Sometimes- no… MOST of the time it was pretty horrible being a weak human in a world of powerful monsters. When creatures could breathe fire or shoot lightning, it kinda stank that all you had to combat them was, and this is if you were lucky, a weapon and a shield. Those wouldn’t usually help much when it came to a beast that could break through walls or take over your mind…
But when it comes to life you have to take what you can get.
And right now, what Silhouette wouldn’t do for a quicker healing process.
Her leg was splinted up, had been for the last few weeks, as the townspeople muddled around, digging at the wall of the natural cave around them, looking for a way out of here. The food they brought in had run out long ago, but along with the fresh spring water in the cave they were able to find some root vegetables and small rodents, so no one was quite starving yet.
If there were rodents ,here then there must be a way to the surface, or someplace else, Silhouette reasoned… hoped. So the work went on with digging, moving rocks and gathering food, all while Silhouette was stuck on the sidelines, useless to aid them.
There was improvement of course. She could walk a bit now but it was slow going. Besides that the last time she tried the Healer caught her, and gave her a very long lecture about taking care of herself.
So long, so angry ,and soooo boring.
Silhouette was a warrior, she wasn’t made to sit on her behind for weeks on end and watch others work! It was likely one of the worst tortures she had ever endured.
“SIlly!”
Almost.
Silhouette looked up blandly as Lovely ran over to her, carrying a bowl of water and some salted rat meat. “I got you food!”
Silhouette almost grimaced at the meal, but kept the look off her face. Who was she to complain? It was better than having nothing. “Thank you Lovely, I will have some later.”
“You will have some NOW!” Lovely ordered, shoving one of the salted, skewered meats in her face, and almost taking out her eye. “The adults say you haven’t been eating enough, so I’m gonna make you!”
“Are you?” She asked, leaning back from the food, Lovely pushing it in closer the more she resisted. “Listen, Lovely, I am just not very hungry right now-”
“Up-bup-bup!” Lovely snorted, waving the skewer. “I don’t wanna hear it! Open your mouth or you're getting the stick too!”
So much like her mother, Silhouette thought before sighing. She took a skewer from Lovely and had a bite, hoping to appease the girl. Thankfully it worked, but she didn’t leave. Instead she just sat down next to her.
“How long are you gonna be hurt for?” Lovely asked. “Healer said a month right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Is it gonna be longer if you don’t eat well or keep moving around?” Lovely asked.
“Who put that in your head?” Silhouette asked, brow raised.
“The adults talk about it when they think the kids are sleeping.”
“Mmm.” Silhouette took another bite of rat meat.
“SOOOOOoooooOOOOO,” Lovely said in a sing-song voice. “When will you be better? A month? Or longer?”
Silhouette sighed. “A month.”
“Then keep eating!”
“Mmmmm!” Silhouette glowered at the girl, but did as she was told.
Lovely hummed and kicked her legs up and down, watching Silhouette finish every last bite of her food. Once done she put the stick back on the plate, so it could be washed and used again.
“Better?” Lovely asked with a smile.
Silhouette sighed and rolled her eyes. “I suppose.” She did feel a bit better, but nothing would stop the ache in her legs for a long while. “I’ll feel much better when I can get back to work with the others. We have to find a way out of here…”
“Why?”
Silhouette did a double take, glancing at the girl in confusion. “Why? Why?! It's a big hole in the ground. We have to get out so we can find food and water. Make shelter.”
“We got lots of water.” Lovely pointed to it. “And Big Branch just dug out a cave full of Mushrooms! Plus, he said it’s far enough down and away that we won’t have to worry about spores… whatever those are.”
“I see,” Silhouette sighed, knowing that would be in her briefing later. “What about shelter though? We can’t make shelter with anything down here.”
“Can’t we just dig ones out of the rocks? Like bunnies and foxes do with dirt?” Lovely asked, making little digging motions with her hands like an animal would. “Plus, what do we need shelter for down here? There’s no rain!”
Silhouette opened and closed her mouth a moment. “Well I suppose,” She admitted. “You don’t want to stay down here though do you? What about the sun? Won’t you miss the sun? Or snow? It won’t snow down here…”
“Can we live without the sun? Or do we need it like plants do?” Lovely asked, looking confused.
“Well… It feels very nice,” Silhouette said. “But I SUPPOSE going without sunlight couldn’t kill us.”
Lovely hummed, thinking more, before she frowned a little. “If we do go back up above ground, would there be more monsters?”
Silhouette shifted a bit, scowling a bit. “There will always be more monsters, Lovely.”
“There's none here though,” Lovely said, looking around. “We’re all sealed in! They can’t find us unless we hear them digging, right?”
Silhouette considered this.
“We got food, water, shelter-” Lovely said, counting it off on one hand. “And each other. What else do we need?”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Silhouette muttered, glancing around the cavern again.
“You said we didn’t need sunlight to survive,” Lovely added. “Why should we risk seeing monsters again for it if we don’t need it?”
Silhouette gritted her jaw and looked away thoughtfully.
They sat in silence as Lovely kicked her legs a little, and Silhouette stared darkly at the cave wall beside them. Lovely’s logic made surprising sense. It had been almost a month since they ended up down here, and in that time, they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of a monster. That was an impressive record. Silhouette’s entire life had been plagued by monsters since her birth on a human slave farm. Since she and her brother had escaped when they were being shipped to the sale yard, only running into Final Stand by luck. Almost every other day of her life since then, fighting for her survival and learning to use a sword.
Is this what peace feels like?
Silhouette let her shoulders lower from their usual tension, her back cracking a little, not used to this position. Her jaw slacked a bit as she relaxed it too, causing it to click.
Hm.
So this was relaxation.
She hated it.
“Well,” Silhouette said, pushing those thoughts away. “At any rate, we may have to stay here a while yet anyways. I can’t move very far and we have no idea what's up there.”
“Monsters.”
“Yes, thank you Lovely, but outside of that. We don’t know the terrain at all. It could be marshland, swamps, or a thick forest. Maybe even worse…” Silhouette shuddered. “Wide open plains.”
“So we’re staying for a bit?” Lovely asked quickly, smiling a little.
“I’ll have to discuss it with the others, but I think so.” Silhouette nodded. Not that they had much of a choice right now anyway. They didn’t have an exit yet.
“Yeah!” Lovely jumped up in excitement, a large smile on her face. “That’s great! Me and Little John are making a rock fort, but we might not be done for a bit! We can keep working on it now!”
Silhouette felt her lips quirk at that news. Of course children would worry about something like that.
“Plus, now it’ll be easier for mom to find us if we stay in one place!”
The small smile dropped at those words and Silhouette sighed hard out her nose, looking away from the girl. In all the commotion she had forgotten. Lovely still didn’t realize her mother would never be catching up to them…
As skilled as Eventide was, Silhouette knew she was no match for the vampire matriarch.
“Lovely…” Silhouette started, looking up at the girl again. When the child turned to her, a large bright smile on her face, Silhouette grimaced.
“Hmm?”
Silhouette paused, thinking over her words, before admitting defeat and nodding her head. “Mayhaps you should get back to that fort? I’ll be napping soon, unless you’d like to join me-”
“NOPE.” Lovely was already skipping away. “I’ll see you at dinner though and make sure you eat everything again!”
This girl….
Silhouette snorted and glanced at the dark stone ceiling above.
It no longer felt so confining.
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________________
___________________
Present Day
“Is that what I think it is?”
Twilight turned around, following her mother’s gaze to a small well lit kitchen. It was beautiful, if a bit old fashioned. Solid oak cabinets stained a dark brown, with the grain showing through. There were also granite countertops, a lovely shade of grey with darker flecks throughout. A large, white, farmhouse sink was just under a window and a beautiful range stove sat in the room as well, a vented microwave fastened to the wall over the stove-
But what her mother was likely referring to was the large cauldron in the middle of the room.
It was gigantic! Twilight and her parents could have climbed inside and had room to sit down- I mean, with their knees pulled up, but still. It was blacked and the floor below it was carved out for a fire. Twilight inched closer to look inside. She found it empty, but it was worn, with scratch marks from past stirring devices along the bottom, as well as rings on the walls from previous, bubbling brews.
