summoned a large Phoenix to finish off Princess Celestia!" Apple Bloom blurted out, before realizing her mistake. Ms. Cheerilee was now looking at the new filly with a raised eyebrow. Luckily, Burning Sunrise knew how to tell the story of yesterday's account without telling every-pony in the classroom.
"Ms. Cheerilee, can I talk to you alone?" he asked. The teacher hesitantly nodded and walked closer to the new filly. Burning Sunrise told her all about yesterday; the big mistakes he made. Cheerilee gasped at some of his words, but understood his mistaken situation perfectly.
"I see," she said when he was finished. She looked back at the other students, but they got bored so they started talking to each other again. "And your burning mane is a Phoenix?" Burning Sunrise nodded at this. "So it wasn't your fault; it was just your thought. Let us keep this a secret for now…" The new filly nodded and took a seat nearest to him.
"So, Ms. Cheerilee, am I correct?" Apple Bloom asked. Ms. Cheerilee knew what the new filly was thinking even though she didn't even look at his direction.
"You see, it wasn't exactly him," she lied. "An evil spirit took his soul and made him take Princesses Celestia and Luna. He also summoned that giant Phoenix to try to finish off Princess Celestia. If the Mane 6 hadn't arrived in time to call back the Phoenix and the spirit that was controlling Burning Sunrise here, all havoc would've broken loose." Even though the teacher had lied, the students were still interested. Rather Burning Sunrise had told the whole class about his long-existing clan or if Ms. Cheerilee lied about some 'spirit' taking over him, they would still have the same reaction. Only the Cutie-Mark Crusaders knew that she was lying, and that Burning Sunrise had actually taken the two princesses of Canterlot and called forth a large Phoenix without the 'evil spirit' that Ms. Cheerilee lied about. Why else would he talk to the teacher alone?
The bell rang a few seconds later. Every-pony was walking outside of the classroom, with the exception of the new filly. He had no idea what was going on.
"Ms. Cheerilee, what is going on?" he asked. Ms. Cheerilee, who was stacking papers on her table, looked at the new filly. In her eyes was the look of 'Is this filly kidding?' and in his was the look of 'I'm new here, remember?'
"You seriously don't know what's going on?" Ms. Cheerilee asked, before the new filly shook his head firmly. The teacher then remembered his little backstory. "Oh, right, never mind the question I had just asked you. Right now is recess, the time where fillies can go play and take a break." Burning Sunrise turned around and was about to touch the doorknob, when Ms. Cheerilee continued: "Oh yeah, and after recess, every-filly goes home!"
"Burning Sunrise, over here!" exclaimed Apple Bloom as the new filly stepped out of the classroom. He looked around the playground and noticed three familiar fillies, one of which was brought back that horrible memory. Sighing deeply in his mind, he walked towards his caller. "Look, I'm sorry for that outburst back then. I didn't know what came in me, so I hope you can forgive me?" Burning Sunrise looked at Apple Bloom for a few seconds, and actually saw that she wasn't kidding.
"Yeah, of course," Burning Sunrise said with a straight voice. Even though he was looking down and away from Apple Bloom, he could feel her presence still at him. Burning Sunrise gave her a small but sincere smile, knowing that she wanted to know if he was actually okay.
"When Ms. Cheerilee said that some evil spirit took your soul yesterday and caused you to do those stuff, I knew that she was lying from the start," Apple Bloom said. Burning Sunrise looked at her, slightly shocked.
"What – What-ever are you talking about?" he asked, getting a smirk from Apple Bloom. "Okay, okay, the 'evil spirit' stuff wasn't true. I did, indeed, take Princesses Celestia and Luna as hostage." There was silence as he, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stared at a random direction.
"So… are you going to tell us why?" Sweetie Belle asked. The new filly was about to respond when another bell was heard.
"Time to go home, my little ponies!" exclaimed Ms. Cheerilee. The four fillies stood up and walked to the entrance of the schoolyard.
"Hey, Burning Sunrise, how about you come with us to Sugar-Cube Corners for some sugary snacks," Scootaloo offered. "You know, in exchange for some of those stories of yours…?" Burning Sunrise rolled his eyes but agreed to the terms.