Sunset's human world origin

Road to Bluefaun

Date: June 29th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset groggily looked out the window as they rounded the mountain. Having to get up at 6-fuck o’clock so they could finish packing and get to the research site wasn’t her idea of a plan, but she wasn’t the one driving. These mountains almost completely surrounded their community and, with the help of the forest, ocean, and a large river, kept them secluded from the rest of the world, but these mountains also contained many secrets. The disappearance of Bluefaun was just the tip of the iceberg. Tales of unknown creatures, disappearing hikers, and various mysterious lights surrounded the mountains and forest. They were not an insignificant part of why Canterlot is called the most haunted city in Maine, even though the three most famous ghost stories happened outside of the city proper. Sure, some of those stories could possibly be explained, but a six year old going missing and later being found impaled on a branch, 60 ft. up a tree, was less explainable.

The road they turned onto was not well kept and was still dirt and only big enough for a single car. There hasn’t been a reason to upgrade it. It only leads to one place, and that place has been abandoned for nearly 300 years. Since Brigid asked her if she wanted to come with her, Sunset’s been researching Bluefaun’s history. The disappearance of the people has been widely regarded as the first modern unexplained event of the Canterlot area. Back in 1728, Alex Kuchen, who co-owned the general store with his brother, and his wife and kids went out on a restocking trip to Canterlot, but when they got back two days later, everyone was gone. There was still food on the tables, and nothing looked out of place. All the horses and other animals were still alive and in their stables or houses or wherever. There were just no people, and no one could figure out why. It was like everyone just up and left, but they didn’t bring anything they’d need to survive nor ever made it to any other human settlements.

A few years later, the government tried to restart the mine, but it was found that the mine had become filled with toxic gas. The mine had to be sealed and the project scrapped. Some people thought that was why the town was abandoned, but that explanation was deemed unlikely. The toxic gas theory wouldn’t explain the state of the town. If the gas was why they left, they would’ve had time to pack their things, and they wouldn’t have left their horses behind.

The many theories range from mass panic and plague to aliens, spirits, and a murderous cult. The mass panic theory states that something scared everyone enough to cause them to run into the forest, where they then died, but search parties combed the mountains following the disappearance, and no bodies were ever found. The lack of bodies and short time frame also discounts the plague theory. The aliens and spirits theories are your basic ‘they were abducted by X’. What’s possibly the most disturbing theory is that the mountains were home to a murderous cult, and during those two days, they murdered everybody and cleaned up the crime scene. That theory’s kinda fun, but the least likely. Murderous cults don’t exactly care about crime scene clean up, and the town had a population of over 1,000 people, many of whom had guns and mining tools. One cult wasn’t killing an entire town of armed miners.

The town came into sight, and a disturbing feature of it became known to Sunset. There was no plant life within several feet of the town. Everything was dead, like the Pridelands under the rule of Trash in the Lion Queen.

“Mom?”

“Ah know, honey. It’s because a’ da gas. It’s seeping outa da bedrock n’ inta da soil. Da gas is closest ta da surface near da town, so more gas is in da soil.”

“If the gas is seeping out of the ground, is it safe ta be here?”

“Yeah, Ah wouldn’t bring ya if it wasn’t. A bunch a different smarty pants from a bunch a different fields say “At da rate at which da gas is bein’ released, it would take months f’r us ta accumulate a fatal dose”, but we’ll be campin’ outside da wiltin’ zone, jus’ ta be safe. N’ we won’t go near da mine.”

The thought of being inside any place called ‘the wilting zone’ didn’t sit well with Sunset, but this was Earth. It’s not like Earth has any- Wait, no, brine pools are a thing and Chernobyl and Lake Natron. Fuck, Earth doesn’t even need magic to create danger zones. “Earth is a death trap.”

“Ah won’t argue with ya dere.”

Brigid parked the car near a bunch of other cars, one of which was a really nice looking, blue truck that didn’t look like something someone would take camping. They grabbed their tools, which consisted of a couple of small cameras, dusting brushes, a big ol’ bag Brigid put together, and flashlights, got out, and headed to the group of researchers near one of the buildings. The buildings were badly dilapidated, but there were no plants taking them over or animals making their homes inside. It was like a post apocalypse movie, but as unnerving as it was, nothing was telling her to run. There was a mild odor in the air that she guessed was the gas.

The researchers ranged in age, gender, and race, but they all wore basically the same thing as Sunset and Brigid did, summer outdoor adventurer getup. The only real difference in what they wore was that some of them, including Sunset and Brigid, had on hunting orange hats and/or vests. Nobody in their right mind would come here to hunt, but you can’t argue that with a bullet. Plus, looking at some of the buildings, wearing orange would make it easier to be found in case of a collapse.

“How y’all doin’?”

“Hey, Doctor, we’re debriefing. Care to join?”, an odd, native looking man with blue hair asked. He was one of the few people wearing jewelry with a gold and red earring on his right ear.

“Ah’m sure Ah c’n fit ya in.”, Brigid joked, and the two of them joined the circle.

“Hey, I know you. What’s your name again?”, Sunset said to a dark brown girl with grayish purple hair and turquoise eyes.

“My name is Maud Pie. We met while deer hunting last year.”

“Right, you’re Pinkie’s sister, somehow.”

“Let’s get ta introductions, den we c’n chat. Ya know Maud. She’s a geology student. Dis is Dr. Rusty Tenure. He’s a geologist n’ Maud’s teacher. Dis is Dr. Teddie Safari. She’s a botanist n’ zoologist. Dat’s Dr. Top Marks. He’s a historian n’ asshole.”

“I beg your pardon.”, Dr. Marks said indignantly.

“Start beggin’.”, Brigid snarked. Dr. Marks made a face like he just stepped in crap, but Brigid ignored him and continued with the introductions. “N’ dis fine example a’ da reason ya don’t have a kid with yer siste’ cousin is Dr. Ahuizotl Lobo. He’s an archaeologist, and his name translates ta ‘water dog wolf’. Ah jus’ all him Dr. Ahui. Everyone, dis is mo daughte’, Sunset. She’s ‘ere ta explore da supernatural side a’ dis mystery.”

“Hi”, Sunset said.

“Supernatural side, Brigid, are you serious?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“Ah am. Ah know it’s hard ta accept, but we’re dealin’ with an entire town a’ people havin’ gone poof, jus’ like dat.”, Brigid said with a snap of her fingers. “N’ keep in mind, chemistry was considered witchcraft jus’ a few hundred years ago, à la alchemy. We only call it supernatural ‘cause we don’t understand it.”

“Just keep an eye on her and don’t let her disturb the evidence.”, Dr. Marks said, badly containing his irritation.

Sunset rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not like this is a secure crime scene. Everything here has been exposed to nearly three hundred years of the elements, animals, and dumb humans. I’m not going to destroy some crucial piece of evidence that will crack this case.”, Sunset spat. His little remark didn’t help the hatred she already had for him from his pony counterpart. He wasn’t that bad compared to other upper end Canterlottens, but that was like comparing rotten apples to rotting apples.

“Sunset, be nice.”, Brigid quietly chastised, then turned to Dr. Marks. “Sunset knows wha’ she’s doin’.”

“I believe Dr. Katon has the right idea.”, Dr. Tenure said. “Only leaning into conventional or unconventional thinking will only lead to dead ends. Besides, having another person isn’t going to cause us any issues.”

