Human Sunset slowly began regaining her consciousness, seeing that she was now in a dark room within what looked like an abandoned and run-down building. She tried to ease the pain in her head after suffering a blow to the head with a plank of wood, hoping that she didn't have a concussion. But as she tried to reach her head with her hands, she suddenly noticed that she couldn't. Upon further inspection, she realized that she was now sitting in a chair, and was completely tied up with rope. Human Sunset attempted desperately to budge, but it appeared as though the ropes were too strong to allow her to break free.
While attempting to escape, the desperation from Human Sunset ended up creating a lot of noise, and as a result of this, two of Gilda's cronies went into the room to investigate. Although initially concerned at the possibility of their captive prisoner breaking her restraints, they simply let their guard down when noticing she was still stuck to the chair like glue, thanks to those strong ropes. They simply looked at Human Sunset and smirked, believing any bit of effort she made now was futile. As a result of this, Human Sunset's mood began to shift to direct rage, especially given how she had no idea who either of these girls were.
"If you punks know what's good for you, you're going to untie these ropes now, OR ELSE." Human Sunset gave a very stern warning to the girls standing in front of her.
"Hmph, well you didn't say please, so I'm afraid your request is denied." Teased the girl with curly white hair. "Regardless, the Canterlot Street Gang has a reputation to keep when it comes to punishing those who meddle with our mugging operations."
"Besides, you really believe you got the guts and muscle to take down a gang of school dropouts like us?" Asked the girl with a black beanie and leather jacket. "You might've taken down Gilda on your own, but I'm afraid that was just pure luck. You won't be so lucky if you try to take all of us on at the same time. We'll pound you into guacamole and leave you on the streets for those raccoons, you hear!?"
"That's right, ever since we stopped going to those boring dumps with all those annoying teachers, it certainly gave us a lot more time to build our upper body strength." Said the curly haired girl. "What can you really do now, you're just one of those punk school kids after all."
"Don't you even go there!" Human Sunset snapped. "I never even got to finish my freshman year of high school, and I was working out at a gym nonstop after dropping out for the sake of toughening myself up. If anything, you both should really watch your mouths right now, before I rip them off of your smug faces!"
"Ooooh, we're so scared." The beanie girl said, sarcastically. "Listen, if you know what's best for you, you'll stay put right here until Gilda gets back. She's out mugging some other people at night blind, after what you did in trying to be a Mrs. Goody-Two Shoes!"
"What are you even talking about!?" Human Sunset asked, both angry and confused. "I don't even know who either of you are, or anybody named Gilda!"
"Don't pretend you forgot getting into a fight with our gang leader, because you wanted to help out some little girl!" The curly haired girl tried to remind her. "We all had to go to bed hungry that night since you tried to play the hero! Well, once Gilda gets back, we'll all make sure that you'll finally pay off your debt with your life."
"Maybe Gilda gave her amnesia when she knocked her out or something." The beanie girl joked. "Either way, we're all ready to get our ultimate revenge on you, that's for sure."
"Whoever this Gilda is, she's certainly going to get pulverized once I'm free of these ropes!" Human Sunset threatened. "And don't think I'll go easy on either of you two when I'm through with her! I'm letting you know with certainty that you have no idea who you're messing with right now!"
"You already had no idea who you were messing with when you interfered with our little mugging business." The beanie girl replied. "And don't even try calling out for help, you're now in the basement of our hideout, an old and abandoned building that nobody ever checks. Get comfy, because this might be the last time you'll ever get to feel actual comfort!"
Just then, Gilda had finally returned from her mugging spree, where she managed to come back with $700 she had stolen from Filthy Rich's wallet. As Gilda entered the basement to flaunt her money at her cronies, the two girls had left the room to huddle with their leader, while Human Sunset saw this as an opportunity to find any way to get out of her restraints. Even if she believed she could take all three of these girls on, being restrained like this was certainly going to limit her ability, making it so escaping the ropes was a priority. She looked around the room and noticed a switch blade on a table behind her. Since Gilda and the other girls were paying too much attention counting the money, they didn't immediately hear Human Sunset kicking the table with the back of her boot, making the blade drop to the ground. She then tugged one of her arms in vain, and miraculously was able to get at least one arm free, which was all she needed. Looking behind the chair, she kept one eye focused on the door to make sure the girls wouldn't catch her trying to escape, while also looking at where the blade was.
