Heart of the Sunset

by Sintakhra

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Sunset Shimmer, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Human, Sad, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6184

Sunset Shimmer is a mare of many tales. With her fall from grace as Celestia's Prize Pupil still stinging, she takes opportunity as it comes, and it comes in the form of that which revealed to her, her true destiny. The Crystal Mirror

Sunset Shimmer is one of the, if not the unicorn with the most potential in this day and age. Whilst her fall from grace came with just as much of a shock to the ponies of Equestria as it did to the mare itself - what came as more of a shock was her disappearance and what little was revealed about it.

This is the story of Sunset Shimmer's life beyond the Crystal Mirror as she hopes to reclaim her destiny. For better or for worse

Published 2014-11-02 17:50:05 UTC
Last updated 2014-12-01 07:18:09 UTC

Prologue

“This is the biggest mistake you’ll make in your entire life” Sunset Shimmer growled darkly as she pushed her way out of the brightly lit library and into the dark Canterlot castle corridor. Two white pegasi clad in golden armour flanked her on each side – their gazes stern and undiscernible as she glanced from left to right at them.

Each hoof-fall echoed eerily on the marble floors as the trio made their way through the dimly lit passageway towards the entrance of the castle.

“How dare she?” the young amber coated unicorn hissed mentally to herself. “I was so close! That destiny was mine and she knew it!” her mental berations for the Princess went unanswered as one would expect of a biased psyche. She trembled in fury – hooves slamming down with each step much harder than was necessary. If she was being thrown out she’d not go quietly – literally.

“Compassion? Sincerity? What good were they?” the ex-student snarked as they continued on – falling back slightly from her escort as she turned her gaze to the pale blue floor. She was a strong driven mare. She treated the floor with the same discontent that she felt she had been treated for her whole life as a filly; always told to have ambition, to make the most of potential. “And now that I have the ambition – it was a bad thing?”

On and on they walked. The mare in the moon gazed eerily down at them through the large stained glass windows, her penetrating gaze interrupted by murals and tapestries which adorned the otherwise pleasant corridor. Canterlot castle was a truly historic and fascinating place – but even such curiosities had a time and a place, a fact appreciated by the sulking Unicorn as she plodded on with her unwanted entourage.

Sunset shivered as a wisp of cold air blew over her withers, stopping her in her tracks. She held her head lower to the ground breathed out a plume of mist. The temperature had suddenly dropped She looked to the reflective surface of the floor and gazed into cyan eyes of her counterpart. She looked a mess. Her hair was askew and frayed from her hard night researching the mirror. Bags had formed from her lack of sleep. The spark of life in her eyes that she always had whilst excelling as Celestia’s prize pupil had long since been snuffed out by the bitterness which had taken root within her.

“Miss Shimmer, keep moving” the guard on her left growled as he moved beside her – nudging a wing to the back of the head. Sunset found she had stopped just outside the room to the mirror
Her gaze was torn from the floor as she glared at the guard. She had stopped right at a junction and several servant-ponies were staring at her in disgust or confusion. “Of course they’d be confused. Princess Celestia’s prize pupil being escorted by a pair of thugs like a common criminal?”

The looks she got from some of the maids indicated that the castle walls did indeed have ears. She could practically hear them scolding her for striking the Princess. Their princess.
She didn’t strike her properly; not that she didn’t try. She doubted Celestia approved of having books hurled at her face

The guard clocked her around the back of the head gently once more, indicating for her to turn down the lesser-used corridor. She scowled back at him, the tip of her horn sparking but she held it in. It wouldn’t do to attack the guard.

She unwillingly followed the other guard whilst the second took a position behind her – no doubt to prevent her from having any more ‘moments’. Their metal armour clinked on the solid floor with each step. They made an odd group as they plodded single file down a more minor corridor.

“It figures the Princess would want me out of the castle in by means other than the front door” Sunset Shimmer snapped to no one in particular – and no one in particular responded. She ground her teeth together. Royal Guards are the worst. They couldn’t even give an outlet to her anger – at least arguing she could win at something; being kicked out offered very little otherwise. “Stupid horse” she mumbled as her limbs continue functioning on autopilot.

