“Cold!” Squeaked a young pink haired girl, bundled with several coats to keep the chilling air from nipping at her.

“Come on Fluttershy, it's not that cold out.” replied one of the girl's closest friends. A rainbow haired girl wearing a casual winter jacket, not even zipped. Always trying to show just how tough she was to her friends. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past the pair sending shivers down the rainbow haired girl. “O-okay I take it back, it's fr-fr-freezing out here.” The girl shivered, finally zipping her jacket and putting her hood up for warmth.

“M-maybe we should hurry to school before either of us catch a cold Rainbow Dash.” the meek girl suggested. Her friend nodding in agreement, unable to speak with the bitter cold stinging her partially revealed face.

Winter time was always tough at Canterlot High, this could however was some of the worse the school had seen in quite a while.

“I still can’t believe how quickly the temperature dropped.” Proclaimed a skinny girl, clutching a book in her hand. As she adjusted her glasses she could hear her name being called from a little distance away.

“TWILIGHT!!” yelled a bubbly pink girl as she sprinted to her friend. Pinkie was always one for never letting the weather get her down. Then again nothing really got the girl down, other than not being able to plan spectacular parties for her friends.

“Good morning Pink-ech” the small girl tried to speak but was quickly embraced in the biggest hug she had ever felt. “Oh my gosh Twilight it got so cold out I didn’t even know if you would be able to get her what with how small you are, I thought I would walk out of my house and on the way to school I would find a Twi-cicle and then we would have to try and get you out of the ice and it would be hard to do since the ice wouldn’t probably taste very well and we wouldn’t really want to try and out our way to you and then something out happen and the ice would fall and shatter into a million pieces and it would take all the king's horses and all his men to put Twi-mpty dumpty back together again.” The energetic pink girl finally stopped to catch her breath, even letting her new friend out of her death hug. She breathed a sigh of relief but at the same time, kind of missed the warmth the hug had brought.

“I’m fine Pinkie” The small girl spoke, adjusting her glasses as she did so. “ And just so you know I am more than capable of walking through the cold as anyone else at this school, regardless of if I may be a little bit smaller than the others.” She had started to remove her winter getup and began to carefully and accurately arrange them in her locker. She always had a pentiant for keeping everything neat and tidy. Her friend followed suit, but in her own unique that her friends had grown accustom to. The pink girl simply grabbed her zipper and pulled it straight down, removing three coats and some winter pants in the process. In one fell swoop she had balled up her winter wares and shoved them into her adjacent locker. “How did you- actually never mind.” The smaller girl chuckled. She had been warned not to look too deeply into Pinkie’s “Pinkie-ism” as their friends called them. “So where are the other girls?” She asked looking around for her new friends. Pinkie simply pulled out her phone and tapped the screen a few times. “Rainbow and Fluttershy are on their way right now, apparently Fluttershy was so cold she needed to go home and add some extra layers, Applejack and Rarity should be here soon as well. Looks like Applejack got a ride from Big Mac, and Rarity from her parents.” Twilight thought back to her new friends, it wasn’t too long ago that she had actually made found them.

The Friendship Games still lingered in her mind, specifically the part where she became corrupted by the dark magic she had unwittingly consumed. Turning her into a terrible which of her former self. If not for the forgiveness of her new friends she would have done terrible things. Speaking of new friends. “Any word from Sunset, Pinkie?” She asked with a twinge of nervousness in her voice. The Pink girl checked her phone once more, her usually bubbly smiled slowly turned to a frown. “Nothing, Sunny hasn’t said anything yet” Twilight let out a small sigh of sadness hearing this, maybe they could arrange for Applejack's brother, Big Mac, to pick her up. “Do you think Applejack could convince Big Mac to pick her up?” She asked her friend. Pinkie stood straighter and rubbed her chin with her index finger. “Possibly, but to be honest,” she began to flick at her phone again. “I don’t think I even had Sunsets address at all.” This worried Twilight quite a bit. How could Pinkie Pie not have her friends address? Maybe one of the others had it.

As a few minutes went by Twilight had continued to dwell over the issue, if she wanted to be a good friend she should at least know where she can find the ones closest to her. She quickly snapped out of her stupor though when she saw a large red truck pull up to the front of the school. Out jumped and Blonde girl with tan skin, her cowboy hat about to be blown away in the wind. No doubt about it, it was Applejack alright. The girl approached the front doors and saw her friends waiting for her.

“Good mornin’ Pinkie, mornin Twi” she tilted her hat to them as she usually does, waving to her brother to ensure she made it in safely. She heard a quick set of honks before the truck took off. “How about this cold huh?” She questioned trying to start a conversation. “Hasn’t been this cold in a few years.” Twilight looked nervously out the windows of the school, hoping her new friends were ok. Then, a small car pulled up to the school, and out stepped the Purple haired fashionista they all loved. As she made her way into the school they could see the elaborate outfit she was wearing.

“Good Morning, Darlings” She chimed upon seeing her closest friends. “How are all of you today?” Twilight was still fixated on the outfit Rarity was wearing. “That's quite the outfit you have Rarity.” she said looking in awe. Rarity chuckled “Why thank you darling, it is quite the ensemble now isn’t it?” The girl enjoyed when her friends liked her outfits. “Seems a little too much for my taste” Applejack spoke, having only worn a torn jacket. Since she had taken a truck to school she really had no need to be out in the bitter cold as long as some of the others. “I mean did you have to make it so… flashy?” Indeed the outfit consisted of bright whites and purple, with glittery sprinkled throughout the entire outfit. The parka, while cute, was also shimmering in the simple lights from the school. Rarity let out a small huff “ I will have you know dear that one should always look their best, even in the coldest of colds.” Her friends couldn’t help but chuckle. Looking back out the windows, two more figures could be seen running towards the school, though one seemed to be lagging behind. When they finally reached the school they swung the door open.

