Sweet Apple Acres

Date: Apr 29th, time: 6:00 am

*AJ’s perspective*

Applejack felt the sun caress her skin and was stirred awake. She hopped out of bed, got dressed, cleaned up her room, and then went downstairs. Granny was still cooking breakfast, so AJ decided to get some of the lighter work done. She went outside, watered the young flowers, cleaned up the porch, and fed the chickens. AJ was far more than used to this, so it only took about thirty-ish minutes.

“Applejack! It’s time for breakfast!”, Bloom called out.

“Coming!”, AJ called back. AJ finished feeding the chickens and joined her family inside. After washing up, AJ helped set the food out.

“Bloom, be careful.”, Granny warned. AJ turned to see Bloom was carrying the scrambled eggs.

“I got it. I got it.” Bloom was able to safely get the eggs onto the table despite Granny’s worries.

Once all the food was set out, everyone took their seats and gave grace. AJ didn’t pay much attention to it. She honestly wasn’t sure if she believed in God. If God was real, why would he let her parents die? She didn’t buy into that “God works in mysterious ways” stuff. Lies only bring trouble, and AJ didn’t want to believe in a god that lies, and that’s on top of all the issues AJ has with the Bible. Why would God need a human to write it if he could just will it into existence? Humans are fallible at the best of times and would flat out abuse that power at the worst of times. “Amen”, Granny said. AJ’s attention was brought back to reality and she began eating.

Once breakfast was over, everyone got back to their chores. AJ went out to the garage. The inside of the garage was filled with boxes and other junk, but the most noticeable item was a severely damaged car. AJ didn’t know why Granny kept it. It was a sick reminder of a tragic day. If it were up to her, it would’ve been scrapped a long time ago.

AJ began sweeping and clearing out the cobwebs. The whole time, AJ kept stealing glances back at that car. It was still recognizable as a car, but the back end was totaled, almost every window was busted, and there were several dents all along the sides. AJ tried not to think about what happened, what might have been going through their minds at the time. It hurt so much to think about. It was easier to think that they had just gone on a trip and will be back eventually, to ignore that they were dead. It was easier to just forget, but she knew that wasn’t true, and it probably wasn’t healthy.

AJ tried to ignore the car as she finished cleaning. She just wanted to get it over with and get to as many of her other chores before school.

Pinkie’s room

Date: same day, time: 6:30 am

*Pinkie’s perspective*

“Pinkie, it’s time to get up.” Maud shook Pinkie’s shoulder until she started moving.

“I’m awake.”, Pinkie said tiredly.

“Do you need any help?”

“No, I think I’m fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in ten minutes to check on you. Don’t forget to take your meds.”

“Okay”

“Happy birthday, Pinkie.”, Maud said before she left the room.

Pinkie slowly started to sit up and grabbed the pill and water bottles from her night stand. She hated taking them. They tasted bad and felt funky in her mouth and going down her throat. She was able to stop taking them for a while thanks to her friends ex-friends, but that was not to be. Pinkie popped the pill into her mouth then chased it down with the water. Yack. Pinkie slouched out of bed and picked out her outfit for the day as she waited for the medicine to kick in. It was funny how her hair acted as a loading bar for the pills. It would slowly go from being flat and straight to being poofy and curly as the medicine took effect.

As Pinkie rummaged around her clothes, something fell out of one of the pockets. It was a picture of herself and Bumblesweet. Pinkie picked up the picture and sat back down on the bed. It was uncanny how much they looked alike, minus the colors. She could not believe such a horrible plant existed. Gympie was a monster plant, and whoever planted it in the park was either really dumb or an even bigger monster. Bumbles’ screams of agony were burned into her memory. The scene played out in Pinkie’s mind like it was yesterday. It was summer, and they were playing happily in the park like they had done since they were old enough to play. Bumbles was wearing a tank top and short shorts due to the heat. At one point, Pinkie jokingly pushed Bumbles after she bumped into her, and she fell into a patch of that stuff. Pinkie also touched it with her hand as she was trying to help Bumbles up. The pain was immediate, and they were both taken to the hospital.

It took days for Pinkie’s hand to stop hurting, but Bumbles wasn’t so lucky. She couldn’t remember how Bumbles did it. All she could remember was waking up to see Bumbles’ lifeless eyes staring back at her. She ended up killing herself to escape the pain. Pinkie didn’t blame her. She wanted the doctors to just cut off her hand because of the pain. Pinkie blamed herself. Despite everyone saying it could’ve happened to anyone, it was the fault of whoever planted it, and Bumblesweet wouldn’t blame you, she still felt responsible. She shoved Bumbles and caused her to fall. I killed you. I know you wouldn’t want me thinking like that, but I did. “I’m sorry.”, Pinkie said, tears forming in her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to cry.

