Make My Way Back Home

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Dawn
Chapter 2: Foundation Damage
Chapter 3: The Friendship Brigade
Chapter 4: Shelter in a Storm
Chapter 5: An Element Apart
Chapter 6: An Act of Contrition
Chapter 7: Two Steps Back
Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), Pt 1 (OLD VERSION)
Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), End (OLD VERSION)
Prelude: The Darkest
Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), Pt 2 (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 1: The Dawn

The Previous Night…

“At last!” said Sunset as she held the crown in her hands, holding it up before Twilight Sparkle and her crazy friends. They had gotten in her way every single time possible, but in the end the winner was her. Standing in the courtyard of the school before Twilight’s friends, she was finally victorious.

She could feel the energy coming off the crown flowing in waves. “More power than I could ever imagine!” she said as she placed it gently on her head.

The crown flared up and exploded in magical energy. The power flooded down over Sunset Shimmer’s body and instantly invaded every pore in her skin, seeping deep into her bones and then igniting her nerves as it coursed through her veins.

It burned!

The pain was more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before and it came at her from every direction. Her own nervous system was melting and she could feel it peeling away from her brain as everything that held her together slaked away like the scales of a snake.

W-what’s happening? Sunset wanted to cry out but her jaw was locked as the energy dominated her body. She could no longer move other than shudder from the waves of pain that was still pummelling her. Nothing was right. She had all the magical energy in the world!

But she couldn’t control it.

The world shrunk away, leaving her in darkness. Everything she was feeling stopped and was replaced with numbness. She didn’t even think she was still at the school anymore.

“Hello?” Sunset said, now finding her body under her control once more. Still she saw nothing, felt nothing.

“What’s happening to me?” she asked to the darkness.

“You took what was not yours.”

Sunset spun to find the source of the voice and froze when she saw her.

Celestia. Not the principal but the princess. She stepped out from the shadows in all her alicorn glory, forged from the purest white with her swiftly flowing pastel hair. She looked down at her.

Sunset frowned. “It was supposed to be mine, you kept it from me.”

“You were not ready for it,” came a familiar voice. Sunset turned to see Twilight as an alicorn princess approach from the shadows.

Seeing those purple wings just further enraged Sunset.

“You!” said Sunset. “You’re think you’re so much better than me? You don’t do anything without help!”

“A pony cannot stand alone,” said Celestia. She tipped her head down to be eye to eye with Sunset. “Harmony can only be achieved by working with others in friendship.”

“I don’t need others,” said Sunset sharply. She clenched her fist at the gall of these two to challenge her when she possessed the Element of Magic now.

“You do,” said a third voice from yet another direction. Princess Luna emerged from between Celestia and Twilight. The blackness seemed to cling to her leaving her cast in shadow where the alicorns to either side seemed bathed in light.

“So it takes all of you to stop me?” asked Sunset. She grinned. “I’m feeling better by the minute.”

“Even under the best circumstances,” replied Luna. “One pony cannot achieve what twenty can.”

“Magic is no substitute for friendship,” said Twilight.

“It’s gotten me here,” said Sunset.

“But here it ends,” said an older, male voice. Sunset didn’t recognize it at all even as it continued. “Eventually the magic consumes you, even if you learn to control it, the price it asks is costly.”

Sunset stared in the direction of the words as a pony appeared, completing the circle around her. The fourth voice belonged to a unicorn with a long white beard, a long cape, and a brimmed hat with bells dangling from it.

Sunset’s mouth hung open and her fury was briefly forgotten. “Star Swirl the Bearded?” She looked between the new pony and the alicorns around her. None of them were surprised. They all had their gazes fixed on her.

“Wait,” said Sunset with a frown. “What is this? Where am I?”

“You are here, with us,” said Celestia.

“Part of us now,” said Luna.

“Part of Harmony,” said Twilight.

“I-I’m inside the Element of Magic?” asked Sunset. Her eyes widened.

“No,” said Star Swirl. “Your mind is being sheltered here. It could not withstand the intensity of the magic and broke.”

“Broke?” asked Sunset softly. Her gut twisted tightly. “I’m broken?”

“Magic is not what people think it is,” said Luna. “It is not a mindless, faceless energy to be harnessed or left to evaporate. It is living inertia, with direction and purpose. In great volumes it must be shared to be harnessed or it will corrode the being it is possessed by.”

“It wore my body down quicker than any spell, aging me four times faster than I expected,” said Star Swirl. “I had to give it up or perish.”

“Together with my sister, we thought we could bear the load safely, though only at a fraction of the power it possessed,” said Celestia.

“However, it fed the darkest corners of my mind until I forgot who I was,” said Luna.

Sunset felt suddenly lost and adrift. There was no plan for this situation. “What- what’s happened to me?”

Twilight’s horn glowed and a wedge of the darkness brightened, showing the courtyard of Canterlot High School. There was chaos. A giant winged demon was floating above the ground fighting Twilight Sparkle and her human friends, while a mindless zombie army of students and teachers marched just beyond.

The demon shared Sunset’s hair and skin, and was colored like her cutie mark.

“No,” Sunset turned away but found the image followed her eyes. “Not that’s not me!”

“She is what you saw yourself as,” said Star Swirl. “Given form by the magic inside of us.”

“Stop it!” said Sunset.

“She is who commands us now,” said Celestia. “You as well.”

“No!” insisted Sunset.

“This is what you said you wanted,” said Twilight. “The tyrant to threaten Equestria.”

“I wanted to stop the tyrant!” said Sunset.

“That’s not what you told me,” said Celestia. “When you left two years ago.”

“I was just angry!” said Sunset. “You were holding me back!”

“I was only trying to protect you from this,” said Celestia.

“I didn’t understand!” shouted Sunset. “I’m not this… thing! I’m a pony!”

“How long did you let yourself be angry,” asked Luna. “How long did that rage fester inside of you until it was the size of that demon?”

“I only wanted more!” asked Sunset.

“But you didn’t deserve it,” said Twilight. “Power without discipline leads to corruption. Disharmony. Your ambition took you to the crown and it is your ambition that rules the magic now.”

“What else could I have done?” Sunset fell to her knees and pushed her palms against her eyes. “I’m not-- I don’t want to be a demon! I don’t want this!”

She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder and she looked up to see Twilight, now in human form, looking down on her. She reached out and gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

“You need to open your heart to others,” said human Twilight. “Only then will you find the strength to tame your demon.”

“No one cares about me,” said Sunset hoarsely. “Ever since I was a foal. They all leave in the end. It -- it hurts. It’s hopeless.”

“Driving them away won’t make that better,” said human Twilight. “You will get hurt sometimes, but if you’ve done your part, those you have cared for will come back to help you through it. And you will all get stronger as a result.” She smiled. “You just have to believe in it.”

“Though harmony,” said Luna.

“Through friendship,” said Celestia.

“And you need not ever be alone again,” said Star Swirl.

Twilight helped Sunset to her feet again. She pointed out towards the scene in the courtyard. Below, Twilight and her friends were holding hands and glowing with brilliant light. They were connected, magically, to the crown on the demon Sunset Shimmer’s head. Somehow they were winning against an Element of Harmony.

“I can’t stop her,” said Sunset.

“She is you. Take back your body,” said Luna. “Make a choice to turn away from the the things the demon feeds on. Give up this ambition.”

“Show us you understand your mistake,” said Celestia. “That you are willing to take a different path. Do so and we will give you an opportunity to fix this.”

Twilight squeezed her shoulder. “And have faith. The rest will come in time.”

In the scene in the courtyard, a spiral of rainbows flew into the sky and then shot out like a cannon towards the demon Sunset.

“Now!” shouted Star Swirl as the light struck the demon and everything, even the darkness in this quazi-reality, turned white.

*** ( MLP )***

Morning…

The dawn always came too early for Sunset Shimmer on the weekends, especially ones where she was up so late the night before. She had gotten used to rising with the sun to help get her to school on time (and relying on some wind-up clocks during the winter) that she found it impossible to get back to sleep once she realized what time and what day it was.

With a groan she pulled herself out of her bed at her foster parents’ house and started hunting for clothes to wear. It wasn’t until she gathered up her things then reached for her door and noticed the latch still closed that she remembered how she went to bed the previous night.

She walked slowly back to the mirror near the foot of her bed. She looked terrible. Her hair was a yellow nest, her face was streaked from her tears, and she just couldn’t figure out how to make any expression other than a half frown.

She considered simply saying in her room until she died of hunger.

The smell of eggs and pancakes wafting through the cracks in the door made that an incredibly unpleasant thought. She hadn’t gotten a chance to eat last night with all the fuss, and was starting to feel pains in her stomach. She didn’t have the fortitude to starve herself.

With a heavy sigh breath, she dug around her dresser for some makeup remover wipes and cleaned herself up as best as she could, pulled a painful brush through her wild hair, and then opened the latch on her door and stepped out.

She found her foster father, Auburn Storm, in the kitchen cooking. He was the primary chef in the house, Sea Spray being much more inclined towards fixing things around the house than donning the apron and manning the fry pan. He had his short brown hair slicked back and was wearing a checkered red and black shirt with blue jeans and boots. What Sunset knew to be his cutie mark, a maple leaf with a white cloud, was on his wristwatch.

“Good morning, Sunset,” said Auburn with a smile. He was a morning person.

“Hey,” said Sunset, keeping her eyes locked on the crackling frying pan.

“Would you like some pancakes before you go?” he asked.

Sunset tried to be nonchalant and shrugged. “I need a shower. Can I take one here?”

Auburn turned from a griddle with three cooking pancakes on it to look at Sunset. “You’re always welcome to.”

Sunset was momentarily taken aback. “Even after,” she started, but then stopped herself. There was no point in protesting. “All right.”

“I’ll keep some food warm for you,” said Auburn as he turned back to his cooking.

Sunset left quickly and swept into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. She quickly began her process for cleaning up while her mind tried to decipher what was going on with Auburn. He was not typically very talkative with her, at least not when he didn’t have to be. He was an industrial engineer and worked night shifts, which meant he had every reason to cross paths with the late-arriving Sunset, but rarely did. Sunset always assumed that meant he was avoiding her. So offering breakfast was kind of out of the ordinary.

The only explanation that Sunset could divine was that he was supposed to get something from her, or tell her something unpleasant and he was using breakfast to make it feel less awkward. Which was of course a wasted effort, since she was now even more weary about interacting with him. Perhaps she should just run out the front door when she was done.

But no, she didn’t really have a plan for today. No plans to fulfill, no mission to accomplish. No school to go to since it was Saturday. She had the rest of the next three years to fill her time and it was looking awfully empty. Having a strange conversation with Auburn might not be fun, but it was something better than being bored for thirty moons.

Sunset emerged from the bathroom and found Auburn sitting at the kitchen table eating quietly while reading a magazine. He looked up as Sunset approached and motioned towards an empty seat with a plate in front of it. She noiselessly sat and helped herself to some pancakes.

It was a full three minutes of silent eating before Auburn looked up from his reading and turned her way.

“Do you have plans for today?” asked Auburn.

Sunset considered her options. She shrugged in response.

“I need to run some errands today,” he said. “Do you want to come with me?”

“No,” Sunset said instinctively. She winced afterwards. What else was she going to do? “What kind of errands?”

“Taking clothes over to the shelter, grocery shopping, visiting my father,” said Auburn. “I can drop you off wherever afterwards. Should be just past one.”

Sunset didn’t find any part of that appealing, except the part where she was dropped off anywhere she wanted. Though she figured she could get wherever in less time than waiting for Auburn to finish his errands.

“Couldn’t you drop me off first and then do all that stuff after?” asked Sunset.

“I could,” said Auburn, but offered no follow-up.

Sunset was forced to ask. “Okay, can you please drop me off first?”

Auburn pushed his plate aside and leaned his arms on the table. “Can you answer me a question?”

Sunset sighed. “Okay, I’ll bite.”

“What do you plan to do after high school?” asked Auburn.

Sunset stared and frowned even deeper. “I really can’t answer that.”

“Why not?” asked Auburn.

“Because,” Sunset struggled to come up with a response. “I didn’t expect to be here after last night.”

“Where did you think you’d be?” asked Auburn, his brow furrowed.

Sunset turned her head towards the window. “I don’t know, not here.”

“Did you expect to go to jail after yesterday or something more,” he trailed off for a moment, then finished. “Permanent?”

Sunset frowned for a second then quickly looked back at Auburn. “No! I--I wasn’t trying to... and I wasn’t trying to get arrested either.”

“What were you trying to do then?” asked Auburn.

“I wanted to—no. You just wouldn’t understand, you don’t know where I’m from.”

“You could tell me,” said Auburn.

Sunset shook her head and then stood up. “No, I think I’ll take the bus.” She picked up her bundle of clothes and personal cleaning supplies and headed back to her room. Auburn said nothing, and simply watched her go.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The quiet of Sunset’s room at the office building had previously been a comfort, especially on the weekends. She could sit quietly, think to herself, stare out the large windows, pluck away at the refurbished guitar in the corner, and just lose herself in her grand plan to earn her place back in Equestria. All of that was hollow now and she found the silence to be increasingly overbearing. The stillness meant she was alone, and she was starting to understand exactly what that meant for her future.

There were no shortages of people trying to force their ways onto her life, to her surprise. None of them, however, really knew who she was or what she cared about. And none of them were going to be there for her in a year. Celestia was just the principal of CHS and she wouldn’t matter next year. Her foster parents were keeping her around for a check and she would age out of the foster program next year as well. Even Twilight’s stupid friends would be off to whatever colleges or careers they had planned for after next year.

Which left Sunset alone, with nothing but an abandoned office and attached perfume bottling floor to comfort her. She wondered what would happen to her then. Would she even make it to thirty moons?

“Stop pitying yourself.”

Sunset nearly literally jumped out of her skin. Instead she spun around and then stared at the inexplicable sight before her. A pony was in her room. Not just any pony, either.

