After a nightmare, Sunset and Twilight have a talk, where Twilight finds out something new about Sunset. The next morning, the girls and Sunset have a talk.
She woke up with a sharp gasp. Sitting up in her sleeping bag, her eyes scanned over her sleeping friends, who were all okay. Taking a deep, deep breath, she looked at her arm. Pale yellow met her eyes, instead of the red she was half-expecting. She clenched her hands, nails digging into her palm and ignored the twinges on her shoulders. Slowly, slowly, her hands stopped trembling.
Sunset crawled out of her sleeping bag and carefully weaved her way through the room, avoiding Pinkies’ octopus arms on the way, tiptoeing past Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight, and stepping over Rainbow and Applejack. Once out of the room, Sunset stopped and thought. She was thirsty but didn’t feel like walking all the way to the kitchen. Compromising, she made her way to the bathroom. She closed the door and turned the light on.
Turning the water on, she made a cup with her hands and sipped the water. After doing this a couple of times, she glanced up and nearly screamed. Her skin was red, and her eyes were black. Blinking quickly, her image returned to being her normal yellow-skinned and teal-eyed self. She sighed softly and splashed some water on her face. Realizing she was sweating, she decided to take her shirt off - just for a minute or two. As she raised her arms, the twinges in her shoulder pulsed and throbbed. She finished removing her shirt and threw it to the ground. Turning around, she eyed what was causing the twinges. Situated on each shoulder was a scar, remnants of her time as a—she stopped that thought and shook her head slightly.
The doorknob started to shake and turn. Sunset whirled around, picking up her shirt to cover her front, and thinking, Buck. I forgot to lock the door. Twilight stood on the other side of the opened door, blinking at Sunset through her glasses.
“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was occupied.” Twilight started to turn around, but her eyes were drawn to something behind Sunset. “Wha- Sunset, are you ok?”
“Of-Of course I’m fine, Twilight. I’ll be out in a minute, just got a little hot in the room.” Sunset said, eyes glancing to the side.
“Then what are those?” Twilight asked.
“What are what?”
“Sunset”
“Oh, those.” Sunset had forgotten about the mirror. Bucking mirrors. I’m trying to hide here, and you go and show her. “They’re called scars, Twilight.”
“I know what scars are, Sunset. A scar is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair. But you haven’t been…hurt recently, not that I can remember. And those look new.” Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to remember something that important.
Sunset wondered if she could distract Twilight, because she was just too tired to deal with all this, especially after her nightma---dream. It was a dream, that’s all. “They’re not new, Twilight. And I’m done with this conversation.” Twilight looked down, shrinking into herself. “I’m too tired right now. I’ll answer your questions tomorrow, ok?” She was going to regret that, probably, but she didn’t care. She threw her shirt back on and walked out of the bathroom, ducking under Twilights’ arm.
“Ok. But you will answer them? Truthfully?” Twilight turned around, looking at Sunset, and Sunset hesitated, but nodded. “Night, Sunset.”
Sunset fled---walked-- back to the room, back past Applejack and Rainbow, past Fluttershy and Rarity, and tripping over Pinkie, landed in her sleeping bag. Horsefeathers. Bucking horsefeathers. Why did I say that? I don’t want her to know. But I can’t—won’t—lie to her. Hopefully, she’ll forget. Sunset curled up in her bag, tears leaking through her closed eyes as her shoulders kept throbbing.
Sunset snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag, ignoring the sounds of the fillies waking up and getting ready for the day. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were the first ones up, followed by Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash and Sunset were always the last ones up. At the thought of Twilight, Sunset remembered her promise, and nearly groaned. Finally surrendering to the fact she had to get up, she wriggled her way out of her sleeping bag, yawning and looking around to determine where everypony was. No-one was in the room with her, not even Rainbow, so she was the last to get up. Stumbling down the stairs, she shuffled into the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of coffee. Turning around, she saw all her friends sitting at the table, just watching her.
