//------------------------------// // 17 – Going Through the Motions // Story: Looking Glass // by Krickis //------------------------------// Chapter Seventeen Going Through the Motions ⠀ ⠀ It had been a hell of a day. Sunset moved from class to class, following her schedule without really thinking about it. She wasn’t sure how much she cared about school anymore, but it was easier to go through the motions than to try to think of anything else to do. And, really, she wasn’t sure how much she cared about anything anymore. As soon as she had heard that voice, Sunset had been certain. But then as the day went on, that changed. Doubt set in. She had dreamed about the statue before, that much was certain. But was it so farfetched that she might have seen the school before? What was really more likely, that she had simply forgotten the school along with the rest of her early memories, or that she had come through a portal from another world? But it hadn’t been the statue that did it. The statue had set her along the course, but it had been that voice. Her voice. Could that really be just another forgotten memory that her mind had repurposed to torment her? She knew that was the most likely answer, but she also knew that wasn’t what felt true. Sunset placed her hand against the statue. It felt cold against her palm. “You, uh, must really like that statue, huh?” Sunset turned to see the guy from earlier, the one who had shown her where the cafeteria was. “What do you want?” He seemed somewhat taken aback by the question. “I just wanted to see how you’re feeling. You seemed pretty out of it this morning.” “I’m fine.” Sunset turned back to the statue. She was anything but fine. “I’m just… tired.” “Yeah, I hear that.” He lingered in silence for a moment, then seemed to realize Sunset wasn’t going to say anything. “Er, my name’s Flash, by the way. Flash Sentry.” Again, he was only met with silence. “Am I… bothering you? I can go if you’d rather be alone.” Sunset frowned. He reminded her of someone else, but she wouldn’t have left so easily. “Right, well… I’ll see you around.” “Sunset Shimmer.” It was the first time she had introduced herself all day. Reluctantly, Sunset gave Flash her full attention, turning her back on the statue. It wasn’t like it was going to get her anywhere. Flash stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Sunset.” Although Sunset wasn’t sure what she wanted from him – or even if she wanted anything at all – she shook his hand all the same. It was just easier to go through the motions. “So, are you doing anything? I’ve got some time to kill if you want to maybe go out for lunch or something.” Sunset wondered if he was always this forward. It didn’t really matter. “I’ve got a bus to catch.” “Oh, alright. Well, there’s still some time before the buses leave. If, you know, you wanted to hang out here until then.” Sunset’s initial thought was to tell him to get lost. Even if he could offer her some sort of social foothold, she really didn’t know if she even wanted to bother repeating her dominance over Everfree Middle School anymore. But before she did, she thought better of it. Perhaps there was something he could help her with after all. “Do you… know where the principal’s office is?” “Er…” Flash looked off to the side before deflating completely. “No idea.” Sunset sighed. “Oh well. Guess I’ll find it myself then.” “Oh! I, uh, think Principal Celestia is actually meeting with some of the students right now, though. I saw her on the way out here.” Sunset had to bite back her impulse to ask why the hell he didn’t just mention that to begin with, since there wasn’t really any other reason for her to want to go to the principal’s office. “Can you show me where?” “Sure! Right this way.” Flash led the way proudly. While Sunset would normally use the walk there to prepare some kind of plan for when she spoke with the principal, she found it impossible to focus on that. It was hard to even think about what she’d say to someone she had been convinced existed only in her head. Much easier to just follow Flash quietly and observe the school around her. Canterlot High seemed to be very different than Everfree had been. There was a general sense of camaraderie that had been completely absent at Sunset’s old school. The halls were filled with students engaged in friendly discussions despite very obvious differences between them. Over here, the jocks were socializing with the artists; over there, the preps were mingling with the hippies. Of course, the students at Everfree Middle School had been younger. Some of them had started associating with specific cliques, but mostly they all blended together fairly well. It was fitting for the older teenage student body of Canterlot High School to cling to social constructs. It allowed them to feel like they were expressing themselves in a unique way, while also fitting in with others like them. That was to be expected, but it surprised Sunset to