//------------------------------// // Intermission #1: Man in Black // Story: Make a Mistake with Me // by CoffeeAndCigarettes //------------------------------// Intermission #1: Man in Black “I’m worried, girls.” Sunset Shimmer’s voice sounded weary and tired in the otherwise cheery atmosphere of the cafeteria. Her friends, who were gathered around her as they often did, shot confused glances at each other. Well, almost all of them did. Rarity grimaced internally. She, if anyone, was good at picking up the ebb and flow of social rumours, and lately, well… “I’m talking about North Wind,” Sunset admitted, poking her lettuce with her fork. “I heard you guys had pretty rough run-ins with him, too. So I think you know what I’m talking about.” “Ugh, tell me about it,” Rainbow Dash groaned, her upper body sprawled on the table. “That jerk got me detention and didn’t even apologize!” “Dash, you were passing notes about him behind his back, were you not?” Rarity chimed in with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think you can blame him for everything that happened… though his attitude does leave much to be desired. Just remembering how he mocked poor Fluttershy… It just makes me shudder.” “And Pinkie, too!” Applejack agreed, slamming her fist to the table. “Ah don’t mean to be rude, but that fella’s a no-good rattlesnake most of the time!” “It’s, it’s alright guys,” Pinkie smiled, but everyone could see she was somewhat forcing it. “I mean, I was being kinda annoying, so I totally get why he’d be so mean. I’m sure he’s not always like that!” “I wonder,” Rarity scoffed. “Certainly you could have chosen your timing better, but that gives him no excuse to call you names or make fun of you. Or mock Fluttershy in public like he did.” “Um, I’m… I’m over it,” Fluttershy muttered, staring at her lunch like it was a way out of this topic. “So can we please, please stop talking about him?” Sunset Shimmer tried to give her animal-loving friend an encouraging smile, and squeezed her limp hand. Fluttershy flashed an awkward, yet somewhat calmer expression in return. She had been pretty shaken up after what had happened, to the point of never going closer than 7 feet of North Wind. For someone who was your savior the previous night to turn out to be a Grade A jerk… Sunset understood just how horrible that could feel. Yet at the same time, it wasn’t enough to make her want to completely abandon the subject. There was still something that was bothering her. Something nagging at the back of her mind, like she should have realized it. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but there was more to what I was going to say,” Sunset said, glancing at her friends. “So yeah, we all can agree that North Wind is kind of a jerk. A big jerk if he so wants. So that just begs the question… How did he start getting along with the Dazzlings so fast?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes magnificently, letting out a derisive snort at the same time. As if to punctuate it, Applejack speared one of her potatoes with her fork. “Uh, maybe because they’re all jerks?” the jock asked sarcastically. “Slimy monsters just attract each other or something.” “While I do agree with the possibility, I think Sunset has a point there,” Rarity answered, rubbing her chin. “He has not been here at CHS for that long, yet he’s managed to build rapport with all three of them. The three sirens who, after the Battle of the Bands, have done their absolute best to alienate themselves from everyone?” “Well, you just said it, Rarity,” Applejack shrugged. “They don’t wanna get along with anyone, he doesn’t wanna get along with anyone… Of course they’re gonna click.” “Is it really that simple?” Sunset scratched the back of her head, sounding a little doubtful. “I don’t mean to doubt you, but what if there’s something else going on…?” “Y-you mean like… like…” Fluttershy’s eyes darted around the room, before she leaned into whisper: “... Equestrian magic?” For a moment, the blaze-haired girl stopped to think. It wasn’t like she hadn’t considered the possibility. Unlike herself, the Dazzlings hadn’t come out of their experience as, well… better people. They were still stuck with their parts as villains, even if defeated ones. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that they would have contacted some old ally of theirs to take revenge in their stead. Yet at the same time… “No, I don’t think so,” Sunset admitted. “I did consider it, but I just don’t get any echo or smell of magic from him. From what I can tell, he’s just what he seems to be: a boy who spend over a year in juvie, and is now trying to get his life back on track.” “And doing a horrible job, yeah…” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. Sunset chose to ignore it. “His personality aside, he looks like he’s trying to take school seriously. So that just makes it weirder,” she continued. “Why would choose to hang with girls like that instead of, I dunno, making a fresh start? I don’t know why he ended up in juvie, but this just seems like two steps backwards to me!” Without meaning