This seemed to have irked her escort somewhat. She visibly saw the soldier ahead ruffle his wings, his head staring straighter ahead than before. She tried to look behind and observe the damage done to the other guard’s demeanour but a wind buffeted her head back to its forward facing position before she could cast a glance.

“I mean it’s not like she could’ve done anything to me once I’d ascended. She knows how useless she is compared to me. She just had opportunity. Opportunity she denied to me.” Sunset stared darkly out of the window on the left as she plodded on. “Just you wait, you old bag. I’ll show you how great I am.”

“Silent, Shimmer!” The guard ahead of the mare whirled around and glared at her. She felt a large grin seeping onto her face.

She laughed – laughed harder than she had in many moons. “You try to bid me to hold my tongue? You’re nothing but a guard! A grunt relegated to escort dignitaries at the best” She sniggered, blowing the loose curl of her hair out of her eyes as she directed her full stare at him. “A puppy told to sit and play guard dog”

The stallion behind her walked beside her and threw his weight against her midriff – knocking Sunset Shimmer onto her side. Sunset let out a cry as she hit the ground, left surprisingly breathless from the impact. The stallion glared down at her, and crowed his amusement at her situation. “We were told to escort you. The Princess was oddly vague on the means we used to get you out of here – as well as if we were forbidden to gag you in the process.”

“Peace, Vigor” his companion said calmly – although his frosty gaze betrayed his feelings. “On your hooves, Shimmer”

Sunset’s whole right side ached from the forceful knockdown she had taken. But the pain was replaced with rage. The moment her captives opened their collective mouths and dared order her – one of the most powerful unicorns in Canterlot – to shut up and get on her feet.

“Fine” she mumbled – defeat deliberately lacing her tone as she kicked off from the floor and got herself upright. The pain in her side lacing up her body. “What is going on?”

She walked past Vigor with a cool expression until she was half a length in front and to the side of him before she acted with all the precision and grace one could expect of a future Princess.
She braced her weight on her fore hooves and bucked out firmly with one of her hind legs. She felt the soft downy surface of Vigor’s wings beneath her hoof and the audible crack it made as she put the full force of her buck behind it. The surprised guard gave a cry out as he fell onto his side – cradling his damaged wing. With one soldier down, the turned her focus on his partner. Not missing a beat; she swung her head around and began channelling her pyromancy at the remaining soldier. With a sharp victorious outburst, she let loose her flames and watched them engulf the remaining guard.

He made naught a sound as the flames quickly died out – his entire form unaffected by her fury. Sunset blinked before dropping down into a defensive stance and circling the soldier. “Of course. I should’ve seen that coming” she remarked calmly as she eyed the remaining guard properly. “Celestia is foolish but not stupid.” She tittered; “At least not entirely” a spark of pleasure reached her eyes as she focused her magic and attacked in a different way, dropping the glamour covering the remaining guard.

Very little changed in the guard’s appearance except for his wings vanishing and a horn appearing atop his head. Knight-Lieutenant Shining Armour stared back at her with his concrete cerulean gaze. “You never detain a Unicorn without another being present.”

“You were never detained, Sunset Shimmer” The young guard frowned as he stood and watched her stalk around him, his eyes only wavering to check on his colleague who appeared to have lost consciousness.

Sunset growled. “I was denied what is mine! I am bound within the body of a Unicorn instead of my true Alicorn body! By that I am detained”

The stallion stared at her unblinkingly, unfazed. She knew little about the Knight-Lieutenant who blocked her freedom – and she cared little to find out more. All she knew was that he was in the way.

The temperature dropped once more – enough to draw the attention of both ponies as they turned their collective gaze to the open door they had been about to pass; a door which was very familiar to a certain unicorn mare.

To their left was a large set of royal blue doors with some very attractive engravings and markings. Two large golden handles were in the centre of them and from within it, a pale wisp of moonlight snaked out in the wake of the cold currents.

