The unexpected reaction of Stellar Flare still left the trio of unicorns absolutely bewildered over what had just happened. Judging from what his mother had just ordered of him, Sunburst figured that it was in their best interest to get Sunset out of Sire's Hollow before things would escalate even further. He showed Starlight the address Stellar Flare wrote for him, which was supposedly the location in Ponyville where Sunspot was residing at.

"Hm, I've never actually been to that area of Ponyville, but I'll try to teleport us as close to that location as I can." Starlight said, after reading the paper in Sunburst's hoof.

Just like the first time, Starlight held hooves with Sunset and Sunburst, before closing her eyes, starting the magic up in her horn, and sending them all to Ponyville. Although Sunset was now well aware of how teleportation would take up a lot of energy when traveling long distances, it didn't really matter to her. She would have never been able to pull off anything like this in the human world, and it was always supposedly a natural gift unicorns were able to master when building their skills in magic. It was certainly still part of the incentive of her wanting to stay in Equestria more often after graduation. Regardless, now the trio found themselves in a corner of Ponyville, which was at least somewhat close to the address Stellar Flare had written for her son. They started trotting together to this location, as Sunburst put a hoof on Sunset's back.

"Sunset, I'm really sorry for what happened with my mom back there." Sunburst apologized on behalf of Stellar Flare. "I don't know why she became so profusely angry with you after you mentioned that name to her."

"I'm just as confused as you are, Sunburst." Sunset said. "I mean, from what little we heard during that conversation, we do know two things now. First of all, she and your dad did for whatever reason get a divorce, since she referred to Sunspot as her 'ex-husband'. Secondly, she definitely knows something about this Solstice pony, if she were to suddenly change her entire approach and behavior in an instant like that."

"Maybe this Solstice pony had something to do with the reason she and Sunspot separated?" Starlight brainstormed. "Unless… she's actually the Solstice pony we've been looking for?"

"Well, like I've said, I could've sworn that while I was living with dad in Ponyville as a colt, I occasionally heard him muttering something about a 'Solstice'." Sunburst recalled again. Even then, I never really thought much about what he was referring to."

"Do you remember what he said specifically regarding this Solstice?" Starlight questioned.

"I really have no clue, especially since it's been so long since I've even seen my father." Sunburst said. "As for the possibility of my mother being Solstice, I'd say that's unlikely. I've spent more time with my mother than anypony else in my family, and I have never once heard anypony else refer to her as 'Solstice' at all."

"Well, whatever the case might be, telling her that name certainly didn't do myself any favors." Sunset noted. "I have no idea why she would never want to see me again, or forbid me from coming back to Sire's Hollow. I don't even know who she is, because… again, I've never known or seen my mother. What's strange to me is, she didn't seem to react adversely to the mention of my own name, 'Sunset Shimmer', but only when I mention 'Solstice', does something set her off."

"This certainly has been a rather perplexing mystery for me to solve with you two." Starlight said. "Been learning so many revelations about both of you, I feel like we should hang out like this more often. As for what happened back there with Stellar Flare, I have a feeling we might get an answer once we talk to Sunspot. There's got to be a reason far more deep that we're not understanding."

"Agreed, because I know my mom." Sunburst added. "She might get angry or disappointed on occasion, but that was actually the very first time I've seen her legitimately FURIOUS. Believe me, the one time I had to inevitably tell her that I ended up dropping out of the School For Gifted Unicorns after failing too many classes, she was still calm in comparison."

"I guess I could understand her holding a grudge toward your father and of course, this Solstice pony, but what about me?" Sunset asked, bewildered. "What could I have possibly done to her to warrant such a reaction?"

"I don't quite think it's a matter of you doing anything to hurt her in the past." Starlight believed. "She might've just became inadvertently livid over you bringing up that name to spark some unpleasant memories for her. Not to say it's your fault, Sunset. Any of us could've said that to her, and she might've reacted the same way."

