Chapter 14: Overboard
Sunset Shimmer hummed a tune to herself as she walked down the corridor of the apartment complex. Her eyes were largely fixed on her phone, only glancing up every so often to check her surroundings. A video of a line of towers and structures firing down on miniature monsters dominated her screen.
Mobile games, like their kin, were something that Sunset had never given much attention or thought. But when Rainbow showed her a few after class today, she found herself interested. So it was that, after doing some searching of her own, Sunset found herself completely hooked on a playlist detailing some fancy tower defense game.
Walking down the hall, and thankfully not running into anything, Sunset stopped by her apartment door and turned her key in the lock. "I'm back!"
"Hello..." there was a deep inhaling of breath followed by an exhale, "Sunset. How was school?"
The anemic tone of Sunny's voice made the teenager pause, as did the realization that the apartment's thermostat had been turned way up.
Immediately, Sunset spotted her mentor. Her body was splayed across the sofa, wrapped in one of their extra blankets. One of her arms hung limp, barely peeking out from the blanket, while the other shielded the woman's eyes. Her necklace rested on the coffee table.
"It was fine. But are you okay?"
"It's nothing to be concerned about," said Sunny, rolling onto her side to stare at Sunset. "I, and by which I mean my actual body, is feeling quite tired and sore at the moment, and that sensation made itself known in the construct." She shivered under her blanket. "Not to mention very, very cold."
Sunset sat down on the sofa's armrest, right next to her mentor's head. "Did something bad happen?"
"On the contrary, Cadance and Shining Armor just had their first foal. Luna and I, along with Twilight and her friends, were naturally invited to the crystalling."
"A crystaling?" Sunset asked, mind ready to dig into that particular topic, before another question popped into her head. "Wait, if Cadance was the one that just had a baby, why are you so tired?"
Sunny gave a small smile, letting her other arm sink beneath the blanket. "There was some... commotion prior to the ceremony which Luna and I had to handle. It's nothing for their human counterparts to worry about in the future," she amended quickly, noticing the unspoken question Sunset had been ready to ask. "It was something magic-related, so I doubt they'll have the same issues with their Flurry Heart."
Sunset hummed. That was good news, certainly, but it just made her even more curious to know what had actually happened. For the moment, she latched onto one particular detail. "Flurry Heart?"
The pink-haired woman offered a weak chuckle. "It, as they say, makes sense in context."
Groaning, she slowly pushed herself into an upright position. Sunny shivered as the blanket pooled to the floor, goose pimples forming across her skin. "I'd tell you more, but at the moment, I think a hot shower would be best. The sensation of the water may cross over into my proper body."
With all the speed of a tortoise, Sunny made her way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. The sound of the shower faucet turning on came through the wood.
Kicking off her boots and removing her jacket, Sunset stretched, allowing herself to relax. Cadance had had a baby. From what she remembered of the pink alicorn, she'd make a natural parent, for sure. But still, curiosity gnawed at her brain. Glancing down, she spotted her backpack.
Well, since Princess Celestia is busy, why don't I ask somepony else?
Picking up her journal, she took out her pen and began writing.
Dear Twilight
How are things going over there? I just got back from school, and Sunny told me about Flurry Heart. She said there was some kind of problem, but she was so worn out and cold that she wouldn't give me any details before she went to take a hot shower. So what happened? Is everything okay over there? And what the hay is a crystaling?
Sunset Shimmer
For a moment, she sat there in silence, before the journal glowed, and a response began to magically appear on the page.
Dear Sunset
The construct is exhausted? I know Princess Celestia said it could share memories, but it's actually experiencing physiological feedback? That's so fascinating! I wonder how far that extends? Maybe I need to do some experiments. I could—
Sorry, I got distracted there, didn't I? No need to worry. Everything is perfectly fine now, though it was kind of scary for a while. To answer your questions, a crystaling is a special ceremony performed in the Crystal Empire (that's Cadance's kingdom, if you didn't know) to celebrate the birth of a new crystal pony.
As for the problem... Flurry Heart is an alicorn. Can you believe it? A baby alicorn! I certainly couldn't, and I saw it with my own eyes.
Unfortunately, this meant Flurry's magic was incredibly powerful. Think a normal foal's magical surges, then multiply that by fifty. By the time we got there, poor Cadance and Shining had been up for days, which would have been bad enough. But then Flurry accidentally shattered the Crystal Heart, and as a result, the weather of the Frozen North threatened to bury the capital.
But thanks to some help from Starlight's old friend Sunburst, we were able to repair the Crystal Heart (and moderate Flurry's magic to something manageable), so everything went back to normal. Sunny's reaction is probably due to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna holding back the blizzard.
I still can't believe I'm an aunt now. It's all so hard to take in. And Flurry is so ADORABLE, Sunset! I'm going to have to send you pictures when I can. Which reminds me, I didn't actually take any. How could I forget? I'm going to have to add "pack camera" to my checklist.
And get a new camera. Spike's reminding me that my last one got ruined during an experiment.
Oh, Pinkie's back at the dessert cart. I'd better go get something before she cleans it out again. I'll have to write you more later.
Your Friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle
Sunset closed the journal, chuckling a little at Pinkie Pie's antics. That's Pinkie, alright.
A baby alicorn. Before she'd left Equestria all those years ago, she would've been enraged by that sort of thing, of a pony that had simply been born with the wings she'd been convinced she deserved. Even now, there was a tiny voice in the very back of her head, muttering darkly.
Sunset squelched that thought back where it belonged. It was stupid to hate a pony just for being born that way. Besides, by that logic, she'd have to hate both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna too. They'd been alicorns from day one.
Her brain paused, stretching that the thought out further. How had Princess Celestia and Luna been born? Did they even have parents? She vaguely remembered Celestia muttering something that sounded like "mother" once, but beyond that, Celestia never really said much.
Sunset's descent into the mental quicksand that was the origins of the princesses and all the philosophical implications therein was stopped by a buzzing from her phone. Looking at the screen, she saw an incoming text from the human Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight: Sunset, help! Spike accidentally got mud on my agenda. What was today's chemistry homework?
Sunset pulled out her own agenda, flipping through the pages until she found today's date.
Sunset: Problems 22-27, 30-38, and 40-42.
The response came within five seconds. Had Twilight even read the message?
Twilight: Thank you.
Sunset was about to type a simple "welcome", but stayed her hand. Why not share the news?
Sunset: Welcome. Hey, you'll never guess what Princess Twilight just messaged me about.
Sunset smiled as she continued to type away.
Sunny released a contented sigh as she exited the bathroom, a wave of steam trailing behind her. She ran a brush through her hair, dampness still clinging to the pink strands as she smoothed them into place. A chuckle drew her attention to the sofa, and she saw Sunset staring down at her phone. "Something amusing?"
Sunset looked up in surprise. "I was just texting Twilight. I already messaged Princess Twilight before she called, so I was telling her about Flurry Heart." She laughed again. "She didn't want too many details; spoilers, you know? But the idea of it has her almost as excited as Princess Twilight."
She regarded Sunny for a moment. "How are you? Feeling better?"
"Much, thank you," answered Sunny. Noticing her blouse was crooked, she grabbed her necklace, and with a flash of golden light, the brush was working on its own as she fixed the buttons. "It was just what I needed." It had also probably been the hottest shower she'd ever taken in a very long time, almost scalding. But it had been well worth it to fight off the horrible chill and aching muscles.
"And what about the real you?" asked Sunset, averting her eyes to avoid any potentially awkward views.
