Bobby walked down the streets of Royal Woods with his hands tucked into his pockets and a frown emblazoned onto his face. He sighed angrily to himself for he was angry at himself. Oh, and his current ex-girlfriend by the name of Lori. What surprised him the most was the fact that he didn't break up with her primarily because of a simple cheating misconduct, although he saw it to be absolutely close enough. No, the real reason he called their relationship off was the fact that her family had locked up their only son/brother Lincoln out of the house for the past few months...and she knew it. What was their cause? Plain old bad luck. Not only did their excuse was ridiculous and rendered them a laughingstock all over the town, the predicament was made worse when it came to light that locking a minor under the age of 18 was considered child abandonment and could land the perpetrators up to 10 years in prison. The fact that they were apparently oblivious to these crucial facts the entire time was just the cherry on top of this kitchen-sink sundae.

Lincoln was like a younger brother to him. In fact, he was technically the younger brother he never had. To see him endure this kind of torture and not have a say in all of this was just straight-up devastating. So when he saw his younger sister carry a bruised and battered yet none worse-for-wear white-haired boy inside their household, his instincts kicked in and he drove the both of them to the hospital where their mother was working at. He was very fortunate that she was granted the night shift; Lincoln wouldn't have made it otherwise. Upon discovering the secret behind his injuries, Maria Santiago was one to make haste and not waste time in a mental debate. She immediately contacted the authorities, who arrested Rita and Lynn Sr. right on the spot at a fancy restaurant where the rest of the family was celebrating a promotion sustained by the latter.

The "No Such Luck" fiasco was a full-blown spectacle: the arrests, the court proceedings, the whole shebang... It was all televised. Each of the daughters gave their own reasoning on why the events that resulted in their younger/older brother hospitalized occurred, from logic to illogical ranging all the same. However, one of their daughters in particular seemed to be knee-deep in her superstitious arguments that her younger brother was indeed a jinx, frantically searching in desperation for an excuse that placed the blame on him and not her family. Some sense was knocked into her when she revealed that she never meant for Lincoln to get hurt (she merely wished for him to stay away until it, quote, "wore off"), but it didn't change the fact that ignorance to the law didn't excuse them one bit. Needless to say, Lincoln and Lily (a mere baby with no potential cause for damage) were to remain with their grandfather for the time being while the parents, seeing as this was their first offense (albeit unintentionally), the 10-year life sentence was cut in half to five in probation. The whole town in Royal Woods, however, wouldn't seem to let them live this one down for months (perhaps years) to come.

His on-the-skids relationship with Lori was another story entirely. Remember that "simple cheating misconduct"? Well, there was this substitute teacher of Lincoln's whom he developed a mild crush on...mild being the keyword. This wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was enough for Lori to inflict a harsh chastising upon him. This, despite the fact that she herself (along with the rest of the sisters sans Lily) had developed a mild crush on Lincoln's tutor. It was an indication/wake-up call that Lori seemed to not mind cheating on Bobby, but wouldn't accept him doing the same to her. In short, he himself was a far better man that she deserved...and she knew it.

At least, that's what he assumed based on evidence presented to him by his friends.

It was some time since Bobby broke up with Lori, and he was struggling to make through the days numbered without her on his mind. Of course, that was the one thing on his mind: what if his decision to break up with Lori was a mistake? This thought plagued that little head of his, the fact not helping that today was one of his many days off. His boss understood his situation quite clearly and gave him some time to recover from his loss. If only bosses like him existed in real life.

Entering the Eat Diner Coffee Shop, Bobby entered inside and placed his order. Walking over to a booth table near the wall and in front of the window, he rest his chin underneath the palm of his hand as he sighed underneath his breath. Little did he know, a girl his age watched from her seat and decided to approach him...when the courage within her had been mustered up first.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

The girl in question was quite literally the same age as him. She had red hair with yellow stripes, moderate cyan blue eyes, light amber skin, a leather jacket with orange lines down the sleeves, a purple polo, blue jeans, and a pair of black boots. However, the most distinguishing trait of this girl was the gold necklace with the charm of a red-and-yellow shimmering sun. As you could imagine, when Bobby glanced up to face her, his eyes widened and his heart raced. He was ashamed of himself, considering that he was just recovering from a painful breakup. Why he couldn't stop himself from revealing the truth right there was anyone's guess.