"Well, even if it's just that, I really don't know if Stellar Flare is my actual mom." Sunset said. "I didn't recognize her myself, and she didn't even seem to recognize me, not even after I told her my name."

"If she knew we were siblings and suggested that we were about to get married, that's pretty messed up." Sunburst noted. "Either she didn't know about you, or she did know, but was saying that to purposefully throw us off. Regardless of what actually happened, I think it's pretty obvious that she won't talk to any of us if we bring up that name, let alone actually telling us about this Solstice pony."

"In that case, you think it's better if I don't bring up that name to your father?" Sunset asked. "You seem like a cool stallion yourself, and I would genuinely like to be friends with you, without both of your parents hating me."

"How about… we'll question my dad, and when the time's right, I'll ask him about Solstice?" Sunburst suggested. "I feel like I certainly have quite a number of things to ask him myself, including why he never wrote back to my first letter."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sunset agreed, as Starlight suddenly halted in her tracks, which prompted the two other ponies to do the same.

They were confused at first, before realizing Starlight was simply looking around for the house where Sunspot lived. None of them were familiar with this area of Ponyville, but following the address provided by Stellar Flare, they eventually located the exact house this stallion resided. Starlight pointed her hoof in the direction to their destination and trotted forward, as Sunset and Sunburst followed behind. They were ready to finally meet this Sunspot pony with the plans they already had in store, but something at the back of Sunset's mind stopped Sunburst just as he was about to knock on the door.

"What's wrong, Sunset?" Sunburst asked, rather confused at Sunset's sudden action.

"It's just… I have this weird feeling." Sunset began whispering. "To make sure we're on the same page here, your father never remotely hinted toward the possibility of you having a sibling, just like with me when I was living with him?"

"To my understanding, yes." Sunburst confirmed. "What are you getting at, though?"

"I have a feeling that… we should probably meet Sunspot separately." Sunset elaborated. "I almost have the feeling that if we meet him together, it'll generate a negative reaction if he does recognize us both, especially with how possible Starlight's theory was. Maybe one of us could meet him first, pretend to leave, and let the other meet him separately? It's pretty clear that what happened with Stellar Flare absolutely confirms there's a further connection between us."

"Sunset does bring up a good point." Starlight reasoned. "When you were both at Stellar Flare's front door, it was admittedly hard to say whether or not she truly knew and understood who Sunset was. She obviously knows something about this Solstice, but we don't really know much else beyond that."

"I guess that makes sense, can't really say with certainty whether or not my parents are simply pretending to not recognize you, Sunset." Sunburst agreed. "How about… you visit him first on your own? Me and Starlight will hide on the other side of the house and listen in from a window once you're inside. If Sunspot really is your dad, and can give you some answers to these tough questions you've been trying to figure out for a while, I'd want you to have that luxury first. Starlight and I can come back tomorrow, as to not draw any suspicion to him of us visiting around the same time."

"Oh, Sunburst… are you sure?" Sunset asked. "He's your dad after all, and you did say you wanted to visit him too, especially given you haven't seen him since you were a little colt."

"Absolutely, I insist." Sunburst said. "I do miss him myself, but like you've said, there's obviously some kind of connection between both of our parents, so I would want to give you the opportunity first, especially since from what I've heard, you've spent far less time with your own parents than I did."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you." Sunset smiled. "But since Starlight is here with us, maybe she can meet Sunspot with me?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Starlight interjected. "Although I don't really know Sunburst's dad, I do know that he was always aware of how close me and Sunburst were as friends in our youth. Our hope is to not draw any suspicion, and he might get such a feeling if he sees his 'daughter' accompanied by his son's closest childhood friend."

"Oh, that's right." Sunset agreed with Starlight's reasoning. "I didn't really think about that. So I guess I'll go ahead and meet him on my own, while you two listen nearby?"

"That's the idea." Sunburst agreed. "We'll head over to the other side of the house and listen in to get some insight on how dad would act if he believes you're by yourself. Are you sure you won't mind Starlight and I eavesdropping on you and Sunspot?"

