//------------------------------// // Twenty Four: The Room // Story: Her Broken Childhood // by girasol //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash passed the ball to Sunset, who then passed it back with the inside of her feet. The pair has been outside for about half an hour, and Rainbow observed that the girl in front of her was getting better at passing the ball. At that, the athlete smiled. Seems like I’m a good teacher. Another thing that Rainbow noticed was that the younger girl was growing tired. And it raised a red flag, “Okay kid, I think it’s time we’ve stopped,” Rainbow said studying how the girl was panting. Sunset let out a small groan, “But... I’m n-not tired. I wanna—I wanna keep playing.” Rainbow stopped the soccer ball with the bottom of her foot and put a hand to her hip, “Yeah. As much as I’d like to continue, Twilight said to take it easy,” Rainbow said. Sunset nodded, finally giving in. Sure, it was a bit of an exercise that she wasn’t used to, but she didn’t feel tired. She was having fun and wanted to keep on playing with Rainbow Dash. She’s never played with the soccer ball with anypony, or anyone before. Scratch that, she’s never played any games with another pony before. Though Rainbow was obviously not a pony, she still invited her to play, and it made her happy. She’s seen young colts and fillies playing soccer at Celestia’s school, but they’ve never invited her to play. She had always hoped that one day, somepony would ask her to play. And today, someone’s finally asked her to play. “C’mon,” Rainbow said, waving a hand over to Sunset, “We should head inside.” The pair found Twilight and the rest of the group on the couch, watching a show. “Whatcha watchin’?” Rainbow asked, plopping herself on the floor next to Rarity. “Kid Gets Acquainted With Universe,” Pinkie replied, not taking her eyes off of the screen. Twilight shifted to the right on the couch, making room for Sunset to sit on the couch, “Did you have fun?” Sunset climbed up on the couch and nodded. She put her arm around Twilight and set her eyes on the TV. Rarity crinkled her nose up in disgust, “Ew, Rainbow Dash,” she said, plugging her nose with one hand and swatting the air in front of her with the other, “You reek!” Rainbow shrugged, “Well duh. I always sweat when I play.” Rarity angled her body away from the sweaty teen, “Did you have to sit next to me? The least you could’ve done is to clean yourself up before coming here.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Well you took my spot,” she said with a smirk, “That seat’s my sweat spot.” Rarity’s eyes shrunk, “You’re ‘sweat spot?’” Rainbow nodded, “Yep. Sit there after every game when I’m too lazy to shower. Surprised you didn’t find a pool of sweat on the—” At that, Rarity screeched and leaped out of the seat, “That’s disgusting! That’s—“ she gagged, covering her mouth with her hand and ran out of the living room. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash held her stomach as she cackled. She stood from her place on the floor and bounced onto her ‘sweat spot.’ “It’s not funny Rainbow Dash!” Rarity called from the bathroom. Applejack shook her head, “That really yer ‘sweat spot?’” Rainbow shrugged, fighting a small smirk that was slowly building on her face, “Maybe.” Rarity came back from the bathroom with a change of clothes and sat as far away from the rainbow haired girl as possible. This earned a snicker from Sunset, who watched as Rarity continued to turn up her nose at Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie also began to snicker. The cotton candy and Sunset glanced at each other as they tried to stifle their laugher. Rainbow smiled. She was hoping to get a laugh out of Sunset. Seems like it worked. “Stop it!” Rarity groaned, glaring at both Rainbow and Pinkie. “Aw come on Rarity!” Rainbow said, laughing a little more, “It was just a little prank.” Rarity huffed, “I don’t think you’d find it funny if someone pranked you for once.” Rainbow scoffed, “Like who? Everyone knows I’m the king of pranks. No one could prank me no matter how hard they tried!” Rainbow wore a proud smile on her face as she crossed one leg over the other and put her arms behind her head. The group stayed that way for a while. Awaiting the hour when Vice Principal Luna would come. During this time, Twilight noticed that Sunset had grown quiet, and that her breathing was beginning to quicken. Feeling disquieted, Twilight put a hand under Sunset’s chin, “Sweetie, are you feeling okay?” Sunset didn’t answer. Her eyes were droopy and foggy, sweat was beginning to form on her forehead. “Sunset?” Twilight watched her cautiously, “Sunset?” She tried again, this time tapping the girl’s hand. When the girl gave Twilight the same result, Twilight removed Sunset’s