to, Sunset had gotten a little agitated at the end. Still, she was just so frustrated at this whole situation! Especially the way her first meeting with North had went. They had started arguing over something stupid while she was showing him around the school and before they knew it, it had blown up into a full-blown shouting contest. After everything that had happened, she still managed to screw it up. Twilight would have been so disappointed in her. Shaking off those miserable thoughts, Sunset was surprised to find Pinkie, of all people, staring intently at her. The bubblegum party planner took a long sip of her orange juice, those cerulean eyes glued to hers the whole time. Other girls were exchanging curious expressions, until Pinkie was finished and finally opened her mouth to speak. “Sunset… it’s like he’s you, but a version that made the wrong choice,” she blurted out nonchalantly. Now all the eyes were on leather jacket clad girl, and she had to suppress a faint blush. It was hard to put into words herself, but Pinkie hit the nail of a problem right on the head. She did see something familiar in North Wind. A lot, in fact. Some students in the class liked to joke how North had dead eyes, but to her, they were the same type that had been staring at her from the mirror after the Fall Formal: Full of self-loathing and loneliness. An annoying part in Sunset’s brain made a loaded question out of that realization. If he really brought up such memories from within her, just how much of her annoyance was justified? Had it really been his aloof attitude that made her start arguing with him? Or had it just been that similarity that made her act the way she did? She usually didn’t consider herself that quick-tempered… well, at least not compared to Rainbow Dash. Sure she sometimes got mad about things, but she had learned to be calm these days! Still, if someone was as big of a jerk as North, nobody could blame her for losing her temper. … Unless it wasn’t because of his attitude, but because she saw some of herself in him. “Don’t read too much into it, darling,” Rarity suddenly said and placed her hand atop Sunset’s. “Whatever similarities you two have, they end at the point where you’ve become a civil and likeable person after your ordeal, whereas he is…” For a moment the fashionista gestured vaguely, searching for a right word. “... such a pisse-froid, if you’ll pardon my French.” Sunset nearly spat out the milk she was drinking, just barely holding it it in. Other girls in the group gave the two confused glances. Sometimes Sunset was glad she had studied other languages of this world, as it allowed her to be in on some of the more… colorful jokes that Rarity sometimes liked to deliver. The fashionista winked at her confidentially, stifling a giggle herself. “Well, whatever he is, what do y’all recon we should do about him?” Applejack asked, finishing up her potatoes. “Do about him?” Sunset arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Well duh! If he’s in cahoots with Dazzlings he’s gotta be up to no good!” Rainbow chimed him, slamming her fist into an open palm. “Are we really gonna just wait till they cook up another plan to take over the school?” Sunset grimaced, though she tried to hide the expression. Despite there being no Equestrian magic in North Wind that she could sense, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a possible problem. The longer he hung out with the Dazzling, the more likely it’d be he’d find out about what happened during the Battle of the Bands. And if he thought his new ‘friends’ had been slighted or something like that, he might try to get back at the lot of them. She really didn’t want another incident to happen so quickly. She had her hands full with trying to figure out how magic behaved in this world, after all. But, as Sunset was mulling over what should be done about the boy, Pinkie decided to speak up. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry,” the pink girl said and flashed a grin. “North might be a jerk but he’s not evil. Unlike the Dazzlings he’s no villain.” “Could’ve fooled me…” Rainbow grumbled. “I mean sure, he might be mad at us but he wouldn’t do something like those mean sirens, right?” Pinkie continued. “Why not give him a chance?” “I… I agree,” Fluttershy spoke, surprising everyone. There was a tint of new-found stubbornness in her voice.  “He might, um, deny it, but… I know what I saw. He helped me last week, I’m… I’m sure of it.” “Well, if Fluttershy’s thinks he’s worth it, Ah suppose we could give him another chance,” Applejack agreed after some hesitation. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was not happy to hear this. “Ugh, I don’t believe you guys!