"Much the same, I'm happy to report." Even now, tapping into the flow of memories from her proper body, she knew the sensation of heat on skin had managed to travel back across the dimensions, reciprocated by a feeling of relief.
With one final stroke, the brush flew off and returned to the bathroom. Fixing the last button, Sunny grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Downstairs. It occurred to me while I was showering that I still need to give the landlady the deposit. I'll be back shortly."
Walking out into the hallway, Sunny made her way to the elevator, wondering if the landlady, Cozy Hearth, had made any cookies. When she and Sunset had met the woman the first time, Cozy had mentioned how she liked baking cookies, and would be more than happy to share them with her tenants if they visited.
As she walked into the lobby of the building, Sunny's eyes drifted to the window, and saw something, or rather, someone, she'd not been expecting. There, out at the front of the building, was Mrs. Circinus, her gaze fixed to the ground, while her fingers were splotched with dirt.
Now what could she be doing here? I thought she was done for after yesterday. Deciding it best to find out sooner rather than later, Sunny headed for the door. "Hello there, Mrs. Circinus."
The indigo-haired woman jumped, whirling around to see Sunny standing before her. She cleared her throat, seeming just a trifle awkward at having been caught doing whatever she was doing. "Hello, Miss Skies."
Sunny offered her a polite smile. "Were you looking for something?"
A look of irritation crossed the woman's face. "Yes. I was searching for my car keys."
"Oh?" asked Sunny, doing her best to suppress her amusement. "You seemed to have them yesterday when we ran into each other."
"Those were my spares," explained Circinus, irritation growing. "I... lost my keys when I came here yesterday, and I don't like the thought of even one copy sitting around for someone else to pick up."
Well, at least that explained what she was doing out here. Still, Sunny felt the need for a bit of verbal sparring. "I see. For a moment I thought you had another problem to work out with me."
The social worker gave her a sharp look. "Did I detect a hint of irritation? I'm merely doing my job."
"On no, not at all. But you did seem quite convinced that I was a fake." She regarded the woman for a moment, noticing how her purple eyes had darkened with suspicion and anger. "In fact, I get the distinct feeling that you still don't believe it."
Circinus sniffed sharply. "As I said before, I've learned to trust my intuition, almost as much as I trust facts. You will forgive me, Miss Skies, if despite it all, something in me still has doubts."
"I suppose that's your own problem, then," said Sunny with a carefree shrug of her shoulders. "I've done everything I can to convince you." She locked eyes with the other woman. "Though I would like to point out that if you continue visiting, and more importantly, insisting I'm a fake without just cause, it could be considered a form of harassment."
The indigo-haired woman went rigid, anger rising on her sharp features, before being quickly hidden by an icy mask. Sunny had hit a nerve. "Is that meant to be a threat?"
"Only a warning. I don't think that sort of thing would go over well with your superiors, nor your attempt to streamline the adoption process."
"If you're thinking you can threaten me, Miss Skies, I should inform you that I'm quite well respected in my department, thank you."
Respected, or feared? Sunny could easily see more of the latter and less of the former.
"And as far as my actions are concerned, it seemed a convenient and suitable match. Your daughter would have had opportunities and resources opened up for her, and the security of a bright future."
"From what Sunset told me, it seemed like it would've been lacking in love. That hardly seems a worthwhile trade."
"Those who possess talents and potential and fail to use them are the true wastes of society," replied Circinus. The words almost sounded like a mantra, spoken with the conviction of a zealot, and all the chill of an arctic gale.
She offered Sunny a polite smile. "But I assure you, Miss Shimmer's impressions were quite mistaken. I only had the most benign of intentions."
Sunny donned her own mask of politeness. "I'm sure. But even still, if this were to be reported to your superiors, it could even make its way to court."
For a moment, there was silence. "Miss Skies," said Circinus coolly, "if you aren't Sunset Shimmer's mother—"
"I am."
"A hypothetical, then. If you were, in fact, actually a fake, though I do not know how at the moment, but if you were, then court would be a risk for you too, wouldn't it?" She took a few threatening steps forward. "The thing with forgeries is that, while you can fool some experts, you can never fool them all. Eventually, one will uncover the deception. And a court of law is a difficult place to hide in. So many potential background checks that could unearth even the slightest inaccuracy or flaw."
Centuries of practice allowed Sunny to keep her face neutral. "So what you're saying is that a court case could be detrimental to both of us, is that correct? Hypothetically speaking, of course."
Circinus nodded. "Hypothetically."
"Then I suppose, in this hypothetical situation, it would depend on who would take those risks, now wouldn't it?" She held the other woman's gaze for several seconds. Then she offered a smile. "But of course, I'm not a fake, so there wouldn't be any real risks for me."
"Of course you're not," grumbled the other woman.
Still smiling, Sunny turned her attention to the bushes. "Ah, now what's this?" Bending down, she picked up a set of silver keys and offered them to Circinus. "Are these the ones you lost?"
"... Yes, they are." She snatched the keys away, offering a stiff thank-you before turning around and walking towards a dark green car parked only a few feet away.
Sunny raised an eyebrow. That certainly wasn't the vehicle she'd used the day before. Did she have another? From what she'd gathered of this world, most humans only owned one.
Circinus glared at the vehicle with disgust as she took out a different set of keys to unlock it. As she did, Sunny called to her. "Good day, Mrs. Circinus!"
The indigo-haired woman's head snapped in Sunny's direction, and a split second glare was replaced once again by an icy look. "Good day. Miss Skies."
As the woman drove off, Sunny walked back inside, her mood lifted even higher from the encounter. Walking down the hall, she made her way to Cozy Hearth's office, located adjacent to her own apartment.
Knocking on the door, Sunny heard a muffled response, and headed inside.
The office interior would strike one as odd, in the sense that it was less of an office and more like a living room. There were couches and tables for guests, as well as several personal photographs on the wall. The smell of cinnamon permeated the air, both from an air freshener plugged into an outlet, and from lingering smells creeping in from under the connecting door to Cozy's apartment.
In fact, the only thing that indicated it was an office other than the plate on the door, was the small desk in the middle of the room and a pair of wooden file drawers at the back.
It was, Sunny felt, an interior to match its owner. Cozy Hearth was a somewhat petite woman, standing an inch below the average, and on the heavier side, with peach-colored skin, lively light brown eyes that were only barely touched by the wrinkles of middle age, and blonde hair cut short in a wedge style.
The most recognizable thing about Cozy, however, was her white apron, emblazoned with the image of a russet kitten curled up against a roaring fireplace. She'd been wearing it during that first meeting, and had openly admitted her great sentimental attachment for the garment, and how she wore it as often as one would wear a favorite pair of shoes.
The swivel chair behind the desk was turned around, a small crown of blonde poking its way over the top. It might have been her imagination, but it looked a little different. "Mrs. Hearth, it's Sunny Skies. I brought the deposit you asked for."
There was no response. "Mrs. Hearth?"
The chair turned around, and Sunny came face-to-face not with Cozy Hearth, but with a much younger, paler girl, with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She gave a bright smile. "Like, hi!"
"Hello," replied Sunny slowly. Was this a relative? She didn't look like one. "I'm Sunny Skies. Where is Mrs. Hearth?"
The girl bounced a little in the swivel chair, seeming to test the softness of the cushions. "She's, like, not here."
"Is she going to be back soon? My daughter and I are new tenants here, and I brought the deposit by for her."
"She'll be back, like, never," replied the girl. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger before her an idea seemed to strike her. "Hey... did you say Sunny Skies?"
"Um, yes. Yes I did. But what do you mean she'll never be back?"