“M-M-Morning.” She yawned. None of her friends answered, still just looking at her. Which is a little creepy.Why is Pinkie sitting still? “Is everything all right, girls? You’re all acting….” Sunset struggled to find a good word, then gave up, “Weird. You’re all acting weird.”
The girls exchanged glances, and Twilight spoke up first. “Sunset, do... do you remember last night? Our…. talk?” Sunset just stared at her and nodded slightly. “So, can… can we continue it?”
Sunset glanced at the other girls and took a giant gulp of her coffee to hide her nervousness. Of course she would tell the others. “I--I guess so. What do you filly—girls want to know?” She winced as she stumbled through the word, closing her eyes and taking a sip of coffee. I am not awake enough for this. Please don't ask anything I don't want to answer.
Exchanging glances again, and Rarity spoke this time. “Darling, forgive us, but Twilight did tell us about your conversation last night. Do you have scars on your shoulders?” Sunset nodded, figuring there was no reason to lie about that. “Oh, how ghastly.”
“You mean, how awesome.” Rainbow ‘corrected’ her. “Even with all the stunts I’ve pulled, I’ve never managed to get a scar, not even when I skateboarded into that car that one time.”
Applejack frowned, “Whether it’s cool or ghastly, Ah’m more concerned ‘bout how ya got the scars, Sunset. Twilight said it looked recent, but Ah didn’t think ya had done anything to get them.”
Sunset looked at Twilight, who shrunk down and muttered a sorry. “I’m not mad, Twilight. And girls, the scars aren’t new. They … just… happened to look that way last night. They’re from…” Sunset wondered how to put it, so they would stop asking questions, then realized they'd ask questions anyway, no matter what she said. “From the Fall Formal.”
“From the Formal, so when you turned into that Demon, the wings and tail left scars? But you would’ve told us, right? Unless you thought you deserved it, and didn’t think you could tell us, because you thought we wouldn’t help you, because Princess Twilight asked us to look after you, and you thought we were just doing what we were told, without caring about you. But that’s not true, because we do care about you, because you’re our friend, and friends shouldn’t leave friends to be hurt by themselves, because then, they’re not being very good friends.” Pinkie took a breath.
“That’s not the case, Pinkie.” Sunset said after she figured out what Pinkie had said. “It’s not that I wasn’t going to tell you filly—girls, it was more the fact there was no reason to mention it. And after the Dazzlings, when you all had seen my back, I figured you had seen them and just didn't want to bring it up."
“umm, why do you keep calling us fillies? And are you ok answering our questions?” Fluttershy spoke up.
Sunset shrugged. "I'm not awake yet. And if I didn't want to answer your questions, I wouldn't be."
“Wait, wait, wait. You said that you got the scars from the Fall Formal, when you turned into that Demon. Does that mean Twilight has scars, too? From her time as that thing?” Rainbow asked, looking at Twilight.
“No, I don’t have any scars.” Twilight shook her head. “But I am curious about that, Sunset. If you turned into a…a Demon and got the scars, would I not also get the scars from when I turned into one, as well?”
Sunset finished her coffee and poured another cup. She would have to give a small lesson on Magic and Intent. It is entirely too early for this discussion. After taking another sip, she explained, “That’s a bit different. Part of it was willingness. Part of it was want. Part of it was feeling. Part of it was intent. I was feeling anger and jealously and had stolen something that I had no right to. And I wanted to hurt ponies. I didn’t want, or expect, to change. Thus, my… transformation was unwilling. But my outside changed to match my inside—at the time. When you changed, Twilight, you were just curious, right?” Sunset glanced at Twilight, who nodded. “So, you were curious and just wanted to find out more about Magic. While you didn't want to change, Magic had to change you into a form that could handle the magic you were attempting to find out about. You didn't want to hurt anyone and Magic didn’t want to harm you, either. So it didn't leave any scars." Sunset finished her coffee.