“I also think Sunset’s inclusion is wise. There is more in heaven and Earth than is taught in school.”, Maud said. Her monotone voice still unnerved Sunset, but she seems smart.

“You’re just saying that because it’s what your mentor said.”, Dr. Marks scoffed.

“I just want to know what happened to my family.”

Family?

“Wha’ do ya mean by dat?”, Brigid asked, taking the words out of Sunset’s mouth.

“My family name used to be ‘Kuchen’ before World War Two.”

“Oh”, everyone except Dr. Tenure and Maud said.

“Come on, we’re bleeding daylight. What do we already know?”, Dr. Lobo said.

“Everyone that was in the town disappeared without a trace and without taking anything, not even their horses. Neither hide nor hair of them have been found, and there was no sign of a struggle. And the mine’s farting. With the most plausible theory being aliens, this investigation isn't looking too good.", Sunset recapped.

“So, spread out and look for anything that gives us a plausible theory, other than aliens.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Or look for evidence that supports the alien theory. Just gather whatever evidence you find.”, Dr. Tenure said. Dr. Marks sneered at him, but Dr. Tenure ignored him. The environmental guys went off to find an environmental reason, Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks went off to look at the buildings, and Brigid looked for any human reasons they would’ve left.

Any magic residue from a spell, even one as large as what would’ve been needed to make 1,000+ people disappear, would’ve been long, long gone, but that’s not what Sunset was looking for. As big as the spell would’ve needed to be, it would be more likely that it was a ritual. Rituals could involve just about anything as materials, but all rituals are performed the same way. She just had to find a spell circle, and that could still be around. Spell circles tend to leave scorch marks on whatever surface they were drawn on. So long as it wasn’t drawn on loose dirt, which isn’t recommended anyways, or paper, also unlikely due to the needed size, it should still be there.

Sunset weaved in and out of the houses, looking for any signs of magic and taking pictures as she went, but so far, they were your average puritan homes. The lack of hallways surprised her though. You had to walk through bedrooms to get to the next room. I guess privacy wasn’t much of a thing back then. She exited another building and headed to the next one. The half missing sign and the disheveled clan crest next to the front door made it clear it was the Kuchens’ store.

Upon entering the store, Sunset could see the 300 year old remains of food, clothes, cookware, and candy. She could only tell some of the stuff was food and candy based on the containers. The clothes were riddled with holes and looked like they’d fall apart if they were sneezed on. Behind the counter was a doorway with the door having fallen off its hinges. Sunset walked through the door and saw an old-timey living room. I guess they had their store in their home.

The floorboards behind Sunset creaked, and she spun around and took up a fighting stance, ready to fight whoever it was until she saw it was just Maud. “Huh, that hasn’t happened in a while.”, Sunset commented, referring to being snuck up on, as she relaxed.

“Found anything yet?”, Maud asked.

“No, this town would be really boring if it had people.”

Maud said nothing and just walked past Sunset.

“Okay” Sunset followed Maud deeper into the house. Just like the rest of them, there were no hallways, and it was very puritan. As they passed through one of the bedrooms, Sunset noticed a rug near one of the beds. In of itself, it wasn’t very suspicious, but she got the feeling she should look closer at it. She tried to lift it up, but as she grabbed it, the rug fell apart in her hands. She switched to scooting it off the spot. The rug still crumbled and had to be brushed away. “Wow” Underneath were scorch marks from multiple spell circles. The rings were a much darker color from being drawn in the same place over and over again, and the runes were so overlaid Sunset couldn’t make heads or tails of them. The only thing she knew for sure was that this couldn’t be the cause of the disappearance. The spell circles were only big enough to affect a single being.

“Hey! Maud! Take a look at this!”

Maud came over, and her eyes locked onto the spell circle. “What’s that?”

“One of your ancestors practiced magic and wasn’t half bad.”

“That’s not surprising. Alex’s wife came up from Salem to escape the trails. Her sister lived here.”

“Does your family still practice?”

“No”, Maud simply said. “Could this be why everyone disappeared?”

“Not a chance, at least not directly. A spell circle this size couldn’t gather enough power to disappear an entire town.”

“You said “at least not directly”.”

“Correct, your ancestor’s use of magic might have attracted something that was powerful enough, but I have no way of proving that.”

“We still got nothing.”

“That’s correct.”

Maud nodded and continued on her way, leaving Sunset to her investigation. Sunset looked around the room, but any other clues were long gone. She took pictures of the circle and, without any more information to be gained, moved on.

After searching through all the buildings, except for the church, she met up with her mother in the town square. The square was the only part of the town to have pavers, but it was clear that the rest of the town was meant to get them too from the piles of unused pavers. In the square was the pub, church/school, and the government office/jail/sheriff’s office. In the middle of the square, and where Brigid was sitting, were some benches and a statue of the town founder, Cole Bluefaun. He inherited a large sum of money from his family and used it to start up the mine and build the town.

According to his Omnipedia page, and confirmed by his statue, he was a dwarf that used humor to deal with the ridicule. One of the quotes attributed to him was “If people are going to laugh at me, I might as well give them something actually funny”. His statue consisted of him on a soap box, wearing a well tailored suit with a large top hat, and a cane in his hand. The base of the statue had “Our founder, Cole Bluefaun”, the town name, and the establishment date, 1702, engraved on a plaque, but the more interesting engraving was of another one of Cole Bluefaun’s quotes, directly on the soap box. It read, “You may be taller than me, but I’m bigger than you in all the ways that matter.”, and yes, the statue did have a large package. Sunset particularly liked this quote. It had both a crude and heartfelt meaning.

“Did ya find anything?”, Brigid asked as Sunset approached.

“I did. The Kuchen matriarch was a witch and used spell circles.”

“Did dat have-”

“Nope, not powerful enough.”

“So, we still got nothin’.”

“Weeell, I do have a theory.”

“What?”

“Earth’s literature suggests creatures from Equoes have been coming to Earth for hundreds of years. Logic dictates that creatures from Earth could end up on Equoes.”

“It’s an interesting theory, but dat wouldn’t explain why only da humans n’ da clothes dey wore were taken. Ah c’n’t imagine dat portals like dat would target specific beings.”

“It would be the entity controlling the portal.”

“But why?”

Sunset shrugged. “It would appear that I’m just spitting out another version of the ‘abducted by aliens’ theory.”

“Let’s move away from da how n’ ta da why. Why would something want ta disappear an entire town a’ humans?”

“Maybe it wasn’t intentional. What if it was an accident?”

“Dat brings us ta da same problem. Why only da humans?”

“Ugh, this is making no sense. If it was something that wanted the town gone, they left it here. And why these humans?”

“Find anything?”, Dr. Lobo asked as he and Dr. Marks walked into the square.

“Other than the Kuchen matriarch was a practicing witch, just more questions. We were just pondering if something had purposely taken them, but that only leads to ‘Why these humans?’.”

Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks both looked to be thinking before Dr. Marks spoke. “You have a point. Even if the Kuchens hadn’t been away, the companies that bought the raw ore would’ve discovered the people missing within weeks. There were many other towns that people would’ve never known had gone missing during that time. If something did take these people, its motive wasn’t to go undetected.”

“Dat’s a surprisingly well thought out line a’ thought from you, Dr. Marks.”