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration. “After all that jerk did you’re just gonna turn the other cheek!?” “It’s not about cheeks, silly!” Pinkie giggled and patted the jock on the back. “But we forgave Sunset, right? So can’t we do the same for North?” Rarity watched the two girls for a moment; Rainbow was still fuming, clearly not wanting to have anything to do with the delinquent. However, Pinkie’s words rang true. At the end of the day, being mean was nothing compared to trying to enslave the whole school, and Sunset had turned out alright. She couldn’t exactly deny that North didn’t deserve that same chance. Yet, even though that much was clear, the jock looked like she still wanted to argue against it. It was… quite unlike Rainbow Dash, if Rarity was completely honest. Weird, even. Like there had been something more to it. “I… I’m not completely sure about this myself, girls,” the seamstress finally admitted. “While I do see Pinkie Pie’s point, there are many things that could go wrong. While North Wind himself might not do anything, the Dazzlings might take advantage of our attempts to form a connection with him.” That made the group grow silent. Yes, the problem wasn’t just the aloof boy. There were also the three magical creatures behind him who remained a potential threat. Though their powers might be gone there were still so many mysteries surrounding sirens as a species, as Princess Twilight had put it. Nobody really knew what would happen to them after their gems were crushed. And worst of all… desperation could be a powerful source of motivation. “What do you think, Sunset?” Rarity asked, turning to look at her friend. Indeed, all eyes were on the fiery-haired girl once again. She felt the weight of the situation shift itself uncomfortably on her shoulders. One part of her wanted to stay vigilant for whatever the Dazzlings might try, especially through North Wind. Another part wanted to help the boy, as she knew what sort of emotions hid away behind such dead eyes. Those weeks after the Fall Formal were something she never wanted to repeat, and if someone else was suffering in a similar fashion, she wanted nothing more than to lend a helping hand. Eventually, she came to a decision. “... I’ll try to talk to him,” Sunset said and nodded to her friends. “Tomorrow, after school, I’ll test if he’s willing to be at least cordial.” “Not alone you won’t,” Rainbow Dash immediately replied and pumped a fist. “We’ll be there with you in case things go south!” “Darn tootin’,” Applejack chuckled. “Whatever happens, we’ll be there for ya, Sunset. So don’t ya worry none.” “Thanks girls. That… that actually makes it a bit easier,” Sunset answered with a smile. “I get he’s not my biggest fan after what happened when I showed him around the school, but with you there, we might just make some progress.” After saying this, Sunset set away her empty tray and plopped her backpack onto the table. She started rummaging the contents, meaning to fish out the journal Princess Twilight had given to her. It had become almost a habit for her to write to her if something slightly interesting happened at the school. However, the moment Sunset found the book, she immediately froze. The more she thought about it, the more the idea of writing about this seemed… well… “What’s wrong, darling?” Rarity asked, looking a bit worried. “It’s… it’s nothing. I just realized that if I asked Princess Twilight’s help in what to say to North, it might just honestly make things worse. She’s not exactly eloquent in things like this,” Sunset admitted, and the whole group giggled. “Plus I don’t wanna waste pages with stuff like this. Asking advice with magical problems is okay, but not with ‘boy trouble’.” The giggling instantly doubled in volume, and Sunset folded her arms, shooting a sarcastic look at her friends. “Because yes, I know how that sounds, and I know she’d misunderstand. We don’t need to give her the wrong idea.” “That we don’t, darling,” Rarity said with a mischievous smile before glancing at the clock on the wall. “Oh, is it that late already? Come now, girls. We’ll be late for the chemistry class.” “Oh, shoot!” Sunset groaned and slapped her forehead lightly. “I forgot my books at my locker. You guys go on ahead, I’ll catch up with you.” “Better hurry it up!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Miss Lemon said we’d be testing polyethylene shells again today!” Sunset Shimmer grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and raced to the doors of the cafeteria. She gave her friends a quick wave and headed out, bobbing and weaving through the crowds of students. Real-life applications of chemical concoctions made on the fly? She definitely didn’t want to miss that. *** It wasn’t until Sunset was almost at her locker that she realized something was very, very wrong. During the day Canterlot High was a place that teemed with life, moreso during the lunch break. Herds of students usually moved through the halls, eager to stuff themselves with whatever was on the menu that day, or just to socialize with their friends. They would pack the corridors afterwards, filing away time till the bell rung again. Therefore it was obvious that even if it was almost time for the next class, there should have been people in the hallway where Sunset’s locker was located. And yet it was empty and silent, veiled in harsh shadows. Sunset was not a stranger to weird situation, however, and she immediately scanned her