Chapter 1: A Curse is A Kiss From A Witch In Town
Sunset Shimmer sat alone in the stench of aging books and the swift click and clack of somepony from some distant way. The Canterlot Archives was one of the most stupidest place to attempt to do research. Or built. Or organized. Ever. It was a stinkin' librarians' library where all of the arrogant and self righteous book-humping ponies from all over Equestria crawl in awe to this hidey-hole.
And their favorite activity they take joy in, other than getting paper cuts, is harassing folk.
It was almost cult-like how they hounded her, throwing out words in pre-classical Equestrian and demanding she stick with the upper floor. Hello, current student of Celestia herself, the welder of the Sun and Moon itself!
Who the rutting rot did these nobody's second-cousin twice removed bastards think they were to judge her! To look down at her as if she, and everything she stood for was meaningless. Up yours, deputy of obscure bookbinding techniques and old Unicornian scripture. He'll be filing away her ground-breaking books on spells or something in a few years anyway.
Why in Ole Rosewood's stank crust did she decide to do her research here than the Main Canterlot Castle Library? And the librarians there were so much nicer, she'd have to be a bit more generous with her thank-you's to them from now on.
If she had her way, Sunset wouldn't have even bothered to come here if she hadn't felt so guilty.
But... and it was such a crazy thought that made her pause.
You just didn't go searching for some classified books, looking for secrets in between the lines to become the Princess-like pony at home. In plain sight where everyone can catch your train of thought and boom bam, dismissal from the Princess herself. Or sent somehow sent to the Archives or something like it and join these idiots ranks in their meaningful meaningless.
How in Equestria could she explain herself to anypony? 'I saw a future me in the Princess's secret mirror! She was powerful and bearing wings and it is absolute proof that I will be greater than Celestia herself. I really need to know how I will do, help me fools! Obviously, you should accept my eventual ascent to greatness and bow down to me!'
Sunset shuddered to herself in the dim light, the swirling flame from the torch overhead flickered. The Archive was kept well for the most part, the floors were polished and halls dust-free but there was just something unsettling about the walls. She had felt a odd taste in her tongue if that made sense. Something sweet and salty if she focused too hard on the wall to her left.
Every fifteen minutes, a rush of cold air would streak past her and then all of the torches in the wing would go out for only a couple seconds. With a odd shring sound. Nothing to worry about because she was in the third basement floor of a mountain library.. archive... whatever.
Mountains tend to creak and sigh and updrafts was commonplace.
But... and maybe she'll indulge in another crazy thought.
In the brief darkness, a torch barely distinguishable from where she sat, would quake with a surge of energy and make a bright purplish spark. In that weird light, she saw shadows belonging to a pair of unicorns. One unicorn leaned over a set of books or something and the other approaching.
Not a happy sloppy trot of the ordinary pony running to errands or the bold strut from a teacher who just published a paper or even a clumsy waltz of herself when she tried to work up the nerve for her exams before testing day.
Sunset knew a thing about approaching. Bullies approached. Nobodies announced. Go-to-do folk avowed. But only the nastiest pony or monster would be approaching. Like when she messed up a important spell in class or when parents died out of the blue and things got worse or living in the orphanage and learning about power. Something that had a face and was responsible for everything wrong but was just unnatural and there was nothing she could do about it. It's not a thing that she could verbalize easy but it was a emotion thingy of a abuse-.
Nope.
Let's stop that thought.
The shadows seemed to alternate every fifteen minutes.
The other kept on approaching and the book nosed unicorn seemed to not notice.
The book unicorn changed head position and would read or be tilted in the position of looking afar.
The other unicorn would get closer and closer with the book pony completely unaware.
And at the very last shadow play before it would go back to the first image, the book unicorn was alone and stood next to a odd-looking torch.
She or he was pointed in her direction, as if actually aware of her and willingly trying to reach out to her. And the most craziest thought she had today... was to flee? If she thought of running away, she could make an excuse to pack her saddle bags and be on her way. It had been three long, whole hours of her not finding concrete anything on the Princess's divinity other than some fancy guesswork by scribes from about four centuries ago.