“Ah yes, a Cauldron!” The realtor spoke, stepping around them with a large smile, her fawn hooves clicking against some nice white tiles. “I did tell you that a witch family owns the house currently! However if you do like the property you could renovate the kitchen, put in a nice big island here! Or maybe a brunch table.” She skittered excitedly around the cauldron to gesture inside it. “Course if you fancy taking a try at potioniering then we can see if they’d negotiate it into the sales.”
“They’d do that?” Night Light asked, shocked.
“Well there's a chance! Moving a big cauldron like this can be a hassle. Especially if it doesn’t fit the new space. However a lot of witch cauldrons are family heirlooms, so they may not be willing to part with it! Plus a new one can be costly at this size!” She tapped the cauldron lightly. “I’m no expert, but I’d say we have a pewter one here. Not too expensive, but it could be old. Honestly it's like any big item or appliance. We can always ask, it wouldn’t hurt.”
“Hmm,” Night Light hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Oh I don’t think we need it,” Velvet said quickly, elbowing her husband lightly. “We’ve never dabbled in it and such a big size for a beginner…”
“Gotcha!” The realtor smiled. “We can leave this off the offer, if you want to make one of course! Any other questions about the kitchen?”
“Oh not right now.”
“Alrighty! I’ll go see if the backyard is all set for our look see!” the realtor said happily, heading out the back sliding door. “Just come get me if you need anything!”
“Thank you!” Velvet waved at her as she headed down the stairs. Then she frowned at her husband. “A cauldron? Really?!”
“Think of all the mac and cheese you can make in this baby!” Night Light side quickly, pointing at it. “Great for block parties!”
“They don’t have those here, Nighty,” Velvet said, before looking dreamy. “They don’t have any association to set those up…” she sighed contently.
Twilight chuckled before looking around the kitchen again, eyes wide. A witch’s house! A real witch’s house!
The family had started house hunting a few days after Velvet’s decision. Her dad had asked his buddies at work for advice on buying in the city and they told him, point blank, to get a realtor. Apparently there were so many features and hidden details about houses in the city. No two were the same. Having a realtor to find any hidden oddities or additions was imperative. A few of his co-workers even pulled out business cards of the person who helped them buy their own homes.
Apparently getting the right type of realtor was important too. With so many different body types, sizes, and needs, having a realtor that was as close in species to your own was helpful. Thankfully, fawns are pretty close to humans, so they arranged to look at houses, starting today.
This was the third house. First they had looked at a place close to Rainbow’s house, one that went into the earth like a burrow. Both Twilight’s mom and dad liked the neighborhood, but found the house too dark and muddy.
Then they traveled to the other side of the city, to a place closer to the mountains. It was in a halfling and dwarf district, with most of the houses there being very short and stout. The house they looked at wasn’t though, the current owner having built it after falling in love with a halfling. Everything was human sized, but there were built in steps and mini stairs so a halfling could use it too. Velvet and Night Light thought it was nifty, Dad dreaming of baking cookies with future grandchildren using the steps to help. However the creature who owned this place was still a little on the short side. Dad had winged his head on every doorway.
That was likely for the best, Twilight could see Spike sneaking up those little steps to steal food.
The next house was a bit closer to their tastes. Their realtor had taken them to a suburban area just on the edge of the city. It was akin to Everfree, perhaps a bit too much.. All the houses were of similar build, making them weary, but a lack of HOA was promising, so they took a look. So far it was lovely and had what seemed like a nice neighborhood. On the drive in they passed a playpark, a pet park, and a community exercise center.
The house itself was also very nice. Four bedrooms, a downstairs office and a large, finished basement space. Though the Sparkles had all paled at the strange sigils on the walls there, the realtor assured them it was strictly for potion purposes and didn’t affect the house.
It was their first choice of the house thus far out of all of them.
Unfortunately, the closest school was Hooffield Highschool. The witch family apparently sent their kids to a private school somewhere close to Northumberland. Canterlot High, and Twilight’s friends, were still forty minutes away with good traffic.
As nice as it would be to have a house that fit their family, it would also have been nice to go to school with her friends. Too bad the first house wasn’t a good match.
Twilight followed her parents out onto the back deck. The yard was a fair size for the suburbs, with a couple of neat and orderly little flower beds. Near the shed at the back was a raised garden, however the plants growing there were ones Twilight had never seen before.
“Adder's Tongue, Nettles, Bloodroot, all sorts of potion making materials!” The realtor explained. “Course the family will take it with them, so you could turn it into a very nice vegetable garden.” She gestured back to the deck. “And the pull-out awning is built right into the house, so nice for those sunny days.”
“That is a good feature. Would be nice to eat out here sometimes. Maybe Barbecue,” Velvet said brightly.
“Course! Now just follow me out to the garage! It can fit one car, but there is space for a workbench.” Their realtor said, taking them to the other door in the backyard. Dad eagerly went after her, with Velvet and Twilight bringing up the rear. “So, what do you think of the house so far?”
“Well it is very nice…” Velvet said as they got to the garage side door. “Maybe it needs a bit of work but I think this is a contender…”
“I’ll say!” Night Light said, looking excited. “If this garage is good we might put in an offer-”
“Feed me.”
Everyone froze in place. Slowly the humans all turned their head in the direction of a strange new voice. Sitting beside the garage door was a large, green, vine-like plant. It wriggled a little, and they looked it up and down in confusion. A large bulb, like an unopened flower, was on top, then lots of long vines and leaves were springing out of it. The plant shifted and Velvet jumped, arms swinging out to catch Twilight, Night Light and their real estate agent behind her, pushing them all away from it as she backed up nervously.
“What-” Her mother started to say before pointing at the plant. “-In the world is that?!”
“Ahhhh.” Even the real estate agent seems unsettled, with her ears pinned back. “THAT is a plant security system… which really should be in the house’s files…” She began to flip through the papers in her hands. “It’s a plant developed to protect properties. Usually a magically endowed combination of a venus fly-trap and a butterwort. A very close relative of the infamous Cow Plant… Now they’re pretty well harmless unless someone is trying to break in… or if they’re hungry…”
“Feeeed Meeee,” the plant spoke again, its voice very deep. The blub opened to show some very sharp teeth as it did so. It stretched closer to Velvet’s hand, but they all backed up a few more steps, out or range.
“What the hell does it eat?!” Velvet asked, eyes wide.
“Oh ah… it is carnivorous.” The real estate agent frowned, finally putting the papers away. “They are also very difficult to remove for obvious reasons.”
“H-how big of a creature can it eat?” Night Light asked, watching the plant closely.
“Well… about the size of a cat?”
Erh! NOPE!
“My dog is smaller than most cats!” Twilight said quickly. Thank god he hadn’t come today!
“Oh, well ah… maybe this isn’t the house for you then…” The agent admitted, scratching her ear. They all froze at a chattering noise. A squirrel appeared on the roof of the garage, nibbling on a peanut. In less than a second the plant snapped it up in it’s maw. Everyone’s jaw dropped as the plant sucked the tail into its gullet like a piece of spaghetti.
“Ohhh… Built in pest control?” Night Light mumbled, looking a bit pale.
“Let it go Nighty, the finished basement isn’t worth having that,” Velvet hissed at him. Slowly, they all back away towards the porch.
The real estate agent sighed when they were out of its sights. “I’m so sorry! This is a new listing. They must have just forgotten to put that in the files.”
“Can’t help what they don’t tell you,” Night Light said, chuckling a little.
“I do think that ‘that’ crosses this house off the list though,” Velvet said, shivering a little at the thought. “This house is closer to what we want though!”
“Well if you have time there is another house in this neighborhood that's for sale!” The agent said, pulling another file out of her briefcase. “I could take a look and see if we can take a quick peek!”
“We have all day to look at houses,” Velvet agreed with a smile.
“Wonderful! Now it's a little older than this house!” She said, reading the file. She began to sweat a little as she kept reading. “However it is also disclosed that the house is cursed …”
“Cursed?” Velvet asked, gobsmacked.
“Well it usually happens a lot in scornful divorces! A sort of, ‘You want the house? Then you can have it!’ thing. Just means the pipes may sometimes release blood instead of water, or things randomly break- however it does lower the price and it is tax deductible once it is filed and proven with the city, and this house already is!”
“Oooh! Tax deductible!?” Night Light asked as they were led back through the house. Twilight chuckling as Velvet gave her husband an exasperated look. Halfway back to the front door, Twilight’s phone buzzed. She fished it out of her pocket and had to tilt the screen to see it in the sunlight.