surroundings for signs of trouble. She silently placed her backpack on the floor and slowed down her running steps, opting to instead sneak across the floor to make as little noise as possible. Just about every hair on the back of her neck was standing up. Oookay, Sunset thought, her mouth a thin, focused line. By all logic there should be people here and since I haven’t heard the bell or any announcements, it can’t be anything mundane that’s keeping this part of the school empty. She reached for her pocket and swiped her phone open, her muscle memory guiding her fingers to be ready to speed-dial Applejack at a moment’s notice. She knew that the farmer wouldn’t hesitate a moment if she got a call from her and didn’t hear nothing. Others might get confused for a second or ten, but Applejack had a knack for sensing when something was wrong. She’d immediately bolt for the lockers if she thought Sunset was in a pinch. Just stay calm, Sunset. The blaze-haired girl reassured herself. You’ve got through weirder stuff. Like that time when you got stuck in a memory that belonged to no one thanks to a botched spell. Remember that? There’s no way anything happening in the real world can top that insanity. So just be level-headed, think fast and act immediately. Reaching the corner where the corridor took a sharp L-shaped turn towards the main lobby, Sunset pressed herself against the wall and quieted her breathing. The hallway had been deathly quiet so far but she didn’t want to risk running into something she wasn’t prepared for. That would have been a horror movie cliché unlike any other. Sure enough, now that she was close enough and holding her breath, Sunset started to hear small sounds of metal against metal, followed by series of mechanical clicks. It was a familiar noise and she realized that it came from the number locks that each locker had. Most likely scenario? Something is trying to break into someone’s locker… wait. A horrible sense of dread suddenly ran up Sunset’s spine. My locker is over there! Are they- She immediately strained her neck to peek over the corner, eyes locked towards the right-side wall where her locker lay. Sunset’s surprise was great when she saw no one there. Instead the would-be-burglar was hunched over the lock of a locker on the opposite side, almost exactly across the aisle from Sunset’s. In other words, the one belonging to North Wind, as Sunset recognized. “Hey! What are you doing at North’s locker?” Sunset suddenly spoke out in a loud voice and stepped out of the shadows. “A-wah!” The reaction wasn’t exactly what Sunset expected. Instead of a threatening roar or a hiss, the would-be-burglar jumped away from the locker like it had burned her hands. The culprit then hastily looked around before spotting the redhead. For a tense moment those clear blue eyes were locked onto Sunset’s, before an obviously fake smile rose to the unknown woman’s face. “Noo~oothing?” she said, her odd intonation turning it into a vague question. “Yeah, right,” Sunset answered with a snort. Her face was the exact antithesis of amused. “It’s a common hobby nowadays to break into schools and fiddle with random locks. Happens every day, really.” “Wait, it does?” the woman asked, tilting her head in clear confusion. “No!” Sunset said and groaned, hitting her forehead with her hand. “That was supposed to be sarcasm! It’s pretty obvious you’re not supposed to be here, and you were trying to break into my classmate’s locker.” Her words were harsher than usual mostly thanks to how absurd the situation had become. Unlike the completely empty corridor, Sunset couldn’t sense any foreboding sense of danger coming from this woman. She acted just like a two-bit thug caught red-handed and it didn’t exactly fit with everything else that was going on. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, Sunset felt a bit cheated. “A~ah, figures,” the woman said, tousling her own hair with both hands out of frustration. “First big job in months and I get busted by a fifteen year old.” It was like watching a balloon deflate slowly. The woman’s shoulders sagged and her whole posture seemed to just slump over. A long sigh escaped from her lips and even her lustrous hair seemed to just lose some of its shine. Sunset had to admit, it was rather interesting to see such a brightly-dressed person to suddenly look so… grey, for the lack of a better word. “Be glad it wasn’t one of the other sophomores. They would have punched first and asked questions later, unlike me,” Sunset said with a smirk. Shen then took a threatening step forward and pointed a finger at the woman. “Now start talking. Who are you and what are you doing here?” When she heard Sunset’s voice demanding for answers, the atmosphere around the strange woman shifted once more. Her whole body seemed to tense up and those clear blue eyes of hers seemed to take in all of Sunset Shimmer. Slowly, a soft yet cold smile rose to the woman’s lips and she straightened up. As she cracked her neck as if she was a sprinter about to enter a race, CHS’s own redhead finally got a good look of who she was dealing