"Well, if I know you're both going to listen in, it's not exactly eavesdropping in my book." Sunset said. "Plus, given what you shared about your father during that final week before you moved away, it's pretty obvious he's always been hiding something from you, so I believe after all these years, it's about time we get some solid answers."

"That's true." Sunburst said in mutual understanding. "All right, well Starlight and I will head over to the other side of the house. Have a good time meeting my dad, and once again, don't forget to open a window once you're in so we can overhear anything vital."

"Gotcha." Sunset said, as Starlight and Sunburst headed off from the front door, leaving Sunset by herself.

Before Sunset was ready to knock on the door, she looked around the area. Admittedly, even after a long absence in Equestria, something about the yard's layout, as well as the house itself, struck a vague feeling of familiarity to her. Combined with all the smaller clues she's gathered from Sunburst and this Solstice pony, she almost had a good feeling Sunspot was her true birth father. But if he was, would he react positively or negatively to his supposed first daughter's presence? With one final gulp, Sunset finally took a deep breath and approached the front door, knocking on it, before the aforementioned stallion approached the door to open it.

Although initially annoyed, believing that it was yet another group of fillies selling Pony Scout cookies, Sunspot had absolutely no clue for the surprise that was awaiting him on the other side of the door. He opened the front door to his home and immediately widened his eyes in sheer shock and disbelief over who he was seeing standing over his porch. Noticing this reaction herself, Sunset took a good look at the unicorn stallion's face, realizing the vague memories she had of her own father sparked some familiarity in this particular pony before her. Seeing how Sunspot had yellow fur, blue eyes, and a fiery orange mane, it suddenly clicked inside her. Recalling what little she saw of her father as a little filly, this actually was how her father looked in terms of appearance, and Sunset began to have this feeling she was finally able to reunite with at least one of her birth parents. However, what the stallion would soon say to Sunset completely threw her off in the most unexpected way.

"May I help you?" Sunspot asked. "If you're selling cookies, kindly know that I'm not interested in the slightest."

"No, that's… not the reason at all." Sunset responded, rather perplexed. "I came by to visit you. Surely you recognize who I am?"

The stallion froze for a few seconds, seemingly gesturing that Sunset did in fact look very familiar to him. But after those few seconds, he just quickly brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Nope, not at all." Sunspot said, before putting his hoof on the door. "I don't know what kind of trickery you're pulling, but nothing's going to encourage me to fork over some bits for your cookies. Now, if you're simply going to waste my time, I'm heading back over to my couch."

Sunset felt an immediate jolt of pain and shock, seeing how her seeming father was not thrilled in the slightest at seeing his daughter. Even if this stallion was not immediately interested in speaking with her, Sunset felt desperate to the point of offering him an incentive for some answers, at the very least.

"Wait, please!" Sunset begged, before holding out a few bits she took from her saddlebag earlier at home, in case she had an emergency. "If I could just come inside and talk to you for a few minutes… that's all I ask."

"Ugh, fine then." Sunspot sighed, before taking the bits out of Sunset's hooves and letting her into his home.

Sunspot and Sunset trotted into the middle of the living room, as Sunset noticed then noticed the stallion acting rather unusual when they both passed by. Up ahead was a staircase that led to the second floor, where Sunspot was focused toward approaching.

"I have to head upstairs first to take care of some… stuff." Sunspot told Sunset, before making his tone much more hostile. "But don't get too comfortable while you wait here, or break anything! I'll make you pay dearly for that, you hear!?"

"Y-Yes, of course." Sunset said, now saddened by understanding what kind of pony she was truly facing.

"And you're lucky I even let you into my house!" Sunspot snapped. "Just remember that I could've taken your money and slammed the door in your face."