The young woman wasn't paying any attention to her. Instead, she'd grabbed a book and was flipping through the pages. "I, like, knew it! You're the one with Little Ruby!"
Sunny blinked. "Who?"
The blonde was typing away on her phone, another idea bubbling in her head. "Wouldn't Ruby be back by now? Like, what time do schools get out?" After a few moments of silence, she stopped typing, her eyes lighting up. "Ooh! I bet she is. I bet she's here right now!" Hopping to her feet, she bolted past Sunny out of the office, heading straight for the elevator.
At a loss for what to make of the situation, and with her only seeming lead to the location of Cozy Hearth literally getting away, Sunny did the only thing she could think of. She chased after the girl.
Sunset had been in the middle of watching another game on YourVids when she heard the commotion outside the door, a mix of energized footsteps and protests. It was just enough of a warning that she didn't jump when the door swung open and smacked against the wall.
"Ruby?! Are you here?!"
Sunset froze, dropping her phone. Oh, you've got to be kidding me. She looked up. Pearl Luxury was indeed standing in her living room. I was having such a good day, too.
"Young lady, would you please slow down and listen to me?" huffed Sunny as she entered, trying to catch her breath. Her usually calm demeanor was starting to break. "This is my apartment and—"
"There you are! Ruby. I was, like, hoping you were here." Pearl looked around. "Wow, this place is so basic. How do you like, live here?"
Her eyes landed on Sunset's jacket draped over the sofa arm. "You're still wearing this thing? No way!" Grabbing it, she flung it out into the hallway. "I told you, you really shouldn't be going for the biker chick look."
"Hey!" screamed Sunset, shooting to her feet.
Having failed to get Pearl's attention, Sunny slipped away to retrieve the mistreated garment. The minute she left, however, Pearl's heeled foot shot backwards, shutting the door on her as if she were the unwanted visitor rather than Pearl. If the heiress cared about her rude behavior at all, or Sunny's very pinched expression as she let herself back in, it wasn't visible.
"What are you even doing here, Pearl?" demanded the teen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunny's eyes widen just a fraction. "How'd you even find out my address? We just moved."
"That's, like, easy," replied Pearl. "I looked up your MyStable page."
"It's private," Sunset fired back, feeling a small ache pulse through her skull.
"Yeah, but your friends' aren't." Pearl did something on her phone before holding up the screen. It showed Pinkie's MyStable page, and a very recent post declaring how she was helping Sunset move. She'd even mentioned the street the complex was on.
Note to self: Talk to Pinkie Pie about privacy settings. The ache pulsed again, but she ignored it. "Well, now that you're here, you can leave." She was most definitely not in the mood to deal with Pearl again, especially if she didn't have to.
Giving the older girl a light shove, she pushed her toward the doorway. Cyan eyes glanced over to Sunny, silently asking the woman to open the door. Sunny caught the message, grabbing the handle in preparation to eject this intrusion into their lives.
Pearl dug her heels into the carpet, pushing back with equal force. "But Ruby, I wanted to talk to you!"
"My name's not Ruby, and we've got nothing to talk about," replied Sunset quickly as she increased her efforts, putting her legs fully into it as she fought back against Pearl's deceptive amount of strength. The sooner this nonsense was over, the better. "My mom's back, so you'll have to go looking for a sister somewhere else. Now get out of my apartment."
Still the blonde resisted, refusing to give an inch. "You mean my apartment. I, like, own the building now."
Sunset's feet slipped out from under her. She swung her arms in the air, just managing to keep her balance. "W-WHAT?!" she sputtered.
"You own the building?" asked Sunny in shock, hand falling away from the door handle.
Pearl nodded her head, looking earnestly at Sunset. "I, like, wanted to talk to you."
Sunset stared incredulously at the blonde. "You bought the whole building... just to talk to me?"
"I thought you might still be all mad at me and wouldn't, like, want to talk to me after I messed up the date of our trip," explained Pearl, cheeks coloring in embarrassment. "But then I had this totally awesome idea! You, like, have to talk to the landlady, so I asked Momma. She said I needed business experience anyway, so she had her lawyers make an offer."
Sunset groaned, the ache in her skull pulsing even harder now. This is just going from bad to worse. And though she hated to admit it, Pearl was right. For the tenants of an apartment building, it was impossible to avoid talking to the landlord. One way or another, you had to interact with them.
"What happened to Cozy Hearth?" asked Sunny with obvious concern. "And why didn't she say anything about this?"
Both were pertinent questions, and Sunset felt her own concern rising as well. Even from their bare minimal interactions, Mrs. Hearth's kindness and consideration toward others had stood out like a beacon in the night. Not only that, but she'd said quite clearly that when something changed in the building, she took it upon herself to tell every tenant personally, rather than relying on an informal letter or notice.
So why hadn't she said anything over the last few days? She should have come by to tell them, maybe even offer a goodbye, before moving out.
"Oh. She, like, said something about going to visit her kids," replied Pearl, offering a soured glance at Sunny. "She, like, wanted to tell everybody here, but I told her not to. I, like, wanted to surprise you." Pearl smiled brightly at Sunset. "Are you surprised?"
"Yeah. Definitely surprised," she replied flatly.
"Like, I'm still totally sorry I messed up the dates on the Paris trip," continued the heiress. "But I'm ready to make up for it! I got a whole bunch of decorators to help with your room, and then we can go to New York! Wouldn't that be totally awesome? It's not, like, Paris, but it'll be something to start with until Momma gets the paperwork and stuff done, and we can go to Paris for real."
"Pearl, you can't a—"
"And like, you should know, Momma's Paris trip got canceled. The business thing didn't go through or some stuff, which was super disappointing," apologized the blonde, giving Sunset a very serious look.
Then, like the flip of a switch, she was hopping up and down on her feet in almost jubilant excitement, clapping her hands together. "But I talked to Momma, and she says she trust me to go to Paris by myself, so once you move in and stuff, we can totally go there, just the two of us! Come on, let's get all your stuff! I'll drive you back to our house."
Pearl's hand grasped Sunset's wrist, and suddenly, the momentum was reversed, Pearl dragging her deeper into the apartment. "I can't lend you any of my clothes, I'm, like, too tall. It's totally better for you to get your own stuff. But don't worry, I'll help you with everything! Is this your room over here?"
Now, it was Sunset's turn to dig in her heels. "Would you knock it off?!" she demanded.
Pearl let go, turning to Sunset in surprise. "Like, what is it?"
"I'm not going with you, that's what!" snapped Sunset. "I'm not your sister. Can't you understand that? Besides, you said you're the landlady. So how can you drive out of town?"
Pearl waved a hand. "I can have somebody else fill in. Besides, I told Momma I'd come back and, like, run it myself for a while if she let me do this. Now come on, Ruby, I know you're mad, but stop messing around."
Sunset wrenched her hand free from Pearl's grip. "How am I messing around? I'm telling you no."
The blonde frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Like, seriously, Ruby. You can quit the prank now."
"What prank?" asked Sunset incredulously. What in Equestria was she going on about now?
"Like, the one where she showed up," clarified Pearl, pointing over to Sunny. "I was really mad at first, and super sad, but then I realized, like, you were just getting back at me for messing up those dates."
The former unicorn felt her jaw slacken. Pearl honestly thought that she'd faked having a parent because Pearl wasn't taking her to Paris when she said she would? "Pearl, this is really my mom."
"That was totally mean, by the way!" Pearl scolded, not hearing a word. "It was really, really mean!" Her soured expression lightened. "But I'm your big sister, so I'll, like, forgive you. I would have been super mad too, so I can be mag... mag..." Her brow furrowed. "What was that word? Mag..."