“Star Swirl?” asked Sunset, unable to believe her eyes and hoping for some other confirmation. “H-How is this even possible?”

Star Swirl the Bearded -- hat, cape and, well, beard included -- walked casually around the room, gracefully stepping around every stack of notes and fallen book. He looked at the dozens of texts lined up on the shelves and nodded appreciably. “I admire your dedication to learning, even in this crazy world.”

“You can’t be real,” concluded Sunset. She placed her hands on either side of her head “I’m losing my mind.”

Star Swirl shook his head. “You already lost your mind, this is what recovery looks like.”

Sunset closed her eyes. He wasn’t real. There was no objective way he could be real. So if he wasn’t real -- and assuming she wasn’t going insane -- what was going on?

“Harmony,” she said as she opened her eyes. “You’re from the Elements of Harmony.”

“Closer,” said Star Swirl. He walked over to the windows and peeked his head between the curtains covering the large windows. “Such a fascinating world. I wish I’d had time to explore it, but with so little magic I couldn't risk leaving the portal unattended.”

“Okay, we need some ground rules here,” said Sunset. “Talking to me in my room is mildly annoying but if people in this world see me talking to a pony they would think I’m crazy and talking to myself.”

Star Swirl turned and stared at Sunset dead on. “You are talking to yourself,” he said. “I’m not a manifestation, I’m what remains of all the knowledge and energy you took into yourself from the Element of Magic.”

“So I am crazy,” said Sunset. “You could have at least lied to me.”

“You aren’t crazy, but there are so few people who have ever used the Elements of Harmony, there aren’t easy words to explain it,” said Star Swirl. “For better or for worse, you are part of Harmony now, and all who have come before and those that come after will be connected to you. This... is not something human brains are apparently well equipped to handle.”

“I think that’s the case for magic in general,” commented Sunset. “If you’re part of my mind, how do you know things I don’t?”

“I am an echo of the Elements of Harmony, an impression that was left in your mind,” said Star Swirl. “As penance.”

Sunset blinked. “Penance? Are you my jailor, then?”

“Quite the opposite,” said Star Swirl. “While my motivations were purer than yours, I too abused the Elements of Harmony, and they stole from me what little youth I had left. I gave them up to the Tree of Harmony and directed Celestia and Luna to them in the hopes they would be better equipped than I was to handle the magic. They were not, as it turns out, but those that came after were.”

Sunset shook her head. “I still don’t understand.”

“I am here to help you,” said Star Swirl. “As an apology for the damage we did to your mind that turned you into a demon, however briefly.”

“You copied yourself into my brain and now you want to be my councilor? Couldn’t you have just fixed me instead?” asked Sunset.

“That would not be proper. It was your desires that drove the magic to create the demon. To remove or change your intentions would be to change who you are. It is not the Harmonious way.”

“Then, what? I never get to be alone for the rest of my life.”

“Not the rest of your life,” said Star Swirl. “This world makes it hard to sustain myself, and eventually I will fade. This is only temporary. I hope to help you in the time I have.”

Sunset sighed then sat down in the chair by her desk. “You might have been better off just changing my mind. There’s nothing you can do.”

“That is simply not true,” said Star Swirl, stepping up to the desk and getting briefly distracted by the pictures and tokens neatly lined up on it. “And I would at least advise you not to lose hope. There are always opportunities coming.”

“Yeah, things I’m sure to screw up somehow,” said Sunset. She slumped in her seat. “Or go insane and turn into some raging… she-demon.”

“I understand why you feel that way,” said Star Swirl patiently. “It is a thought borne from your recent failures. But you have within you great power and passion, as well as courage. Your duty, now, is to turn that energy towards others.”

“Saying that is easy,” said Sunset. “Doing it isn’t. I’m not good at that. I’m not good at... tolerating other people.”

“Then let us start small,” said Star Swirl. He stood tall and tipped his head back so it looked like he was looking down his nose at Sunset. He was still quite little compared to her and he failed to inspire much confidence. “You must let yourself care for people, including your parents.”

“My foster parents are useless,” said Sunset.

“And you are raging she-demon,” said Star Swirl with a smirk. “If you wish others to look past your problems, you must be willing to look past the problems of others. And your foster parents are not useless, they just have not yet been of use yet. That can change.” He rose a brow. “That should change.”

Sunset leaned forward onto the desk and wrung her hands gently. “It sounds like a great deal of work.”

Star Swirl walked up to the other side of the desk. “Then it’s a good thing you don’t have any plans.”

Sunset looked up at him. “And you won’t go away until, what, you run out of juice?”

“Assuming you stay here and don’t encounter the Elements of Harmony again,” said Star Swirl. “Yes, eventually I will fade. Probably within the year.”

“And if instead I just ignore you?” asked Sunset.

“That is your choice,” said Star Swirl with a shrug. “I don’t want to make your life any worse than it is. But if you really want to change, if you are really sorry for what you did, then I would at least listen.”

Sunset spun in her chair and looked out the window and rested her hands on the arms of the chair. “I suppose I can listen.”

Star Swirl walked around the desk so Sunset could still see him. “Then listen to your foster father. What do you want?”

Sunset closed her eyes. What did she want?

*** ( MLP ) ***

Years Earlier…

Sunset Shimmer found Princess Celestia in the throne room staring into a crystal mirror that she had never seen before. It was tall and beautiful and seemed equal parts carved and grown from sparkling crystal.

“My precious student,” said Celestia, turning around. She smiled in that banal way that she always did. Sunset Shimmer wondered if there was any genuine happiness behind it anymore. It rarely seemed to leave her face. “I have a project for you.”

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes widened. “A project?” she asked. “Are we finally going to do something about Nightmare Moon’s near return?” She could hardly believe it! Would Celestia relent just as Sunset started to believe it was futile?

“Not yet,” said Celestia kindly.

Sunset Shimmer groaned.

“Look at this,” Celestia continued. “Do you recognize it from your studies?”

Sunset Shimmer frowned and quickly looked over the tall mirror. “Not really,” she said. “It’s made of crystal, but doesn’t have any crest marks except for…” she trailed off and leaned in to study a small impression in the corner of the frame. “Is that Star Swirl the Bearded’s mark?”

“Indeed,” said Celestia. “This is one of a number of special mirrors created by Star Swirl over the last thousand years. It has many properties, some more magnificent than others.” She stepped to the side and motioned towards the silvery surface with her head. “I wish you to look upon its surface and see what it shows you.”

Sunset Shimmer walked slowly up to the mirror. “What am I supposed to see?” The surface turned cloudy as she looked directly into it.

“As any mirror would do, it shows you a reflection of who you are,” said Celestia. “Or who you need to be.”

As Sunset Shimmer looked into the mirror, she saw the clouds begin to part and burning rays of sunlight fill the vision. The light was swirling and burst through the gray in red and dark orange, just as in the setting sun.

“When I was still a new Princess,” said Celestia from behind her. “Star Swirl showed me a mirror, and I saw…” she paused. “I saw the hard decisions that a Princess must make, and what kind of leader I needed to be to make them.”

“You saw Nightmare Moon?” asked Sunset Shimmer idly. The image in the mirror was clearing and a silhouette of a pony was appearing in the center of the swirling light.

“No,” said Celestia. “I saw a ruler of a distant land, who was kind and good, charming and wonderful, and admired by all.”

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes widened as she recognized her mane on the figure, as well as the glowing horn and what looked to be a shining crown.

“And I saw the great personal sacrifice he made to keep the darkness away from his empire,” Celestia said softly. “The choice every ruler must make to put their kingdom above their own happiness.”

The figure in the mirror brightened as the rays of light around her turned to a burning fire. Sunset Shimmer could see herself, bathed in light, with a determined expression, and a glowing crown upon her brow. She also wore red and gold armor and had an elegant silver spear hanging in a holster off the left side of her flank. Then, the fire coalesced onto her back and formed two brilliant wings that stretched up behind her. The light blazed brightly, so bright Sunset Shimmer had to squint to see, then quickly burned out and turned black, obscuring the image entirely.

Then her pale reflection returned, showing Celestria standing behind her, looking almost as if she were about to cry.

“What did you see?” asked Celestia stiffly.

Sunset Shimmer turned and looked up at Celestia with the same determined expression she saw in the vision in the mirror. “I saw myself,” she said. “As an alicorn princess.”

Celestia smiled. “That’s great,” she said. “I knew you had potential. By pursuing friendship and harmony, you can earn your place as--”

“No,” Sunset Shimmer shook her head. “I saw a warrior! A powerful alicorn crusader that stood alone against the dying light bearing wings of fire.”

Celestia was briefly speechless. “Perhaps this was a vision to be taken as a warning--”

“I must know how this mirror works,” said Sunset Shimmer. She glanced back at the artifact, which was back to being a regular mirror. “And how alicorns are made. Is it power or skill? Is it bestowed or taken? How did your niece become one?”

“Sunset Shimmer,” warned Celestia. “Please slow down.”

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” asked Sunset Shimmer, stepping forward. “You showed me my destiny!”

“The mirror’s lessons are not so straightforward,” said Celestia. “They must be interpreted.”

Sunset Shimmer growled. “I can’t believe this! You wanted me to see this, but then when it shows me something you didn’t like I’m supposed to forget?”

“Not forget, my precious student--” started Celestia.

“No, I get it,” Sunset Shimmer turned away from Celestia and started walking towards the door. “I need to surround myself with random people and just hope our troubles go away with the power of happy thoughts.”

“Please wait, Sunset Shimmer,” called out Celestia. “This is not what I wished to teach you.”

Just before she reached the door, Sunset Shimmer looked back at her teacher. “If this is you after learning about making hard decisions, I can’t even imagine how worthless you were before looking into that mirror.”

With a curt puff of breath, Sunset Shimmer flung open the doors with her magic and left the throne room. She scowled all the way back to the school rooms and then slammed and locked her door behind her. She looked at the piles of books and scrolls around her room with regret.

“So much wasted time,” she said. Then she walked to her chest and opened it gently. The floor board was much higher than it was when she was just a little filly, but nobody even seemed to notice. Just like they never noticed her taking books from the restricted wings, or noticed her sneaking into the dark magic archives.

Lifting the floorboard in the chest, she pulled out the six books hidden down there, all branded with a black sun, indicating they came from the restricted archives. One of them also bore the mark of Star Swirl. That was the one she laid out on the bed and opened.

“Tell me about this mirror,” said Sunset Shimmer under her breath. She turned the pages slowly, scanning every word and picture.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The Present...

The Monday after a demon destroys your school is always somewhat of an ambiguous event. At least, Pinkie Pie believed that to be the case, she had very little previous demon experience to base that around. Like, none. No demon experience at all.

“How much do you think they’ll have fixed?” asked Rarity as she walked on the sidewalk beside Pinkie Pie on the way to school.

“All of it,” said Pinkie.

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “Really.”

“Really dealie,” said Pinkie.

“How could they have done that in two days?” asked Rarity.

“Dunno,” shrugged Pinkie.

Rarity considered asking saner people for their opinions. Fortunately they were about to cross paths with Fluttershy, who was at least more grounded if possibly no better informed.

They turned the corner and spotted Fluttershy in the spot in front of her house where that she normally waited for them. Today, though, she was talking with someone and wasn’t waving down the block. As they got closer, Rarity realized who was the person she was talking to.

“Come on,” said Rarity urgently, as she grabbed Pinkie’s wrist and pulled her at a faster pace. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but no one was going to corner Fluttershy when she was alone.

As they nearly ran forward, they saw Sunset Shimmer talking animatedly with her hands while Fluttershy looked at her with a mixture of wide-eyed surprise and anxious hand wringing. Whatever was going on, Fluttershy was not comfortable with it. That was sign enough for Rarity.

“Hey! Get away!” shouted Rarity once they were a dozen steps off. She watched Sunset’s head jerk in her direction then step backwards slightly. Rarity quickly inserted herself between Sunset and Fluttershy while Pinkie stood slightly to her left and behind her.

Rarity waved a finger at Sunset Shimmer. “Don’t get any ideas, I’m not going to let you push her around anymore.”

Sunset looked at the finger pointed at her. “Really. That’s, uh, great?”

“Gooooooood morning, Sunset!” said Pinkie in a cheerful manner. She appeared entirely oblivious to Rarity’s concerns about Fluttershy’s safety.

“’Morning,” said Sunset in response to Pinkie. She nodded slightly in the pink-haired girl’s direction. Then her eyes traveled back to Rarity. “I don’t know what you think is happening but you need to cool down.”

“Ooh, don’t be coy with me,” said Rarity. “We all know what kind of person you are.”

Sunset looked away with a frown. “Yeah, I know.” She adjusted her jacket as she studied the pavement.

“Um, Rarity?” said Fluttershy.

“It’s okay, we’re here now,” said Rarity.

“Yup, and before we were over there!” said Pinkie, pointing back the way they came. Rarity resisted the urge to slap her forehead.

“N-no, I don’t think she was doing anything bad,” said Fluttershy.

“You don’t have to be afraid to speak out,” said Rarity. “We’ll keep you safe.”

“Um, that’s not quite it,” said Fluttershy.

“We don’t have magical powers anymore, but I’m sure we can be protect you,” said Pinkie Pie.

“I’m sure you can,” said Fluttershy. “But—“

“I’m sure she’s scheming something already,” said Rarity, her eyes still on Sunset.

“Not really,” said Sunset, looking slowly back towards the trio of girls.

“A likely story,” said Rarity. “I’m surprised you’re even coming back to school. Does Principal Celestia know?”

“She kind of—“ started Sunset.

“Well, we’ll make sure she knows,” said Rarity.

“Rarity,” said Fluttershy. “She might just—“

“We’ll keep her away, Fluttershy,” said Rarity with a wave of her hand. “She won’t hurt—“

“Will you let her talk!” said Sunset loudly, interrupting Rarity and raising her voice far louder than even the heated conversation had already been.

