The Former Student

The following morning, Twilight awoke to find the rest of her friends had already woken up. How long had she slept in? She rubbed her head and slowly rose from her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She opened her bag, taking out an empty notebook and a quill.

Tucking them under her wing, she made her way down to the main tavern section, where the mares sat, talking over breakfast. Pinkie Pie waved her over, and Twilight quickly joined the group, putting her notebook on the table in front of her, causing the mares to look at her in both curiosity and confusion.

“I have an idea,” Twilight started.
"This idea can allow us to gather extra information on the town and possibly find answers to what’s happening here. I know that what’s going on here isn't normal, and I think I'm beginning to understand the problem. But to figure out the right steps, we need facts, information, and evidence.”

The other mares all nodded in understanding, and Rarity spoke up.
“Well, where do we start?”

Applejack quickly followed up Rarity's question with an answer.
“If ah know twilight, ah’m guessin’ we’re gonna talk to the residents here.”

Twilight quickly nodded, confirming Applejack’s theory, before handing each mare a few pages from her notebook and some quills to use. Each mare took a page, and they divided themselves into groups before Twilight turned to Pinkie.

“Pinkie, I'm going to need you to go alone and talk to Sunset Shimmer. I do know what she’s plotting here, but I want you to ask as many questions about her, and the town as possible. Plus, if it's just one of us, she might not get as suspicious.”
Twilight explained, and the mares agreed, quickly rearranging themselves.

After that, they went their separate ways to talk to the various residents of the town and gather information.

Rarity and Twilight ended up together, and they began making their way toward a group of Pegasi residents. The group noticed them and greeted them with a friendly wave, with Night Glider walking over to them, meeting them halfway.

“Hey, how are you finding the town so far?” she asked, her usual, uncanny smile playing on her face as she asked.
The same smile spread over the other pegasi’s faces, and it made the unicorns feel uneasy. Rarity did her best to hide her nerves, as she asked Night Glider a question.

“Well, we were wondering how you all felt about living here? From what Sunset has told us, you all seem to have come here willingly. Was this town everything you had hoped it would be?”
Rarity asked, returning Night Glider's smile with a soft one of her own, trying to show that the questions weren't made out of malice or ill intent.

The Pegasi’s smile slowly fell and they looked around, before leading Twilight and Rarity into the bakery and closing the door behind them. A grey-yellow Pegasus then turned the sign to say the bakery was closed before Night Glider opened up about their thoughts.

“To be completely honest… It feels like a prison in this town... Yes we came here willingly, we all did, hoping for a new start in life, as we werent happy with how our lives were currently going. Some of us were struggling to follow our destinies, others wanted to move away and start somewhere fresh.”

The grey-yellow pegasus then spoke up. He stepped forward, his ears folding back.
“Now… We can barely remember our lives outside of this town… It feels like our memories have been blocked off. I can remember bits and pieces. I remember what my family looked like… I know I have a wife, but I don't know what she looks like anymore. I want to remember, but whenever I try, I just get a buzzing feeling in my head…”

Night Glider nods in agreement, explaining how she gets the same sensation when trying to remember her life back home. Quickly explaining that she only remembered that she was from Cloudsdale, but nothing further than that.

Another Pegasus spoke up. She was dark red, with a deep brown mane.
“We also miss our cutie marks… We all remember what they looked like, but we’ve forgotten their meaning… We don't know what our destinies used to be, before coming here. We also miss flying… We aren't supposed to because otherwise, the town wouldn't be truly equal, but because we’re so used to flying everywhere, we have to stop ourselves, HARD. Either that or we get cramps in our wings from them being closed for so long.”

The red Pegasus then looked at Twilight and Rarity’s flanks.
“Uh… do you mind if we admired your cutie marks for a bit…?”

The 2 unicorns looked at each other in confusion, but they soon gave permission, turning around so the 3 pegasi could admire their cutie marks, and possibly reminisce about their own. Twilight and Rarity couldnt help but feel pitiful for the residents, what caused them to lose their cutie marks?
Why were they all replaced with an Equal sign?
They hoped the other mares were having better luck with their answers.

Meanwhile, across town, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were making their way toward a group of Unicorn residents, They all smiled at the 2 mares, causing them to stop in their tracks. Their smiles… They were so uncanny…
“Uh.. Howdy!” Applejack said, waving to the unicorns, steeling her nerves as she walked over.

“We’re all tryin’ to gather a bit of extra information about the town, hopin’ and help with our investigation.” Applejack quickly explained.

Sugar Belle nodded enthusiastically, encouraging the 2 mares to ask whatever they wanted to ask, prompting Applejack to ask the first question.
Well... Did ya’ll grow up here? We’re seein’ a lot of fillies and colts around you folks, so we were wonderin’ if ya’ll grew up here too.”