But actually fleeing a dank old library because of some librarian’s weird phantom magic project on some torch? Sunset, the Princess' most promising student of her generation, Shimmer does not flee from anything!
There was no real reason or excuse to go. Like this! She had to have at least put in time of proving to those librarian bastards that she knew how to research and read! Even if she could have left an hour and a half ago. They would say things under their breath as she pass and judge her.
She didn't really care what they thought as long it was what she wanted them to think about her!
What if she had to come back at some point?
She could never show her face again and they would be right.
Nope.
No.
Not today.
She had worked far too hard to have her image undermined by Librarians! They could talk to others who work in different libraries and- and- it would get back to the Princess and she would be dismissed! There was probably librarians on this floor around, secretly watching in their assumption that she was a uncultured hick who would chew on the pages and desperately wanted to catch her in the act.
She would leave when she felt like it!
And maybe, JUST maybe, she had to go home now-ish because she left her class reading there and it was late!
If only she had the Princess's power, she wouldn't have to go through these painful thoughts! It was unfair of the the Princess's to be so~! Why her? Why? Even when ponies hated her, they loved her! And maybe that's why she was the Princess? Because she could inspire that in ponies and reach for her light.
It was wrong to want her dearest teacher's power. Her teacher was the best thing to happen to her and the thought of disappointing her kept Sunset's wordless desires in check, a little. Not forever, of course. Teachers could be surpassed but the Princess could not.
The Princess was the one of the worse thing to happen to her.
Sunset sighed and got off the wooden bench. She blankly cast an organizing spell, rearranging the scrolls and stacking the older tomes by size. The stupid librarians could pick up after her... A chilly breeze tapped on her nose and reminded her that her face was wet. Had she been cry-
No, just tears of anger again. Anger alone. As always.
She rubbed her face dry and cast a mid level light spell, one of her specialties. It was a bit harder than usual and she got less light than normal, but a spark is a light all the same.
From where she stood in the fifth reading section, the stairway leading up was near the eighth section and surrounded by the out dated magical theories and old Equestrian maps area. It would be twenty minute journey if she ran the whole way.
She rather be caught in the dark sooner than later though.
Sunset started off, passing by torches that differentiated by style and color. She considered how the archive was set up. Reading sections, where long oak dinner tables stretched from one end to the other in a circular rooms where the bookshelves where directly carved into the stone. They started from ten to one, with the stairway leading up being in the eight or tenth section.
Celestia in all her grace, it was dumb. Who was really willing to go back and forth like this everything, arranging books and spelling shelves to keep books from rotting. Precious, one of the kind, books that could turn the dust if the wrong spell wore away.
Her ears twitched involuntary.
There was a weird sound, somewhere.
A 'slush' sound.
Sunset looked down at the floor and wondered if someone was trying wring out a mop. Good luck with that, librarian! Sunset swore to herself that she would never do menial labor for anyone less than herself. She walked for what seemed to be ten minutes before she met the next reading section. A stylized six was carved into the higher part of the wall leading into the next section. At least, she was on the right track.
But that sound~ slush, slush, slush. Shring.
Somewhere else, somewhere close.
The bastard must be rolling and mopping at the same time with a cart or something. It was so damn annoying. How could she concentrate on holding the light spell. Weren't librarians known for their quietness? It could go dark at anytime but it was only for a few seconds. And she needed a break.
Sunset cut the spell off and took a long inhale. For some reason, she felt strain in her horn? Ugh. She needed to relax on her spell work practices if she could physically feel the strain instead of just being out of energy.
Slush.
At least the sound was less annoying. Sunset moved slightly, her tail twitched aggravation, and spoke. “Hey, can you knock it off with the mopping. You're probably just splattering water everywhere, ya jerk!”
Slush.
“A wise guy, eh? I'll report you, you know, to the highest authority in the land! And even fill out a very tedious paper that should take weeks before it reaches your supervisors but it will be hours if you don't knock it off!”
Slush.