arm from hers and held the girl’s face, looking out for some kind of reaction. The rest of the group meanwhile, began to gather around the pair. Confusion, worry, and dread seeped into everyone. “What’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie cried, her hair already beginning to deflate. “I don’t know!” Twilight panted, “She’s not-she’s not reacting!” Twilight watched Sunset’s face pale, feeling her grow colder with each passing second until she was visible trembling. Sunset began to pant harder, now squeezing her eyes shut and began shaking her head. “Sunset! What’s wrong?” Twilight shouted, desperation beginning to escalate within her. Before anyone could react, the now trembling girl went limp, falling forward to the floor in front of her. Twilight reacted quickly, both she and Rainbow had managed to catch the girl before she had hit the ground. “S-sorry...” Sunset slurred. She still had her eyes closed, and her hands were now grasping on to her soaking shirt. Twilight shook her head in confusion. Sorry? What is she sorry for? “Sun—“ The girl gave out a chocked sob, her eyes were now wide open, glazed over with tears spilling out the sides. She was mumbling something under her breath, repeating the same phrases over and over again. Sweat was beginning to stream down Twilight’s face, her confusion increasing, “Sunset...” The girl heard none of it. Instead, she began to thrash around, desperately trying to get away from whatever her mind took her. Sunset’s eyes shot open, widening in horror, “No! I’ll be good... I’m sorry...” Sunset hiccuped, her arms were out stretched in front of her. Twilight was still beside her along with her friends, all trying to get Sunset to return to reality. The girl seemed to be in a trace. Her eyes were opened wide and bloodshot, and her trembling arms were now protecting her midsection. “Sunset!” “Sunset darling, what’s the matter?” “It’s alright sugarcube, just breathe...” “Sunset it’s okay. I’m here Sunset. You’re safe... you’re safe...” Sunset opened her eyes to a dark room. It was cold, she was barefoot, and wearing a strange looking dress with a pock-a-dotted pattern. Frowning, the girl looked around the strange room. It seemed to be endless. And the floor, it wasn’t actually a floor, it was water. “Hello?” She called turning around, trying to find a way out, or signs of another person, “Twilight?” Sunset began picking at her lips, and slowly curled herself into a ball on the wet floor. Where am I? How did I get here? CLIP, CLOP, CLIP, CLOP The fiery haired girl blinked. What was that? It sounded like... hoof steps? She hesitated before looking upwards towards the source of the sound. A silhouette of a stallion came into view. It was coming closer and closer towards her, taking angry and determined steps. Sunset furrowed her brows. Wasn’t she just in the human world? Why was a stallion coming closer to her? As the stallion grew closer, his features were beginning to take form. He had a dark mane lined with streaks of white, and a steel gray coat. He was a unicorn. A unicorn with charcoal black eyes. Sunset froze, trembling in place. Those eyes. She’s seen those eyes before. They’ve haunted her dreams, plagued her every thought. They were always watching her. The unicorn’s malicious grin grew at the sight of the girl’s fear. Sunset began to pant, “I’m sorry!” She began backing away, “I didn’t mean to!” But the stallion, the one that she called father, didn’t listen. He kept walking towards her. Sunset stood up from the floor, and lost her balance, causing her to fall over. Looking down at her own hands, she realized that she was no longer human, but a pony. Wasting no time, Sunset got on all four legs and began running. She didn’t know where she’s go. The void that she was in had no indication of the outside world. Wherever she was, Sunset knew that she was stuck. The little unicorn closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. Stop crying! If you cry it’ll only make things worse! That was when she bumped into something. Sunset groaned, picking herself up from the floor. Lifting her head, she was now face to face with a door. Sunset’s stomach churned. The filthy door was a muddy brown color, etched with scratches and dents. This was no ordinary door. This was The Closet. The closet where she’d be shut in and walloped. “No!” The fiery unicorn called out, before turning away from the door. The stallion was now right in from of her, holding some sort of belt or whip in his dark green aura. Sunset whimpered, “I’ll be good! I’m sorry!” She put her hooves out in front of her as protection, knowing very well that it wouldn’t do much. The dark unicorn, lifted the whip over his head, ready to strike. “Please,” Sunset cried, looking up into her fathers dark eyes. There