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:11 AM
‘Hey, how's house hunting?’
Twilight smiled a bit and quickly texted back.
‘Fine. We've seen a lot of interesting places so far. So far nothing is quite right, but I think we’re getting close.’
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:11 AM
‘That's good. I hope you're having fun! So long as you guys take your time I’m sure you’ll find the right fit! You just can’t rush it.’
Sunset sent a second text a few moments later.
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:12 AM
‘Not that I’d know. My mom has owned her house for about 800 years.’
Twilight chuckled at that. When she had told her friends a few days ago that she was moving out of Everfree, they had been ecstatic. Pinkie apparently was setting up a housewarming party, and Rarity offered to help with any upholstery and drapes. Only Applejack seemed conflicted by the news. However, she just joked that she was going to miss having Twilight as a neighbour.
Twilight knew from the way the house hunt was turning out, she wouldn’t likely be going to school with her friends. Houses for human sizes and shapes were slim pickings it seemed.
Her phone pinged again and she glanced down at the screen.
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:14 AM
‘Which is your favorite house so far?’
Twilight sighed as she typed. ‘There was one near Rainbow’s house, but that was mostly because it was within busing range to Mid Canterlot. Nothing else has been within distance of your school.’
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:15 AM
‘Well have you told your parents that?”
Twilight blinked.
‘Uh no actually…’
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:15 AM
‘Then give it a shot! The Worst they can do is say no!’
That was true. Twilight glanced at her parents, who were going over some house photos with the Realestate agent.
She might as well ask…
As Twilight approached them, their real estate agent seemed to chuckle. “I know it’s a bit odd, but there are so many houses on the market right now! If you have anything that could help me narrow it down, then that would actually really help!”
“We mostly just need the bedrooms, office and basement space,” Velvet shrugged. “The suburban style is the best way to go with us and as long as it’s not too tall or too short, we should be ok.”
“Actually…” Twilit spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “I was wondering if we could look around Mid Canterlot.”
“Mid Canterlot? Why there honey?” Night Light asked.
“I know we’re moving to be closer to Shiney, but we can still see him often enough, even if we don’t live in the same district,” Velvet added, cocking her head.
“I just… I sorta wanted to go to the same school as my friends. Canterlot High…” Twilight admitted, scratching her head.
“Oh Canterlot High is a great school!” Their agent said quickly. “It would narrow my search, plus it's close to your work Mr Night Light!”
“Well, if it's something we can look into, why not?” Night Light agreed. “There's plenty to do in the city and it sounds like it's pretty safe from what Shining Armour has told us. Plus, if we get some grandchildren, they could just walk over to see us!”
“That does sound nice, but is there anything within our budget that matches our other needs?” Velvet asked, glancing at their agent.
The fawn got an excited look on her face. “Funny you should ask!”
The house was old.
Made of grey brick, and four stories high, the narrow row home seemed a bit cramped looking from the outside, but not so much that it was too small. The agent began to explain that there was a garage around back with a smallish yard, as well as giving them the details about the neighborhood around them.
“The area is a bit older, but the museum is just down the street, as well as the Mid Canterlot Library! Not many parks, but there’s a gym a few blocks away. Plus there is a nice shopping center just a few streets over!”
“It looks nice,” Velvet agreed as they walked up the tall steps to the door. “Why has it been on the market so long though?”
“The stairs are a big part! There's a lot of them inside and monsters with hooves can have difficulty with them.” Saying that she slipped a bit, but kept steady. “Whoop! See what I mean! Besides, some monsters can’t use stairs at all, and the use of wooden floors throughout could be an issue with flames.”
“Wood floors throughout! That sounds nice!” Night Light smiled.
She unlocked the door and they came inside. It was very dusty, and there was no furniture. “The old owners had to move into assisted living as they got older. The stairs got to be too much!” their agent said. “Their kids live outside the city, so it's been vacant for a while!”
“Just another way to say move in ready though right?” Velvet joked as they entered, shutting the door once they were all in. Her voice echoed in the empty space.
“That’s right!” The fawn turned to them with a smile. “There’s just one thing you should know, before we start.”
“And what’s that?” Night Light asked.
“The house is kind of alive.”
The three humans blinked and looked around wearily.
“Alive?” Velvet asked, nervous.
“Well, sentient anyway. It's a spell built into the house’s support and foundation! It protects the house from damage, burglars and intruders.” She gestured around. “Once it gets used to you, it’ll help you out, protects you and try to keep itself clean! Though it may not agree with everything you do. This house has a bit of a give and take to it.”
“Why is it not clean then?” Velvet asked, wiping some dust off the banister.
“Maybe it's sad from being empty for so long?” Twilight suggested, glancing up at a fancy old chandelier.
“It’s a possibility,” the fawn admitted. “Anywho, just keep in mind that it won’t peep on you in the shower or try to mess with you, unless you mess with it first! The house has no interest in anything besides your best interests and what's good for itself.”
The house was rather large, with five bedrooms and three and a half baths. They came to the kitchen on the first floor, looking around the darkened space. It had an island and a breakfast nook. The cupboards painted a soft white and the counters were tiled with green. Cobwebs and dust were everywhere.
“It’s very big, but there's potential here,” Velvet smiled as they looked around. “Is there a lot of storage-”
Every cupboard in the room flew open, though the doors didn’t bang. They seemed controlled, and held themself open so Velvet could see all the storage space for herself.
“My goodness,” Velvet muttered, hand on her chest.
“That is a lot of storage compared to what we have now,” Night Light nodded.
Twilight was quickly enthralled by the reaction, walking a bit farther into the room. How in depth could conversation with the house be? Did it even hold conversations or only respond to command? “Uh, how do you feel about dogs?” She asked, looking around the room.
Something started creaking.
Twilight scuttled to the end of the room, towards the door that led to the backyard. Glancing down, she found the source. A doggy door was installed there, swinging back and forth.
Wow!
“This is amazing!” Her dad said when he joined her.
“Yes the house is very handy!” Their agent agreed. “Though there are some notes from the old owners.” She flipped through her files. “It hates the colour red, so don’t bother using that on the walls. It also hates mice and rats.”
“Well I don’t use much red when I decorate, and if it keeps mice and rats out, I think we’ll get along fine,” Velvet said. She jumped when the curtain from a nearby window brushed her arm softly. “Oh, well hello to you too!”
“Let’s take a look upstairs next, I think there are some more features that may be right up your alley!” their agent said, taking them down the hall. The house definitely didn’t disappoint either.
All the bedrooms were a good size and though one didn't have a closet, it was fine for an office, especially since it was the one with the large, circular window facing out over the small back yard. Night Light was especially giddy, imagining his antique telescope poised just in front of it for star viewing. There was an attic above that was still holding a few dusty boxes, but it was big enough to stand and walk through, which was an improvement from their current house. The basement was large with walls made of brick and some beams showing on the ceiling, with a concrete floor, unpainted and unpadded. It had all the necessary electrical outlets, though they were placed over the wall’s surface, rather than inside it. Such was the price of such an old house though. They came out to the backyard, wading through the unkempt grass and looking around in interest.
“It’s a bit small, but it’s a cozy sort of small,” Velvet admitted, checking the stability of the deck by giving it a little shake.
“Who needs to cut all that grass!” Night Light said, shaking his head. “A nice table, a BBQ and a few flower beds, this place would be an outdoor paradise!”
“True.”
“It’s big enough for Spike anyway,” Twilight agreed, knowing she wouldn’t spend much time out here.
“What do you think Velvet? It’s close to my work and seems a good size,” Night Light said, scratching his head. “However, the basement’s not done and there is the ‘living house’ thing…”
“I actually like that. I admit that I was… nervous about moving out of the community, but having a house that guards itself is very reassuring. If Twilight can go to school with her friends and we’re close to your work… maybe we should make an offer.”
“Just what I was thinking!” Night Light looked excited.
“Should I get the paperwork together?” Their realtor asked, looking pleased.
“Let’s do it!” Velvet agreed as they headed back up onto the deck. She grinned at her husband. “We’re… We’re buying our own house!”
“Our own house!” Night Light cheered in agreement.
“Do you not own your current home?” Their realtor asked.