Why wasn't the librarian saying anything? “Say something, you overpaid book humper!”
Sunset turn-about and saw... the torches behind her all an inky violet, the very tips a pinkish color.
Shring.
She glanced upward and saw the nearest torch's flame had shifted into that strange purple color. A second later, the little unicorn shadow appeared inside. Because of the little book on it's back and the way it turned toward her, it had to be the book unicorn.
“Is this a joke?” Sunset was began to have a crazy thought. A really crazy thought. “Are you trying to tell me something? No. No. Calm down, Sunset. This only proves that you were right and they were judging you. And you FAILED and, this is some nasty punishment. You should have been meaner and put them in their places!”
Sunset turned around to the purple torches and screeched as loud as she could. “You think this is FUNNY! DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN AT ME. I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING! NOPONY CAN MAKE ME SCREAM OR CRY. I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE,” Sunset trembled, and looked down at her hooves. She failed. “So, fuck you!”
“Please.” This is the way the world ends~
Sunset jumped in fright. Who said that? “Show yourself!” She howled in all direction.
“I'm sorry... sorry...sorry”
This is the way the world ends~
She watched the shadow figure disappeared from the purple torch and appear in the still red flame of the one across.
“Please!”
This is The Way The Words Ends~
The torch shook against the wall, the flame kindled into a blinding, dizzy white smoke. Sunset coughed and waved her hoof in front of her face. Through the silvery dust, she saw another her alone in a strange darkness, somewhere else. This other her sat on her haunches, long searing wounds patch work stitches against her skin. Other-Sunset, had the same hoof mirror that was in her bag, and was yelling soundlessly into it.
She made that look on her face and her horn, burning bright, went out with a sputter.
And the darkness seemed to boil and bubble into a dusky purple. Other Sunset, shaking, hid under her forearms, saying one word over and over. The silvery dust started to fade but Sunset saw the horror. Sunset saw her other self disintegrate, screaming and looking in her direction, as her blood and flesh turned into ash.
“I-!”Sunset tried to say something. She looked again behind her, at the torches and their odd purple flame. The combined violet glow reflected oddly as if bouncing off something invisible but tangible.
“please,please,please”
It's a sound no one knows~ The world can't scream, you know~
The furthest pair of torches that Sunset could see, went out abruptly.
Everything they illuminated vanished along with them. The next set of torches with their light, that should of shone dimly the shelves only made bright, a dark stone wall. Sunset hesitated, the fear crawling through her vein made her body twitch in place.
“I-!” Sunset muttered out loud. “I'm not someone you can mess with so easy! I'm at the head of almost all of my classes. Do you bastards think you can get one over me so easily!”
She wasn't a fool. Someone who will be great should not run from the unexplained. She should think reasonably. It was an illusion! A stupid and poorly conjured magic wall. Obviously, the torches were probably spelled on some timer and it just escalated because she spent three hours here. All just some joke that librarians did because of their weirdness.
And, and all she needed to do was cast a generic counter spell.
Ha, ha ha! She understood the 'joke'. She didn't have to run or do anything.
“...............................................please!”
Knock it over, girlie~ You have my blood~ You have this blood all over, spilling into everything~
“No,” she said to the shadow or librarian or mysterious voice. “The farce is over. The curtain calling, phonies! You can't play with me. You'll always lose! My name is Sunset Shimmer and definitely promise to make each and everyone of you who was responsible for this sick game will pay. I will work for the rest of my life to make sure this place gets closed down!”
The torch to her right abruptly went out and in the few seconds of the light disappearing in a odd 'Shring'. Sunset saw some pony in the not-light, a gray flash. Maybe in a blink, maybe not. The pony was gone and there was another slab of wall, as if it wanted to mock her.
“I saw you, you-!” Sunset growled and charged her horn at the wall. I can have another. Dozen of others.
Many of others.
I am other. It ends when I~
Something was wrong with her horn!
She pumped so much of her magic into her horn and all it did was sputter and spark. Sunset gritted her teeth and tried harder. A smaller, little stream of magic finally flowed through her horn and sped to the wall. The moment it touched, something green and purple ribbon-like magic raced back to her.
