Sunset was officially in a sour mood as she left Twilight’s. She wasn’t upset at Twilight; she was annoyed that she hadn’t found a solution and part of her knew that her condition couldn’t be solved with simple science. For now she would have to carry on.

While at a stop light, she noticed the pet shop Fluttershy worked part-time at was only a few blocks down. She knew the girl probably didn’t have a solution but right now she felt as if she needed someone to talk to and Fluttershy was a great listener. Once the light turned green, she made her way down the street and parked by the curb.

She opened the front door, hearing the familiar jingle that was familiar with all small-business shops. “One second!” a voice called out. Then Fluttershy came out from the back. “Oh Sunset! I certainly wasn’t expecting you here today. Are you looking for a pet to take home?” She seemed quite eager to sell Sunset something.

“Sorry, my landlord doesn’t allow pets,” Sunset replied as she looked around. For a place so small, it certainly had a large variety of animals, from lizards to parakeets to guinea pigs and to small kittens and puppies. “Not really sure I could accommodate one right now anyway.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Fluttershy said as her face fell. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“If you don’t mind, I just need someone to talk to…”

“Of course,” Fluttershy beamed. “I don’t really have much to do right now anyway.” She then sighed. “I’m kind of worried though…this place used to be full of people wanting to get pets and now we’re lucky to get at least ten people a day.”

“Business is that bad?” Sunset asked.

“Well, they opened up this big store downtown that sells mostly pet products but they occasionally have people from different kennels or shelters that bring in animals to adopt. Some of these poor critters have been here almost a year.” Fluttershy sighed again. “But that’s enough of me. Is everything alright on your end?”

“It’s…I don’t know,” Sunset shrugged. “I haven’t really told anyone this but…I’m kind of having an issue with my abilities.”

“Oh dear. Have you tried talking to Twilight?”

“I just came from there…didn’t go very well.”

“Oh…actually I meant the other Twilight.”

“Oh…Well I guess I could ask her,” Sunset said. “It’s just…she works better with these kinds of things in her world and if I go there then…”

“You’re afraid to go back?” Sunset was pretty sure Fluttershy wasn’t trying to be so blunt.

“No it’s not that it’s just…Equestria is a different environment of sorts. I mean, I have magic here but in this world it’s kind of a foreign thing. There, well, it’s not. My point is I’m not sure what would happen.”

“I see…Um…is it alright if I ask what exactly is going on?” Sunset spent the next few minutes going into detail about what has been going on. “Hmm…that certainly doesn’t sound good. So you’re hearing people’s thoughts automatically and having these strange dreams?”

“Yep.”

“And this started happening after Camp Everfree…and more so after going inside Pinkie’s head. Have you tried talking to her?”

“You know…no offense to her but I think I’m going to stay away from her on that one for now.”

“Hmm…well I don’t think there’s much I can do but…”

“But?”

“Well…I have a friend who might be able to help her. Treehugger knows about channeling your inner self and…honestly she explains it better than I do. But she might be able to determine the issue you’re having.”

“Treehugger…”

“Um…yes…”

“Great…it had to be a hippie,” Sunset thought. But she had to be appreciative that Fluttershy was pointing her in some direction. “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to try. Where can I find her?”

“She’s not too far from here but I can take you there myself since I have a lunch break in about forty-five minutes.”

Sunset spent that amount of time looking around the shop and saying hello to all the different animals. She didn’t feel good about coming in without paying for something so while Fluttershy wasn’t looking, she put a couple bills into the tip jar. Fluttershy then got her bag and the two of them left after Fluttershy made sure to put up a sign saying she would be back in half an hour.

As it turned out, Treehugger turned out to have a store, which Sunset quickly recognized as a pot shop. “Your friend has a pot business?”

“Yes…” Fluttershy looked slightly uncomfortable. “But she says it helps um… ‘alleviate the mind’ or something like that. She does meditation and stuff like that too but I can say it really does work.” Well, if Fluttershy could vouch for her then it was worth a shot.

The two of them went inside and Sunset was surprised how well-kept the place was. It almost reminded her of a bakery, partly because there actually were pot brownies for sale. A girl with orange dreadlocks was standing at the register and upon seeing the two smiled. “Fluttershy…what up!?”

“Hi Treehugger,” Fluttershy said as the girl came around the corner and the two shared a hug. “I hope you’re not busy at the moment.”

“Nah, this is the slow period of the day. So…you finally changed your mind on trying some brownies?”

“Um…no that’s not why I’m here,” Fluttershy said hesitantly. “My friend here has a…issue and I think your expertise can help her.”

“Sure, sure…” Treehugger replied. “Let’s go talk in the back.” The two girls followed her into the back. The sudden familiar smell that hit Sunset’s nostrils told her that Treehugger used this room on her downtime. There weren’t any chairs but instead small mats which Treehugger took a seat on. She motioned for them to sit. “So…what can I help you with?”

“Well…it’s kind of hard to explain,” Sunset said. She actually wasn’t sure how to explain it. Telling her issue to Fluttershy was one thing, but if she did say it, even this girl would think she’s crazy. Probably. “I’ve been…having these weird dreams lately, dreams I can’t even begin to understand. And…I don’t like to admit it but…I can hear people’s thoughts.”