Dr. Marks growled, but Dr. Lobo stepped in. “You should see what we found.”

Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks led them into the church and down into the basement. Brigid, Dr. Marks, and Dr. Lobo had to turn on their flashlights, but Sunset could see well enough. She hadn’t bothered to search the church as this brand of religion tends to be antithetical to magic. In the basement was Dr. Safari, looking at something on some boxes. The four of them huddled around the boxes, and Sunset recognized what it was.

“A cockatrice?!”

The mummified remains of a cockatrice sat on top of a pile of boxes.

“You know what this is?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“It’s a half chicken half snake creature that’s known to turn po-people into stone with its stare, but the most important part is that it should not be here.”

“Of course it shouldn’t be here. Cockatrices aren’t real. It’s obviously someone’s idea of a prank.”, Dr. Lobo said.

Dr. Marks looked unsure, and Dr. Safari looked uncomfortable. “I’ve had a few sewn together specimens come across my table over the years and can normally peg them as fake at a glance, but this one… I don’t see any stitching, at all. If this is a prank, it’s the best one I’ve ever seen.”, Dr. Safari said.

“Sunset, you said Jane Kuchen was a witch. Could these be linked?”, Dr. Marks asked, seeming too confused to be an asshole.

“Maybe, but I have no idea what she was doing, so I can't say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. All I know is this.” Sunset took out a marker and wrote a light spell on one of the other boxes. “This is a spell circle. One of the members of the Kuchen clan had used these extensively. When one is activated, it leaves behind a scorched imprint due to not being one hundred percent effective. Just like everything else, some of the energy is converted into heat. If you do this over and over again in the same spot, the naked eye can’t discern what you were doing.”

“Would you mind giving a demonstration?”, Dr. Marks said with his skeptical asshole tone back.

“Heh, I can try. Not sure how well this will go.” Sunset tried replicating the same technique she’d use with her horn and focused the magic into her finger. He felt her hand get warmer and poked the spell circle. The circle glowed for a fraction of a second, and a small ball of light formed in the center circle and then floated up to the ceiling before disappearing. Must not have had much magic. Either way- “I did not expect that to work.”

Sunset turned back to the doctors, who all had their mouths hanging open while looking up at where the light disappeared. All four of them looked back to Sunset then the circle. Some slight charring and an indent in the exact shape of Sunset’s spell circle now sat in the wood of the box.

“The-there must be a logical explanation.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Holy crap! Magic’s real!”, Dr. Lobo shouted in excitement.

Dr. Safari just stood there, gaping like a fish, and Brigid was just stunned.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening! Nobody's going to believe this!”, Dr. Lobo continued. “Wait, nobody’s ever going to believe this, no matter how many pictures I take. Aw man, the greatest scientific discovery of my life and I’ll never have it officially recognized.”

“What is all this shouting about?”, Dr. Tenure asked as he came down the stairs.

“Forget it. You’ll never believe me.”, Dr. Lobo said solemnly. He went back upstairs, and Dr. Tenure joined the rest of them in the basement.

Brigid walked over to Sunset and placed her arm around her. Sunset could sense Brigid’s unease and see that she was watching the others very closely. Did I mess up?

“Would someone tell me what’s got him so riled up?”

“We just saw magic, first hand, and he’s upset no one will ever believe him.”, Dr. Marks explained.

“Is that it?”

At that moment, the only person not confused was Dr. Tenure.

““Is that it?” We just told you magic was real, and that’s your response.”, Dr. Safari asked disbelievingly.

“I’ve known about magic since I was a young boy. I encountered a horse-like insect creature, and I’m pretty sure it could speak, but I couldn’t understand its language. It died shortly after, and I never told anyone, until now.”

“Do you know what it died from?”, Sunset asked.

“I couldn’t say for certain, but the whole time, it seemed short of breath.”

Sunset nodded and mentally added that to her notes.

“I’m going to get a locker. I want to bring this back to the university.”, Dr. Safari said. She went back up stairs, Dr. Tenure went to take a look at the cockatrice, Dr. Marks went over to inspect the spell circle, and Brigid and Sunset headed back out to the town square and sat on one of the benches.

“It’s lookin’ more n’ more like da people ended up in Equestria.”

“Seems like it, but I’m wondering what killed the breezie.”

“Da what?”

“The creature Dr. Tenure found as a boy is called a breezie. They’re extremely delicate life forms to the point even a leaf passing by can throw them off their path. However, delicate doesn’t mean easy ta kill.”

“Hm, wha’s Equoes’ atmosphere made up of?”

“Hm, give me a sec. This was a pretty new discovery when I left, so I need a minute to remember. - Okay, it was something like fifty percent oxygen, forty-eight percent nitrogen, and two percent other gasses.”

“Well, dat explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Earth’s atmosphere is only about twenty-one percent oxygen. Da breezie suffocated.” Brigid’s brow furrowed, and her head lowered. “Dat also means, if dey ended up on Equoes, da citizens a’ Bluefaun died a long, painful death.” Brigid looked up and saw the confused look on Sunset’s face. “Dey would’ve died a’ oxygen toxicity, n’ da symptoms are visual changes, ringin’ in da ears, dizziness, confusion, hiccups, coughing, throat irritation, chest pain, trouble breathin’, n’ muscle twitchin’ in face and hands. It takes only ten hours for symptoms to start showin’ but forty-eight hours ta die from it at one hundred percent oxygen. Ah don’t know how long it would take at fifty percent, but Ah guess ‘bout four days, n’ dat doesn’t sound like a good way ta go ta me.”

“No, it doesn’t. Now, I know why I was turned into a human. I wonder who created that portal and why.”

“Add dat ta da list a’ questions Ah doubt we’ll eve’ get an answer to.” Brigid stood up and looked at her watch. “Come on, it’s lunch time, n’ we’ve done all we c’n f’r taday.”

Sunset got up and followed Brigid back to their car. The blue truck was now gone, and Sunset guessed it was Dr. Lobo’s. They got into their car, and Brigid drove them to a clearing where there were already some tents and work stations set up. Dr. Lobo was trying to set up his blue tent, and there were a couple new people in front of a white tent with red crosses on it. “I take it the MDs are here because of the gas.”

“Ayuh” Brigid parked in the “parking lot”, and they grabbed their camping equipment and headed to the campsite. “Before we set up, we need ta check in with da meda docs.”

Sunset nodded her acknowledgement, and they walked over to the medical tent. They placed their equipment on the ground, and Brigid started talking with one of the medics. “Hello, Ah’m Dr. Katon, n’ dis is mo daughter, Sunset. We were both at Bluefaun.”

“Alright, Dr. Kim, please take Sunset.”, the MD said.

“Okay, Sunset, please come sit down.” Dr. Kim pointed to a seat next to a folding table covered in medical equipment. Sunset went over and sat down, and Dr. Kim put on his stethoscope and placed it on Sunset’s back. “Breathe deeply for me.”

Sunset did as instructed and watched Brigid have the same done to her. This wasn’t the first time she had to do this, even for the same reason. It was many years ago, and Sunset was just a squad captain. She was a part of the Monster Hunter Corp, and there was talk of a cragadile near a village. As sturdy as they were, they were easy enough to deal with. The problem was that this one had made its home in a Req class danger zone, meaning poisonous gas, and this same medical check needed to be done after the mission was completed.