With the antidepressants taking effect, Pinkie put on her biggest smile and skipped out of her room. Even when she couldn’t trick herself into being happy, she could make the people around her happy, and that would make her happy. She was determined to get better. I’ll live my life for the both of us. Bumblesweet will make her mark on the world, even if she’s not here.

“Hey Marble.”, Pinkie greeted her twin with enthusiasm. She had gotten really good at seeming happy, even when she wasn't. “How are you doing today?”

“Alright”, Marble squeaked out.

“Well, that’s better than terrible. Hey, these patches are forming into a bunny.”, Pinkie said while pointing to the three little patches on Marble’s cheek.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s cute. I call first dibs on the shower!”, Pinkie said, then immediately rushed off down the hallway.

“Hey! I wanted to go first!”, Limestone called out.

“Too late!”, Pinkie called back from within the bathroom.

Fluttershy’s room

Date: same day , time: 7:00 am

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Beep beep beep

Fluttershy slapped the snooze button on her alarm clock, pulled herself out of bed, and went over to Angel’s cage. He was sleeping in such an adorable little ball that Fluttershy was hesitant to wake him up, but she needed to feed him. She gave him a head scratch, and Angle woke up and twitched his nose. “Hmhmhm, good morning Angel.” Fluttershy pulled out the pellet bin and scooped some into Angel’s bowl. Angel began munching, and Fluttershy began getting dressed, or rather tried.

As the time for school drew nearer, Fluttershy’s anxiety grew, but she powered through. Once dressed, Fluttershy went to the bathroom to take her meds and brush her teeth. “Come on, Fluttershy. It’s just school. You’ve been going there for years. You can do this.”, Fluttershy told herself. She waited until the meds started taking effect before going back to her room. The meds kept her from having a panic attack, but they didn’t completely get rid of her anxiety.

Upon returning to her room, Fluttershy saw Angel trying to escape. “Hehe, oh Angel, you silly bunny.” Fluttershy took Angel out of his cage, and Angel began snuggling Fluttershy. “I wish I could bring you to school with me.” Fluttershy placed Angel down and returned to getting ready. As Fluttershy stuffed what she would need into her backpack an idea struck her. “You would need to be potty trained, but this could work.”, Fluttershy said to Angel. Angel merely scratched himself.

Dr. Gray’s office

Date: same day, time: 4:30 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Hey, Doc.”, Rainbow said as she walked in the door.

“Hello, Rainbow. How have you been?”, Dr. Gray asked.

“I’ve been good.” Rainbow took a seat on the couch and leaned back on the armrest.

“How has school been?”

“Fine”

“Any panic attacks?”

“Nope”

“Any more hallucinations?”

Rainbow wanted to say she got soap thrown at her by one of her “hallucinations”, but that was unlikely to go over well. “Same as before. Moper’s still moping, The Girl is still hella creepy, and all that, but I haven’t seen anyone new.”

“Meds still aren’t working, I take it?”

“Yeah, and I would like to stop taking them.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s been almost a year now, and no matter what you put me on, I still see them, and I don’t like the side effects, and I don’t experience any other symptoms other than the hallucinations.”

“Rainbow, it can take much longer than that to find the right combination of meds. I would suggest you give it some more time.”

“I want to stop my medication.”, Rainbow said more sternly.

“Alright, I would have to talk with your parents about this. Is there anything you would like to talk about?”

Rainbow took a moment to collect her thoughts before answering. “I had a dream a couple of days ago.”

“About what?”

“It was about one of the times I saw Oro and Uncle Bliz fighting. Oro had a needle in his hand and blood was coming out of his inner elbow, and he was acting very erratically. I didn’t know what was going on at the time, but now I do.”

“Would you mind telling me?”

“Huh, it was when Uncle Bliz found out Oro was using. I still don’t know what exactly. No one will tell me. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I would guess heroin and crack, but I’ve never heard of either one taking someone’s soul away. I don’t know how to better explain it.”

“You mentioned before that Oro had no emotion when he did what he did. Can you tell me more about that?”

Memories of that day came rushing into Rainbow’s mind. Tears threatened to cascade down Rainbow’s face. She wiped the tears away and tried to speak but couldn’t. The dam completely broke, and Rainbow began sobbing. She didn’t try to stop the tears; there was no point. Dr. Gray was nice; she could cry around her. Dr. Gray never said anything when Rainbow cried. She never told her not to cry or that it was okay to cry or offered Rainbow any condolences or hugs. She’s always just shut up and let Rainbow cry. That’s why Rainbow liked her. She understood that crying wasn’t something that needed to be fixed. Rainbow felt safe to cry around her.

“There was just nothing there.”, Rainbow said once the tears finally subsided. “He was a good guy before, really awkward, but a good guy. I don’t remember what happened, but I remember he slowly became meaner and more closed off, but not even that was there. It was just a completely blank face. He might as well not have had a face. That was the scariest part.”

“How is your relationship with your uncle?”

“It’s okay. He’s a long haul trucker. We will all hang out when he is in town.”