Rarity blinked and looked a little appalled that she was just scolded. But she looked towards Fluttershy stiffly.

“S-She was just,” Fluttershy spoke so softly her words were quickly vanishing.

“What?” asked Pinkie, leaning in so close her ear was practically in Fluttershy’s face.

Fluttershy swallowed and then spoke slightly louder. “She was just asking a question.”

Rarity was back to frowning. She turned her gaze towards Sunset. “What question?”

Sunset sighed. She closed her eyes briefly and nodded twice. Then she shook her head. Then she whispered something that sounded like “I know” under her breath. Then she opened her eyes again and looked at Rarity directly.

“I was just asking for help making friends,” said Sunset.

Rarity’s mouth hung slightly open.

Sunset continued. “Twilight said you were good at that sort of thing, and, well, frankly.” She breathed. “I’m not.”

Pinkie smiled and jumped over to grab Sunset’s arm. She hooked her own arm around the other girl’s and cheered. “Absoluuuuutely we can help! Right girls?”

Fluttershy made a small smile and nodded.

Rarity just looked Sunset up and down grimly.

“If you want,” said Rarity. Her eyes narrowed. “But I’m not promising any results.” She turned and walked off in the direction of the school.

“Wow,” said Pinkie. “Well, she’ll cheer up once we get you some friends and prove you’re on the level. You are on the level, right?” She nodded to herself. Then she put her hands up in the air. “Let’s go!” She started marching behind Rarity.

Fluttershy nodded again and then followed. Sunset just sighed.

“Yeah,” she said to no one at all. Then she followed behind the girls.

Chapter 2: Foundation Damage

Years Earlier...

Sunset Shimmer pushed the stack of books on her bed over and watched them fall onto the covers. They were useless. They recited the same old story she’d heard over and over again and yet failed to answer the burning question in her mind.

She had no choice, she had to ask her.

“Shining Brow?” asked Sunset Shimmer immediately as the mare stepped into her room.

“Whoa,” said a startled Shining Brow as she stepped quickly around Sunset and then gained her balance again. “You shouldn’t go jumping out at old soldiers, little filly.”

Sunset Shimmer groaned and turned to face Shining Brow. The pegasus was already heading for the overstuffed chair where she always sat when she was visiting. “Don’t call me ‘little filly.’ I’m a pony!”

Shining Brow laughed. “You were always a pony. But you are still a filly and you are smaller than me. It wasn’t meant as an insult, my dear.”

“It was!” said Sunset Shimmer. Her guardian was always doing this. She would come around every day and do nothing but tell stories and watch her, all the while treating her like a foal. It was infuriating!

“No, it wasn’t,” said Shining Brow slowly and in a stodgy tone, as if her words became truer when she spoke them deliberately. “I have no reason to insult you; you are my charge.”

Sunset grumbled. She hopped up onto the bed and sat, her head facing away from Shining Brow. “I don’t like ‘charge’ either.”

“So what was it that has you ready to pounce today?” asked Shining Brow. She folded her hooves in front of her and sat down completely on the chair’s pillow. “Do you need another book from the library?”

She swallowed as much of her pride as she could and turned her head back towards her guardian. “What is Princess Celestia?”

Shining Brow bobbed her head sagely. “What, indeed,” she said.

“I don’t want a legend,” said Sunset quickly, hoping to avoid another morality play. “I want to know the truth.”

“The problem with the truth is that it’s sometimes buried within legends,” said Shining Brow with a smile.

Sunset turned away from the old mare and made a face. “You just don’t know.”

“Well, that is one way of putting it,” said Shining Brow. “I don’t know really, other than the basics. She is kind and good, soft spoken but determined, and has within her a well of infinite compassion for all ponies and the other races of Equestria.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, and then looked back. “I don’t mean what kind of pony she is, I mean what kind of pony is she?”

“An alicorn,” said Shining Brow, as if that explained everything.

“But what does that mean?” said Sunset as she began pacing around the room, her steps heavy on the tightly woven red and gold rug covering the tiles beneath her. “How did she become an alicorn? How come Celestia has so much power?”

Shining Brow shifted her front legs out from under her and tapped the tips of her hooves together. The ticking noise was more than a little annoying to Sunset and she grit her teeth to keep herself from saying something rude and losing a chance to get a decent answer out of her.

“I’m not nearly as old as Celestia,” said Shining Brow. She stopped tapping her hooves. “So all I have are legends and stories to tell me what might have happened generations ago.”

“Or books,” said Sunset Shimmer.

Shining Brow shook her head and held out a hoof towards the ceiling. “Equestria was a very different place back then. Earth ponies used to fight with unicorns who used to fight with pegasi who used to fight with earth ponies. Not all the books are as truthful as they claim. The scrolls of the Unicorn Tribe used to paint the Pegasus Tribe as savages who would viciously send storms to destroy the cities made by unicorns, and hunt the earth ponies for sport.”

Sunset frowned and stopped pacing. “Ugh. That couldn’t have been true. Why would they put that in a book?”

“So their enemies could be easier to hate,” said Shining Brow. She folded her hooves again. “We all tell ourselves lies about the people we dislike, so we don’t have to recognize the things about us that are similar.”

Sunset Shimmer jumped off the bed and walked closer to the pegasus. “But, what does this have to do with Celestia?”

“Well, Celestia, as you know, was a special pony,” said Shining Brow. She was apparently studying Sunset’s expressions as she spoke. “But only in that she refused to lie about her adversaries. You see, in Equestria, there is power in finding harmony with those around you. It keeps the more dangerous creatures away, and feeds the more helpful magics to make life easier and better.”

“You mean all that Heart’s Warming Eve stuff with the wendigos?” asked Sunset Shimmer. She turned and picked the storybook out of the pile on her bed and held it aloft with her magic.

“Hearth’s Warming,” Shining Brow said and nodded. “Celestia declared herself an advocate of friendship, and since then, all the friends she has made, and the friendships she has fostered empower her to continue her mission.”

“So she’s powerful because she’s a super great friend?” asked Sunset Shimmer. “That’s just what she tells everyone, there’s more, I know it.”

“The stories are all I know.” Shining Brow shrugged. “My family has lots of them since we’ve served Princess Celestia for generations, but the truth is as much of a mystery to me as you. Stories come and go as people give their faith to them, not because are right.”

“Is that why you’re so old, you gave all your power away to these stories?” said Sunset Shimmer, a little annoyed at the ambiguity. This was hardly better than her books.

“I suppose,” said Shining Brow. She smiled widely and adjusted her folded wings. “So, tonight I have a question for you. Why does it matter how Celestia became powerful?”

“Because I want to be powerful,” said Sunset Shimmer without hesitation.

“Okay, but why?” asked Shining Brow.

“So I can do whatever I want,” said Sunset.

“Well, what do you want to do, then? What can’t you do now that you would be able to do with power?”

Sunset frowned. “Stop ponies from treating me like a foal.”

“That will come with time, not power,” said Shining Brow. “Even the most immature will eventually get old. What else?”

“I want answers to my questions,” said Sunset.

“Ah, but even Celestia doesn’t have answers to all her questions,” said Shining Brow. “If she did, even then she’d just have new questions. Life isn’t about the answers. It’s about the pursuit of the answers.”

“That’s silly,” said Sunset Shimmer.

Shining Brow nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Perhaps, but that doesn’t make it any less true.” She sighed. “What sort of questions do you want answers to? Beyond Celestia’s origin.”

Sunset Shimmer looked at her books. One of them was a leather bound book with her cutie mark on it. It caught her eye and she stared at it.

She looked up at Shining Brow. “Why was I abandoned?”

Shining Brow bit her lip. “Even Celestia doesn’t know that.”

“Oh,” said Sunset Shimmer. “So she doesn’t have enough power.”

With a sigh, Shining Brow got off the chair and stepped over to Sunset. “It’s not a matter of power, my dear. Not even the greatest ponies can see into the minds of others, even if we knew where they were.”

“But a powerful pony could have forced them not to leave me,” said Sunset.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Shining Brow. “Don’t dwell on this, Sunset. Your life is greater every day you live it, no matter who is there with you.”

“So I shouldn’t need them,” said Sunset.

“You don’t,” said Shining Brow. “Not anymore. You have us now.”

Sunset turned away from Shining Brow and walked over to the bed, resting her head on the blankets. “Can I be alone for a bit?” she said.

Shining Brow nodded. “I can leave,” she said. “But you’ll never have to be alone. Not again.” She left through the door and closed it gently behind her.

Sunset looked back at the books and began to clean them up, pushing them to the side and stacking them neatly. The last book on the pile was the one with her cutie mark, a gift from Celestia. It puzzled her. It was supposed to represent a connection between her and the Princess, but it was blank. Did that mean the connection wasn’t there? That the connection was meaningless? She was too embarrassed to ask Celestia about it.

No matter. For once, Shining Brow was helpful. She shouldn’t need her parents. She shouldn’t need anyone.

The supposed special book was empty, but the rest of these texts were not. They would help her grow powerful, and keep her from needing anyone ever again. Not her parents. Certainly not Shining Brow. Not Celestia. Knowledge and magic would lift her up and she would be above it all, above being hurt.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The Present....

The doors – and walls, for that matter -- of the school were still rather permanently open, with large tarps stretched across the front atrium and large orange signs directing students to the side entrance of Canterlot High. While many were dutifully following the posted directions and trying their best to go about their day, there were many times more gawkers, standing at the entrance and staring.

Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy arrived at the equine statue on the front lawn of CHS to find Rainbow Dash whistling loudly as she stared at the mess with Applejack beside her.

“That looks a lot worse in the daylight,” Rainbow Dash said as they approached. She turned and then blinked noticeably when she saw Sunset. “Oh, you.”

Applejack turned around and looked mildly surprised. “Come to survey the destruction?”

Sunset sighed and shook her head at the ground.

“She’s here to make friends,” said Fluttershy.

“That’s going to be fun,” said Applejack sarcastically.

Fluttershy shrunk a little. “I told her we’d help.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other and a wide range of emotions flashed across their faces. Eventually, Applejack looked back with a forced smile. “That’s going to be fun!” she said with much less sarcasm but much less apparent sincerity.

“It's fine,” Sunset said, raising her head again. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“N-no, we want to,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset scoffed. “I have no doubt you want to. You’d show sympathy to a fly. I just don’t believe they want to.” She waved her hand one way towards Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and then back at Rarity. The latter folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think you’re really in a position to be turning down help, darling,” said Rarity.

“Oh, so, part one of making friends is giving up my dignity?” said Sunset angrily. “I’m not allowed to have standards?”

“You just can’t stop thinking yourself better than us, can you?” said Rarity. She was tapping her fingers on her elbow impatiently.

“I don’t want to be part of your pity party,” said Sunset. “I don’t need help from someone who’s forced to do it.”

“That’s an outrageous thing for you to say,” said Rarity. “Who has ever done you a favor before today?”

“I’m not sure anyone has done any today!” said Sunset.

“Girls!” shouted Pinkie Pie. She jumped between the two shouting ladies and put her hands out. She waved them a little manically.

“What?” both Sunset and Rarity said together.

“We’re kind of getting the wrong sort of attention,” said Pinkie. She motioned her head towards the staring students and, beyond, the short row of television vans with cameras pointed around including in their direction.

Sunset and Rarity stared at each other for a few seconds more. Reluctantly, they both looked away.

Rarity turned her back entirely on Sunset. “Your ‘dignity’ aside, we won’t go back on our word to Twilight, so we will help you. “ She looked over her shoulder back at Sunset. “If you choose to ignore our help that will be your decision.” She faced forward and then started walking towards the side entrance.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack reluctantly followed without much of a word. Fluttershy stayed behind and looked up at the taller Sunset.

“I don’t pity you,” she said softly.

“I didn’t say you did,” said Sunset. She sighed. “You two don’t have to hang around me, I’m not going to blow up the rest of the school if I’m alone.”

“We’ll see you to your class,” said Fluttershy. She smiled at Sunset.

“Whatever,” said Sunset. She started walking towards the rest of the crowd that was going into the side entrance of the school. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked beside her quietly, seemingly flanking her.

That meant they got a clear view of the hateful stares coming in their direction as they got close to the door. More specifically, the hateful stares coming in Sunset Shimmer’s direction. Nobody said anything as they gently gave her space such that nobody was within an arm's-length of the student. Fluttershy and Pinkie started to look less like friends and more like an escort.

Sunset Shimmer barely reacted. She strode forth, not waiting or pacing herself against Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. She kept her eyes focused on the door and appeared to not notice anything else.

“Sunset Shimmer,” said a voice as soon as the trio stepped through the doorway. Sunset turned to see Vice Principal Luna standing beside a row of lockers. She stepped forward towards the group after she had their attention.

“Vice Principal Luna,” said Sunset with a nod.

“Can you please come with me?” said Luna. She moved her arm in the direction of the front offices.

Sunset nodded and then started walking alongside the vice principal. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stayed behind as she stepped away. Just before they were out of reach, Fluttershy reached out and patted Sunset on the arm reassuringly. Sunset made a frown but kept walking.

After entering the front offices, Luna directed them towards her own office and then shut the door behind them. She sat down at her desk and looked down at Sunset. “I understand my sister paid your family a visit on Friday.”

“Yeah,” said Sunset with a nod.

“And she explained to them what you did?” asked Luna.

Sunset nodded without a noise.

“And what did they do?” asked Luna.

Sunset bit her lip, then shook her head. “Why?”

Luna studied Sunset then stood up and walked over to her window. She looked through the blinds at the students and trucks in the front of the school. “My sister is a generous and forgiving person,” she said finally. “I’m sure you’ve noticed this over the years.”

Sunset said nothing. She looked around the office, paying careful attention to the few but well cleaned pictures sitting on the desk. They showed Luna standing in fairly exotic locations around the world with strangers in front of small buildings. There was only one that showed her with Celestia and they were standing in front of this school.

