It was noon in Junction City, and it was mostly quiet in Daystar & Associates. The young woman that managed the bookstore was upstairs in her bedroom, having dozed off while reading her personal copy of Paradise Lost. The door quickly opened up, and a tall, lean young man with long, spiky orange hair and copper eyes rushed inside.
"Yo, Susie!" whispered Richard Dawson, as he leaned over the desk where his sister was napping.
Susan Shelby's green eyes opened wide, and she let out a long yawn.
"What's up, Richie?" she asked, brushing various strands of her disheveled red-and-blonde hair away from her eyes.
"You totally need to take a look at what's on the news." replied Richard.
"Why? What's wrong?" questioned Susan.
"Just come downstairs with me." replied the redheaded young man.
Susan and Richard went into the bookstore, and approached the television set on the counter, which was tuned to Channel 15 News. On the screen was a photograph of...
"Hey, that's me!" gasped Susan.
"Not so fast, Susan." said Richard. "Listen to what they're saying."
"...The search for Sunset Shimmer, a foreign terrorist and master of disguise, continues over here in Canterbury..." droned the voice of news reporter Pressure Point.
Sunset Shimmer? Terrorists? Canterbury? Miss Shelby caught only a fragment of a single sentence, and she was already swamped with questions.
"...As it has been going on for nearly two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" repeated Susan.
"For those of you that are just coming in, The Canterbury police have given way to allow a paramilitary organization known as the Chrysalis Syndicate to search their town for Sunset Shimmer, a dangerous criminal that is wanted for a number of felonies. Captain Umbriel, the field leader of this organization, has released a message directed towards this fugitive."
Suddenly, the footage on the screen cut to a large masked man in black military-looking armor
standing erect in front of a desk in what was unmistakably the principal's office in a high school.
"Attention, Sunset Shimmer: Turn yourself in, and repent for your crimes. If you submit yourself soon, you will face neither brutality nor hostility from my men. If you surrender, you will be re-located where you may live your life in peace, without causing any further harm to those around you."
Then the captain turned his head sharply to the side, as if to scan the room. Another armored man wearing white skull-like armor went over to Umbriel's side. He added his own section of the message, speaking with a similarly distorted voice.
"But if you continue to defy and resist us by hiding your sorry carcass, then we'll be happy to get...nasty. Remember, the longer you hide from us, the harder your punishment's gonna be!"
Then the man in the skeleton-like armor brandished an assault rifle, and cocked it.
"You know what this is, Sunset Shimmer, and you know what it's used for." he said, sinisterly. "But don't worry, Sunset. I won't try using it on you...this time. I was just in a bad mood during our last meeting. If you'll surrender, I'll even give you a chance to shoot me with it! C'mon, you know you wanna..."
And then he just barely audibly muttered what sounded like "...you filthy animal".
"Okay, I think I've seen enough." said Susan Shelby, turning off the television.
"So what do ya make of that, sis?" asked Richard Dawson.
"Well, I'm not sure." said Susan. "I just hope that I'm not in trouble with those Syndicate guys for what Sunset Shimmer's done."
"Don't worry, they already said that the real Susan Shelby won't be harmed, as long as she doesn't go looking for Sunset Shimmer."
"Well, I'll keep that in mind." said Susan. "I sure feel bad for Sunset, though...whoever she is."
In Vanhoover, Sunset Shimmer finished her strawberry lemonade, then decided to continue speaking with the innkeeper.
"So, what kind of trouble do Frosty and Nose Nip tend to get into?" she asked curiously.
"The weird kind, and let's leave it at that." said the landlord. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patrons to tend to at the moment."
As if on cue, a blue earth pony with a red mane and tail went inside.
"Oh, if it isn't my favorite patron." grumbled the innkeeper.
Nose Nip and Frosty got up out of their seats and approached the earth pony.
"Teddy, how're ya doin'?" asked Frosty, with a wide, fake-looking smile on his face.
"Oh, not too bad." said Teddy. "How are you and Nips?"
"Well, I'm sick, and we're both unable to find any work at the moment." responded Frosty. "What are you doing here, anyways?"
"I just thought I'd get a drink while I was passing through the neighborhood."
"Like heck you will!" snapped Nose Nip, out of nowhere. "You still owe me that refund, you free-loading weasel! You're not going to spend a single bit on anything in front of me until you pay those forty bits back!"
"Hey, I told you that I'd do it when I actually have the money!" assured Teddy. "But that deal I had with those gryphons hasn't come through yet. I'm short on cash!"
"Fine, I'll give you a couple of days to get something straightened out." said Nose Nip. "If not, then you'll have to do some work with the two of us."
Sunset Shimmer examined the three stallions bickering with each other, and decided to approach them.
"Whatever are you three talking about?" she asked, curiously.
"This chump sold us shoddy climbing-equipment a couple of months ago." explained Nose Nip. "It was very pricy, too. I almost got my neck broken when those cables snapped!"
"How could they just snap like that?" Teddy questioned. "They were reinforced with steel chains! Stuff like that doesn't just break apart, ya know! And I used that stuff myself for four years! I wouldn't have sold it to you if it was in bad condition!"
"Nips, did you even inspect the cables after they snapped to see if it was because they were in bad condition?" asked Frosty, eying his partner suspiciously.
"Well...no." admitted Nose Nip, sheepishly. "I just stopped using the stuff after it happened."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." scoffed Teddy. "I have to pay you back in less than a week, and for equipment you've barely even used?!"
"Fine, I'll give you more than a week." said Nose Nip.
