From the Ashes

by RC2101_Copey

4 - First Morning

Sunset's eyes cracked open, revealing the alabaster white ceiling above her. At first she panicked; this was not the sight she had grown used to seeing when she awoke - it was definitely not discoloured wood. As quickly as the panic had come, it left, as she remembered where she was. As her heart rate slowed, she settled back into the plush comforter, and unlike last night her body had no trouble being lulled back towards sleep.

At that point she recalled that she had not gone to sleep alone, and a quick glance left alerted her to the fact she now was. Blinking, she slowly let her senses wake up, and she soon heard the distinct sound of running water through the wall. ‘Rarity must be in the shower,’ she thought, before her face turned scarlet at the implication. 'Rainbow must never find out about last night or I'll never hear the end of it.'

Looking at the dreaded clock, it read ten past six in the morning; Rarity really was an early riser. Not Sunset though, she enjoyed the warmth of her situation, and lulled in her half awake state until she was roused by a knock at the door. She noted the water had also stopped running. “Sunset, darling, are you up?" Rarity asked through the door.

"Yeah, I guess,” she replied, muttering the last bit.

"The shower is free and I have laid out some towels. Use whatever products you need, and we can pick up what I don't have later." Sunset made to reply, but Rarity never gave her a chance. "And do hurry please, breakfast will go cold quickly." And with the creaking that followed, it was clear Rarity was already downstairs and out of earshot. The amber girl lay there, torn between getting up far earlier than normal, or stealing a few more minutes of sleep, but the decision was made for her as her stomach grumbled loudly. "Traitor," she whispered, before she forced herself to get up.

---

Rarity's bathroom was a curious mix, containing both the key features of the rest of the house. Like the bedrooms, the room had seen a fair amount of attention and made to look really nice and tasteful - not really a surprise given how much time Rarity probably spent in here, highlighted by the huge range of beauty products lined up around the sink. But the room also shared the feature of 'functional at best'. The faucets were stiff, the toilet seat moved, and when Sunset finally got around to taking a shower, she found that it dripped from places it shouldn't, leading to occasional drops in pressure.

But she couldn't complain about how warm it was. Now fully awake, she took to the task of deciphering what half of Rarity's available products did. Twenty bottles later and she still wasn’t entirely sure, but found one that smelt nice, and went with that. Shortly thereafter found her dry, dressed, and ready to face the day. She descended the stairs quickly, but even being as light footed as possible, she still creaked on every step. She found her host in front of the cooker. "Good timing." Rarity greeted her, as she spun around holding a frying pan full of something yellow. "Scrambled egg on toast, or porridge?"

Sunset's stomach rumbled again. "Both?" She asked cheekily, looking abashed.

Rarity stopped for a split second before carrying on as if nothing had happened. "Of course. I figured after everything you'll be needing your energy today." Sunset smiled as Rarity emptied half of the contents of the pan onto her plate. "Bowls are up there," the white girl pointed to the left most wall cupboard, "and the porridge is with breakfast cereals in the one below it."

Nodding, Sunset gathered what she needed before joining Rarity at the table. "I think our first port of call should be principal Celestia. If we explain to her what has happened, she can probably provide spare textbooks, as well as get you excused from missing homework."

Sunset cringed at the reminder of everything she had lost. "I just really hope my journal is in my locker."

Rarity reached over and took a hold of one of Sunset's hands. "We're all still here for you, and the portal isn't going away. Whatever the outcome, you'll be fine." Rarity squeezed her hand, and gave her friend her warmest smile. But Sunset couldn't muster anything more than a quick, half hearted one in return.The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence, and once finished, they placed their used dishes in the sink, and cleaned up.

---

Once the kitchen was clean, Rarity let out a contented sigh; it seemed Sunset was better at cleaning than she thought, and she could swear the room was actually now cleaner than it had started. "I hope you don't mind, but I was hoping we could set off early today. I wanted to run via my store first, and then get you to principal Celestia before school starts."

"Yeah, okay." Sunset didn’t sound enthusiastic, but she didn’t sound annoyed either.

"Thank you, darling. Do you need to grab anything?" Sunset answered her with a shrug, and a shake of her head. "Then let's be off." The girls moved through to the hallway, and Rarity unlocked the door, before standing back. She took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders, and gave the door an almighty yank. It moved about an inch. She repeated the process a few more times, and on the fifth, the door swung free.

"I don't remember it being that bad." Sunset mused.

"It's worse after a night of heavy rain. I keep meaning to get it seen to." The girls exited, and Sunset copied Rarity, but in reverse, pulling the door fully shut on the fourth try. Their morning work out over, they were soon driving through the outskirts of the Canterlot area. Sunset had been here for the better part of five years, but she was still unsure of the way around this side of town; and something told her she would need to learn it quickly. They continued driving, and it wasn't much longer before Sunset actually began to recognise some of the buildings they were passing, and she realised that they had reached the neighbourhood of Rarity's boutique. Her guess correct, Sunset spotted the shop in question as Rarity drove around a corner, pulling to a halt out front. “I’ll only be a few minutes, darling.”

“Sure you don’t want some help in there?”

“Oh no no, I’m just swapping out the window models; five minutes, tops. Tonight is one of the three nights a week I open, so I want my new stock to be visible.” Rarity smiled as she slide out of the car, the pride in her own work shining through. So Sunset sat in the passenger seat, staring out the car window. The boutique itself was a reflection of it’s owner: a whitewashed front, decorated with tasteful patterns in shades of purple, and altogether eye pleasing - or at least she thought so. The only reservation Sunset had was the location. The area was nice, Canterlot wasn’t known for any rough spots, but nor did it shout about being a centre of fashion, and this quiet suburb shopping row doubtfully attracted high numbers of shoppers.

True to her word, Sunset saw Rarity switch the lights off after no more than four minutes, and she had soon locked up, and jumped back in the car. “That should save me time later.” Rarity said to herself before she started the engine.

“Rarity?” Sunset ventured.

“Yes, Sunset?”

“You said you only open three nights a week. How come? I would’ve thought you opened more.” Her face matched her confused tone.

“Oh, that’s simple. I’d love to be able to open up more often, but I can’t. Some nights are taken up with our school work, and the others are when I make my clothing; I can’t run the store, and be in the back working on designs.”

“Oh. Makes sense, I guess.” Sunset agreed, bringing the matter to a close. Buildings flew by as she returned to staring out the window, and a companionable silence prevailed until they reached their destination. Rarity parked her car in the student lot, and they both disembarked. They were greeted with an eerie feeling; they were early enough that CHS was still a ghost town, the staff already inside, and the students yet to arrive.

“BBrrr. Let’s get out of this cold.” Rarity shivered, the wind only adding to the atmosphere. Sunset agreed, but as she drew closer to the building a feeling of dread settled in her stomach, and she couldn’t place as to why. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and pushed on into the building, closely behind her friend.

Comments

[aceina]

let me guess sunset is going to offer to work for rarity

[reboot-this-pc]

Whooo hooo new update :D

I'm glad to see you writing again , and as always your doing excellent work