was no emotion in his eyes. Only pure hatred. Her own father hated her? What did she ever do to him? ”Sunset!” “Sunset darling, what’s the matter?” “It’s alright sugarcube, just breathe...” “Sunset it’s okay. I’m here Sunset. You’re safe... you’re safe...” Sunset blinked in confusion. Where were those voices coming from? She knew whom they belonged to. Those voices would never hurt her. But where are they? They have to save her! They have to save her! “You’re safe here... it’s okay... it’s okay...” Twilight held onto Sunset’s hand, hoping that whatever this was, will be over soon. She glanced to Rainbow Dash, who was holding her other hand. The sporty girl had her eyes hard set on the girl in front of them. By how hard she was bitting her lip, and how red her eyes were, the rainbow haired teen seemed to be holding back tears. Sunset’s hyperventilation was beginning to slow, “I’m sorry...” she mumbled, shaking her head a little until her breathing became normal. Sunset blinked several times, each time becoming more aware of her surroundings. Looking to her left, Sunset spotted a familiar purple face. “Twilight?” Sunset whispered, not fully believing what she was seeing. Twilight sniffled, “Yeah,” she nodded, “We’re all here.” Sunset turned her head to the other side, meeting a rainbow haired girl with puffy eyes, “Rainbow...” The blue teen nodded, a sad smile forming on her face, “Yeah.” Sunset blinked at her response. She shifted her eyes around the circle that she was apparently in. Surely enough, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were all right beside her. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat, and ran her fingers through Sunset’s soaking hair. “You’re gonna l-leave me...” Sunset whimpered, curling herself up into a fetal position on the floor, making confusion fill the room once more. Twilight frowned, “Leave you? Sunset, I’m not going to leave you—“ Sunset shook her head, violently snatching her hands away from both Rainbow Dash and Twilight, startling them both. Twilight shook her head again, “Don’t say that Sunset. I’m not going to leave you. I’m going to stay right by your side. You won’t ever be alone.” Sunset shook her head, still not believing the older girl. Twilight let out a shaky sigh, “Sunset...” Twilight gently grabbed Sunset’s hands, which now felt warm and normal again, “I’m right here.” The fiery haired girl slowly uncurled herself out of the ball and stared up at Twilight, her mind slowly taking in what she said. “D-don’t leave m-me!” Sunset cried, throwing her arms around Twilight as she sobbed. Twilight sighed, wrapping her arms around Sunset in an embrace, “Shh... It’s okay... it’s okay...” Oh my gosh what about Luna? Twilight thought, glancing over at the clock on the wall. She should be here any moment now. Should she just cancel the trip? Sunset just had a breakdown about being left alone. How could she leave now? Twilight really didn’t want to leave now. But Luna came all this way here after having to reschedule, and Celestia wants the information about how Sunset spent her days here. Maybe Sunset will be alright staying with the girls... “Sunset,” Twilight started, “I need to tell you something.“ Sunset lifted her head to look up at Twilight. “Before I tell you,” Twilight began, “I need you to know that you’re safe here. And that you can trust our friends—“ Before Twilight could finish, the doorbell rang, making Sunset flinch closer to Twilight. Rainbow went to go open the door for the guest. “Sunset...” Twilight started again. Vice Principal Luna walked into the living room, looking strictly business-like, “Are you ready to go Twilight Sparkle?” Go? Go where? Twilight’s leaving again? Sunset’s breathing began to pick up. No she can’t! She can’t leave again! Twilight, who expected a similar reaction from the girl, gently took Sunset’s face in her purple hands, “Sunset—“ “No!” Sunset whimpered out, beginning to panic even more. “Sunset,” Twilight began, “Breathe... deep breath in... deep breath out...” Sunset wrapped her arms around Twilight in an iron hold, “No! Don’t leave me again! Don’t leave me!” Sunset began to hyperventilate as she cried. She let Twilight go before, and she was not going to let her go this time. She didn’t care how important it was, or what she needed to do, she just wanted Twilight to stay with her, “Y-you say that you’ll n-never leave me b-but you do! Don’t l-leave me! P-please!” Twilight winced. She has been leaving Sunset right after she tells her she won’t leave her... The realization made a heavy amount of guilt set into the purple teen. Why did she keep doing that? Why was she so blind in seeing that Sunset truly felt alone whenever Twilight left her? How could she not think about how Sunset truly felt? What’s wrong with her? That