Since Gilda had managed to return with a much heftier wad of cash than she usually would when mugging people at night, she and the other girls were too astonished and overjoyed to really take notice of any noises coming from their prisoner's room. Human Sunset finally managed to get ahold of the blade, then began to carefully cut the ropes behind her back, trying not to cut her own arm in the process. Eventually, she managed to fully get free from the rope's restraints, but decided to still remain in place for two reasons. Firstly, before she was ready to pound these girls into smithereens, she wanted to at least get an idea of just what was happening, assuming they all supposedly already knew something about 'her'. Secondly, since she was played with a cheap shot by Gilda using a plank of wood, she wanted to also take these girls by surprise, playing dirty in return as a result. As Human Sunset continued to pretend being tied up, she sat in her chair until the two girls returned back into the room, accompanied by Gilda.
"Haha, you ever seen such a bigger wad of cash than that?" Gilda waved the money in Sunset's face in an attempt to make her mad or jealous. "I certainly lucked out when I saw some old rich dude wandering the streets who didn't believe in credit cards!"
"Good for you." Human Sunset said with sarcasm. "Maybe you should put that money to some good plastic surgery toward your face, cause that's where you really need it!"
"Pfft, oooooh, ohhhhhh, that, that actually hurt my feelings!" Gilda pretended to feel insulted, before laughing it off. "You're just all talk right now, you act as if us girls on the rough side of town lack any thick skin whatsoever. Try to insult me now, no problem! I'll just take my anger out on you with my baseball bat!"
"Hmph." Human Sunset rolled her eyes. "Well while we're talking now before you choose to pulverize me, do you by any chance even know who I am?"
"Well, let's just say that after our first little encounter a few days ago, I ended up doing some digging around town by describing your appearance." Gilda began explaining. "It took a little while before I was able to surmise that you must've been that Sunset Shimmer girl at Canterlot High. That do-gooder who's apparently well known for originally ruling the school with an iron fist, yet is now somehow one of the top students there who has everyone's respect. Upon further investigation, I even learned she's good friends with my sworn enemies, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash."
"Alright, if you say so." Human Sunset continued playing along. "And just what would you want with me if I happened to be this Sunset Shimmer person you claim me to be?"
"Well, I'm sure the rest of my gang have already spelled it out solidly for you." Gilda huffed. "We'll be teaching you a lesson for snooping around our mugging operation at night, as well as getting into a fight with me. And even if you hadn't, being friends with my sworn enemies is also just as good of a reason for me to give you a real thrashing, you hear!? Besides, it's always just satisfying for us to relish in the idea of beating up educated school punks like yourself. I loathe the fact that there's so many new kids getting a good education these days who don't deserve it!"
"In case it wasn't already obvious to you, I'm just like you all!" Human Sunset spat. "Ever since I dropped out of school during my high school freshman year, I've always had a fierce resentment toward anybody else lucky enough to get a good education too! Without finishing school, no place ended up hiring me, and I might as well just become homeless for the rest of my life! But this is the life I chose, because living in poverty now was my only choice to escape the prolonged bullying that went on forever at school! Surely you can relate, since you all either dropped out or got expelled yourselves!?"
"Hmph, so you actually understand what we dropouts have to struggle with when it comes to making do with whatever we can find or steal?" Gilda raised an eyebrow. "When I got expelled from Canterlot High, no place would ever hire me either, especially with my criminal record. So if you actually understood this yourself, then how come you still tried to keep me from making a quick buck with that girl's phone!? You realized you just stole an easy fifty bucks for me?"