"I believe you're thinking of magnanimous," suggested Sunny.
Pearl glanced Sunny's way, seeming ready to respond, when a guitar riff tore through the air. Sunset's phone, still sitting on the sofa, flashed with Rainbow's picture.
"You're still hanging out with them?" asked Pearl in shock. "You, like, really shouldn't. I heard they were totally rotten, and if you're, like, having problems with being unpopular, they're so not going to help. I mean, country bumpkins could be fun, but not, like, all the time, and that one with the glasses probably isn't popular either."
Sunset's hands tightened into fists, muscles contracting harder with each insult. "Pearl, I don't care what you think. Now will you please be quiet and listen?"
For all the good it did, Pearl's ears may as well have been plugged with wax. "Being friends with a wannabe designer is so tacky, it, like, screams unpopular. And rainbow hair is so... yuck. I, like, just don't get it.
"And that girl with the pink hair? I mean the other one, the, like, not-curly one. She's really pretty. Has she ever, like, tried modeling? I wouldn't let her. She seemed like a big crybaby, and my friend High Heel says crybabies make the worst models."
Pearl smiled brightly. "I should totally introduce you to my friends. They know popular. Diamond Facet is so much fun. But, like, no boys." She gave the teen a pat on the head, which Sunset found more than a little patronizing. "You're too young to be hanging around the boys I know."
The heiress paused in thought. "Have you even had a boyfriend? Like, probably not if you're so unpopular."
As Sunset growled in frustration, Sunny took that moment to step in, placing a gentle hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Miss Luxury, I think there's been some confusion on your part." Her voice was composed, soothing, like a drink of ice water on a summer day. "Why don't we sit down and talk this over?"
Blonde curls narrowly avoided whipping Sunny in the face as Pearl turned to glare at her. "You stay out of this," she said coldly, shrugging off Sunny's hand. "I'm talking to her, not you. So you, like, be quiet."
"Hey!" yelled Sunset. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"Come on, Ruby," said Pearl, her own cheeks turning red in anger, "just quit it. This isn't funny anymore! I know you're pranking me, so, like, give it up. I'm totally sorry. Isn't that enough?"
"Just how dense are you?!" Sunset screamed. "I already told you, I'm not pranking you!"
"Yes you are, yes you are!" Pearl answered back, matching Sunset's volume. "It's not funny! Stop it!"
The two continued to yell back and forth, Sunset continuing to deny Pearl's ludicrous suggestions. Her heart pounded in her ears as she continued to yell, soreness stabbing at her throat as the two increased in volume.
Finally, Sunny stepped between the two, pushing them apart. "Sunset, please try to calm down," she said calmly. "Screaming like this won't help, and I'd rather not draw in the neighbors."
Glancing up to meet her mentor's eyes, Sunset took a few cleansing breaths. The anger flooding her body was starting to ebb. "Sorry," she muttered.
Sunny then turned to Pearl, giving the blonde one of her most gentle and diplomatic smiles. "Miss Luxury, this isn't a prank. Now please, why don't we sit down and calmly talk this over? I have some tea if you'd like it."
But Pearl's anger wasn't soothed. If anything, it just seemed to grow. "You know what I want? I want you to go away! Did Ruby's friends hire you or something? Whatever they paid you, I'll double it." She took a checkbook out of her purse. "I'll triple it! Like, whatever you want!"
The pink-haired woman shot Pearl an icy stare. "I'm afraid I'm not for sale," she said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Pearl, however, still refused to give in. "Okay, fine. You, like, want to go to Hawaii? You can live there! You can live there all the time!"
Sunny's anger turned to pity. "This isn't some prank being played on you," she repeated. "I think the sooner you accept that, the sooner we can work all of this out."
Blue eyes turned dangerously narrow. "Then I'll get rid of you the other way!" she declared. Her hand whipped out. "I want the rent right now, and I'm, like, raising it."
"You can't do that," said Sunny.
"I own the building!" cried Pearl with a heavy stomp of her foot. "What I say goes, and I say the rent is triple now! So either you pay me right now or I kick you out."
Sunset's anger roared back to life. "And what if we just move again?" she hissed.
Pearl whipped around to glare at her. "Then maybe I'll buy the next building, and the one after that, and the one after that! You want to prank me, Ruby? Well, like, fine! I can pull pranks too. I can do lots of things, and I won't stop until you give it up!"
Amber knuckles turned bone white. This was the absolute last straw. "You're gone, now." Rushing past Pearl, she threw the door open. "OUT!"
"You can't kick me out," protested Pearl. "I own the building."
"Don't care," snapped Sunset. "I'm not going to be your sister. I don't even want to be your sister. I wouldn't be your sister if you paid me!"
"But why?" whined Pearl. "I'd be a great big sister. After all, I'm such a great role model." She puffed out her chest. "Like, who wouldn't want to be like me?"
"You, a great role model?" scoffed Sunset. "I don't think the Airhead Heiress could be anyone's role model, let alone a good one."
"A-Airhead?" gasped Pearl, recoiling like she'd been struck. "Like, how could you make up a awful name?"
"I didn't," said Sunset. "Everybody else did. What, never bothered to look yourself up before? The tabloids love to call you that." She reached for her phone, typing away the words "Pearl Luxury" and "Airhead Heiress" into a search engine, scanning the results before thrusting the screen at Pearl. "Here."
Bit by bit, Sunset moved the screen down, picking out more and more pages, creating a stream of sharp, scathing comments related to the Luxury heir, anything and everything to take her down a peg or two.
Pearl's eyes grew ever wider with each passing entry. "I..."
"This is what people really think of you," said Sunset. "That's how they see you." She pulled the phone away, locking eyes to give the older girl a dark and furious glare. "And that's how I see you, too."
"B-But," Pearl began to say, "But I just—"
Sunset threw up a hand to stop her. "NO! You're going to listen for once! Get this through your head. I'm not pranking you, I don't want to be your sister, and I doubt anyone ever would. I've had it up to here with you! You don't listen, you treat her," she pointed to Sunny, "like trash, you insult all of my friends again, and then when both of us tell you that you're deluding yourself, you try to bribe and coerce us into doing what you want."
Sunset stepped closer, forcing Pearl to move backwards in response, until the blonde's back was pressed into the doorframe. "You're nothing more than a spoiled brat! A stupid spoiled brat who wouldn't even pass high school because her tutors edited her classes, probably because they knew she couldn't pass!
"I don't care what you do, I don't care what you want, but I'm not going anywhere with you. Now stop bothering us and go away!"
For several moments, there was silence. Pearl stood there, eyes as wide as saucers, her normal energy and extroversion gone, save for the bobbing of her throat. Her knees buckled, and then the rest of her seemed to sag.
"I-I..." she croaked, "I-I'll g-go." With a dash, she was gone, closing the door firmly behind her.
Sunset dropped down onto the sofa arm, chest heaving. Her hand reached up to massage her temples, trying to force away the stabbing pain in her head. "What's wrong with her?" she muttered darkly.
Looking over at her mentor, she saw the woman staring at her with distinct unease. "What?"
"Sunset," the woman began slowly. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh?"
"She wouldn't stop." Sunset crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, it's not like she didn't need a dose of reality."
"There are times," said Sunny, clearing her throat, "where the best things to do aren't always the nicest." The woman licked her lips. "But I was watching her face, Sunset. It looked like you hurt her quite badly."
"I—" Sunset began, only to close her mouth, and think about everything she'd just said and done, how she'd torn into Pearl, how she'd all but declared an undying hatred for her, and the look on Pearl's face as she'd left.