thought made a wave of shame overcome her. Sensing that Sunset was not going to let her walk out that door, Twilight sighed, wrapping her arms around Sunset in an embrace, “Okay... I’m so sorry... I won’t go. I’ll stay here with you. Shh... It’s okay... it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.” Sunset, tears still streaming down her face, gripped onto Twilight’s shirt. Relief filled her when she heard the pony princess say those words. Yet, the sobbing girl felt guilty about holding Twilight back. What if it was important and she didn’t let her go? What if Twilight gets into some sort of trouble because of her? Rainbow, who had watched the whole scene unfold, faced Twilight, “I could go.” “Are you sure Rainbow? I mean someone else could go. This is your house,” Twilight asked aloud, “And I don’t even know—“ Rainbow shook her head, “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll write down whatever you needa check.” Twilight blinked at her for a second, taking in the offer, “Okay then,” she pointed to the coffee table, “Take the notebook, there’s a list of things that... I wanted to check.” Rainbow nodded as she picked up the notebook and shoved it into her backpack. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before stepping outside with Luna. Rainbow climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up her seat belt while Luna backed out of the driveway and drove off. The pair sat in silence for a while before Luna broke it, “So, Ms. Dash, how is Ms. Shimmer?” Sighing, Rainbow rubbed the nape of her neck, “Uh, she’s gotten worse actually.” Luna’s facade softened, “I do hope everything turns out alright.” Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, me too.” “I saw what happened before we left,” Luna told the teen as she sighed, “Does she always get like that?” “Yeah,” Rainbow said, looking down at her sneakers as she nervously fiddling with the seatbelt strap. “Sorry to bring you down,” Luna said as she made a left turn onto another street. Rainbow shrugged, and turned her face to the window, focusing on the houses as they passed by, “I’m fine.” Rainbow leaned against the car window, resting her face on the glass. Rainbow thought about the place they were going, and a question popped into her head, “Vice Principal Luna? How did you figure out where Sunset lived?” Luna glanced at the teen and sighed, turning her face towards the road again, “Well, one day, it was probably about a year ago maybe? I was taking the shortcut home through the street where the houses burned on Maple. Do you remember?” Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, it burned all the houses on the block.” Luna nodded, “Well, I was driving along there... ——— Luna sighed, looking at the rows of charred houses. She remembered the day that the houses burned, how long ago now? Like three months ago maybe? Possibly more. The houses on Maple Drive weren’t in good condition to begin with. Most of the houses on the block have been torn down since the incident. All that remained were twelve charred houses, barley standing, discarded by the city. Canterlot didn’t have enough money to take the rest down and restore the whole block. She recalled how many people lost their houses and how many people were sent to the hospital in critical condition. It was truly a miracle that nobody died. Just as she was going to exist the street, a girl with flowing red and golden hair caught her eye. Frowning, Luna pulled over, “Sunset Shimmer?” The girl whipped her head around in surprise at the sound of her name. Taking a no longer than a second to recover, the fiery haired teen put on a smile, “Vice Principal Luna! What a surprise to find you here.” Luna blinked, raising her eyebrow at the teen’s suspicious behavior, “Yes... what are you doing here Ms. Shimmer? A fifteen-year-old girl should not be walking home alone in a place like this. It’s dangerous. These houses could collapse at any moment.” Sunset smiled once more, this time looking a little nervous, “I’m simply taking a stroll. I won’t be long.” Luna took off her seatbelt, “I should drive you home, it’s getting late. I’m sure your parents are worried sick!” She exited the car and walked around to open the passenger’s door, “Now, tell me where you live and I—“ ——— “I turned around and she was gone. I assumed that she didn’t want to get in trouble with her parents walking home by herself.” Rainbow nodded in understanding, “So... ya think she’s—uh, was living in one of the houses?” Luna nodded, “Why else would she be there?” Before they both knew it, they had arrived onto Maple Drive. When Luna parked on the curb, Rainbow slowly got off the car, “Where should we even start?” Rainbow scanned her eyes over the long rows of houses. “I guess we should begin at the first house,” Luna walked over to the first house where she parked her car in front of. Rainbow walked up to the front door and hesitated, “Wait, can we get arrested for this? I mean doesn’t the city still technically own these houses?” Luna paused, an almost annoyed expression crossing her face, “I have a warrant. And, I know people.