"I was just recovering from a painful breakup."

To his surprise, the girl chuckled in understanding amusement. "Figures. I was just recovering from a painful...everything."

To her surprise, the boy smiled in confused bemusement. "Um...care to elaborate?"

"I prefer not to. It's...kind of a long story."

"I got time."

"Are you sure? No friends, no work?"

"I have friends, yes. I don't have work, no. Not for the next few days or so."

"I take it because of the painful breakup?"

"Lucky guess. Take a seat and I'll listen."

"Hmm. Maybe I will...and hopefully you will."

The girl took a seat across from Bobby, whom she shook hands with and introduced herself to.

"The name's Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you."

"Bobby. The nice is all mine."

"Don't. Don't try to be witty."

"Eh, it was worth a shot."

"You're doing it again."

"... Am I?"

The two teenagers exchanged small laughter before continuing on with their conversation.

Meanwhile, at Sunset Canyon Retirement Home, Lincoln was assisting Pop-Pop and rolling him in his wheelchair when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He was still recovering from being locked outside for a prolonged amount of time, so the occasional traumatic fit was to be expected. Recently though, those little outbursts were properly treated and he had been undergoing serious therapy. The elderly grandfather began to worry if they were starting to resurface, but no wincing shouts ever left his mouth. Turning to face him, he shot him a sincere smile of concern.

"Lincoln. You okay, buddy?"

Lincoln himself blinked blankly straight ahead before turning to face Pop-Pop.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. So far..."

"Were you...going to have another fit?"

"No... Not that I know of. I think I had a vision."

"A vision?"

"Well, I don't think it wasn't exactly a vision. It was like...one moment, she was there. The next, she was gone. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it existence."

Lincoln then shook his head in disbelief.

"I doubt it meant anything, though."

"Hmm..." Albert rubbed his chin and patted his grandson's shoulder, "Maybe it does. You just don't know what just yet. I suggest you hold on to that...vision."

"Thanks, Pop-Pop."

"Anytime, kiddo." Immediately after, the older man's stomach began to grumble. "Now...let's head over to the food kiosk! I hear they have some good burgers there!"

"Heh. Can't argue with that."

As Lincoln pushed Pop-Pop towards the concession stand, nobody passed to notice his eyes reverting to that of blue.

. . .

Specifically vivid cornflower blue.

Bobby and Sunset exchanged laughter again on the way to Royal Woods Hospital.

"So...how long have you been in Royal Woods?"

"I just got here, actually. I'm kind of a drifter. I, uh...move around place to place and don't stay long. The place I can actually call home has eluded me for some time now."

"Why?"

"Well... To be perfectly honest, I was trying to get away from my past. You can't live in the past, man. You got to live in the now."

"Good point there."

"It's not a good point. It's a great point. And sorry in advance."

"For what?"

"If I'm acting like a bitch towards you. I'm just going through a lot of stress lately."

"Oh, you don't need to apologize, Sunset. I totally understand what you're going through. You use cynicism to distance yourself from others."

"And yet, you're still here...?"

"Because I chose to be. That, and you approached me first."

"Sad, but true."

The both of them arrived at Royal Woods Hospital and traveled to the 13th floor in the midst of their conversation. Exiting the elevator to find the place moving at a lax pace than usual, they approached the counter and summoned the receptionist. It took them a while to wait, but eventually a middle-aged redhead emerged from the back in her green scrubs and holding a cherry-raspberry ICEE hybrid. Judging by her facial expression and body language, she was and wasn't exactly in the best of moods at the moment.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh, hello. My mother works here, and I was just wondering if I'm picking up my younger sister from school today."