That image brought up another, more distant memory, of the Friendship Games, and how she'd torn into Twilight in a similar fashion. And with that, a wave of guilt washed over her.
Cursing under her breath, she grabbed her jacket. "I'll go find her."
Pearl Luxury left the apartment as fast as her feet could carry her, thoughts consumed by only two things, the basic desire to get away, and all of those horrible words.
The Airhead Heiress? U'd get more power out of a potato battery than u would out of her brain.
LOL. That gurl has her picture in the dictionary for "dumb blonde".
Nah, dude, she's listed under jus plain "dumb".
She's a brat, end of story. Y are we even waisting time talking about her? Theres way more important things to talk about anyway, like the weather.
I got a glimpse of her in person once. I don't think I've ever seen a shallower girl in my life. Puddles are deeper than her.
If that's what money does to you, I'd rather be poor.
The comments had gone on like that, on and on and on, growing even worse than that. Countless people saying the same thing. That she was shallow, spoiled, and stupid, that she wasn't even worth talking about, wasn't worth anything. Constant insults, constant mockery.
It couldn't be... was that what people thought of her? Was that how they really saw her? Did they all actually hate her? Was she just the subject of jokes? Was that all she was?
Her car was parked in the garage. She didn't feel much like driving, but it was the fastest exit away from here.
As she entered the garage, she spotted a group of people engaged in animated conversation, right in the path of where her car was. The prospect of going by them, of being recognized, and therefore potentially mocked even more, was too much to bear, forcing her to turn away to the street. Anywhere was fine, as long as she got out of here. Anywhere but here.
Before she knew it, Pearl had entered a small green space near the complex, surrounded on all sides by buildings and roads. Her designer shoes clicked against the concrete walkway as she wandered blindly through the small park, before finally stopping to sit on a bench resting in front of a crystal blue lake.
Pearl stared out at the shimmering water, watching it ebb and flow against the shore. It all seemed so peaceful, so pretty, and yet, the serenity of her surroundings couldn't take away from her mood.
She pulled her arms tightly around her body. How had everything gone so wrong today? "I..." she gave a loud sniff, "It wasn't supposed to be like this."
Pearl was jolted from her reverie by a harsh, loud voice coming from behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
Sunset scowled, more at herself than anything in particular. Despite the relatively short gap of time between when Pearl had left and when Sunset had followed, the heiress had made quite a bit of distance.
Cozy Hearth's office had proven to be empty, so Sunset had gone to the parking garage. If Pearl was really eager to leave, she might have made a dash for her car.
Of course, that possibility was troubling on two levels. One, because if Pearl had already driven off, it would make it almost impossible to find her, and two, if Pearl was really as upset as she'd looked, the thought of her driving anywhere in that state seemed like an accident waiting to happen.
It hadn't taken much effort to find Pearl's car, even without knowing what it looked like. Parked in a reserved space, the highly expensive-looking sports car, with its shiny white paint job and a license plate which read "GPL-582", stood out like a signal fire among the rows of cheaper, more middle class vehicles.
On the bright side, it meant Pearl wasn't endangering herself by being behind a wheel. On the other, it meant that Sunset had no idea where she'd actually gone.
"Great, now what?" Turning in a circle, she looked around for all the possible exits. There were quite a few ways Pearl could have left the building, and no visible clues for any of them.
Spotting a young couple walking inside, she ran up to them. "Hey, did either of you see a girl come by here a few minutes ago? Pale skin, blue eyes, long blonde hair?"
"I don't think so," said the young woman. Her boyfriend echoed her sentiment with a silent shake of his head.
Sunset frowned, turning to leave. "Thanks anyway."
"Wait... I think I did, actually." The woman placed a thoughtful finger to her chin. "It was only for a second. She seemed kind of upset."
"You know which way she went?"
The woman pointed to her right. "That way, I think."
"Thanks!" With a burst of energy, Sunset took off running out of the garage, moving across the street and into the small park. The path was empty, which was a good thing, because the further she went, the closer together the trees grew.
As she walked along, Sunset allowed her mind to wander away from her main goal. Why did Pearl go this way? She didn't live in Canterlot City, so it was less likely that she had some kind of refuge to go to, especially in this neighborhood.
Her pondering was cut short when the breeze glided across her skin, carrying with it sounds from the path ahead.
"That was all your fault!" said a distinctly male voice, absolutely overflowing with anger. "You arranged that, didn't you?! You and your stupid friends. You did something to the food, you brought that inspector there! It was all because of you!"
"N-No!" came a shaky denial, and Sunset instantly recognized it as coming from the missing heiress. "I never, like, did anything to you, I swear!"
There was a loud snort. "Don't lie, blondie, you're too stupid to pull it off. Three days after I met you, that happens. No way that's coincidence."
Whatever this was, it sounded personal, and was rapidly becoming ugly. Unsure of what exactly she'd be walking in on, and not wanting to simply walk in on it, period, Sunset slowed down and went off the path, approaching through the bushes so as not to disturb the argument that was unfolding.
"Do you have any idea what that did?" continued the male voice. "My dad is buried in lawsuits! He had to sell our new house. My car got repossessed. And then I had to go live with my uncle and get a job at a burger joint!" The last words were practically spat out. "I finally had everything, and now it's all gone, all because of you. And now you're going to pay."
"Hey!"
"Shut up!"
There was a thud, and a cry of pain from Pearl, and Sunset knew she couldn't wait any longer. Moving quickly along the path, she found herself face to face with Pearl and the man she'd been arguing with. "Okay, what's going on here?"
He was a young man, tan in complexion, with short red hair which sat messily atop his head, and which matched the look of flushed anger across his face. He was as tall as Pearl was, with a build that, while not overtly brawny like Bulk Biceps, was at least decently muscled, if his exposed forearms were any indication.
He was dressed rather poorly, with jeans that had several obvious threadbare spots, a T-shirt sporting the name of a rock band Sunset couldn't make out on account of the raw number of stains, and heavily scuffed sneakers. Clutched tightly in his hands was Pearl's purse, the main compartment wide open.
Pearl herself was sitting on the ground, hand placed on her shin. The minute Sunset arrived, her eyes shot wide open, staring at her horrified shock.
"Go away," said the young man, waving a hand dismissively, as if shooing a fly. "This is none of your business."
Sunset crossed her arms over her chest. "Kind of hard to ignore when you're so loud I could hear you down the path."
He scowled at her. "If you want to know, this little bimbo," he kicked dirt in Pearl's direction, "owes me a lot of money. I'm just collecting."
"Really? Because it looks more like you're mugging her to me." She directed her attention to Pearl, who immediately flinched. "Is that what he's doing?"
"I... I-I..."
"Shut up!" commanded her attacker, kicking more dirt in her direction before rummaging through her bag. "Stupid electronic money, where's the good stuff—hey, what's this?"
He pulled a single object from the purse, a small pink pearl, glittering in the afternoon sun.
Pearl's reaction was immediate, jumping to her feet like a gunshot. "LET THAT GO!" she cried wildly, leaping for the object, only for the man to avoid her. She crashed to the ground with a thud, dirt and mud splattering across her front.
"You don't get to touch that!" Pearl cried again, twisting around to try and get to her feet. "Give it back, give it back, give it back!"
The young man kicked an even larger pile of dirt at her. "I told you to shut up!"
Amber hands tightened into fists. Quickly weighing her options, Sunset pulled out her phone and began typing.
The young man looked up at her, irritation mounting. "What do you think you're doing? I thought I told you to beat it."
