You are a friend of Sunset Shimmer. One day, she asks for your help on the search of some potentially dangerous items.
You remember Sunset Shimmer. She was a striking figure. Exceedingly intelligent yet weirdly unaware of the inner workings of society. Her vocabulary was just matched in size by her ego. But through all that overbearing attitude, you perceived that she needed help settling in this town, and so you provided it.
After prodding her on the right direction and Sunset enrolling in a good school, contact between you has been sparse. But one day, she calls to you, in a surprisingly humbled tone, and asks for help with something, something that her friends can't actually help her with. Curious, and moved by your own reasons, you make some time to meet up with her, and discuss the case.
The voice comes from inside, muffled by distance but still comprehensible. You turn the doorknob and step in. An empty living room extends forward, and the kitchen, more like a hallway with appliances than a proper room, is visible on the right. Sunset Shimmer appears from that direction, wiping her brow with the back of a hand and greeting you with a wave of the same hand. Once she shows up, a smell reaches you: sweet, but also burning.
"Hey. I was trying to whip something up before you arrived, but this recipe's no good." She glances at a piece of paper by the sink, barely within your view, and shrugs. "I'll offer you something else. Feel free to have a seat."
At your own pace, you move towards the fluffy black couch and sit down on it. The position makes it hard to peer into the kitchen, but you hear cabinets opening and liquid being poured into a mug. While waiting, you take out your smartphone and scroll down a feed of news. It wasn't uncommon to see Canterlot High on the news, and sure enough, there it was again. The latest story ranted about a charitable music show meant to buy out an old camp and preserve its rich history. Or at least that's what you gathered from a skim before Sunset was next to you, offering a white mug.
"Here you go. You still like this kind of tea, right?"
You take the mug and sip from it. Exceedingly hot, but it is indeed your favorite. You nod, and Sunset takes the chance to sit next to you, a mug of her own on hand. Unlike yours, hers has a black liquid within, probably coffee.
"Good. Now, you were probably trying to figure out what was wrong for me to have called you..." She says, and as she does, you turn your phone's screen off and slide it back into your pocket. "Of course. I was always using everybody back then. I'm sorry for that."
You look at her, and be it accurate or not, Sunset seems to read something on your expression. "It's just... We didn't meet at a good time. Not for me, anyway. But there's more important things happening now." She takes a swig off her own drink, and the smell confirms your early suspicion. You straighten yourself, and then assume the position you think is best in order to listen. Sunset eventually explains her situation.
"Some months ago, way after I enrolled on Canterlot High, we were supposed to have a talent show in the school. It was going to be a showcase of music bands formed by the students. There's nothing strange about it, but three troublemakers showed up on campus at the time."
Sunset pauses, one hand on her chin, seemingly weighing her words or searching for the best way to continue. While the description does not ring many bells, you remember a striking notice in the news about an excessive light show in the shape of a horse during a music concert in the city. You relay your thought to Sunset, which nods vigorously.
"It was no mere light show, as you might have guessed. I think all news must have picked up on the strange things happening around Canterlot High... But I can clarify those eventually. Coming back to those three girls... Me and my friends managed to drive those troublemakers away before things could get out of control. And they left something behind." She sounded more solemn by the minute. "Pieces of medallions. Three medallions, even."
"Me and my friends think- No, we know that those medallions were at the source of all they could do. The song of those three... It affected people. It controlled them, it made them fight. It also drew all the positive energy from them." Once more, she paused. Taking another look at you, a brief one this time, she scratches the back of her neck with her free hand. "I suppose this sounds really silly. But it doesn't change what we saw, and what me and my friends believe."
She takes another swig, emptying her mug and setting it on her lap. You shift a bit on your position, but before you can interject, Sunset continues.
"We took those shards after the fact. I was keeping them safe and stored away in my room. I don't think anyone but my friends know of this. And yet, the day before yesterday, when I opened the case I left them in, it was empty. All shards were gone. And I have no idea how."
Her tone wasn't convincing by the last part. You urged her to go on with a hand motion. She grimaced.
"OK, that's a lie. I have some idea how. But... I don't want to believe it. So I needed a second opinion." She sighed, and took a deeper breath afterwards, steeling herself. "But logically, if no one but my friends knew of it..."