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped, “You have a warrant? How? It’s it that lady with teal hair? Or that one guy—” “Rainbow Dash! It’s none of your business!” Luna scolded, shaking her head and letting out a groan, “Ms. Dash, no one owns these houses anymore. Yes, the government may still own this property, but I highly doubt the past owners of these houses are going to come poking around these streets.” “Okay...” Rainbow said opening the door to the house, “But what if they do?” Luna shrugged, “Then, we run.” Upon entering the house, Rainbow could already tell that no one has been there since the fire. Rainbow sniffed twice, “Ugh, it smells terrible.” Luna nodded as she walked down the hallway, “Yes, I could still smell the smoke.” After searching the house for a while, the pair concluded that Sunset did not take refuge there. They went to the next ten houses and had the same result. Rainbow was beginning to grow impatient, “Vice Principal Luna, what if she doesn’t even live around here. We’ve been wandering around these houses for hours!” Luna couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little, “Ms. Dash, we’ve only been going at this for half an hour.” Rainbow groaned, “It feels like we’ve been at this forever! She probably didn’t even live here in the first place!” Luna sighed, “There’s still one more house left.” Rainbow groaned, dragging herself over to where the older woman was headed to. Luna couldn’t help feeling like she was dragging a toddler with a temper tantrum over to the last house. When they arrived at the front porch steps, Rainbow noticed that this house looked slightly different from the other houses. It seemed to be keeping the inside hidden from the outside world. There was planks of wood bordered up to the windows, though if that person wanted some privacy, they weren’t getting that much. The planks seemed to be falling off. Rainbow rushed to the front to open the door. To her surprise, it’s wouldn’t budge, no matter how much she jangled the doorknob. She tried kicking down the door, which didn’t work. Next she tried ramming into the door to bust it open, but it only ended in Rainbow bouncing off the door and landing on her rear. “Rainbow Dash, I do not think that the door will open,” Luna told her. “I could do it,” Rainbow protested before running into the door again and her rear was once again on the floor. Luna scoffed, “Maybe there’s another way in without damaging the door? Or that doesn’t end up with you getting your hind bruised?” Rainbow blushed and stood up from the floor. Glancing around the house, she walked off the three front steps and went to the right side of the house, where a gate was located. She noticed a foot stool partially hidden by overgrown bushes and ivy. Using the footstool, Rainbow climbed over the gate and threw herself on the other side. The teen expected to land on a dirt floor or grass when she hit the other side. But instead, she found herself waist deep in mud. What the? How did I not see this? The sporty girl growled, and searched for a place to lift herself up. To her left, she noticed a large shelf that stored a pot as well as a weird looking sphere. Right above the shelf, there was another shelf that contained a bag of gardening soil. Rainbow reached her arm out to the lower shelf to hoist herself up from the mud. To her surprise, the shelf, along with the potted plant, went flying past her. The plant ended up hitting a large button on the gate. The button, apparently, was an alarm system. Rainbow covered her ears as the beeping of the alarm system continued. What the heck is going on?! Hearing a creak from up above her, Rainbow looked upwards only to see a bag beginning to tip over the shelf it was stored on. Nope! Not soil! The doomed teen shrieked as the bag of flour completely poured it’s insides on top of her head. Then, there was a clicking sound and a flash of light, making Rainbow blink in confusion. After the bag stopped spilling, Rainbow groaned, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She once again tried to lift herself out of the mud but ended with no results. Who pranked me? Rainbow couldn’t decide if she was impressed or annoyed. On one hand, it was a pretty cool contraption, despite not knowing exactly how it functioned. If Sunset lived here, she could’ve built it to keep thieves and other unwanted guests away. But on the other hand, she was stuck. And now covered in mud and flour. At