Sunspot then ruffled his mane in annoyance, making him drop a few of his hairs on the ground. After which, he trotted up the stairs, as Sunset and the rest of the first floor left his view. Seeing this, Sunset trotted over and picked up one of the stallion's hairs as a potential way to conduct a DNA test if she really needed it. Regardless of collecting this hair sample, she was already 99% sure that this really was her birth father, as something at the back of her mind kept telling her. Sunset then remembered what Sunburst had asked of her, and also took the opportunity to open a nearby window. Noticing this from the outside, Sunburst and Starlight both approached stealthily, before noticing Sunset was gesturing for them to listen in toward some insight over what she had just experienced.

"Well… I've only been here for like ten seconds, and I'm not happy at all with the results." Sunset whispered to her friends from the window. "I had to actually pay Sunspot as an incentive to let me inside so I can talk to him, and he still just yelled profusely at me."

"Wait, really?" Starlight replied, aghast. "From what little I've seen of Sunburst's dad when I was living in Sire's Hollow as a filly, I never would've expected him to behave like this. Is this maybe why Stellar Flare warned us not to come visit him? She did tell us that he was a pretty hurtful stallion, after all."

"I… I don't believe it." Sunburst tried to parse what Sunset had just reported back. "I swear to both of you, my dad's always been the sweetest, most caring father a little colt could ask for. Sunset, are you sure you were just talking to my father, and not some completely different pony?"

"Trust me, I took one good look at him and knew for certain he's the stallion we're both looking for." Sunset affirmed, before hearing hoofsteps coming down the stairs. "Uh oh. I think he's coming back, you need to hide. I'll talk to him myself and see what kind of information I can gather. Based on what I've seen so far, we might need a change of plan, as I might need to ask him the more tough questions. In the meantime, make sure he doesn't see you."

Sunburst and Starlight nodded and hid themselves from view, as Sunset went went back over to the staircase before noticing Sunset coming back to the first floor, with the same grouchy demeanor he had displayed moments ago. He trotted over to his couch, took a seat, and folded his hooves with frustration.

"Well?" Sunspot said, impatiently. "You wanted to talk to me, or did you pay me just to be an annoyance?"

"I just wanted to come visit you for a bit… Sunspot, right?." Sunset addressed.

"How in Equestria do you know that name?" Sunspot quickly got defensive. "Are you trying to intimidate me or something?"

"Please, just hear me out…" Sunset said in a soft and broken voice. "I really wanted to come visit you, since I had a strong feeling that you would recognize and remember who I am. I was hoping that stopping by would make you happy."

"Happy?" Sunspot asked, rhetorically. "Miss, the only way you'd make me happy now is if you brought at least a thousand bits, instead of that pathetic amount you offered instead. Well… I suppose another form of happiness would've been if you brought me a box of donuts from Donut Joe's shop, but that's beside the point."

"Okay well…" Sunset began. "I might not have food on me, but what I did bring instead was something much more important. A daughter. I came all this way because… I have reason to believe you're my dad?"

Sunspot's eyes widened for a moment, before he unexpectedly busted out laughing it off.

"So that's why you're here, huh?" Sunspot spat. "You wanted money from me from missing out on paying filly support or something? Good luck trying to get it from me, that's all I'm saying."

"I don't think that'd be the case if I just paid you to have this talk…" Sunset said, feeling much more hurt than she already was earlier. "There was only thing you just said that was partially true though. You never got to see my grow up before I went off to The School For Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot."

Sunspot's eye twitched for a moment after hearing the name of that school. He became so mad that he slammed his hooves on the coffee table in front of him, causing a noticeable crack.

"…How dare you try to insult me in my own home!" Sunspot roared. "Did you get brainwashed just to come bother me like some school punk!?"

Starlight and Sunburst were both listening closely in horror this whole time, whilst occasionally peeking around the corner to look at the stallion Sunset was confronting. It felt unfortunate that they both recognized this pony was definitely Sunburst's father, based on the memories they had both seen of him in their youth. Sunburst was already wanting to cry, seeing just how much of a monster his father had become, as Starlight held him for comfort. Starlight was also beginning to grow worried that Sunset might eventually end up getting hurt through a physical altercation.