“Would you say you have a meaningful relationship with your uncle?”

“- Our relationship is alright. He’s been withdrawn since that day and doesn’t do the whole touchy feely stuff. I know my abuela is acting as his emotional anchor.”

“That’s good. How’s your relationship with the rest of your family?”

“It’s the same as it’s always been. Oh, I’m going to go on a ride along with my mom soon. Well, I’ll be riding with the engine company. Mom says I’m still a bit too young for an ambulance ride along. I mean, I’ve already seen someone die. How bad can an ambulance ride along really be?”, Rainbow said excitedly.

“I’d imagine they can be really scary, if the shows are anything to go by.”

“Ha, my mom went on a rant about how stupid those characters are. I mean they called blue fire “extra sticky”, implying normal fire is already sticky, and that’s one of their smarter moments.”

“Oh”

“Yeah” The session continued until five. Once five came, Rainbow went back out to the lobby, where Mom was, and waved to the kid that went in next. His name might have been Sage, but Rainbow wasn’t sure. He had small, nearly imperceptible, scars around his face that Mom says are likely from reconstructive surgery. If that was the case, why he was seeing Dr. Gray would be a no brainer. Getting attacked by an animal was bound to leave more scars than just physical.

“How’d it go?”, Mom asked.

“Things went normally. We talked about your ‘bad first responder TV’ rant.”

“Oh, great.”, Mom said with a blush. Mom took Rainbow’s hand and led her out to the car. “Do you want to get ice cream?”

“Yes!”, Rainbow proclaimed.

Alba family home

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”, Sweetie Belle cheered as Dad scored a touchdown. Unlike Sweetie Belle, Rarity watched on in relative silence. Sports weren’t really something she gets excited about, but she likes watching Dad play and seeing her sister so excited.

Cli-click

Sweetie and Rarity turned in their seats when they heard the door being unlocked. “Dad!”, Sweetie and Rarity shouted as their father entered. The girls jumped off the couch and ran over to their father.

“Ohg, hey kiddoes.”, Dad said.

“Dad, we were just watching your game. You were incredible.”, Sweetie said.

“We all were. A team can only be effective when all players are working as a whole. Now, who wants to throw around the pigskin?”

“I do”, Sweetie said.

“I would love to.”, Rarity said.

“Great, get your play clothes on, and I’ll meet you outside.”, Dad instructed. Sweetie Belle ran off and up the stairs, and Rarity was about to follow but was stopped by Dad. “Rarity, are you okay? You can talk to me or your mom about anything.”

“I know I can. It’s just not always easy.”

“Alright, go get your play clothes on then.”

Rarity walked upstairs and into her room. She got out of her normal clothes and into her play clothes. Her play clothes consisted of a Black Bears jersey, matching skin tight shorts that cut off a quarter of the way down her shins, matching tennis shoes, and a matching bandana to help keep her hair clean and out of the way, all of which had varying levels of grass stains. Rarity gave Opal a head scratch then walked back downstairs and out to the backyard where Sweetie and Dad were already tossing the football back and forth.

“Ready to go?”, Dad asked.

“Yup”

“Go long.” Dad threw the ball across the yard, and Rarity and Sweetie ran for it. Rarity was the one to catch the ball and then threw it for Sweetie. Sweetie ran for it, jumped into the air, and caught it. She came down on her back and with a skid. Sweetie got up and began running towards the tree that designated Dad’s goal. Rarity and Dad both began running in the same direction. Dad was running at a greatly reduced speed in order to give Rarity and Sweetie a chance of beating him. When Dad got close to Sweetie, she tossed the ball to Rarity. Rarity grabbed the ball and began running faster. Running fast wasn’t Rarity’s specialty. She wasn’t slow, but she also wasn’t very fast. As Dad got close, Rarity tossed the ball back to Sweetie. Dad turned to run after Sweetie, but Rarity decided to take advantage of her specialty, charging and tackling. Rarity ran after her father and grabbed his legs, causing him to fall over. “Woah, aah!”, Dad cried as he crashed into the ground. Sweetie was able to make it to the tree after that.

“Touch down!”, Sweetie cried. Rarity released Dad and let him get up.

“Nice game, but it’s time to get cleaned up for dinner.”, Mom announced from the back door.

“Okay, we’re coming.”, Dad said, and he and Rarity got up, and everyone went inside.

The sound of Baba swearing, then covering it up with more child-friendly curses, and something boiling over caught Rarity’s attention. For whatever reason, the stove hated her and only her. Each time she could try to cook something, it would burn, boil over, or otherwise not cook properly. Baba was a great cook and owned several successful restaurants in Boston before moving in with them after Dedushka’s death. It was just this stove in particular that wouldn’t work for her. “You okay, Baba?”, Rarity asked in her rough Russian. Baba knew English but preferred Russian, especially if she’s tired or frustrated. She had been teaching Rarity and Sweetie since she came to live with them, but Rarity wasn’t picking it up as quickly as Sweetie.