You present some basic questions for her, which distracts her from the current trail of thought.
"Oh, no, I never saw any sign of forced entry anywhere. And, well, my key is the only key for this door, so far as I know. There was also no rummaging through my other stuff, so far as I could tell. I don't think I'd have misplaced it so severely either."
As you take all the information in and sip on your beverage of choice, Sunset seems to get increasingly wary of eye contact, shifting her gaze more towards the kitchen than to you. Her lips keep contracting or being bitten. Her body shifts uncomfortably.
"I... I don't want it all to go to waste. What I learned about friendship, that is." She spoke in a lower volume. "I shouldn't be doubting any of my friends... And I certainly don't want to act upon it. But wherever those shards are, they can be dangerous. That's why... That's why I need some help."
Finally, she makes eye contact again, though her demeanor is far from easy-going. She indicates you with a gesture of her hand.
"You've been a friend of mine ever since I came to this- ... To this town. Maybe the word 'friend' is too strong, but that's what I'd like to consider you as. Naturally, I'd want to introduce you to my new friends in school. And in doing that, I'd be giving you a free pass to ask questions about all those intriguing things that happen in Canterlot High, which you would definitely be very curious about. ... You understand what I'm saying, right?"
The sentences were put forth with the cold air of mastery over herself that felt more befitting of the old Sunset you knew than of this new, increasingly more polite version which still might elude you. Nonetheless, getting the meaning of the message was simple. So as to not breach on interrogating her friends, she'd have you do it in her stead, under the guise of just being an old friend that was getting to know her other friends. Subtle, but effective.
The situation warranted a lot of questions, but more than anything, it definitely affected Sunset to her core in some way. Whatever evil she feared those shards to unleash, true or not, it definitely felt true to her.
So, after thinking it over, and due to your own set of reasons, you eventually give her a definitive answer. Her response is moreso a sigh of relief than a remark.
"Thank you. Honestly, I hope you can just confirm that it's not any of them and this is some other kind of unfortunate accident. But I need to be certain of it either way."
As you breach the end of your beverage, Sunset stands up to put away her own mug on the sink. The motion makes you aware of one thing, and you make a request to her at the next opportunity.
"Hm? My room?" Sunset repeats, head tilted. "Of course, you can go in there. Just follow this way to the end."
Sunset motions across the kitchen, and you follow the movement up to a plain beige door. Opening it, you find a small bedroom. A single bed rested against the right wall, occupying a little less than half of the room's width. The other half had a working desk, wardrobe, drawers and a bookshelf, all lined neatly against the wall.
Amongst all the little things over the desk and around a laptop, something like a case for glasses stood out, as it was open wide and lined on the inside with something much like aluminum or tin foil. The outer case was jet black, and seemed to snap shut with plastic fittings on the center. A very thin layer of dust remained clear against the black of the case.
Sunset, after a few moments of silence, follows behind you and, sliding past you, brings the case even closer to you.
"This is where I kept them. They tend to stay on the corner of the desk here. It's not elegant or anything, but this case is the best way I found to hold them. I saw on the internet that tin foil can block waves of mind control and such, so I was using it to hold them."
After briefly pondering whether that was a joke or not, you inspect the case a bit closer. You confirm your previous observations, as well as make another important one by closing the case and trying to open it again. It opens with a loud noise. You give the object back to Sunset, and survey the room one more time.
On the opposite wall, there is a window, which you approach and endeavor to open. It is a double slide window with no screen or any protection, which results in the cold wind from outside rushing in once it slid open. The motion is smooth, however, and hardly makes any sound. The window seems to have no lock, but it was sitting on the 5th floor of the building, where Sunset's cheap apartment is.
After the inspection, you close it, and turn to the only other apparent entrance into the room: the door. It is smooth, but sploshes of different shades of beige indicate it is an older door rather than new. There are no markings or scratches on the lock, nor on the hinges, nor even on the outer line of the door that could be seen with it open.
Looking out from Sunset's room to the corridor that eventually became the kitchen, you notice two sets of the same mat very close to each other. One was just out of the bedroom, while the other stood in front of another room adjacent to the bedroom. When you open it, it reveals a very simple bathroom.