“So, what did you do, up at Bluefaun?”, Dr. Kim asked.

“I went up there to find any signs that magic was involved in the disappearance.”, Sunset answered.

“Oh, did you find anything?”, Dr. Kim asked in a tone you’d use when asking a kid what their imaginary friend looked like.

“Signs of witchcraft, yes, but I can not conclusively say whether or not it was involved in the disappearance. For all I know, someone was just trying to keep one of their relatives safe.”

Dr. Kim looked at Sunset a bit more seriously but still with more than a bit of skepticism and took his stethoscope off. “Did you smell anything odd while you were up there?”

“Yes, I could smell the gas. It smelled like soil and rotten eggs.”

“So, ya weren’t speakin’ in hyperbole when ya said da mountain’s fartin’.”, Brigid said.

“Not entirely.”

“How strong would you say the smell was?”, Dr. Kim asked. His face was neutral, but Sunset could sense his growing concern.

“Keep in mind, she has a very strong sense a’ smell, n’ Ah mean she’s got a bette’ nose dan some dogs. Ah couldn’t smell anythin’ odd.”

That eased Dr. Kim’s concern, and he moved on with his questions. “How does your throat feel, any irritation?”

“No”

“Do you have any concerns?”

“No, I can breathe jus’ fine.”

“Alright, you can go on with your day, but come talk to me if you feel anything off.”

Sunset hopped off her chair and grabbed her stuff, which included the tent, and carried it over to a suitable spot and began unpacking. Brigid joined shortly after, and they got to setting up. This tent was the same design as their hunting tent, though slightly harder to set up due to its larger size. The cots allowed them to store their bags under themselves and have even more space. Several minutes later, their campsite was set up, and everyone else had arrived and were setting up. Everyone had ended up in a ruff U-shape, so Sunset grabbed the shovel and began digging a firepit in the approximate center.

“Hey! Does anyone else want any squirrel stew?!”, Brigid called from the parking lot. Dr. Marks looked disgusted at the idea. Sunset was glad Brigid couldn’t see his face.

“Are squirrels even in season?!”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Who gives a shit?! Dey’re rats with fluffy tails!”

“Squirrels are considered rodents, so can be hunted year round.”, Maud added.

“Maud says no one!”, Sunset relayed to Brigid.

Brigid returned with their food bag over her shoulder, her revolver, knife, and a spare bag at her hip, and Sunset’s holstered revolver and knife in her hand. “Back ta mo question. Who wants squirrel stew?”

Dr. Marks opened his mouth, looked at Brigid’s gun, closed his mouth, and went back to setting up his fancy-smancy looking tent. He’s smarter than he looks.

“I would like some.”, Dr. Tenure said.

“So would I.”, Maud said.

“Same”, Dr. Lobo said.

“That sounds good.”, Dr. Safari said.

Dr. Kim and the other MD talked amongst themselves for a bit before answering. “No thank you.”, the other MD said.

“Alright, see ya late’.” Brigid handed Sunset her revolver and knife and placed their food bag next to their tent. Sunset strapped up and followed Brigid into the woods.

Brigid found a spot for them to hide and watch for squirrels. Sunset kept an ear open for skittering but had her eyes focused on the ground. She wrote a light spell into the soil, and it worked. She now held a little ball of light the size of a mandarin in her hands. She tried to supply it with magic to keep it going, but trying to use magic the way she did back on Equoes just wasn’t working, and the light fizzled out after about ten seconds.

A loud bang rang out, and Sunset looked over to see that Brigid had gotten a squirrel. They got back up, retrieved the squirrel, and went to find a new spot. As they repeated this process, they got further and further away from Bluefaun. Each time they stopped, Sunset casted another light spell. Each time she casted it, it was the exact same. There was no deviation in light output, size, or how long it lasted. From the looks of things, Bluefaun wasn’t some magic hotspot, at least not anymore.

By the time they’d gathered twelve squirrels, they had reached a river. Brigid examined it and motioned Sunset over. “Dere’s brook trout in ‘ere. Want some?”

“Asking me if Ah want fish is like asking a dog if it wants a treat.”

Brigid gave Sunset a crooked smile then the two of them got to fishing.

“What’s the bag limit on brook trout?”, Sunset asked.

“Five, n’ deir size limit is a minimum a’ six inches.”

“Is the bag limit per household or what?”

Brigid seemed to be thinking as she pulled out a fish that you could tell just from looking at it exceeded six inches, quickly processed it, and stuffed it in the bag. “It’s probably per household, but Ah don’t know if we c’n fish f’r da othe’s. Let’s just get five. We c’n get more tomorrow.” They quickly got another four brook trout, adding to Sunset’s theory that Brigid has some sort of way with nature. “Ah know it’s a bit late, but wanna see if dere’s still any fiddleheads?”

“Sure”

With a bag full of meat, they marched off in the general direction of camp, not worrying about being quiet anymore. They kept their heads down to look for any edible plants. They collected what they could find and eventually made it back to camp. Everyone was all set up by then, and someone had been collecting firewood that was now piled next to the pit.

“I’ll process da meat. C’n ya build a fire?”

“Ayuh”

Brigid unfolded their food table and got to work skinning, scaling, and whatnot while Sunset looked over the wood she had to work with. She knows three different styles of how to build a campfire, and the one the both of them favor for a cooking pit is the reverse campfire. It’s a pretty typical fire except that the kindling’s on top and the large logs are at the bottom. The burning kindling falls to the bottom and catches everything else on fire, and it’s easier to light and heats the whole grill evenly.

“Don’t the large logs go on top?”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Depends on what style you're using. The one I’m using requires the kindling to be on top.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

Sunset turned to Dr. Lobo with an annoyed glare. “Would you like to set it up?”

Dr. Lob put his hands up and walked away.

Once all the wood was placed, Sunset lit the fire then placed the grill over the pit. It had legs to lift it up, so no part that they put food on is in contact with the dirt, and they don’t accidentally smother the flames. Brigid brought the processed meat over along with the pot and other ingredients and started on their late lunch. The squirrel went into the pot, and the fish went straight on the grill. Dr. Tenure provided the water, using a similar jug and filter setup to their own.

“Y’all got bowls and plates?”, Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Dr. Lobo said, “and I got some pans that you can use.”

“We’re good. Ah’m grillin’ da fish, not fryin’.”, Brigid said.

“He doesn’t seem like the outdoorsy type to me.”, Sunset said quietly to Brigid.

“Oh, definitely not. Dis is the first execution he wasn’t able ta sleep in a hotel. Knowin’ him, da potential fame’s da only reason he’d agreed ta dis. He wants ta be da next Daring Do.”

“Really”, Sunset said flatly.

“Wanting ta be famous isn’t wrong, so long as ya do yer job honestly n’ with love, which he does.”

“Do you wanna be famous?”

Brigid shrugged. “It would be nice ta be recognized f’r mo work, but it’s not a driving force for me.”

Sunset nodded and went to go sit in her chair. Dr. Lobo came over with his chair and sat next to Sunset.

“So, about what you did earlier.”, he said.

“I’m a witch, but if you tell anyone about me or what I can do, you’ll be lucky if my mom only ruins your life. She’s done it before.”, Sunset said quietly.