“Oh we do, but it was a gift from my mother.” Velvet smiled up at the four story townhouse. “This one! This one will be ours completely!”
“I’m so happy I was able to help you find the home you were looking for! We just need to talk about what price you want to go in with and what conditions you want to set. I’m sure this house is in good condition but I always suggest a home inspection, just in case!” she explained. “As well as an exorcist in case of any ghost squatters.”
The realtor kept speaking with Twilight’s parents as they went back to the front door. Twilight looked around the dusty kitchen before clasping her hands together and bouncing on her feet.
This might be her home soon! She’d be able to go to school with her friends, and not have to worry about security, or her grandma, or anything else! In fact, her friends would be able to come over and visit!
Maybe mom and dad would let her invite them over sometime after they had settled in?
Well, maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Her parents hadn’t even sent in the offer. Still, she had to share the news. She excitedly pulled out her phone and texted Sunset.
‘Good news! We found a great house near Mid Canterlot!’
It didn’t take Sunset long to respond. She must be having a quiet day at home.
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:45 AM
‘That's great! So the house hunting may be over with?’
Twilight quickly typed back. ‘Looks like it! As fun as it was, it sure was exhausting.’
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:47 AM
‘Well if you're not too tired maybe you could come hang out at my place! My mom made home made tomato soup for dinner.’
Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:47 AM
‘And before you start, yes, I know it looks like blood, she made that joke ten times already.’
Twilight chuckled and texted back. ‘Sure, let me just ask my parents.’
As Twilight came back out to the front hallway she found her parents signing some papers and looking over the house file, the realtor was gleefully calling the home owner’s representative to tell them the good news. Her mother seemed to finish off with the last signature before chuckling.
“That about does it!”
“The sellers are very interested in your offer!” the realtor said, putting her phone away and taking the files back. “We should hear back by tonight, but I have a good feeling!”
“Hahaha! You hear that house!” Velvet said, yelling up at the brick work. “You're gonna be mine!- I mean, ours!” She faltered, looking to her husband, but he only gave her an excited, double thumbs up. Velvet laughed again. “You’re gonna be-”
POOOOOFFFF
Twilight didn't know what happened, but suddenly, she couldn’t see. Everything was grey. She floundered a moment before wiping off her glasses. Putting them back on and looking around, Twilight realized that she, her parents and the realtor were covered in a thick coating of dust.
“What- cough!- What just happened?!” Night Light asked, rubbing his face clean with his hands.
“I’d say the house is just as exciting as you folks are,” the realtor said, ears flicking in amusement. Twilight would have to agree with her. All the windows of the house were open and curtains were thundering as clouds of dust were beaten outside, trying to tidy itself up.
As the family started to dust themselves off, Twilight remembered why she came outside. “Hey mom, can I have dinner at Sunset’s house?” Twilight asked, Velvet looking up from where she had been trying to remove a stubborn mark from her shirt. Twilight found it rather funny. Asking her parents for permission to go out with them actually knowing where. What a concept!
“Oh is that, ah,” her mother glanced at the realtor out of the corner of her eye. “One of your new friends?”
“Yeah. She lives back near the community just outside the city,” Twilight explained. “She invited me for dinner! They’re having homemade tomato soup.”
“Oooh, that’s always good!” Night Light immediately perked at the mention of food, much to his family’s amusement.
“Well I suppose it’s ok,” her mother agreed, patting Twilight on the back.
Twilight smiled and went to text Sunset back-
“I mean I guess we should meet her parents first though,” Velvet added quickly, trying to wipe a smudge from her skirt.
Twilight paused, puffing up her cheeks.
Oh dear.
The ride out to Sunset’s family home was a short one. After bidding their helpful real estate agent goodbye, with the promise of a call later, they had piled into their compact and headed off. They pulled up to the gated driveway, an old, stone fence surrounding the property.
“It was nice of your friend’s mother to make time for us Twilight, especially in the middle of the day!” Velvet said, as she and Night Light looked over the large yard and old chateau with interest.
“She said her mom takes some weekdays off for her sanity,” Twilight chuckled from the back seat, reading Sunset’s text word for word. “Apparently she wanted to meet you guys too.”
Hopefully Celestia would leave how the two girls met out of conversation.
“Must be great to be able to take a day off. What does she do anyway?” Night Light asked.
“I’m not sure. Politics I think? She has been alive for a long time,” Twilight admitted.
“Well we can always ask later, now we just need to figure out how to get in,” Velvet said, looking around. “I don’t see a bell or a comm anyway…”
“I think they can sense when people come onto their property,” Twilight muttered softly, looking around as well, between the two front seats. “ It shouldn’t be too long before-”
Twilight didn’t even finish talking before the old iron gate creaked open on its own, whining in strain as it was used.
“Wow! Look at that!” Night Light said excitedly. “Do they have psychic powers or something?”
“Maybe?” Twilight shrugged.
“I don’t know if this is rude,” Velvet spoke as the car started to creep up the driveway towards the house. “But what kind of monster are they?”
“Vampires,” Twilight said absentmindedly.
Night Light and Velvet shared a quick look, but other than that they showed no other concern. Though there was a bit of a nervous air about them. “Well, that must be interesting, huh?” Night Light said first, scratching his neck. “Imagine being so strong and stuff! Must make yard work a breeze!” He gestured to some rather immaculate garden beds and hedges.
“Uh, the sun dear…”
“Oh right.”
“Apparently they have sunscreen for that, so maybe they do garden,” Twilight said, poking up between them.
“Only one way to find out,” Velvet said as the car parked.
They all got out and climbed up the stone steps. Velvet inspected the double entry doors before finding a rope to pull on. Doing so rang a rather musical chime inside the home.
“Do I look ok?” Night Light asked, dusting off his shirt.
“You're fine dear,” Velvet assured him, patting her husband on the shoulder.
“You look pretty fine yourself,” Night Light winked at his wife. She snorted and rolled her eyes in return.
“Not the time hun.”
The door rattled before swinging open. At first, it seemed like no one was there. But when they all glanced down, they realized the man who opened the door was just a bit on the short side. Twilight recognized him immediately.
“Carrion!” she beamed. “It's good to see you!”
“As it is good to see you, Madam,” he said, bowing a little. “Please come in. The mistress will be with you momentarily.”
As they entered and cleaned their shoes on the rug, Twilight looked around, taking in Sunset’s home for the first time. A large domed ceiling with a grand chandelier hung overhead. The walls were decorated in very old fashioned wallpaper with a half wood paneling, stained a dark brown. There was a double staircase leading up towards the upper floor, as well as a hallway between them, which seemed to go to the kitchen and dining room. If that wasn’t enough there was an archway on either side of the entry, one to a sitting room and one to an office with built-in bookcases that seemed to be overflowing with books.
Twilight felt her heart flutter at the sight and she was sure her mother was also eyeing the literature in affection. Night Light put his hands on his hips and let out a whistle.
“Look at that painted crown molding hun!” he said, staring at the ceiling. “Now that is nice- you think the house would want something like that?!”
“I’m not sure. We could ask if we managed to get the house,” Velvet said with a chuckle, checking out the architecture as well.
“Say, you have the card of the guy who did the work here?” Night Light asked Carrion, the old butler smiling a little. “I’d love to get his number.”
“I’m afraid that's quite impossible.” Twilight looked up, immediately seeing Celestia standing at the end of the hallway. Radiant and almost god looking, just like the last time she had seen her. She felt her parents freeze on either side of her, which meant they saw her as well. Celestia gave them a kind smile as she came closer.
“The craftsmen who did that marvelous work passed a good fifty years before the first telephone made its first appearance.”
“O-oh…” Night Light hummed, eyes darting back up to the work again. “Well it's very nice! Just like the gardens outside! Are they, uh, yours?”
“Why thank you. But I can’t take credit for those. Between my job and family, I’m afraid even a being as close to immortality as myself can’t find time to tend a garden with the care it requires,” Celestia chuckled. “Those would be Carrion’s masterpieces I get to enjoy with my morning brew everyday.”
“‘Tis a pleasure to work the gardens, but a pleasure more to have everyone enjoy them so much!” Carrion said happily. “I tend to be an expert since I was so close to being plant food myself!” Before the Sparkles could blink at that odd joke the man hummed. “Would anyone care for some coffee or tea to be made?”