see them casually fraternize with one another. It was kind of a pity. If Sunset did wind up deciding to repeat her role as Everfree’s ruler from the shadows, it might have proved useful for the school to be divided. In the end, it was just another reason to not bother. “That’s her over there,” Flash said, pointing out a woman sitting on a bench and talking with students. It was unnecessary, as there couldn’t ever be any doubt in Sunset’s mind about whom she was looking at. Princess Celestia. The Solar Princess and sole ruler of Equestria. Her mentor, her idol, the embodiment of everything Sunset wanted to be. The reason she had suffered for over eight years in a world she didn’t belong in. The one who haunted her dreams. And when that proved to no longer be enough, the nightmare that followed her into the waking world. There were differences, of course. To anyone else, Princess Celestia would appear to be a perfectly normal person. She was perhaps taller than the average woman, but not abnormally so. But Sunset would never mistake her, human or otherwise. The snow white skin, the prismatic hair, and most of all those magenta eyes. Sunset would never forget the way those eyes stared at her the last time they had spoken. “We’ll never get past this because you aren’t seeing how great I deserve to be. Is that really all you have to say to me?” “No. The guards will escort you out.” It was the biggest mistake Sunset had made in her entire life. While Sunset stood frozen in place, something near her must have caught Princess Celestia’s attention. She turned her gaze towards Sunset, and they locked eyes. And then in an instant, it was over. Sunset couldn’t find the will to care about anything other than the woman in front of her, but she had regarded her former student no differently than she would a complete stranger. She was already talking to someone else as Sunset’s world shattered. Sunset took a step back while not turning away from Princess Celestia. No, that was wrong. It had to be. This person could not be her mentor. Flash smiled, completely oblivious to Sunset’s distress. “Come on, let’s go introduce ourselves.” Sunset barely glanced at him, but it was enough to get her attention away from Celestia. She abruptly turned around, walking back towards the front of the school. “Huh? Hey, wait up!” That couldn’t be her. It didn’t even make any sense. Celestia was a princess in another world; what could possibly cause her to give that up in order to become a high school principal? “Sunset? Is… everything alright?” There was a rational explanation for this. Sunset didn’t know what it was, but she knew there had to be one. Surely she hadn’t thought that Principal Celestia would really be a pony princess who had come to take Sunset back to where she belonged. That would be crazy. “Look, you’re kind of worrying me here. I know we don’t really know each other, but if something’s wrong, I’d like to help.” Sunset wasn’t crazy. Sometimes she saw or heard things that weren’t real, and she remembered a past that was impossible, but she kept a firm grip on what reality was. The second she let herself fall back into believing in things like Equestria, that would be when she really lost it. But she’d already started believing, and she knew it. As much as she wanted to quiet that part of her now, it had been awoken as soon as she saw that statue. Flash caught up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sunset, wait.” Sunset spun around and pushed it off. She did not like to be touched, especially by someone she didn’t even know. “Uh…” Flash stood in place, hand still outstretched. After a moment, he withdrew it and awkwardly used it to scratch at the back of his neck. “So, what was that all about.” Sunset took a deep breath. The truth was clearly out of the question, but she couldn’t think of a lie. “I… was expecting someone else.” “Oh, uh, okay.” They both stood quietly for a moment, neither one really knowing what to say. Eventually, it was Flash that spoke up. “I guess you probably need to get to your bus then.” Right. The bus. “Yeah, I should.” Without bothering to say goodbye, Sunset turned to walk down a different hallway leading to the back of the school. She didn’t get very far before stopping in her tracks again. For one foolishly optimistic moment, Sunset thought she could get away unnoticed. But of course, right as she stopped, Applejack turned to look directly at Sunset. What was Applejack doing at Canterlot High School? The whole point of Sunset going to a school across town was to escape the past. Applejack was supposed to be somewhere else, somewhere that Sunset could never hurt her again. But there she was, and unlike Celestia, Applejack definitely recognized Sunset. Neither one moved, neither one turned away. One part of her past had forgotten her, and Sunset couldn’t handle it. Another part of her past remembered her, and Sunset couldn’t handle it. And so, Sunset did the only thing she