Widening her grin, she ignited her magic and picked up one of the tapestries hanging on the wall – a tapestry of the two pony sisters, and hurled it at the stallion. Shining Armour reacted instantly. He dropped to a combat stance and caught the falling tapestry before it engulfed him – his dual focus on the fabric wave about to engulf him and Sunset’s original position cost him dearly.

Dropping her magic holding the decoration, Sunset teleported in a flash of teal light and appeared beside him. Before he could raise a hoof in defence her amber fore hoof cracked against his horn. The Knight-Lieutenant grimaced as he lost control of the magic. Within an instant the field holding cloth evaporated and it swallowed the two ponies beneath it.

With the advantage in her court – Sunset began channelling another teleport spell to escape but found her energy waning. “What is going on? Why am I so weak today” she berated herself, before finding her hooves held down by the Unicorn above her.

“Why do you do this, Sunset Shimmer?” he snarled down at her; his armour glowing slightly in the darkness beneath the fallen tapestry.

“Ah that explains it. Of course they would have enchanted armour – even if there was a Unicorn with them. Tartarus, I should’ve known this beforehand. I even tweaked the wretched things to be more effective”

Vigor had slammed up against her with his armour, and with it came a spell of Sunset’s own making which leeched the magic in the body of that it collided with. Not enough to be consciously noticed but the body feels it all the same. “So that’s why I was in such pain and why I cannot teleport. Celestia outfitted you with a new toy”. She got no response from the Unicorn above her – with the exception of his continuing stare.

With her fore hooves pinned, she did the only thing she was able to do. Forcing her rump up, she curled her legs in tight and bucked the larger stallion in his stomach.

With all his breath gone, Shining Armour keeled over to the side and gasped loudly. Sunset used this as her chance and crawled beneath the tapestry – her hooves digging for the floor in the darkness until at last she was liberated from its confines.

She returned her gaze to the lump beneath the fallen needlework and smiled.

The fight with the guards had left her panting and limping but she cared not. Her crimson hair with yellow accents was in such a state – were she around the common pony she might actually feel embarrassment.

It was fate. It was destiny.

“Not just anyone’s destiny. Mine” She reviewed the events that had happened but it all came down to one focus.

The Mirror.

The Mirror saved her by providing the perfect distraction; a simple distraction.

This time when the breeze rolled over her body, she did not shiver. She cooed in enjoyment. Rolling her shoulders, she planted a hoof on the ajar door and heaved it open – her magic drained too much to try and force it open

She gazed upon the water-smooth glass in which she saw the reflection of the beautiful mare she is and the even more powerful mare she would become. Each step brought her closer to the mirror and closer to her prize.

The Alicorn she would become stared back at her – fire in its eyes.

“Yes.” She whispered – her body trembling in anticipation or nerves, she knew not with which. With a final smile of triumph, she put her hoof against the mirror and pushed through it.

As she emerged from the other side, she had only one thing to say:

“Well, well, this is an interesting development…”

Once Upon a Half-Term

Sunset fell to the floor and grunted as bare knees hit the stone slabs beneath her. The chilling night air stung her strangely fatigued body as she kept herself low. She shivered as the same breeze she had been feeling in Canterlot Castle surrounded her in an uncomfortable bubble of coldness.

Sunset stared at the floor and took several deep wracking breaths. She blinked, then blinked again. Her entire vision felt strange – felt different to what she had grown up with all her life. She cringed and wrapped her head in her new arms, cradling it as the headache wracked her mind.
Arms. She whispered to herself. She kept her eyes closed and used her new hands to explore her mane. It felt far different. It came from her entire crown, not just her crest. What madness is this? Each deep breath of air she took froze her throat and made her cough a plume of silver mist.

Sunset pushed herself back onto her rump and rested her back against the statue she was next to. She finally brought herself to open her eyes and glance over what had become of her body.
In the place of a sturdy trunk and well exercised – yet not too lean – legs, she had been given a mildly healthy torso, a pair of long slender legs – something far oddly shaped than her original rear pair, and a set of arms with two palms of dexterous digits.

Hands? Huh… I didn’t see that coming.