Rarity and Fluttershy frowned. "Then why did the scars look new? If they're from the Formal, that's been quite a long time. They shouldn't look new."
Sunset crossed over to the sink and started to wash her cup. "They just...do that sometimes. Nothing serious, girls."
"I've never heard of scars doing that." Twilight sounded doubtful.
"Yeah, well, personal experience is different from reading about it, Twilight." Sunset nearly snapped at her. "Ok, girls. Seriously. Enough. They look new, but they're not. And they don't hurt." A lie, but she wanted them to back off. She watched them exchange another round of glances, but they all agreed to drop the subject. Thank Celestia they didn't ask more questions--like why I was up in the middle of the night. Or how often they appear like new.
Sunset watched her hand curl into a fist. She watched as her fist hit the mirror above her sink. She watched as the mirror showing her body- the wrong body- shattered. She watched as she knelt down and started picking the mirror pieces up. She watched as a piece of mirror cut her finger. She watched the blood as it welled up and started to roll down her finger.
She watched as she stopped picking glass up and left the bathroom. She watched as she left her apartment and started walking. She watched as she walked to Canterlot High and stopped in front of the statue. She watched as she circled the statue once, twice, three times. She watched as she walked back to her apartment. She watched as she entered her place and looked around. She watched as she climbed the stairs leading to the loft. She watched as she climbed into bed and closed her eyes.
Her phone ringing the next morning woke her up. Opening her eyes, Sunset glanced at her phone and deciphered the text from Pinkie, who always seemed to text in emoticons and emojis. Oh, right. I'm supposed to be meeting them at the mall today. She staggered her way down the stairs and into the bathroom. Turning on the light, she took one step in and stepped on a piece of glass, cutting her foot in the process.
"Owch." Sunset yelped. "What in the---Where did all this glass come from?" Looking around, she realized that her mirror was missing and realized that must the glass laying on the ground. "Great. Now, I'm going to be even more late meeting the girls." Sunset knelt down and started carefully picking up glass. After she had picked up the biggest pieces and threw them into the trash can, she grabbed a band-aid out of the cabinet. After ensuring there was no glass in the cut on her foot, she applied the band-aid. She quickly changed into her clothes, and grabbing her leather jacket, ran out the front door.
At the mall, the other girls stood near the food court, waiting for Sunset. "Shoot, it ain't like Sunset to be late. If anything, she's normally the first person to any outin'." Applejack said.
"Ugh, I hate waiting around and doing nothing. Can't she hurry up?" Rainbow complained.
"I--I'm sure she's on her way" Fluttershy stammered, Twilight nodding in agreement.
"Come now, she's just being fashionably late. It is the new trend, after all. And a lady must never rush" Said Rarity, who had arrived last.
"I didn't know Sunset followed trends" Twilight commented, looking over at Rarity.
"Ah, well, that is to say..." Rarity stammered
"Sunset doesn't follow trends, at all." Pinkie said. "But I sent her a text, reminding her about our outing, just in case she forgot about it and us, although I don't think she would ever forget about us. Maybe she's late because she was up late last night and took a midnight walk across town. Is that what happened, Sunny?" Pinkie directed her question at Sunset who had just arrived and was panting slightly.
"Umm, I missed most of that, but my alarm clock didn't go off. And when I went to get ready, my mirror was broken, so I had to clean that up before heading over here." Sunset explained. She didn't tell the girls she had actually forgotten about going to the mall.
"Your mirror was broken? Was it just a case of spontaneous glass breakage?" Twilight asked.
"I guess." Sunset shrugged. "I have no clue why it broke. What's weirder is that I didn't hear it. "
"Maybe it broke while you took your midnight walk. So, where were you going? Why did it have to be at midnight? Oooh, are you seeing someone? Who is it? Can I meet him? I promise I won't tell anyone" Pinkie 'interrogated' Sunset.