could do. She turned away from both, running instead for the front of the school. Although she didn’t intend to, Sunset found herself quickly approaching Flash. Once he noticed her, he shot her a look of silent confusion. Sunset didn’t even think about it. It was just easier to go along with someone else’s plan. “I changed my mind about heading home. So… if you want to go somewhere, I guess I have some time.” Sunset was a little concerned that her earlier behavior might have caused him to lose interest in doing anything with her, but it seemed that was not the case. Flash grinned as he led them out of the school. “Great! Is there anywhere specific you’d like to go?” “No.” Sunset fell into step alongside him, trying her best to not think about anything at all. “Wherever you want to go is fine with me.” “And then I’m lucky enough to have Mrs. Harshwhinny for social studies as my last class,” Flash said, making sure to put on a sufficiently disgruntled face to show his lack of enthusiasm. “I bet she’s fun,” Sunset deadpanned. “You have no idea.” Sunset chuckled and took a bite of her pizza. Flash knew the area around the school, and he took her to a local pizzeria. He politely followed suit in getting a vegetarian option, and they mostly talked about school. It was the type of social situation Sunset preferred to avoid, but it kept her from thinking about other things. “So what about you?” Flash asked. “Your teachers seem okay?” “I… wasn’t really paying much attention,” Sunset admitted. “I guess I really have been pretty out of it today.” “Getting sick on the first day of school is pretty rough.” Sunset knew she should just go along with the excuse, but she was too worn down to care. And she was certainly not about to try and fake symptoms to make for a believable lie. “I’m not really sick, there’s just… a lot of my mind.” “Like what?” ‘Well, I’m kind of trying to figure out if I’m a magical horse from another world, or just an insane girl with a lot of talent at hiding how fucked up I am.’ “Nothing really, no need to worry about it.” Flash got a certain look, one which Sunset recognized all too well. She had said the exact wrong thing, and now he wasn’t going to leave it alone. “Well, I’d like to help, if you’ll let me.” That sounded familiar. They really were far too similar. Maybe that was why Sunset opened up, just a little. The day had been bad enough from the start, but running into Applejack had fractured her usual defenses. “It’s just… This is an important year for me.” “What do you mean?” Well, telling him anything about the portal was still out of the question, so Sunset went a different route. “I’m trying to get my own place. I can do it, but I need to prove to my social worker that I can handle it.” It didn’t take long for Sunset to regret that decision. Flash held his pizza in the air, forgotten halfway to his mouth, as he stared wordlessly at Sunset. “Sorry, too much info. Told you that it’d be better not to worry.” Flash set his pizza down. “No, I’m glad you said something. Are you, er…” He looked around awkwardly and lowered his voice as he continued. “Do you need to get away from your parents or something?” It was no wonder he thought Sunset meant she had an abusive home life. If she hadn’t been so distracted, she would have realized how she was making it sound. “No, I don’t have any parents. Not that I know of, anyway. I live at an orphanage.” “Oh.” It took a moment, but Flash realized his sympathetic look was patronizing without Sunset needing to mention. “I didn’t even realize there were still orphanages.” Sunset smirked at how overly forced his casual tone was. “New Horizons is technically a group home, which isn’t exactly the same thing.” It was a bit funny. For the first time, Sunset was going to a school that none of the other kids she lived with attended, and she hadn’t expected to let anyone know where she lived. And yet, here she was, telling some guy she didn’t know on the first day of school. “Well, in any case, I can see why you’d want your own place,” Flash said, finally managing to compose himself properly. “Plus it would be pretty cool to not have anyone to tell you what to do.” Ah, the generic teenager response. “Yeah, I guess.” “So what do you need to do to get there?” Sunset sighed. “Honestly? I don’t exactly know. I know that I need a job for one thing, and to keep my grades up. But aside from that, she said I needed to impress her, but didn’t say exactly how I should do that.” “So like, doing really good in school?” “Not exactly. I already make straight A’s, so there’s not a lot of room for improvement. I guess the main thing is that she wants me to be more social. I’m not exactly the friendliest person.” Sunset returned to her pizza, only noticing Flash was staring at her after she had taken a bite. She glanced as she finished chewing, and failed to figure out why he looked so confused. “What?” “Uh, we’re kind of being social right now, you know.