"Let's just say... I've done some digging myself to learn that I seemingly have a... twin sister, from the looks of it." Human Sunset tried her best to explain her theory. "Look, I don't know what this 'Sunset Shimmer' did with you, but you shouldn't be having any issues with me when I never got to experience the luxury of finishing school myself! I don't care what you do when it comes to stealing from people! In fact, I'd encourage you to do so, especially to those who've wronged you heavily in the past, like my former school bully who made me end up in this awful life I have now! All I can say with certainty is, it's not fair that we have to live out these rough lives just because some dumb and arbitrary school decided that fate for us all! I don't know what you're talking about regarding a girl's phone and fifty bucks, but just know that I had nothing to do with that!"
"Hmph, are you really trying to impress us with fairy tales instead of being ready to take your punishment?" Gilda rolled her eyes, not believing the seeming fibs she was just told.
"Gilda... is it possible that she might be telling the truth?" The beanie girl questioned. "She seems to understand exactly why we mug people whenever we can at night, and she really seems to have no clue or memory of your first encounter with her. Not only that, but it sounds like she really despises those school kids just as much as the rest of us."
"And come to think of it, when you were describing this gal to us, didn't you say that this Sunset Shimmer you met lacked makeup?" The curly haired girl added. "This one's wearing pretty heavy eyeshadow."
"I wouldn't believe any of this until I have more solid proof." Gilda retorted. "I recognize your hairstyle, face, and voice. They all line up with that girl I had fought in that alleyway a few days ago, so whether you are her or not, it doesn't matter anyways. It'll still be satisfying for me to kick your butt if you already remind me of someone I despise! As such, get ready for me to introduce you to my favorite crowbar!"
"Alright, but just one question before you do so." Human Sunset began, before getting ready to do her surprise attack. "How are you going to kick my butt..."
Human Sunset quickly got up out of her chair, much to the sudden shock of Gilda and the other girls. She quickly did a swift kick toward Gilda's face, making her recoil in pain and fall back onto the floor.
"...if I kick yours, first?" Human Sunset finished, and was anticipating that she was going to be in one heck of a fight now.
"What are you fools still doing standing around!?" Gilda addressed her gang members, as the pain in her nose was preventing her from getting back up immediately. "GET HER!!!"
"You just made a big mistake, kid." The curly haired girl said, before getting ready to attack.
"Nobody messes with the Canterlot Street Gang!" The beanie girl addressed their gang's name to Human Sunset, before attempting to intimidate her even further. "You have no idea what you're in for now, we're all about brute strength and won't go easy on you, understand!?"
Human Sunset got her fighting stance ready, being prepared to anticipate the movement of the two girls about to pummel her. Realizing that these girls were school dropouts just like herself, it was most likely that they had plenty of time to toughen themselves up, either through intense workouts or by using illegal substances. As a result, her mind kept telling her that this was an actual life and death situation, as they weren’t just ready to beat her up, but were prepared to leave her practically dead on the streets. Given they were already the kind of girls who were used to living the rough life, it'd also seem likely that they wouldn't give any care in regards to what they might lose, and would make her lose with them in the end.
The curly haired girl quickly ran up to Human Sunset, attempting to knock her out with a quick swing to the face. To Human Sunset, this attack only seemed like a beginner's move, as she was able to quickly anticipate the movements before swerving out of the way and tackling the girl to the ground. Human Sunset then headbutted her whilst on the ground, sending a wave of pain to the girl's stomach.
"Aghhhhhh... cheap shot!" The curly haired girl grumbled on the ground.
As Human Sunset got back up, she was almost anticipating the beanie girl to start running toward her, and saw that her prediction was right, as she got punched several times while trying to get on her feet again. After realizing the punches were following a consistent pattern, Human Sunset instinctively blocked one of the punches with her wrist, much to the surprise of the beanie girl, who was expecting her to simply sit there and take her combos. Thanks to Human Sunset's immense strength, she grabbed the beanie girl by the fists and began spinning in a circle to add some velocity, before throwing the girl's body and having her slam against a brick wall.