"Midnight walk?" Sunset looked at the other girls for assistance.
"Pinkie's convinced you were late because you took a walk across town." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Anyway, now that you're here, we can finally go see the new Power Ponies movie."
"Movie don't start for an hour, Rainbow." Applejack said.
"Yeah, but it's popular. The line's going to be long, and we'll still need to get popcorn and junk." Rainbow pointed out. All the girls agreed at that and started moving towards the theater. After walking a few feet, Twilight realized Sunset wasn't with them.
"Sunset?" Twilight called, looking back and saw Sunset just standing. "Are you coming?" Sunset shook her head and looked around, seeming to realize that the girls had left.
Twilight was worried. Now, granted, she was almost always worried about a variety of things-- her future, her parents' health, her grades, her college applications, Spike, and a ton of other things. However, her friends-- and wasn't that a novel idea-- her friends were helping her deal with her worries.
They're not your friends. They're her friends.
But this time she was worried about something in particular--rather, someone. Twilight had started keeping a close eye on Sunset after their trip to the mall.
While at the mall, Twilight had noticed that Sunset had seemed distracted. Normally, Sunset would step in when Rainbow and Applejack argued and kept--attempted to keep-- Pinkie Pie on task, while making sure that both Twilight and Fluttershy had their voices heard. And yet, this time, Sunset was quiet throughout the whole trip. Twilight had asked the others about it, but they hadn't thought anything was weird, although Rarity had mentioned being surprised at the jacket Sunset was wearing. When Twilight asked, Rarity said that it was from Before the Formal-- and Twilight had heard the capitalization in the sentence.
Now, Twilight was a scientist, and so, followed the Scientific Method. Step One: Ask a question. Twilights' question was: What was wrong with Sunset?
"I don't think you can use the scientific method on humans, Twilight."
"Hush, Spike."
Step Two: Do background research. While Sunset and the others had referenced a time when Sunset was mean and ruled the school with an iron fist, Twilight had seen no sign of this--except for when Sunset had yelled at her during the Games. Attempting to inquire further about such exploits had left her frustrated. No-one would talk about it-- Sunset because she didn't like remembering it and the girls were trying to respect that. But not even the rest of the school would talk about it. Fine. She would move to the next incident.
The Dazzlings. Apparently, they came and used mind control to do something. She wasn't entirely certain exactly what they had been trying to do. And she didn't believe they used mind control-- it was probably some type of large-scale hypnosis. She had seen the 'battle' where a Unicorn/Pegasus combination had 'fought' against some type of sea-ponies. It seemed that the school believed that Sunset had 'saved' them from the Dazzlings. While she believed the battle was nothing more than CGI and holograms, Twilight had seen the Rainbooms do what they called 'ponying up'- getting pony ears, hair extensions, and wings for Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"Sunset seems pretty happy when she ponies up. Maybe she misses home?"
"That's a good point, Spike."
According to the girls, Sunset was from a faraway place where the sapient beings were ponies. So, there might be days when she missed her home and family, right?
Step 3: Form a hypothesis. Sunset is homesick.
Step 4: Test with an experiment.
"Didn't Mom and Dad say no more human experimentation?"
If Sunset is truly a pony, she's not human. Therefore, it wouldn't be human experimentation.
"Don't be silly, Spike. I won't be experimenting. I'll just be.... testing. Testing Sunset for homesickness."
"Uh-huh. How?"
Problem: How does one test for homesickness?
Doing a quick search, Twilight found 9 symptoms of homesickness, which included:
Constantly thinking about home Anxiety Decreased motivation Feeling different from others who seem to be having a good time Irritability Loneliness Missing the people, things, and places associated with home A negative outlook Sadness Social withdrawal Wishing for a connection with someone who will make everything feel better.
"Most of these have to do with feelings. I can't do a test for feelings."
"Maybe not. But you can observe, right? Every feeling has a way to be shown, right? Like, thinking about home, doesn't Sunset always have that book of hers?
