//------------------------------// // Twenty Two: The Portal // Story: Her Broken Childhood // by girasol //------------------------------// Sunset woke up the following morning on a soft bed. She blinked a couple of times before rubbing both eyes with the back of her hands as she yawned. “Sunset?” A voice called. The half a asleep girl turned towards the sound the of Twilight’s voice. The pony princess gave her a warm smile before running her finger though Sunset’s messy bed head. “Sleep well?” Twilight asked, putting a gentle hand under the girl’s chin. Sunset nodded and returned Twilight’s smile. “That’s good. Ready for breakfast?” Twilight asked, already getting off the bed. Sunset nodded, getting off of the bed to follow Twilight’s lead. “Okay. Let’s... try to fix your hair before we go downstairs, okay?” Twilight said, pointing to Rarity’s bathroom. ... When they came downstairs after getting changed—as well as Twilight’s failed attempt at trying to comb through Sunset’s mane of hair—the pair could smell the sweet aroma of freshly made breakfast. Though the Equestrians could not put a name to the delicious smelling scent, they knew that they were in for a good meal. “Good morning darli—Goodness!” Rarity gasped, putting a hand to her chest in a dramatic posture, “Is... that the style she is... going for today?” Rarity asked, careful not to offend anyone. Twilight frowned and glanced down at Sunset, “Oh...” she blushed when she realized what her pale friend was referring to, “No... I just... didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want to leave her with bed head...” Rarity shook her head and stepped a little closer to Sunset, “Sunset darling, if it’s alright, I would like to style your hair today. Would that be alright?” Sunset nodded up at Rarity, her little smirk telling the pale girl that she agreed, doing hair was definitely not Twilight’s forte. “Wonderful!” Rarity exclaimed, clapping her hands together, “Now let’s get into the kitchen now, Pinkie Pie and I have made crepes!” When they walked into the kitchen, Pinkie Pie was placing freshly cooked crepes onto Sweetie Belle’s plate. “You my dears can sit here,” Rarity said, pulling out two chairs for them to sit on. Sunset cocked her head at the crepes and looked to Twilight for answers. The crepes, as Rarity called them, looked like flat pancakes. They didn’t smell like pancakes but they looked delicious nonetheless. They had a spongy look to them in spite of being flat. It made Sunset’s stomach grumble just thinking about how they may taste. Twilight squinted her eyes to examine the food, “I actually don’t think I’ve ever tried this before.” “Really?!” Pinkie Pie gasped, stopping her fork midway to her mouth, “They’re deeeeeelicious!” Fluttershy nodded, “I like putting fresh fruit.” “And maple syrup plus lots and looooots of SUGAR!!!” Pinkie exclaimed, putting two handfuls of cane sugar onto her crepes, making the sugar resemble fresh snow falling on top of the sliced fruit. “Pinkie Pie!” Applejack cried, shaking her head at Pinkie’s sweet tooth, “Save some fer us!” Rarity handed Twilight the plate of fruit. Twilight accepted the plate and turned to Sunset, “What kind of fruit do you want Sunset?” Sunset pointed to the strawberries and the blueberries. Twilight grabbed a spoon, scooped up the chosen fruit and put them on Sunset’s plate. Sunset smiled and put two handfuls of sugar on her crepes, mimicking how the cotton candy girl poured sugar onto the crepes. “That’s... a lot of sugar,” Rainbow Dash said, turning her nose up at the sugary mess. “Pinkie Pie! See what you’ve taught her?” Rarity said putting her hands to her hips, “You’re going to make a mess of sugar!” Pinkie giggled and shrugged, looking towards Sunset, “There’s no such thing as too much sugar, especially if it makes you smile!” Sunset smiled at the pink teen and took a fork full of the crepe. She was right. They are in fact delicious. ... After everyone finished eating, Rarity turned to Sunset, “Darling, do you mind if I do your hair now?” Sunset glanced at Twilight who gave her an encouraging smile. Sunset slowly got off her chair and followed Rarity into her bedroom upstairs. “Come,” Rarity pulled out the chair from under her porcelain white vanity, “Sit here.” Once Sunset was seated in the chair, Rarity carefully pushed the seat closer to the vanity. Rarity turned on the vanity lights, making Sunset blink in surprise. Sunset was barely visible in the vanity mirror, only barely being able to see her forehead. “What would you like me to do?” Rarity asked, already busy combing out Sunset’s tangles. Sunset thought for a moment. Hmm. What kind of style would she like? A light bulb clicked in Sunset’s head. She remembered that girl from the movie she and Sweetie Belle were watching. What was the name of the movie? She couldn’t remember. She loved that scene where—Anastasia! That’s her name!