“She wishes to forgive everyone of everything and let it be quickly forgotten,” said Luna. “But she has charged me with keeping order in the school, and that order is not best served by boundless charity.”

Luna turned to look at Sunset. “So there will be some rules, and there will be detention.”

“Okay,” said Sunset slowly.

“First the rules,” said Luna. She moved to sit down at her desk and pulled out a piece of paper. “You are not, under any circumstances, to talk to anyone outside this school about your role in the destruction of the lobby.”

“Uh, why?” asked Sunset.

Luna put the paper down. “Because the official statement about the Fall Formal makes no mention of magical rainbows or mind controlling monsters or students with wings and pony ears. This is because we all do not want to be judged insane, and we do wish to collect on our insurance to pay for the damages.”

“Oh,” said Sunset.

“Rule two,” said Luna, picking up the paper again. “Your membership in any and all school funded clubs has been revoked and you will not be allowed to rejoin any for the duration of the calendar year. These clubs are a privilege. We will reevaluate this in January to see if you can be allowed to join for the remainder of the school year.”

Sunset nodded.

“Rule three,” said Luna. “You are on proverbial thin ice. Any reports of any kind that you have been bullying, or harassing, or forcing any members of the school body to do anything they do not wish to do, will result in suspension and the withholding of your diploma.”

Not seeing any argument from the student, Luna continued. “Finally, rule four. Your continued attendance is required. There is no cutting, no skipping, no excuses. You have always been an excellent student, Sunset, so I do not suspect this will be a concern for you, but Seniors – of any world, I imagine – tend to believe themselves entitled to certain privileges. Allow me to be clear: you are not. If I hear that you have missed your classes in any regard, you will be suspended and your diploma withheld.”

Luna held the page out to Sunset. She took it carefully and placed it on her lap.

“Do you understand everything I’ve explained to you?” asked Luna.

“Yeah,” said Sunset.

“Good.” Luna nodded. “Now let’s talk about detention. You will come here, daily, starting tomorrow and lasting for a month, and I will tell you what we will be doing. It will not be cruel, it will not be laborious, and sometimes it will simply be homework. But you will come here, without fail, for a month.”

Sunset nodded. “Fine.”

Luna looked stern as she stared into Sunset’s eyes. “Do you understand how lucky you are to be given even this?”

“Lucky?” asked Sunset. “How do you figure?”

“I’m not sure what your plan was,” said Luna. “But detention and some rules forcing you to be a normal student is hardly what you should have expected.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “Of all the bad things that could have happened to me for screwing up, this is by far the least bad. Is that okay?”

“I wish for you to rejoin this school,” said Luna. “But if that is beyond you at this point, I will accept attendance.”

“Deal,” said Sunset. She stood up and gathered her paper of rules and her backpack. “Can I get to class?”

Luna stood up so as not to be looked down upon. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, and then, after a moment, she waved her hand dismissively. “Go ahead.”

Sunset quickly moved to the door and left without hesitation.

Luna sat down again at her desk and stared at its surface. Her eyes moved towards a coaster that lay beside her blotter. It was circular and made with dark metal save for a chrome crescent moon in the center. Her fingers traced the moon idly.

*** ( MLP ) ***

It was an entirely innocuous event that caused things to head rapidly downhill. Sunset wasn’t even initially aware of the students testing their limits, she had her own issues to deal with and the general anger being directed towards her had turned into a formless haze by lunchtime. But it was between third and fourth period that Sunset turned the corner between her physics and US history classes that she ran square into Lyra Heartstrings.

The blue-haired girl toppled back onto the floor and Sunset staggered and dropped the books she was carrying. Her instincts told her to shout and threaten but her mind was still on the list of ‘rules’ that Luna laid down. She bit her tongue, helped Lyra back to her feet, and wordlessly walked away.

Perhaps if she had said something, or refused to help Lyra up, it wouldn’t have gone wrong so quickly.

As it was, it kicked off open season on Sunset Shimmer.

After history class, Sunset returned to her locker to find it covered in blank post-it notes. She sighed.

While standing in the lunch line, someone bumped her as she held her tray and ended up toppling her salad onto the floor. She frowned and helped clean it up before getting another.

Another student made a comment to a lunch server and Sunset ended up being charged twice for wasting the first salad on the floor. She grit her teeth and nodded, and handed over half of her week’s lunch money to the cashier.

Once Sunset sat down at a table by herself, she noticed someone had dropped a dead cockroach on her salad somewhere between the register and the table. She slipped her – still sealed -- juice bottle into her pocket to keep it safe, pushed the tray aside, and held her head in her hands.

“Howdy-ho, Sunset!” cheered the voice of an unmistakably happy student. Sunset didn’t even have to look up. Nobody at this school would have to look up.

“Go away, Pinkie,” said Sunset. She didn’t want to deal with any of this right now.

“We thought you would like some company,” said the soft murmur of Fluttershy.

“You thought wrong,” said Sunset. She pushed her palms into her eyes. She heard the sounds of trays gently tapping down on the table. She knew they wouldn’t just go away because she asked.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Fluttershy.

“No,” groaned Sunset.

“Are you going to eat?” asked Fluttershy.

“Not hungry,” said Sunset.

“You know, friends can help share—“ started Fluttershy, but Sunset abruptly rose her head to interrupt her.

“I’m not really in the mood right now,” said Sunset as she glared at the two girls.

Fluttershy cowered and turned slightly away. Sunset immediately realized what she was doing and got angry with herself, adding the growing pile of annoyances that currently included the entire world.

Pinkie, however, put her hand to her chin and leaned over the table to stare into Sunset’s face. “Hmmmmmmm,” she mused in an overly dramatic manner. “Something’s wrong.”

“Pinkie,” warned Sunset. She did not want to talk about what the students were doing. She was not going to talk about what the other students were doing. Sunset was not a wimp, she was not a crybaby, she would deal with the problems she created by herself.

“Did something bad happen with Luna this morning?” she asked.

Sunset shook her head. “No more than I was expecting. Less probably.” She shrugged. Then she looked back at Fluttershy who was peeking at her from between strands of hair that had fallen over her eyes.

Much of the anger Sunset was feeling was rapidly deflating. She realized that before now, when she abused Fluttershy -- or any other timid person -- she’d leave, or they’d run away. But now that Fluttershy was trying to be her ‘friend’ she was staying put, enduring the abuse, and lingering for Sunset to realize exactly how it was affecting her. It was actually making her feel guilty.

“Look, don’t do that,” said Sunset. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s not your fault. I’m still trying to cope with what I did last week.”

“I can help you,” said Fluttershy. “So you don’t have to deal with it alone.”

“You want to help,” said Sunset. “I don’t think you actually can.”

“We won’t know unless we try,” said Fluttershy.

“How is someone so meek, so persistent?” grumbled Sunset. She saw Fluttershy flinch again and felt even lousier.

Sunset stood up. “Look, I’m – well, no. I’m not ready for this right now, I can’t do this. Maybe later.” She picked up her tray and headed for the door. She would find a study hall somewhere she could hide in. She turned into the trash corner and tray return and dropped her ruined meal on the conveyor that took it back into the kitchen. She turned on her heel and stepped towards the hallway.

She got two paces before Pinkie Pie stuck her face in the way. Sunset nearly yelped but managed to control herself.

“What, Pinkie?” snapped Sunset. She nearly tried to pull the sharp words back into her mouth after she realized she was doing it again.

“You’re a tricky one,” said Pinkie.

“Huh?” said Sunset with a tired expression.

“I’ll figure it out though.” Pinkie nodded with a smile. “Everyone deserves to laugh, even you.”

Sunset envisioned a rube-goldbergian, butterfly-effect, storm of chaos set in motion by a grinning Pinkie and shuddered at the thought.

“Look, I really, really—“ started Sunset, but then a crowd of students that was exiting the cafeteria behind her got very close and one of them bumped her in the side quite roughly. She yelped slightly and then turned to glare at the offender but couldn’t pick out who in the group of eight students – mostly seniors she recognized – did it.

She rubbed her side gently and then looked back at Pinkie, who was no longer smiling. “Back off,” Sunset said, unwilling to waste time on niceties anymore. She took a step towards the door…

Then her heel slid out from under her and she fell hard onto her back.

Her head throbbed as she heard the cafeteria erupt into laughter. Of course they were all watching, they had all been watching her all day. She rubbed her shoulders where they struck the floor on the way down and tried to get back onto her feet. She felt her face burning in equal parts humiliation and rage. She felt the urge to burn the school down while these jokers were still in it.

She carefully placed her feet to avoid the suspiciously convenient puddle of salad dressing she slipped on and started to stand. She stopped when she saw a hand reaching out towards her. She snapped her head up to see who had the gall to do this to her and then even try—

She saw Pinkie Pie standing there, in a crowd of laughing students, but she wasn’t laughing at all. She actually looked sad.

Sunset ignored the offered hand. “There you go, everyone’s laughing,” she said.

“That’s not—“ started Pinkie but Sunset ran out of the horrible place before she could hear anymore.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Last period. Last. Sunset wasn’t sure she’d even come back tomorrow so maybe it would be last period ever. She just needed to bear through Shining Brow’s obnoxiously indulgent English class.

Adjusting her chair, she reached down and grabbed the eraser that had ended up under her desk.

It wasn’t really that she disliked the class, in fact, English and History were the two areas that were vastly different than Equestria, and sources of true learning for Sunset. She loved to learn new things, and the delicate interplay between the numerous factions and empires and political forces made the simple peaceful monarchy of Equestria seem quaint. Even the tyrants that Sunset liked to scare ponies with back home paled to the horrors that human dictators had visited on their own people.

Sunset reached down and picked up her notebook off the floor of the aisle.

On the opposing side, she learned rapidly that Equestrian understanding of math and science was far more universal than in this world. Names of terms changed occasionally but the basics had been taught to Sunset a long time ago and she still recalled them perfectly. Of course, magic was sort of an extension of math and science, so it was possible that her studies just exposed her to much more than a common public school education did in the human world. Still, it was boring. She knew the formulas, she knew the answers, she didn’t have to think.

Grabbing a napkin from her pocket, Sunset pulled the gum off her pencil.

Still, even in English, Shining Brow could bore her. The teacher seemed more likely to waste a period talking about how the recent teen romance movie was actually derived – four times removed – from an ancient classic from Grecian bardic history. It was fascinating the first few times – Sunset didn’t really go to any movies or watch TV, so it was intellectually fascinating rather than a new understanding of something she’d seen – but after doing this all through Junior year it was clear that everything was derived from four or five different stories and it was starting to get tiring. She yearned just to read a new book and talk about it.

Sunset was about to lean back in her chair before she remembered the goo on her seat. She folded her arms and sat straight.

Then the last bell rang and Sunset finally let out a breath. The other students shot up and grabbed their books and headed for the door. She held back a minute to make sure she wasn’t in front of anyone she didn’t trust, then began picking up her things scattered through the room and putting them into her bag.

“Sunset, can I talk to you?” Shining Brow was behind her desk with one of her hands at her hip. Shining Brow was an older teacher and quite proper. Always dressed formally in a skirt and blouse, always clean and methodical, but she rarely forced those things on her students. She encouraged everyone to find their own means of feeling comfortable and getting things done, even if that meant midnight reads of books and essays written in the AM hours before they’re due.

Sunset finished collecting her things and walked up to the desk after everyone was gone. She hoped this would be quick so she could escape.

“Your books seemed to have gotten up and moved about the room quite a bit today,” said Shining Brow.

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “Pretty clumsy today.”

“Pretty dramatic change from how in control you were these last few years,” said Shining Brow.

Sunset sighed. It was going to be another one of these conversations. She wished people would stop helping her. “Well, after last week I’m all about change.”

“Yes, I’m sorry I missed the Fall Formal last week,” said Shining Brow. “I understand it was exciting for many people.”

“You’re probably better off for not having been there,” said Sunset.

“Maybe it was safer,” said Shining Brow. “But such an important event would have been best to have seen firsthand.”

“If you say so,” said Sunset. “Is that all?”

Shining Brow smiled. “Sunset, are the other students giving you a hard time?”

Sunset was pretty tired of having this conversation. “Leave it be,” she said.

Shining Brow nodded, then she turned and picked up a book. “So many of these stories we’re asked to teach show the folly of stepping beyond your limits and pursuing happiness at the cost of stability. It’s a lesson that needs to be taught, I understand that. But I can’t help wonder at the motivation of it all.”

“Uh, okay,” said Sunset, suddenly confused about where this was going.

“We teach following the rules, we teach community, we teach bravery for standing up for what our community values, and we teach punishment for deviancy,” said Shining Brow, as she leafed through the book. “All great things to protect civilization save for the one thing that any true culture needs to thrive.”

“What’s that?” asked Sunset.

“Allowing for change,” said Shining Brow. She closed the book. “It is painful at times, the metamorphosis we must go through to alter ourselves, but eventually we emerge, ever more terrible and beautiful.”

“Terrible and beautiful?” asked Sunset.

“Well, not all change is good,” admitted Shining Brow. “Even the books advocating stability show how change can go awry, usually before its beaten back into conformity or disposed of entirely.”

“You seem to have a lot of love for the books you teach,” said Sunset skeptically. She realized that this might be a reason why she spends so much time on literary ancestry rather than the assigned reading.

“I do, actually,” said Shining Brow without sarcasm. “But I am aware of the holes in our teaching. Each of these things has their place in the world. The villains and heroes and the many more places in between. But I bring up change because it is discouraging to go through, but has the greatest benefits if done right.”

Sunset sighed. “So how do I do change ‘right’?”

Shining Brow smiled. “I couldn't say. It is different for every person, but I will advise you this: pay attention. Tricks and pranks will pass and focusing on them will only be a distraction. Who are you and who do you want to be are important. The rest will come naturally.”

Sunset shook her head. “And if these things go on for years?”

Shining Brow shrugged. “Eh, you’re graduating in June, can’t last that long.” She turned and began picking up papers off her desk.