"... Are you looking for something?" Sunset asks, with a head scratch. You shake your head and decide that, for now, what you've seen has been enough. Once she picks up on your intent to leave, she takes the empty mug out of your hands and bows briefly.
"Alright. Speaking about it has been enough to make me feel a bit better. Thanks for that- And for agreeing to help me. I'll let you know about my friends and how you can meet them! I would introduce you personally, but my presence might affect how they talk to you about this particular subject, I think. I'll send you some messages. Definitely call me if you want to ask anything, OK? So, um... bye! Thanks for your time!"
You bid your farewell and move out. Whipping out your phone briefly, you see that it's high time you go back to your daily routine. It might be for the best that you don't think about meeting Sunset's friends until Sunset herself gives you an opening. That way, there will be nothing like nervousness or anticipation piling up. So you just have to wait, doing what you do best: and onwards with life.
Late afternoon. The campus of Canterlot High is in front of you. Despite hearing of the place often, you've not been enrolled or visited the place prior to this. Even when you knew Sunset enrolled, it never felt right to just show up out of nowhere to talk to her while classes were happening.
A steady stream of students left the building and either went out of the campus, passing by you in the process, or went different ways to talk with their peers or watch the soccer match that was happening on the school field. Said soccer match attracted quite a crowd, and you steered yourself towards it.
It felt like a laid-back game. The girls playing weaved around themselves, fighting for the ball with little thought to defense. Goal shots from the middle of the field were frequent and mostly unsuccessful, but no stress followed. The score was eight to five: high numbers for the sport.
Out of all athletes, one stood out not only by her speed, but by her hair, which boasted all colors of the rainbow. When attacking, she dribbled and bounced the ball with mastery, and in the short span of time you watched, she scored twice. Her appearance was very telling, however. You remind yourself of a message that Sunset sent you the day before, which was the reason you were here today. To refresh your memory, you take out your smartphone and scroll down messages to the latest ones from her:
> Please talk to Rainbow Dash first. Remember the photo I've sent you with my friends? We took that during a slumber party recently. She's the one with the rainbow-colored hair. You might have guessed that already.
> She's an amazing and reliable friend, but she can get conceited. If nothing else, maybe she thought she'd be the only one that could keep the medallions safe?
> Also, she is a known prankster. It's usually during Halloween, but it could happen anytime. This could be an elaborate joke. Honestly, I'll be glad if it's just that.
> I think she plays tomorrow, but has nothing to do later on. If you have trouble starting a conversation, just talk about the game and how well she played. It's a pretty safe bet.
After reading it up again, you keep watch of the game. The scoreboard was there, but nowhere was it mentioned whether this was the first or second half of the match. Eventually, the whistle sounds, and the players stop and disperse. Some go on to talk between themselves, others just make their way inside the school building, likely to freshen up or wash off the sweat on the bathrooms. Rainbow, however, just struts towards a pale girl with long curly purple hair, and starts talking to her. Even from afar, you realize that she had barely broke a sweat during the match, in a very literal sense.
As the crowd watching the game disperses, your way is clearer and more straightforward. You take steps towards the girls, soon getting in range to hear what they're saying.
"- and Bitta Luck totally messed up that pass! I could have gotten one- no, two more points!"
"I'm sure you could, darling. But don't be hard on the girl. She'll probably take up a new hobby before-"
The pale girl notices your approach before Rainbow. Rather than be opposed to it, she just looks inquisitive. Or intrigued by your clothing. It's hard to tell.
"Why, hello. Can we help you...?" She asks. As she does, Rainbow also turns to you, with momentary annoyance that just becomes mirrored curiosity.
You introduce yourself and your occupation in a few words. To draw a more favorable reaction from them, you mention you are a friend of Sunset Shimmer.
"Oh! That's wonderful news!" The girl whose name still eludes you joins her palms in glee. Then, realization sets into her eyes, and she downplays the motion by looking away. "Sorry, I mean... Sunset is a good girl, but she definitely hit a hitch on making friends. It's good to see this changing, even outside the school."
"Yeah, that's cool and all," Rainbow nods, but you notice her tapping her foot, absent-minded. "But hey, what brings you here?"