"You ain't getting away that easily!" The beanie girl said, getting back up almost immediately, as the curly haired girl also did the same.
"I think it's about time we rush her together, she can't take all of us on at the same time!" The curly haired girl advised.
"Right, you are!" Gilda said in agreement to her crony. "Well, Sunset Shimmer? I hope you've been living a good life, because we're about to end it all for you right here, right now!"
"I'd rather just get out of here instead, not cause I'm actually afraid of you punks, but because you're not even worth my time and energy!" Human Sunset said, sternly.
"Tough luck for you, the basement door's made of solid titanium, and the only way you'll get out is with the key!" Gilda smirked, before holding the key in front of Human Sunset's face, trying to tease her. "Unfortunately, we aren't giving you the key anytime soon! You two, hold her off for a bit while I find my crowbar!"
Gilda then ran away into another one of the basement rooms, trying to find her weapon, before leaving Human Sunset with the two other girls once more. Seeing how quickly they were able to get up before, despite how powerful her attacks from earlier would've been, Human Sunset understood that she needed far more destructive tactics to ensure that these girls stayed down, so that she could then focus on Gilda separately and get the key to escape. To Human Sunset, something about both of these girls reminded her of Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat, which certainly made her desire to fight flare up immensely. She simply imagined these girls as her former school bullies, motivating her to finally show what she's made of, now that she knew she was certainly a fighting machine.
"Alright, you girls really wanted to play?" Human Sunset said with confidence. "Bring it on!"
"Show her what we got for her!" The beanie girl said, as the curly haired girl attempted to tackle Human Sunset this time around.
Human Sunset pretended to be tackled at first to boost the curly haired girl's confidence, but then turned the tackle around by doing a reverse grapple. She then punched her in the face several times in an erratic pattern, before suddenly kicking her on the side. The last move was extra painful, due to Human Sunset's boots having spikes on them. After kicking her down, she heard the beanie girl approach from behind and quickly jumped out of the way at the last minute, letting her hit the hard ground. This girl with the beanie appeared to be tenacious, being able to get back up almost immediately after hitting hard surfaces, and ran up trying to rush her again. Human Sunset used her wrists to block every single punch. It appeared as though despite being in a coma for several years, her fighting skills and accuracy remained intact.
The next move had unfortunately caught Human Sunset off guard. The beanie girl did a leg sweep to knock her off of her feet, making her lose balance before swinging at her face. Human Sunset flew back with some force, but seemed to shrug it off rather quickly, and saw the girl now running up to her as she was laying against the wall. Realizing how dirty of a move the leg sweep was, Human Sunset waited until the girl got close enough, before doing a leg sweep back, sending her to the ground. Human Sunset then punched the girl's face and stomach, before doing a final slam with both of her fists, sending the girl to the ground.
"Had enough yet!?" Human Sunset huffed.
"You ain't so tough..." The beanie girl tried to fight on, but that last three hit combo really did some serious damage to her. "I've seen better fighting from a forest badger!"
"Wrong answer!" Human Sunset then used her spiky boots to kick the girl on the sides, but her eyes widened when she saw the girl was then grabbing her by the leg to make her lose her balance once again.
Falling to the ground, Human Sunset was initially worried at the beanie girl getting back up, before noticing a nearby glass bottle on the ground. Seeing how the beanie girl was preparing to headbutt her on the ground, due to her movements and fighting stance, Human Sunset anticipated the headbutt well, and did quick movements as the girl was about to use her skull to collide with any sensitive areas of her body. Human Sunset then quickly took the glass bottle and broke it over the girl's head, finally knocking her out unconsciously.
With both of the girls knocked out, it was now time to chase after Gilda, and more specifically, the key that would let her escape this basement. Human Sunset began running into the other room, but was surprised to see that for a basement, this area was rather huge, likely a sign that these gang girls hung out here a lot and stashed their stolen goods all over. However, she didn't have to search the entire area for Gilda, as the aforementioned gang leader came out of one of the entrances with a large crowbar in her grip.