When it touched her horn, the magic fought it's way inside. The sweetest taste was back on her tongue and she dry heaved in pain and disgust. Did somepony curse her? Curses could only be cast from the tongue and Sunset really couldn't remember...
The foul magic ripped and tore through her magical core, taking things from her. Her instinctive knowledge of spells became vague and missing in places and her mana reserves were drained almost completely. Sunset rocked in pain and agony as she desperately canceled the spell.
She backed away from the wall and spat on the floor, a mix of blood and greenish spit. She looked down again the long corridor Half the torches went out during her little shock and that large, other wall was closer. So much closer.
Never trust the others.
Never trust the other.
Everypony else was an other.
Sunset could only rely on herself surely. It was her philosophy in life, a little decree that worked well. It was strange to see it happen so literally but what else could she expect? Sunset found herself, not really frightened but just a numb feeling of a rug being pulled under of her. Something or somepony wanted to kill her and/or turn her in dust and ash...
Probably the fate of the little shadow in the torch?
Who gives a rot?
Maybe this was a joke, maybe not?
Somepony or someone thought itself really clever to attempt to trap her like this.
“You know something, thing in the dark? I don't know what led to my other me to get caught by you. She must have been a look-alike or something. I wouldn't die like that. Cute little trick with the magic. I did walk right into that one. Point goes to you, bastard! But do you really don't know who I am?” Sunset boasted, a sharp sneer threatened to eat her face.
She bolted up the corridor, ignoring the torches going out faster and faster. She snorted. “Do you see this cutie mark? Do you know my position? Do you want to know how I got both? It's not because I'm the smartest!”
She struggled a little to cast her next spell, a stamina aura that would give her greater speed. As her magic molded to her will, foul ribbons reached out for her from between the darkness and the bookshelves. She weaved left and right, avoiding them with ease and finished her spell. Her legs tingled and Sunset quickly placed a secondary spell. A constant loop of energy from her momentum of running than directly of feeding off her depleting supply.
Sunset became a burning gust of determination and streaked through the darken archive.
“I got a decent, above average pool of magic. It would be something to make me somewhat distinctive if almost all of the other candidates of Celestia's school for the Gifted Unicorn weren't above that. So, thing in the dark, how did I become Celestia's student and not the rest of the silver-tongued, noble-blood nobodies that are legions beyond me from since they were foals!”
The torches had overtaken her and she was ran into the blank darkness, the nearest light was ninety-six hooves away and growing. Every time, she took a exhale, she could feel something pressing against her lower end of her tail. Flat and hard.
Wonderful, the wall was indeed chasing her.
Well, in that case...
Sunset tilted to her left and jumped against the wall there. As her hooves stomped against the stone, something quivered in it and her mouth filled up with lukewarm blood. She spat it as pulled herself up the wall. Her aura became shaky and she nearly lost her hold. How nice, the damn walls could even eat through her active spells! She continue push her way up and climbed her way to the top of the wall.
Sunset staring up into the darkness, trying to catch hints of the ceiling. It was gone.
Distant stars twinkled far and wide in this make-shift sky.
They were almost like a dozen dinky eyes, arranged in lines and curves, spreading farther than Sunset could see. Where the closest stars floated over, Sunset could see tiny lights running further away through in the library There were even a few that stood in place as the torches in their surrounding went out.
One star to each light?
Could there be a connection?
She checked again for one of her own and saw nothing but an empty sky.
Either way, there were others trying to escape?
Sunset smiled to herself as she sprint across the narrow reach of the walls. She knew that the librarian were responsible for something. She wasn't in any trouble but maybe she could build a bit of a group? Somepony might know a little more than her since they caused all of this. And not all of the librarian were unicorns, there could be ponies in some serious trouble.
Maybe it was a little crazy but...
Sunset rerouted a little magic from the stamina aura to cast a little flare. It ate more of her magic than usual but that was the risk she was willing to take. The flare shot up into the sky and made a relatively large glow that would last a few minutes.
