(EGW)
The street just off Starswirl Crescent was full of neglected and dilapitated buildings and the further down the street Sunset's directions took them, the worse the scenery seemed to get. Admittedly, the first few houses on either side were relatively okay. But even the two appartment blocks that were on the street looked more hazardous than the school toilets - and those were pretty bad. Boards covered windows. Trash littered the yards and parking spaces. There were even some houses that were hidden thanks to the amount of overgrown foliage in the yards.
Applejack - who had managed to talk Fluttershy into letting her drive the minivan - now understood why Sunset Shimmer had been so reluctant to allow anyone even near her place. Poor Rarity actually felt like she was going to be sick as she looked out the van window and onto what humanity could turn a place into. In fact, both she and Fluttershy had decided to concern themselves with looking after Rainbow Dash, who sat between them. Even Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were trying to immerse themselves in things other than what was beyond the minivan windows.
Only Sunset seemed to be interested in what was going on down her street. She almost had this hungry look in her eyes as she eyed the piles of junk that were strewn across the street. She also seemed to have at least one eye on all the people who were out and about, almost like she was trying to determine if the people who rummaged through the trash or who slept wherever shelter permitted were any threat to either herself or her friends.
Finally, as the car neared the end of the street, Sunset looked up from a particular pile of trash and noticed where exactly they were on the street.
“ It’s this one coming up on the left.” She said, pointing to an old looking house with a relatively clean yard despite the need for a good mowing.
Applejack nodded and pulled into the driveway, taking note of the fact that there was barely anything in the yard at all. She had noticed the couple of garbage bins to the side of the house, peaking over the tall grass, and the mailbox looked like it had seen better days, tied to what looked like the remains of an old chimney stack with wooden boards and chain ropes keeping it in place. Even the house number looked to have been painted on. And that was despite the amount of graffiti that littered the garage doors.
“ Are ya sure about this?” the farmer asked, getting a bad feeling in her stomach at the sight of the house.
“ You wanted me to bring you to my place; I brought you to my place.” Sunset replied curtly. “ Now wait a minute and I’ll open up the garage for you. Tanker and his boys are out. Don’t want him pulling the van apart on us.”
With that, Sunset dug through her bag and pulled out her keychain; the same one with the skeleton key. Then she was out of the van and opening the right-side garage door so that Applejack could drive through. But then she disappeared for a few minutes as Applejack parked the minivan, not showing up until after almost everyone was out of the vehicle. Without a word, Sunset flicked the garage light switch before closing the garage door and locking it once more.
“ Why the tight security?” Twilight asked as soon as Sunset returned her attention back to her friends.
“ Did you not see the state of the street outside?” Sunset replied rather rudely. A few seconds later, she realised just how she had spoken. And she didn’t need to look at the taken aback expressions on her friend’s faces to know it. “ Sorry. Just cautious… especially with Tanker and his boys out and about. This place is supposed to be abandoned, after all.”
“ Just who are Tanker an’ his boys?” Applejack asked.
“ We’ll talk more once we get Rainbow Dash sorted.”
Rainbow Dash was still unconscious in the back of the van. Applejack wasn’t sure if it was because of whatever had tempted her to stand and walk that had really knocked her for six or if it was because she was just a really heavy sleeper. Judging by the snore the girl gave as she was moved from the van to the wheelchair, it was more than likely a combination of both (not even the Rainbow Dash she knew could have slept through accidentally getting her head bumped on the roof of the car). Regardless, Applejack still took hold of the handles and wheeled the sleeping Rainbow Dash over to the door that lead into the house itself.
“ I’m just going to say this now,” Sunset was saying, “ but I’m sorry for any messes or lack of things I happen to have around the place. Also, I hope these doorways can fit a wheelchair.”
Luckily, the wheelchair could get through the doors quite easily. It was the step from the garage into the house that posed a minor issue, but that was easily solved by a backwards lift by Applejack.