“This stove freaking hates me.”

“Why don’t you have it replaced?”

Baba turned to Rarity with a serious look on her face. “Raritiva, Morozovas never leave a challenge unmet, and this stove is challenging me. Torta Klubnikaevna will not rest until she has beaten it.”, Baba said with a flourish of her wooden spoon.

Rarity rolled her eyes and went back upstairs to her room. Baba was the only person allowed to use her real name. Once she was in the privacy of her bedroom, she took her clothes off and put her bathrobe on. She then headed out for the bathroom, grabbing a clean towel from the linen closet along the way. She hung her bathrobe on one of the hooks, placed the towel on the rod, and got into the shower. The sun was setting, casting beams of lights threw the window. Rarity closed her eyes and let the water wash over her. As Rarity opened her eyes, she noticed something out of the corner of them. Rarity jumped and spun around. It was only after she realized it was just a shadow from a cloud did her heart stop beating so hard that it could jump out of her chest. Rarity took a few breaths to calm herself and slumped down into the tub.

“Why me?”, Rarity asked no one. Why did it have to be her they targeted? Why did it have to be her that has to live with the mental scars of that night? Why did it have to be her who now can no longer feel safe around crowds of strangers or by herself. All questions Rarity would never get answers to. She did feel safe around her friends ex-friends, but now, she doesn't have them, and it’s getting worse.

After several minutes of using the breathing technique her therapist showed her, Rarity picked herself up and continued her shower.

Emi’s room

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Emi, we’re levin’ soon.”, Mom said from Emi’s doorway.

“Okay, I’ll start getting ready.”

Mom nodded her head and left Emi’s room. Emi put her book down and hopped off her bed. She grabbed her bag filled with art supplies and books from her closet. As she did, Emi noticed one of her costumes, her doctor coat. Emi pulled it down and put it over her wolf onesie. She then put her backpack on and headed to the back porch where Mom and Sunset were getting their boots on.

“Are ya really goin’ ta wear dat ta da hospital?”, Mom asked.

“Yes”, Emi said confidently.

“Alright Dr. Wolf, let’s get your shoes on.” Mom picked Emi up and placed her on the swing and helped her get her shoes on. Emi knew how to do it on her own and was able to tie them, but Mom still held them in place to make it easier. Once her shoes were on, the three of them got into the car and drove to the hospital.

Upon reaching the hospital, everything was the same. They checked in and went up to the chemo wing, and Emi waved and said ‘hi’ to all of Grandpa’s coworkers and colleagues. It was the same doctors and nurses and the same boring ass procedure. Emi pulled out her coloring book and got to work. The coloring book consisted mostly of giant monsters and yokai. It was her favorite. Once Emi was all set up, Mom took Sunset to get her blood drawn and bagged.

These things normally only took about 20 to 30 minutes, but that was an eternity to a six year old. Every so often, the nurses came in to check Emi’s vitals and stuff. Mom always came back quickly and would stay with Emi, but she would sometimes need to go out into the hallway. Mom said it was because she needed fresh air, but Emi knew it was because Mom didn’t want her to see her cry, but Emi didn’t tell her. This whole situation sucked.

After the drugs were all pumped in, Emi was brought to the more comfortable room with fun wallpaper and toys to process the chemicals. Good Lily was there, playing on her dad’s phone. “Hey, Good Lily.”

“Why do you call me “Good Lily”?”

“Because there’s a ‘Lily’ at my sister’s school that’s a total bitch.”, Emi said. Lily’s dad’s head shot up to look at them in shock. “What? I’m half Irish. What else do you expect?”, Emi said while Sunset shrugged and Mom gave no reaction. Lily’s dad just shook his head with a comment to Lily not to say that word and went back to his paper.

“How are you doing with Ki’s death and all?”

“We’re taking it one day at a time. We all miss him.”

This wait period was a bit longer than normal, and Emi was wondering what was happening until the nurse came in. “Hello, Emi. we’re going to take you to get some x-rays.”, the nurse said.

“You’re going to microwave me to check to see if the cancer’s gone?”

“Wrong type of radiation but yes. Let’s get going now.” The nurse brought Emi to the x-ray room and did their thing before bringing her back to the comfy room.

After more waiting, Dr. Rojas came in with a manila envelope. The look on her face was not good. “Hello, girls. I have your x-rays back.”, Dr. Rojas started to explain. She was both of their doctor, and neither of them gave a crap about the other knowing their medical info. They were in the same boat. Dr. Rojas pulled the x-rays out and put them on the light box. Emi has seen enough of these to know what the different shades ruffly mean, and it wasn’t good.

“We’re not getting better.”, Emi said.

“Unfortunately, no. Although, there may be something that might help. There’s this new treatment that’s still in trial, but it might help you.”