with. “Now isn’t that the million dollar question? Or two 500,000 dollar questions in a row, I guess.” Her skin was the color of lemon and her hair fell as a cascading tufts of vibrant orange and soft pink far below her shoulders. Some of it was stuffed underneath the bright pink-and-white beanie with dangling pom poms she sported. She had a form fitting cyan sweater dress over which she had thrown a pink sleeveless hoodie with a decorative white belt. Add in the warm, white thigh highs and it gave a quite youthful image for the twenty-something year old woman. What Sunset found odd, however, was how such teenage-esque fashion sense was born from a woman who was capable of such an eerily knowing smile? “I guess you could call me a private eye, that’s my job description anyway,” the woman answered and put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. “Now gimme a sec. I need to text.” To Sunset’s surprise the woman, this unknown private eye before her, drew a smartphone from each pocket; one cyan and one pink. Then, showing frightening amount of ambidexterity, she began tapping away with both of her thumbs in perfect synchronization while keeping her eyes firmly locked in those of Sunset. “And you’re Sunset Shimmer, that’s given,” the woman continued. “A respected student here at Canterlot High School which is quite surprising considering how much trouble you caused this September. It’s quite fascinating, actually! A little over a month and people are already forgetting all that happened, but I guess that’s how the human mind works.” Cold sweat crept down Sunset’s neck. Where had this woman learned all of this? Principal Celestia had kept a tight lock over what happened on 8th of September, and the whole student body had agreed to not spread information about the Battle of the Bands that happened later that very same month. Now this unknown person implied she knew something about those events? Just who was she? “Stay sharp!” Sunset almost missed it. The private eye’s thumbs finally stayed their flurry of movement, only for the other fingers of her right hand to throw something straight at the girl’s face. Letting out an alarmed yelp, Sunset managed to swat away the incoming projectile only to have it then sadly flutter downwards in front of her. She deftly nabbed the small piece of laminated paper from the air and took a look at it. “A… a business card?” Sunset muttered in confusion. That was exactly what the woman had thrown to her. The card was deep indigo in color, but the most eye catching thing about it was the logo: a flower of a lily yawning open, revealing a peeking sun with eye at its center, staring straight at the reader. To the right of it, white text detailed information about the office itself, with an address to visit and phone number to call. Sunset’s attention was caught by the name printed above that information. “Private Investigators Lightly & Brightly…” she whispered, earning a nod from the woman. “Yep, that’s right. I’m Brightly, by the way. Just go ahead and call me Miss Brightly, I’m older than you anyway,” she flashed her a momentary grin. “And since you’re such a smart girl, Sunset Shimmer, I bet you can also figure that I’m here on a proper job. So stop scowling, you’ll hurt your already mediocre face.” The unnecessary jab at her looks caused Sunset to recoil a bit and stare at Brightly, flabbergasted. Where had that come from? The woman was all smiles, but that barb in her words was unmistaken. “H-hey! That was totally uncalle-” Sunset stopped mid-sentence to groan and rub her temples. She’d get nowhere if she got suckered into Brightly’s pace. “Nevermind. So, what’s private eye doing with the locker of a CHS’ student?” “Well investigating it, duh,” Brightly answered, waving both her phones into Sunset’s direction. “That should be super obvious. There’s been some hubbub about mister North Wind’s wub-wub so I gave your principal a sup-sup but she refused to talk about this rubrub so I came over here after that nubnub to give his locker my own brand of rub-a-dub-dub. Miss Brightly frowned at the screens of her phones. “Wow. Try saying that three times fast,” she grunted, sounding almost disappointed. “Wait, wait, wait. So, Principal Celestia refused to divulge student’s information so you… just decided to break into his locker?” Sunset asked, astonished at the prospect and the fact that she had managed to understand that nonsense. “I think you’re breaking a whole bunch of laws here, miss.” “Oh don’t you worry your mediocre little head with,” Brightly answered, now twirling her phones like a pair of revolvers. “It’s just that Mister Thrush Hermit here has caused some waves before and we need to find out if he’s gonna stay put and fish, rock the boat or capsize it completely.” Sunset arched an eyebrow at the older woman. With every sentence Miss Brightly was turning more incomprehensible. It didn’t help that she was treating her phones like yo-yos. “Excuse me?” “It’s alright, I don’t expect you to understand,” Brightly said and giggled with a hint of malice. Those disturbingly blue eyes gave the younger