"You pathetic little coward!" Human Sunset addressed Gilda. "Hiding behind your friends while you get tools? You can't even fight me with your bare fists, it seems."
"I've already learned my lesson the first time around, fool!" Gilda snapped. "Plus, at least I have friends while you don't, like the loser you are! Let's see how you'll try to block a solid steel crowbar!"
Human Sunset looked around the room quickly, realizing that a crowbar was certainly something she could not block with her wrists, unlike fists. Luckily, there was a nearby piece of scrap metal on the floor, which seemed to come from an old computer that was stolen by the gang years ago. Human Sunset held the metal plate in front of her like a shield, ready to deflect any swings from Gilda's crowbar, as Gilda simply smirked.
"Heh, you've resorted to using tools yourself now?" Gilda said, rather amused. "You're a clever little pigeon, huh?"
Gilda then used her crowbar to make a hard swing onto the metal plate, cracking and denting it slightly. Human Sunset continued holding it in place, as the plate would at least give her some temporary defense before it got worn out. Gilda kept on swinging over and over, before the plate eventually cracked in two.
"Haha, you're not as clever or tough as you think you are, kid." Gilda smirked again. "You'll need a lot more help than that if you think you'll stand up to my solid steel!"
Although now backed into a corner with Gilda hot on her tail, Human Sunset didn't lose hope just yet. She knew that she was already a proficient fighter from those training days at the gym, but realized that she herself at least had one advantage that this Gilda girl supposedly lacked, brains. Using her head, Human Sunset attempted to use reverse psychology, but was about to do something else further that would be guaranteed to completely throw her off.
"You wouldn't be so tough if it wasn't for that crowbar!" Human Sunset spat.
"Pfft, are you really trying to fool me again with that reverse psychology nonsense?" Gilda rolled her eyes. "You're finished, and this crowbar will definitely make certain of that-"
But before Gilda could even finish, Human Sunset grabbed several rocks on the ground and began chucking them at Gilda's face, making her flinch back in pain once more. Despite the rocks being rather small, they were surprisingly effective at pushing Gilda back, as it gave Human Sunset the advantage of having ranged projectiles, while Gilda was only stuck with a melee crowbar.
"MY EYES!!!" Gilda screeched, as she blindly tried to use her crowbar to deflect Sunset's projectiles at ease.
However, this was exactly what Human Sunset was hoping, as she then snuck behind Gilda, and anticipated that since her eyes were in pain after getting rocks thrown at her face, she would then blindly try to make her way over to where she remembered her enemy was in the corner. Gilda did so, and was prepared to bring the crowbar down onto her opponent's head, only to instead hit nothing but the hard floor. Just as Gilda realized she had missed, Human Sunset kicked her from behind, making her fall into the corner and finally drop her crowbar. Human Sunset then grabbed both the crowbar and Gilda's shirt by the collar, picking her up to let her know personally that she had lost.
"Who's in charge now, huh!?" Human Sunset asked Gilda rhetorically, as Gilda tried her best to ease herself of the pain from that kick. "I can't hear you right now, who's the leader of this gang now, you punk!? Answer me!"
"You are..." Gilda held her head in pain.
"What was that, I couldn't hear you!" Human Sunset shouted.
"You are!" Gilda repeated.
"One more time, and louder!" Human Sunset said, still not satisfied.
"YOU ARE!!!" Gilda finished, trying desperately to let her know that she had finally given up.
"That's right, it's me!" Human Sunset said, before throwing Gilda to the ground, as she moaned in pain. "Now listen here, you punks aren't ever going to mess with me ever again, and you all work for me from now on, you understand!?"
"Yes, just no more, please!" Gilda whimpered, especially now that Human Sunset had her crowbar. "We're sorry if we've given you a hard time, we'll be good from now on! H-Here, take the money and key that leads outside, just don't hurt me anymore!"