"I'm sending a text," she answered casually, fingers not slowing down as the pressed the keys. "My friend's brother is a cop. One message to her, and he'll be on his way here in no time flat." She looked up from her screen, locking Pearl's attacker with a challenging glare. "So unless you want a police officer on your sorry tail, you'll get out of here right now."
The young man took a small step backwards, eyes darting around for a split second before he returned her glare. "Y-You're bluffing."
She gave him a smirk. "No, I'm not." She pressed a few more buttons. "Oh, look. Now all I have to do is press send." She held the phone up like a deadly weapon, finger hanging precariously over the button. "What's it gonna be?"
A tiny bead of sweat trailing down from the side of his head, the young man looked between her, the loot in his hand, and Pearl. Face twisting in a grimace, he shot Pearl a hateful look. "This thing reminds me too much of you anyway. Probably just as worthless too."
With one lightning fast motion, he pulled back his arm and flung the little gem into the center of the lake, where it quickly sank beneath the shimmering blue water.
Pearl released a strangled scream. "No!"
"Hey!" cried Sunset in protest, but Pearl's attacker was already running off. Seeing him disappear into the distance, she turned her attention back to Pearl.
Her body was crumpled down into the dirt, eyes transfixed on the lake. She didn't react as Sunset approached. "Hey, are you alright?" Sunset asked, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "I'm sorry you lost that pearl. I didn't think he'd toss it like that."
"... Lost?" The word slipped from her mouth as a hollow whisper, "No... no, no, NO!"
Like the firing of a cannon, Pearl was on her feet, barreling toward the lake before diving headlong into it.
Sunset stood dumbfounded. What had gotten into her? Deciding it was best to pull her out of there before she somehow hurt herself, Sunset set her phone and jacket aside and dove in after Pearl.
She spotted the blonde slicing through the water, diving down to the bottom of the lake, frantically grabbing at clumps of dirt, rock, and plants, shoving aside the former and practically tearing out the latter. When she didn't find what she was searching for, she swam to another part of the lake, then another, still desperately searching.
Grabbing Pearl's arm, Sunset hauled her to the surface. "What's gotten into you?" she demanded, blowing away a sopping lock of red hair. "I know they're valuable, but it's one little pearl in this whole lake. For all you know, a fish could have swallowed it."
Pearl trembled with fear, her already wild eyes growing even more terrified, and she shoved Sunset away. "I have to find it!" Taking a large gulp of air, Pearl dove back down.
Groaning in frustration, Sunset followed her back down into the water. Pearl had returned to her search, seeming even more desperate than before, clawing at the lake bed in search of her missing gem. Twice more, Sunset tried to pull the blonde back up, but Pearl shook her off. Sunset went up for air each time, but Pearl didn't.
She must have been hurting for air by now, so why wasn't she coming up? Was she really going to risk drowning over a silly pearl she could probably get dozens of?
Submerging herself once again, Sunset was ready to make one final effort to get the heiress to stop, or at least take a breath of fresh air before she hurt herself, when Pearl grabbed onto something in the soil, something that glimmered the faintest pink in the distorted light of the sun. Pearl rose for air, and Sunset followed.
Unsurprisingly, Pearl's breaths were ragged as she finally surfaced. "You could have drowned!" reprimanded Sunset. "Is that thing really worth—"
Sunset's question fell dead when she saw Pearl's face. The heiress wasn't listening to her. Instead, her attention was on the pearl, hugging it tightly against her chest like a stuffed toy. The water on her face was mixed with streams of salty tears.
"Don't leave me," she said quietly, words pouring forth like her tears, without thought or control. "Please, don't leave me."
Sunset Shimmer went quiet as she floated there in the water. Finally, she put a gentle hand on Pearl's shoulder.
"Come on," she told her gently. "Let's get out of here."
It wasn't long before the two returned to Sunset's apartment.
Sunny had looked ready to unleash a barrage of questions upon their return, but then seemed to think the better of it. Instead, she brewed some hot tea before deciding to take a walk outside, leaving the two in complete solitude.
Sunset sat on the sofa, having switched into a pair of pajamas, her clothes now spinning in the washer. Pearl's had gone in first, being far more stained, and Sunset had already moved them to the dryer. A teapot sat on the coffee table at her feet, still letting out small wisps of steam, along with two cups, one half-full, and one still waiting to be filled.
Turning her head, Sunset regarded Pearl, perched on the other end of the sofa. She was wrapped in Sunny's bathrobe, the quickest thing for her to change into that was also around her size. Ever since the lake, Pearl's demeanor had gone through a drastic change.
Despite her extreme talkativeness before, Pearl hadn't uttered a single word on the way back to the apartment. She remained silent when Sunset handed her some towels to dry off with, when they offered to put her clothes in the wash, even when Sunny had directed the two girls to the sofa and offered them tea. Pearl met every question with a nod or shake of the head, if that.
Her designer clothes had been completely soaked through, not to mention heavily stained with dirt and mud. Her makeup, what was left of it, was splotched across her face, and her eyes were puffy from tears. Dampness still clung to her once-styled hair, which was twisted into curly tangles.
Yet, the fashionable heiress didn't seem to care at all for these things. She just sat there, transfixed by the tiny pink sphere still held firmly in her palm. Sunset Shimmer might as well have been alone for all the difference it would make.
"You okay?" asked Sunset, breaking the frankly uncomfortable silence. "Who was that guy?"
"His name's Wine Cork," muttered Pearl. "I met him at one of High Heel's parties. I didn't like him. He wouldn't stop hitting on me and my friends, so I told him to buzz off, and then High kicked him out."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. He ran in Pearl's social circles? He didn't look like the type with money to burn. Just the opposite, actually. "Was that why he was mugging you? Rejection?"
"He thought I caused his dad's restaurant to go down," answered the blonde softly. "He thought I made all those people sick."
A memory of a news article flashed in Sunset's mind, a story from several months ago. There had been a scandal involving a chain of very popular restaurants when a case of food poisoning had broken out. Twenty people had gotten sick, including several of the restaurant's primary investors, who had been present to celebrate the first successful year. To compound matters, a health inspector had been present.
Sunset leaned into the sofa cushions, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm guessing you didn't?"
Pearl turned her head, locking eyes with Sunset and giving her one of the most honest expressions the teenager had ever seen. "No! I, like, wouldn't even know how to do something like that. I didn't." She let out a small sniffle. "Why wouldn't he believe me?"
Sunset picked up her cup, taking a sip. "Sounds like he was stuck in denial and looking for someone to blame." The irony of who she was saying this to wasn't lost on Sunset, but she figured it wasn't the time to point that out.
"Yeah..." Pearl shivered. "Cold."
Sunset pushed the empty cup and teapot toward her. "Drink. It'll make you feel better."
Pearl looked down at the tea set, then to the pearl in her hands. With great reluctance, she set the gem down and poured herself a cup. She took a deep sip, her body relaxing as warmth rushed through it. "This is really nice."
Sunset pointed at the pink sphere on the table. "What's so special about that, anyway?" she asked, voicing the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind since Pearl's sudden swim.
Blue eyes moved back down, and somberness took Pearl over once again. "It's Daddy's."
Silence followed, and Sunset prompted her to continue.
"The day I was born," Pearl explained, "Daddy, like, went for a walk on the beach. We lived in a beach house then, and Daddy liked to go for walks in the early morning. While he was there, he saw this oyster sticking out of the sand." She smiled warmly down at the object. "He found that inside. Daddy told me some pearls come out all kinds of weird shapes, but it looked just like that.
