In which Bunset talks about her suns.
The girls were enjoying their night. They had all gathered at one of their houses for a sleepover. Not an uncommon occurrence as they have a couple slumber parties each month.
They had just finished a cheezy movie and were discussing what to watch next. Dinner had also passed and was evidenced by several empty plates and pizza boxes.
Sunset decided to go grab the ice cream Pinkie had brought for dessert.
As she got up the bottom of her pajamas pants leg got caught underneath her foot. The momentum of her body caused the pants to tear along the side and her foot to slip on the material. This meant that Sunset face-planted on the floor with a large hole in her pajamas that showed off the side of her hip.
Her friends were surprised by what just happened, and while a couple of them laughed, they asked if she was alright.
Once she had confirmed that she was uninjured, Sunset examined the damage to her clothes.
"Whoa! Sunset, when'd you get a tattoo?" Rainbow asked, leaning to get a good look through the hole.
"Ah knew you were a bit of a 'bad girl' but isn't getting a tattoo on your rear a bit far?" Applejack questioned.
"Oh dear, your pants are absolutely ruined! Give them here and I'll see what I can do." Rarity offered, causing a few eyebrows to be raised at her priorities. "You two already asked about the tattoo." She remarked.
"It's not a tattoo! It's a Cutie Mark." Sunset stated roughly.
Pinkie Pie, who had popped off the couch after Sunset's fall, returned to her friends balancing multiple single pint ice cream cups and holding several spoons.
"What's a booty mark?" Rainbow asked.
"Cutie mark darling. Is it anything like a beauty mark?" Rarity corrected.
"No. It's something that ponies get when they're young." Sunset answered.
As she took off her pajama bottoms and handed them to Rarity, Sunset turned slightly so her friends could get a proper look at the sun emblazoned on her butt. She then took her ice cream and spoon from Pinkie and sat down. Her friends took their own pints and leaned back to listen, except for Rarity who had produced a needle and thread and was examining Sunset's pants.
"So in Equestria getting your Cutie Mark is sorta like hitting puberty. It's seen as the sign that you've started to mature. They signify that a pony has found their special talent or purpose. This can range from being a particular skill to special calling.
"Skill based talents could be anything from being a good baker to growing apples. Purpose based ones are like tending to animals, working with magical theorems to bringing ponies closer together in friendship. Some marks have dual meanings, and just because you have a mark in one thing doesn't mean that that is the only thing you are good at.
"Once a pony has found that skill or purpose, a brief magical surge happens and puts the mark on their flanks. The design of the mark references it's meaning in some way, though it's not always exactly clear.
"My mark signifies a talent for pyromancy spells, " Sunset twisted and pointed at the sun-shaped flames, "but also an ability to bring those around me into balance." She then points to the taijitu of red and gold inside of the sun.
Sunset took a breathe and several bites of her ice cream before continuing.
"You girls don't know this, but I was in an orphanage for several years of my early life. My parents were extremely busy so once I could sorta move about on my own, I basically lived alone. It took about a year and a half for the neighbors to notice and they called the authorities. My parents never bothered to come pick me up, even if they would've been allowed to."
Sunset was interrupted by several of her friends giving her hugs as this point. It took a moment for her to get them all off of her so she could keep going on with the story.
"Anyways, while there I learned that you had to stand up for yourself if you didn't want to be bullied. All of us who didn't get adopted quickly sorta became jerks to each other. A couple more years passed and we were all in basic schooling. Had a couple ponies at school I would hang with, but at the orphanage we didn't really get along.
"Then one day, a new filly joined us. She was really sad as her parents had died and they were having trouble finding her relatives. I helped keep the bullies away from her and we enjoyed chatting. She told me about some old beliefs her family held about spirits. A green flash at sunset would signify them passing peacefully into the next world. This meant every night she would stay up watching the sky for that flash.
"Each day made her sadder about it so one night I decided to try something. I reached out with my magic and caused the sun to flash green right as it descended under the horizon. We went right to bed afterwards so it wasn't until the next day that I realized I had gotten my mark.
"Within a week Princess Celestia herself showed up at the orphanage to pick me up as her personal student. I kept in touch with the other pony until a couple week later when her grandfather came up from Neigh Orleans to retrieve her. She later got her mark in illusion with an aim to be a stage magician."
Rarity handed Sunset a slightly shorter pair of pajamas bottoms as she completed her story. The girls started up the next movie and kept eating their dessert.
"So did your friend ever make it as a magician?" Pinkie asked.
"Not that sure. I've seen her counterpart here but as we are all in high school I don't know how well that would carry over and it doesn't feel right to ask Princess Twilight to look her up just to satisfy curiousity." Sunset replied.
"You got to tell use who she is Bunset." Rainbow replied, getting a glare from her friend for the new nickname.
"I didn't really treat her, or anyone, very well when I got here. I don't think the Beatrice here would want to be friends just because I was friends with her other self." Sunset said, before shifting her glare to Pinkie as she gasped.
Pinkie held an excited face for several seconds under the glare before frowning slightly at being denied the chance to through a party to reconnect the two.
The slumber party resumed normal activities after that and they all left for school the next day having had fun.