Sunset Shimmer knew what hands were. Many races in Equestria had the same basic build she owned – of varying proportions of course. Minotaur’s had hands, but kept hooves. Dragons had claws. So why should hands be something new to the famous prodigy of Celestia.

She flexed the digits, the whole experience feeling entirely alien to her. Her headache had receded slightly but her narrower vision still made her want to throw up. Her eyes wandered up from her hands to her arms, long thin pale flimsy looking limbs. She shivered as a breath of wind licked at her, making goose bumps appear on her pale amber flesh.

“C-cold” she whimpered, her voice sounding a bit dryer than it did, but she cared not. I’ve never felt this cold before. True, she had never not had a full coat of hair as a pony. She glanced down at the rest of her body, noticing different levels of warmth or lack thereof.

Sunset Shimmer pushed herself firmer against the statue as she examined the clothes which adorned her. She wore a plain loose fitted magenta shirt and an orange skirt with a yellow and purple stripe going vertically. Up to her shins were a pair of warm yet rather restrictive boots. This gave her time to notice her new feet – another completely alien feeling yet one with less movement – probably due to the boots, she reasoned.

But why clothes? Such a thing seemed farcical to the mare. Why would she be wearing clothes? Why would the portal give her this sort of thing? A hundred and one questions raced through her head but one question took precedent.

“Where do I go now?”

She pushed herself onto all fours and tried to move forwards, but the elevation of her hips and the disagreeing pain in her back told her that it wasn’t going to work. Falling onto her side and from there to her back, she laid down on the concrete and stared up at the cloud filled sky - an alien sky. Not a constellation at all seemed familiar. In fact barely any constellations were visible at all through the thick cloud layer.

“I need to move” she told no one in particular – yet this statement didn’t make her in any more of a rush to move from her prone position whilst she cloudgazed.

“Stop being lazy, Sunset” she frowned and closed her eyes once more. Squeezing her hands into fits, she rolled onto her belly and pushed herself onto all fours once more. With one final gulp of trepidation, she pushed off with her hands and tried to find balance on her legs – a feat which was surprisingly easy to achieve despite a lifetime of being a quadruped.

“Probably just this body’s nature, walking upright” she quipped, once more to herself. Speaking aloud was her minds way of rationalising her panic into logic. Sunset was terrified but with each sentence spoken it calmed her frantically beating heart.

Breathe in…

She raised her head to look at the building in front of her.

All breath promptly left her.

“It’s…. massive” the pony-come-human squeaked. She was standing in the middle of a horseshoe shaped courtyard , to her left and right were massive rectangular buildings meeting together to what must’ve been considered a castle.

A very peculiar castle. She looked up at the obvious entrance and drank in all the details. The entrance jutted a bit out from the main body of the castle. At the very tip of the roof was an ornate crest shaped like that of a Saddle-Arabian head, it functioned as a keystone to the otherwise simplistic ceramic tiled roof. Beneath the slates were marble crenulations which further supported her idea of a fortification, yet the stained class depiction of a horse offered too obvious a defensive flaw.

Okay, so maybe not a fort. A palace perhaps?

Sunset’s eyes wandered lower to the entrance of the building. The complex was most certainly at least three stories tall, certainly with the potential to be more. Six glass doors stood closed at the top of a grand stone staircase which she soon found herself staggering towards.

Her legs moved as if on autopilot. Jerky. Shambolic. Slow. She wrapped her arms tightly around her lithe form, keeping what warmth she could inside. The glass doors offered nothing behind them except a corridor of darkness. The light of hope for a warm roof over her head continued to fizzle out as she staggered towards one of the banisters, leaning on it to help her ascend. Each step felt like she was breaking every law of nature, the simple action of climbing a stair completely broke any concept she had gathered from her lifetime as a pony.

She reached the top of the small staircase and staggered forwards. Her limbs hurt, her head hurt.

“M-must’ve used a lot more magic than I thought I did” she grunted, leaning against the glass door. She rest her forehead against it and found herself face to face with a strangely familiar visage.

For the first time – Sunset looked at her reflection. She looked at herself, properly.