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I don’t think my social worker is going to be sold because I went out for pizza.” Flash smiled. “Well, I think I’m beginning to see the problem.” “What do you mean?” “It’s not that you can’t be social, it’s your attitude towards it. It’s the first day of school, and you’ve already made a friend. I think she probably just wants you to make some small improvements here and there.” It was tempting to point out that calling them friends was a stretch of the word, but Sunset thought back to the last meeting with Violet. She didn’t have to like it, but she would have to get along with her peers. And she could always fake it if she had to. “You know, maybe you’re right.” Flash nodded. “And if you really want to push yourself for it, maybe you could try joining some clubs and stuff.” Now that was an idea. Violet couldn’t possibly claim she couldn’t work alongside her peers if she joined a club. “That sounds perfect, actually. I wonder what I should join.” “Well, what are you interested in? I was thinking about joining a music club.” “I don’t play any instruments, so that’s not gonna work.” And as much as Sunset loved computers, she couldn’t see herself enjoying being in a club with the type of people who would join a computer club. “Student government might be good.” “I think they filled their positions before school even started. I take it you didn’t go to the Freshman Fair?” Sunset frowned at her oversight. “No, I didn’t think it would be worth it.” “The sports teams are probably all filled, too. There’s the drama club.” “Eh, I’m not into sports anyway. Drama might work.” Sunset had cultivated a talent for carefully controlling her emotional responses through her constant lying over the years. She wondered if that would carry over into actually acting. Flash nodded, then started counting on his fingers as he listed more off. “We’ve also got debate, journalism, dance, art…” “Is there anything CHS doesn’t have a club for?” “Not really. Wondercolts take a lot of pride in cultivating a wide range of interests.” “You… read that directly off a pamphlet, didn’t you?” Flash blushed. “Uh… yeah.” Well, art and dance were definitely out. Drama could work, but why go with something so unsure? Debate sounded perfect for her, and she had no doubt she would excel at it, but one club in particular stood out. “Do you think the journalism team is still taking new members?” “I don’t know. It’s worth checking out, though.” Journalism wouldn’t exactly be Sunset’s first choice if she was just going by her interests, but it did hold a certain appeal. There could never be a better place to learn about her fellow students, and what little secrets they had to hide. “Fair enough.” Sunset grinned and pointed to Flash’s plate. “Your food’s getting cold.” They spent another half hour or so at the pizzeria, finishing their food while they continued to talk. Sunset paid much closer attention to how she was acting. It was easy. Just laugh at his jokes, make a few friendly jibes of her own, show some interest in the things he seemed interested in, stroke his ego once or twice. And best of all, falling into the role of a friend proved to be a perfect distraction. It gave her just enough to focus on that she didn’t dwell on the events of earlier. Of course, that only meant that it couldn’t last. “If I don’t head home, my dad’s gonna worry,” Flash said with a sigh. “Yeah, probably a good idea.” “I’ll see you at school tomorrow though, right?” Sunset hesitated for a moment. For her whole life, Sunset had avoided becoming friends with anyone. And while it was necessary for winning over Violet, there was a part of her that didn’t want to change that. Wasn’t the whole point to avoid other people? What did she accomplish by befriending someone? But Flash could be a lot worse. They didn’t share any classes together, so it wasn’t like Sunset would be seeing him constantly. All in all, he seemed like a safe choice, and it would be worth it in the end. “Yeah, see you then.” Besides, she could always drop him once she got her own place. “Great! See you later, then.” Flash stood up and walked away, leaving Sunset alone. Immediately, the same questions crept back in, but there was another one on top of it. ‘How the fuck am I getting home?’ Sighing, Sunset stood up as well. She had long since finished her food, and she wasn’t getting home by sitting in a booth at a pizzeria. She had a little cash on her, so she’d be able to take the city bus, but she wasn’t familiar with the routes. And as she stepped out of the restaurant, she realized she wasn’t even sure where the nearest bus stop was. Without much else to do, Sunset picked a direction and started walking. “Sunset!” Sunset turned to see Flash Sentry running to catch up with her. “What’s up?” Flash caught up to her before answering. “Hey, uh, you do have a way to get home, right? I know you said you were taking a bus earlier.” Sunset shrugged. Even if she wasn’t entirely sure how things would go, she was sure she could figure it out. “Yeah, I’ll just take the city bus instead.” “Want a ride? I’m sure my dad can bring you home, if you want.” Really, Sunset didn’t want that at all. It was bad enough she had already divulged where she lived, she really didn’t need Flash to actually go to New Horizons. But she also was too far to walk, and even if she found a bus stop, she wouldn’t be sure that the bus she needed would stop there. As much as she hated it, Flash’s offer was the best she was getting. “Are you sure it won’t be a problem?” Flash grinned confidently. “Positive. Come on, my house is just a few blocks away.” The neighborhood they walked through could best be described as completely normal. Picket fences, perfectly mown grass, houses that were all roughly the same size, which was neither too big nor too small. Everything was perfectly average. Sunset resented it. She had always been conflicted on the idea of actually getting adopted, so she never really bothered to put on the nice girl act around potential parents. Still, there had definitely been a part of her that wanted this, or something like it. A perfectly normal house. Somewhere that the people around her didn’t constantly change, somewhere she could have some semblance of solitude, without twenty other children running around. Soon enough. She just had to keep reminding herself that she’d be living on her own soon enough. And she had already reached an important milestone in achieving that: She had made a friend, or something close enough to one that she could fool Violet, if she could just prove that she wasn’t making him up. Perhaps Flash visiting New Horizons wouldn’t be a bad thing after all. “This is it,” Flash said as they approached a house that looked remarkably similar to those around it. “Nice place,” Sunset said as she followed Flash inside. She felt out of place. Ever since she had come to live at New Horizons, Sunset could count on one hand the number of times she had entered a regular house. Examining her surroundings revealed a world that she had seen hundreds of times on television, but which still seemed alien to her. There were pictures adorning the walls. Not of huge groups of kids, like at the orphanage, but of a few people that all looked similar enough to clearly be related. Mostly there were three: Flash Sentry, at various ages, and a man and woman who must have been his parents. Sunset took note that while there were recent pictures of him with his dad, any picture with his mom showed a much younger Flash. The strangeness didn’t stop there. There were odd things here and there, knick-knacks collected throughout the years. The furniture was all mismatched, and in fact nothing in the house seemed to follow any set theme. Sunset got the impression that despite looking so similar to the other houses on the outside, the inside told a story which was entirely unique. A story that belonged to a real family. “Dad must be working in the garage,” Flash said, bringing Sunset out of her thoughts. “Come on, I’ll introduce you two.” As they walked down a hallway towards the garage, the sound of old school rock and roll grew more noticeable. It reached full volume as Flash opened the door to the garage. It didn’t look much like the perfectly orderly garages on TV did – everything was a disorderly mess, with tools scattered around on all the benches, paint and oil stains on everything, and more than a few rusty pieces of equipment that looked like they were just taking up space. But among all the chaos, there were two sports cars, both of which were in pristine condition. The one closer to them was cherry red, and while Sunset didn’t know enough about cars to name the model, she was pretty sure it was a classic design. Flash walked over to it and knocked on the hood. A man lying on a mechanic’s pallet slid out from underneath the body of the car. “Hey there, sport.” He grunted and stood up through obvious effort. “How was the first day?” “It was good. Most of my teachers seem nice.” Flash gestured to Sunset, who was still in the doorway. “Dad, this is Sunset Shimmer. We met at school today. Sunset, this is my dad, Bottled Lightning.” Bottled Lightning nodded and waved, revealing his hands were completely filthy. “Nice to meet you, Sunset. I trust you don’t mind if I skip the handshake for now.” Sunset smirked. “I think that sounds reasonable.” “We were wondering if you could give Sunset a ride home. She kinda missed her bus.” Although it was technically not a lie, Sunset noted that Flash had neglected to mention she chose to miss her bus. Maybe he really wasn’t as hopeless as she always assumed everyone was. “I don’t see why not. Give me a minute to finish up and get cleaned off, then we’ll head out.” “Thanks, Dad.” “Thank you, sir.” “Ha!” Bottled Lightning grinned and shook his head. “Lightning will do just fine, miss.” Sunset nodded. “Alright, Lightning.” That suited her just