“If you're offering, I'd love some!” Celestia smiled as the little butler nodded at her. She looked at the humans quietly. “And would you care for some?”
“Tea sounds nice,” Velvet agreed, looking nervous for some reason.
“Right away!” Carrion scuttled off to the kitchen. Once he was off Celestia gestured to the sitting room.
“Come and make yourselves more comfortable!” she said, leading the way to the antique looking couches.
Twilight went to follow but was stopped when Velvet took her daughter’s shoulder and pulled her closer to whisper tightly in her ear. “Why didn’t you tell us your friend’s mother was the mayor?!”
“Oh.” Twilight blinked. She had never been very interested in politics. Sure, she knew of other countries and the president, but beyond that, she hadn’t studied much in the way of social studies… or local officials. As such, she could only offer her mother a confused shrug. Before Velvet could respond, Celestia spoke again.
“It is so nice to be able to meet you in person. My daughter speaks very highly of Twilight and their time together. Speaking of-” As Celestia took a seat on one of the couches and called out in a louder voice towards the halls. “Sunset! Your friend is here!”
There was a rush of footsteps before Sunset made her appearance. Twilight smiled when the red head came into view. This was the first of her friend’s that Twilight’s parents were going to meet, and Sunset’s first impression was certainly interesting. The girl hefted herself over the second story railing with ease and fell down to the first floor, landing on her feet easily enough, though the wooden boards groaned under her impact.
“Sunset, we talked about that,” Celsita sighed, sounding exasperated. “You may be young and nigh indestructible, but that floor is more than a few hundred years old and easily broken. Give the free falling a break unless you're jumping outside.”
“Sorry, mom!” Sunset said sheepishly, hurrying over. “I got excited.” She caught up to Twilight and the two shared a quick hug. “Hey, Twilight! It’s good to see you!”
“Good to see you too!” Twilight smiled, and back out of the hug to gestured over into the room behind her. “Sunset, this is my mom and dad.”
“Hey, nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too, dear!” Velvet said, looking around. “Thank you for having us in your lovely home.”
“It is nice, the architecture must be a history lesson all on its own,” Twilight said, taking a closer look at the wallpaper.
“Well I’d be happy to show you around Twilight! Do you want a tour of the house?” Sunset asked, pointing back at the stairs behind her.
“I’d love to see your house!” Twilight practically jittered in excitement.
“Oh, you didn’t sleep over here?” Velvet asked, surprised.
“No that was…” Night Light spoke before Twilight could, eyes squinting in thought. “Pinkie Pie’s?”
“Yeah, it was Pinkie’s. I was there too,” Sunset said with a smile and a nodd. “We had fun.”
“Ahhh, Pinkie Pie is a wonderful girl,” Celestia said with a smile. “If only she would stop eating my shoes out of the front closet whenever she visits.” The woman laughed fondly, but Twilight saw her parents exchange bewildered looks to one another.
“Come on, we can start upstairs,” Sunset said, leading Twilight up the steps and back the way she came. “We got some wall niches upstairs with statues in them from over four hundred years ago.”
“They used to hold vases from eight hundred years ago, but a six year old Sunset decided she didn’t care for them,” Celestia said, amused.
“Mom! I told you those were an accident,” Sunset whined as she and Twilight kept walking.
“Two? Accidental. Four? Possible happenstance, but all six? On the same day? I have my doubts.”
They rounded the corner from the upper balcony and lost sight of the sitting room. Sunset leaned back to whisper. “They were the ugliest vases I have ever seen.”
Twilight giggled along with her friend until they heard Celestia call out, “I heard that!”
After a day of looking at houses and driving all over the city, one would think Twilight would have been sick and tired of it by now.
These people would have not known her very well.
While the house Twilight’s parents had put an offer in on had been old, it had nothing on Sunset’s. For being a thousand or so years old, it was very well kept, with Sunset pointing out interesting tidbits where she could remember. Like some hidden damage on the walls where the kitchen had once caught fire due to a misbehaving cauldron dragon. Or a spot near the ceiling stained yellow long ago by a hive of invasive Ra Bees, whose honey glowed like the sun. Twilight herself was enthralled by the recognizable historical design. Such as the decorative Balusters and Colonnades.
“But… a lot of these pieces shouldn’t be on a house this old,” Twilight said as they kept walking. The upstairs was ridiculously large. With six bedrooms counting Sunset’s, and a few hobby rooms, Twilight’s head was spinning. Just not enough to distract her from the historical errors though. “If this house really is over a thousand years old, why is there electrical lighting or wallpaper?”
“My mom has been adding on to this house since forever,” Sunset chuckled. “It started off solid stone, but it got half destroyed in sieges. By the time those ended, she started using the newest trends in rebuilding her home and just… never stopped?” Sunset sighed. “She is redoing her observatory right now, and it was her private bath before that. As far as I can tell, by the time she redesigns every room in the house the first room is out of style again.”
Twilight snorted. “I’ve never lived through a renovation. My family just kept our old house pretty basic. Always plain looking as far as I can remember. Too much work from what my mom says. Guess grandma was a lot like your mom.”
Twilight sensed her grandmother shudder somewhere.
“Don’t have to tell me twice. It's miserable,” Sunset groaned. “Water and power is turned off at random, hammers and drills buzzing around the house at all hours. I swear when I grow up, my house isn’t gonna change much if I can help it.”
They passed a large hallway that Twilight chanced a glance down, finding it leading to a winding stone staircase, and down into a dark looking tunnel. Twilight stopped and Sunset noticed after a few steps, slowing to pause a few steps ahead of her.
“Where's that go?” Twilight asked, nodding her head to the steps curiously. After asking she couldn’t help but joke. “The dungeon?”
Sunset laughed a bit in response. “Sort of? It goes down to the catacombs. Oldest part of the house. Stretches out for miles under the house, that is where my mom and aunt’s rooms are. As far from the sun as possible.”
Twilight checked the stone on the wall closest to her, adjusting her glasses.
“Wow! Blue granite?! That's not from this area! To think you mom could import this so long ago!”
“Ahhh, careful Twilight. I know your're excited,” Sunset said, pulling Twilight away from the stairs. “But my aunt Luna is taking a nap down there, and with super, vampire hearing… ehhhh-”
“Oh, gotcha,” Twilight winced.
Sunset sensed her unease and tried to coax her away from the dark hall. “Come on, we’ll hang out in my room. I can show you some of the pictures I took of Rainbow and Pinkie’s sporting events.”
Sunset’s room was just steps away. The vampire went for her bed as Twilight took a chance to look around. She had a huge bed and closet, with a lot of posters up on the walls. She went closer to a group of framed photos on the wall. They were of Sunset and the others, hanging out, and having fun. One had them on the beach in swimsuits. Applejack was playing frisbee with Pinkie in the background as Sunset, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow sat on a picnic blanket, having lunch. They seemed to be having hot dogs, though Rainbow was wolfing down an entire raw fish, scales, bones and all. Sunset and Rarity were under an umbrella, out of the sun as they ate, as Fluttershy was sharing a carrot in a bun rather than a hotdog with her pet bunny, Angel.
The next had Sunset posing with Pinkie and Rainbow. They were pressed close together to get in the frame, Sunset flashing a peace sign. All were smiling with their mouths open, showing off their extra large, extra sharp teeth.
Another was of Sunset and her mother. Sunset looked frazzled and singed, with a tiny Phoenix perched on a falconer’s glove. She was smiling tiredly at the camera as Celesita stood beside her in much better condition, amused and with a much larger Phoenix perched on her shoulder.
“You own Phoenixes?” Twilight asked, intrigued by the photo.
“My mom does, down in the backyard they have their own little house. A fireproof one,” Sunset said, rummaging under her bed. “They’re ok… but they’re tricksters. Not really my thing. So I got my own pet.” She gestured to a tank in the corner. Twilight took a closer look, finding a small lizard inside.
“Oh! Is it a dragon?” Twilight asked excitedly.
Sunset looked up at her and blinked before chuckling. “No. He’s just a Leopard Gecko. My lil’ Ray!”
Twilight looked back in the tank, and Ray lazily licked his eye.
Oh. Well not everything had to be magical.
“So, tell me about the house you guys liked,” Sunset said. She scowled a bit and pulled her upper body under the bed, shoving objects out in her search for her other photos. Twilight watched as a shoe box, a stuffed unicorn and a large SWORD?!? Were pushed out from the bedskirt. “What did you guys like about it?”