least no one noticed— “Rainbow Dash? What on Earth happened here?” Vice Principal Luna asked, trying to mask her amusement. “Vice Principal Luna! I uh—I’m kinda stuck,” Rainbow blushed, gesturing to herself. Luna chucked and walked towards the teen, “I could see that. How did you manage to create this chaos?” Rainbow shrugged, “I have no clue. I just fell, and I tried to pull myself up with that shelf and then all this happened! Now can you please get me out of here!” Luna didn’t try to hid her amused smirk as she reached her hands out Rainbow and hoisted her out of the mud pit. “Thanks,” Rainbow said, looking at her muddy clothes and shaking out whatever flour she possibly could from her hair. Luna gave out a short laugh, “Looks like Sunset built a Rube Goldberg machine,” she said as she examined the hidden contraption on the side of the wall. Rainbow groaned, “Yeah, I noticed. And if she lived here. What if she lived with someone else or in a better part of town? I mean, why would she choose to live here?” Luna shook her head, “Rainbow Dash, she faked her documents. If she was living with someone, I’m sure it would’ve been more obvious. They would’ve come looking for her and my sister and I would’ve see them during parent-teacher conferences. And you heard Ms. Sparkle, she came here alone two and a half years ago. She most likely didn’t have money and had no choice but to live here.” Rainbow sighed, “Yeah I guess you’re right,” she nodded back to the older woman. A part of her didn’t want to believe that Sunset lived in her own. That would just mean it’s one other thing she could have helped Sunset in. If she knew, she could’ve helped her. And maybe things wouldn’t be where they are right now. Both Luna and Rainbow looked around the burned backyard. For Rainbow, it finally set in how devastating the fire must’ve been for the families that lived on this street. “How’d you find a way in?” Rainbow asked looking to her Vice principal. Luna walked up to a window, “There was a tunnel under the porch that lead to the backyard,” she said as she walked up to a bordered window and began tearing off a loose plank of wood that was attached to the window. The pair worked together to get the remaining pieces off before climbing through the window. Rainbow glanced around the room. Yep. Someone definitely lives here. “I think we’ve found Ms. Shimmer’s home,” Luna said, reading Rainbow’s thoughts. She walked through the hallway and found that the front door was barricaded with chard furniture. Luna scoffed, “I told you you wouldn’t have been able to open the door.” Rainbow blushed and rolled her eyes, “Should we check upstairs?” Luna nodded, “You go on ahead. I’ll stay downstairs and check a couple of things.” Rainbow nodded and ran up the stairs. The floor under the teen’s feet made a sudden cracking noise and the sporty girl ended up with one leg inside the hole she apparently made. “Be careful!” Luna warned, “This place could fall apart at any moment!” Rainbow pulled her leg from out of the hole and slowed her race down, this time carefully checking where she stepped. When she got up to the second floor, Rainbow noticed that all six doors were closed. She tried every door and found that they were all locked. Taking a bobby pin, the rainbow haired girl opened up the first door. The room seemed too burned to tell what it once was. Her best guess was that it was an office of some sort, judging by the scorched rolling chair. The second door lead to a small room, a young girl’s room by the looks of it. The third door was a bathroom and the fourth was another small room. The following door was a small closet. Rainbow shivered, her mind wandering back to the previous day when Sunset was shut in a closet. She slammed the door shut and began picking at the last door. Rainbow turned the doorknob but couldn’t get it open. She then decided to ram her shoulder into the door. The door the finally opened with a resounding crack, throwing the teen off guard. Rainbow managed to gain her balance and furrowed her brows at the room. The room smelled... old and of course, burned. It wasn’t as destroyed as the first room but it was definitely still damaged by the fire. Rainbow sighed as she walked further into the room. Guessing by the size of the room compared to the others, Rainbow concluded that this must be the master bedroom—or rather, what was left of it. The queen sized mattress was set on the floor at the center of the main wall, adjacent to the windowed wall. Like the other windows of the house, it was bordered up with wood. At the left of the room, there was a bathroom. Rainbow shivered as she walked deeper inside the room, it wasn’t even close to being dark out and the room was already freezing. It was windy though, she could hear the wind pushing