fine. She wasn’t really fond of calling people ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’, but if she was going to pretend to be friends with someone, being polite to his father was probably important. As Lightning got back on the pallet, Flash led them out of the garage. “He seems nice,” Sunset said. “Yeah, he is.” They stopped by the kitchen to grab a couple cans of soda, then went to Flash’s room. Like the garage, it stood out from the rest of the house as its own unique space. There was only one photograph – a framed picture of the woman who Sunset was sure was Flash’s mom sat on a dresser. The rest of the pictures in the room took the form of posters covering the walls, most of which were bands that Sunset recognized. There were a couple model cars, both of which had a similar classic look to the ones in the garage. Also like the garage, it was a complete mess, with clothes and other miscellaneous things littering the floor. Flash seemed embarrassed by the state of his room, but Sunset ignored it. Without waiting for an invitation, she walked in and sat on his bed. “Could you be any more of a guy?” she teased playfully. Flash chuckled nervously and took a seat next to her. “Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting company.” “It’s fine. Nice taste in music.” The complement seemed to shake some of Flash’s embarrassment off. But instead of answering, he reached over the foot of the bed and grabbed an acoustic guitar. “You said you’ve never played before. Want to learn?” Sunset had admittedly thought about learning an instrument before. But New Horizons didn’t have the funds to buy everything the kids might want, so if she was only likely to get one expensive thing, she knew early on that it was going to be her self-made computer. “Thanks, but I don’t know. I mean, I’m not gonna be able to practice.” “We could make this a regular thing, if you want. You could come over after school for lessons. My dad could bring you home, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the bus.” That was way more than Sunset was ready to commit to. “I’ll think about it. But I also need to get a job, and then if I join journalism or some other club.” Flash nodded. “Fair enough. But here, at least give it a try while you’re here.” Sunset took the guitar from him and plucked a few strings. She tried strumming them all at once, as well as trying while holding down different frets. Occasionally Flash would give her some input, but he mostly just let her play around on her own. She had no idea what notes she was playing, and there was certainly nothing as organized as real music coming out, but she couldn’t deny it was fun. She could see herself learning to play, if she ever decided she had time for it. “The girl’s a natural,” Bottled Lightning said from the doorway, causing Sunset to blush. “Sure is,” Flash agreed. “I was just telling her that she should come over regularly for lessons, if she can find the time.” Lightning wore a smug smile. “That sounds like a good idea to me.” Sunset awkwardly handed Flash his guitar back. “Maybe. But I think it’s going to be a pretty busy year for me.” Thankfully, both father and son dropped the topic before Sunset had to keep making excuses. “Anyway, we can head out whenever you’re ready.” “Yeah, I should probably head out,” Sunset said. She could already imagine the lecture once she got back, and just hoped that being out with a ‘friend’ would be reason enough to excuse her. They followed Lightning into the garage, where they got into the back seat of the car he had been working on. Like most sports cars, the back seat was cramped, but Flash opted to sit in back with Sunset rather than the much roomier front next to his father. “So, Flash show you his baby?” Lightning asked once he took his seat. “His what?” “The other car,” Flash said, gesturing to the black car next to the red one they were in. “It doesn’t run yet, but we’ve been restoring it. It’ll be ready by the time I get my permit.” “That’s pretty cool. I guess I can see where you picked up an interest in cars.” Sunset turned to Lightning, who was just starting the engine. “So are you a mechanic?” He chuckled. “No, although everyone says I should be. It’s really just a hobby of mine, though.” “Don’t let him fool you, Dad used to be a racer.” “Well, not officially,” Lightning clarified. “I used to live in the country, back before Flash was born. Me and some of my buddies would work on these hot rods, and race ‘em in our spare time. Never did it as a job, but I did win more bets than I lost.” “Why didn’t you make a career out of it?” Sunset asked, although she could guess the answer. “The usual. Met a girl, got married, moved into the suburbs. These days, I’d rather keep work and play separate.” It sounded so bizarre to Sunset. She could clearly see that he revered his time spent racing cars, but he just pushed it aside. But prying any further would be rude, so she dropped the