"Rainbow," the other one scolds, "manners! Please don't mind my friend, darling. We didn't even introduce ourselves yet, did we? My name's Rarity."
"And I'm Rainbow Dash!" Despite her apparent disinterest earlier, Rainbow speaks her own name with flair and strength. "And hey, I just wanted to get a straight answer, is all. They came in talking about Sunset, so they gotta know we're her friends too, right?"
You nod, mentally chalking up that observation as a sharp one. You go on to explain your situation: despite being a friend of hers, your contact with Sunset has been infrequent at best, and you felt the urge to get to know more about her and her current friends. In an attempt to soften Rainbow up, you commend her skills at soccer, something that she dismisses with a hand wave and a smile.
"Pfft, that? That's nothing. You should watch me against the other schools. That's when I gotta get serious, for once!" Despite the dismissal, her smile hinted at her being pleased at this.
"Anyway, it's unfortunate that you've not gotten in contact earlier," Rarity says, eyes to the side and a finger tapping her chin. "We had a slumber party on her apartment not long ago. I think it was the first we ever did one over at her place. She might have invited you."
"I dunno," Rainbow says, arms crossed. "Sunset looked upset with... whatever since that day. Probably couldn't have handled more guests."
You feel a tingle on the back of your neck. This might be important information. You ask them to elaborate.
"Oh, I think everyone from our little circle of friends was there. Me, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie- A total of seven people, including Sunset." Rarity still kept a thoughtful stance, but looks straight at you. "It was a splendid time! I so wish I had done more with the girls, but alas, my parents called me an hour into the party, and I just couldn't let them hanging." She got increasingly more bashful with her gestures, causing Rainbow to raise an eyebrow, but ultimately nod.
"Yeah, you were in Sunset's room for, what, like an hour or so? And you were talking all the time! It was just getting annoying at that point."
"Well, excuse me for being a good daughter," Rarity replies, unamused. "And it's not like I was hogging the room. You stormed in yourself in the middle of our conversation."
"That was just a minute! And I was going to the bathroom!" Rainbow exclaims, heated. "I just got the wrong door, and- look, it's not important!"
You make mental note of some of those facts, but also decides to move the subject before things get any more heated for no reason. You ask in the best way you can about the strange things that happened in the school, specifically the event pertaining to the girls that crashed on the music talent showcase.
"Oh yeah, those sirens. ... I mean, the Dazzlings!" Rainbow said it very straightforward, but a look on Rarity's face made her quickly fix the claim. "Wow, they were something alright. If we told you all that they did, you proooobably wouldn't believe us."
"They were incredible singers," Rarity admits, though her expression was less than pleasant. "But as people, they were positively rotten. Why, their lyrics were dastardly and manipulative. It was a nightmare, darling. How did you come to know about it, if I may ask?"
You mention the news article about the unicorn-shaped light show that appeared during the event. Both girls recall the image and agreed that it indeed happened. After some more reminiscing about non-specifics of the event, you get to a point where you ask what happened to these so-called Dazzlings.
"They ran away," Rainbow says in a most assured tone. "We don't know where they are now, but we sure do know they're not gonna be a threat anymore!"
Once again, Rarity gives Rainbow a look, and Rainbow scratches her head, clearly uncomfortable. Despite how she might be feeling, she gave you an opening, so you press the point further. Rarity reluctantly speaks.
"We've... kept something from them. What they were using to cause all this trouble, you see. I believe Sunset has them now. If you want to know any more about them, you can probably ask her."
The mood becomes tense after this. Perceiving that this might be a bad time to continue the interview, you decide to announce your leave. You've not gotten the first thing about a motive, but you did get some information that might prove to be useful.
"Oh, are you going?" Rarity reverts to her more pleasant self, and offers you a smile. "Well, darling, it was nice to meet you! Sorry to bore you with tales of our parties and adventures. Surely we must talk more about you next time."
"Yeah, you're not half bad, sport," Rainbow continues from her friend's stopping point. "You're kinda like... the cool and collected type, huh? I like that. Respect."
You bid your own farewell to both and walk away. The campus seems much emptier than when you approached now, and a night with no moonlight encroaches. As you walk, you sit by the bus station, whip out your smartphone, and start to type away to Sunset.
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.