“W-well…” Twilight said, staring at the steel short sword. “We liked the area and it was rather big, but the coolest thing is that the house is apparently alive.”
“Oh, sentient house? I’ve heard of some of those,” Sunset said, twisting under the bed. “I’m guessing it's not the kind that's super protective and eats people?”
“Some do that?!” Twilight squeaked.
“Don’t worry! That only happens if a vengeful spirit possesses it,” Sunset said, digging deeper. “Where the hell is that damn- AH HA!” She emerged, dusty and ruffled, but with a large album. “Found it! Twilight, come here!” The vampire sat down on the bed, nonchalantly kicking the sword and shoe box back under the bed. She placed the unicorn carefully up by her pillow before patting a seat next to her. “Come on!”
Sunset flips the book open. It was huge, the back binding almost breaking under the weight of a thousand or so photos, and maybe millions of memories. With a slight heft Sunset opened the book near the back. They pass pages filled with Sunset and her friends hanging out in parks, school, events, and more. Along with a few of her family, Celestia and even Luna making an appearance…
Actually…
“How do you show up in photos but not mirrors?” Twilight asked before pausing. “Wait, do you show up in mirrors?”
“Magic mirrors and modern mirrors, yes, plus some other reflective surfaces. Issue was, back in the day, that mirrors used to have silver in them, which is a big Vampire no no. Then old cameras used old mirrors and the cycle continued. But new age cameras and cellphones don’t use mirrors to take photos. It's all digital, so there are no problems there.” Sunset chuckled. “My mom did tell me she bought one of the first cameras, but the damn thing didn’t work for her. So she opened a photo studio so monsters could buy pictures of themselves without shelling out for the whole camera.” She shrugged. “Might as well make some omelets out of those broken eggs right?
Sunset finally paused on a page, pointing out one in the corner. It was Pinkie in her wolf form, wearing a sport nylon mesh pull over vest, a number pinned to it. Rainbow was posed next to her, her vest identical to Pinkie’s. Both seemed rather pleased, holding a large trophy between them.
“They won first! It was the Air and Earth Hunting regional championship,” Sunset smiled. “Here they are with the ‘prey’.” The next photo had Pinkie holding an RC car in her mouth, a fox tail hanging off the antenna. Rainbow was giving a thumbs up in the background. “It was a fun day for everyone! If they do that again, you should come with. They have a sort of fair atmosphere, with food venders and pop up shops you can go to between turns.” Another picture had Sunset hanging out with Applejack. They’re looking over shirts from a tent store. Rarity is also in the photo, holding up a lime green and pink shirt with visible disgust. “Though the stores ARE not known for their quality…”
“That’s half the fun, right?” Twilight offered, earned a sharp toothed grin.
“That's right! I got a great bootleg shirt from one of these. Has the two brand logos on it AND the Red Power Ranger, just twenty bucks. Can you believe that deal?”
“I’m sure Rarity loves it,” Twilight nodded.
“She refuses to look at me when I wear it, but I don’t blame her,” Sunset snickered. “She’d likely go blind from style if she even glanced at me directly.”
Twilight laughed, hand going to her mouth.
The pictures went further back. There were some clear birthdays and holiday celebrations, a few school dances and … a sheepdog herding competition? Oh wait, Applejack was competing with her dog Winnona. For a moment, Twilight thought it was for Pinkie.
The pictures kept going, and Twilight got more and more interested. The girls got younger and… Sunset seemed to grow meeker in every photo. Uncertain, almost. Sunset turns a page and Twilight blinks before realizing what was different about the photos. “You’re... not as pale in these pictures.”
It was true. The shy and nervous looking girl in the photos that was Sunset a few years ago had a deeper yellow tone of skin. In the picture Twilight pointed to, Sunset was painting a spirit banner with the other girls at a school pride rally.
“Oh yeah! That's before I got turned,” Sunset explained. “That is Sunset Original. The human version. Beta Sunset, still in development.”
“Why are you so... apprehensive?” Twilight asked, wincing a bit.
“Oh I had just started to hang out with the others and I was… going through some big changes.” Sunset said, now frowning. “But, ah, not the Vampire one. That was done over a weekend.”
“What happened? What changed?” Twilight asked, cocking her head.
Sunset seemed to think before sighing tiredly. She closed the book, flipped it, and opened it from the start. The first page was a certificate of adoption for Sunset, making Celestia her legal guardian. “Well, it's easier to explain from the beginning.”
Turning the page Twilight cooed. It was a picture of a toddler sunset, wearing a dress and pulling a duck toy. “You're so cute!”
“I was a little brat.” Sunset stated, pointing at tiny Sunset’s sour expression. “Who knows why, but I was just a sour kid a lot of the time. I threw tantrums every day, and apparently kicked a dignitary in the crotch when he tried to hold me up.”
“That’ll show him,” Twilight quipped.
“Well it's not all his fault. Mom handed me to him,” Sunset said, stopping to puzzle over that. “Maybe she DIDN’T like him and that was the plan… huh, I’ll have to ask.” She waved that thought off though and soldiered on with her tale. “Anyway, I never did understand why my mom adopted me out of all the kids. She just says she ‘Understood me better than the others’ whatever that means.”
Sunset turned the page and it was a picture of her younger self, posing with a spelling bee trophy.
“Oh, I have one of those at home! Spelling Bees are fun!” Twilight said, smiling at Sunset, though the Vampire didn’t smile back.
“I didn't compete because it was fun. I wanted to win. So I entered and I got close to the finals, but the other four kids were way better than me.” Sunset bit her lip softly. “So I cheated. I snuck a look at the judges list during the recess, then to make doubly sure I won, I got rid of some of the competition. I pushed one kid into a mud puddle. She was like Rarity, didn’t want to be seen on stage in dirty clothes, so that was one down. The other I threatened to beat up if he competed, so he ran and hid in the bathroom for the rest of the contest…”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. So… I won,” Sunset smiled now, but it was joyless. “And it gets even ‘better’ from here…”
The next few pages document Sunset’s ‘victories’. Different events that she somehow twisted for her favour. Trophies earned with deceit and lies and threats. The older she got the more sly she seemed with every picture.
“Why… were you like that?” Twilight asked, confused. “It couldn’t have just come from nowhere.”
“I’m not sure. I think I’ve always been like that, though my mom doesn't agree,” Sunset sighed. “After I.. stopped, she sent me to a therapist. They said it's likely a mixture of me losing my mom- erh, my birth mom- and getting put in the orphanage at a young age. I think I was just always a bit twisted.” Sunset shrugged miserably.
A few more pages in they came to a photo of Sunset in a dress with a tiara on, holding some flowers and looking very pleased. Twilight looked back up at Sunset, but she actually seemed happy with this one.
“The Fall Formal,” Sunset said. “First formal dance of the year at Canterlot High. I actually won the Princess of the Fall Formal without having to cheat. Everyone just liked how sociable and take charge I was. I did have some people skills back then too… if only to better know how to manipulate people. ”
Sunset’s face fell again after a second. “Course that made me even more determined to win the next dance too.”
Turning the page had Sunset in front of a snowy backdrop. Posing with another crown, and looking a bit more smug than before. “The Winter Waltz. That one had to be the hardest. People knew what I was like by then. My dark side finally came through, and my fellow students didn’t care for it. Only they weren't so used to me that they were afraid of me yet.” Sunset tilted her head. “I had to tear down my composition. One of the girls I bullied so bad, she backed out, and her family sent her to live with her aunt…”
Twilight’s brows rose quietly.
“...well, after that my control of the school was pretty much cemented. Teachers thought I was a popular, good student, but in reality I was the worst bully there was. Everyone was scared of me, and they did whatever I wanted. Those I couldn't physically threaten I blackmailed, those I couldn’t blackmail I threatened to frame... I had no competition for the next dance.” Sunset turned the page again. Now the younger Sunset was in front of a garden backdrop, laughing and wearing a crown. “I won all the votes automatically.”
“Somehow I thought this would make my mom happy. I was a grade A student, I was winning a lot of recognizable achievements and had the entire school under my control. I thought I was proving myself to her… I figured she’d be so impressed she’d offer to make me a vampire.”
“You wanted that?”