Dr. Lobo got a look on his face like he just crapped himself and slowly side-eyed Brigid. Brigid gave him a quick glance to confirm what he heard. He slowly looked back to Sunset. “Is that what happened to Striker?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“I promise, I won’t do anything that might end up with you locked up in some government black site, but I have ta know. How?”

“Well, magic isn’t some unknowable, eldritch force. It’s energy, a byproduct of life. Every living thing produces it, and some people can use it. I’m pretty sure stories of people knowing something they shouldn’t or of time slowing down are actually stories of people innately using magic.”

“That’s very interesting. Could you teach me magic?”

“Do you have any history with unexplainable weird stuff happening to you?”

“No”

“Then no.”

Dr. Lobo nodded, got up, picked up his chair, and went back to his tent.

Sunset looked around at the other campers. Dr. Safari was examining the cockatrices that now sat in a silver case. Dr. Marks was keeping to himself, which Sunset was perfectly fine with. Dr. Tenure and Maud were talking to each other. And the two MDs were in their own tent that was by the medical tents.

“Food’s ready!”, Brigid called out. Everyone, except for the MDs and Dr. Marks, grabbed their dishes and cutlery from their bags along with their chairs and circled around the firepit.

“Oi, doc stick up his bum, don'tcha wanna eat?”, Sunset asked.

“I would never lower myself to eating hobo food.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Do ya have food a’ yer own?”, Brigid asked.

Dr. Marks disappeared into his tent without saying anything.

“Typical”, Sunset said under her breath.

Brigid rolled her eyes and went back to serving the food. “Okay, who wants fish?” The rest of the doctors and Maud all raised their hands. Brigid gave everyone their share of the fish, giving Sunset Dr. Marks portion, and served everyone squirrel stew. She put the fire out then sat down with Sunset. Everyone was at their own tents, so the two of them wouldn’t be heard if they talked quietly. “Ya have experience with Dr. Marks or, rather, a Dr. Marks, don’tcha?”

“I do. He’s a lecturer at Celestia's school. He’s not nobility, but he comes from a wealthy family. He’s just as stuck up as his human counterpart, maybe even a bit worse as he’d never agree to go anywhere he’d have to camp. He’s at least good at his job.”

“Is his behavior normal?”

“Equestria’s Canterlot is built on the side of a mountain. I don’t mean on a mountain like we are now. Mt. Canterhorn is basically a spire with very little flat land. Canterlot is built on platforms that jut out over the side of the mountain. Everypony that lives there, especially the higher class ponies, who live on platforms that were built higher up, are looking down over the miles of fields and the farmers that work them. They spend their entire lives literally looking down on the lower class, and Equestria’s caste system is much more well defined and stricter than America’s.”

“Oh”

Brigid and Sunset finished their food, washed their dishes, then got their cameras out of the car. Sunset flipped through the pictures until she got to the one of the spell circle. She tried to make out anything specific, but it was just as fruitless as earlier. The rectangular shape of the scorch marks and the fact that there was more scorching on the left side of the rectangles suggested that the spells were written using a Latin alphabet.

“Hey, Sunset, look at dis.” Brigid leaned over to show Sunset her camera screen. It showed a picture she had taken of the outside of a building, and it was zoomed in as far as it could go. “Ya see dat dark spot?”

Sunset looked closer and saw what Brigid was talking about. It was too pixelated and at a bad angle to make out the lettering, but the double rings and symbols made it clear as day that thing’s a spell circle. “Yeah, let’s go check it out.”

“Okay” The two of them got up and began walking to the car. “We’re headin’ back ta town!”, Brigid called out.

“Okay, see ya!”, Dr. Lobo said.

They got in the car and drove back to the town. Brigid led them to the building that the picture was of, and they found the spell circle. Unlike the one in the bedroom, the letters on this one were easy to make out. The circle was small, only about the size of a charm. Sunset brushed away the centuries of dirt and gunk embedded in one of the letters, which is what gave away the circle, and it was an impressive 1/5th of a centimeter deep. That could be from casting the spell multiple times, but after clearing away more of the dirt, the wood wasn’t discolored, making it more likely that this was from a single cast.

“Protect”, Sunset said, the word edged into the wood. “Whoever casted this spell must’ve really loved whoever lived here.” Although a pony’s emotions can affect their magic, the effects seem to be more prevalent in human magic, if the tropes and stories are to be believed.

“Too bad it didn’t work.”

“Yeah, I wanna see if there are any others.”, Sunset said as she snapped a picture of the spell circle.

The two of them walked around the town, running their hands along the walls. They found that each building had at least one spell circle somewhere on it. They were mostly protection spells, and most were only about 1/20th of a centimeter deep, which is the norm. The ones that weren’t protection spells said stuff like ‘health’ and ‘happiness’. None of it was anything out of the ordinary for a friendly witch. If this Kuchen witch was anything like her hyperactive descendant, she was a very friendly witch. They took pictures of every circle they found. Though, they were just as hard to see in a picture as real life.

“How many was dat, twenty?”

“Something like that. Unfortunately, I doubt her actions had anything to do with the disappearance. There’s jus’ no way a bunch of little charms could cause something so big. If they could, there’d be a lot more of these types of events all over the world, and I mean a lot.”, Sunset said as they walked back to the car.

“So, we’re not any close’ ta an answer.” They loaded into the car, then Brigid began driving back to camp.

“Ayuh”

They got back to camp and sat back down in their seats.

“Hey, find anything interesting?”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Nothing relevant to the investigation.”, Sunset said. She leaned her chair back and looked up at the clouded sky. There was a breeze that had a hint of mountain farts. I wonder how much gas there is. Is the wilting zone going to get bigger? “Mom, is the wilting zone gonna get bigge’?”

“Ah don’t know.”

“How much gas is there?”

“Not enough ta damage da environment, especially as slowly as it’s comin’ up.”

“Where did the gas come from?”

“Ah don’t know. Ah study people, not mountain fart gas.”

“Heheheh, fart gas.”

“Ain’t ya twenty somethin’?”

“Twenty-nine, and that’s exactly why I say frick all to being mature. Adulting sucks.”

“Smart lass.”

The sky got progressively darker as the docs went over their findings and Sunset relaxed in her chair. Brigid restarted the fire once it was nearly dark and put the remainder of the squirrel stew on to reheat, and people moved in closer to it, except for Dr. Marks.

“Yo! Dr. Marks, ya coming for dinner?!”, Dr. Safari called out. Dr. Marks didn’t answer. “Is he alive?”, she asked the rest of them.

“I’ll go check.”, Dr. Tenure said. He got up and went to knock on Dr. Marks’ tent. “Dr. Marks, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you.”, Dr. Marks said with a hint of ‘I’m restraining the urge to behead you for disturbing my-highness’ silence, you peasant’.

Dr. Tenure turned back to the group, shrugged, and went back to his seat.

“No great loss.”, Sunset remarked.

The night went on, they finished the stew, and Dr. Tenure pulled a bag from his tent. “Would anyone like to make s’mores?”, he asked, and everyone raised their hand. “Dr. Marks, we’re having s’mores. Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you.”, Dr. Marks said in the same tone.

“Suite yourself.” Dr. Tenure got up and laid out the ingredients on the Katon’s food prep table as the rest of them got their roasting sticks. People prepped their s’mores, grabbed a marshmallow, and got to roasting.