"That's true. I'll observe Sunset and see what else has changed recently. You're a genius, Spike."
Over the next couple of weeks, Twilight attempted to put her plan of observing Sunset into action. Twilight thought it would be better to try to watch Sunset when she thought she was alone and so had decided to follow Sunset. However, it was hard to put it into practice. Every time Twilight thought she might be able to catch Sunset unawares, Sunset would find her. It seemed as if Sunset had a built-in Twilight detector.
"No, I think you're just being too obvious."
"What, you think you could do better?"
"Yes, yes, I do."
Spike had better luck following Sunset unobserved. Besides always having the book with her, it seemed as if Sunset was rarely at her apartment. She would help Fluttershy with the animal shelter. She would play sports with Rainbow Dash. She would be Raritys' pincushion. She would help Twilight with her science experimentations. She would help Applejack on the farm. She even helped Pinkie Pie bake and babysit Pumpkin and Pound Cake. If she wasn't with one of them, she would be at her job or just hanging around the school.
"Well, it doesn't sound like she's withdrawing from society. But she could be combating loneliness by being with everyone. Listening to the conversations between everyone, she has been talking about Equestria more often. And she often hangs around the statue, where the portal resides. That would be 3 of the 9 symptoms right there."
"She talks a lot about what Magic could do now that its' in this world. Seems like she's worried about it. Talks like its' her fault Magic is here."
"Anxiety. Negativity. That's 5. More than 50%. While its' not overwhelming evidence, I definitely believe Sunset suffers from homesickness. Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix it."
You could make it worse. Force her back through the portal.
Sunset raced through the city, heart pounding. Glancing back, she could see a flash of pure white, of black, of pink, of purple. Turning her attention forward, she weaved her way through the masses. Spotting a cave, she ducked her way in, her horn scraping the top. She paused for a moment, ears perked up.
The cave she was in was small, barely big enough to fit her small stature. Spotting a tunnel at the back of the cave, she made her way over to it. Soon enough, Sunset was crawling through the tunnel, hoping it wouldn't get much smaller. Just as she thought about attempting to wriggle her way back out, the tunnel opened up.
The cavern she found herself in was gigantic. Peering up, she was unable to spot the ceiling. Looking across the cavern, Sunset noticed a pool. Walking over to it, Sunset lowered her head, closed her eyes and drank some of the water, noting that it was very cool and fresh. Opening her eyes, Sunset looked at her reflection and screamed.
Sunset jumped back from the pool, then carefully crept closer. Taking a deep breath, she looked at her reflection again. Her teal eyes were peering back at her yellow form and there, on her side, was a wing. Turning her head, she noted that, yes, she did have wings, and she still possessed a horn. Sitting back on her haunches, Sunset beamed. Finally, at long last, she was an Alicorn.
Sunset opened her wings, and flapping them a few times, rose up into the air. Soon, she was flying in the cavern, reveling in the sensation. Just as she started to make another loop around the cavern, a voice spoke.
"Enjoying yourself, darling?"
Looking down, Sunset spotted her friends--minus Twilight. Laughing, she made her way down to them.
"Hey, girls. Look. Its finally happened." Sunset showed off her wings, nearly bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Mighty happy for ya, sugarcube."
"They look amazing, darling."
"Yay!"
"We gotta have a 'Sunset became an Alicorn' party."
"Heh. Looking awesome. Wanna race?"
Sunset accepted the challenge and rose into the air to race against Rainbow Dash. While Sunset and Rainbow raced, the other girls gathered around the pool on the ground, cheering the two on. Neck and neck, the two crossed the 'finish line' at the same time, landing gracefully on the ground.
"Ha, nice race, Sunset. Too bad you were cheating." Rainbow glared at Sunset, ears folded flat.
"Wha--Rainbow, I was not cheating. How could you say that?"