“Hu-hu- made it.” the rainbow haired girl spoke. A few tears had trickled down her face from the bitter cold winds stinging her eyes and cheeks. The quieter pink haired girl swiftly entered after her. Catching her own breath as well. “Wh-why did we hav-have to run again Rainbow Dash?” She managed to squeak the question out between breaths. The warmth of the school suddenly dawning on the girl just how many layers she had on.

“I told you Fluttershy, running gets the blood flowing. Keeps you warm” The rainbow girl tried to justify, even though she herself was kind of upset at herself for making them run. “So are ya’ll just gonna keep ignoring us or say hi?” The country girl suddenly broke the awkward conversation between the girls. “It truly is quite rude” Rarity spoke with her arms crossed playfully acting snooty to her friends.

“Oh!” Fluttershy was shocked, quickly turning a bright red. “I-i’m sorry, go-good morning everyone” She managed. “How you guys doing” Rainbow asked brashly. The others chuckled at the warm remark and familiarity from their friend. “I think for the most part we’re all alright, except no one has heard from Sunset.” Twilight spoke. Her worries returning to her once more. “Did any of you get a text or a message from her?” She began to sound a little worried. The others, save for Pinkie, pulled out their phones and checked. Nothing. No text or voicemail.

“It’s not really like her to miss class, or to not keep up with us.” Applejack explained. “Do you think something may have happened to her?” She questioned. Twilight shook her head unsure. “I don’t know, but does anyone have her address? I would at least feel a little better at least know where she was so I could check on her.” The others all began to scan through their phones, their expressions quickly growing to concern. “You know, I don’t think I ever got her address,” Rainbow Dash blurted out. “I don’t have it either.” Said the soft spoken Fluttershy, concern quickly filling her voice. “This is quite troublesome. How do I not have it either?” Rarity spoke sadly. “Something feels a little strange, don’t it?” Applejack questioned. “I can understand wanting person space and all, but to not even let her closest friends know where she stays is a little strange don’t yah think?” The others all began to nod in agreement when suddenly the doors burst open once more. Standing in the doorway, with a thick jacket, a light blue top and long pants was none other than-

“Sunset!” Her friends called out to her. “Sorry girls, bus was a little bit late, took longer to get here than I thought.” The red and orange haired girl explained rubbing her hands together for warmth. At the moment her friends were just happy to see her. “Oh Sunset deary, we are just happy to see you are ok, the bitter cold out there is dreadful today” Rarity comforted her friend, placing her hands on top of Sunsets to help warm them up. Sunset appreciated the gesture. It was so cold out that she would not her worst enemies be stuck out there, not that she really had any enemies anymore. Not since she reformed. She looked around the large entrance to the school only to spot the clock on the wall. “Whoa is that really the time, we should probably be getting ready for our classes.” She pointed out. Her friends checked the clock to confirm that her statement was true. “Ah horse apples. I still need to put mah stuff away.” Applejack said in a panic. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity all looked in agreement, they too needed to still head to their lockers.

“Alright see you girls at lunch then.” Sunset proclaimed as she headed to her homeroom class. The others all waved her off, they looked at each other and began to take off towards their respective homerooms and lockers, all save for Twilight who stood in the same spot, with he worried expression still glowed to her face. Applejack stopped and turned to look at her friend. “Twi?” she inquired. “You alright sugarcube?” Twilight shook her head a little. “Not really. I’m still a little upset that no one would have a way to find Sunset if something happened.” She had grasped her elbows, crossing her arms in the process. This really seemed to bother the girl.

“Don’t worry Twi” Applejack Reassured. “If it makes you feel any better we can ask her during lunch. Okay?” she asked trying to cheer her friend up even the slightest. Twilight gave a weak smile and nodded. It would have to do for now. She needed to focus on her studies until then, the walked to Applejack and gave her a hug. “Thanks Applejack” she chimed. “No problem Twi.” She hugged back, always happy to help. The two soon parted ways and began the school day.

Author's Note

So quick heads up for anyone who does decides to read this. I have not written a story like this in almost eight years. Yes, eight. As in this number (8). I used to love to read and write fan fiction but for a while I grew board of it. I found the Brony fandom and began to get enticed back into it. Ok enough about me lets talk a little about the first chapter.

As I mentioned above I am a little rust when it comes to writing stories, specifically beginnings. So the main idea of the story came to me when I was re-re-re-reading the 2014 Rainbow rocks annual comic and I asked the question, "Where does Sunset live" a question a lot of other people on this site have asked. And with amazing answers. but I wanted to try something a little different, no living in an abandon building, no somehow having her own apartment. Something a little more...dark. For anyone who will continue to read what I wright, I am quite the fan of dark themes and sad endings. Don't get me wrong, I also love happy endings, but struggle is something I always find fun to write.

Anyways before the author notes get longer than the story, please comment what you think of my first time writing in eight years and tell me what you think will happen or how you feel. Also if you have questions feel free to ask as well. Thanks for reading.