Gilda handed Human Sunset the key and cash she had stolen out of her pocket, desperately hoping that she would take the bribe and leave. Human Sunset did so, and simply walked upstairs to get out of the basement, satisfied at what her fighting skills and ingenuity had done for her to escape a good thrashing from some girls she didn't even know at all. At least, Human Sunset assumed that they were primarily having a vendetta toward the other Sunset, who was claimed to have been meddling with their constant mugging sprees, and she herself would've been no different. After all, she didn't have room to talk as far as being a thief who stole from people, given how she just took Gilda's money, and had stolen Indigo's cash long ago, though in her mind, it felt justified. She wasn't necessarily mugging innocent strangers who didn't deserve it, she was simply getting back at those who wronged her horribly, such as being a terrible school bully, or kidnapping her.
Making her way out of the basement with the key, and eventually leaving the building itself, Human Sunset was able to recognize that the building was located in one of the city's corners, which admittedly was only several blocks away from Canterlot High. This was obvious, given how there was a convenient sign nearby that pointed out CHS was right around the corner. Looking back at the building she had just left, it looked like an incredibly old and abandoned building, likely left behind to deteriorate, as nobody seemed interested in purchasing a lease. It felt like an ideal place for those girls to be hiding with their stolen goods, but being in a disclosed location only meant that they'd be more likely to get cornered and trapped should they get caught.
Human Sunset didn't particularly seem interested in calling the police on those girls, especially since she had no idea who they even were. She had no real vendetta or tragic past with them, compared to Sugarcoat, Principal Cinch, and Indigo Zap, and kept in mind that she was just as, if not more guilty than those gang girls for being a crook. Trying to become a hero who'd bring justice to the city was the furthest thing on her mind at the moment as far as she was concerned. Instead, Human Sunset was mostly just curious on not only why there was another version of herself existing around here, but why this other Sunset's existence took her away from her own world. Heading to this Equestria place might've been her first priority, but she decided first to visit an old place she hadn't been to for years.
Although Human Sunset just got out of a fight, she didn't have much of an issue returning back to Solstice's old home, mostly to live out some feelings of sentiment. Her fighting skills and aggressive nature had helped her escape from Gilda and those lackeys with only minimal scratches on her face, so it definitely made her satisfied to know that she was more than capable of handling anyone foolish enough to mess with her once more, especially those people at Crystal Prep Academy. After walking down the streets far enough, Human Sunset eventually made it all the way back to her old house, the same place where her mother had fallen ill, and her father straight-up abandoned the family. It brought unpleasant memories back briefly, though it was primarily the memories of her mother which kept her motivated to return for a little while.
Entering her old home with the key she still had in her pocket, Human Sunset first stored the $700 she had taken from Gilda into one of the drawers, but then blankly stared at a picture frame hung above her couch in the living room. It was a family photo consisting of Solstice, Sunspot, and Human Sunset herself, back when she was more known as 'Sunny S.' shortly after graduating middle school. Human Sunset took the picture off of the wall, now sighing in sadness, especially after everything she had went through up until this point in her life.
"I just... feel like I've lost my whole family..." Human Sunset said to herself. "I have nobody left, no friends or family, no opportunity to get a good job, and no chance to turn my life back around anymore. I'm past the point of no return, and as a result, I might become just like those girls in that old building that tried to hurt me. If I can't get a good career or chance to make things right, I might just be homeless for the rest of my life, on top of being forced to mug innocent people just to survive."
Looking at the photo further, seeing her father's face only made Human Sunset resent him even more, the way he was smiling and looking happy for her daughter. After what happened at Crystal Prep, Human Sunset felt she had every right and reason to believe Sunspot was always only happy, simply for the fact that he had a potential meal ticket who could one day buy him a nice car and mansion. He might've wanted his family to escape poverty, but that certainly didn't change the fact that no matter how hard she worked for school, it was never enough to satisfy him. Human Sunset then looked to her mother's face in the photo, still saddened by how things ended for her. Even sadder was the fact that Solstice could no longer hold or speak to her daughter, giving off the tragic feeling to Human Sunset that her mother truly was nothing more than a memory now, despite promising that she'd still be by her side and protect her, even after passing.