The face which stared back was so different. She small muzzle, the tiny ears. Her eyes were both forward facing which explained her headaches. Her eyes themselves remained very much the same way they looked as a pony, the same striking teal visible even under the questionable lighting. Her skin was a paler amber than her coat was as a mare.

She scrutinised her features. She didn’t find them objectionable in any way, but they were different. Whether different was good or bad, she would decide later on, once she found somewhere warm to curl up.

Wait she froze, her eyes tearing back to her image. Something had been missing. Her gaze moved from her eyes up to the middle of her forehead – something very important to the former unicorn was missing.

“My horn!” she shrieked, pushing away from the door and losing balance. With her footling lost, she fell down and landed with her rump on the cold stone, head hitting the floor and amplifying her already painful headache.

How could I not have noticed? She rubbed the sore spot behind her head as she pushed herself upright. She hadn’t even considered trying to access her magic here.

“Calm down Sunset” the girl whispered quietly, nursing her scrapes and grazes from the rough stone. She looked up at the door which blocked her path. “First we get inside. Then we have a total meltdown” she added dryly. Staggering to her feet again, she moved to grasp the large door handle. And pulled.

To her surprise, it opened towards her and she quickly slipped inside, closing it quietly behind her.

The darkness she stepped into was very intimidating, offering very little in the way of direction as she stepped into the middle of the grand foyer, lit only by the moonlight which shone through a break in the clouds and through a window. From what she could tell from the limited lighting, the entrance was open to two levels, a balcony section above her and the ground floor where she stood – offering a path either side, a door to a large hall ahead of her and two sets of staircases either side of her leading up to the balcony.

As she moved forwards, a series of banners and posters on the walls which caught the moonlight attracted her attention. Familiar horse emblems and a horseshoe-shaped C found itself being iterated on every bit of memorabilia hung on the walls. She followed the banners towards the door they hung over, the large hall ahead of her.

Her walking was improving slightly – or at least it was becoming less objectionable – She didn’t care either way. She was moving and that is all that mattered.

Pushing open the door, she slipped into the narrow crack she made before it closed. She walked into what felt like some sort of throne room or hall of some kind. It was a large open area, stretching higher than the foyer had and even higher than the front of the building alluded to. Windows surrounded the room at the very tops of the wall, letting in enough light to see everything.

As she stepped forward, entranced by the hall, she felt a bit of paper get trampled underfoot. Kneeling down, she removed the offending object from her boots and brought it into the light to read it.

C.H.S

Chess Club

Fridays at 12:30 in the SC01

Then it hit Sunset. A large building, lots of corridors and floors, banners with commonly displayed themes and a chess club.

“This isn’t a palace.” She growled “It’s a school”.

Thud thud thud thud

Sunset jumped and span around. The series of dull echoing thuds resounded from the doors she had just entered by. Keeping low and moving to the side of the door so she could peer through, she saw another strange biped walking down the corridor – head to toe covered in clothes. He (she discerned based on his build that he was in fact a he) whistled some intelligible tune as hit shoed clopped loudly on the untouched floor.

Sunset squinted and tried to listen for more. Her smaller ears seemed to provide no upside in this new body and their smaller size offered less noise detection than as a pony – but she definitely heard the unmistakable jingle of keys which hung at the belt around his trousers. He walked straight past her door before pulling a sign from his pocket and pushing it in a small plastic sleeve hanging on the main entrance windows. Without missing a beat on his tune, he pushed open the doors and closed them firmly behind him. He didn’t cast a single glance up at the red and yellow haired girl staring from the sports hall as he focused on locking the door.
As he made his way down the stairs, Sunset scrambled out of the hall, back across the foyer to pull out the sign he had placed in the window of the door.

Closed for Half-Term Holidays

She sighed, turning around and slumping against the window. If this world shared her own experience of school, that meant she had a week locked in before anyone came back. That man – probably a caretaker or some sort – had most likely finished his daily duties had headed home for the break.

“Trapped in an alien world inside a school,” She sighed and cast another furtive glance around the barren foyer, her eyes settling on a sign hanging on the walls. “I can think of no better place to be”

For the first time since setting foot in this world, Sunset Shimmer smiled.