“Hmm…” Treehugger closed her eyes. “Yeah man…your aura is definitely…off. Something has disrupted your balance.”

“My aura?”

“Yeah, it’s something that defines you,” Treehugger said. “Like, Fluttershy’s is a yellow aura and I sense a large amount of kindness coming from her soul. Yours is more of an orange like the sun. But at the same time you kind of feel like you’re at a crossroads.”

“Wow.” Sunset was certainly impressed.

“I told you she was good,” Fluttershy smiled.

“So…you know what’s wrong?” Sunset asked.

Treehugger got up and went over to her, kneeling in front of her, almost a little too close, and she held her hands out close to Sunset’s face and body but not touching her directly. “Yeah girl, your chakras are off. The energy that’s flowing within you is going in reverse. That’s not good.”

“So what can I do?”

“You do meditation?”

“I…tried it once but I’m not one who likes to sit still for a long period of time.”

“Huh…well I’m not sure if this would solve the issue but…maybe those dreams are connected to something. Do they all play out towards the end?”

“No I usually wake up before its over.”

“Hmm…I might have a solution.” Treehugger got up and went over to her desk, opening a drawer and taking out a small box. “I save these for my most stressful days so maybe they’ll work for you.”

“You don’t seem like the type that stresses out,” Fluttershy commented. “And I don’t think those are legal Treehugger.”

“It’s cool, this will be our little secret,” Treehugger smiled. “This will put your mind at ease…and possibly put you to sleep. But it should allow you to focus on those dreams and finally reach the conclusion.”

Sunset wasn’t too keen on this idea but what other options did she have? “Alright…I’ll give it a try. Besides, how bad could it possibly be?”

“Um…I think I’ll just wait outside and let you two…do your thing,” Fluttershy said as she got up and left the room.

Sunset hesitantly took the joint as Treehugger offered her a light. “Just to make sure…this doesn’t have any side effects right?”

“Of course not.” Treehugger grinned slightly. “You can’t always believe what the naysayers say.”

That was a fair point. Sunset lit the joint and sucked on the tip, inhaling slightly before blowing off the smoke. “Damn…that’s more intense than I thought.”

Treehugger looked at the box and suddenly her smile vanished. “Uh oh…”

“What?”

“I uh…may have accidentally picked out the wrong box.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not regular pot. It’s pot laced with LSD.”

“What…? Oh you have got to be-!” And suddenly everything went techno-color.

Sunset was driving on a highway in the middle of a barren desert. The clouds were a dark purple and the wind blowing through her hair was almost a welcoming feel. Her bike was easily going over a hundred and as she saw through her sunglasses, she was the only one on the road.

That quickly changed as she looked in the mirror and saw two lights coming up behind her fast. She kept one hand on the throttle and the other went to her waist belt. Soon the two bikes caught up to her and Sunset saw that the drivers weren’t human but machines.

The two ran up beside her and raised their blasters but Sunset was ready. She braced herself and jumped out of her seat before the two fired on her, missing completely. While in the air, Sunset drew the two pistols she had and fired, the laser bolts shooting down on the two bikes, causing them to explode into shrapnel and broken pieces. Sunset managed to land gracefully, if a bit hard. She quickly got back on her bike and continued forward to where she would find her captive friends.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends were trapped in a large crystal globe in a large post-apocalyptic castle, one that they couldn’t get out of, even if they used their powers. “You won’t get away with this King Cottontail!” Twilight yelled.

Sitting in his throne, the large rabbit who looked a lot like Angel laughed evilly. “Oh but I already have dear Elements of Harmony! My robot army has already defeated most of mankind and you, the last hope of this world, will get to see the end personally on my behalf!”

“You forgot one thing though,” Rainbow said with a grin. “You forgot someone in particular…”

The rabbit looked at them and realized his mistake. “No…you don’t mean-!”

Suddenly the wall in front of them crashed down and there stood Sunset Shimmer. “You’re going to pay for kidnapping my friends carrot breath!”

“Even if I did forget about you, you’re powerless without the help of your friends!” Cottontail cackled. “So any resistance you give is futile!”

“I don’t think so,” Sunset said. “My friends may be locked up, but there’s one thing you don’t know about me…my true identity!”

She raised her right arm up as a red aura surrounded her. She was lifted into the air as a phoenix shape surrounded her. The phoenix gave a piercing cry as the clothing on Sunset changed to a red armor that covered her entire body and a helm that had phoenix wings on the sides.

Everyone gasped. “Phoenix Rider!?”

“That’s right,” Sunset said as wings opened up behind her and she floated into the air. “You and your sick twisted world will finally come to an end! The flames of judgment will destroy you and rebirth this world anew!”

“Noooo!” Suddenly the entire castle exploded.

“Treehugger what did you do!?” Fluttershy could only stare as Sunset was slouched on the ground mumbling to herself and making weird gestures while she had her eyes closed and was drooling.

“I think it worked,” Treehugger said, much to her surprise. “Don’t worry…she’ll come out of it eventually. But she’s probably have some strong cravings afterwards.”

Fluttershy sighed as she facepalmed. “Well that’s great…”

“…You know, those joints don’t come cheap…ya know?”

Fluttershy gave her a slight glare as she dug a twenty out of her purse and gave it to her. “She’s going to hate me for this…”

Author's Note

I feel like a story can come out of this.