—she was singing in the snow with the puppy by her side. Sunset took a deep breath, “Um... like Anastasia.” Rarity furrowed her brows at the younger girl’s response, “Anastasia? Well if I remember correctly, she had different looks. Which one would you like me to do?” Sunset rubbed her lips together, trying to think of ways to explain that scene. “Here,” Rarity showed her phone that showed googled images of the movie, “Do you see any of the hairstyles here?” Sunset scrolled down and little until she found her desired hairstyle. Seeing the half up, half down hairstyle, she clicked on the image and looked up at Rarity. “Oh! That’s a beautiful do! Alright then. I’m sure I could accomplish a style like that,” Rarity began to part Sunset’s hair, “Did you happen to watch the film with Sweetie Belle last night?” Sunset nodded. Rarity smiled, “Well that’s wonderful darling. Did you like the film?” Sunset smiled and nodded again. Rarity smiled to herself, “It’s one of my favorite films. It has been since I was about your age.” Rarity busily chatted away with Sunset about the film, discussing their favorite scenes and songs—well, Rarity did most of the talking. Sunset simply nodded her head when she agreed with something Rarity had said. Before they both knew it, Rarity had already finished doing Sunset’s hair. Rarity heard footsteps just outside her door. Quickly glancing over her shoulder, she saw her younger sister standing by the door, watching Rarity style the small girl’s hair. Rarity smirked, “You know, when Sweetie Belle was your age, she was positively fidgeting by the villain.” “Hey!” Sweetie Belle huffed, “I was not!” “Oh, I’m positive you were darling,” Rarity teased, “Sunset darling did the villain scare you?” Sunset shook her head and smiled mischievously at Sweetie Belle. The middle schooler opened her mouth to speak, closed it then opened it again, “Well... he was scary to me!” Sweetie Belle shouted defensively, crossing her arms over her chest and stomping off into her room. Rarity looked down at Sunset who seemed to be having a good time seeing Sweetie Belle get so annoyed by Rarity’s comment. The pale girl laughed, “You enjoyed that didn’t you darling?” Sunset giggled in response, which only made Rarity chuckle. Rarity grabbed the ribbon from the previous day and tied it around the top half of Sunset’s hair to finish off the do. “Voila!” Rarity stated, extending her arms out to show off her work, “Finished.” Sunset positioned herself higher on the seat so that she was completely visible on the vanity mirror. Upon seeing herself and her new do, Sunset smiled. Twilight sighed, looking through Sunset’s journal once more, hoping that she missed a new message from Spike. “Any word yet?” Applejack asked, walking over to her friend on the living room couch. Twilight shook her head, “Hopefully she’ll send a message before we go through the portal.” “What are you going to do when you get back?” Fluttershy asked, nervously twiddling her hair with her fingers. “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, “I’ll try to reach Princess Celestia from there and try to research more there.” The group turned their heads towards the sound of footsteps approaching the living room. Twilight smiled, giving Sunset a big hug, “Aw, Sunset you look so beautiful!” Twilight broke the embrace to look at Sunset, “Are you ready to go?” Sunset nodded, tightening her grip on her backpack. At last, Twilight and the group arrived at the portal. Twilight held Sunset’s hand as they stood in front of the statue while the other girls formed a barrier around the two, looking out for any wandering eyes. There seemed to be no one around, since school was not in session, but they didn’t want to take any chances. Twilight gave the group a sad smile, “I’ll see you all again soon. After all, I know how to open the portal when I want now,” she pointed her chin towards the brown journal Fluttershy was