"Mom..." Human Sunset said, while looking at her mother in the photo. "I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid I have no choice now if I'm going to continue living on here. I'll never get a good job with what happened in school, so it looks like I'll have to steal from others just to survive, and possibly end up in jail one day. I've already stolen money from my old bully, so I'm not sure if the police are still looking for me, but I now fully believe one thing about my life, regardless. I'm not proud of this life I've chosen ever since I dropped out of school... but I'm not ashamed either. I've already gotten my revenge against Principal Cinch, my bullies, and those gang girls who tried to fight me, but now it looks like I'm going to have to start getting revenge against someone new. Someone who's way too familiar... and seemingly stole my entire life and identity away from me. I love you, mom. Whatever happens to me, I hope we can still meet each other again when I'm gone too..."
Human Sunset placed the picture frame back on the wall, but still made a face of disgust whenever she had even the slightest glimpse of Sunspot's face. Although speaking to her late mother regarding swearing revenge on this supposed imposter Sunset, she was still just as adamant on swearing revenge against her father too, as it was his constant neglect and unreasonable expectations that pushed her over the edge. Getting back against Sunspot seemed unrealistic, as she would have no idea where her father would be nowadays, though presumably with a new wife and family, as he had hinted this shortly following his divorce with Solstice. Regardless, given how Sunspot never once gave his daughter his time of day when Solstice was usually busy working, on top of not acting proud of her becoming #2 at Crystal Prep Academy, Human Sunset was adamant that he was just as awful and selfish as Principal Cinch.
Going over to the kitchen, Human Sunset used water from the sink to wash off her small injuries from the fight, and took a few crackers out of the cupboard and snacked on them briefly, mostly because she needed some energy before heading over to this Equestria place supposedly located at Canterlot High. Before focusing on that thought, she was still initially curious at how her life was going to move forward, especially if no places would hire her without even having a high school diploma. On the kitchen's countertop laid a few envelopes that Human Sunset had forgotten to look at, as it seemed they were placed there the day she rushed Solstice to the hospital after she had fallen ill. Figuring that it was nice to at least check what the envelopes contained, Human Sunset ripped them up, only to mostly find junk mail she had no interest in. However, one of them had a notification congratulating Solstice for being able to completely pay off the house's mortgage.
This fact made Human Sunset much more adamant that she'd rather go around mugging people and risk ending up in jail, as she wouldn't have been willing to go as far as selling the home just to survive. It had way too much sentimental value to her, and she simply wouldn't let her mother's sacrifice in working hard to paying off the mortgage only be in vain. Plus, selling a whole house simply for the sake of her own survival in her eyes seemed absolutely selfish and appalling to her mother's legacy. Given how selfish her own father turned out to be, Human Sunset was certain that she would keep the house around to honor Solstice, while believing she couldn't become as selfish and shallow as Sunspot. Plus, if she were to investigate this Equestria place and find a solution to rid this other Sunset imposter for good, she would still have a home and life to live. A rough life, but at least something more than being trapped in another indefinite coma.
Being prideful enough to accept that she'd have to endure tragedy and hardship for the rest of her life, it didn't matter now. What was important in her mind, was going forward to investigate where this other Sunset had come from, and possibly finding a way to ensure she'd never come back again, stealing her name, identity, life, and existence from her. Exiting Solstice's home after finishing her meal, Human Sunset began recalling the exact route Sunspot used to drive her to Crystal Prep Academy, which always had a brief glance of Canterlot High along the way. Although she was thankful her father at least had the courtesy to give her rides to school, it didn't go much beyond that. He had never asked her about her day, and always sped off on the gas as soon as his daughter stepped off his vehicle and closed the door. This definitely hammered in the reminder for Human Sunset that her father would be her next target for seeking revenge upon, should she ever find him again.