Mom and Lily’s dad looked at each other. They weren’t friends, but they were in the same boat. It helped them to get the other’s opinion. “What else can we do?”, Lily’s dad asked.

“Ah think dat would be our best option.”

“Alright, I’ll start the paperwork. You’ll just need to sign it.” Dr. Rojas left the room, and Emi and Lily went back to chatting. Sunset was somehow sleeping with her bottom half on her chair and her top half on Mom with the armrests under her. How does she sleep like that? Dr. Rojas soon returned with the paperwork, and Mom and Lily’s dad read and signed their respective papers. “Thank you. We’ll start your new treatments next time you visit. You can go home when you’re ready.”

“Dat sounds good. We will see you next time.”, Mom said. Mom picked Emi up, and the three headed out of the hospital.

Hothoof home

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Windy’s perspective*

Windy grabbed the laundry basket and headed out to the laundry room. Ever since Rainbow was attacked, laundry duty had been transferred back to Windy and Bow. Walking past the location Moper was supposed to be, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. This was nothing new and is why she hates walking down this hallway, but she had always brushed it off as it being a dark place. However, seeing what happened to Rainbow, Windy was going to pay more attention to those feelings.

Before she could get too scared, Windy hurried into the laundry room and got her laundry. As she left the laundry room, Windy looked to where Rainbow described Mopper as being and tried to see if she could see him, or it. Windy could tell something was there by the sheer sense of danger she felt but couldn’t actually see anything. It was like a vague outline of something. The feeling of danger intensified, and Windy bolted. She ran back into her apartment with the basket of clean clothes under arm and slammed the door closed and locked it.

“Mom, are you okay?”, Rainbow asked from her room.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!”, Windy called back. She did her best to calm herself, but the fact that there was something that was trying to hurt Rainbow that she couldn’t do nothing about, both scared and angered Windy. She’s her mother. She should be able to protect her.

Windy placed the basket on the table and began folding the clothes. When she was about half way done, her phone rang, and she stopped to pick it up. “Hello?”

“Hello Ms. Whistles, this is Dr. Gray. I’m calling to let you know Rainbow wanted to stop her medications. She never expressed this desire to me before. Would you have any idea as to why she would want to do this?”

“I am aware she wants to do this, and I agree that she should stop. We’ve had an incident that seems to prove she’s not hallucinating.”

“What incident would that be?”

“The instance she calls ‘Moper’ attacked her while she was on camera. There is security footage showing a soap bottle being thrown at her by an invisible force, and she said it was Moper.”

“Are you suggesting that Rainbow is seeing the spirits of the deceased?”, Dr. Gray asked skeptically.

“I am aware of how it sounds, but I’ve seen the footage myself, and other people in our building have reported similar occurrences. This Moper even has a history of attacking young women and girls. I am giving you the okay to stop her medication.”

“Sigh, I will give Rainbow a new schedule that will wean her off the meds, but I do strongly advise that you not do this. We will eventually find the right medication for your daughter.”

“I understand your concerns, but I’m just trying to do what’s best for her, and I believe this is it.”

“As am I, Ms. Whistles. Have a good rest of your day.” Dr. Gray hung up the phone, and Windy went back to folding clothes.

Rainbow soon came into the dining room with a broom and dustpan in hand. She had been given sweeping duties in exchange of her laundry duty.

“Hey, Dr. Gray is going to put you on a new schedule that will wean you off of the meds.”, Windy said.

“Great, thanks, Mom.” Rainbow dumped the dust pan’s contents into the trash then placed the broom and dustpan back in the closet, took her folded clothes, and went back into her room.

“Ghosts, ghosts are real.”, Windy said while shaking her head. “Next thing I’ll hear is that magic’s real.”

Brigid’s and Anzhong’s bedroom

Date: same day, time: 9:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid laid on her bed, reading the Equestrian history book. She already knew what it said, making it a good practice read. She still over emphasized the ‘t’ in ‘stir’. It’s a very soft ‘t’ sound, almost imperceptible, and some accents even cause it to drop entirely. An interesting quirk of Ponish is that they have many words that translate to the same exact thing in English but are not interchangeable whatsoever. For example, there are two words that mean trot, but one refers to the action, and the other is a unit of measurement. Switching the two would make about as much sense as saying ‘they feeted away’. The point would still get across, but it wouldn’t be correct. It’s almost the exact opposite to English. Ponish had very few words with multiple meanings.

As Brigid read the part about Celestia’s and Luna’s ascension, something odd came up. There was no ascension. The book said that they were already alicorns by then. As odd as it was, Brigid knew that Sunset’s version was most likely the more accurate account. She did, quite literally, hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Sunset did mention two othe’ instances where da official report differs from wha’ actually happened. Ah’ll ask ‘er ‘bout it.

