Sunset Shimmer awoke in the morning in her small rented room when the wooden clock ringed. The clock wasn't big and loud, the walls in this building were rather thin. It was located near the Central station of Twilight town, on Market street, so it was easy for Sunset to reach her working place, the Bakery, a small circular building, where she was the Director, early in the morning, to assure that it will prepare the goods and start working in time, and start baking new food for the ponies in town. There was only one shop of each kind in this town, and their owners were to maintain the quality. The shops belonged to the city Government. And today was one of days when she had to carry a report there after work, the report she had been preparing this week. Her breakfast was some fruits and vegetables from the Food store that was on the way home from Bakery, some rolls she knew she made herself, and water. After that, she took a uniform from the wardrobe that was too big for a small room and stood in the way, took the key and left the room.
The corridors in that building were really narrow. Even in comparison to back alley houses, where there was a lot of inconvenient turns, and the stairs were on different side of the building than the main door. But those corridors were wide enough to hang plant pots on the sides, and there were areas with windows on each floor that allowed to stack supplies. And on station slope, everything was small and crowded, even with only one mailbox for everypony. In the basement there, were a town club maintained by Pinkie Pie, and part of the school.
Sunset descended the street slope. Under the gate there, were two important shops: Food, and Household supplies. She went through the gate, and saw that Fluttershy, the salespony of her shop and her closest friend, was already there. There was light in the building. In this town, Fluttershy was a yellow pegasus with yellow mane. Sunset came inside, and then the pegasus and the unicorn turned on the oven. That required flying up to the high ceiling near the chimney. After it warmed up, Fluttershy went to the other room and opened the shop outlet, while Shimmer began cooking. This was one of harder days for her. She will have free time only since half past six o'clock in the evening. Some of her other friends were busy all day this day, too. Fluttershy, however, could talk to some customer ponies as long as there wasn't a queue line. There wasn't too much to talk about in this small city that was its own country, bordering the void only, separated from it by the dome that looked like sky with clouds, a moon, and a not too bright sun moving on it. This town wasn't made from real matter, but was one inside a computer. And its citizens were used to its rules, the automatically balanced weather, supplies appearing at the station on their own and trash disappearing in the same manner. It was all magic for them.
Today, Fluttershy, as usually, though, encountered some interesting customers. There was Sundial, a light orange mare living in the farthest house at Sunset Hill. Ponies from Sunset Street usually bought food from a group of pegasi who delivered it all the way there, but today Sundial came in person. She was an Observer, she was usually found at the top of hill recording the weather and making forecasts. There was Blackberry, a cheerful light purple colored pony often organizing unusual events at the Stage square on holidays. Glory, another pegasus mare from Sunset Terrace, who unexpectedly appeared into the city about a year ago, known for her curiosity. Onion Pie, an old earth pony stallion who randomly told ponies wise proverbs usually relevant to their situations, and sometimes slept in the town's forest or wandered in town in the night though he had an apartment. Twilight Sparkle, a purple unicorn mare living in the Old Mansion, a huge fenced building beyond the forest where nopony else was allowed to go, Government claimed weather was generated there. Twilight was a secretive recluse, though, this year she seemed to emerge more often. She was greatly respected by ponies. She often came to help solve town's organization problems, and wrote many books known here. She was known to be very polite. She bought food rather rarely, making for rumors guessing that she could create it magically.
Usually in the evenings in less busy days, Sunset Shimmer was present at the meeting of her friends, usually either in Stage square or Station Plaza. In addition to Shimmer and Fluttershy, there was Train Fly, white, slightly beige earth pony with range of colors from white to beige to red-brown in her mane and tail, she was a train driver, old friend of Fluttershy. Also there were Pinkie Pie and her neighbor, Ink Curl Belle, a calligraphy teacher in the school. Applejack, assistant town paperwork manager from the Government, sometimes came to these meetings. Today, the meeting wouldn't happen. Train Fly had a maintenance day at Sunset station and Factory station, which meant she will have returned near midnight, and Pinkie was busy, too.
Tired from a morning of baking, Sunset quietly brought the papers into the town hall, and used the opportunity to eat at Government's bar. She took a shortest way home, buying a bag of food under the gate. Her room didn't have an oven, and fruit salad would have to do for supper. Maybe she will come to her parents' apartment on weekend, where she will be able to make a pie and hot berry tea.
Before she was home, she checked club's announcements board and took a newspaper. She went up the stairs and stored the fresh salad, carrots and fruits into her locked section of the cold storage crate. She went inside the room. After some minutes, she left towards a shower. Luckily there wasn't a queue, because she came home still earlier than most of ponies. When she returned, she watched the newspaper, which had a photo of scary white mask and article labeled “Citizen gone wild: Masked madpony caught at night” on the first page. She started reading that and thought that the reporters really overdone their job today because somepony might sleep badly after reading such an article. Dismissing it, she instead read a journal that came in the week's beginning, then cooked a complicated salad, and ate it. When it was dark outside and the factory behind the station stopped making noises, she played a gyroscope oscillator for an hour, thinking of things, and then went to sleep.
Author's Note
Note: The story exists because of coincidences like Alicorn statues in the Mansion and names like Twilight town and Sunset street... atmosphere in Twilight town is slightly similar to Ponyville's... that was planned for later reveal, but since it's suspended anyway, readers probably need to know this now.
Mood appropriate for writing this set by the following music: Shiropoint - Summer Sun Celebration
Chapter one. Silent streets
Sunset woke up early because of a nightmare. She was walking through an even rocky desert, and there were dense purple clouds over it that shot purple lightning balls against the ground with loud sounds. She tried to stand up and felt sick, like ripples were going through all her senses. She never experienced that feeling before, so she assumed it was dangerous and prepared to go and ask for help. When she was opening the door, she heard someone mumbling something while seemingly going to the stairway, but no hoof sounds were heard. She thought it might be her senses, and went through door. The creature that she saw from behind was... a ghost? The ghost was looking like a stallion. She retreated to the room and closed the door... she went to the window. What she saw made her panic. There were crowds of ghosts outside going up the street, and among them, were ponies standing with their eyes opened, seemingly paralyzed. She ran down the stairs, screaming, going past certain ghosts. Outside, she tried to approach a first pony she saw, and the pony ran away. She went toward the wall, sat and closed her eyes. The situation didn't make sense, and therefore didn't seem to have a solution. She'd wait, at least until the sense came out. But at that, she was gradually becoming angry, at something that might have caused this. Her fear was going away, while this unreasonable feeling of rage was awakening inside her. She wanted so much to just find that source of the problem, no matter where it was, and make it sorry for being there. She opened her eyes.
She was in the air. She fell from the air.
“Ow.”
Then, rage again. She didn't take a look at her new wings, she didn't care they were new. They were wings of her rage. They had all rights to be there now. It was still early morning, somewhat dark. She decided to take off and flew over the town in search of that infernal something. Looking from above the town, she soon found certain of those somethings at Sunset Terrace. A crowd of ghosts around something black. And a purple pony watching over it from a roof. Dismissing a pony, she sped up towards the black thing like it all was a target for the arrow of her anger to hit.
Then she was falling back in pain. The thing had a shield. She recovered before she would fall to the street below, but before she finished the thought about her tactics, the target grabbed her with a telekinetic field and tried to throw her into the wall. And it did, just gently. She fell to the pavement.
The target was now gone, though. Hit by a purple lightning ball.
Author's Note
I wanted to delay submission until it's done, but it's getting rather difficult (especially considering chapter 3, where I would need to synchronously RP most of the characters; that work seems like getting myself a Party of One). I'm considering cancelling this.
Concept article with original plot idea (spoilers!) is here. That might seem like nonsense, but that... thing is what seemed to make my really old Kingdom Hearts crossover idea work. Drive. Which makes a simple pony temporarily go alicorn. Inspired suddenly by seeing silly fairy transformations... really.
Failure? Perhaps. Also, while planning this chapter, I was preparing for the villain to rant, to introduce himself. But it was not possible, because of the time Shimmer should have wasted in the street and crowds gathering around Screamer. Would Screamer just do that if she came through the Tunnelway? Unlikely. He would send Noponies against her, which doesn't work.
The appropriate mood for writing this was set by this music: Abenjiro - Through.The.Winter 2