“This isn’t helpful,” said Sunset.

“That’s okay,” said Shining Brow. “You might change your mind later.” She looked up. “See you tomorrow.”

“Right,” said Sunset. She grabbed the last of her things and headed for the door.

*** ( MLP ) ***

They were all waiting for her.

“This seems more like an attack than anything I’ve done to you before,” said Sunset as she looked at the lineup of Twilight’s friends. They had varying expressions on their faces, from the distracted look on Rainbow Dash’s face as she watched the younger soccer players kick a ball around, to the slightly unsettled but pleasant smiles on Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack’s faces, to the utter displeasure on Rarity.

At least the last of those was understandable.

“Are you sure about that?” said Rarity. Yup, that was the reaction she expected.

“We’re thought we’d walk home with you,” said Applejack. “Since you showed up with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity this morning, we figured you were somewhere in their direction.”

“And if I’m not?” asked Sunset. She wasn’t actually anywhere near any of their houses as far as she knew – she wasn’t quite sure where Pinkie or Rarity lived, but she’d found out about the rest earlier in her grand failure of a plan.

“Then we’ll walk with you as far as we can,” said Applejack.

“So there’s no way out of this,” said Sunset.

“You shouldn’t even be trying to get out of this,” said Rarity without looking in Sunset’s direction. “You should feel lucky we’re being this generous to you.”

“Lucky?” shouted Sunset, but before she could say anymore Pinkie Pie jumped between her and Rarity and held up her hands.

“Please,” said Pinkie, looking uncharacteristically serious. “Let someone help you.”

Sunset tried to stare down Pinkie but greater people had tried to no avail. Instead she flicked her eyes in Rarity’s direction to see her still facing away, and then crossed her arms. There was no battle that could be won there either.

Turning on her heel, Sunset looked away. “Fine.” She tightened the strap on her bag and held it tight against her back. “Let’s get just get this—“

“Look out!” shouted Rainbow Dash suddenly. She leapt forward like an arrow in flight and pushed Sunset to the ground. There was a loud cracking sound above her and then a faint growling.

Sunset flipped onto her back to see Rainbow Dash standing over her, one hand partially extended and holding a softball in a tight grip. Her eyes were narrow and watering, and her teeth were clenched together. The growling was coming from her.

“Hey! You cowards!” Rainbow shouted angrily. She pointed the softball in the direction of a pair of students who were quickly running away towards the treeline. “You could have killed her!”

The other students in the yard only watched as the two nameless students ran off. Once they were completely out of sight, Rainbow Dash dropped the ball and clutched the arm that was holding up the ball.

“Ack,” groaned Rainbow. Her palm was bright red and looked to be visibly throbbing. The rest of her friends quickly flocked around her.

“Oh my,” said Fluttershy as she produced a handkerchief and wiped Rainbow’s sweating brow. Pinkie Pie produced an ice cube from somewhere and dropped it into the handkerchief, which was then quickly tied around it.

“Here,” said Rarity, who had produced a bottle of aloe from her purse and began applying it to Rainbow’s palm.

Applejack had her arm around Rainbow’s shoulders. “Ya could’a just moved out of the way.”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow with a faint laugh. “But this was way cooler.”

“Yes, I’m sure the pain you’ll be in for the next couple days will be awesome,” said Applejack.

Fluttershy gently placed the wrapped ice cube into the open hand.

Rainbow nodded towards everyone. “Thank you.” Then she looked past Rarity at Sunset. “You okay?”

Sunset realized she was still lying on the ground and slowly picked herself up. She looked at Rainbow Dash’s shaking hand.

“Why did you do that?” asked Sunset softly.

“I’m not going to let you get hurt,” said Rainbow like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

Sunset wasn’t sure.

She had no idea who any of them were, really. She wasn’t even sure who she was.

She escaped that frightening thought into something much easier to comprehend. She looked towards the fields. “Whoever they are, they are out of control.”

“Hah,” laughed Rainbow. “You can say that again.”

Sunset shook her head. “How long is this going to go on?”

“It’s only been one day, cupcake,” said Applejack.

“You ruled the school for three years,” said Rarity. She raised an eyebrow at Sunset.

“Oh, come on,” said Sunset, more than a little outraged at the comparison. “They could have just murdered me, that hardly compares! All I did was push a few people’s buttons.”

The five girls stared at her, apparently incredulous.

“What?” said Sunset. “Okay, so I roughed up a few people, socially. And I manipulated a few bits of information to keep people out of my way. I never wanted people to get hurt!”

“And you don’t think that’s still a bad thing?” asked Applejack.

“Well, no, I suppose it was still bad,” conceded Sunset. “I wasn’t really paying attention to whatever repercussions there might have been, so maybe something happened there. I doubt it though. I never took things from people! Just kept them from getting what I wanted!” She shook her head at the increasingly frustrating stares. “Fine! Yes, that doesn’t excuse anything! It was bad, I admit it. I shouldn’t have done it!” She picked up the softball and waved it. “But it hardly compares to sending a weapon to my head!”

“Words can be a pretty dangerous weapon,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset spun and pointed her finger at Fluttershy. “Are you kiddingme?” she said loudly.

Fluttershy recoiled as if she were about to get hit and the rest of the girls moved together to get mostly between her and Sunset. It was so quick and natural it had to be reflexive. Sunset was a little baffled by it until she realized she was still holding the softball in the hand she was pointing with.

She tossed it quickly away.

“Don’t look at me like that, I would never have thrown it,” she said. The girls continued to protect Fluttershy. “I can’t believe you would think I’m capable of such—such,” she struggled for a word.

“Cruelty?” supplied Rarity.

“Yes!” shouted Sunset. But she saw she hadn’t won her argument, she hadn’t even made a point. The girls were very obviously on guard. They didn’t trust her. They probably did think she was cruel.

To be fair she had been somewhat, distantly, remotely cruel in the past. But that was before. She didn’t have any reason to be that way anymore! Couldn’t they see how hard she was trying not to be that way anymore?

No, of course not. Friendship has limits. She knew this, she had always exploited it in her dominance of the school, and she should have realized that even the great Elements of Harmony would have those limits too.

Sunset dropped her arms to the side. “You should have just let it hit me,” she said. Then turned and walked away.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Normally, walking across the bridge over Lake Aquinas at sundown was a source of great pleasure for Sunset Shimmer. The red sun over the reflecting lake was the perfect vista in her mind, the balance of the might of the sun with the inevitability of night, of power waning only to come back stronger the next day.

But today she kept her eyes on the road as she walked. Who knew at this point if there was a senior with a license out there waiting in the wings to run her over. She kept her mind focused on the task at hand.

Which left it idle enough to indulge in other annoyances.

“Things will never get better if you keep pushing everyone away,” said Star Swirl the Bearded as he walked up beside her.

“I really don’t need this now,” said Sunset Shimmer. “Go back to whatever corner of my brain you live in when I’m at school.”

“There are people going out of their way to reach out to you,” said Star Swirl.

“They could do with less reaching,” said Sunset. “It’s a little annoying.”

Star Swirl galloped ahead and faced her. “This isn’t a joke, they won’t keep trying forever.”

“Great!” said Sunset with a wave of her arms. “That’s the first good news I’ve heard all day.”

“Do you want to be alone?” asked Star Swirl.

“It sound preferable to that bunch,” said Sunset. “I’d rather be hated universally than, whatever they’re doing.”

“Dealing with you honestly?” said Star Swirl.

Sunset stopped and looked at the unicorn on the road in front of her. “That’s not what they’re doing.”

“Why?” asked Star Swirl. “When have they lied to you? What have they done to you other than be honest and forthright?”

“They believe the impossible,” said Sunset.

“That makes them visionaries, not liars,” said Star Swirl.

“Oh, that's a convenient manipulation,” said Sunset. “You were a real visionary, you should be appalled to see those girls called that.”

“Why would that be?” asked Star Swirl. “I’m not diminished by their greatness. All of civilization is raised up by those that find a way to make the impossible possible. And while, in this case, they’re just trying to help you, I think that’s still a lofty enough of a task.”

“Ha, ha,” said Sunset dryly.

“Be sure to let Pinkie know that’s how to make you laugh,” said Star Swirl.

Sunset continued walking and Star Swirl stepped out of the way when she reached him. “It hardly matters,” she said as she walked past. “They’ll be gone in a year and I’ll be alone no matter what happens.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” said Star Swirl. “Making friends is something you can do again if you learn how.”

“It’s not a skill,” said Sunset dismissively. “It’s a – a coincidence. My tastes matched with someone else tastes and we don’t want to kill each other.”

“You’re going to have to update that definition a little,” said Star Swirl. He walked back up beside her and trotted along at her pace. “You said you wanted friends before, why are you making this so hard?”

Sunset pointed at Star Swirl’s ridiculous hat. “Because I don’t want to lie anymore to make friends. And I never want to be in a place where I can’t say how stupid the bells are on your brim.”

“I’m not asking you to be my friend,” said Star Swirl.

“Good,” said Sunset.

“I do want you to get better, though,” said Star Swirl.

“You‘ve already missed your chance at that,” said Sunset.

“What do you mean?” asked Star Swirl.

Sunset looked at him. “I mean, if the Elements of Harmony really cared about my wellbeing you could have just given me what I wanted instead of turning me into a monster and siding with Twilight. Even if I somehow failed to defeat Celestia and Luna afterwards, I’d at least be back home in Equestria.”

“Or Tartarus,” said Star Swirl.

Sunset grimaced at the thought. “That would be bad, but at least I’d be myself – my pony self – and not stuck in this human body until the end of my days.” She stopped again and frowned. “Where’s the harmony in that, by the way? I’m not even from this world!”

“Who you are isn’t a matter of the shape of your body,” said Star Swirl.

“Whatever,” said Sunset. She continued walking.

“And it wouldn’t have made a difference,” said Star Swirl. “No matter what you wouldn’t have been able to go back to how you were.”

“What does that mean?” asked Sunset.

“You might have gone back to Equestria if you won here, but no matter what you were going to change,” said Star Swirl. “Power causes change. Without Twilight commanding the Elements to restore your form, you would have stayed a demon, even in defeat. Everyone who touches this much power is altered in some way. Even Celestia and Luna were.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Sunset. “Twilight didn’t.”

“She did,” said Star Swirl. “Or did you think becoming an alicorn was a coincidence? Celestia expended a great deal of time and effort to make sure Twilight remained in control of her change.” He shook his head. “All the figures of legend were not originally what they became. You know Nightmare Moon was just young Luna, but Tirek was a small monkey before learning the magic that stole power. Even Discord was once quite different.”

“The demon was my change?” asked Sunset. “You’re lying, I came back!”

“Twilight used the power of the Elements to give you another chance,” said Star Swirl. “I’m not sure there are many in all of pony history who have seen the abyss of their power and had the opportunity to turn back. In fact, it’s possible only the incomplete magic I left behind that she finished made that reversal possible.” He raised his eyebrows. “If I were you, I wouldn’t expect to get a third chance.”

Sunset slowed to a stop. She turned and looked out over the lake. She had left the bridge but there was still a small picket fence at the side of the road. She leaned her arms on it saw the setting sun.

“I was screwed either way,” she said.

“No,” said Star Swirl. He leapt over the railing and cantered before the lake. “This way, the way it happened, you have the ability to do it again, the right way.”

Sunset looked down. “I’ll never have that much power again.”

“Maybe not,” said Star Swirl. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t have more power than you do now.”

Sunset bit her lip. “How do I keep it from turning me into a monster next time?”

Star Swirl stepped closer. “Find out what you really want, deep in your soul, and embrace it. Until then, be open to anything. Experience will teach you what sitting alone and thinking could not.”

Sunset turned her back on the lake and she leaned against the fence. “That’s easier said than done. I just—I just don’t even like most people.” She tapped her fingers against her arm. “How do I stop hating people?”

“Think about why you really dislike those who you’ve spurned, and decide if it’s really their fault you feel that way,” said Star Swirl. “Maybe what you see in the people you dislike is yourself.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

On Tuesday, Sunset got up at the crack of dawn and headed out. She had to get to certain people early if she was going to get to them at all. She had a plan today, and while she wasn’t absolutely crazy about it, it was at least something that made sense for once.

She arrived at Fluttershy’s house well before she normally left for school. For the second time in a row she surprised her, but this time she didn’t stay. She repeated to herself everything she intended to say once in her mind before she said it just to be sure she wasn’t about to say something accidentally mean to the enormously thin-skinned girl. She was slow to respond, but got through the conversation quickly enough to get the information she needed. Then she was off again.

It was another ten minutes before she reached her destination, almost at the time she expected the girl to be leaving, so she quickly rang the doorbell and introduced herself to the woman who answered. She didn’t look angry or shocked at her introduction, so Sunset imagined that Rarity hadn’t mentioned her much, which was a blessing.

She asked Sunset if she wanted to come in, but was declined. Sunset didn’t want to do anything to screw this up and the greater distance between them the better. She waited patiently on the porch before the door opened a second time.

“You,” was the response. Again, curt, and annoyed, but exactly what Sunset expected Rarity to say. She understood her, at least, and felt this was the easiest place to start.

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “Me.”

“So what sort of tragedy are we shooting for today?” asked Rarity with a bored expression.

“I wanted to talk to you,” said Sunset. “I know that I wasn’t behaving well yesterday, and I really just got crushed under all the things happened to me. It wasn’t you all, it was me. I took out my frustration on the only ones who were being forthright with me.” She took a breath. “And I’m sorry, it was wrong.”

Rarity’s expression changed to one of puzzlement but she didn’t look as bored or angry anymore.

“And, I think I understand why you were meaner to me than the others,” said Sunset.

The puzzlement was swiftly replaced with anger. “Meaner?”

“No, no!” said Sunset. She put her hands up defensively. “I understand it, it’s okay. I get it.”