Sugar Bell shook her head.
“Oh no, no. We didnt grow up here. The town is still rather new, it's only been here for about 5 years. The fillies and colts that are here, were brought here by their parents, who decided they all wanted a new beginning. When our leader, Sunset, saw how many children were here, she had the schoolhouse built. That way the children can still have an education while living in our little corner of Equestria.”

Rainbow Dash then asked a follow-up question, shuffling her hoof against the dusty road, kicking up a small dust cloud.
“So if you didnt grow up here, then what were you doing BEFORE you came here?”

A light blue unicorn spoke up, his hair being a darker blue.
“We will admit our memory is a bit fuzzy. We do briefly remember coming here with some kind of outward motive. For example, I came here because I was constantly being picked on in my hometown. Sunset Shimmer welcomed me with open hooves and instantly made me part of the community. I felt like I had a place here, I felt like I belonged.”

Then, Lime-Cake the unicorn they met at the station, spoke up.
“She did the same with a lot of us. She didnt judge us for being different, and she gave us a way to fit in without the worry of being picked on. She gave us a place to live, free of judgment and bullying. It's nice.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash gave each other confused looks, before looking back at Lime Cake.
“Ah’m guessin’ you can still have individual interests?”

The 3 unicorns all shook their heads. Lime-Cake speaking up again.
“Not at all. Otherwise, we’d stand out, and have a window to be picked on. We don't want that.”

The 2 mares looked at each other, with Rainbow Dash whispering into Applejack’s ear
“I reeeeeally hope the others are having better luck…”

Near the School House, Fluttershy was making her way toward a group of Earth Pony residents. Waving softly as she approached.
One of the earth pony residents was watching her filly play in a large patch of open grass, digging in the grass and making marks in the pathway with her hoof.

“Oh hey! Did you have any luck with your investigation?” Double Diamond asked, walking over to greet Fluttershy.

Fluttershy gave a soft smile.
“N-no not yet, but that’s actually why I'm here. My friends and I are asking every pony questions about the town as a whole.”

The earth ponies looked at each other in slight confusion, before Double Diamond encouraged Fluttershy to ask whatever she needed to.

Fluttershy quickly asked her first question.
“Well, I was wondering, could you share some information about the town? Anything that we may need to know?”

Feather Bangs quickly spoke up.
“Well, Sunset Shimmer and… I think Lime-Cake? Gave you all the basic information about this place. It's a small town with multi-pony homes, with a few accommodations. It's simple but we enjoy it here. Though it isn't without its hardships, but then again, doesn't every small town have its struggles?”

Double Diamond quickly followed up Feather Bangs’s sentence with an explanation.
“I'm sure struggles are normal, but I don't know about us. Our town is often low on resources, including food, and the water supply is slowly getting more and more dirty. Often enough we need to rely on neighboring towns for food and water, as well as currency, since our current economy isn't the most stable.”

Fluttershy tilted her head at the stallions, before looking over their shoulder at the mare who was still watching her child. She was a deep brown with a dirty blonde mane. She was also listening in to the conversation
She walks over to the mare and stands beside her, before Fluttershy can ask, the mare speaks up.
“Any money we make, Sunset Shimmer keeps a hold of so it isn't spent on materialistic things… And if we need something, such as new diapers for my baby, then I'd need to ask Sunset for the money to get some…”

The mare then looked over at her child again, the child was still drawing shapes in the dusty path, and she had also found a stick, and began drawing with that too.

“So.. How do you feel about how the town is treating you all?” Fluttershy finally asked, and the mare quickly piped up again.

“Oh, I think it's very nice that Sunset has managed to create perfect harmony and equality here. With unicorns not using magic, and pegasi not flying, it means that no species feels superior to the other. We all have the same roles and jobs to do, we’re grateful for the lives we have here.”

Fluttershy looked confused.
“So you enjoy your lives here, even though it’s being controlled to the smallest det–!”
Double Diamond suddenly put her hoof over Fluttershy’s mouth, silencing her, before giving his usual uncanny smile and nodding, but there was a look of nerves in his eye.

Fluttershy also looked nervous, and she silently hoped the others were getting any answers.

Finally, by the lead house at the end of town, Pinkie Pie was knocking on the door. She stood by patiently, waiting for Sunset Shimmer to answer the door.
As she waited, she waved a friendly hello to a pair of young ponies who were passing by, but they looked worried.
It was the teenagers playing with the ball last night.

Pinkie tilted her head, but quickly adjusted herself as the door clicked open, showing Sunset SHimmer at the door, with 5 bits in her hoof.

“Yes, Cherry you can go and buy more things for yo– Oh, it's you.” Sunset finally looked up from her hoof, looking at Pinkie.

Pinkie gave a soft chuckle at the greeting.
“Busy morning?”

