The Medallion Shards

by Aliucon

Intermission I

The day after your encounter with two of Sunset's friends, the weekend starts. After your morning routine, you take a bus through a long route, eventually crossing the path of Sunset's apartment. You notice her sitting at the station outside, looking vaguely ahead. As the bus stops, you give her a quick ring on the cellphone, and once the message arrives, she proceeds to jump to her feet and board the bus.

"There you are." She greets you with a wave, and proceeds to sit next to you, laying comfortably against her seat. "You must live farther than I remember. Feels like I've been waiting for hours. Then again, that might just be me being nervous with all of... This."

She runs her hand over one side of her face, and then flows the motion into fixing her hair. You notice her hair is not as well-groomed as it had been last time you talked.

"I saw your messages," she continues, "and even if there's not even a hint of a motive, you're not wrong to keep the slumber party in mind. I checked the shards as often as I could, and I know for a fact they didn't dissapear before that day. It's... part of the reason I feel the need to be suspicious like this."

She pauses, and falls into a brown study, from which you only manage to snap her out once you ask her about that day.

"Oh, right. Of course, you weren't there. I should try to give you a better idea of what was going on."

She reclines further on the seat, and crosses her legs and arms, head vaguely pending towards you.

"It was supposed to be a normal get-together. We agreed to meet up in my place, at 8 PM. Pretty much everyone but Fluttershy made it in time. I gathered everyone on my living room, because, well, my bedroom's too small to fit all of my friends."

"We talked for a fair bit, and no one was out of my sight until an hour later or so, when Rarity received a video call request from her parents on the laptop she brought in. She didn't want to get in the way of the conversation we were having, so she asked if she could use my room to take the call, and I had no problem with that. Ironically, it didn't help much, since we could still hear her talking, but her intention was nice."

"We split stuff to do from then on. Pinkie and Applejack were playing a fighting game on my console. Me and Twilight were talking and playing chess, and Rainbow was calling to check on Fluttershy, which showed up some time later. Apparently she got held up on the animal shelter trying to help a cat to sleep, and it just wouldn't. She couldn't leave it alone, so she brought it with her. Fluttershy's like that."

Sunset laughs for a bit, and her eyes unfocus while a smile lingers on her lips. She gets going some seconds later.

"The cat's pretty fun. Once it was there, Fluttershy showed a trick it likes to do, where it can grab an object falling and throw it up even higher. But that's not important, I'm getting sidetracked."

Sunset takes the moment to clear her throat. By your peripheral vision, you see the bus taking a curve right into the main street. Out of the many eye-catching buildings scrolling past, a pinkish one with brown roof catches your eye. Despite being some few hundred meters ahead at an angle of the street, it seems to be letting out a steady stream of balloons from itself.

"After that, well, Twilight had a headache, and said she was going to rest and see if it got any better. When she laid down, she left her glasses and their casing for Rainbow to hold. Rainbow put the glasses on to make a little skit, calling herself 'egghead' and such. Nothing harmful. I think that's what she mentioned to you yesterday: she felt ill right after using the glasses, because of how it warps your vision, and had to go to the bathroom."

Still set in the same position as before, Sunset looks up at nothing in particular, one finger tapping against her forearm.

"What I didn't know was that she actually entered the bedroom with Rarity. But... No, Rarity would have seen her taking anything. Rarity, though... she was in the room by herself for longer. She always had a knack for the beauty of things, especially gems. But... Even through her conversation with her parents, I could hear her clearly. I'd have heard the case with the shards opening. It's pretty loud. Besides, it was a video call... She wouldn't just do that in front of her parents, right?"

The more she spoke, the closer she got to breaking her stance and just burying her face on her palms, something that eventually happened.

"Ugh, why am I being like this? It hurts..."

You comfort her in whatever way you manage to think about at the time. She doesn't react. Some time elapses in silence. Sunset eventually straightens herself on the seat, and looks outside.

"Forget it. I'll be fine. We're getting there. Ever gone to Sugarcube Corner?"

You recognize the name. A renowned confectionery within the town, it was often regarded as the best one around. This was made even more impressive by the fact it is a domestic endeavor moreso than a company: it is run by the Cake family, which, true to their name, had few equals in their baking prowess. This knowledge comes from hearsay, however, and you've never confirmed it yourself; that is what you relay to Sunset.

"Well, there's a first time for everything. One of my closest friends works there. And right now, she's throwing a party," Sunset adds, smiling at the view from the window.

When you follow her gaze, you see that the building you've noticed before is drawing ever closer, and the balloons it keeps sending out are now accompanied by the muffled sound of loud speakers playing chirpy music. You hear movement from your side, and understanding that Sunset was standing up, you do the same.

Sunset requests the stop, and you both drop from the bus, two houses away from Sugarcube Corner. Sunset then turns to you.

"I want you to talk to her today. Pinkie Pie's the name. I don't suspect her in particular, but she... She can be unpredictable." Sunset bites her own lip for a moment. "I mean— Even being her friend, I can never tell what's on her mind. I think you'll see what I'm talking about."

You nod and take a move towards the building. Sunset fails to follow, so you look back at her before long to see what was wrong.

"Actually... I'm not going with you. As much as I'd like to ease up and enjoy some partying, or hear what Pinkie has to say... I need to make my own inquiries." She fidgets with a lock of her hair as she says that, and finishes the motion with a more dignified hair flip. "Remember those troublemakers I mentioned? I need to make sure they're not behind this. So I'm gonna try to track them down. It might take a while, but... Shoot me a message if you find out anything important, OK?"

Since Sunset seemingly decided this by herself, you have no choice but to accept it and continue with the plan. You both part ways, and you take the final steps towards Sugarcube Corner. Up close, the bakery boasts as much of the confectionery motiff as possible. The roof is a chocolate brown decorated with white frosting lines on the edges, and the attic comes up further than the roof in the shape of a cupcake, even including decorative candles. Whoever was the designer certainly gave the place an otherwordly, yet delicious vibe to the place.

What strikes you as odd is that you've seen an image of Sugarcube Corner once, and it didn't look quite like this. Yet you're sure you are not misremembering it. Did they reform? That would have been a major endeavor, but not impossible. The fact entertains your mind for a while, and you forget to go straight in.

At least until the door opens from the other side, and you're met with a beckoning pink hand accompanied by a request in a cockney accent.

"Come in, stranger."

You squint, yet peering inside is hard. Lights are dim and flashing blue, and the loud party music momentarily disorients you. Nonetheless, the figure is still waiting for you, and the pink hue makes it seem like it's the person you're looking for. So, setting aside the uncanny greeting for now, you enter the building.