Brigid closed the book and headed down to Sunset’s room, with the book in hand. Upon reaching Sunset’s room, Brigid knocked and waited for Sunset to answer. “Come in.”, Sunset called out. Brigid entered Sunset’s room and looked around for her. Sunset’s room was dark, as she usually kept it that way. For a student of the sun, she was much more of a night owl, or bat.

“Ah, dere ya are.”, Brigid said once she saw Sunset at her desk.

“I’m here.”

“Ah was readin’ da history book f’r meself, n’ Ah noticed an inconsistency between wha’ ya said n’ what da book says.” Brigid opened the book up to the relevant page. “Ya said da princesses ascended afte’ dey did deir ‘hin’, but da book says dey were already ascended by dat time. What gives?”

“Although the fact that alicorns are created is not restricted information, it’s also not something taught in schools. I wasn’t Celestia’s first attempt at finding a successor. Her first attempt was a mare named Mage Light, back before she figured out she and Luna were immortal, and when I say that mare was power hungry, I mean she wasn’t Stalin but was close.”

“N’ she was allowed ta be Celestia’s student?”, Brigid asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hindsight’s twenty/twenty. Now, how alicorns are created was common knowledge back then, and Mage tried to become one. The results were disastrous. The force she used to bind the power was unstable, and let’s just say, Celestia figured out she was immortal after that.”, Sunset said in that dark-cheery tone.

“Aiy”, Brigid said with a grimace.

“Yeah, Celestia managed to fly her up into the air and away from other ponies before she went boom. After that, knowledge of how to create an alicorn became restricted only to the crown, and the fact that alicorns can even be created was swept under the rug. I didn’t even learn any of that until just a few months before I left, and that was only because a new alicorn was created. Kinda a funny story, actually.”

“Oh, Ah’d like ta hear dat story.”, Brigid said mischievously.

“We should take a seat on the couch.”, Sunset said while pointing to the furniture in question. “It’s kinda long.” Sunset and Brigid headed over to the couch and took their seats. “Now, to preface this story, curly hair is even rarer in Equestria than it is here. Some ponies have these wisps of curls at their tips, but true curly hair- we can’t even ask for a hairdresser with curly hair, it’s so rare. Now, for my whole life, my mom or dad would do my hair, and this story starts with the royal manedresser somehow managing to talk me into letting her do my mane, big mistake.”

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle

Date: 09/01/1115 Ee, time: 10th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ow! Ow! Ow! I said ‘tip to root’! I said ‘tip to root’!”, Sunset cried out in pain.

“It wouldn’t hurt so much if you combed out your mane more regularly. When was the last time you combed out your mane?”, the royal manedresser asked.

“I comb my mane every night!”, Sunset shouted, now very insulted. “You’re doing it wrong!”

“What’s going on in here?”, an unknown voice asked. The royal manedresser turned to look at the newcomer, and Sunset took the opportunity to escape. Sunset hopped off the chair and turned to the exit. A pink unicorn stood in the doorway, and the royal manedresser was facing her.

“Oh, nothing. My client here is just being uncooperative.”

The pink unicorn looked towards Sunset, and a look of comprehension came across her face as she had wavy hair of her own. “Yeeaah, I’m gonna say she wasn’t just being uncooperative.”, the pinkie unicorn said to the manedresser. She spoke in a “not Canterlot” accent, sounding rather rural. “Hey, I can help you with your mane if you wanna come back to my room.”, she said to Sunset.

“Please”, Sunset pleaded. The pink unicorn backed out of the doorway, letting Sunset rush out of the room. Sunset ran a few trots away before turning back to her savior. “Thanks a lot back there-” Sunset’s words died in her throat as she saw the two extra appendages no unicorn should have. She looked back at the other mare’s horn, then back to her wings, then back to her horn again. Sunset rubbed her eyes then looked back to the other mare just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Unicorn and pegasus hybrids were not unheard of, but they never have both physical characteristics. It’s always either a pegasus that can use unicorn magic through their wings or a unicorn that can naturally walk on clouds. That only left one option. “You’re an alicorn.”, Sunset said, astonished.

“I am.”

“How?”

“That’s a question best left to Auntie Celestia to answer.”, she said timidly.

“Auntie Celestia? Does that mean you’re the daughter of Princess Luna?”, Sunset asked excitedly. News of the Sovereign having an heir would have every thestral flying to Canterlot as fast as their wings would carry them.

“Who?”

“What?”

“I don’t know who Princess Luna is.”

Or not. “Okay then, who are you?”

“My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but I much prefer to be called Cadence.”

“Okay Cadence, if you’re not Luna’s daughter, why do you call Celestia ‘Auntie’?”

“Because she adopted me. That seemed most respectful.”, Cadence said like that was the most normal thing in the world. Sunset only had more questions now. What Cadence said made no sense. Celestia and Luna were the only alicorns. Any other alicorns would’ve needed to have come from them. Cadence apparently picked up on Sunset’s confusion. “You should ask Auntie Celestia. She’s better suited to answer your questions.”

