A Horse Walks Into a Bar...

The snow glittered in the midday afternoon sun.

A light turned red and the car gently came to a stop.

“There.” From the backseat, Sunset pointed diagonally across the four-way intersection.

“Uhh... Caramella’s in a bagel shop?” Flash asked, tapping his fingers on the wheel. “Not the place I’d hide out in if I were the kidnapper, but hey, if you say so...”

Alan chuckled in the passenger seat. “Flash, I don’t think the kidnapper brought her to a bagel shop.”

Alan took a moment to gaze out of the window, a small smile on his face. It’d been an hour since they had left Canterlot High and with every new direction Sunset told them his spirits rose just a little bit higher. Each time they were a little bit closer to Caramella. The company, while unexpected, was nice as well.

“Northeast,” Sunset said. “So let’s continue up Orange Avenue and swing a left at the corner of Newlands and Dunnet.”

“Righto, Sunset!” Flash said with a tiny salute.

The light turned green and Flash continued up the street following Sunset’s directions. “So... what are we going to do once we find the little fuzzball?” he asked. “I mean, I don’t expect we’ll just be able to walk in and ask ‘hey, do you happen to have this pony in stock?’”

Alan crossed him arms. “Depends on where she is, I suppose.”

“Well, she’s downtown somewhere. She could be in any number of buildings... if she’s in some government building then...” Sunset let the words hang.

Alan grunted. “We’ll come to that bridge when we get to it. Until we actually see where she is, let’s try not to bum ourselves out. She could be in a pastry shop for all we know.”

“Alan’s right. Oh, and take a right here,” Sunset said. “We’re getting close though. I can feel it.”

“Yeah,” Flash said. “Gotcha.”

The trio fell into relative silence, with only the sounds of pop music over the radio and Sunset giving an order every now and then.

After a few minutes, Alan glanced over his shoulder. Sunset’s eyes were closed and one of her hands swept left and right covered in a strange cyan glow. Just looking at her magic had the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was unsettling and fascinating all at once.

“Hey, Sunset?” Alan asked.

“Huh?” She opened her eyes and brushed back a bang. “Yeah?”

“So, you’re a unicorn right?”

She nodded and he continued, “So, are all unicorns like that where you come from? Do they all have super powers?”

Sunset shook her head, though she held a smirk. “No, no. While all unicorns—well, all ponies, really—have some magic in them, not all unicorns have magic as their talent.”

“Huh...? What does that even mean?”

“Let me see if I can explain it... also, take a left here. Did Caramella explain cutie marks to you. Alan?”

“Uh...” Alan scratched his head. “No, not really. What are those?”

“A cutie mark is something that manifests in everypony once they find out what their special talent is.” Seeing the look on Alan’s face, she continued, “It’s more than that though, it’s like... the thing that shows everybody else what makes you, well, you. It’s a symbol of your being.” Sunset sighed. “I’m sorry, it’s kinda hard to explain the concept to somebody who’s never experienced one. For simplicities sake just know that you can usually look at somepony’s flank and know what they do.”

Alan blinked. “Okay... well, Caramella had some candies on her butt. So, her special talent was making candy, I suppose.” That made sense to him. She did say she worked at a bakery after all.

Sunset shrugged as she sent out another ping. “Probably. She could also just be good at making desserts, or maybe just caramel based treats. Cutie marks have some wiggle room to them.”

“What was yours, Sunset?” Flash asked. Alan nodded in agreement.

“Mine? Well... it was a red and yellow sun,” Sunset said.

“How fitting,” Flash remarked.

“What does that even mean?” Alan asked. A sun seemed like the most abstract thing somebody could have. Did it mean that they had fire powers? Control over the sun? A sunny personality?

“Well, my special talent was magic. Magic cutie marks tend to be pretty abstract, to be honest. Stars, suns, moons... all of those generally mean something magical. Going back to what I said earlier though, a lot of unicorns don’t have magical cutie marks so they never really learn many spells. Levitation and a few that’ll pertain to their talent, but that’s about it.”

Sunset sighed. “When I first came to the human world I almost had a breakdown because of my cutie mark. Or, lack of one, really. Getting that mark on my flank was one of the happiest moments of my life. I wore it around with pride, showing it off whenever I had the chance. Maybe a little too much...” she muttered. “In any case, coming to the human world and not having it? I felt... lost. Alone. Like a part of my being was gone and I would never get it back. I eventually got over it though, but sometimes I still think about it...”

“Sunset...” Alan didn’t know what to say. The whole cutie mark thing went right over his head. But he could tell that whatever they were, they were important in pony culture.

“I’m fine, really.” Sunset managed a smile. “We’ve got more important things to do right now. Flash, hook a right.”

“Got it.” Flash spun the wheel around and pressed onto the gas pedal. “Uhm... Sunset... are you sure about this?”

Sunset’s eyes widened. The cyan glow dissipated from her fingers. “You have got to be kidding me! Her again?”

The car slowed down as it drove down the street, parallel to a large stone-brick wall. A large, four-story building loomed behind the wall. Dark red bricks contrasted against shiny blue crystalline supports. Moss crept up the entrance, framing the doorway. Flash stopped the car right in front of an arching metal gateway, jagged blue glass tipping the spikes.

“Crystal Prep High School...” Flash muttered. “Why couldn’t it have been the bagel shop.”