Somepony gasped to her right and she glanced over, with her words of greeting dead on her lips. It was another, other her running and catching up to her gait.
“I just did that a few minutes ago.” Her Other gasped. “I didn't see a living another other, though? Just dead ponies! Look to your side. These aren't walls or even some weird maze. All of is a huge trap and it seems to be exactly designed for us!”
“What!” Sunset glanced over to her other side. With the flare's glow still in the air, she could see half devoured bodies of herself, one per 'box' of darkness.
“Now that I've met you, I or we have a theory. We must be in some type of time paradox that keeps on replying itself. All of the bad possibilities that happen to the other Sunset Shimmers. For example, what if we went the wrong way or ate a big lunch or went to sleep in the library Obviously, one of the Sunsets must have cast a spell to find all of the circumstances where her life could have went wrong or something.”
“But that doesn't explain why they are happening at once! The correct term would be time distortion, by the way. I could understand the minimum of three alternate Other-Sunset Shimmers coming across the original castor after the initial event. But there's no way, that a Sunset Shimmer could have the mana reserves to fuel this many distortions. Some of these bodies look like foals. All of those Other-Sunsets are dying at once!
"How could we summon all of them here in this place? And what does that say about us! Do we count as bad ends too since we didn't cast the spell either? Should we stop running now or keep going in paranoia that our next step will be our last!”
Other-Sunset glared. “Gah, what do you want from me? Did we pass Post-Modern Unicornia Magical Theory Advanced Class because of actually doing the reading? We couldn't be bothered to even remember which class number or building it was in. All we did was bully the teacher into giving us a passing grade to save her own skin!”
Sunset rolled her eyes.
The Other-Sunset sounded a bit odd in a way.
A worn-out throat?
“We didn't do that! We passed that class with flying colors and even got our first paper published with help by the teacher. What in rot salt of where ever the rutting we are do you mean bully? We aren't bullies. We're assertive! Don't let that shrew-chewing wench of a mare tell you anywise.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about!”
Other-Sunset stopped running and cast another little flare into the warped sky.
Sunset kept going for a few more paces before trotting in place.
She yelled from afar, asking why her other had stopped.
“Where are we, other me?” Other-Sunset only replied with a question. “Did you go to a library to look up things on Celestia and found nothing? Did you grow up in a orphanage? Aren't you afraid of Celestia replacing you at any moment before you can seize her power! Who are you, other me!"
“I'm Sunset Shimmer! I don't have to answer anyone's rutting questions unless I feel it's necessary. And another thing-”
Other-Sunset bit her mouth and stomped a hoof. “See, there it is. You talk weird. It's buck, as in bucking. Why do you say 'rut' and 'rot'?”
“Are you the me from a few years ago? I'll tell you now, trying to lose your accent is a waste of time. I can't lie to anyone or pretend to be Canterlot upper-crusted. I do not do things that waste my energy. Instead, I dominate them with good ole fashion hard-work and indomitable willpower!”
“But still, why do you sound like that? We lived in a Canterlot orphanage, for goodness sake!”
“We also transferred to a lot of orphanages before we wound up in Canterlot. We grew up in a earth pony city by the sea. As they say, Other-Sunset, once the slipstone gets in... The inn drowns out.”
“I lived in Canterlot all my life. I don't know what you are talking about.”
Sunset bit her lipped and frankly, gave up.“Where did you go to look up information on the Princess?”
“The Star-Swirl section of the Canterlot Castle Library but I was only pretending to read there. I heard a rumor that one of the books, opened a secret passage to Celestia's real main collection of books.”
“Where'd you hear a rumor like that? Everypony knows better than to speak foalish nonsense to me and waste my time with their foolishness! And why would you be stupid enough to look for the secrets of the Princess's power in her own castle!”
“Where else would it be!” Other-Sunset growled, her eyebrow twitched violently. Sunset vaguely hoped that wasn't how she looked when she got mad.
