Prolouge (spoilers for Rainbow Rocks)
No doubt about it. Something strange was definitely going on. No more than a few weeks apart, two paranormal occurrences stemmed from that location. The first time garnered reports of demons and zombies. As many as twenty miles away, people reported a column of rainbow light launching thousands of feet into the air.
The next batch of reports sounded more like an elaborate stage show than anything supernatural. But given the seismic activity and the general readings of the atmosphere, it was hard to dismiss them as unconnected to the previous events.
She heard the stories, of course. The location had been prime for strange occurrences before. Back in the 80s, a strange epidemic of outright animosity appeared among the populous and just as quickly waned. Three teenage girls that seemingly never aged were accused of occult rituals, but got a mere slap on the hand.
She surveyed her lab, filled to the ceiling with various instruments and computer equipment. Smells of overheated hard drives and ozone from various frayed writes lingered in the stale air. That's what happens when you build everything yourself, she supposed. Anything that she discovered would put her on the fast track to a scientific degree, and logically, funding. A logical mind such as hers didn't buy into the extra-normal. Everything had a scientific explanation, and finding it was the fun.
She could almost feel the diploma in her hands. No more lab coats. No more teachers that she always upstaged with her knowledge. No more being mocked for her reports on so-called magical events and their scientific origins.
Maybe she could even afford a pair of contacts and lose the thick glasses that had become the bane of her existence.
Her gaze turned to her small purple dog. Her only friend in the cruel world, and even then she felt he only hung around for the food and belly rubs.
"Come on, Spike. We've got work to do."
She looked at the wall filled with various photos and print outs. Seismic readings and newspaper clippings. One article caught her eye when it mentioned her name. The school newspaper made it sound like she was a student, when she knew that wasn't the case.
Even a cursory and somewhat questionable peek at school records made no mention of any impostor bearing her name. That would be her starting point. Soon she would be free of her own man-made prison. Free of ridicule and scorn. Free of her overcrowded workshop and ramshackle devices.
One might even say, a new world lay before her.
She observed herself in the mirror, hair unkempt and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her skin pale from lack of sunlight, accentuated by a lab coat covered in spots and stains from her various experiments. Such a hideous look would draw unwanted attention. She needed to blend in, and to do that required someone with knowledge she unfortunately did not have. Science was more important than appearances.
*****
Canterlot High stood among its campus as an important learning institution. Though the demographic and attitude of the student body changed with the times, the school itself remained unchanged for the hundred or so years it operated.
Sunset Shimmer sat in the library and poured over the large stack of history books. Thoughts nagged at the back of her mind that this world had become a dumping ground for Equestria, which always favored banishment over being put to death. After her own failed take over and the subsequent attack from the sirens, Sunset couldn't help but wonder what else ended up beyond the mirror, and decided to take a pre-emptive strike. Now that everyone knew she was a different person, she had to maintain that image. Though she did learn it was a lot harder to keep trust than to rule by fear.
No wonder Princess Celestia always seemed so stressed and distant.
Fortunately a peek at the history of Canterlot High and the town that surrounded it yielded nothing out of the ordinary. Sunset closed the book and rubbed her exhausted eyes. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Here she was, in a school library during summer vacation, driving herself insane with thoughts of potential evils from a land only a handful of people knew about.
Maybe she needed to hang out with her friends more. She almost forgot she had them sometimes, much like she felt forgotten after her turn around. A glance at her watch confirmed she had time to visit at least one of them at their summer job before reporting to her own. The pet kennel Rainbow Dash worked at was right on the path to Vinyl's record store.
She could use a boost of awesome. The library smelled like old ink anyway, and brought back too many memories of being Celestia's student. Painful memories of all she threw away and perhaps she could have a castle and wings and the title of Princess.
Perhaps, she thought, having this world and these friends was better.
Lugging her book bag onto her shoulder that contained her means of correspondence to Equestria, she put each book back where they went and gave Cheerilee a smile and a wave as she left. It felt nice to be loved without forcing them to do so. If she hurried, she might be able to help Dash with something before her shift. She smirked at the unfortunate circumstances Dash found herself in. Far as she knew, Dash was terrible with animals.
Sunset paused when a thought crossed her mind. All her friends had pets, so why not her? Being Dash's first sale would be very helpful to her struggling friend. She found a renewed pep in her step at that thought, and couldn't wait to see the look on Dash' s face when she revealed her idea.
Now she understood what Celestia was trying to tell her. Perhaps she would show forgiveness one day, and maybe Sunset could be a princess after all. It was a lofty goal, but with her friends she believed it could be done.
A white van caught her attention, speeding in the direction of Canterlot High. For a brief moment, she swore she saw Twilight behind the wheel. She knew as well as anyone Equestria didn't have cars, and no matter how smart Twilight was, there was no way she would've learned to do so from books.
Another glance at her watch. She couldn't be bothered with such things. She had to be a good friend.