Brigid and Sunset both liked their marshmallows fully and evenly golden so kept theirs turning and carefully balanced keeping them the proper distance from the fire. When done right, they’re a damn beautiful color and perfectly gooey with a slight caramelly taste. Everyone else had different techniques to achieve their preferred toast, or lack thereof, except for Dr. Lobo. He just stuck his in, lighting it on fire, then waved it around to put it out. It ended up looking like an oddly lumpy piece of coal.

“Did you do that on purpose?”, Sunset asked incredulously.

“Yeah. Why?”, the man that Sunset was now questioning the sanity of asked.

“You burned it, on purpose. Why would you do that?”

“I like it this way.”

“You like the taste of ash?”

Dr. Lobo shrugged and got up to make his ash’more.

“Dragons would not eat that.”, Sunset signed to Brigid.

“People like what dey like. He’s not hurtin’ anyone, so dere’s nothin’ wrong with it.”, Brigid said.

“I still find it nasty.”

“N’ dat’s yer right as much as it’s his ta have his food however he wants.”

Okay, yeah. Sunset decided to ignore Dr. Lobo’s bad taste as she and Brigid got up to assemble their s’mores. The night went on, they ate s’mores, cleaned up, and settled down for the night. The cot took some getting used to, but Sunset was eventually able to fall asleep.

D2

“Who wants coffee?!”, Brigid asked.

The mention of coffee stirred Sunset from her sleep. She groggily pulled herself out of her bag and back into her pants. With pants on, she sprayed herself with some deodorant and then wandered out in search of her beloved coffee. Brigid had the coffee pot sitting open on the food prep table with their bag of Heart Attack Coffee.

“Brigid, I’ve got an instant coffee machine! We can just use that!”, Dr. Lobo said while holding up a ceramic mug.

Did I hear that right? Everyone looked at him like he’d just shouted that he was a llama eating a banana.

“Um, we ain’t got electricity out ‘ere!”, Brigid called back.

“Yes, we do! I have the coffee maker plugged into my truck!”

“Good luck driving home with a dead battery.”, Sunset remarked.

“Y’re gonna kill yer battery!”, Brigid said.

“Nah, it’s designed to do that.”, Dr. Lobo said with a wave of his free hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Everyone, including Dr. Marks and the MDs, dropped what they were doing to follow Dr. Lobo out to the parking lot. He opened the back of his truck, and inside was a bunch of extension cords, a big something or other that kinda looks like an AC unit, and said instant coffee machine along with many other electronic devices and stuff.

“Do you not understand what camping means?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“It’s not like we’re camping for camping’s sake, and I like my creature comforts.”

Brigid shook her head and walked back to camp.

“How strong is your stuff?”, Sunset asked.

“Um, it’s coffee.”, Dr. Lobo said, slightly confused.

“Just regular coffee?”

“Yeah”

Sunset nodded and turned to follow her mother. Brigid was back to getting their coffee ready. When the creators of their coffee called it Heart Attack Coffee, they meant it. There was a legit warning on the bag telling people with known heart problems to not drink it. Granted, Sunset probably shouldn’t be drinking it because it has 1,500 mgs of caffeine per 12 ounce cup, but it’s not like this is her regular brew, this is her ‘for my own safety, I can’t be tired’ and ‘Mom forgot to pack my coffee’ brew, the latter of which she realized 2/3s up the mountain, and Sunset has an annoyingly high tolerance to caffeine. Plus, Brigid limits her to 6 ounces. Brigid, on the other hand, once drank an entire 24-Seven mega gulp of 6-hour energy because of college finals and only stayed up for another twenty-fours hours while the rest of the study group, who all had the same stupid idea, got sent to the hospital and didn’t sleep for nearly a week. The only reason Sunset wasn’t questioning whether or not she’s human is because her humanness was already proven by a genetic test.

Brigid put the pot on the fire then began working on breakfast. Sunset walked up to the other side of the table and crouched down next to it. “Need any help?”, Sunset asked.

“Ah’m good. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

Sunset got up and went back to her chair. It wasn’t comfortable to sleep in, she found out as she leaned back and tried to get some extra sleep. The chair was comfortable to sit in, but it was a little too uncomfortable to sleep in. She heard the others trickle back to camp but didn’t care enough to open her eyes to see who exactly.

“Breakfast’s ready.”, Brigid said. She handed Sunset her plate then sat down on her chair with her plate. Their food consisted of reconstituted freeze dried veggies and other stuff that didn’t require refrigeration. The others had their own breakfast. They took care of what hygiene they could without a shower, changed, and, group by group, headed back up to the town.

Sunset had already checked the buildings twice, so decided to look around the surrounding land. It was dead, completely dead. The trees weren’t even being decomposed. Any microorganisms that tried to eat them were likely killed by the gas that killed the trees. There were animal tracks, but it was clear nothing tried to make a home of this place. It was like a scene from a post apocalypse movie, and in some ways, it was.

As unlikely as it was, she wanted to rule out the possibility that someone might’ve used a spell to disappear the town. The ground’s dirt was fairly well compacted, so hopefully, it kept evidence of a spell circle. She kept her eyes on the ground, looking for blackening or lines in the dirt, as she walked around the outside of the town. The search proved fruitless. There was no spell circle or any evidence of there ever being one. One large enough to affect an entire town would be pretty hard to miss.

Sunset went back into the town and looked around for Brigid. The smell of rotten eggs made searching by scent unpleasant, but searching by aura was unimpeded. Brigid was in someone’s bedroom and carefully looking through a book. She wore cotton gloves and took pictures of each page before touching it. Her head almost touched the ceiling when she stood up straight. It was an odd sight seeing this pillar of red surrounded by the washed out colors of the room.

Sunset stood next to her and read the book for herself. It was a journal. “Ya think somebody’s journal will shed some light on what happened?”

Brigid jumped in surprise, hitting her head on the ceiling. “Ahh, sneaky little bastard.”

“Sorry”

Brigid rubbed the top of her head and nodded. “Yeah, dat’s wha’ Ah’m hopin’.”

“Have ya found anything?”

“No, Ah have found entries from da day of, but dey mention nothing strange or out of da ordinary. Though, Ah haven’t checked or found dem all yet. You?”

“Haven’t found anything new. Unless someone finds something else magic related, I have nothing ta do.”

“Ah would let ya help ‘ere, but wha’ Ah’m dealin’ with could disintegrate if touched wrong. Why don’tcha go explorin’?”

“I might as well.” Sunset left the house and began to meander around the town. There was nothing within the town she hadn’t seen before so decided to walk around the outside of it. Instead of looking for anything in particular, she was just looking around. The wilting zone extended for several feet past the town. She could imagine children playing in these once lush woods. The still living foliage outside of the wilting zone was looking sickly and was likely dying from the gas. It’s definitely getting bigger. Sunset walked into the still living part of the forest, but even it was deathly silent. She couldn’t even smell anything aside from the gas. Nothing has been there for a long time. Okay, officially creeped out.

She turned on her heels and hurried back into town. She sat in the town square, not wanting to get in Brigid’s way again. At least there, she could hear her if she needed her. She was waiting for what felt like hours but could’ve been a few minutes with how her brain perceives time. She laid down and looked up at the sky. It was a bit cloudy with a breeze, but Sunset’s jacket kept her warm enough. Though, said jacket is starting to feel a bit tight. As she was thinking about if there was some way she might be able to stretch it out to fit better, a red blob came into her field of view. “Mom”

“Hay, ya done explorin’?”