Sunset Shimmer crept into her targeted room. The building, whilst a maze of corridors and rooms became ever more recognisable and identifiable. Every turn she made she catalogued in the back of her mind and drew an elaborate map as crystal clear as if it were on parchment in front of her with a pen in hoof. The signs plastered all around the building just made it all the easier to find her destination. Her body felt all warm and giddy at just the thought of what she was about to discover. The long-since banished coldness had been replaced with the chill of anticipation and the warmth only an adventure brings – for she could not deny this was an adventure – and she, Sunset would find its precious relics.

After all, what sort of school wouldn’t have a library?

She stood in front of the entrance and soaked in the beauty of the room. The library was massive and fully lit by the all-reaching grasp of the moonlight through its crystal domed roof. Shelves upon shelves of literature paved the walls like paint. In the middle of the room were tables with more iconic horse busts, along with strange boxes with cables leading to one another. Shaking her head, she ignored the temptation.

There’ll be plenty of time for that later she assuaged her curiosity, feeling it getting riled up like a cat near a mouse.

She walked down along the rows of books, running her hands along the spines. They felt so real, so familiar. On an on she circled the room, her eyes roaming the different titles. Silly stories, grand epics, wistful romances – Sunset loved fiction as much as the next pony, yet she was a mare of science, of fact. She plucked out a promising book from the anatomy segment of the library and threw herself into a beanbag where she flipped it open. With Luna acting as her lantern, she began to read up on what she was.

The shadows lengthened and moved as the moon glided over from one side of the sky to the other – and still the girl in the orange skirt and purple shirt continued to read. Word after word she drank in as her eyes flittered down this page and the next. She stifled a yawn and brushed a loose lock of red and yellow hair from her eyes as she closed the book and moved to get another, then another. She changed from anatomy to general encyclopaedias where she lapped at the knowledge which was so alien yet… logical.

“So humans wear clothes for practicality in addition to fashion” she mused as she scanned the entry in the literal tome of information she held in her hand – the other twirling the same annoying strand of hair which curled in front of her brow where her horn previously resided. “Certainly can see the benefit of that, this skin offers very poor insulation” she prodded her bare arm curiously – the new limbs still fascinating her, like a pegasus who finally realises she has wings and cannot stop playing with them.

Science, technology, literature, arts, history; every topic she lapped up as the night trickled by into the rosy tint of morning, visible through the artistic dome above her comfortable cushion. Her eyes grew heavy with each page turn yet she forced herself onwards.

She was Sunset Shimmer, and this was her element. She had spent over half her life studying to achieve excellence, seven glorious years as a budding pioneer and practitioner of science and magic. If anyone could conquer this library and the wealth of wisdom it held inside, it was her.
She was asleep within seconds of finishing that line of thought.

Sunset smelled.

Wrinkling her nose, she brought her arm to her nose and took another sniff, scrunching up her features and pulling the offensive limb away from her small muzzle – no, humans didn’t have muzzles.

She frowned to herself. Learning all of this new terminology on how to refer to herself was still confusing, and she often found herself retreating into her mind to correct her mistakes more than she spent exploring the new world she was in.

But that didn’t detract from the one undeniable truth of the matter, which was that she needed to get clean.

She had spent most of the last three days reading and exploring the upper floors of the school. As the stood in front of the large window overseeing the school courtyard, she couldn’t help but feel the euphoria of being ‘Queen’ of her own little castle. She turned around and sat on the window sill, bringing her legs up onto it and hugging them closely to her chest.

So much had happened in those simple three days – so much yet so little. She spent the majority of her time in the library reading up on everything she could to at least pass as someone sane in this world. Why she even considered staying here eluded her but it just felt right to her.

Food had quickly presented itself as an obstacle. She kept passing strange large containers which practically taunted her with the prospect of food yet held it out of reach. She all but resisted the urge to throw a chair through the plastic covering of the vending machine as she grew desperate. Salvation came through discovering that the kitchen door wasn’t bolted shut and she had been dining on the finest bread and butter that the canteen fridges had to offer.