"I'm sorry, I-" Sunset tried to calm Sunspot down. "I just thought that I could help give you some context regarding why I believed you're my father."

"Well giving me fake context doesn't really do you any favors." Sunspot said, bluntly. "I might've always wanted to raise a daughter, but that wouldn't be you now."

As Sunset, Sunburst, and Starlight all heard this, things were beginning to line up with everything Sunburst had shared earlier regarding his father. Taking offense at the mere mention of Princess Celestia's old school, the feeling of always wanting to raise a daughter, and even labeling others as 'brainwashed'. It was without a doubt that this really was the same stallion Sunset and Sunburst remembered growing up, and they were all absolutely confused as to why things were like this. The stallion they once knew as a goodhearted and kind father was now nothing more but a short-tempered, abusive monster.

"How do you not recognize me, dad?" Sunset tried her best to get through to the stallion. "You really don't remember me, your daughter, Sunset Shimmer?"

"First of all, you will not dare call me dad, because I'm certainly not that!" Sunspot affirmed. "I only have a daughter now, and she's not you, get that through your head! My only daughter too."

"…You only have a daughter?" Sunset asked, now completely bewildered as to why Sunspot seemingly didn't consider Sunburst his son. "Are you sure you don't have a son, thus making me have a brother?"

"Absolutely not." Sunspot denied. "I never had a son in my entire life, and even if I did, I'm sure he would've been the biggest disappointment in the history of Equestria."

If Sunburst was hurt before, that was nothing compared to how he felt now after just hearing that. As sympathetic as Starlight felt toward her first childhood friend, she still tried her best to prevent Sunburst from making any noise, as to not blow their cover. But by now, the two unicorns outside the window had felt like they had already heard enough from Sunspot to decide they were no longer interested in visiting him the next day. They even began to feel an epiphany that Stellar Flare was completely justified when she tried her best to persuade them to not visit Sunspot. By this point, since this stallion was not only going to deny having Sunset as a daughter, but even Sunburst as a son, it was clear he had to be questioned more heavily.

"All right, but at least hear me out." Sunset continued. "Does the name 'Sunset Shimmer' at least ring a bell to you?"

"Look, don't try to change the subject, since you've already wasted enough of my time." Sunspot said, firmly. "If you really have to sit here all day yapping like a lunatic, that's fine, but I want more bits from you then."

At this point, Sunset was ready to tear up herself. Was this really the same pony who had once taken care of her before she went off to the School For Gifted Unicorns? Did he really also take care of Sunburst with a heart of gold, long before turning into this train wreck of a stallion he was now?

"…If you cared about and loved me, you wouldn't be asking me for more money." Sunset began to leak tears. "Don't you even care that I stopped by to visit you? I really wanted to spend some quality time with you because I've missed you for so long."

Sunspot then groaned in annoyance before making the most serious expression on his face that sent chills down Sunset's spine.

"…Do you really think that if your dad loved you, he would've put you up for adoption?" Sunspot said without an ounce of hesitation.

"W-W-What!?" Sunset's eyes widened.

"You heard me." Sunspot said, coldly. "Even if we pretend you were my daughter, which you aren't to begin with, I'm living the good life now without some unwanted, ungrateful little brats tracking me down because they want money from me."

"I don't want money from you!" Sunset spat in frustration. "There are more important things in this world that money can't buy! Family, friends, love… surely you understand even an ounce of what I'm saying to you?"

"If you're being serious right now, I might as well put makeup on your face and stick a tomato on your snout." Sunspot continued to verbally abuse Sunset. "You're not even a pony I can take seriously at all, but just an unfunny clown who clearly never got a good education."

"I'll have you know…!" Sunset began to defend herself. "I'm about to graduate from two different schools at the same time! I have both a 3.9 GPA and fulfilled the requirements to receive a master's degree for magic."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be impressed by that now?" Sunspot said with sarcasm. "Congratulations on your achievements. Study a field that gets you absolutely nowhere in life. Waste thousands of bits on tuition just to learn useless knowledge that'll put you in debt faster than you can say 'Princess Celestia'."