“Oh I don't know. Maybe the oldest place in Canterlot might have a clue!” she shouted back. “But I think we are getting onto the wrong track. I don't trust others but you are me to a certain extent so I'll look past your, ugh, faults. When you were fooling around in the castle's library, don't look at me like that, that is exactly you were doing... Did the lights change color and did you feel cold air?”
“Yeah, I did. And~”
The ground quaked beneath them and the sky above them began to rain... purple shards. Other-Sunset lost her hold and fell what sounded painfully on the other side. Sunset pushed extra magic into her aura and leaped across to the other side. She leaned over and saw Other-Sunset crawling back from a blob of purple and green ooze. Her other cast a light spell and started to paw on the wall as if she couldn't see her looking down.
“Are you okay...? Take my hoof or maybe we should connect horns to boost our power?” Sunset suggested before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She flinched.
“My name is-”
“Hold the message, uh... friend?” Sunset said cautiously. “Have you experience any time distortions where ever you're from? And uh, can you help my other friend down there?”
The unicorn spoke with a monotone. A crooked frown with aloof eyes stared back at her. “You know of Star-Swirl and all of his theories on time travel? Oh, it has been such a while since I gave a lecture! From what I read and hypothesize, time distortions are usuallyfocused on an object and the somepony that it affected. Let's say a little pebble was meant to hit little Ink Pot on the day of his friend's funeral to remind him that he still had other friends to be with and not be so sad...”
What on earth was this pony going on about? Was she in shock?
“Depending on the residue of the significance in that act, the object would be magnetized to repeat the same action in all similar situations with different Ink Pots. No matter what Ink Pot does, the pebble will find him and it will do all in it's power to complete it's exsistance. In simple, it's a chicken and the egg situation.”
“Are you okay?” Sunset tried to ask the unicorn who was looked away in another direction, her horn a bright magenta glow. What could she be casting? Sunset decided to ignore her a bit and sent another flare to drive away the ooze from Other-Sunset who started dig in her saddle bags
“Time distortions only occur when the pony in question doesn't exist. Every single one of those personal items of that pony should have had unite together to make something that shouldn't exist. Thus the pony exists to influence the items who then influences space the pony should exist in to make that pony hypothetically exist. But I figure, if I am very through and complete all of my checklists, I'll defeat the distortions and succeed in my goal!”
“So it's like a time-paradox but worse?” Sunset was only kinda listening to the unicorn's speech. All she really heard was something, something, defeat the distortions! Sunset had heard of the famous First Class Magi, a distinct group of unicorns that took over the extremely baffling magical cases. She had always thought those famous nobodies were stationed as guards to the prison Tartaros, though?
The unicorn merely blinked and nodded. Very reassuring?
Meanwhile, Other-Sunset was shouting something in her hoof mirror like a maniac and for some reason, just stopped using the light spell. Sunset had seen this before but there was just something keeping her from really comprehending what she was looking at. The mirror was important though but Sunset couldn't really recall owning that type of mirror.
“Can you help my friend down there? So have you met any others of yourself?” Sunset asked.
The unicorn looked back to her as she was distracted. “Yeah, sure. I feel that we meet before? Does any of that ring a bell?”
“No. Am I supposed to know you?”
“Well,” the unicorn replied. Her horn and three walls abject to where they stood glowed. Looks like the mage knew what she was doing after all. “I guess not. Not at all if I had my way.”
“You're with a team right? Do you have a safe area in this mess for the survivors to gather? Or are you individually searching for the survivors yourself and teleport them out?” Sunset asked.
The unicorn only exhaled and the walls abruptly crushed Other-Sunset.
“You killed her! What the rut you do that for!” Sunset shoved the unicorn who sighed. “Show some emotion, you shitty mage!”
“Calm down, all I did was put down Sunset Shimmer. It was for the best. You see, Sunset has done something horrible in all futures, in all universes and had the nerve to do something unforgivable to me. You brought this to yourself, you wicked monster! I gave Sunset Shimmer a chance a once upon a time ago and she will or you will, finish off the job she started and as long as I remain...
"Sunset Shimmer will not exist where my domain extends!"