“Way too creepy. Everything’s dead or dying.”

“Ah hear ya.” Brigid picked Sunset up, and Sunset clung onto her. The advantage to having a monster of a mama is that you can still be held like a little kid as a teenager, and Brigid’s soft.

“Are you done looking through all the journals?”

“Yeah, but nothin’ came of ‘em. Even da miners’ journals are normal. No mention a’ even da gas.”

“What now?”

“Well, dere is one more place Ah’d like ta check.” Brigid motioned with her head to the town hall.

Brigid put Sunset down, and they walked to the town government office. The building had two doors, one marked as the mayor’s office and the other as the sheriff’s office. They went into the mayor’s office, and the first thing they saw were a desk and some chairs. Behind the desk was a door that they walked through. Turning on their flashlights, they could see that the door led to a room filled with piles of paper and books. What bookshelves there were had been completely filled, and the piles covered a good chunk of the floor.

“Fuckin’ stars, didn’t these people ever hear of a filing cabinet?”, Sunset asked as she looked on in disbelief at the organizational nightmare before her.

“As a matter a’ fact, dey did not. Da filin’ cabinet wouldn’t be invented f’r anothe’ hundred n’ sixty years.”

“Oh”

“Put dese on n’ be careful.” Brigid handed Sunset a set of cotton gloves, took a picture of the whole thing, and then got her own gloves back on.

“What changed here?”, Sunset asked, referring to her not letting her help with the journals.

“Dese were better protected,” Brigid said while gesturing around to the lack of any openings aside from the door, “so less likely ta fall apart, n’ dere’s jus’ way too much f’r me ta do on ma own.”

Sunset nodded and got her gloves on as they got to work. Sunset copied what Brigid did with taking a picture of whatever she was about to touch. Even without a good filing system, the mayor at least kept their files somewhat organized in piles by year. This made it a matter of finding the pile with the most recent documents and looking for anything weird. The former was easy as those piles were the closest. Looking through everything from the weeks before the disappearance was time consuming, but it did turn up something.

“Interestin’, Sunset, look at dis.” Brigid’s surprisingly good at talking with stuff in her mouth for a species with hands.

Sunset turned to what Brigid was looking at. “A storn?” ‘M’s aren’t easy to make when one’s lips can’t touch.

Brigid took her flashlight out of her mouth before talking more. “Dis says dey experienced a severe storm da night before dey disappeared.”

Sunset took her flashlight out of her mouth and looked up at Brigid. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning a storm.”

“Dat’s because dere wasn’t one. No weather reports from da time mention any sort a’ storm.”

“Then why did the mayor say they experienced a storm?”

“Dat’s da million dollar question. Read through da rest den we’ll go back ta camp.”

They continued reading through the papers but came up with nothing else. Brigid led them back to the car and drove them back to camp. They were checked out by the MDs then headed straight to the creek and got to fishing.

“Y’know, dis isn’t da first time a mysterious storm was mentioned da night before a disappearance.”

Sunset looked up at her mother with befuddlement clear on her face.

“Da Flannan Isles Lighthouse vanishing, Flannan Isles is a little place off da coast a’ Scotland. It was staffed by t’ree keepe’s, n’ dey n’ da grass were da only life on da island. Da lighthouse was built in eighteen-ninety-nine, n’ only one year n’ a handful a’ days late’, all t’ree a’ ‘er keepe’s disappeared. One a’ ‘em mentioned a storm in da log book, but no such storm was reported. Log entries also mention da men prayin’ n’ cryin’. Dese were hardened marine’s. Dey would’ve known dey were safe in da lighthouse, forty-five meters above sea level.”

“Old lighthouses use mercury bathes ta move the light. Could the men have been sufferin’ from mercury poisoning?”

“Maybe. Deir bodies were never found, so no autopsy was ever performed. We jus’ don’t know.”

“Could the storms be linked?”

“Maybe. Ah jus’ know both instances are really strange.”

They quickly got their five fish and went back to camp. Brigid got straight to cooking, and Sunset grabbed both of their cameras and looked through the pictures. Looking over the report that mentioned the storm, it was in the mayor’s handwriting, so likely wasn’t a prank. If the storm of the Flannan Lighthouse vanishing is related to this storm, this could mean there’ve been even more such incidents. Usage of massive amounts of magic can affect the weather, even when no weather magic was being used. Could that be the cause of the storms, or were the storms used as cover for the spells? Would anyone on Earth even have that kind of power?

The other doctors soon started returning, and Brigid waved them over. “We’ve got fish stew taday.”, she said.

“Sweet”, Dr. Lobo said. “How much longer?”

“Jus’ a few more minutes.”

Everyone grabbed their bowls and circled around the fire, except for Dr. Marks, of course. He hid away in his tent. Brigid passed out the soup, and people got to eating.

“Too bad you’re already married. I would’ve proposed to you here and now if you weren’t.”

Sunset leaned past Brigid to give Dr. Lobo the stink eye, and Brigid looked him up and down with a side glance and shook her head. “Ya don’t have da needed equipment.”

Everyone else around the fire cracked up laughing while Dr. Lobo sat there stunned. Sunset continued glaring, so Brigid began petting her hair. Sunset leaned into her mother’s side as she continued to eat. She officially liked Dr. Lobo a lot less now.

They finished their food, cleaned up, and Sunset went back into their tent. She shimmied out of her pants and into her sleeping bag. For whatever reason, sleeping bags and pants never went well together for her. Brigid came in not long after, knelt down next to Sunset’s cot, and started petting her hair again.

“Ah take it Ahui’s joke upset ya. Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Sunset, no matte’ wha’ happens, yer fathe’ n’ Ah will always be ‘ere f’r ya n’ f’r each othe’.”

“I know.”

Brigid got up and left the tent. Sunset snuggled into her sleeping bag. She wasn’t tired so just stared at the tent walls. The hours passed by, and Brigid poked her head in. “Ya want dinne’?”

“Yeah” Sunset climbed out of her sleeping bag, got her pants back on, and left the tent. Brigid handed Sunset her bowl, and they took their seats. Sunset didn’t engage in conversation and headed straight back to her tent after cleaning up but was stopped by Dr. Lobo.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t know my joke would upset you so much.”

Sunset shrugged him off and went back inside. She grabbed her hairbrush and sat down on her cot to bush out her hair. Not being able to shower made detangling it harder. Brigid came in not long later.

“Hey, do ya want me ta brush yer hair?”

“Yeah”

Brigid sat on her cot and motioned Sunset over. She sat down on Brigid’s cot and handed her brush to her. Brigid worked her up and through her hair with an expertise that only comes from years of practice. Beauticians in the US are rarely trained how to properly treat curly hair. Pristine, like everybody else in their family, had thick, curly hair, and thus, faced the same problem the two of them do. As shite of a person as she is, she took surprisingly good care of Brigid’s hair back in the day. Of course, she’s a raging narcissist and made it all about herself. Having heard stories about her, Sunset felt just as sad for her as she did hate her. She’s incapable of feeling love, not for herself or anyone else. As painful as love can be, Sunset couldn’t imagine being unable to feel it at all. Pristine is sick, another member of her family taken by some Po’hahnd forsaken disease.