"…You just implied I was an uneducated clown!" Sunset started getting conflicted at what her father wanted.

"Well maybe you should join the circus to impress your so-called audience, instead of coming here to believe that I'd ever care about having you as a daughter." Sunspot finally ripped through Sunset's heartstrings.

"You… don't understand…!!!" Sunset began sobbing hysterically. "I know I've been gone for ages, but that I was hoping we could have a peaceful reunion and start over as father and daughter once more! You don't even care that I took all the time and trouble into finding you, because I sincerely missed you!? You don't even care about having a family!?"

"The only thing I care about now, if you ruining my carpet with your dumb tears." Sunspot finished in the most cold and careless tone. "And like I've said already, I got a family now, a wife and a daughter who isn't you. Now the deal was that you got to talk to me for a few minutes, and those minutes are up. So you either get out of my house or this will get ugly, you hear?"

Sunset picked herself up off the ground and lowered her head in sadness, as she was heading back in the direction of the front door. She had no idea what could've happened to her father, and neither could Sunburst nor Starlight. The threats, the aggressive behavior, and the verbal abuse toward both his daughter and son. Sunspot's actions in general reminded Sunset of just how she acted as the tyrannical bully at CHS, which almost made her question if her aggressive traits were inherited by her father.

Despite this feeling, it seemed unlikely that Sunset got these traits by watching her father's behavior, given how she definitely grew up completely isolated from him. Plus, Sunburst's flashback heavily implied that Sunspot was still hurt over the disappearance of his first daughter after sending her off to the School For Gifted Unicorns, and he still seemed to act caring toward his son like a decent father. He went from this kindhearted stallion to a careless and verbally abusive beast with seemingly no explanation whatsoever. All Sunset did know now, was that her heart had a huge, seemingly irreversible crack in it, as if her father somehow used the same sledgehammer she had once threatened to smash the CHS horse statue pedestal with, and made a swing directly on target.

Sunset was by this point, too hurt and confused to even consider questioning Sunspot regarding Solstice, but it almost didn't matter to her anymore. Based on how Sunspot was acting this whole time, she had to have been crazy to believe he'd willingly tell her about Solstice without either demanding more money from her, or flipping out. In some ways, Sunset was almost glad she still stuck to the original plan with Sunburst and Starlight in not bringing up this Solstice pony to her father. With how intense of a reaction Stellar Flare had reacted after Sunset seemingly touched a nerve, the mere thought of how Sunspot would've reacted frightened her.

By this point, Sunset was stepping out the door, but not before taking one last look at the stallion who seemingly brought her into this world. Sunspot looked back, but simply pointed his hoof to motion Sunset to scram, before trotting up the stairs himself. Sunset had no idea what Sunspot seemingly did to her real mother, Solstice, but believed that whatever he did, he hurt her, and in one of the worst possible ways imaginable. There had to have been a legitimate reason as to why her mother was never around, and why Princess Celestia took custody of her, and claimed to become the mother she needed.

As Sunset finally closed the door behind her, she moved to the area where Sunburst and Starlight were listening to everything from an opened window. The three friends simply looked at each other with sad expressions, completely caught off-guard by what they had all just witnessed. Even though Sunset's memories of Sunspot were admittedly limited, Sunburst absolutely believed that before he went off to study magic in Canterlot, his father was once a kind and supportive stallion, even if he did sometimes hesitate on letting his son choose to follow his dreams.

Although Starlight held both of her front hooves out again to signal her friends to teleport them away from this traumatic location, Sunset and Sunburst's instinct differed. They interpreted it as Starlight offering them both a hug of comfort after what they had both seen of their father, which, after realizing this was what her friends needed, Starlight obliged and hugged them both. Tears streamed down all their faces at fast rates, but it was Sunburst who seemingly took it the hardest, despite Sunset being the one who had been targeted with some of the most vile verbal abuse ever.