girl another once-over, and a cold smile spread on the detective’s lips. “I mean… you are a pony, after all.” Sunset heart nearly stopped when those words fell from the woman’s lips. Sudden rush of thoughts entered the mind of the redhead. Why? How? In what manner had this strange woman found out about her greatest secret? Even most of the students at CHS didn’t know the whole truth, just bits and pieces. Those who knew that she was originally a citizen of Equestria, a pony and not a human, could be counted with fingers of two hands; And Sunset trusted all of them not to spread the word. So, that pounding question remained, like a particularly stubborn case of fever: How? How did this woman know? “Who… who on earth are you…?” Sunset whispered, her eyes darting around the empty corridor. She wasn’t sure what she was searching, but out of the blue, she felt lot less safe. “Why, I’m a human, of course,” Brightly laughed and pointed her pink phone at herself, taking a selfie. “Class Mammalia, order Primates, family Hominidae, species Homo Sapiens.” Her cyan phone swung forwards and before Sunset could react, it had snapped a picture of her. The screen of the phone was turned towards her, and she could see her own, shocked face staring back at her. Droplets of sweat were running down her face and it wasn’t because she was tired. No, it was the emerging fear that caused those droplets. “And you, Sunset Shimmer, are a pony,” Brightly continued, waving the picture at Sunset like damning evidence. “Class Mammalia, order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, species Equus Amicitia, subspecies Equus Amicitia Magia.” The way Brightly rattled off these scientific terms made Sunset balk. That couldn’t be right. There was no way there was existing Earth terminology for the ponies of Equestria. It was ridiculous, absurd even. So why didn’t this private eye look even a bit like she was lying? “H-how… how do you know all this?” Sunset’s question was nothing more than a whisper. Miss Brightly giggled, now aiming both of her phones at the redhead, those camera-lenses looming like eyes of a predator in the dim hallway. “Uh, hello? That’s my job you know,” she said. “I’m the one who always knows. Lightly is the one who always finds. We’re quite good like that.” Stunned silence was all that followed. The normal everyday life that Sunset had thought she knew came crumbling down around her. Her secret was out. This woman who was clearly more than she was letting on knew about it. For some reason the very same woman was trying to break into her classmate’s locker. Sinking feeling filled Sunset’s stomach, the very same kind that had appeared when she first saw hints of the sirens using magic. This had to be it, the thing she had been dreading to appear again. Trouble involving magic. “Well anyways, I think I gotta jet. Since you broke through my barrier it’s gonna come down any second now, and I don’t wanna stay here and answer awkward questions,” Miss Brightly said, waving her phones to mimic a shrug. “But hey, don’t worry! You’ll soon be wrapped up in your own… I guess detinue would be a clever way to phrase it… yeah, detinue problem. So have fun with that, I guess?” Pointing those accursed phones of hers towards Sunset, Brightly used them as substitutes for fingerguns. She then spun on her heels so that her vivid hair fluttered in the air magnificently. Two steps on the hard floor took the private eye towards the exit, leaving Sunset Shimmer to stare at her wake. She knew that she had to say something. Sunset couldn’t just let this absurd moment fade away. Something had happened… or something had started. Whatever the case, there was one last thing she had to know. “Wait!” Her yell cut the silent air once more. “Just… just who are you!?” With a sigh Brightly stopped dead on her tracks. Her thumbs jabbed the screens of her phones in rapid succession and then, almost lazily, she lifted them up so that their screens pointed at Sunset over their owner’s shoulders. Both screens showed a set of two symbols, all which Sunset easily recognized. The cyan phone showcased the symbols for planets Earth and Saturn. Meanwhile the pink phone displayed the symbols for astrological signs Gemini and Libra. “Get it?” Brightly asked and giggled. Without waiting for an answer… no, knowing she’d get no answer, Brightly put her phones back to her pockets. With steady steps she walked away from Sunset, leaving behind the empty hallway of lockers. What remained was an eerie sense of quietness and redheaded girl who was unable to truly comprehend what had just happened. Sunset Shimmer stood there, rooted on that spot, for a good while. In her right hand she held the business card given to her. At some point sounds and colors seemed to return to the world, but she paid it no mind. Her mind was going through hypotheses and possible explanations for what had transpired. However, over and over again, her thoughts returned to that business card. Private Eyes Lightly & Brightly… They had something to do with North Wind, and Sunset promised herself she would find out what.