“Oh, you bet I will.” Sunset turned to leave but was interrupted by Cadence.

“Do you still want me to help you with your mane and tail?”

Sunset stomped her hoof in irritation. She completely forgot about that, now she would have to wait to ask Celestia, and Faust knows how tight the royal manedresser made her knots. Sunset turned back around to face Cadence. “This is not going to be pleasant.”, Sunset said with a grimace.

Cadence put a hoof to her mouth and gave a light chuckle. “Hmhmhm, I have a few tricks that might help.” Cadence led Sunset to her room, which was right next to Sunset’s. Their doors were nowhere near each other’s, but they shared the tower. “Here we are. I’m still getting settled in. Give me a second to find my mane care supplies.” Cadence began rummaging around in the boxes, and Sunset looked around at what was already set up. There wasn’t much, but there were some small trinkets scattered about. The room itself was of similar design to Sunset’s and just as big.

“So, where are you from?”, Sunset asked, trying to make small talk.

“I’m from a town called ‘Gallopville’, up North. Aha, found them.” Cadence brought her mane care stuff over to the vanity and patted the seat for Sunset to sit.

“Never heard of it.”, Sunset said while walking over.

“Not surprising, it’s very small.”, Cadence said as she got started. Cadence began working on Sunset’s mane. It was worse than she thought. Cadence had to spend a near hour detangling Sunset’s mane, and that wasn’t even including her tail. It was painful, and Sunset wanted to badly hurt the royal manedresser. The manedresser hadn’t gotten to her tail, so it took less time. “There, I think I got them all.”

“Thank you”, Sunset said then stood up.

“Any time. Seriously, I’d be willing to help you with your mane and tail whenever you need.”

“Thank you, and same. I’d be willing to help you with your mane and tail. Faust knows you won’t find a manedresser that knows anything about curly hair.”

“Thank you. I think I will take you up on that offer.”

Sunset gave Cadence a nod then teleported to just outside Celestia’s room. Sunset gave a polite knock, but Celestia most likely already knew she was here. “Come in.”, Celestia said. Sunset entered and looked around for Celestia. Despite her being Equestria’s supreme ruler, Celestia’s room was rather mundane. Most nobles will completely deck out their houses and rooms to display their wealth and importance, but Celestia doesn’t need to do such childish things. Sunset found Celestia laying on her bed, reading a book. “Hello, Sunset.”

“Hi, I met Cadence.”

“Oh, I was going to properly introduce you two tomorrow, but I’m glad you met. What did you think of her?”, Celestia said while sitting up.

“She’s nice, but I was wondering where she came from. You and Luna were the only alicorns, and Luna’s been on the moon for the last thousand years. That leaves you as the only one Cadence could’ve gotten her alicorn traits from, but she says you only adopted her. You’re not telling one of us something.”

“Sunset, Cadence and I are not related.”

“How else could she be an alicorn?”

“Is that really what’s more important, or is her character?”, Celestia said while walking over to Sunset.

“Well, her character is what’s truly important, but I would still like to know how she’s an alicorn.”

“I will tell you this, Sunset. Get to know Cadence, then I’ll tell you how she’s an alicorn.”

She’s planning something. “All right, but I should warn you. I’ll be spending the whole time pestering you about who her father is.”, Sunset said with a cheery smile.

Celestia gave her own cheery smile, but Sunset has known her long enough to see the grimace underneath. “All right, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you.” Sunset gave Celestia a soft smile before teleporting away.

*Present Day*

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 9:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So, that’s how I met the first alicorn to be created in a thousand years. After a week of getting to know her and the two of us bonding over mane care, Celestia told me how alicorns are created.”

“Why did she wait a week before tellin’ ya?”

“I guess she was worried about how I’d react. She has this grand idea that becoming an alicorn is some divine gift of destiny.”

“Ya don’t?”

“It’s a power, nothing more, nothing less. Bcey, I don’t even believe in destiny anymore.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Was getting this a part of my destiny,” Sunset pointed to her scar, “or this?” Sunset pointed to her previously broken leg, “Were any of the terrible things that happened to me? Was it the destiny of the Equestria First Legionnaires to be racist monsters? What god would write that? Faust was just a normal scribe and story writer. She’s not up in Elysium, writing all of our stories.”, Sunset said, agitated, then lowered her head. Tears were threatening to escape from Sunset’s eyes. She didn’t want Brigid to see her so weak.

“Are ya okay?”, Brigid asked calmly. She placed her hand on and rubbed Sunset’s shoulder.

“I don’t know what to believe in anymore.”, Sunset said solemnly.

“Hey,” Brigid cupped Sunset’s face in her hands, “it doesn’t matte’ wha’ external force ya believe in. Ya c’n believe in a giant, flying spaghetti monster.- Pastafarianism, it’s a real religion. -Wha’ matte’s is dat ya believe in yourself. Ya c’n write y’r own destiny.”