After a few minutes, Starlight knew it was time to finally have them all teleport back to Canterlot to escape this horrid nightmare. She started the teleportation spell in her horn once more, as Sunset was trying to wipe her tears away. However, she could've sworn she also started hearing another noise coming from upstairs. It sounded like Sunspot's voice, but the bizarre thing was that Sunset began to hear… crying? Why would her father cry after how he had treated both his daughter and son just a few minutes earlier? This thought was then derailed briefly, as Starlight had finally teleported the entire trio back to Canterlot, specifically the lounge room from before.

Since it was clear that both Sunset and Sunburst needed her support more than ever, Starlight continued to try and comfort her friends, despite the fact she was certainly hurt herself. Despite never interacting much with Sunspot as a filly, she almost even considered him like a second father to her, as she believed he was always a kind stallion who always put others before himself, especially his son. After hearing Sunspot outright state that he's never had a son and what he'd refer to him if he ever did, her faith in the stallion plummeted like a rock. Although Starlight never particularly enjoyed how embarrassing her own father, Firelight was, he was still a true and genuine father to her by comparison.

"Sunset, Sunburst?" Starlight addressed her two friends. "I'm really sorry that you both had to go through all that with your father. This even hurts for me, way more than the time it seemed like Trixie simply made friends with me just to beat Twilight at some petty game. All I can say for certain now is, even if Stellar Flare exploded in our faces earlier, we should've taken her advice. Sunspot truly is a hurtful stallion, and your mother had every right and reason to split with him."

"Is it entirely possible he never actually wanted me in my life to begin with?" Sunburst began to break down. "Was he only pretending to love me the whole time, only because he wanted something else? You two heard what he said, that he'd rather raise a daughter than a son. Clearly… he doesn't want me nor Sunset in his life anymore, especially considering he supposedly already has a new wife and daughter now too. I'm certainly glad at this point that you advised us to not visit him together, Sunset."

"I can't even begin to understand why he would react this way to my presence." Sunset reflected. "I may not have been with him as much as Sunburst during the time he did have custody of me, but I always believed he would never do anything to hurt me. What could I have done that would inevitably change that?"

"Well in my case, I'd believe dad was sore over me dropping out of magic school, even after he encouraged me to not to pursue this field of study." Sunburst surmised. "It must've been a huge disappointment to him that his son not only moved away, but even wasted all his money he spent on his son's tuition."

"But from what I can understand, you only flunked out much later on, after you realized you had trouble casting spells compared to studying them." Starlight reasoned. "So if you still ended up sending him a letter after your first week, that still doesn't explain why he never wrote back to you."

"Isn't it obvious!?" Sunburst wailed. "He never loved me, nor had any interest to keep in touch with me at all after I was gone. I feel like at this point, he always pretended to care, only for me to now find out this whole time, it always a fake act…"

"I'm beginning to think there's something more fishy going on." Sunset tried to analyze everything she knew so far. "Being a rough and aggressive bully myself once, I almost feel like I can understand there's something more deep that we're all missing. Sure, Sunspot definitely hurt me dearly just then, but I'd have to believe there's a reason he'd behave that way. You two were able to vouch for me when I believed he was a genuine father from all our pasts."

"Not anymore." Sunburst huffed in sadness. "All he is now, is nothing more than a greedy and selfish bully."

"Sunset, I know that you and I both changed for the better…" Starlight began. "But we can definitely see that things change, for better or for worse. It seems as if… we can only accept this as reality now, and the only smart choice to make is to simply move on with heads held high."

"How can we do that knowing Sunspot is hurt himself?" Sunset still tried to stand her ground. "I know myself that I turned into a bully because I felt hurt, lonely, and abandoned in a world that never seemed to understand or accept who I was. Plus, before we teleported back here, didn't you also hear him crying? I heard it coming from the second floor of his house, and I know it was him, because I saw him trotting upstairs before I exited the front door."