"Thank you." said Teddy, flatly. "Now, since none of you seem to be very welcoming right now, I figure that I'd might as well just leave."
He turned back towards the door, but Nose Nip suddenly spoke.
"Hey, maybe you could sit down and have a drink with us?" he offered, politely.
Teddy slowly turned around, wearing a very grateful smile.
"Thanks." he said.
Suddenly, Nose Nip leaned forward and stamped his hoof.
"Now sit down before I pile-drive you!" he said, threateningly.
The whole inn fell silent. Everypony was stationary, except for Frosty, who suddenly stood up and clumsily fell between the two earth ponies with a loud crash. Despite this, neither Nose Nip nor Teddy moved a muscle.
"Wow, this is a weird town." thought Pressure Point, who saw and heard this exchange happen.
"Did Frosty just...face-fault?" thought Sunset, surprised.
"Right...no more apple cider...for me." said Frosty, dizzily as he got back up. "I've got to walk this off."
"Hey, could I come with you?" asked Sunset. "You know, in case you fall over again?"
"Sure, why not?" nodded Frosty, his eyes rolling involuntarily.
Sunset Shimmer escorted Frosty out of the Obsidian Horseshoe, and out into the breezy streets of Vanhoover. Sunset looked around the marketplace, especially at the various food being sold there. Eventually, she stopped at a stand held by a pair of earth ponies.
"Hello, ma'am." said one of them, an adolescent filly with a cream-colored coat and beige mane, to Sunset. "Can we interest you in a pot of honey?"
"Um...sure thing." said Sunset. "How much?"
"Five bits per pot." said the other earth pony, who Sunset guessed to be the filly's father.
"Then I'll take two." said Sunset, opening her knapsack.
Ten bits were levitated out of the bag, and landed in a neat row on the stand. The older earth pony tilted his head down, and it re-emerged with two small pots stacked along his neck. Sunset's horn glowed, and the two pots were levitated into a pouch on the side of her knapsack.
"Thanks!" smiled Sunset.
"Only the finest from the Syrup family!" said the stallion, with a humble bow. "Name's Chocolate. And this here's my daughter, Maple."
"Well, it's nice to meet you two." said Sunset, politely. "How's business around here, anyhow?"
"Most of the sales here in Vanhoover are either or domestic or imported from the docks." said Chocolate Syrup. "For some reason, trade's very slow with Canterlot."
"There haven't been any troubles on the roads, have there?" asked Sunset, curiously.
"Not necessarily." said Maple. "It's just that Vanhoover's in a very far corner of Equestria. There aren't too many settlements nearby to set up a decent trade route that would lead to Canterlot. Plus, we're close to the Crystal Mountains, so that aren't any steady roads to actually move stuff around. If only we had more pegasi in this town, or they could fly stuff back and forth."
"But what about the gryphons?" Sunset questioned.
"They're not all that helpful towards us ponyfolk." explained Chocolate. "They only seem interested in helping us with our economy if they get something out of it themselves. It's a shame, really. We're all perfectly willing to co-exist with them, but they don't seem so enthusiastic about it."
"Hey, what the heck kind of popsicle stand is this?!" demanded a loud voice behind them. "These can barely even be called popsicles!"
Sunset turned around, and saw a female gryphon with a white eagle-like head confronting a pair of male unicorns that were almost identical in appearance to each other. They were both tall, rail-thin in build, and wearing vaudeville-style outfits.
"Sorry if we disappointed you at all..." said one of the unicorns.
"Disappointed me? Driving me nuts is what you two numbskulls are doing!" snapped the gryphon, who pointed her claw at a wooden stick in a puddle of melted colored ice. "That's the third time in a row that one of your stupid frozen treats fell apart when I tried to lick it! Give me something sturdier, or give me my money back!"
The two unicorn twins gulped and looked at each other nervously.
"What do we do, Flim?" asked one.
"Follow my lead, Flam." said the other, whispering into his brother's ear. "I've got it all under control."
Flim used his horn to telekinetically activate the large ice-making machine on their stand. He cranked the dial on the side very far, and a very large red ice-ball fell down into a cup placed below the machine. He levitated it towards the gryphon, and gripped it with her claw.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, miss." said Flim. "You can have that snowcone for 50% off, in compensation for those popsicles."
"Fifty?!" the gryphon snarled. "Why not a hundred?! I already spent a dozen bits on your stupid ice-pops! No way I'm gonna spend that much on this! So you know what? Keep your stupid snowcone, you stupid ponies!"
Then she chucked the cup angrily at Flim and Flam, who both caught it with their telekinesis.
"Now, there's no need to be such a spoil-sport, Gilda." said Frosty, who saw the incident and approached the gryphon.
"Put a sock in it, small-fry." said Gilda. "This place is way too lame for me. If you need me, I'll be hanging around the cool crowd, thank you very much."
Then she spread her brown wings, and shot up into the sky with a bird-like screech. Sunset Shimmer observed this whole thing, and couldn't help but be reminded once more of her time as a bully at Canterlot High.
"So, who was--" Sunset Shimmer began to ask the Syrups, before being interrupted by another newcomer.
"Hey, Sunny, it looks like you just met my ex-girlfriend." said a familiar, rough voice. "As you no doubt heard...her name is Gilda."
Sunset turned, and Radiant Dawn was standing to her left, his eyes glaring angrily up at the sky. He had an extremely bitter expression on his face, and it looked like he was shedding tears. Not tears of happiness or sorrow, but anger. Sunset Shimmer was speechless at what she saw.