Sunset simply nodded, before looking around at the town’s street before inviting Pinkie Pie inside.
“What can I do for you? Have you found anything of note for your quest?”
Sunset asked, putting on her usual, welcoming, leadership smile.

“Nu-uh, not yet, that’s why I'm here! We’re all gathering information about the town, and I'm here to ask you a few questions if you have the time.”
Pinkie Pie explained, casually looking around at the interior of the house.

The inside looked cozy, with a plush couch in front of a fireplace, with a grand bookshelf that spanned the entire wall.
There was a fully working kitchen and a bedroom with a plush, king-sized bed. It was a bungalow, but it had everything a mare could want to live a cozy lifestyle.
There was also a few portraits that hung on the wall, one of them being a scenery portrait of Canterlot, and another being an original piece of Princess Celestia.

“I see.” Sunset Started. “Well I have some time before I need to do my usual rounds, so what do you want to know?”

Pinkie smiled wide, glad that Sunset was willing to cooperate.
“Well, I was wondering, did you make this town? And if you did, then what made you want to do it?”
As she asked this, she pulled out her notepad pages and her quill, holding the quill in her teeth.

“Well…” Sunset began.
“To keep a very long story short… I was Princess Celestia’s former student. And all i wanted to do, was expend my knowledge of magic, and how to use it for the better of Equestria. I guess you could say I had similar goals to… Twilight was it?”

Pinkie nodded, confirming Twilight’s name.

Sunset then continued her explanation.
“But, Celestia deemed that my methods of magic, and everything I did during my studies was unsafe. This was when I was trying to mix magic with science, and I accidentally blew up part of her school. Thankfully no pony got hurt.”

Pinkie Pie gasped at the remark.
“So you wanted to make science and magic exist in harmony?! And it caused a big, almighty explosion that caused Celestia to lose part of her school?”

Sunset scrunched up her nose at the recollection of the memory but begrudgingly nodded.

Pinkie Pie then saw the necklace Sunset Shimmer was wearing, it was a magnificent purple gem, with a silver chain, that hung comfortably on the front of Sunset’s neck.
“Ooo!! That’s a pretty necklace! Where did you get it?”

Sunset looked down at the necklace, smiling softly at it.
“It was a gift from Celestia, long before that accident, long before I was cast out of her school. I keep it as a way to look back on my mistakes. And how it led me down the path of creating this town, and now there are ponies here that accept me for who I am. They don't judge me for my magic skills.”

Sunset then looked back at Pinkie, her smile falling.
“I will say, I apologize for the town being in the state it is, it wasn't always this way. We’ve fallen on pretty hard times recently. And now the town is struggling for resources.”

She beckons Pinkie to follow her, and she leads Pinkie into a basement under her home. Inside were a bunch of barrels There were 2 barrels labelled for keeping fruit, another barrel for vegetables, and another for other food items. There was an additional barrel in the far corner, labelled bits, which was the town’s current currency and economy.

Pinkie Pie looked inside of these barrels and saw that each food barrel didnt have enough food to give every pony a substantial meal. And there werent even 100 bits within the bits barrel. The town was on the brink of famine.

Sunset finally spoke up.
“The town residents all have jobs to do to hopefully keep us going. The most important job is going into neighboring towns for food, money, and water. There are 2 groups. One of them is sent out with bits, to hopefully buy some essential things such as bathing items, baby food, and possibly bottled water we can ration. The other group is sent to neighboring towns to collect their usual cut of supplies. A lot of towns have asked for nothing in return, as they saw we were struggling, and we thank them for their generosity.”

As Sunset turned to leave the basement, Pinkie went to quickly follow, only to hear a very faint whimper coming from the far side of the basement.
Following the sound, she found a part of the cave that was fake, being covered by a thick curtain, that was dampening the sound coming from the other side.
Pulling back the curtain, she found the 3rd teenage pegasus, the one that was caught flying the other night.
He was crying, his front hooves covering his face, and his wings were bleeding freely. They had been forcefully clipped. Next to the tiny, metal cage the pegasus was being kept in, were many barrels. Filled with food, and bits.

Pinkie’s eyes widened, and her tail began to shake, quickly turning around, she was suddenly met with a heavy impact on the side of her head, courtesy of Sunset Shimmer.

Back at the tavern, the mares all were exchanging information, and looking rather confused at how the information seemed to contradict itself.

“I don't understand… “ Twilight began.
“The residents like but also hate it here… But it seems like they cant leave because they don't know where to go. This is the safest place for them right now.”

Rainbow Dash was looking out of the window, her ears folded back.
“Yeah, Pinkie must be getting a lot of answers, she’s been with Sunset Shimmer for a while now.”

The other mares looked around, realizing that Pinkie wasn't back yet.
“Ya right,” Applejack stated
“She might be back later, for now, ah say we rest up and wait for her to come back.”

The other mares nodded in agreement, and made their way to their beds, as the sun set over the town.