"I didn't hear any crying other than all the pain in my own heart." Sunburst reflected. "Really though, Sunset? Why are you continuing to defend him after he demanded money from you and tore you to pieces without a care in Equestria? It's obvious by now that he's become a lost cause."

"I just feel like if I could understand what was causing his pain, we'd have a better understanding of why he wouldn't be thrilled to see his children again." Sunset said. "He is our father, after all."

"What if he's actually not?" Sunburst suggested. "What if he was never our actual father, and just an imposter who had more selfish desires whilst pretending to be our dad? Whether he truly is related to us or not, it doesn't matter to me anymore. I still have my mom, who's always been a true mother supporting me through even the toughest of times, even after I flunked magic school."

"I agree with that reasoning." Starlight added. "Stellar Flare clearly gave us a warning to not visit him, and I guess she simply let us do so just to have us understand she was trying to prove a point. It's just a shame that we all had to find this out the hard way."

"I can understand both of you as far as being hurt and confused, but I just can't give up yet, especially since I have this strong feeling we're not getting the full picture." Sunset continued to persevere. "We still don't know what happened back then with Sunspot in regards to Stellar Flare and Solstice, nor did we ever figure out why he was crying when he went upstairs."

"Well, even if we don't quite understand at the moment, I've still lost all motivation to continue solving this mystery." Sunburst moped.

"Yeah, and I've already used my long distance teleportation spell three times today, so I'm afraid my magic's become too exhausted to teleport us back." Starlight explained. "If you really want to figure things out, maybe we can try again some other day? I'm still in an emotional state of shock and disbelief to go back anytime soon."

"Fair enough, but regardless, being a hurt pony myself for many years, I don't like it's right for me to completely cut him out of my life for good without understanding the full story." Sunset said. "For now though, yeah, I guess we should focus on other things…"

Starlight got up and went to retrieve some cucumber sandwiches and tea from the kitchen, as she felt all three of them needed some refreshments after what they had just gone through back at that house. She didn't want to admit it just yet, but she resonated with Sunset's statement, given how she herself felt hurt and abandoned for many years after Sunburst left her. They were still missing the extent of the full story for what happened to Sunspot, and although she didn't quite hear his crying due to being too focused on casting her teleportation spell, she still believed Sunset had gotten another fragment of the truth, which encouraged her to help out in any way she could.

[hr]

Meanwhile, back at Sunspot's house, the stallion was now by himself once more, pacing back and forth for somepony to return. There still didn't seem to be any kind of explanation as to why he treated Sunset that way, but that wasn't what was on his mind now. He realized that the pony he was expecting was running unusually late, which did worry him slightly. However, after a few minutes, he finally heard a knock at the door and went to open it. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the pony, who was a pegasus with an orange coat, blonde hair, purple eyes, and green eyeshadow.

"So glad to have you back, honey." Sunspot addressed the pegasus.

"Of course, let's just say that I had to work overtime to get paid a wonderful bonus." The pegasus replied, before showing Sunspot a gold necklace with an apple shaped red ruby, which looked exactly like Bright McIntosh's. "My job doesn't pay well to those who take the rest of the day off, you know."

"I can imagine." Sunspot reasoned. "By the way, where's our daughter? I think you mentioned earlier this morning that she's decided to go by a name we can call her, since we still hadn't decided a name for her yet? Lily, is that right?"

"That's right." The pegasus confirmed. "Such a pretty name. I did leave her to be babysat at friend's house, let's just say, so it's just you and me tonight. Did you by any chance remember what I wanted you to pick up yesterday at the store?"

"I certainly did, wouldn't want to disappoint you after all." Sunspot replied. "I got the first dress as soon as the store opened, and it costed me 1,800 bits. Anything for you when you have such a good paying job, after all. That necklace might be a great addition as a centerpiece too, now that I look at it."

"Aw shucks, thank you, babe." The pegasus said, happily. "Well, now that you've bought the dress and I've agreed to be proposed to you a few weeks ago, only one question remains. When exactly will our wedding be? I can assure you that unlike your previous marriages, you won't regret this one, dear!"