subject. Thankfully, Lightning was familiar enough with the city that he recognized Sunset’s street address. It was fortunate, since Sunset wasn’t used to the side of town they were on. Along the way, Sunset found another surprise in Flash and Lightning’s interactions. She had always expected most people’s relationships with their parents would be somewhat similar to how Sunset acted with Rose Petal, albeit more authentic. Respectful, yet casual, but not exactly friendly. And yet, while it was obvious that Flash held a lot of respect for Lightning, there was a level of camaraderie that Sunset hadn’t expected. A playful joking nature, almost more like how Sunset would match wits with Violet Dusk at times. Just like she couldn’t understand how Lightning would drop his passion in favor of settling into quiet family life, she also couldn’t figure out their behavior. It was different from her and Rose, as well as from her and Violet. It was certainly nothing like Sunset’s relationship with her own parents, if those memories were even to be believed. The closest thing she could place it to was the earliest memories of her time with Celestia. And again, the memories flooded back. Or perhaps, the delusions, but it was impossible to deny they felt more like memories. A formal dinner with Canterlot nobility. The princesses leaned across the table to tell her bored pupil a joke. She could no longer remember how it went now, but it had certainly made her laugh. Sunset failing to get a spell right on the first try. Celestia still found some reason to celebrate her failure. Surely no other filly could have even managed to come half as close to succeeding, after all. The first night she stayed in the castle. Too prideful to admit that she was feeling homesick, and yet Celestia knew anyway. She joined her in the library for a late night reading session, choosing a silly paperback romance novel and good-naturedly letting Sunset tease her for it. All at once, the memories flooded back. “This is the street, right?” Lightning asked. Sunset blinked and looked out the window at the familiar surroundings. She hadn’t even noticed they were so close. “Yeah. It’s actually that yellow building up there.” As Lightning realized which building she meant, Sunset saw him glance back at her in the rearview mirror. He wore a similar expression of sympathy that his son had when he had learned Sunset was an orphan. At least he kept his comment to himself as he pulled into the parking lot. “Thanks again for the ride,” Sunset said. Since there were no back doors, she had to wait for Flash to fold down the front passenger seat then follow him out of the car. “No problem,” Lightning said. He winked as he added, “And you should think about taking Flash up on those guitar lessons.” “I will,” Sunset assured him. She turned back to Flash. “Thanks for today. See you at school tomorrow.” “Yeah, of course! See you, then.” Flash waited outside the car for a moment. Sunset hoped he wasn’t expecting a hug, but she knew he probably was. Once he finally gave up, he sat in the front with his dad, waving as he closed the door. On one hand, Sunset was glad to be away from the forced socializing. It was easy enough to go along with it, but it was far from ideal. But on the other, those memories – or delusions, whichever they were – had come back at the worst possible time. Now she’d have them playing in her head while she was alone. ‘Well, there’s still one thing to do before I can be alone,’ Sunset reflected as she walked into New Horizons. The receptionist smiled as she walked in, but it was quickly gone once she noticed it was Sunset she was smiling at. “Where have you been?” “With a friend.” Sunset wasn’t sure if she would believe it, and she clearly didn’t. “You know you’re supposed to call if you’re going somewhere.” “Sorry, got kind of caught up.” This conversation was pointless. Sunset would just have to repeat everything later anyway. “Do you know where Ms. Rose is?” The receptionist just frowned more. “Sunset, Ms. Rose isn’t the only person at New Horizons. I know you and her get along well, but sometimes you’ve got to –” “There you are,” Rose said as she walked into the room. The receptionist looked pissed, and Sunset had to fight the urge to shoot her a smug look. Instead, she cultivated the look she had decided on earlier. She slouched her shoulders and sighed, tilting her head to the side while letting her facial features fall flat. She carefully avoided eye contact. She would look somewhat apologetic, but also disappointed. “I’m sorry that I forgot to call. I was with a friend. We went out for lunch then his dad brought me home.” “A friend?” Rose sounded interested. Perfect, Sunset had caught her off guard with that. Now it was time to follow up. As Sunset narrowed her own eyes, she looked pointedly into Rose’s. The apology had been delivered, now she wanted answers. “How come you never told me I was found at CHS?” Rose blinked a few times, seemingly