//------------------------------// // Worries // Story: Sunset's Scars // by Mystic Shadows //------------------------------// Twilight was worried. Now, granted, she was almost always worried about a variety of things-- her future, her parents' health, her grades, her college applications, Spike, and a ton of other things. However, her friends-- and wasn't that a novel idea-- her friends were helping her deal with her worries. They're not your friends. They're her friends. But this time she was worried about something in particular--rather, someone. Twilight had started keeping a close eye on Sunset after their trip to the mall. While at the mall, Twilight had noticed that Sunset had seemed distracted. Normally, Sunset would step in when Rainbow and Applejack argued and kept--attempted to keep-- Pinkie Pie on task, while making sure that both Twilight and Fluttershy had their voices heard. And yet, this time, Sunset was quiet throughout the whole trip. Twilight had asked the others about it, but they hadn't thought anything was weird, although Rarity had mentioned being surprised at the jacket Sunset was wearing. When Twilight asked, Rarity said that it was from Before the Formal-- and Twilight had heard the capitalization in the sentence. Now, Twilight was a scientist, and so, followed the Scientific Method. Step One: Ask a question. Twilights' question was: What was wrong with Sunset? "I don't think you can use the scientific method on humans, Twilight." "Hush, Spike." Step Two: Do background research. While Sunset and the others had referenced a time when Sunset was mean and ruled the school with an iron fist, Twilight had seen no sign of this--except for when Sunset had yelled at her during the Games. Attempting to inquire further about such exploits had left her frustrated. No-one would talk about it-- Sunset because she didn't like remembering it and the girls were trying to respect that. But not even the rest of the school would talk about it. Fine. She would move to the next incident. The Dazzlings. Apparently, they came and used mind control to do something. She wasn't entirely certain exactly what they had been trying to do. And she didn't believe they used mind control-- it was probably some type of large-scale hypnosis. She had seen the 'battle' where a Unicorn/Pegasus combination had 'fought' against some type of sea-ponies. It seemed that the school believed that Sunset had 'saved' them from the Dazzlings. While she believed the battle was nothing more than CGI and holograms, Twilight had seen the Rainbooms do what they called 'ponying up'- getting pony ears, hair extensions, and wings for Rainbow and Fluttershy. "Sunset seems pretty happy when she ponies up. Maybe she misses home?" "That's a good point, Spike." According to the girls, Sunset was from a faraway place where the sapient beings were ponies. So, there might be days when she missed her home and family, right? Step 3: Form a hypothesis. Sunset is homesick. Step 4: Test with an experiment. "Didn't Mom and Dad say no more human experimentation?" If Sunset is truly a pony, she's not human. Therefore, it wouldn't be human experimentation. "Don't be silly, Spike. I won't be experimenting. I'll just be.... testing. Testing Sunset for homesickness." "Uh-huh. How?" Problem: How does one test for homesickness? Doing a quick search, Twilight found 9 symptoms of homesickness, which included: Constantly thinking about home Anxiety Decreased motivation Feeling different from others who seem to be having a good time Irritability Loneliness Missing the people, things, and places associated with home A negative outlook Sadness Social withdrawal Wishing for a connection with someone who will make everything feel better. "Most of these have to do with feelings. I can't do a test for feelings." "Maybe not. But you can observe, right? Every feeling has a way to be shown, right? Like, thinking about home, doesn't Sunset always have that book of hers? "That's true. I'll observe Sunset and see what else has changed recently. You're a genius, Spike." Over the next couple of weeks, Twilight attempted to put her plan of observing Sunset into action. Twilight thought it would be better to try to watch Sunset when she thought she was alone and so had decided to follow Sunset. However, it was hard to put it into practice. Every time Twilight thought she might be able to catch Sunset unawares, Sunset would find her. It seemed as if Sunset had a built-in Twilight detector. "No, I think you're just being too obvious." "What, you think you could do better?" "Yes, yes, I do." Spike had better luck following Sunset unobserved. Besides always having the book with her, it seemed as if Sunset was rarely at her apartment. She would help Fluttershy with the animal shelter. She would play sports with Rainbow Dash. She would be Raritys' pincushion. She would help Twilight with her science experimentations. She would help Applejack on the farm. She even helped Pinkie Pie bake and babysit Pumpkin and Pound Cake. If she wasn't with one of them, she would be at her job or just hanging around the school. "Well, it doesn't sound like she's withdrawing from society. But she could be combating loneliness by being with everyone. Listening to the conversations between everyone, she has been talking about Equestria more often. And she often hangs around the statue, where the portal resides. That would be 3 of the 9 symptoms right there." "She talks a lot about what Magic could do now that its' in this world. Seems like she's worried about it. Talks like its' her fault Magic is here." "Anxiety. Negativity. That's 5. More than 50%. While its' not overwhelming evidence, I definitely believe Sunset suffers from homesickness. Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix it." You could make it worse. Force her back through the portal. "Maybe just being there is enough for now."