Rarity crossed her arms. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

“You’re Generosity,” said Sunset. Rarity blinked. “Well, your counterpart in my world is the Element of Generosity, it’s her – and your – power, or rather your personality. It’s what makes you worthy of that power you used on me at the Fall Formal.”

Rarity stared, looking no less frustrated.

“I’ve been quite a selfish person,” said Sunset slowly. “I didn’t like seeing others had more power or people listening to them or even greater destinies. I took what I felt I deserved and pushed aside those in my way. I was incredibly selfish in that regard and that must have been incredibly galling to you, the Element of Generosity.

“But I want to get better,” Sunset continued. “I don’t want to be that way anymore, I don’t think it helped me in the end. So, I’d like to say I’m sorry, and I hope that you’ll help me be less… self-centered in the future.”

Rarity stared.

Then she smiled.

Then she laughed out loud.

It didn’t sound like a friendly laugh to Sunset’s ears.

“That’s your apology?” said Rarity as she started to calm down. Her furrowed brow returned though. “You still don’t understand, do you?”

Sunset looked awkwardly around. “No?”

“Dear, I see selfishness all the time, every day,” said Rarity. “I can’t change that, I don’t even try to. I’m not some sort of primal force. If I’m being generous – and it’s not because I’m the bearer of some super power – it’s for the sake of being generous. Because I like to share the things that make me happy.”

Rarity pointed her finger between Sunset’s eyes. “What I am angry about – and what you have still shown no remorse for – is what you did to my friends. The way you drove us apart for little more than your ambition.” She put her hands on her hips. “When they needed each other - when they needed me - I couldn’t be there. I thought they didn’t want my generosity.”

“What you can’t give back are the years they spent lonely and vulnerable when they didn’t have to be,” continued Rarity. “That’s what friendship is, Sunset. The ache you feel to help those you love even when they don’t want or need it. And you came here, asking for a chance for us to help you feel better about yourself? You’re still being selfish! And I don’t feel I need to hear your apologies until you figure that out.”

Rarity stepped back into her house and grabbed the doorknob. She looked back over her shoulder. “When you figure out how to help someone other than yourself, that’s when I’ll be ready to listen.”

Then she shut the door, leaving Sunset on the porch.

She stood there for another minute before she turned and walked silently away.

Not even Star Swirl said anything.

Chapter 3: The Friendship Brigade

Years Earlier…

Flash Sentry stepped carefully as he followed Sunset Shimmer through the doorway. It looked like he was entering an abandoned office building, but somehow Sunset had a key and she claimed she lived there. It was more than a little unsettling.

It was clean inside, much to Flash’s surprise, who was expecting more a dusty old warehouse. And as they ascended the stairs to the second floor, he noticed it was decorated. Nothing personal or fancy, but curtains had been hung over doorways that were not being used, windows had been colored on. Some rugs had been laid out between a large office, the kitchen and the bathroom.

It was almost homey.

“Wow, Princess, you really do live here,” said Flash as they entered the ‘office’ to discover a bed, several desks, and some cushioned chairs. Books lined the walls neatly in bookshelves making it almost look like a library.

“I told you that,” said Sunset, in that irritated tone she used with everyone who wasn’t a teacher. “You didn’t believe me.”

“I was,” Flash struggled with diplomacy. “Skeptical.” He unslung his guitar case and leaned it against the wall, then put his backpack next to it. “It really is nice, though. I wouldn’t have thought so from the outside.”

“Thanks, I guess,” said Sunset.

Disappointment now. That was how she reacted to anyone being nice to her. It was like she had decided the whole world was only enemies and anything that threatened that vision was treated with contempt.

“What did they make here?” asked Flash.

“Perfume,” said Sunset. “Some of it is left, actually, but it’s starting to become water more than anything else. It helps with some of the stale air sometimes.”

“Does it get hot without the air conditioning working?” asked Flash.

“Dunno,” said Sunset. She sat down on a chair and looked around. “This is my first summer.”

Flash sat down next to her. “Where were you before that?”

Sunset shrugged and looked away. She bit her lip as her foot bobbed in the air for a minute. She was clearly trying to figure out if she was going to actually answer Flash or just give him her standard curt response.

“I moved around a lot,” she said without looking at Flash. “Lots of foster parents, lots of homes. Lots of places like this when I ran away from them.”

“You didn’t find anyone you liked?” asked Flash.

Now Sunset looked at him. “I’m not interested in a family,” she said. “I just wanted people to stay out of my way. It took me a long time to find a pair in the foster system that was willing to keep their distance.” She sighed and looked away.

“When did you see them last?” asked Flash.

“Couple days ago,” she said, resting her chin on her palm and looking out the windows. “I still spend a couple nights a week with them, and any time there is a chance an inspection will occur. We don’t talk though. They lie to the state and say I live there; I lie to the state and say they’re great parents. They leave me alone to do my thing and collect the money for caring for me. It’s mutually beneficial.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it that,” said Flash. “Maybe mutually exclusive.”

“That’s not what that term means,” said Sunset with a sigh.

“I just mean I don’t think you’re benefitting from being by yourself,” said Flash. “Do any of your friends visit you here?”

Sunset glared at Flash. “You’re here.”

“Yeah, but I had to ask like a hundred times and it took you four months to say yes,” said Flash. “Did anyone else get through that gauntlet?”

Again she looked away. “I like my peace and quiet.”

Flash looked around the room. “What do you do with your peace and quiet?”

Sunset waved her arm languidly towards the shelves. “I read.”

“All of this?” asked Flash.

Sunset nodded.

“You’ve read all these books?” asked Flash.

Sunset turned her head towards him and then deliberately nodded.

“Wow,” said Flash. His mouth hung slightly open. There had to be at least a couple hundred books in this room. “I never thought of you as such a nerd.”

Sunset punched his arm and then stood up. “Don’t call me that,” she said. With a flick of her hair she walked over to one of the bookshelves. It was one of the few that weren’t completely full. She picked up a book and opened it to where a paper bookmark shaped like a sun fell out. She glanced at it but then looked back at the page.

Flash got up and walked over to pick up the bookmark. He turned it over in his hand. It was colored like the symbol on Sunset’s shirt, a red and gold sun with the center colored half of one color and half the other. It was pretty cool and he had noticed it on much of her things.

“You dropped this,” he said as he held the bookmark out.

“I know,” said Sunset without looking up.

Flash raised his eyebrows, then he bent his head to see the cover of the book. It was beaten up and discolored, as if it had been salvaged from a dumpster, but it looked like a textbook.

“What are you reading?” he asked. “Is that a school book?”

“It’s a graduate text on astrophysics,” said Sunset. “I’ve been researching the moon’s effect on the Earth and other planets.”

Flash blinked. “Why?”

Sunset looked up. “Why not?” she asked.

Flash started to smile. “Nerd.”

Sunset quickly closed the book and then smacked him in the shoulder with it. He toppled to the ground and laughed.

“Don’t mock me,” Sunset said with a wave of her finger. She put the book on the shelf then looked down to see Flash quietly giggling. “Stop that!”

Flash put a hand over his mouth as he got to his feet. He occasional shakes betrayed his efforts to hide the laughter. He took a deep breath and put has hands on his hips. He was still grinning.

“Or what?” asked Flash.

“Or I’ll,” Sunset started, then paused as her eyes drifted up briefly. “You like that band of yours so much, I’ll make sure they—“

“Stop.”

Sunset hesitated and looked to see Flash’s neutral expression. Her mouth was slightly open, ready to say whatever word she had planned on next, but unsure of when.

“You don’t have to hate everyone, Princess,” said Flash.

“I hate you,” Sunset said quickly.

“No you don’t,” said Flash. He shook his head.

“Oh, who are you to tell me—“ started Sunset, but Flash interrupted her again.

“You hate that you don’t hate me,” said Flash. “And that’s okay, it’s a start.”

“You’re certainly annoying,” grumbled Sunset.

“I’ll not deny that.” Flash’s grin returned.

Sunset looked angry but seemed unable to speak while staring at Flash. She turned away and crossed her arms. “Why don’t you hate me?”

“Do I have to?” asked Flash. He shrugged. “You seem to be trying to get everyone to hate you, and I don’t know why. But I don’t hate you. I think we made a good team on the yearbook committee, and you’re certainly one of the most interesting people I’ve met here.”

“You chase interesting people around all the time?” asked Sunset.

“I’ve never had to do quite so much chasing before, honestly,” said Flash.

“Well, give it up, I don’t want to be chased,” said Sunset. “I’m not interested in being your girlfriend.”

“Okay,” said Flash, raising his palms. “But how about just a friend?”

“I definitely don’t want that,” said Sunset. She turned around and glared back at Flash.

“Are you sure?” asked Flash. “Why did you let me come here?”

“Because you wouldn’t stop asking,” said Sunset.

“Why do you sit next to me at lunch?” asked Flash.

“You sit next to me, I just don’t move away.”

“What’s so bad about having me as a friend?” asked Flash.

“Because you didn’t—“ started Sunset but she stopped as if she’d tripped on her tongue. She shook slightly. “And you never stopped—I can’t just – I don’t want friends!”

“Why not?” Flash waved his hand at the shelves. “What are you afraid of? That someone will run away screaming because of where you live or what you like to do or who your parents are or aren’t? I’m still here. I’m not scared.”

“Why not?” Sunset burst out. “You should be!”

“Because I don’t think these things are you,” said Flash. “I think you don’t like the things you do, but for some reason believe there’s no other way.” He gently dropped his hands to his sides. “There’s another way.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sunset said.

“Only because you haven’t even tried to explain it,” said Flash. “Let me help you. Or at least, let me be someone you can relax around. You don’t have to hide any of this from me anymore, so at least take a break with someone.”

Sunset looked away. “I don’t need help.”

“Then at least relax,” said Flash. He looked over at the corner. “Here.” He walked over to pick up his guitar case and laid it out on the floor. He undid the latches and pulled out his guitar. “This always helps me feel better.”

Sunset shook her head. “I can’t play that.”

“I’ll teach you,” said Flash. He gently played a few chords.

Sunset held up her hands. “There’s no way I can make these hands do that.”

Flash stopped playing and beckoned her closer. “Everyone says that. You just need to learn.” He looked at the shelves again. “You don’t seem to have a problem with learning new things.”

Sunset looked away again.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Flash. “I’ll stop asking you why you want everyone to hate you, if you let me teach you how to play the guitar.”

Sunset looked over her shoulder at Flash skeptically.

“Promise,” said Flash. He held his hand up and crossed his chest with his finger.

With a groan, Sunset turned fully back and walked over to him. “Fine. But I’m not going to be any good at it.”

“That’s alright,” said Flash with a smile. He pointed at the floor in front of him. “Here, sit down.” He held the guitar to one side.

Sunset kneeled down and then sat in front of him. She paused as she was turning. “You just want me to sit back against you.”

“It certainly is a benefit, but this is how you learn,” said Flash.

Sunset rolled her eyes but then continued to sit down. Flash moved the guitar in front of her. “You hold it up at the neck and press the body against you with your arm.” He gently took her hands and moved them into position.

“Uh-huh,” said Sunset, skeptically.

“Pay attention,” said Flash softly, but while smiling. “I don’t have any music with me so just follow along.” He paused. “Can you sing at all?”

“Little bit,” said Sunset.

“Great, you’re not starting from scratch,” said Flash.

Sunset groaned noticeably but still let Flash move her hands around the guitar.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The Present...

Sunset Shimmer desperately wanted to just go back to her place and skip the day. She absolutely had to avoid Rarity – had to! – and she couldn’t do that while the rest of her friends were essentially forcing themselves into Sunset’s life. She could run the other direction when she saw them at school, but Pinkie’s ability to appear in front of just about anyone meant it wasn’t likely she’d escape the obsessive pony.

She couldn’t skip any classes though, thanks to the stupid rules Luna gave her. She had to go to each class and she had to go to detention this afternoon. At least at detention, Pinkie – or any of the girls – wouldn’t be able to follow her.

Unless they intentionally did something to get detention too, which was a crazy enough idea that she wouldn’t put it past Pinkie.

She took her time walking back towards the school, choosing side streets and going out of her way to stay clear of Fluttershy’s house in case Pinkie was waiting there already. With careful pacing, she arrived just in time for the first bell and headed right to her class. No time to chat or be dragged into activities by the Friendship Brigade.

There was another factor she hadn’t considered in her avoidance plan, however: Flash Sentry was in her first period calculus class. She’d been too involved in her misery yesterday to remember it, but there he was, and worst of all he came right up to her as soon as she sat down.

She hadn’t prepared for how to deal with Flash. She didn’t actually dislike him the way she disliked most people. He had been a good guy, an excellent partner for the year or so they were together, and she had – she now realized recklessly – tossed away his presence because she thought she’d would be getting back to Equestria last week.

She reluctantly looked up at Flash as he came over. The teacher was still getting her things together even though the bell had rung so the students were all still talking. At least the ones who weren’t staring at her with daggers in their eyes. She was bound to have an even more exciting day today.

“Hey Princess,” said Flash, then he looked a little surprised at his own words and muttered quiet. “Sorry.”

Sunset felt a strange tightness in her heart at the nickname that’s time had passed. It was a combination of simultaneous comfort and loss for things she had but decided to destroy. She breathed a calming breath in response and pushed all the feelings aside. They weren’t useful anymore.

“Hi Flash,” said Sunset. She wasn’t sure what she should say to him. She felt like she was confronted with an alien for as much as she knew how to interact with her ex-boyfriend. “Sorry about the mind control thing.” She mentally stalled and slapped herself. Why in Equestria would she bring that up?

“Huh?” Flash said, distractedly. “Oh, uh, yeah, it's okay, I guess.” He looked to the side and made an uneasy face. “So, do you have some time to talk later? Like lunch time?”

“Yeah, I’ve got time,” said Sunset. “Probably not going to eat much.” She shrugged. At least if yesterday was any indicator, she was going to have to find a way to bring her food in. And put it in a locked chest.