carrying. Rarity took a couple stepped closer to the pony princess, and place her pale hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry about us darling.” “Yeah,” Fluttershy said, returning Twilight’s sad smile, “I hope she gets better.” Applejack nodded, “Just remember ta keep in touch ya hear?” Pinkie nodded and hugged Twilight, “Don’t forget us. You neither Sunset.” Sunset nodded her head and smiled kindly at the pink themed girl. Twilight pulled her friends closer into a group hug, unknowingly pulling Sunset with her, not that the younger girl minded. It felt nice receiving a hug. As the group pulled away, Rarity bent down to Sunset’s eyes leve, gently taking her small amber hands in her pale ones, “I’ll miss you darling.” Sunset nodded and let Rarity give her a small hug. Fluttershy followed Rarity, slowly brining the girl in her arms for a gentle hug, “Getter better soon Sunset.” Pinkie was next, “Goodbye Sunny, I hope you feel better!” Applejack wasn’t normally emotional person, but she gave Sunset a tight hug anyways, letting her know that there are people out there that do care for her, “See ya Sunset.” Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash, who was nervously wringing her hands and avoiding eye contact. The farmer knew that like her, Rainbow wasn’t much for emotions. Rainbow stepped forward and knelt down in front of Sunset. Surprising everyone around her, she pulled Sunset in for a hug, “Bye squirt. Get better soon so we could see you again. ‘Kay?” Sunset nodded after the sporty girl let go of the hug, turning to get a hold of Twilight’s hand. Twilight also nodded, “I’ll see you all soon,” she said before turning around to face the statue. Twilight extended her purple hand to touch the cool base of the statue. She could feel the rhythm of the magic that surged between the statue and the mirror in Equestria. Taking a deep breath, she stepped a foot into the base of the statue. Just as she was about to bring her other leg into the portal, the purple princess heard a muffled wail coming from behind her. Alarmed, Twilight took a couple steps backwards. Turing back, she noticed an angry burn at the left side of Sunset’s face. The girl’s eyes looked foggy and she immediately recognized the heavy breathing Sunset was beginning to build up. Twilight clutched the young girl’s hands and knelt down, “Sunset? Sunset what’s wrong? Breathe Sunset... What’s the matter?” The young girl was gasping for breath, clutching on hard to Twilight’s hands. Sunset tried to catch what the older girl was saying, but it was getting harder for her to make sense of her surroundings. Twilight was about to open her mouth again, Sunset collapsed to the ground. “Sunset!” Twilight yelled, extending her hands out towards the trembling child. Twilight, as well as Sunset screamed out in pain, both feeling a burn coming from the contact. Not bothering to look at her hand like the last time, the teen turned her attention to the wailing girl. There was now a sizzling burn on Sunset’s right arm where she touched her. Twilight gasped, retreating her arms back, now careful not to touch the sickly looking girl. As she began to hyperventilate, Twilight looked in helplessly as Sunset was now thrashing around on the floor, whimpering and moaning, pleading for the pain to stop. Twilight could physically feel herself shaking in fear. What in Celestia’s name just happened? Did the portal hurt her? What do I do? The rest of the group got closer to the pair, all wondering the same thing. The portal. The portal hurt her. Why did it hurt her? Applejack looked on helplessly as well, her hands pulled up to her hair, trying to think of something to stop the now familiar scene that was unfolding in front of her. Ah had a bad feelin’ this would happen... Rarity found herself taking in short gasps, trying to control her breathing. Pinkie’s hair deflated, grabbing onto Rarity and turned her head away from Sunset, not wanting to hear the fiery haired girl’s agony any longer. Rainbow tried her best to comfort the shaking Fluttershy in her arms, all while not being able to look away as more veins formed onto Sunset’s neck and chin. Out of the corner of the rainbow girl’s eye, she noticed the journal that Fluttershy was carrying, was glowing. Sunset’s journal... it’s vibrating... that means that someone’s replied! “Twilight!” Rainbow shouted, “The book! It’s glowing!” Twilight was still trying to helplessly comfort Sunset, who had her eyes squeezed shut and was whimpering. Upon hearing her friend’s voice, she turned to Rainbow, who was holding Sunset’s open journal in her hands and staring at it in horror. Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. Princess Celestia must’ve written back. But why does Rainbow look so— Sunset yelled out once more, pulling Twilight out of her thoughts. Sunset felt blinding pain snake up her arms and her head. It felt like she was being burned alive, from the inside and out. The sensation made it hard for her breathe, to think. She couldn’t shake the feeling. She tried to tell Twilight what was wrong, but the pain had overpowered her. Make it stop make it stop, make it stop! I don’t want to feel this again. I just want it to stop... “S-stop... no...” was all Sunset managed to whimper out. Sunset opened her eyes halfway, hoping that seeing Twilight’s friendly would make the pain decrease. Instead of seeing Twilight and the other girls, she was met with with familiar and daunting blurs who gave her a scowl. No... I don’t want to go back! I wanna stay with Princess Celestia and Twilight... I don’t wanna be with mother and father. Not again... Once again Sunset’s mind was filled with memories of pain. Memories that have haunted her every waking thought. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to clear a crackle that had always been accompanied with a painful scar. But it wasn’t working. The girl felt like she was drowning in her nightmares. She couldn’t find a way out. No matter how hard she tried, the voices only escalated with every agonizing second. “Such a waste...” “No!” Sunset yelled out. Not the voices again! “You are weak. You are worthless. No matter how hard you try, you’ll be be good enough for us...” “Stop!” Sunset shouted weakly, already feeling her body give up on the fight. When her mother’s sinister sneer came into her view, Sunset wished for unconsciousness, anything that would take her away from the black void her mind was taking her in. The girl couldn’t take it anymore. Giving out one last agonizing screech, Sunset finally felt the sweet mercy of unconscious. Twilight sniffled, still holding the unconscious Sunset close to her. Oh Sunset. I’m sorry. I had no idea that the portal would do that to you... I should’ve known... I’m sorry... “I’m sorry,” Twilight managed to choke out, bringing Sunset closer to her chest. “Why did that happen?” Fluttershy asked, sniffling back tears. The animal lover still felt herself trembling from witnessing the latest episode. It was horrible. The child before her looked to be in so much pain. And seeing people in pain was something Fluttershy hated. Knowing that there was nothing in her medical comprehension to solve their situation scared her. Twilight held her head down, not wanting to look at the group at the moment, “I don’t know Fluttershy. I don’t k-know why. I t-thought it would be... safe,” Twilight closed her eyes and gave a shaky sigh. She should’ve known something bad would happen. Now Sunset’s stuck over here because of her. Because of her, Sunset can’t go home and there’s no magic here to try and help their situation. Celestia needs to respond. I don’t know what to do now... Twilight lifted her head, remembering something that Rainbow had said earlier, “Wait, Rainbow, you said the book was glowing?” Rainbow’s face was blank. Her eyes were red and puffy, which surprised Twilight. The sporty teen’s counterpart back home wasn’t one for emotions, maybe this Rainbow Dash is more emotional? But then again, they just witnessed another episode. And they are difficult to watch. There’s almost nothing you can do while Sunset’s screeching out in agony. What can they do? If they touch her, it’ll cause her more pain. And they just come out of nowhere. There no saying when another should strike. Twilight knew nobody wanted to hear Sunset in distress again. “Rainbow?” Twilight called, carefully watching her friend’s blank expression. “Yeah?” Rainbow asked, not taking her eyes off of the base of the Wondercolt statue. “Rainbow, what does the book say?” Twilight repeated. Rainbow blinked and pealed her eyes off of the statue. Sighing, she mindlessly grabbed the book from the floor and knelt down next to Twilight, carefully opening up the journal so she could read the new message: Twilight, Do not bring Sunset through the portal. Princess Celestia