"Daddy said I was just like it," she continued, the words flowing like a recitation, "tiny and beautiful and already perfect in every way, so he named me Gleaming Pearl. He said it must have been a good luck charm, and told me I could hold onto it when I got old enough, that it was my pearl."
Pearl shook her head. "But it's Daddy's."
She exchanged the cup for the gemstone, rolling it between her fingers. "I'd, like, kept it in a special box. I hadn't taken it out in years. But I brought it with me today because..." a look of shame crossed her face as she turned to Sunset. "I, like, thought you were mad at me, and I thought maybe it would bring me good luck trying to get you to forgive me."
There was a pained longing woven through Pearl's words as she spoke about the little object, and it made Sunset all the more curious. "What was he like?"
"Daddy?" Pearl closed her eyes for a moment. "Daddy was the best. He loved the water. When I was little, he'd, like, take me sailing with him on his boat. It wasn't big or super fancy, but it wasn't little either. It was, like, really nice."
She smiled. "When we'd come back, Daddy would take me to this place on the pier and buy me a really big bowl of ice cream. It was so good. And there was this one time that I..."
"You what?"
"I..." Pearl stopped, recollection dawning on her face as a memory seemed to unfold itself. "I wanted the ice cream first. I begged and begged, but Daddy said no."
"He actually said no?" asked Sunset in surprise. Considering how spoiled she was, Sunset hadn't expected either of Pearl's parents to refuse their daughter anything.
"Yeah. Daddy was like that. I still really wanted it though, so I snuck over and got some anyway. But after we set sail, I threw up all over the deck."
"I'm not too surprised, if you had a stomach full of ice cream," commented Sunset as she picked up her cup and took another sip.
Pearl's white cheeks flushed pink. "That's what Daddy said, too. He, like, looked so disappointed, but then," Pearl paused again, her eyes widening a fraction as the memory continued to unfurl. "He hugged me, and told me that's why he said no, and he still got me ice cream after we came back." The corners of her lips turned upwards in a smile. "It was a really good day."
For a moment, the blonde sat there, staring into space. "I'd forgotten all about it," she said in astonishment. "And... I loved sailing. The air smelled so good, and the waves were fun, and the birdies were, like, so cute."
The pitch of her voice rose in excitement. "And... and Daddy would hold me in his lap as he steered the ship! I even had this cute little sailor dress to wear and Daddy called me his first mate! And the fish! I threw bread crumbs over the side of the boat and the fish would come up to eat them, all kinds of pretty fish!"
Pearl frowned, the sudden joy of her lost memories diminishing. "I haven't been sailing since Daddy didn't come home." Her face scrunched up, as if she didn't believe her own words. "How did I, like, forget all that?"
To Sunset, the girl next to her seemed totally different, like the lake water had washed away a layer of superficiality and had left behind someone else. Someone who was just as surprised by it all as Sunset was, and only grew more surprised with every little moment she unearthed. "Sounds to me like you had a lot of good memories."
Pearl nodded. "Uh huh. I... I miss Daddy. I miss him a lot. I'd totally forgotten how much." She took a sip from her teacup. "Things weren't the same after he died. Momma was a lot busier, so I didn't see her too much, and she started giving me lots of gifts. Momma always liked to give me presents, Daddy too, but not as much as Momma.
"After Daddy was gone, it was like my birthday and Christmas put together. She gave me whatever I wanted." She stopped again, her brow furrowing as she came upon yet another revelation. "I think that's when she put away all of Daddy's pictures too," she added sadly.
Sounds pretty empty. Sunset would hardly have thought it possible, but she actually felt sorry for the girl.
Pearl rolled the little gem in her hands again. "I almost lost this forever." Her grip tightened around it, like she was afraid of letting it slip away into oblivion again. More than a simple lump of calcium carbonate, it was a storehouse of precious memories, and a beacon of a lost parent's love.
In a way, Sunset was jealous. Of all of her parents' things that had been recovered after their death, none had that same level of significance for her. There had been a few of her toys, yes, but none had such a powerful emotional attachment as that.
Pearl turned to Sunset. "Why'd you, like, come after me? Why'd you help me?"
The teen winced. "I, uh..." For a moment, she was at a loss for words. In the rush of trying to find Pearl, and then in dealing with Wine Cork, she hadn't really put any thought into what she was actually going to say. "I wanted to apologize. I said a lot of things I shouldn't have."
Pearl blinked, staring at Sunset like she had three heads. "You're... sorry?"
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, I am. Look, Pearl, you were—"
"I wasn't listening to you," finished Pearl somberly. "I was totally acting like Wine Cork."
"Yeah, you were." Sunset didn't think Pearl would make that leap all by herself. But then, today seemed to be a day of realization for Pearl, didn't it?.
The blonde squirmed. "No wonder you were so angry at me."
There was a small thump as Sunset placed her cup on the table. "Look, I know you were excited about it, but a sister isn't a toy, and neither am I. I'm not a dress-up doll. I'm a person, with feelings and wants. And you can't treat people like that. And you definitely can't treat people the way you were today when things don't work out."
White cheeks flushed deeper with shame. "I'm sorry."
"And I'm sorry for blowing up at you. I was cruel, and I shouldn't have been."
"You're way too nice," remarked Pearl, right before giving another frown. "But everybody still hates me."
"If it helps," offered Sunset, "I've been there. I wasn't always a good person, and nobody liked me either. Some people still don't, but I managed to turn things around."
Pearl blinked. Her frown turned thoughtful. "How'd you do that?"
"I made an effort to change. It was hard, really hard, sometimes. But my friends stuck by me, and eventually, people started to come around." Of course, popular opinion had also been swayed by stopping the Sirens, but she couldn't exactly say that.
Pearl mulled over Sunset's words for a moment, before her eyes glided over to the end table next to the sofa, landing on the framed photo. "Ooh, he's really cute," she said, voice brightening as she took hold of the photo. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"Actually, that's my dad."
"... Oh." Pearl glanced awkwardly between the photo and Sunset as she set it down. "Hey, like, where is your daddy, anyway?"
"Uh, he's gone," answered Sunset, sticking to the fabricated backstory. "He died before I was born."
Pearl's eyes widened in shock, new tears pricking the corners. "You mean you don't have any memories of him at all? That's... that's, like, awful!" In one fluid motion, Pearl wrapped her arms around Sunset, drawing her into a hug.
It wasn't the painfully tight hug from their first meeting. It was loose, gentle, genuinely comforting. "I'm so sorry," said Pearl, her voice choking a little. "I, like, can't imagine what it's like not to have any memories."
"It's okay," Sunset assured, feeling the slightest sting of guilt over lying to Pearl over something so personal to the other girl. "I've still got my mom."
From another part of the apartment, a musical ring broke the moment. "That's the dryer with your clothes," explained Sunset. "You want to change?"
Pearl broke the hug, giving a nod of her head. "Totally." Placing her precious gem securely inside her purse, she walked over to reclaim her clothing before moving to the bathroom.
She reemerged several minutes later, Sunny's robe in hand. Her smeared makeup had been totally removed, and her hair had been largely detangled.
As she walked back to the living room, Sunset noticed the large, if faded, stains that still clung to the Pearl's top and the legs of her jeans. "Sorry those didn't come out all the way."
Pearl looked down, scowling at the markings, before brushing it off with the wave of a hand. "It's, like, fine. Our housekeeper is an expert at getting out stains. And besides," she laughed, "I have extras of these."
The heiress tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I did some thinking while I was changing, and I decided I'm going to give this place back to, um... Cozy Heart?"
"Cozy Hearth," Sunset corrected, unable to hide the surprise on her face. "You're really giving it back? What about your mom wanting you to have business experience?"
