Sunset's human world origin

Disclaimer: I know very little about Japanese social customs. I will do my best, but I’ll most likely have to translate them into their equivalent American customs.

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: May 27th, time: 7:00 pm

*Ryoko’s perspective*

Throughout the day, Sunset and Emi hung out with Ryoko or played in the courtyard. Sunset told Ryoko about how Anzhong first found her, and how she was eventually adopted. The stereotype about Americans being aggressive and enjoying violence was confirmed for Ryoko when the girls started wrestling each other. Jiraiya had to convince her that they weren’t going to hurt each other. Jiraiya had to calm her down again when the sisters crashed into the peach tree. Now, the Katon family sat at the dinner table. Ryoko was telling the girls every embarrassing story she had on Anzhong.

“Oh, here’s a good one. When your father was six, he ate a raw frog.”

“Eww”, both girls said.

“If I remember correctly, you dared me to do it.”

“Yes, but you still did it. Dad got so freaked out when he found out. He rushed you to the hospital to check for - what was it?”

“Tapeworm infection. It was not fun, and that’s why I have that rule of not eating random animals.”, Anzhong addressed his daughters.

“I still stand by ‘worms are tasty’.”, Emi said.

Sunset gagged at the memory. “She used to eat the worms she found in the garden.”, Sunset clarified for Ryoko.

“Ew”, Ryoko said quietly.

The rest of the dinner went on like that. Emi had apparently decided that it had become a contest on who can gross out the table the most. Once the dinner was over and everything was cleaned, the girls went off to their room. Jiraiya went off to his room after a couple of drinks. That just left Anzhong, Brigid, and Ryoko in the living room, enjoying some sakay.

“How was your trip here? I don't think I’ve asked you that yet.”, Ryoko asked.

“It was fine. I was sat next to a posh drunk lady that threw a fit each time Sunset or I tried to get up, but overall fine.”, Brigid said.

“I don't mean to sound offensive, but I’ve never met a foreign person, that has never lived in Japan before, that could speak perfectly unaccented Japanese. How?”, Ryoko asked.

“Has Anzhong ever told you what I do for a living?”

“He told me that you are a college professor, but he never told me what you teach. He was always too busy bragging about you to go into specifics.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”, Brigid said to Anzhong. “I am an anthropologist.”, she said, turning back to Ryoko. “I am particularly good with languages. I know sixteen of them. I am also really good at coping accents. I’ve had eight years to learn and copy Anzhongs accent.”

“That is - incredible. Are you able to copy specific voices?”

“What, you mean like yours.”, Brigid said in a perfect copy of Ryoko’s voice.

“Holy crap, you’re a parrot.”

“I told you she’s incredible.”, Anzhong said.

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: May 28th, time: 7:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was standing in a cold shower, trying to wake up. Anzhong was still in bed. Jet lag, not fun. The plan for the day was to visit Aoi’s grave, take the girls to the restaurant, and then enjoy a dip in the hot springs. That means a lot of walking and some driving. Brigid was pulled from her planning when she heard the bathroom door opening.

“Anzhong?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Through the curtain, Brigid could see Anzhong undressing.

“That water’s freezing. What, homesick already?”, Anzhong said playfully as he was getting in.

“Trying to wake up.”

“Well, it woke me up. Could you turn up the temperature a little bit?”

Brigid wordlessly complied, tuning the water temperature up to a level more comfortable for Anzhong. Then she turned to wrap her arms around him.

“Thank you.”, Anzhong said once the water started to heat up.

Katon family grave
Date: same day, time: 10:30 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

The walk to the grave involved a lot of uphill climbing. The graveyard itself was very beautiful. Most of the tombstones were simple pillars with the names of the families they belong to written on them. Some of the tombs had moss growing on them, meaning that the family no longer lives in the village or is no more. The graveyard was fairly isolated from the rest of the village, higher up the mountain. The surrounding wilderness has remained relatively untouched.

“Here we are.”, Ryoko said.

“Ancestral grave of the Katon family.”, Sunset said. “Dad, is this where you plan on being buried?”

“I’m not sure. This is where my will says I want to be buried, but I’ve been thinking of amending it for a while now.”

“Where do you want to be buried, Mommy?”, Emi asked.

“I’m also not sure. I think that’s something Anzhong and I need to talk about together.”

Anzhong nodded in agreement.

“Well, you’ll both have a really, really, really long time to think about it.”, Emi said. “Right?” Emi’s face started to fall. She’s probably rememberin’ how old Anzhon was when his mum died.