Sunset brought her mind back to the present. That was way too depressing of a thought process. She focused on the here and now and the comforting presence of her mother. She was brushing full, fluid strokes through her hair, unimpeded by knots.

“Dere we go, all done.”

Sunset ran her hands through her, now, silky smooth hair. “Thank you. Would you like me to do yours?”

“Dat would be nice.” Brigid got up and grabbed her brush. She handed it to Sunset, undid her braids, and then sat on the ground in front of her.

Sunset didn’t have the same level of experience as Brigid, especially with her hands, but Brigid taught her well enough to take care of her hair. Brigid’s hair took much longer because she has way, way more of it. Her hair goes down to her butt and is thick enough that you could lose something in there. Speaking of losing stuff in there, her hair was filled with twigs and other tree crap. “I guess being tall has its downsides.”, Sunset said while showing Brigid one of the twigs.

“Heheh, yeah.”

Sunset eventually managed to get all the knots and crap out of Brigid’s hair. “All done.”

Brigid ran her hands through her hair. “Thank ya.” She stood up, reclaimed her brush, handed Sunset back hers, and put hers back. Sunset got up from Brigid’s cot and sat back down on her own. Brigid returned to her cot, putting her hair into one large braid.

“Can NPD be cured?”, Sunset asked, her previous musings returning.

“Dat is a very complicated question. We’re not entirely sure how much genetics play inta da whole thing, but we do know dat environment is da bigge’ contributin’ factor. Therapy might be able ta treat it, but fat chance y’ll get one ta agree ta it.”

“If narcissists are made, then how did Pristine become one?”

Brigid shrugged. “Ah dunno. Ah wasn’t dere, n’ she wasn’t a regular topic a’ conversation. But, if Ah had ta guess, due ta bein’ identical ta Greatnana, she was put unde’ a lot a’ pressure. Greatnana was a proud woman n’ very smart n’ strong. She wanted all ‘er kids ta be strong n’ smart, but Ah wouldn’t be surprised if she went overboard with Pristine.”

“Is that why she did what she did to herself?”

“Maybe. Let’s go brush our teeth. We’re leavin’ tamorrow mornin’.”

The two of them got up, grabbed their hygiene stuff and a lantern, and headed out to the table with the water jug. It served as their faucet. The night was only lit by the stars, the small sliver of a moon, and the lantern, and the ground was their basin. They finished up, rinsed off their brushes, and headed back to the tent.

“Mom, was Greatnana a good person?”

“F’r da most part. She was kind, caring, patient, no nonsense kind a’ woman n’ was willin’ ta teach anyone dat asked, but she was human, n’ humans are flawed. She was bullheaded n’ expected a lot out a’ people, too much at times. She would get upset with you if ya didn’t live up ta ‘er expectations. She would work with ya ta help ya meet ‘er expectations, but da time she was upset with ya didn’t feel good.”

“Okay”

They put their stuff away and climbed into their sleeping bags. It was hard for Sunset to get to sleep as her mind was filled with thoughts about what the rest of Brigid's side of the family could’ve possibly been like. Up until then, she only had a perfect picturesque idea of them, but what were they really like?

D3

“Wake up. Come on, time ta get up.”

Sunset was shaken awake, and the unpleasant morning light bombarded her eyes. “Hisss”

“Ahh, don’t be a drama queen. We need ta pack up.”

Sunset huffed out of bed and grabbed her bags out from under her cot. Brigid left the tent as Sunset began folding up her cot. Brigid’s stuff was already packed and in the corner. Sunset packed up everything, except what she needed for that morning, and put it all in her corner of the tent. She then left the tent to see Brigid cooking breakfast and making coffee. Sunset sat in her chair and waited for her coffee.

“Ya went ta bed da same time as me. How are ya dis tired?”

“I’m nocturnal. I will never be a morning person.”

Brigid handed Sunset her coffee and food before sitting down to consume her own. The others began coming out of their tents and getting their own food. Sunset and Brigid finished their food, cleaned up, and began packing up their stuff, minus the still cooling grill. Once all that stuff was packed up, they got hygiene stuff from the tent, brushed up, changed, and began loading up the car. Once everything inside the tent was out, it came time to pack up the tent. Collapsing the tent is the easy part. The hard part comes when trying to put it in its bag.

“Why don’t they make these bags big enough?”, Sunset complained as she smooshed the tent in while trying to hold the zipper closed.

“Ah know y’re jus’ complainin’ n’ know da answe’, so Ah won’t answe’ ya.” Brigid was trying to zip up the tent bag without breaking the zipper.

They finally managed to zip it up completely once they wiggled the zipper half way up. They loaded it and the grill into the car.

“Come on, let’s say goodbye ta everyone.”, Brigid said as she closed up the boot.

“I’ll be in the car.” Sunset turned to climb into her seat but could hear Brigid sighing as she did so. Brigid didn’t say anything and just left back to the camp. Sunset climbed in and leaned back to rest her eyes. After way too long, Brigid finally returned and got in. She started up the car and started the drive home.

“Sunset, Ah understand dat y’re in yer ‘Ah hate everythin’’ phase, but it would still serve ya well ta be nice ta people. Dey’ll be more willin’ ta do stuff f’r ya or mention ya ta someone dat c’n be a useful contact.”

“I don’t plan on going inta academia or study any of their subjects, so none of those lots are or have useful contacts for me.”, Sunset said dismissively.

“Ah wouldn’t be so sure ‘bout dat. We tend ta talk, n’ someone dat might end up as yer future professor might hear about ya, especially since y’re mo daughte’.”

Okay, that’s a good point.

The rest of the hours-long car trip went by in relative silence as Sunset tried to get more sleep. When they finally got home, Brigid had them unload the car before heading inside. Surprisingly, Emi wasn’t waiting for them by the door. Sunset followed Brigid upstairs and into Emi’s room. Her room was completely dark, and said room’s occupant was asleep in her bed. Brigid went inside and gently woke up Emi. “Hey, baby.”

“Hm? Hey, you’re back.”, Emi said sleepily.

“Yeah, n’ we have news ta share.”

Emi sprung up, though still tired looking. “Tell me everything.”

Brigid picked Emi and Tomiju up and brought them out, and Sunset followed them to the living room. Brigid sat Emi on her lap, and Sunset took a seat next to them on the couch.

“Whadja find?”, Emi asked, now more awake.

“Sunset”, Brigid said, directing her to speak first.

“We found spell circles and a mummified cockatrice, and at least one of the town residents was a practicing witch.”

“What’s a cockarice?”, Emi asked.

“Cockatrice,” Sunset corrected, “it’s a creature native to Equestria.”

Emi’s eyes went wide with excitement as her mouth went as wide as it physically could. “They did end up in Equestria!”

“Dat is a possibility, but it also ain’t good.”

“Equose and Earth are two different planets with different atmospheres. If that’s what happened to them, they would’ve died within a few days.”, Sunset elaborated.

“Oh, that’s sad. What’s Equose’s atmosphere made of?”

“Same stuff as Earth’s, just in different, deadly, quantities.”

“Is that why the portal turned you into a human?”

“Almost definitely.”

“Cool. What are spell circles?”

“They help with forming spells, back in Equestria. However, I believe they are a necessity over here.”

“Can you teach me ta use them?”

“Easily”