up against the house and the bordered windows. This made the teen pause, thinking about how Sunset must’ve felt during the cold winter nights in this house. Right in front of the bed was an old dresser. Rainbow opened one of the drawers to find a familiar looking purple top with the red and yellow sun embroidered to the front. Yep... she definitely lived here... Rainbow turned around and spotted a hidden guitar by the bed. She walked over to pick it up. Huh... I didn’t know she played. Maybe... if we fix... what’s going on and she ages back up, maybe we can all form a band together. She set the guitar down and looked up to find a calendar right in front of her face. Rainbow spotted the date of The Fall Formal circled and label in a thick red marker. She also noticed that in blue, Sunset had circled the date a couple of days before the formal and marked it as PORTAL OPENS. In the notes section, Sunset wrote in black: Homeless shelter opens at 7—closes at 8 M-F. Sat & Sun 6-9. In another section of the notes, it read: Running low on supplies. Rainbow sighed, and sat on the bed. Feeling discomfort, Rainbow quickly jumped up from the bed. Taking a closer look at the bed, Rainbow noticed just how destroyed it was. It wasn’t destroyed enough that someone couldn’t sleep in it but it was burned enough to make a person really uncomfortable. Springs stuck out of the mattress and the sorry excuse for a blanket was filthy. Rainbow decided to look around the room again. She opened the night stand drawer and discovered a pile of drawings. Picking up the stack, Rainbow laid then down on the bed. The drawings were pretty good, and were extremely detailed. The first drawing was of a very familiar looking Phoenix plush. Rainbow scoffed and shook her head, turning to the next page. The second was of a landscape of what Rainbow guessed what Sunset’s birthplace. The third had a darker feel to it. It was of a monstrous looking pony, looming over a small red haired unicorn. A cold chill ran down Rainbow’s spine when she realized what it was. This must be her so called father... The third was of a pony that reminded Rainbow of Principal Celestia. I guess that must be that princess Twilight always talks about. The fourth was of a mirror, and in the reflection of that mirror, an angry looking unicorn was glaring back at the audience with dark red and black wings sticking out from her. The fifth one was a rough sketch of a crown. Rainbow bit her lip when she recognized the object as Twilight’s crown. The one that Sunset stole. The one that turned her into a demon. The one that may have caused her suffering now. Rainbow hesitated and stuffed the drawings in her backpack. She then took out the notebook that Twilight handed to her. Through she barley knew the pony princess, she wasn’t surprised to find a checklist. She frowned at the curly handwriting and tried her best to read it. 1. Find some evidence of her knowing about the portal opening. 2. Find out evidence/clues about her past. 3. Anything Sunset stole from Equestria? 4. Living conditions. Wait that’s it? The teen thought. I thought she’d have pages of things she wanted to check. Rainbow took out her phone to take a picture of the calendar, checking off the first point. She mentally checked the point, already knowing that the drawings can hold something about Sunset’s past. Rainbow frowned at the third point. She can’t tell whether something from Equestria was stolen or not so she decided to take pictures of the room and what was in the drawers to show Twilight later. The drawers held mostly clothes and art supplies so Rainbow guessed that she didn’t steal anything else. As for the fourth, the pictures she took would tell of her living conditions. Rainbow placed the notebook back into her bag and walked over to the bathroom. Upon opening the squeaky door, the first thing Rainbow noticed was that the mirror above the sink was shattered. It didn’t seem like the mirror was broken on accident. The impact point indicated that it was intentional. Rainbow carefully stepped around the glass on the floor and went closer to the counter, finding makeup. Though she wasn’t a big fan of makeup, Rainbow could make out that the makeup was used to cover something up. Rarity’s vanity is usually covered in cosmetics ranging from mascara to lipstick. Rainbow thought back to what Pinkie Pie had said about Sunset not covering up the scars on her face well. While Rarity and others used makeup to ‘enhance and embrace one’s beauty’—as Rarity would say—Sunset used it to hide and conceal the scars that were left from the past. Rainbow sighed, not being able to continue her train of thought. She turned around and left the bathroom, only to pause when she suddenly felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket.