Chapter 1: Found, But Still Lost
Sunset Shimmer wanted to scream, but she didn't have the voice. She wanted to run, but she could barely move. She wanted to die, but still she remained. All she could do was lie there and cry.
Her muscles and skin felt hot and stretched, like she'd overextended every part of her body. She would later assume the pain was due to her undergoing two violent transformations in the span of five minutes. At the time, however, all she cared about was the pain itself. That, and the fact that all her work had been for nothing. She'd torn apart the school, destroyed lives, and ruined the Fall Formal, all just to be brought down by six friends and the very artifact she'd worked so hard to acquire.
Not only had she failed, but the great power she'd been seeking for so long had just been hopelessly outclassed. Everything she'd known about power had been wrong. She'd wasted her whole life seeking more powerful magic, and she'd managed to hold onto it or five minutes before being completely crushed by something even more powerful that she hadn't even known about. She had been destined to fail from the start.
Why hadn't Celestia ever told her about the power of Harmony? Or had she? Had Sunset just not been paying attention? That didn't sound right, but why would Celestia have kept it from her? Perhaps she had known what Sunset would have done with such power.
Sunset's eyes opened just a crack. She found she was lying in a crater, likely carved out by the raw power that she had just been blasted with. She felt as though her muscles were on fire as she slowly lifted herself onto her hands and knees, smoke curling up off her body. She could still feel traces of magic lingering in her body. She thought she'd never feel so much magical power as when she'd activated the Element of Magic, but she'd been proven wrong as soon as it turned on her.
She hadn't expected the Element of Magic to physically warp her body. It was a passing revelation that she'd dismissed too quickly. She should have realized that she didn't know everything about the Elements of Harmony, and should have been more careful. She'd known that Elements of Harmony would have a hard time recognizing their true bearers outside of their home universe, but apparently the connection still existed as long as the portal remained open. It was a fundamental flaw in her plan that had doomed her from the start. She needed the portal to be open so she could get back to Equestria, but that very connection to her homeworld was what finally brought her down.
The sound of Twilight Sparkle's voice reached Sunset's ears, snapping her mind to her current situation. "You will never rule in Equestria. Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."
She wasn't the only one who'd been shown what was in her heart. Pain and terror weren't all that the Elements of Harmony had made her feel. She'd felt something that she had only caught fleeting glimpses of before. She'd felt it when her mother would read her stories back when she was a foal. She felt it a few times during her stint as Princess Celestia's student. She'd felt the after effects of it when Flash Sentry had broken up with her.
It was love. It hadn't been directed at her, but even the passing sense of it made her realize how empty her life had been up until that point. And it was entirely her own fault for avoiding friendships and relationships that held any meaning. Nothing she'd ever done in her life added up to anything.
Sunset raised her head, uncontrollable tears pouring from her eyes. A crowd was gathering around the crater. Her voice returned to her, and she said the only thing she could think of. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was another way," she said, her voice cracking slightly. It wasn't just an apology to the other students, but to herself as well.
Twilight's voice reached her again as Sunset clutched her pounding head, her mind still reeling. "The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria; it's everywhere." Sunset struggled to climb free of the crater as Twilight continued her lecture. "You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours."
Sunset managed to pull herself to the edge of the pit, half-collapsing against it. As much as Sunset hated to admit it, Twilight was right. "But all I've ever done since being here is drive everyone apart," Sunset started, briefly covering her mouth as the words left it. She hadn't given her actions much thought before, but they sounded terrible when she put it so bluntly. "I don't know the first thing about friendship."
Sunset shut her eyes. Not only had she lost everything she'd had in this world, but now she didn't even have the means to seek out these new things she'd been made so keenly aware of. She didn't have anyone left she could count on. Her eyes snapped back open as she felt a hand upon hers, and a look up brought Twilight's face into view. She pulled Sunset to her feet with a sad smile and gestured to her left, softly saying, "I bet they can teach you."
The five once-divided and now-reunited friends were smiling at her, and only one of them looked sarcastic about it. Perhaps Sunset wasn't so alone after all, if they could really forgive her for everything she'd done to them. It was only then that she really noticed how strange all six of the friends looked. Their human ears had been replaced with pony-shaped ears atop their heads, their hair had extended to reach past their knees, and three of them had feathery wings. Perhaps Sunset knew even less about the Elements of Harmony than she'd thought.
"Those are my girls!" Spike suddenly piped up, clapping his little paws together. "Woo-hoo!"
The nearby students recoiled slightly. "Did that dog just talk?" one of them asked. "Whoa, weird."
Sunset couldn't help but smile as Spike made a comment on the student's unusual sense of what was weird after all that had happened. Her grin fell as fast as it came when she felt a hand on her shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through her sore body. She turned to see Vice Principal Luna looking down at her. The older woman tilted her head, pulling lightly on Sunset's shoulder and leading her away from the crowd. The two paused as Principal Celestia passed them, the Element of Magic held in her pale hands. The sight of the crown made Sunset feel uneasy after what it had done to her.
Celestia spoke as she approached Twilight, holding out the crown to her. "I believe this belongs to you." Twilight knelt before Celestia as she continued, "A true princess in any world leads not by forcing others to bow before her, but by inspiring others to stand with her."
The words stung more than the feeling of Luna's hand on Sunset's overly-sensitive skin as the vice principal lead her towards the school building. That was a direct comparison between Twilight and Sunset, and everyone surely knew it. Sunset glanced back at the crowd again as they cheered. Flash Sentry stepped over to Twilight, holding out his hand to her.
Something stirred in Sunset. It was something she'd felt during her time as Celestia's student. It was something she'd felt upon going back to Equestria and learning about the nation's newest princess. It was something she'd felt right before she'd flown into a rage and tried to take the Element of Magic from Twilight by force.
It was jealousy. Now more than ever, Twilight had everything she ever wanted. She had power, friends, respect, and even Flash.
It took the sound of the door shutting to make Sunset realized she'd reached Luna's office. "Sunset Shimmer," Luna started slowly, her cold eyes locked on the student. "The administration here at Canterlot High are quite tolerant, as I'm sure you're aware, but you have crossed the line several times over tonight."
Sunset's burst of jealousy cooled in an instant as she realized where this was going. She opened her mouth to defend her actions, but she couldn't think of anything reasonable to say. As her eyes darted around the room nervously, she realized that Snips and Snails were also present.
Luna continued, "You three have caused severe damage to school property, directly endangered the lives of your fellow students, and apparently were running some sort of conspiracy to take over the school and use the student body to invade an alternate universe. I do not even know where to begin with you three, to be honest. I ought to expel all of you at the very least."
Sunset opened her mouth again, this time to solemnly agree, but Snips cut her off. "Hey, wait a second! She's the one who did all that stuff!"
"Yeah," Snails added, pointing at Sunset. "She manipulated us, eh?"
Had the vice principal not been right there, Sunset would have backhanded both of the boys right on the spot. As soon as they got caught, they were both ready to sell her out like it was nothing. Her fury dissipated quickly, however, when she realized that she would have done the same to them.
Luna glared at each of the two boys in turn, leaning forward against her desk. "Following her orders does not excuse you from the responsibility of your actions. Were these events to have taken place outside of the school grounds, all three of you would surely be placed under arrest." Luna paused momentarily as her office door opened. "However," she continued slowly, "the circumstances surrounding these events is highly unusual, and requires further consideration before any decisions are made."
Sunset felt a slight shiver run down her spine as Principal Celestia stepped into the office. Even though she wasn't a magical alicorn, Sunset could feel the same commanding presence that Celestia always had, whether it were in this world or Equestria. "Please wait outside," Celestia said simply.
The three shuffled out quickly, and were greeted with the icy stare of Mrs. Harshwhinny. The expression was all-too familiar to the three, since the teacher rarely looked any different. Sunset assumed that she was there in case any of them tried to escape, but Sunset didn't have any intention of running away just yet. She was still too sore to do any physically-demanding activities, for one thing. Every movement her clothes made against her skin was painful.
All three students found spots against the wall on which to lean, with Sunset standing some distance away from Snips and Snails. The two boys struck up a quiet argument whose words couldn't be understood by Sunset's ears. The music from the gym could still be heard, however. It was some song about it being the "big night" for a group of friends. It only reminded Sunset of everything she'd lost. After all, tonight was supposed to her her big night, and the fourth time she'd won the Fall Formal crown. Of course, whether or not she really deserved it was currently up for debate in Sunset's mind.
Sunset lost track of time as her mind went over everything that had happened over the last few days. So much had happened. So many things had gone wrong. Even her first hop through the portal that week had been filled with unforeseen problems. She hadn't anticipated that the mirror would have been moved to a different city, and she'd nearly been caught by guards at least seven times as she made her way through the unfamiliar and downright-confusing layout of the Crystal Palace.
Gathering information had been a bit of a problem, since the Crystal Empire was rather behind the times. She had to rely on newspapers and the few historical records that had been copied from those in Canterlot. What she'd found had made her want to set fire to all of Equestria. Not only had Celestia gotten a new student who was remarkably-similar to Sunset herself, but she'd proceeded to make the little whelp a royal princess. And this new unicorn was the honest-to-Luna Element of Magic. Sunset had worked her tail off for years under Celestia's oppressive tutelage, and she hadn't gotten anything but lectures about magical theory and how true power doesn't come from books. Sunset had taken this to mean that a more hooves-on approach was required, but apparently Celestia had meant something else entirely.
Sunset shook her head, her neck making a slight grinding noise that only she could hear. None of that mattered anymore, she supposed, but she couldn't help but feel resentful of Celestia for trying to hide information from her. She'd found out a lot of amazing things when she'd started studying behind Celestia's back. Time spells. Dark magic. Alternate worlds. Celestia hadn't seen fit to tell her about any of it. Once again, though, Sunset reminded herself of what she'd ended up doing when she'd gotten her hooves- er, hands on some real power.
As if on cue, Principal Celestia stepped into the hallway addressed the three students. "This situation is far from ordinary, and therefore certain things must be taken into consideration. For example, our fine school's reputation would not benefit from the knowledge of this incident becoming public. I do not think I need to explain why."
Sunset tilted her head, wondering how this sort of thing could possibly be kept quiet. As if knowing what she were thinking, Celestia explained, "The entirety of the student body is currently inside the school. I shall inform them that they are not to tell anyone about what has transpired this night. Mrs. Harshwhinny, would you please print out the required amount of non-disclosure agreements?"
The sour-looking teacher nodded, glancing briefly at Sunset before walking away. Sunset raised an eyebrow, asking, "You keep those forms just lying around?"
Celestia looked down at Sunset as if evaluating her. She turned, waved her hand as if beckoning someone, and her sister stepped from the nearby office. Luna only glanced at Sunset as she stepped in front of Snips and Snails. With a stern look and the words "come with me," she lead the two boys away and out of sight.
Principal Celestia turned back to Sunset. "This is not the first time this school has played host to strange happenings. For example, some of our students were witness to a certain girl falling out of a statue five years ago."
Both of Sunset's eyebrows shot up, and Celestia nodded. "Yes, I have known about you. We do have external security cameras, after all, though I did not make the connection between your entrance and the statue until recently. You disappeared after that, only to walk into my school just over one year later. I did not make an issue of your unknown origins because you seemed to be such an eager and diligent student. You integrated yourself into the school with ease, and even won the Fall Formal crown during your first year at our school. I came to the conclusion that you would be fine, but it would appear that I was premature. I should have kept a closer eye on you over the years and not simply brushed off your social issues as a result of your previous environment. For my failure on that part, I am sorry, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset's mind had already made the connections, but she wanted to be sure. "So, you've known I was probably an alien and covered that up for me? And now you're willing to do it again, after everything I've done?"
"The well-being of my students is always my top priority. This includes you, Sunset Shimmer, regardless of your origin. I have sensed great potential within you from the moment you walked into my school, and I believe that you may yet be capable of great and wonderful things." Celestia's stare hardened as she continued, "Should you prove me wrong, however, I will not hesitate to hand you over to the authorities for your actions tonight. If you are to step even one toe out of line, you will quickly find that my mercy is not to taken for granted. I hope that I will not have to do such, for I do hate to see such potential go to waste. You can start to make up for your misdeeds by joining my sister at the entrance to the school. We have a wall to replace, and fixing it would be a good place for you to begin. If you will follow me...."
Sunset was torn between worry for her future and indignant rage at the obvious blackmail coming at her. She probably would have done the same, of course, but that didn't make her any less conflicted. She decided to keep her mouth shut and follow Principal Celestia through the halls of Canterlot High, but she stopped walking when she saw Twilight and her new friends outside.
She stepped back a little, her hands resting on the edge of the ruined wall as she watched them. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but she assumed they were saying their goodbyes. Rarity suddenly crossed her arms and shot disappointed look in Sunset's direction. The defeated villain hung her head. Perhaps she'd been too optimistic when she'd hoped they could all be friends.
Footsteps behind Sunset brought her attention away, and she found Vice Principal Luna standing next to her with a trowel. Sunset took the trowel as Luna held it out to her, wondering why she was being given the tool. She realized what it was for as soon as Snips and Snails came over with a wheelbarrow of bricks and two buckets of mortar.
Sunset sighed, turning back to look at Twilight. The five's attention was on the princess again as she seemed to be addressing them. Then she turned around to face the statue that contained the portal to Equestria. Sunset's eyes moved up to the moon, and something suddenly occurred to her. She called out, "Twilight!"
Twilight Sparkle turned back around, a slightly-confused look on her face. Sunset waved to her slowly, shouting out again, "Tell our old teacher that I'm sorry, okay? Let her know that I'm alright."
Twilight grinned, waved back, and nodded to Sunset. Then she turned around and walked to the portal. Sunset dipped the trowel into one of the buckets of mortar and slathered some on one of the loose bricks, not really knowing what she was doing. She looked up from beneath her eyebrows, eyes fixed on Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight seemed to be saying something to Spike right before the little dog jumped into the portal. The moon shimmered in the sky, and Twilight stepped forward. She bounced off the stone wall that stood where the portal had been, falling down onto the sidewalk. The other five ran towards her as she ran her hands along the surface of the portal, but it was firmly shut. Twilight turned to face the others as her pony ears and wings vanished in a flash. Her panicked expression was obvious all the way from the hole that used to be the front of the school, as was her sad acceptance of the situation as she hung her head in defeat.
Sunset just smiled and put down another brick.