The first room beyond the living room was where Sunset slept, so Rainbow was placed on her bed to rest while Sunset led everyone else into the kitchen, pointing out the bathroom as they passed it. Sunset also cautioned about going onto the patio when Rarity tried to let some light into the living room, stating that the patio was decrepit and that it wasn’t safe to be seen outside or living in a supposedly abandoned house, as well as keeping out of the other two rooms in the house.
Once in the kitchen, it was easy to see exactly what Sunset had to live with. The dining room table was a mash of steel surface on mismatched wooden and brick legs that the girl had made the same length, and the four chairs weren’t that much different other than the fact that they had patched up cushions resting on them. There were very few kitchen appliances; a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and an oven with a stove top. There was no fridge.
Being the good friend that she was, Sunset pulled out a packet of biscuits from one of the cupboards as well as filled some glasses with water from the tap before disappearing once more into another part of the house, leaving the other five girls to talk amongst themselves about the state of their friend’s living conditions. Of course, the conversation was cut short as soon as Sunset entered the room with a few more chairs that she had managed to scrounge up from elsewhere. Unfortunately, the second she returned amongst her friends, Sunset Shimmer knew that she was the source for the current topic of conversation.
“ Everything okay in here?” She asked, trying not to let on to the fact that she knew she was being talked about.
“ Everything’s just fine, Sunset, dear.” Rarity replied.
“ You sure? You guys went kinda quiet pretty quickly.”
“ We’re just…” Fluttershy started before being forced to stop thanks to the look Rarity was giving her.
Sunset allowed herself a smile as she somehow found room to fit two more chairs around her small dining table. It was obvious to her that her friends didn’t really want to hurt her feelings considering the circumstances, but a part of her also wished that they would just say it so that there was nothing awkward going on between them. To be honest, it almost made her wish that Rainbow was awake due to her tendency to be quite blunt at times. Alas, she had to make do with what she had.
“ You’re all worried about me because I live in a house that’s supposed to be abandoned, with next to nothing except whatever happens to be a descent find in either a pile of junk on the side of the road or in the junk yard.” She guessed anyway.
The sea of guilty looks confirmed her suspicions but all she could do was give them all a soft smile as she made herself a cup of tea using the powdered milk she kept in the cupboard.
“ You don’t need to worry about me, guys.” She said, after offering her friends some tea. “ I’ve learnt how to care for myself around here ever since I found the place when I first arrived in this world. And half of what I earn goes into savings, anyway.”
“ But why live in such a… dreary state?” Rarity found herself asking.
“ My money goes into living, Rarity. I still need to pay for water and electricity, not to mention food and personal clothing. Plus I have to pay off Celestia and the school. I rarely get much for myself; that’s why all the furniture I own has been someone else’s junk at one point or another. I just fix them up so that I can use them.”
“ An’ mah guess is that ya fight fer the best stuff with that Tanker fellow?” Applejack asked.
“ Not really. Tanker is kind of like a crime boss or gang leader or something. He and his sons are always looking for trouble. Half the reason why I don’t bother tidying up the front yard is because I don’t want them to come in here and trash the place, which is also why I pretty much made you bring the minivan in. To put it simply, Tanker is the kind of guy who always holds grudges, but will threaten to do things and then order his sons to follow their father’s plans and they listen to him like his some kind of god or something. And when something doesn’t seem right to Tanker’s standards (which aren’t that high to begin with) – and this is despite the fact that you’ve been keeping out of his way and minding your own business – he will still come after you and force his boys to destroy what you own. And, currently, Tanker’s prime target is me, for some unknown reason.”
“ And you can’t just move away from him?” Fluttershy asked in quiet concern.
“ Wish I could, Fluttershy. But the money I have managed to put aside for when I finally do get out of this place is dangerously low at the moment thanks to what I have to pay to keep living and learning.”
Silence fell within the kitchen as everyone took in what Sunset had said; each mind thinking of ways to help their friend without seemingly being rude. Of course, Sunset could tell exactly what her friends were thinking about (it really wasn’t that hard considering the topic), but she chose to ignore it for now. Instead, she chose to think on the reason why she had everyone at her reject of a house; Rainbow Dash.