“If I have anything to say about it, we will.”, Anzhong said. That brought a small smile back to Emi’s face.

“Okay, what do we need to do?”, Sunset asked.

Sunset’s body language was closed off and defensive. This probably isn’t easy for her. Since she’s from a military family, she’d probably been exposed to more death than the average kid. Not to mention what did happen to her. This can’t be easy for her.

“We use the dipper to pour water over the grave to clean it. Once that’s done, we’ll place the flowers.”, Jiraiya said.

The family got to it.

“Wouldn't it be better to use a towel to clean this?”, Emi asked.

“It’s just as much about the ceremony as it is cleaning the grave. If it had been neglected long enough for moss to grow, then we would use stronger methods to clean it.”, Ryoko said.

“Okay”

Once all the water was gone and the flowers were placed, the family began heading down the mountain and to their next stop. When they were about half way down the steps, Brigid checked on Sunset. She was still closed off and defensive looking.

“Hey, Sunset, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

The way she said it made Brigid think she was clearly not fine.

“Sunset, you know you can talk to me about anything.”, Brigid said, wrapping her arm around Sunset.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”, Sunset said, getting agitated.

“That’s okay too.” Sounds like da puberty talk is gonna need ta happen soon.

Amigata’s only full restaurant
Date: same day, time: 12:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ryoko wasn’t joking when she said Amigata only had one full restaurant. It had a lot of food stalls, and some of them you could sit down at. However, they were more akin to food trucks in the US, minus the wheels. The restaurant was named Oda’s, and the sign above the entrance had a man with spiky, bright blond hair on it. That was odd. According to her research and what she had seen, the only hair colors native to Japan were black, blues, and greens. Any other color was a clear indicator of foreign heritage. Japan was already rather wary of foreigners, and an out of the way mountain village would likely have no foreigners living in it.

“Aunt Ryoko, is that Oda?”, Sunset said, pointing to the sign.

“Yes it is. One of his dads, the biological one, is from Norway. That’s why he has yellow hair. He’s a childhood friend of mine.”

“He looks like Naruto.”

“Ready to go in?”, Anzhong said.

“Yes”, everyone else said.

The family walked in and were greeted by the hostess with a bow.

“Hello- oh, hi Miss Ryoko, table for six?”, the hostess asked.

“Yes, thank you Hina.”, Ryoko said.

“You know her?”, Anzhong whispered to Ryoko.

“Yes, I’m quite friendly with all of the staff.”

Hina walked them over to their table.

“Here are your menus. Your waiter will be over in a minute.”

“So, you come here enough to be on given name basis with the staff.”, Anzhong said once Hina left.

“Yes, like I said, Oda and I are friends. We’re even thinking about opening his restaurant in my resort.”, Ryoko said matter-of-factly.

“Hello, I will be your server today. Can I get you started on any drinks?”

“Water for me and the girls.”, Brigid said.

“Water and green tea for me.”, Anzhong said.

“Same for me.”, Ryoko said.

“Water and sake for me.”, Jiraiya said.

“I’ll bring that right out for you.” With that, the waiter was off.

“So, about-”, Anzhong tried to say.

“Don’t, even, start.”, Ryoko said as threateningly as possible.

The family got their drinks, ordered their food, and their lunch went on like that with the Katon sibs still teasing each other until-

“Hi, Ryoko.”, a man said. Sunset looked up to see a man that could only be Oda standing by their table. “How have you been?” Oda had a goofy smile on his face. Something Sunset had learned is that humans and ponies have almost identical facial expressions, and that goofy smile is one Sunset had become very familiar with after sharing a bathhouse with the love struck princess of love. He likes Ryoko. Looking back to Ryoko, Sunset could see the same goofy smile on her. They like each other! Looking at Emi, she saw it too. The two finished their chit chat, and Oda went back to the kitchen.

“You liiike him.”, Emi teased.

“And he liiiiikes you.”, Sunset teased.

“Oda and I are friends.”, Ryoko said. “Liar. How long have you two been dating?”, Anzhong asked. “It’s none of your business.” “It is to my business. How am I going to tease you about your love life if I don't know about it.” “Oda and I have only been dating a few weeks. I wanted to give it time before telling anyone.”

“Fat chance of keeping secrets from us.”, Emi said.

“Yeah, we’re trained in intel gathering.”, Sunset said.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and smiled.

Oda’s
Date: same day, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The family were finishing up their meal when an odd looking group of people walked in. There was an immediate shift in the atmosphere. The group approached the bar.

“What do you want now?”, Oda asked, annoyed.

“Let’s just say, we’re here to make you a deal.”, the group leader said.