"No, I agree with Rainbow. You were cheating, Sunset. Ya didn't earn those wings of yours." Applejack stood next to Rainbow.
"Since you're an Alicorn, you can give us wings and horns too, right Sunset? Then I could throw the biggest, bestest Alicorniest party any Alicorn ever threw. "
"That's not how it works, Pinkie. And what do you mean, I didn't earn them, Applejack?" Sunset folded her ears flat and glared right back at Rainbow and Applejack.
"That's very selfish of you, darling. You're supposed to share your good fortune."
"And you didn't earn those wings. You used us and our magic, you big meanie."
"They're right, you know." Spinning around, Sunset beheld Princesses Celestia, Cadance, Luna, and Twilight, all glaring down at her. "To become an Alicorn, one must show Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and Loyalty--none of which you have."
"Excuse me?! I have been showing the Elements."
"IT IS DISTURBING TO US HOW THOU HAST BEEN OUR SISTERS' STUDENT, THOUGH THOU HAST BEEN UNDESERVING OF IT."
"Yes, it seems like I was remiss in choosing you to be my protege."
"There is no love in your heart, Sunset. No love for anyone but yourself."
"While you have been showing the Elements, you have been forced to. Left to your own devices, you abandoned your home, your teacher, your family--in search of what? The strongest magic there was?"
"Liar" "Meanie" "Fake" Thief" "Not our friend"
Backed into a corner, surrounded by her friends and the princesses, all yelling at her--the voices became indistinguishable from each other, all yelling at her.
Then--silence.
Sunset looks up and around. Her friends--all gone. She stands in a void and a voice speaks out.
"All alone now, Sunset?"
Sunset sees her friends and starts running to them. As she gets closer, she sees Twilight in the middle of the group.
"It's happening again, isn't it? They have Twilight now. Why would they stay friends with you? Why would they need you? The answer is: they don't. They'll forget all about you."
Sunset stops and watches her friends laugh. Turning around, she starts to walk into the void, hand hanging low.
"I won't forget you. I'll always be there for you. Everybody trusts us now. We can take over the school again, using niceness" she sneers, "if need be."
Sunset backs away, shaking her head.
"Fine. New idea. We're the magic experts now. Everybody will listen to us about Magic. We could tell them anything we want about it and they will believe us. Celestia has already entrusted this task to you. All you'll be doing is following orders."
Sunset advanced towards her double, head cocked.
"Yes. Equestria magic is already here. The Dazzlings proved that. And Twilight Sparkle ripping holes in Space? More Magic had to have soaked through. All we have to do is find it." The Red Sunset cackled. "We'll be unstoppable again." The Red Sunset reached a leg out as Sunset did the same.
"It's not happening." She informed them, crossing her arms. "There is no reason."
"You have most of the symptoms, Sunset. This is a logical cure." Twilight said.
"I do not have any of the symptoms, Twilight. Besides, most of the symptoms talk about feeling different from others, being irritable, lonely, being sad, and connecting with something from home. None of which I have been showing." Sunset growled, fists clenched at her side.
The girls stared at her for a minute.
"I do know the symptoms, even though I'm not homesick."
"Riiight, that wasn't irrita-iirati--angry-like at allll." Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"I gotta agree with Rainbow, here. That bit was kinda angry-like. Plus, you're always carrying that book of yers." Applejack pointed out.
"Are you scared to go back since you've been kicked out and scared that if you go back you'll run into your princess and you'll get all angry and sad again and when you come back, you'll be that Demon Sunset again?" Pinkie took a slurp of her drink.
"It's not Demon Sunset I'm worried about. And I carry the book so Princess Twilight can contact me. No different than a cell, girls." Sunset smiled. "But I refuse to go back."
"Darling, it's natural that you would be concerned about returning to someplace where you would feel unwelcome, but you managed it just fine here."
"We're not trying to force you, Sunset." Fluttershy whispered.
"Yeah, we just think you'll be happy if you visit Equestria for a little bit." Twilight said.