taken by surprise. “What do you mean?” “Nine years ago, the day I was brought to New Horizons, the police found me wandering around Canterlot High School. How come no one ever told me that?” To her credit, Rose seemed genuinely perplexed. “I didn’t know that. I suppose they might have told me when you first came here, but that was a long time ago and my memory isn’t what it was.” Sunset folded her arms and looked off to the side. “All those years,” she muttered, making it sound like she was talking to herself. “I kept looking for some sort of clue about who I am or where I came from, and that was probably hidden in a file somewhere.” Rose sighed. “I am sorry, Sunset. Here, let’s get out of the entry hall so we can talk about this.” Keeping her head hung low, Sunset followed Rose into an office. She avoided looking at the receptionist, but could imagine that she must be livid. But even if she was right in that Rose wasn’t in charge of New Horizons, no one was going to say that when she was in the room. Once in the office, Rose didn’t sit down immediately. Instead, she rummaged through a filing cabinet while Sunset took a seat. “Here we go.” Rose set a file on the table, and Sunset was delighted to see her own name on it. “I don’t know if there’s anything in there that can help you now, but that’s all the information we have from when you were admitted to New Horizons.” Sunset opened it up and skimmed the document. It contained a photograph of her on the day she was found, as well as all the basic information of her name, admission date, and physical appearance. At the bottom, there was a section for notes. Sunset Shimmer was found alone, and seems to have no memories of her past. Possibly confused. When asked her age, she gave the answer of seventeen. Will be in regular contact with Dr. Crystal Clear to determine status of mental health. Social worker assignment pending. And that was it. All the information they saw fit to give. “It doesn’t say.” “I’m sorry, Sunset.” Sunset sighed. She had actually gotten exactly what she wanted, but she still needed to look disappointed. “No, I’m sorry. I know better than to think you wouldn’t tell me if you knew.” With one last glance at the document, she closed the file and looked up at Rose. “I just… Once I got to school, I remembered that day so clearly. I still don’t remember what happened before it, though.” “Well… I think you already know that if you were found near there, then that’s probably the neighborhood you used to live in. Maybe while you’re at school you’ll find other things that finally trigger those memories coming back.” Sunset nodded. “Do you want to talk about that? Or about anything else from school?” Sunset opened her mouth, then closed it. She shook her head. “No… Thank you, but I just want to some time to think right now.” “Of course.” Rose walked Sunset to the door. “But do remember that I’m always here to talk.” “Thank you. I will.” Sunset kept her eyes pointed down as she walked to her bedroom. She looked to all the world as if she were lost in thought. In actuality, there was only one thought on her mind; a date that she needed to remember. As soon as she was in her room, she grabbed a notepad and wrote it down. The date that she first came to New Horizons. The key to the puzzle. Sunset sat down and closed her eyes. Sometimes memories came back to her. Sometimes she dreamt them. But for the first time since she was a small child, Sunset actually tried to remember. It was harder than she thought it would be. She had remembered so many things throughout the day, and there seemed to be no end to the thoughts that would turn up. But to home in on one single memory was another matter entirely. “Look into this mirror, and tell me what you see.” “A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential.” No. “About that mirror…” No. “I was thinking about that mirror, and I still can’t figure it out.” No. So many memories connected to the mirror, but not the one she needed. She pushed for more. “The Crystal Mirror… Every thirty moons a portal will open to… another world?” Yes. Sunset’s eyes shot open as she came across the exact memory she needed. She grabbed the notepad and wrote ‘Every thirty moons’ underneath the date. She knew the date of one time the portal had been opened, and now she could figure out when it would be open again. She began frantically doing calculations to figure out the exact date it would be open again. Oh sure, she could keep going through the motions here, make life easier for herself. Maybe she really was crazy after all, and this would turn out to be pointless. It’d be stupid to put all her faith into one plan or the other, especially when all there was to do for her return to Equestria was wait. All she needed to do was get to the statue on the right date, then she’d know for certain. Maybe it was impossible, but Sunset had finally found something that felt right, and she was not going to give it up again.