Sunset wrapped her arms around Brigid and just buried herself into her bulk. Religion was complicated. The more she learned, the more she questioned, and now, she needed to go look up Pastafarianism.

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle royal spa suite

Date: 16/01/1115 Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

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, but that wasn’t the only thing that occurred to her. “Princess Celestia, if you and Luna weren’t born alicorns, what about your parents?”

For the first time that night Celestia’s face became serious and even a bit sorrowful. “Sunset, you and your family are rather religious, correct? You pray to my mother for some clue about your destiny, and you pray to my father to bless your armor and weapons before battle.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

“Well, the truth of the matter is, my parents were not gods. My mother was a writer but not of destinies. She was a court scribe and fairytale writer. My father was a forge master, but he did not create Equoes. Over the centuries, despite my best efforts, my parents have been deified. In reality, they were normal unicorns that lived during the founding of Equestria.”

Sunset’s ears went flat against her head. This couldn’t be true, a lie, but it was Celestia. She would have no reason to lie about this, not to her. “Thank you for telling me this.”, Sunset said flatly. She pulled herself out of the water and began heating up her fur. “I think I’m going to turn in for the night.”

“Sunset, are you okay?”, Cadence asked.

“I - need to process this.” Sunset slowly walked to the door, steam wafting off her.

“No, let her go.”, Celestia said. Sunset could only guess it was in response to Cadence trying to stop her.

Sunset exited the spa and teleported to her parents’ house. She ended up not needing to knock as her Dad noticed her. “Sunset, you know you can just teleport straight in. You don’t need to wait for one of us to let you in.”, Dad said once he opened the door.

“I prefer to be polite.”, Sunset said as she walked inside.

“Is something bothering you? You look troubled.” Dad closed the door and moved to face Sunset, and Mom joined them.

“Sunset?”, Mom asked worriedly.

Sunset debated telling them. She hated that they were living a lie, but knowing the truth would also crush them. It was Mom’s faith that helped her through everything that has happened to her, and Dad was very religious. “I’ve learned something very troubling.”

“Sunset, you can tell us anything.”, Dad said.

“He, you know I can’t. They wouldn’t be state secrets if I spilled them.”, Sunset said with a light chuckle.

“Is there anything you need?”, Mom asked.

“Space and time.”

Mom and Dad parted, and Sunset walked upstairs and into her old room. The room was painted to look like a cloudy night sky. The bed had a homemade canopy that gave Sunset a safe feeling, like being in a cave. The room wasn’t big enough for a desk, but she did have a breakfast-in-bed table that served as a suitable substitute. When Sunset was a filly, any and all available space, which was barely anything beyond her bed, was filled with bookshelves, which were in turn filled with books that Sunset scavenged and small nick-nacks Sunset liked to collect. She clearly picked up a few habits from Spitfire. She even stuffed as many books as she could under her bed.

Nowadays, most of those books were located in her room at Canterlot Castle, but there were still a few story books lying about. Sunset levitated one of them up. It was a book about the various legends involving Faust and Cracken. Mom and Dad used to read it to her before bed. She was raised to believe these stories were true, but they’re not. Lies, all of them. Sunset glared at the book, and her magical grip tightened. The book began to smoke and then burst into flames. “Aw, shit.” Sunset dropped the book and quickly stomped out the flames. Sunset picked the book back up and inspected the damage. The damage was contained to the cover and the fringes of the pages. She casted ‘Mend’ on it and set it back down.

Sunset climbed onto her bed and under her canopy and curled up into the fetal position. Her mind was all over the place with feelings of betrayal and hurt twisting within her gut. She didn’t know how to feel about any of it. She didn’t know if she should be mad at Celestia, if she should even feel betrayed, or what. All she knew is that she had been lied to her entire life.

*Present Day*

“Sunset?”

Sunset looked up to meet Brigid’s eyes. She tightened her grip around her. Her mother was here and real. She could hold her as tightly as she wanted. If there was anything she could believe in, it was Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, Anura, Minerva, all the people she could touch, feel, and see. “Yeah?”

“Do ya express how ya feel in y’r art?”

“Not really, it’s hard to express it. How do you express that you were betrayed by your very gods?”

“Fair, but ya also can’t bottle dese feelin’s up. Dat’s how ya get a pipe bomb.”

“What am I even supposed to do?”

“Ah - Ah don’t know. Ah straight up have no idea a’ wha’ Ah’m doin’. Parentin' is like flyin’ by da seat a’ y’r pants, but ya don’t even have pants.”

“Hff, the mental image of you trying to fly a plane in your underwear is funny.”

“- Trousers, dat saying is ‘bout trousers.”, Brigid said astonished.

“Hahaha”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up.”

Author's Note

The next chapter will take a while longer than normal. I just got my wisdom teeth yanked out, and I'm in a bit of pain. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but I'm going to be doing a lot of sleeping for the foreseeable future.