Sunset didn't get much sleep that night. Even within the walls of Dona Yuca's home, the concrete did little to stop the sounds of chanting, fighting, and occasional gunfire that made Sunset flinch every time. She slept with her pistol underneath her pillow, just in case. A part of her wanted to write to Princess Twilight, explaining the situation, but what would come of it? This wasn't a job for the Elements of Harmony, and what could Twilight do? Ask Princess Celestia to send in the Royal Guard to enforce the peace?
If that happened, Puerto Caballo would end up just like Severyana, now known as Stalliongrad. Sunset had studied what happened there during her stay in Twilight's castle, and it wasn't pretty. Too many innocent ponies suffered and died for nothing. Groaning softly, Sunset stretched her back as she finished fixing her bed using her aura. Today she decided to just wear her beige hat that would've matched with her coat from the day before. She didn't want anyone to confuse her for a noble again.
Adjusting the strap of the small saddlebag, Sunset was ready to face anything! Well, almost anything. She quickly grabbed her pistol and slid it into the holster that was built inside the bag. Was Sunset insane, wanting to see more of the city despite the protest? A little, but she wanted to see what was going on with her own eyes, not hearsay and gossip.
"Why is everything Caramel Marks' fault?" Sunset mumbled under her breath, finally leaving her room to get breakfast. As brilliant as Sunset was, she always dreaded the old scholar section of her studies with Princess Celestia. Marksism, Communism, Socialism, everything branched off and was annoying to keep track of.
Retracing her steps from the previous day down the stairs, her ears caught whispers and the sound of sizzling haycakes. Avoiding the gaze from the poster of Princess Celestia, Sunset walked into the rather large dining room, which was just as decorated as the living room.
"The reds were so loud last night I couldn't sleep." A pegasus stallion with a thick Severyanian accent said. Three other ponies were already eating, their muzzles stained from the syrup. He had purple fur with a blue mane that was cut short. "I wish you'd let me take a shot at them, Boss! Just one!"
"We don't need you drawing any attention, and it'd be a waste of money." The blue-green earth pony mare with a dark blue at the head of the table shook her head. She looked a decade older than Sunset's real age, and two decades older than her physical body. She also sounded Severyanian, and paused when she caught sight of Sunset at the mouth of the passageway. "Take your hat off when you're inside, it's rude."
The gray mare, a unicorn with a pink mane sat on her other side, snorted, but remained silent, eating the fruit that was on the plate in front of her.
"Oh-uh, sorry!" Sunset's horn lit up, and floated her hat into the confines of her saddlebag. She took a seat next to the stallion who didn't even spare her a glance.
"I'm just saying." The Stallion shrugged and stuffed his mouth with his haycakes before chugging a glass of orange juice. "Red's don't like to pay up, so what are we doing here?"
"Zarca doesn't either." His Boss eyed Sunset suspiciously as she ended that conversation. Her eyebags looked heavy, like she also didn't have a good night's sleep with all the protesting going on all night. "And who are you?"
That caused her two companions to look up, both staring at the now nervous Sunset. Shooting Reds? Zarca? This felt like a conversation that wasn't meant for her ears.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer." Sunset introduced herself with a forced smile. They must've been armed if they were thinking about shooting the protestors, dangerous too. "It's a pleasure to meet y'all."
That made her sound like Applejack, it almost made her flinch.
"Boris Fioletovyy." Boris, the stallion, spoke up first. The two mares remained focused on their meals. His muzzle had a scar that went from his forehead, past his nose, down to his chin. "Equestrian huh?"
"Yup." Sunset nodded. She could hear Dona Yuca singing to herself in the kitchen from here. "You're all Severyanian right?"
The earth pony at the head of the table stopped eating, her hard eyes softening just a little.
"It's been a while since someone called us that, and not Stalliongradian." She said Stalliongradian with more venom than any snake from the Everfree Forest. "A pleasure to meet you, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset's smile wasn't as forced as before, it was nice to see some nice ponies outside of Equestria. "You as well, uh, what's your name? If you don't mind me asking?"
The mare lifted her mug of steaming hot coffee to her lips for a long sip. She placed the mug back in its spot and cleaned her muzzle with a napkin. "My name is Alesia Snezhnaya."
That name sounded really familiar.
Alesia narrowed her eyes. "Have we met before? You look familiar"
That didn't sound good. Sunset swallowed the saliva that had built up in the back of her throat. In pony years, a decade must've passed since she first left to the human world. The Sunset of the past was an asshole to say the least. There must've been plenty of creatures that she had wronged.
"I have more food!" Dona Yuca interrupted before Sunset could get a word out. She balanced several plates on her back and gave Sunset a brief glance. "You finally decided to wake up, I see."
"Let me help! Your food is so good, it'd be a sin to let it fall on the ground." Boris jumped from his seat to help the older pony. He grabbed a few of the platters. Alesia relaxed and went back to drinking her coffee, her question hopefully forgotten.
"Such polite ponies." Dona Yuca smiled, which Sunset didn't think was possible. She placed a large plate in front of Sunset. "Eat up, hay's getting more expensive by the day."
It was hard to eat with three Severyanians staring at her the whole time.
"So, what are you doing here, Sunset Shimmer?" The Unicorn, Vera Morkov as she introduced herself, asked. With her stomach full from the heavy foods Dona Yuca had cooked, Sunset could do little to hide her anxiety.
"I'm just passing through, seeing the sights before going to Zebrica. I hear that the Zumidian coast is nice this time of year." Sunset answered. Zumidia wasn't her true destination, but she wasn't about to tell these strangers the whole truth. That was just begging to get robbed.
"You chose a bad time for that." Boris grumbled in between bites of his mango, its juices dripping down his mangled muzzle.
"I know that now." Sunset sighed, taking a long sip from her orange juice. "What about you three?"
Vera and Boris shared a strange look when Alesia answered.
"We're here on business." The blue-green earth pony finished the last of her coffee. She spoke like a noble, each word carefully chosen.
"Really? What kind of business?" Sunset was too nosy for her own good. She should've stayed quiet and allowed the conversation to die.
A pink aura surrounded the pitcher of coffee as Vera refilled Alesia's mug silently.
"International shipping and staffing, we're relatively small and new, so you wouldn't have heard of us." Alesia formed a cold smile, it didn't reach her eyes. "But I fear we may be stuck in Puerto Caballo in the foreseeable future, President Cocktail has just declared martial law. They just announced it over the radio."
Sunset's eyes turned into pinpricks. This wasn't good at all.
Maybe she should've written Princess Twilight.