"... And you couldn't call her up because...?"

"My phone's battery was dead. Plus, the car I bought from the junkyard is under construction as of this moment, but it can be repaired for today."

"Hmm. Shouldn't you be at school today?"

"No. I'm in the process of recovering from a nasty split from a few months ago, so I was excused from both school and work."

"That sounds highly unrealistic."

"I know, but I just don't question it."

"... Neither do I when it comes to other things." Picking up the telephone and her finger hovering over a particular number, the receptionist turned to face Bobby again before she could press it. "What was your name?"

"I...didn't say."

"I know. That's why I'm asking you."

"Oh, right! Sorry! It's Bobby. Bobby Santiago."

"Ah. You're Maria's boy." After that confirmation, she then dialed M for Maria. "I thought I recognized you. I'm Linda, a friend of one of your mother's friends. How is Ronnie Anne doing?"

"Oh, she's doing okay, thank you. She just needs to learn how to control her temper from time to time."

"I reckon that Lincoln boy wouldn't have anything to do about it?"

"Well, seeing as he's the one closest to her, he actually helps in simmering it down."

"I'm glad for him, then. Aw, the poor boy. He shouldn't have to suffer through all that because of a simple and even silly thing."

"Suffer through what, exactly?"

Bobby and Miss Linda turned to a confused Sunset, who was awaiting a response of some sort. The former apparently forgot the latter was even there.

"What, you never heard of what happened to Lincoln Loud?"

"No, I just moved here. I don't know a Lincoln Loud."

"I see. You see...Lincoln was a smart and kindhearted boy. All of a sudden, one of his sisters decides that he is bad luck simply because she lost her softball game the one day he decides to attend. Next thing you know, the entire family and classmates at school follow suit, subjecting him to a few weeks long of humiliation. His parents even sold his belongings and locked him outside. If it weren't young Bobby here...well, he wouldn't have lived to see another day."

Sunset was horrified by the tale told to her by Miss Linda. Bobby never informed her of a child being hurt, even if it wasn't particularly serious. To think that she was starting to move on from darkness-induced audience apathy. "Good Lord. Why would they do this to such a sweet boy?"

"Darling, that's how one half of the world unfortunately functions. The best we can do is hope for the best of him."

Suddenly, one of the farthest doors at the end of the hall opened and exited a dark-skinned woman with a black-haired bun and white scrubs. She walked down to the waiting room to find her son and a girl his age talking with the receptionist.

"Roberto?"

"Oh, Mom! There you are!"

"Why aren't you at school right now?"

"That's what I asked," Miss Linda interjected.

"I wanted to ask you if I was picking up Ronnie Anne today after school," Bobby ignored her, "but my phone's battery was dead."

"So you had to ask me in person? Hijo, this is why we have portable battery chargers in the 21st century," Maria joked around before adding, "but yes, you are picking up Ronnie Anne today. How you are going to do so with no mode of transportation available will surprise me."

"Don't worry, mama. I'll find a way." Bobby turned to Sunset and gestured her to follow him out. "Stay safe."

"Always am."

The two teenagers entered the elevator and exited once they reached ground level.

"So...he's all right?"

"Hmm?"

"The young boy."

"You mean Lincoln? Oh, yeah. Little bro's doing okay. A couple of therapy sessions seemed to do him so good."

"I sure hope so..."

The rest of the walk was spent in silence...

Lincoln laid in his bed as he attempted to fall asleep. He had taken Pop-Pop's advice and quote "held on" to that little vision of his, mentally debating what it meant. The girl in question was a young woman with moderate cyan blue eyes, vivid crimson hair with brilliant yellow stripes, light amber skin, and...a certain kind of magical aura that was the color of light brilliant opal. It was affecting his capability to get some rest, but he couldn't care less. He had to figure out who this girl was.

Pulling out his phone for texting, Lincoln's following message were dripping with desperation:

Ronnie Anne... I need your help.