"I'm, like, not ready for that," explained Pearl. "I only bought this place to talk to you, and you've been really nice, but it'd be too awkward now."
Sunset blinked. That was surprisingly sensible. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I dunno," replied Pearl, taking that same lock of hair and twisting it around her finger. "Hey, um... Sunset? Do you really think my tutors thought I couldn't pass my classes?"
"It's... possible," Sunset said wincing. That had been one of the crueler things she'd thrown out in her tirade.
"I just thought it was easy," admitted Pearl, looking more than a bit ashamed of herself. "They said there was some stuff you didn't really need to learn, and I believed them." Her chin dipped to touch her chest. "Maybe they were right, and I really am stupid."
"Hey," Sunset interrupted, "just because you're bad at some things don't mean you're stupid. If it makes you feel better, you could try to take a GED."
Pearl blinked owlishly at her. "A what?"
"It's a test for all the subjects you're supposed to cover in high school," explained Sunset. "They give it out for people that either didn't finish high school or don't meet the requirements. If you pass, it's the same as getting a diploma."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Sunset assured. "You'd have to study for it, though."
Lips pursed themselves together as Pearl stood there for a moment in silent thought. "I'll do it," she declared. "I, like, need to do it." Looking back at Sunset, she smiled. "Thank you for being so nice to me," she said, punctuating it with another soft hug.
Sunset felt an easy smile spread on her face in turn. "You're welcome."
There came a gentle knock at the door, followed by the turning of a knob. "Hello? I'm back." Sunny Skies paused in the doorway when she spotted the two girls. "I see you two are getting along."
Breaking the hug, Pearl walked over to Sunny. "Like, um, Mrs. Skies," began the heiress, shuffling one of her shoes against the floor awkwardly. "I, um. I'm sorry for how I treated you. It was wrong."
Surprise took over Sunny's face, her eyes flicking over curiously to Sunset for a moment. The teen just nodded her head in confirmation.
The woman gave a gentle smile. "Well then... apology accepted. Would you like to stay a while longer?"
"No, thank you." Pearl adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. "I should, like, be going home now. I've got to talk to Momma." She looked back at Sunset. "Maybe we'll, like, see each other again some time."
And like that, she was gone, walking down the same hall she'd fled only a while earlier. Sunny closed the door, turning to smile at Sunset. "It seems to me that things went quite well while I was out."
Sunset returned the smile. "Surprisingly, yeah." Hearing the ring of the washing machine, she opened it up and placed her clothes in the dryer. "Pearl's going to be giving Cozy Hearth back the building, just so you know."
"Oh really?" Sunny grabbed a cup from a cupboard and poured herself some tea, before resting on the sofa. "Did you convince her to do that?"
"Nope. She decided it herself," answered Sunset as she joined her mentor. "Thought it would be too awkward."
"I must say, you seem to have had quite the effect on her."
"Yeah, me and the guy that she ran into. Long story," she amended, seeing Sunny's curious stare. "But it all knocked some sense into her, and made her remember things she'd forgotten."
At that, Sunny chuckled. "It's funny that you mention remembering. While I was walking around the building, I remembered that I've actually met Pearl Luxury before, in Equestria."
"Seriously?" For a moment, the teen tried to imagine Pearl as a pony, substituting hands for hooves and warping the mouth into a muzzle before pondering other features.
"She's a pegasus," said the woman, reading into her student's puzzled expression. Holding out her necklace, there was a flash of golden light, and there, floating above the amethyst, was the transparent image of a young mare, a tall, pure white pegasus with a bright, energized face framed by Pearl's golden beach waves, and bright blue eyes.
"I met her at a social function a few years ago," continued Sunny. "This was after you'd left. She's still the heir of a rather large shipping business up in the northeast. As I recall, she was less spoiled and superficial, but about as energetic, moving from pony to pony before her parents called her over to speak with me."
"Huh." Sunset let the mental image sink in, before grasping onto one particular piece of information. "Hold up, parents, plural? Her dad's still alive over there?"
Sunny raised an eyebrow. "You mean he passed away here?"
"Yeah. Pearl said he got stung by jellyfish."
"Hmm... Ah, now I remember," declared Sunny. "Her father did mention a rather harrowing experience involving jellyfish, but he'd managed to fly away before they stung him."
Sunset Shimmer sunk deeper into the sofa cushions, just as her mind sank deeper in thought, "He flew away," she muttered.
Wings. Simple wings. Though she didn't know the exact circumstances behind the death of Pearl's father, from this knowledge alone, it was quite possible that a single set of additional limbs had made all the difference across the dimensions. A difference in limbs, a difference in species, and one soul continued to live and breathe, while the other was gone and buried, leaving his family behind.
"It's incredible, isn't it?" interrupted Sunny, echoing Sunset's own thoughtfulness. "The differences one finds across the mirror."
"To say the least," agreed Sunset solemnly. "Hey, what's Pearl's special talent, anyway?" she asked, trying to shake off the raw weight of the idea.
Sunny placed a finger on her chin. "As I recall, it was... making others shine, and making them feel like they were the most important pony in the room."
"That sounds like Rarity," said Sunset, recalling the things Princess Twilight had shared about her friends' counterparts.
"I suppose it does." Wrapping an arm around her student, Sunny gave her a gentle hug. "I'm proud of you, Sunset. You helped somep—someone turn their life around."
"Thanks." She blushed, pulling herself closer. There was something about being in close contact with Princess Celestia, even this extension of her, that never seemed to get old. Letting her eyes wander, she saw the time on a nearby clock, and her mood was spoiled by practical thoughts.
"I should get to my homework," she grumbled, reluctantly breaking the hug. Her chemistry teacher just had to assign extra, very tedious problems today.
"Don't let me stop you," said Sunny, getting up to reheat her tea, and looking disappointed herself, but hiding it much better.
Sunset walked toward her room, stopping when her cell phone rang. Picking it up, she saw Rainbow's name flash across the screen. "Hey Rainbow," she greeted. "Yeah, sorry about that. Believe it or not, I had a run-in with Pearl."
She pulled the phone away to avoid the auditory punch to her eardrum. "Rainbow, calm down. It's fine. You don't need to come running. I actually got her to go away. Yeah, really. I'll tell you and the girls about it later. Uh-huh. Yeah."
Opening the door to her room with her free hand, she smiled. "Trust me, Rainbow, everything's going to be just fine."
Pearl's heels clicked along the concrete of the parking garage as she headed for her car, a newfound energy in her step. Passing by an old station wagon that she decided was a very pretty shade of green, she took out her phone, and dialed a number she knew by heart.
"Momma? I'm okay. I know you've got a meeting soon. But... Momma, about that apartment building I asked you about, I, like, don't want to run it anymore. I'm not ready for it. I want to give it back."
She stopped. "No, Momma, like, let her keep the money." Memories of Cozy Hearth rose to the forefront of her mind, how she'd welcomed Pearl with an offer of tea and freshly baked cookies, really nice cookies at that, her hesitance to leave the building, and the sting of guilt followed. "She could use it for, like, her grandkids or something."
Picking up the pace again, she found her car, and grabbed her keys with her free hand. "Momma, when you're done with your meeting, are you coming home? I really need to talk to you about something. Please?"
Pulling the door open, she slipped into the driver's seat, setting her purse beside her. "Thanks, Momma." As she clicked her seatbelt into place, an idea came to mind, and she opened her purse again, hand reaching out to grab her father's precious pearl.
"Momma, there's something else. I..." Fingertips traced their way along the smooth, pink surface. A smile crept onto her face. "I want to go sailing."