“More than anything,“ Sunset mumbled. “I didn’t have good intentions. Not that I wanted, like, world domination or anything, but there just never seemed to be enough… control for me.”
Sunset shifted on the bed to pull her legs up against her. “Somehow though, Celestia saw my past self for who she really was the entire time. Behind my trophies, accolades, and false cheery exterior, I was just a sour little brat,” Sunset said, brushing some hair behind her ear. “She tried her best to lead me to a better path, I just wasn’t ready to go then… but mom wasn’t afraid to lay down the law. She refused to turn me into a vampire until I changed my way. Made for a lot of arguments at home…”
“Well clearly something happened that caused you to change right?” Twilight said uncertainty. “You’re a vampire… and not a jerk anymore…”
Sunset snorted a little. “That second part is debatable after a video game tournament…” She leaned back against her headboard tiredly. “But something did change, and it, well, the girls. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, everybody really. When I was a jackass, I used to be suspicious of large groups. Ones with enough people that they could cause problems for me if they decided they wanted to remove me from my ‘throne’ at the top of the social ladder. The girls were a large, tightly knit group, and I didn’t care for that back then.”
Sunset shifted again as she spoke. “So I tried to break up their friendship. Send fake emails and text, get them fighting, spread a little gossip to make them think the others were turning on them. Or thought they were better than them or something.”
Whoa… and Twilight thought Kamikaze was bad… The scabbing cut on Twilight’s neck flared a bit and she frowned. No. Kamikaze was still worse, but still, jeeze. “And it didn’t work?”
“Oh no, it worked. Have you seen how hot headed Rainbow can get sometimes?” Or Applejack for that matter? Either way, they broke up, stopped talking, and went their separate ways… until my carefully crafted web fell apart. Dates didn’t add up, and emails didn’t match. They regrouped privately and after realizing what happened it was easy to figure School Princess Sunset was the culprit. They made up and my worry that they’d team up against me turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I had left them alone, they’d have left me alone, but I didn’t…”
“What did they do?” Twilight asked. “Attack you? Try to humiliate you?”
“Nothing that dramatic. It was the Summer Social. I was running for princess again when the girls basically came up on stage and told everyone what I did. I wasn’t worried, because, well, they already knew what I was like. It was only when they rallied the other students against me that I realized what deep shit I was in,” Sunset winced. “They kicked me out of the dance and didn’t crown anyone. The rest of the school year everyone started to return all the ‘kindness’ I had shown them… Thankfully summer break was right around the corner.”
“By the time fall rolled around again, the students had settled, but they still didn’t like me. Not that I blame them. I was banned from competing in school contests or competitive events. Nobody wanted anything to do with me. I got dumped before the summer began, and a few students here and there would deface my locker, or ruin my gym clothes…” Sunset huffed. “Some still bullied me. So you know, the works.”
“And… then what? You somehow became friends with the girls?” Twilight asked, confused.
“It was a strange process. At first, I really only had support at home. I mean, mom saw this BS coming a mile away. She told me this was the consequences for my actions, but she promised the house would be a safe place and that we could talk whenever I wanted. She got me my therapist, and tried to get me into Phoenix rearing, with minimal success… After that, she picked up Ray for me and it was nice. Ray doesn't care what you look like, so long as you feed him and have his heat lamp juuuust right.” Sunset smiled over at Ray's tank, the gecko sunning himself. “I did a lot- and I mean A LOT- of self reflection and thinking. Realized I was an ass hat and wanted to change. My therapist and mom gave me a good starting point to work off of.” Sunset looked back at Twilight. “But school was still horrible.”
“I knew I screwed up. Knew I deserved to be blocked out of the school social circles. I mostly just tried to stay in the back of the class, out of the way, and move in empty hallways. I ate my lunch in dead end hallways alone for a while,” Sunset shrugged. “One day, the hall was being maintenanced, so I ate my lunch under the bleachers. I was just sitting there, having my sandwich, when I feel something drip one me-”
“Under a bleacher? Gross…” Twilight grimaced.
“I thought so too. I looked up and what do I see? Pinkie Pie had shoved her wolf head through the crack in the bleachers right over top of me, panting like crazy. She smelt my cookies, they were gingersnap or something, and she’s a bottomless pit. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, Pinkie had technically been one of the girls to ruin my life, but I kinda Uno-reversed my way into that. So I was just staring at her, she was intensely staring at my lunch box. I panicked before just offering her the entire box.” Sunset smiled a little. “She ate everything in a matter of seconds. Course, when she came back around from the feeding frenzy, she realized she had just cleaned me out of all my food. So, nothing doing, she had to crawl through the bleacher opening and share her lunch with me.” Sunset actually laughed now. “All she had left of hers though was a bag of chips she couldn’t open.”
“And she just wanted to hang out with you? Just like that?”
“Pinkie Pie is really forgiving like that. I fed her, and suddenly, she would die for me. I actually asked her why she wanted to stick around, and she just waved it off. Said that what I did was ‘forever’ ago, and it was water under the bridge. We talked for a while, and shared the chips between us once I opened the bag. Eventually though, Rainbow Dash came to look for Pinkie because they had come down to the track together to run laps when Pinkie Pie disappeared mid-way. Now, she was still pretty defensive, and thought I had taken Pinkie’s food from her. I got scared that I was gonna get in more shit, and bolted.” Sunset waved her hand vaguely. “Course, Pinkie told her what really happened, and wanted to meet up with me again. She found me over MyStable.”
“She found me that way too,” Twilight chuckled.
“She has her ways. So she invited me to lunch under the bleachers again. We met up, but this time, Rainbow Dash joined us. She was wary and hot headed, but we actually ended up having a good conversation. A week later, Applejack joined us, then Rarity and finally Fluttershy. I… told them all privately I was sorry, and while some of the friendships began faster than others we worked things out.” Sunset shrugged. “The rest of the school took a longer time, but they seemed to realize I was trying at least. Nowadays people are pretty neutral with me, and not many try to bother me.”
Twilight fell silent, trying to wrap her head around the tale. It was such a drastic change in such a short amount of time. That just over two year ago, Sunset was like a bully from her worst nightmares. Maybe not at the same level as Kamikaze, but still. That the girls would forgive her, most of the student body at her school would forgive her in fact, was incredible… unless Sunset’s guilt was making the story worse than it seemed? Either way it was a lot to take in at once.
That someone could change so quickly…
Then again, who was Twilight to talk? She had gone from a sniveling, friendless wall flower to a slightly (SLIGHTLY) more confident girl with a rather healthy friend group. All in less than three months. Which she couldn’t have managed if she had never met Sunset. Which wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t put the work into changing herself. Maybe some of Sunset’s old sins couldn’t be forgiven or forgotten so easily, but it was safe to say that Sunset Shimmer had had a rather positive effect on Twilight’s own life. She counted the vampire as a very close companion, being so forthcoming about her unsavory history just proved her trustworthiness. Someone as honest and kind as Sunset Shimmer made Twilight’s life all the better.
The silence stretched on as Twilight thought and she could see Sunset getting antsy. Not knowing what to say she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“That’s quite a tale. Have you ever considered writing a book?”
“A book?”
“Like a memoir,” Twilight explained.
“Ahh! Not really. It’s kind of personal, and I’d rather people not know about it before they even talk to me,” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her head. “I dunno why anyone would want to read it anyway…”
“Well, I found it very compelling,” Twilight admitted, adjusting her glasses. “It sounds like a miserable time near the end there, but you persevered and came out a better person. Shows character.”
“My mom told me it was my phoenix moment,” Sunset said, smiling a little. “Hence the attempted involvement in her passion, even if it didn’t work out. Crashing and burning in an explosion of blazing embers, withstanding the painful flames, and emerging out the other side, cleansed in fire, born smarter every time,” Sunset waved her hand. “Something my mom said is very important to recognize if you want to endure immortality, without losing sanity. A new dawn always follows after every night.”
“Geeze, when you put it like that, immortality sounds awful.” Twilight made a face.
“There's a reason why some of my older, long since passed, adopted siblings didn’t want to be turned,” Sunset admitted, looking a bit depressed.
“Then why did you turn? If You have your control issues… under control?”