“Can you meet me by the fields? We’ll walk around the tennis courts like we used to.” Flash looked back at her. Just by the words, Sunset could have imagined he was trying to ask her back out on a date. But his body language told a different story. He was uneasy and hurried, like he was embarrassed by something. Whatever was going on, he wanted something from her and it wasn’t romantic. She started to think many horrible thoughts.

“Flash,” started Sunset. “You were always a much nicer person than me. I could count on that when I was--uh, I would hate to think that you’re going to ruin all that by luring me somewhere… unsafe.”

Flash stared at her, looking suddenly panicked. “What?” he said.

“I had a rough Monday,” Sunset admitted.

“Y-you think I would—“ Flash started. He shook his head. “No! Uh, no, I just wanted to ask you a question. Honest. I would never do something mean to you.”

Sunset nodded mutely.

“Look, Sunset,” said Flash. “I’m not happy about the Fall Formal, but I have always believed you’re better than that. Deep down, you are a much nicer person than you show. You should stop trying so hard to kill that part of you.”

“It’s not that—“ started Sunset but she couldn’t finish.

“Alright class, let’s get back to our seats,” said the teacher at the front of the room.

“At lunch, please, Sunset?” said Flash as he walked away.

“Yeah,” said Sunset too softly for him to hear. “Okay.”

*** (MLP) ***

After second period, Sunset came back to her locker to find honey inside. It had apparently been poured in through the top vents and had covered the inside of the door and much of the first third of the bottom of her locker. Books were stuck along their base to the shelf and her backup makeup was now sealed and impossible to open, but at least nothing important had been damaged. It was just a gross mess and she had to notify a janitor to help. In the interim she was forced to carry her stuff with her, which was unwieldy but not impossible.

During this escapade, she was unable to avoid Fluttershy, who appeared minutes after the sticky discovery.

“Do you need help carrying those?” asked Fluttershy after a minute of quiet watching Sunset shove things into her backpack.

“No,” said Sunset. “I’d rather keep all my stuff within reach for the time being. Safer.” She paused when she pulled out a dusty leather book with her cutie mark on the cover. She had forgotten she still had this book. It was one of the few she hadn’t sold when she arrived. Why had she kept it? Was there any value in still keeping it?

She was never going to get back home at this rate, and even if she did, she wasn’t Celestia’s student anymore. She considered just leaving it in her locker and letting the janitor dispose of it but immediately felt that tightness again in her chest as she did.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset quickly shoved the book into her bag and looked at Fluttershy. “This really isn’t the best time to ask me that. My locker was turned into a beehive.”

Fluttershy looked around. “The janitor will fix it.”

“Until whatever happens next,” said Sunset as she tried to zip close her bag to no avail. It was simply too packed to get closed. She hefted it onto her back and staggered slightly under the weight. “Ugh, I wish we had smaller textbooks.”

“You can probably leave most at home,” said Fluttershy. “We rarely need our math books except for homework.”

“You’re probably right,” said Sunset. She started walking towards her next class. Fluttershy took up step beside her. “Still following me, huh?”

“Keeping you company,” corrected Fluttershy. She reached into her pocket and pulled out baggie with some vegetables inside. She pulled out a leaf of lettuce and fed it into the slightly open zipper on her bag. Something inside took it and began munching.

Sunset looked at that slightly moving bag. “You probably shouldn’t, you might get caught in the crossfire.” She looked ahead. “You don’t need to get hurt because of attacks on me, and you have more to lose.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “You don’t think people being bullied should have friends?”

“Not if they don’t want them to get hurt,” said Sunset. “You’re better off staying clear. This is the natural order of things. You act out and you get punished. I did something stupid and these are the repercussions.”

“That’s not fair,” said Fluttershy.

“Do you think people are fair to you?” asked Sunset. “Life isn’t fair.”

“How is this supposed to make you better?” asked Fluttershy. “It’s just mean.”

Sunset stopped and turned toward Fluttershy. “Nobody wants me better. They want me hurt because I hurt them. That’s your balance. The attack and counter-attack. Eye for an eye.”

“Doesn’t that leave everyone blind?” asked Fluttershy.

“There you go,” said Sunset. She started walking again. “Balance.”

Fluttershy was silent for a dozen steps. “Iwant you better,” she then said.

“You’re – well, you and your friends are strange,” said Sunset. “Everyone else just wants me gone.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” said Fluttershy with a firm shake of her head. “What people do and what they want aren’t the same thing. You’re right, when someone gets hurt they can do mean things in response, but that’s just lashing out. The animals I take care of sometimes do that. But what they want, what they really want, is to get along. To be pet or fed or played with.”

“People aren’t like pets,” said Sunset. “And once you attack nobody cares that you weren’t thinking when you did it. You can’t take the attack back and that’s all that matters.” She sighed. “And after that it never ends unless you’re strong enough to make every possible attacker think twice.”

Fluttershy looked at Sunset. “You can care. You can choose to not to attack back.”

“I have been, in case you hadn’t noticed,” said Sunset. “But it won’t make it stop.”

“You can find out why they’re upset and help them,” said Fluttershy.

“I know why they’re upset,” said Sunset. “I destroyed their friendships and then blew up the Fall Formal and turned them into my zombie army.” She shook her head. “Ugh, even I hate me when I say it like that.”

“Then try and fix it,” said Fluttershy.

“It’s not that easy!” Sunset shouted and then put her hand over her mouth. She lowered her voice. “Don’t you think I’d fix it if I could? I can’t undo several years overnight.”

“You can try and undo one night,” said Fluttershy. “And that would be a good start.”

Sunset frowned. “It would take forever to fix what I did.”

“That’s not really a reason not to do it,” said Fluttershy. “The whole school isn’t one person, but helping just one person could make the whole world of difference for them.” She smiled at Sunset. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”

Sunset looked up to see the door to her physics class. “I’m not sure I know how to be kind.”

Fluttershy touched Sunset’s arm before the latter could step into the classroom. Sunset looked at her.

“Why didn’t you want me to walk with you?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset stumbled on her thoughts for a moment. “So you wouldn’t get caught in the attacks aimed at me.”

“Why would that matter?” asked Fluttershy, sounding sincere.

“Why would what matter?” asked Sunset, flabbergasted. “You’d get hurt, that’s why.”

“So you want to keep me from getting hurt,” said Fluttershy. Sunset opened her mouth to reply but Fluttershy cut her off. “I think you know how be kind, you just don’t want to believe it.”

Before Sunset could say anymore, Fluttershy smiled and walked off into the crowd of students.

*** (MLP) ***

At lunch Sunset simply skipped the cafeteria – she still didn’t want to face Rarity – and headed straight for the fields. With the front of the school off-limits while construction personnel rebuilt what she had destroyed last week, more of the students were sitting around the rear of the school in the cool fall weather. Games of catch or Frisbee or tetherball were being played on the courts while more organized games of soccer or football were being played out on the larger fields.

Sunset found herself on a worn dirt path that wound its way around the football fields, between the tennis courts, and around to the track and field stadium. It was a path she took often during lunch when hanging out with Flash, and felt nostalgic for such comparatively calmer days.

She found Flash by the tennis courts, idly watching some students play during lunch. He looked towards Sunset as she approached.

“You got out here quick,” said Sunset. “I thought I was the one avoiding the cafeteria.”

Flash frowned. “Why are you avoiding the cafeteria?”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Sunset. “So what’s got you so serious?”

Flash looked at her for a moment. “What did you mean you had a rough Monday?”

Sunset blinked. “That’s what you wanted to ask me? Really? Have you joined forces with the Friendship Brigade too?”

“What?” asked Flash, looking genuinely confused. “Who are the Friendship Brigade?” He shook his head. “No, I have something else ask you, but it bothered me that you said that this morning. Did someone try to attack you?”

“It’s none of your business,” said Sunset. “I have more than enough people trying to help me and I honestly want no one to help, so I’m full up on heroes right now. Check elsewhere.”

Flash stared, looking upset but saying nothing.

“What did you want to ask me?” asked Sunset.

“Are you from that other world?” asked Flash. “The one Twilight was from?”

“Oh,” said Sunset. She looked around and found a bench to sit on. She sat silently while Flash watched. “Yeah. I am.”

“But you came a long time ago,” said Flash. “Can anyone cross over?”

Sunset shook her head. “It’s a limited portal, only open for brief periods of time.” She looked at his face. “It closed right after Twilight went through again, it... won’t be opening for a long time.”

“How long?” asked Flash.

Sunset hesitated. “I’m not sure I want to say, it really shouldn’t be used.”

“But—“ started Flash.

“Hang on,” interrupted Sunset. “I’m sure it looks like I’m the last person to be talking about this, but magic is not as great as it seems. There is formula behind it. It is dangerous to cross worlds without knowing what’s on the other side because you don’t know where the balance point lies. I didn’t come here intentionally, and I lost a lot in the process as a result.”

Flash seemed taken aback. “What did you lose?”

“Most of my magic,” said Sunset. “But I had a lot to lose. I don’t know what would happen if someone like you crossed or any of the people who would follow you as soon as they knew it was possible. It could hurt my world or this world, and if something bad happened the best case would be that it would only hurt you.” She shook her head. “I’m not comfortable telling anyone about that portal.”

Flash nodded. “But it’s in the statue in the courtyard.”

Sunset glared at him.

Flash smiled. “Just kidding.” He sighed loudly then came and sat down on the bench. “Can you tell me about it?”

“Flash—“

“Not the portal,” said Flash. “The other world. The one Twilight and you came from.”

Sunset creased her brow. “You really liked her, didn’t you?” she said softly.

Flash looked away.

“It’s called Equestria,” said Sunset. “And we – Twilight and I – were unicorns there.”

“U-unicorns?” said Flash, looking back. “Like, horses with horns?”

Sunset nodded. “There are no humans on the other side, I’d never seen one until I came here and suddenly became one.”

Flash had a look of inspiration on his face then laughed. “Oh, man, that makes a lot more sense now.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“That bizarre dancing that Twilight was doing,” said Flash. “She was trying to dance like a horse!”

“Pony,” said Sunset. “We were ponies.”

Flash chuckled. “Ponies.” Then his eyes went wide. “And you! You were always complaining about your hands like they were alien objects. You threw my guitar across the room because of it. I thought you were insane.”

“I hadn’t had my fingers much more than a year when I met you,” said Sunset with a frown. “You should see how well you do when your limbs are replaced after most of your life.”

Flash had a grin as he looked at Sunset.

“I’m not going to tell you how to use the portal,” Sunset said.

“Okay,” said Flash. “So, ponies then. So what is it like? I guess you can talk, you didn’t have any issue with that. Did you even have homes or just stables?”

“Whatever you think about your ‘domesticated’ animals, forget it,” said Sunset. “Your ponies and horses and everything are an order of magnitude less advanced that we are. In fact, in most ways we’re more advanced than humans.”

“Even without opposable thumbs?” teased Flash.

“Oh, how smug you are,” said Sunset. “Like you need these stubby things to have culture.” She waved her thumbs around.

“Helps picking things up,” pointed out Flash.

“Not when you have magic,” said Sunset. “Which doesn’t even exist here. If I had to choose between thumbs and magic, I think magic wins.”

“I don’t know, seems like it has its own share of problems,” said Flash.

Sunset grunted. “It does, but I’d give anything to have it back.” She stared at her hands. “It was sometimes a burden but I was so good at it. It made me special.” She squeezed one hand with the other. “I could have been the best in all of Equestria if I hadn’t…” she went quiet.

Flash watched her. “You didn’t mean to come here,” he said.

“Yeah, I that’s what I said,” Sunset said.

“What were you trying to do?” asked Flash.

Sunset frowned deeply. “Escape my teacher. She was holding me--“ She stopped and then said nothing for a nearly a minute. “I don’t even know anymore.”

She leaned back against the bench, put her palms to her forehead, and stared into the sky. “I swear I had a good reason. I wasn’t trying to conquer or control anyone! It... just all got tangled up in the excuses to get revenge.”

“If you know they’re excuses, why not stop using them?” asked Flash.

“Because I forgot what they were hiding!” said Sunset. She closed her eyes. “I was just a child but I had ideals, I’m sure of it. I just don’t remember what they were.”

Flash shrugged. “You’ll find them again. It’s not too late.”

Sunset laced her fingers behind her neck and then shook her head. “That’s so easy to say.”

“I can help,” said Flash. “I’ve been trying to figure you out for a long time, I’m somewhat of an expert at this point.”

Sunset laughed. She looked at Flash. “I was such a jerk to you, why help me at all?”

Flash blushed slightly. “We can call it a trade, in exchange for telling me about Equestria.”

“You mean tell you about Twilight Sparkle,” said Sunset. She raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t object to that,” said Flash. He made a small smile.

Sunset laughed again. “I’ll tell you about Equestria regardless,” she said.

“Thanks,” said Flash.

Sunset nodded. Then she put her hand on her chest for a second and appeared concerned. She looked at Flash. “Will you be my friend again? After all I put you through?”

Flash smiled and opened his mouth but then froze before a sound came out. He looked at her a little skeptically, and finally spoke. “First you have to tell me the truth.”

Sunset blinked. “Okay.”

“Did you really hate my music?” asked Flash.

Sunset looked at him warmly. “Flash, you’re a great musician, and I loved listening to you play. I only said what I did because I was angry and I was trying to be hurtful towards you.” She nodded and wore a frown. “It was mean and petty but not a word of it was true. I’m very, very sorry for everything.”

Flash smiled and his eyes sparkled slightly. “Thank you,” he said. “And I forgive you, Princess.” He reached out and took Sunset into a hug.

Sunset stiffly leaned into the hug but eventually rested her head on his shoulder and slowly breathed in. After a moment the hug was over and she sat back. Her eyes glistened as she checked her phone.

“Time to go?” asked Flash.

Sunset made a wide smile. “Not yet,” she said. She folded her hands on her lap. She cleared her throat. “Twilight Sparkle – back in Equestria – is the personal student of Princess Celestia, who is an alicorn.”