“Look I’m going to stop you right there. You keep coming in here, trying to intimidate me into paying you protection money. Let me tell you. You are really bad at it. Now, unless you want to meet the business end of a kitchen knife, you’re going to leave.”, Oda said.

“Do you think he needs help?”, Brigid asked.

“No, it’s okay. These guys are - how do you say it?”, Ryoko asked.

“All bark and no bite.”, Emi answered.

“Yes, that. It doesn’t help their case that all chefs are crazy.”

“Woah now, I think we could-”, the leader tried to get out.

“Get out of my restaurant before I serve you up as the Sunday special!”, Oda shouted while swinging his knife.

“No wonder you like him.”, Anzhong commented.

The gang ran out of the place with their tails between their legs with everyone else shouting for them to just leave.

“So, who were they?”, Sunset asked.

“A bunch of wannabes from Nagano. They couldn't make it there. So, they thought that if they moved to a small village, they could make a name for themselves, but all they’ve managed to do is make themselves a running joke.”, Ryoko explained.

“Why haven’t they left yet?”, Brigid asked.

“I have no idea. You would think being threatened to be made into somebody’s Sunday special each week would scare them off. And before you ask, we don’t have police. They’ll go away on their own, eventually.”

The Sleepy Fox Hot Springs Resort
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ryoko’s resort was certainly a nice place. It looked like a really big log cabin. The structure was three stories tall. The structure surrounded a courtyard on three sides, and the hot springs took up the fourth side.

The family was enjoying one of the hot springs. The hot springs remind Sunset of times when Princess Celestia and she, and sometimes Cadence, would bathe together. It was the one time of the day when appearances didn’t have to be kept up. It was during one of those times, Sunset learned about how alicorns were created. She could remember the day like it was yesterday.

*Flash back*

Canterlot castle’s royal spa suite
Date: 16/01/1115 Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Celestia, and Cadence were bathing together. It was one of the times Cadence had joined them. As usual, the staff had been dismissed so the princesses and Sunset could have some privacy. Cadence and Sunset were working on detangling each other’s manes and tales. Princess Celestia was simply enjoying the heat.

“Lord Dandy?”, Sunset said.

“Sunset, Cadence and I are not related.”, Princess Celectia said again.

“How else could an alicorn exist? You two are the only ones on Equoes.”

“Do you really want to know how an alicorn is created?”

“Yes!”, Sunset said impatiently.

Celestia chuckled. “Okay, but first, you must promise to keep this a secret. This is top secret information, only known by me, Luna, and Cadence.”

“Yes ma’am.”, Sunset saluted by reflex. “Sorry, soldier training.”

“Alright then. Alicorns are not born. Luna and I became alicorns when we first raised the sun and lowered the moon. There were ponies of all three tribes to witness our power. Their love and admiration flowed into us, carrying their magic with it. Their magic swelled inside us; ascending us into alicornhood. That day, we were blessed with the divine right to rule by our subjects.”, Celestia said in a grandiose manner.

“Translation, all the magics of all three tribes need to combine together in one, with love acting as the binder.”, Cadence simplified.

“Then, how did you become an alicorn?”, Sunset asked Cadence.

“Well, before I was an alicorn, I was a pegasus. I grew up in an earth pony village. One day, a unicorn sorcerous came to my village and tried to steal everypony’s love. I confronted her and managed to destroy the artifact she was using. The artifact was filled with earth pony magic, unicorn magic, and love. When I destroyed the artifact, I absorbed some of the energy and became an alicorn.”

“Wait, that means I could become an alicorn too. It’d be fairly simple too. I’m literally getting my mane combed out by the princess of love, and you’re loved by everyone.”, Sunset addressed Celestia.

“That is true. I am actually hoping that I can make you an alicorn one day. Perhaps even take over ruling Equestria when I retire.”

So many ideas went through Sunset’s mind that night. Restructuring Canterlot to be more accommodating for the disabled, dismantling the nobility system, and ensuring veterans get the respect they deserve were but a few of them. There were so many things Sunset could do to make Equestria better for the underprivileged of the country.

*Present day*

Sunset hasn’t given up on her goals. Quite the contrary, she’d added a new goal: open the portal permanently. There was no way Sunset could ever choose one world over the other. Sunset looked around her, seeing the people she had come to call family. On both sides of the portal, she has a mother, father, sister, and extended family that loves her. Celestia was right. Destiny will give you a choice of two roads that both lead to happiness and heartbreak. But, as I like to say, intelligence plus stubbornness equals fuck destiny.