Swinging her legs off the window sill, she got upright – something she had been slowly mastering – and pulled the makeshift map she had created from the simple carrier bag she had scavenged from a kitchen drawer. As much as she was able to recall the layout of the school in her mind, she was still processing information read the night before. It only seemed sensible to write it down in case she forgot.

Fondling idly with the pencil she kept behind her ear, she looked over the map and found her next destination on the first floor in the west wing of the complex. She strode confidently through her kingdom, down the foyer stairs and down the left corridor from the entrance. The walls were covered with identical green lockers as far as the eye could see.

How many students do they have here Sunset mused as she continued to walk. She followed the train of breadcrumbs that was her map until she found herself in front of a door saying “Changing Rooms”. Pushing it open with her shoulder, her hands packaging the map into her carrier bag, she strode into the empty tiled room. At the far end of the room were some fresh towels – presumably left there by the caretaker or some other person before school broke up for their half term – next to some shower stalls.

“You’re so uncivilised, not even showering” Sunset’s reflection quipped as she walked past a large mirror near some coat racks. Turning to face herself, crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

Raising an eyebrow, she remarked to her reflection calmly “Priorities. Learning about your situation is more important than simple hygiene”

Her double laughed, twirling the knotted lock of hair dangling near her ear. She took the time to study her appearance . The long nights and lack of even a hairbrush had left her looking like a common earth pony. “I never said it was more important. But you’re a smart girl. You can multitask”

“I was busy” Sunset snapped, glaring at the mirror. Her reflection’s eyes widened before she sighed. “I need to get more sleep. I’m arguing with myself” she raised her head and gave a sly smirk to herself before turning away and continuing down towards the showers. She tugged her shirt over her head and folded it as neatly as she could on the bench before sitting down and removing her boots, socks, and the remainder of her clothes.

She cooed as she stepped beneath the rain of cold water, shivering lightly until it began to heat up slightly. Closing her eyes, she raised her head and felt it run down the new curves and contours of her body. There was something so primal, so enjoyable, about standing beneath the spray of water – be it showerhead or waterfall or simply the rain. Lowering her head and opening her eyes, she picked up the scrubbing brush and began to set to work on her new body.

A thin veil of steam surrounded her and kept her warm as she continued to run the brush over her arms and belly. The brush was coarse and somewhat pale, rubbing her flesh red, but at least it got the job done and removed what muck and dirt she had on her. Lamenting for the lack of shampoo for her long locks, she decided to get a hold of something for it. There was little point in sporting such wonderful hair if was left uncared for.

“The handmaidens at the castle would freak if they saw me this frazzled” Sunset giggled softly. Her smile quickly faded, the joy never reaching her eyes as she was reminded a little of what she left behind. Wiping the water which had obviously gotten into her eyes, she pushed all further thoughts from her mind and continued scrubbing her human body.

She dropped down onto her knees to scrub at her feet and shins when something caught her eye in her peripheral. Glancing down at the side of her hip was a sight which made her breath catch in her lungs. Something so familiar she hadn’t paid heed to check earlier.

Decorating the side of her left hip was a two-tone yellow and red sun. She had not come here alone. Her cutie mark had come with her. She ran her hand up along it and shivered, eliciting a little ticklish giggle from the depths of her throat. Resting her palm on it, she closed her eyes and smiled.

Some things change. Many things change. But some remain constant. That’s simply a fact of life.

Celestia’s words rolled down the back of her spike as she ran a finger around the central circle. It seemed her mentors lessons were not without a sense of irony.

Shaking her head, she forced herself back to reality as the water continued to make her skin glisten, She quickly finished her shower and wrapped one of the thick horseshoe-emblazoned towels around her body and one around her hair before setting to her second task and washing the clothes she had shed in a nearby basin. Figuring out the intricacies of using her hands had been difficult on the first day but, like walking, it became strangely natural to her quickly, and so it was with moderate ease that the kneaded the fabric into the pool of clear cold water.

Standing in front of the mirror on the wall and studying the wet girl giving her an haughty stare back, she recognised the embers of excitement and ambition forming within the eyes. A smile began to spread on her face.

At least now with a familiar friend by her side, she might think of what comes next