Sunset laughed. "I'm not not happy. And I'm not going back to Equestria, girls. It's not up for debate. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet Celestia." Sunset departed, throwing a wave at the girls over her shoulder.
"I told you something was wrong." Twilight faced her friends. "You felt it, too, right?'
"I reckon ya got a point, Twi, but It ain't worth a hill of beans" Applejack asserted.
"Sunny didn't seem as sunny as she's been lately." Pinkie pointed out. "And she said 'She's not not happy'. That means she isn't happy."
"I'm not sure we should push her." Fluttershy twirled her hair around a finger.
"True, I'm not sure how she would react to us meddling in her life. A Lady does not meddle." Rarity informed the group.
"Then, it's a good thing we're not ladies. We're girls-- who should find out what's wrong with our friend. Because something was definitely off." Rainbow declared.
"I think y'all are barking up the wrong tree. If Sunset don't want to visit her stompin' grounds, that's up to her. And we shouldn't force her."
"Yeah, yeah. No forcing. C'mon 'Shy. We got spying to do." Rainbow dragged Fluttershy off in the direction Sunset had left.
"Oh dear. I do hope they don't do anything too illegal." The girls watched them go. "Well, off to my locker to get my sketchbook. Pinkie? Let's go." Rarity glanced around. "Pinkie?"
"She left a while ago. She gasped, jumped and rushed off to somewhere." Twilight mentioned.
"Great. Off on my lonesome, then. Goodbye, girls. See you at lunchtime." Rarity hurried off, leaving Twilight and Applejack.
"Well, ain't nothing caught my eye, but my Gran always said 'If'n somet'ings got ya gut, ya had better falla it.' And that's what ya should do, Twi. Follow that gut of yours. See ya at lunch." Applejack left.
Twilight watched her leave. Follow my gut? What does that mean?
We'll have to try again.
"Has anyone seen Sunset since this morning?" Twilight asked Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie at lunch. "I ran into Principal Celestia when I was heading to the Science Exhibit and mentioned Sunset to her. She told me she hadn't seen Sunset at all."
"Not since this morning." Applejack said, "But since Rainbow and Fluttershy were following them, why not ask them when they arrive? Until then, Pinkie, where have you been all day?"
"I was planning on throwing a 'Don't-Be-Homesick-Sunny-You-Have-Us' party for Sunset. I've spent all morning working on it and inviting everyone and baking cupcakes and cakes and ordering ice cream and setting up streamers and confetti."
"Might wanna hold off on the party, Pinkie." Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived and sat down. "We can't find Sunset anywhere. And I don't know how we lost her."
"You lost Sunset? How does one lose a person?" Rarity inquired.
"We're not sure." Fluttershy answered. "We were following Sunset, which I still don't think we should have done, and after she walked a couple of blocks, she turned a corner-- and gone."
"Yeah, we turned that corner right after her and she was nowhere. I even ran up and down the streets next to us and nothing!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"We did run into Principal Celestia and she said that she hadn't seen or talked to Sunset in-- I think her exact words were 'in quite awhile'."
"I told you girls something was off about Sunset" Twilight reminded them.
"Wait, wait, wait a minute. Why would Principal Celestia say she hasn't seen Sunset in 'quite awhile?' It hasn't been that long since school let out and we always see her at our concerts." Applejack questioned.
"Who knows? Who cares? What I want to know is where Sunset is. Lets search her apartment." Rainbow suggested.
"How are we going to get in?" Rarity asked.
"Should we really do that? Isn't that, you know, kind of illegal?" Twilight asked, Fluttershy nodding.
"Nah, not really. We're not breaking in or anythin', Sunset has told us that we could go to her place anytime."
"Well, yes, but I believe she thought she would be there when we went."
"Shoot. This is a scratcher, fer sure, but we do need to know what happened to Sunset. I say we go to her place and look around--outside."