This thought aside, Human Sunset continued following the route she had remembered, as she appeared to have a clear mental image of how she always got to Crystal Prep Academy from home. Then, coming out of the business areas and eventually stumbling into a more open and designated space, there it was in front of her. Human Sunset saw the school she had turned down years ago, believing now that her decision to not attend this school back then might've been a mistake. Neither of her parents really forced her to specifically become a Crystal Prep student, it was mostly her own decision at the mere thought of becoming successful there to ensure her family wouldn't have to worry about money ever again. She wouldn't really know now, but regardless, it didn't matter to her anymore. She already had this big and annoying mess of a life she chose, so it was already too late to think of such matters after the fact.
Human Sunset looked around the school for a while, specifically repeating to herself to find a horse statue pedestal somewhere. After searching around in circles for a few minutes, she became stumped, and began having thoughts that she was now simply wasting her time on a wild goose chase, based on a hunch from vague hints. It was still entirely possible that the other Sunset's diary and that Pinkie girl were just making things up, and that some portal around these parts was nothing more than a figment of their imagination. As Human Sunset was prepared to give up her search after seeing no horse statue in sight, she suddenly remembered a far more crucial detail.
She was vaguely told that it was a horse statue PEDESTAL, not necessarily an actual horse statue. Unknown to her, the horse statue in question was blown to pieces years ago, after the Human Twilight unleashed the magic in her device and transformed into Midnight Sparkle, and used her magic for utter destruction. It still wasn't particularly clear to anybody at the time, but this action in turn, created a crack at the top of the pedestal, causing Equestrian magic to leak in, including several bits of magic that would later become the girls' element geodes at Camp Everfree. Both Pony Sunset and the Human Twilight had touched upon this briefly during the Camp Everfree Crystal Ball, but still disregarded what was the cause. This unknowingly led to such events as Juniper Montage obtaining a magical mirror, or Vignette Valencia having a destructive teleportation phone.
The reason behind why no new magic had appeared recently, was mostly due to how the crack began to slowly erode over time, thus repairing the opening to prevent new magic from leaking in. Despite this, it was still puzzling as to how actual Equestrian artifacts like the Time Twirler and Memory Stone found their ways here, but Pony Sunset learned it was heavily implied to be the work of Clover the Clever, thanks to some help from Princess Twilight and Celestia. The result of magic becoming a much less common occurrence in the human world continuously solidified Pony Sunset's desire to return to Equestria for a while, since due to the crack repairing itself, she genuinely had no new magic left in the world, other than her geode. No other Equestrian artifacts had really come up, or anything remarkable that would've kept her interested to stick around, especially since graduation at CHS was just around the corner.
Going back to Human Sunset's motives, she kept looking around and eventually saw what looked like a solid block of stone sitting at the school's front, but no horse statue in sight. Considering how this was the only thing on the entire school's outdoor campus that remotely looked like it once held a statue, she believed she had finally found what supposedly was the way into Equestria, where she would most likely get answers for what she herself was going through. Before heading in, Human Sunset checked her pockets to find she was still holding on to that piece of scroll she had taken from the diary earlier, which seemed to be of some importance if it was linked to that other Sunset, shortly before she made her way into this world.
Human Sunset initially checked the other three surfaces of the stone pedestal, curious at understanding where this portal might possibly be hidden. Seeing how they were all initially nothing more than a solid and flat surface with nothing of importance on them, she began to once again have the feeling that she was going crazy for believing a magical portal of all things, would be existing on an arbitrary location such as this. But after checking those three surfaces, she then checked the final side that was facing directly to the front of the school, and began to see her arm glowing, just as the 'surface' revealed itself to be an illusion, covering up what looked like a passageway. Human Sunset's eyes widened, and she instinctively pulled her arm back for a second, rather freaked out, yet astonished at what she just witnessed.
Given how human beings also had no problem entering Equestria, much like the Human Twilight and Rainbow Dash during the spring break cruise, Human Sunset was just as capable of going through, ready to finally make her way in. Although intrigued at how well-hidden this portal's entrance was, she was now anxious at the possibility of discovering why there was an imposter in her world, and finally understanding what could've caused her to fade out of existence years ago...