“Honestly? I’m a mama’s girl now,” Sunset chuckled a little. “Mom was all I had for a few months, and I really connected with her in that time. Started calling her mom… I saw how sad she got looking at old photos of her past kid and figured, hey, she might as well keep one. Besides, I’m still young. If I start dating then my future spouse is just gonna have to be cool with me living forever and likely moving on after they're gone, unless they're immortal as well somehow.” She hummed. “Not many monsters are though.”
“And when your friends… eventually…-”
“Die too?” Sunset asked, glancing over at her. “Honestly, I just try not to not think about it and enjoy the time I have with people.”
Fair enough. It wasn’t really any different to what other people did.
“Well, either way, that’s my life story!” Sunset said, flipping a few more pages into the book. The meek Sunset was back with the rest of the girls. In this new page, she seemed to be at some sort of park picnic, with a BBQ going on in the back, and a few pens of animals.
“What’s this one?” Twilight asked, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Oh! That's Fluttershy’s Family. They have an Adoptathon every June. They team up with the local shelters and pet shops to make it a big event! It’s a lot of fun.” Sunset turned the page, showing her holding a big glass aquarium tank with Rainbow Dash helping her. “I picked up a bigger tank for Ray when I was there, Rarity got her cat some toys, and Pinkie Pie even got her pet there last year… though I question why she picked who she did…”
The album turned another page, showing Pinkie Pie holding a bug eyed, baby Alligator.
“Oh my,” Twilight frowned.
“Yeah, that’s Gummy. He’s a pygmy alligator. Supposed to have retractable teeth, but he was from an illegal breeding mill and he had a birth defect. No teeth at all. They aren’t supposed to be captive animals, but without teeth, they couldn’t release him. So he was put up for adoption.” Sunset pointed to the next page over, where Pinkie was still smiling with the baby Alligator half hanging off her face. The Gators empty gums clinging to her cheek. “They're known for being a bit… violent. Thankfully, that's no issue when he’s toothless. He’s really mellowed since living with Pinkie, and she calls his few remaining attempts at biting her ‘kisses’ so I think everything turned out well.”
“I didn’t see him at the sleepover,” Twilight said, surprised. Thinking back, she had no memory of seeing any sort of reptile at Pinkie’s home, besides a few stuffies in her room. Then again she was high on Vampire spit for a lot of that time…
“They have a pond out back they enclosed, with a little heated shelter for him. All of Pinkie’s family seem to love him. Plus he doesn’t bother their water grown rocks, whatever those are,” Sunset frowned thoughtfully but pushed on after a moment. “Anyway, he was out back behind the house for the sleepover, so we didn’t see him. I’m sure Pinkie would love to show you the next time she has us over though. Even if he’s a bit more… ‘Kissy’ with strangers,” Sunset chuckled and ran a hand over the photo. “You should have been there when we tried to drive home from the Adoptathon! He just kept snapping and squirming. We almost lost him under the seats.”
Suddenly, Sunset snapped her fingers and looked up. “OH! The Adoptathon is the first week of June this year! Did you want to come with us? They have games, events, and great prices on pet supplies! Plus it's nice to support Fluttershy’s family and the shelters.”
Twilight recalled Futtershy mentioning the Adoptathon before, even though she hadn’t mentioned a date. It sounded like a lot of fun only… “If I’m not busy moving or anything, it should be ok,” Twilight said. “Could I bring Spike?”
“Yeah, pets are welcome! Applejack brings Winona every year. She lets her dog pick something out. Usually a bone,” Sunset smiled. It's gonna be so much fun, I hope it works out and you can join us.”
It did sound like fun! The more Twilight went out of Everfree and into the larger community, the more she discovered. Fun things to do, new things to eat, and plenty of people to meet! This event was just another chance to get outside the walls and explore. Hopefully if they got the house, she could have even more opportunities too.
Someone knocked on the door behind them and Sunset turned, calling out quickly. “Come in!”
The door opened to reveal Carrion on the other side. “Ms Sunset. Your mother has me to inform you that dinner is ready. If you and your friend come down to the dining room, we can begin to plate.”
“Oh sure!” Sunset stood up, grabbing Twilight’s arm to bring the human with her. “Come on, Twilight! Mom’s tomato soup is to die for!”
“Not literally I hope?”
“Well I’m technically undead so I can’t say for sure,” Sunset sticking out her tongue.
They both laughed as they hurried out of the room and down the stairs, Carrion trailing behind them. They could already smell dinner from the kitchen, and it was amazing!
She couldn’t wait!
Dinner was absolutely delicious!
Night Light and Velvet were invited to join at the last minute, as apparently they and Celestia had kept talking long after the girls departed. That carried into the meal, with Celestia and Twilight’s father talking about constellations and their changes over the last one thousand years. As that petered down conversation then struck up between Velvet and Celestia over books, both old and new. As they ate, Sunset showed Twilight a few more pictures on her phone as they chatted about current events at Sunset’s school and the upcoming fun their friends had planned. Like how Pinkie wanted to do a city day trip with all of them, sometime soon, where they could walk around downtown, window shopping, eat, and doing some of the activities like the museums, parks, and escape rooms.
Best of all tonight, Luna hadn’t been hungry, so she just napped through the entire visit down in her room. Would have been rather hard to introduce her parents to her when they were still adjusting to everything outside Everfree, especially since Luna still didn’t radiate a very welcoming presence to humans.
The night wrapped up, and the humans were set up to leave. Celestia bid them farewell, and asks for Velvet’s business card, should she ever need help proof-checking her speeches and paperwork for errors. Sunset and Twilight shared one more quick hug before they headed out the door, and into the family car. They were partway down the driveway before Velvet spoke.
“Well that was nice. Like, really, really nice!”
“Yeah. The mayor is a real hoot!” Night Light added. “Think she’d want to have dinner when we’re all moved in?” he asked.
“If we get the house, maybe,” Velvet said, smiling “We really should have all of Twilight’s friends over as well if we get the chance.” Velvet looked at the back seat. “What do you think, Twilight? We could order pizza and let you kids have a sleepover.”
“Definitely tempting,” Twilight agreed, though she’d have to make sure nobody lost any limbs this time. Which was probably best not to mention.
“At any rate, it won’t be for a while. We have to get the house, move in, and meet up with Shiny again! Not to mention meeting his fiancé. We really need to get on top of that.”
“Oh they're busy! Just like us. We’ll make it happen!” Night Light said cheerfully.
Twilight glanced out the window, watching as they left Celestia’s gate and headed down the road. Heading back to Everfree.
“For the time being,” Twilight thought cheerfully to herself.
As the country scenes rolled by, Twilight couldn’t help but think about everything going on. New school. New house. New friends. A whole new life... The changes were definitely rough sometimes, but it was also pretty exciting.
“Crashing and burning in an explosion of blazing embers, withstanding the painful flames and emerging out the other side, cleansed in fire, born new but smarter every time.”
Sunset’s words echoed in her head, making more sense.
Velvet’s phone suddenly started to ring, drawing Twilight’s attention. Velvet cursed, having to dig deep into her purse to find it, before dragging it out, buzzing with some kind of receipt statically stuck to the back. The woman picked it off before answering.
“Hello?”
She was quiet a moment before blinking. “Oh really? Wow. Ok! Thanks!” She seemed to straighten, nodding quickly as she listened to the other end of the call. “No, no! Thank you! We really appreciate it.”
A few seconds later Velvet hung up and turned to her husband.
“They accepted our offer! We got the house!”
The family cheered loudly, Night Light laying in his horn on the empty country road. “This is great! Does that mean I can go to Canterlot High?!” Twilight asked quickly.
“It sure does! We can move in as soon as the money transfers and all the paperwork is through! Oh I have to text Shiny! He’ll be so excited!” Velvet said, looking back at her phone. “Everything is going our way!”
“That’s all well and good, but who’s gonna tell your mother?” Night Light asked, watching the road as the sun dipped below the horizon before them.
Now that was the question. Twilight looked at her mom, starting when she realized the woman was touching a finger to the side of her nose. Twilight quickly copied her. It took a second for Night Light to catch on, spluttering a bit when he realized.
“Hey! That's no fair! I was watching the road and I have to have both hands on the wheel!!”
“The nose knows dear,” Velvet said simply before chuckling.
Twilight knew they’d likely tell Grandma all together. Nobody would survive telling her alone. Whatever happened here on out though, one thing was for sure; times were certainly changing.