For some strange reason, sight of her house had slipped the current issue of a wheelchair bound Rainbow Dash taking the place of their own walking Rainbow Dash from everyone’s mind. It was only thanks to an unknowing Applejack that the conversation was easily switched back to the correct topic for the current situation.
“ Well, ya do know that if’n ya need some help, all ya have ta do is give us a holler, right, Sunset?” the farmgirl asked.
“ I know,” Sunset replied with a smile, “ and thanks. But right now, I think we should be focussing more on figuring out why Wheelchair Dash got the urge to suddenly stand up and how to get her home.”
“ Well, Ah did notice this strange blue haze in her eyes when Ah was arguin’ with Rainbow Dash.” Applejack admitted after a few minutes of silence.
“ Blue haze?”
“ Ah dunno. It’s what it looked like to me.”
And with that, Applejack proceeded to tell the others about all the details and warning signs that she had noticed ever since they had arrived at the school for the race.
Rainbow Dash woke up to a slight throb attacking her head and her body feeling like it had been hit by a car again, though the pain was dull. The last thing she remembered was having an argument with Applejack on standing up, but she wasn’t quite sure if it had been a dream or not. The tipping of the wheelchair definitely wasn’t – that’s probably what was causing her head to throb – but the fuzziness of the argument just didn’t feel real.
Neither was the fact that Lightning Dust and Indigo Zap were cousins. That was definitely a weird bit of information. Last time she checked, Lightning Dust didn’t have any cousins, but Rainbow put it down to whatever was messing up her brain.
Finally, after a few more minutes of relative silence that was only broken by the muffled sound of a group of people trying to work something out, Rainbow’s mind realised that it was supposed to be working and concentrating on what was around her. This prompted her to look around.
The bed she currently sat on looked like it had been through the wars. The right corner of the headboard had been broken off and smoothed over with sandpaper so that no damage could be done thanks to the jagged edges. The bed also seemed a little confused on what colour it was supposed to be thanks to the mismatched light and dark coloured bed ends. One of the end posts also seemed to be missing a knob. But the main thing was that it was sturdy. Even the two bedside tables, Rainbow Dash noticed, were mismatched with both the bed and each other.
Scattered on the floor were piles of books and dirty clothes that had yet to be put in the wash. By the only window was a massive desk area complete with a miniature science lab and a laptop. There was a bookshelf in the room, but it was only small and was already filled to the point where Rainbow Dash thought it would fall apart just from all the weight. It also looked like a bag or two had been thrown into the room thanks to the odd pile that lay by the door.
Yet the strange thing was that the room felt oddly familiar.
In the end, nature overruled all other thoughts when Rainbow Dash finally realised what the pressure below her stomach actually was. Thankfully, someone had had the sense to realise that the wheelchair needed to be within reach at all times (the last time she had awoken to find herself in a strange bed, Big Mac had forgotten to have the wheelchair next to the bed for her. He got an earful for it from Applejack, but that was also when Applejack decided that she best move downstairs for easier access for her girlfriend) because it was right where Rainbow could swing herself out and get herself moving.
When, finally, Rainbow was ready to face whoever may have kidnapped her (her mind was still a little fuzzy from what happened at the race) she wheeled herself down the familiar looking hallway – taking the wheelchair tight corners with practiced ease – and into the familiar kitchen. There, she found her friends all huddled around each other and obviously trying to work on something that no one seemed to be able to figure out. The funny thing was, and Rainbow was pretty sure it was out of coincidence thanks to the way everyone was so focussed on whatever it was they were doing, everyone had fallen silent almost as soon as Rainbow Dash had entered the room.
“ Wow.” She called as she looked around, remembering why everything seemed so familiar as everyone around the table recovered from the shock of silence being suddenly broken. “ I never imagined this place to look so empty. What happened, Sunny?”
Sunset took a breath to help calm herself before she responded. “ This place was abandoned when I showed up, so I made it mine. Government almost tore it down, too, before I put a stop to it.”
“ Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier, darling?” Rarity inhaled sharply at the news.
“ It was before I realised that having friends was a lot more important than ruling Equestria.” Sunset admitted.
“ Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Pinkie immediately bounced into view with her answer. “ That’s the name of Sunny’s old home and the home of Princess Twilight and all of the other pony people. Didn’t we tell you that when we told you the big story yesterday?”
Rainbow Dash tried to remember what had occurred the night before – her facial features told everyone that much – but her mind wouldn’t go beyond the nightmare she had had. And the snippets of memory that she did manage to get past the nightmare weren’t that much help at all. She remembered being the one to lead Butterscotch out to the field for the night, Pinkie getting drunk on helium, some weird game of twister which had Fluttershy helping her with her legs, and playing a twist on ‘twenty-one questions’ which included everyone bombarding her with questions before she got the chance to return the favour. But not once did she remember anything about ‘pony people’ or the name ‘Equestria’. So she ended up answering Pinkie Pie’s question with a slow shake of her head and a confused look on her face.
“ Oh well. Now you know!”
Rainbow Dash then watched her skip over to where Rarity was cutting herself a slice of jam role which Sunset had put out for everyone. Only, what Rainbow Dash saw was not what was really there. Thanks to the replay of the nightmare from the night before, Rainbow saw something much more darker than someone cutting through a rolled up sponge cake. And the fact that the sponge was almost the same colour as Applejack’s skin and that the jam was oozing out slightly made the image that much worse.
Subconsciously, she pushed herself back a little as she turned to face Applejack. It was an obvious attempt to calm her fears, and everyone else noticed, but the farm girl herself had her attention on looking for a clock. She could tell, just by the glow of the afternoon sun, that they should be getting back to the farm for Rainbow’s sake. She just wasn’t quite sure if Sunset had any other plans concerning her friends and her house.
“ What’s wrong, Applejack?” Sunset asked, finally noticing her friend searching for something.
“ Ya wouldn’t happen to ‘ave a clock, would ya, Sunset?” Applejack asked.
“ No, sorry. I use my phone to check the time. Why?”
“ The sun’s getting awful low in the sky, is all. An’ Granny Smith don’t like it if’n we’re late home fer dinner… especially if’n we don’t show up ‘till the next mornin’. She’d ‘ave my hide fer that. So, Ah jus’ wanted ta know if we’re heading back to the farm or if we’re stayin’ here so that Ah can let Granny know not ta worry ‘bout us.”
“ We shouldn’t be too much longer here.” Sunset put in before anyone could even suggest otherwise. “ I want to wait until sun-down to get out of here, though, that way we don’t get caught by Tanker and his boys.”
Rarity turned to face her fiery haired friend, “ Are you sure Sunset?”
“ The only place worth sleeping in would be the bedrooms, and I really don’t want to open up those other two rooms, which leaves only my bedroom with its one bed. And I’ve got nothing for dinner for seven of us. Plus everything is back at the barn.” Sunset replied, a matter-of-fact tone gracing her voice as she spoke.
She was right. The only things they had brought with them to the race were some tables, equipment from around the farm, a small amount of food and one five litre tank of water with a plastic tap. Plus there was whatever was left of Rarity’s bolt of fabric and the two wheelchairs that they would eventually have to return. There was nothing with them that could be any help with clothes, beds, or enough food for all of them. And Rarity was only one person even if she did use the last of her fabric, not to mention the possibility of not having enough of the stuff to do beds and clothes for all of Sunset’s guests.
A soft sigh seemed to pass through four of the five girls sitting around the table with Sunset Shimmer. It was almost like they had all realised that they weren’t going to learn much more of Sunset’s current life and had resigned themselves to the fact that they may probably never know. But still Applejack removed her mobile phone from her pocket and dialled her home phone number, quickly letting the rest of her family know what was going on.
All the while, Rainbow Dash was still by the doorway, trying to make sense of what was going on in front of her. The Apple family dinner curfew thing, she knew about. Somethings never changed even between the worlds. But this Tanker fellow didn’t sound too inviting to be around. And it was he who was playing in the back of her mind.
Eventually she was forced to ask the question which had formed since she had first heard the name.
“ Who are Tanker and his boys?”