“Celestia?” asked Flash. “Like the principal?”

“Well, yes, but things are a little different there than here,” she said. “Princess Celestia presides over all of Equestria and each morning her first duty is to raise the sun.”

“T-the sun?” asked Flash. “It doesn’t rise on its own?”

“Not in a thousand years,” said Sunset. She hesitated. “Well, there have been a couple hiccups in that time…”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset returned from lunch in a better mood than she’d felt in awhile, even before the Fall Formal. She was trying to figure out why that might be through most of her post-lunch periods. In fact she didn’t stop thinking about it until she was on her way to her last period and tripped walking down the hall. Her bag hit the floor and her books went flying.

Sunset admonished herself mentally for obsessing again and not paying attention to where she was going. She got back onto her feet and began looking around for whoever or whatever it was she’d run into.

Instead she found herself looking at Trixie Lulamoon who had one of her books under her foot and was looking angrily at her.

“Were you smiling?” asked Trixie. She looked to a couple other students on either side of her, all staring towards Sunset. “I don’t think that’s allowed.”

Sunset quickly glanced around her and found several of her books being held by students in the hall, all of which had their attention on her. She grabbed her bag quickly and was dismayed to find only a third of her books remained inside.

“What do you think, girls?” asked Trixie to two similarly dressed girls behind her. “She must be planning something truly awful to be that happy after her impressive rage-fest last week.” She shook her head.

“I’m not planning anything,” said Sunset. Her gaze leveled on Trixie. “Give me my things back.”

“Oh, like we can trust you,” spat Trixie. “Nothing but lies ever came from your lips.”

“I’m not lying now,” said Sunset. “I just want to get to class. There doesn’t need to be a war between us.”

“There was always a war here,” said Trixie. “It was between you and everyone else. But somehow you lost and avoided getting expelled.” She smiled. “That just won’t do.”

“Celestia and Luna know what I’ve done,” said Sunset. “You can’t get me expelled if I don’t do anything to warrant it.”

“Perhaps,” said Trixie. “But do they really know? They can’t be watching everything.” She stepped forward and began slowly walking around Sunset. “They must be wondering, thinking, about what is going on in these halls, in their classrooms, just as soon as they Turn. Their. Heads.”

With the last word, Trixie reached out toward the crowd of students and gently pushed on the shoulder of a girl with olive hair, pinkish skin, and a fraction symbol with five lines behind it on her blouse which was probably her cutie mark. Over-dramatically, the girl fell backwards and dropped her purse, spilling some makeup on the floor.

Trixie put her hand to her mouth. “Did you see that? That girl just got pushed over!” She stepped closer to the fallen girl and knelt down on one knee. “Who just pushed you, Quarter Time?”

Quarter Time looked at Trixie and then at Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer did!” she said.

Trixie looked shocked. She stood up. “Did you hear that? Sunset Shimmer! Up to her old tricks again.” She folded her arms and looked at Sunset. “Better leave school now, it’ll save everybody time.” She put her foot on a red and black cylinder that had rolled out of the purse.

“I’m not afraid of you,” said Sunset. “I won’t be pushed out of the way.”

“You should be,” said Trixie. “Your screw-up left a power vacuum behind, one just waiting for the great and powerful Trixie to take on.” She stomped down and crushed the cylinder under her heel, sending mascara spitting across the floor.

Trixie laughed and then walked off into the crowd of students. They took that cue to begin to disperse and soon the only sign of the fight was black makeup streaking down the hall.

Sunset picked up her books where the students dropped them and hurried to her last class.

*** ( MLP ) ***

After English class, Sunset had only a few minutes before she had to get to Luna’s office for detention, which only gave her a few minutes to figure out how she was going to handle the declaration of war from Trixie Lulamoon. As such, she had little patience for the Friendship Brigade’s instant intervention.

“What in tarnation did ya do?” said Applejack as she very quickly walked up to Sunset in the halls. She was flanked – a few steps behind – by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

“Nothing,” said Sunset curtly to the girl. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Nothing? I heard that you—“ started Applejack.

“It’s not true,” interrupted Sunset. “Just more bullying. I’ll deal with it.”

“How, exactly, are ya gonna deal with it?” asked Applejack.

“I don’t know,” said Sunset. “I was trying to think about it before this inquisition showed up!”

“Half the school’s talking about it,” announced Pinkie Pie.

“Great,” said Sunset.

“Are you sure you didn’t do anything?” asked Applejack.

“Yes, I’m sure,” said Sunset. “What a preposterous question, why would I lie then recant in nearly the same breath? I didn’t do anything, it’s a setup, I’m sure Luna and Celestia will see reason.”

“Uh, just for clarity, what sorta reasoning are you going to use?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“The truth,” said Sunset. “I was there, I know what really happened.”

“And there aren’t other people who were there that will agree with you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Sunset sighed. “Probably not. They might even lie too.”

“Ah don’t think this is going to work out so swell for you,” said Applejack. “Regardless of whether you did anything.”

“I didn’t do anything!” said Sunset.

“Okay, okay,” said Applejack.

“So who’s doing this to you anyway?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Is it those two baseball players from yesterday?”

“I will handle this,” said Sunset. “I don’t need you to get in the way.”

“Who’s getting in the way?” asked Rainbow Dash. “We’re just trying to help.”

“I can handle this,” said Sunset.

“Maybe you can,” said Pinkie. “But you don’t have to. You have us!”

“But you don’t believe me,” said Sunset. “It’s all great to be assigned to be my friends by Twilight, but you aren’t, and you’re just as skeptical as everyone else.” She put her hands on her hips. “Admit it. You think maybe I did do it. You think the bullying got so bad I just took it out on someone, anyone, just so I could have power over them and not feel so useless all the time!”

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie looked at her wide-eyed. Applejack looked a little ashamed, Rainbow Dash seemed annoyed, and Pinkie was, well, she was at least half-smiling and seemed not even to be looking at Sunset, but instead watching something going on behind her. But her head was always in the clouds, so that could mean anything.

“Well, I didn’t!” Sunset scolded. “I thought about it. I’m always thinking about it! But everyone keeps telling me that doing the easy thing is wrong, so I’m not doing it. It would be easy. I did it for so long it’s all easy. Making everyone miserable is almost second nature to me.”

She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She was just so fed up with the last two days. “But I’m not going to,” she said. “After last week I have nothing but my dignity left, so I won’t bow down and I won’t give in to their threats and their attacks! I won’t let them win doing all the things I used to do! It was wrong for me to do what I did and I won’t let them think it's right for them! I don’t want to be that person anymore!”

She breathed heavily, unsure why she was shouting so loudly anymore. She wondered if she’d even ruined her own argument by acting out. She could almost hear the demon encouraging her, telling her this exercise was pointless, she was going to return to her old self eventually, she shouldn’t bother waiting. It would be easy, after all. There was power out there just waiting someone like her to--

There was a gentle cough behind her. “Miss Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset turned stiffly around and saw Vice Principal Luna standing here with her arms crossed. Fluttershy was standing beside her.

“Uh,” said Sunset, and then couldn’t think of a single appropriate thing to follow that up with.

“Please come with me,” said Luna.

Sunset nodded mutely, and followed along when the Vice Principal and Fluttershy turned to walk.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The office was dark, as it always was. Sunset remembered being in here before and wondering how much of the Equestrian Luna influenced the tastes and habits of this version. It had to be more than a little bit,what with all the crescent moon symbols and prominent blues. It was dramatically different than Celestia’s more contemporary office. But how that influence actually worked was a puzzle.

Fluttershy sat in the chair next to Sunset, looking intimidated, but that was hardly surprising given the frustrated expression on Vice Principal Luna’s face as she sorted papers on her desk.

“There are three accounts here, girls,” said Luna. “And they don’t reconcile. So at least two of them are false.”

Sunset swallowed. “I did nothing.”

“I haven’t even accused you of anything yet,” said Luna.

“Still, I did nothing,” said Sunset.

“You mean nothing recently,” said Luna.

Sunset fixed her gaze on Luna.

“Two of these students say you knocked over Quarter Time in a fit of rage,” said Luna. “But how and why you did that is wholly incompatible. One says you pushed her directly, another says a bag was involved, then there is the matter of the fight over popularity, and the gloating over not being expelled. Their stories don’t match. But that isn’t uncommon in fights like this; students are always embellishing or omitting details.”

“There wasn’t a fight,” said Sunset.

“Oh, I’m wholly certain there was a fight,” said Luna. “There are more than enough details beyond these accusations to show you had some sort of an interaction with Quarter Time. The nature of that conflict, however, remains a mystery to me.”

Sunset shook her head. “I have no problem with Quarter Time, and I did not touch her at all.”

Luna nodded. “Interesting that you pick these two details to explain.”

“They are the only ones that matter,” said Sunset. “You can’t possibly be upset that students are yelling at each other in the halls, it happens daily.”

“I actually do worry about that,” said Luna. “But you’re right that it isn’t part of this matter. What I am curious about, is why multiple students would come to me and accuse you of fighting if there was no fight and you have no reason to fight Quarter Time?”

Sunset looked away this time. She didn’t really want Luna to get involved, she would handle Trixie on her own. Getting the Vice Principal to fight for her would just be cowardly. She wouldn’t hide from her own problems.

“I don’t know,” said Sunset.

“You can’t be completely in the dark,” said Luna.

Sunset looked back. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

“Sunset,” said Fluttershy quietly.

“No,” Sunset said. “If people want to lie about me, fine. But I’m not here to talk about anyone who may have legitimate reasons to hate me. If that means you believe those lies, then, all right, I guess I’ll take my things home.”

Luna stared right back at Sunset for several seconds before looking down and stacking the papers in front of her again.

“There is this third account,” said Luna.

“I didn’t do anything,” said Sunset again.

“This one tells me that yesterday a number of students ruined your lunch, knocked you onto the floor, and then attempted to hit a softball into your head,” said Luna.

Sunset was surprised and her jaw hung slightly open.

“Did these things happen to you?” asked Luna.

“Who—who told you that?” asked Sunset.

“Please, the anonymity of all of these accounts is important,” said Luna. “I just need you to answer the question.”

Sunset wasn’t sure which of the many meddlers in her life decided to tell Luna about those things, but it was a bit of a surprise. She didn’t want to outright lie to Luna, but she had to get her to drop this so she could deal with Trixie without anyone else getting in the way.

“I’m not complaining,” she said, going for a grayer middle ground.

“That’s not my question,” said Luna. “It doesn’t matter if you care or not, these are serious concerns. You simply do not have the authority to choose to deal with this on your own. The safety of my students is at stake.”

“These could have been accidents,” said Sunset. They weren’t, of course, but it wasn’t factually incorrect to say they could have been. The softball in particular could have been a terrible coincidence. Though she doubted it.

“That’s your claim, these were accidents?” asked Luna. “And Quarter Time was an accident as well?”

“I never touched her,” said Sunset. “There was no accident because I didn’t do anything to her today.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Today,” she repeated.

Sunset said nothing.

“All right, girls,” said Luna. “At this time I have no more questions about these statements. Fluttershy, you may go. Sunset, please wait outside and I will come get you for your detention, I need to make a phone call.”

Sunset stood up, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. She said nothing as she held it open for Fluttershy and then followed her out. She closed the door behind her.

Outside of Luna’s office, Sunset turned to Fluttershy. “So, obviously, you are the source for the third account. I can’t figure out any other reason why you were there.”

“I was—“ started Fluttershy, but Sunset waved her off.

“It's fine, I get it,” said Sunset. “You wanted to help. Just don’t. I don’t want it.”

Fluttershy looked at her shoes for a moment, then rose her eyes to look directly into Sunset’s. “No, I have to help.”

Sunset blinked. “Why?”

“Because you won’t help yourself,” said Fluttershy.

“I am working through this in my own way,” Sunset said.

“You’re letting them hurt you because you think you deserve it,” said Fluttershy.

“I can endure it,” said Sunset, though that statement seemed less true by the day. “They’ll get bored eventually when they realize I won’t react.”

“And in the meantime you’re being abused,” said Fluttershy.

“So what?” asked Sunset. “I don’t care, and it’s my life.”

Fluttershy shook her head firmly. “It’s not just you that is getting hurt. Don’t you think it’s painful for me to watch you get hurt? I don’t want to see you go through this.”

“Why?” asked Sunset. “Of all people, you had it the worst from me. I don’t get why you don’t just stand back and let me get my just desserts.”

“Because nobody deserves to be hurt like that,” said Fluttershy firmly. “And I don’t ever want to see my friends get hurt, including you.”

“I’m not your friend,” said Sunset dismissively. “I’m just an assignment.”

Fluttershy stared at her in utter shock. Sunset watched as her eyes began to water, and then in a flash she was gone, hurrying through the offices and out the door.

Sunset was a little stunned. Did she just get upset that Sunset knew the truth?

Or did she really think of her as a friend? That seemed impossible. Even Sunset knew she had been a demon to Fluttershy long before she got the Element of Magic. How could she so quickly change her attitude? It was ludicrous.

Luna’s door opened again and the Vice Principal gracefully strode out. “Thank you for waiting,” she said. “Come back in and we’ll talk about the structure of this week’s detentions.”

Sunset wordlessly followed Luna back into her office, but stopped before sitting.

“Vice Principal,” said Sunset. “I know Fluttershy was that last account, when did she come to you?”

Luna raised her eyebrows as she sat down. “As a point of fact, she was not the source for the last account I read to you.” She shook her head. “But she came to get me just after last period, almost immediately after the first two reports of fighting reached me. She told me that someone was spreading lies about you and that I should talk to you directly before making any assumptions.”

Sunset frowned. “She did?”

Luna nodded. “Indeed. Though you were less than forthcoming, I understand, to a degree, what is going on now.” She pushed a folder into her desk drawer. “But that is not what we’re here to discuss.”

Sunset looked over her shoulder and through the open door. Fluttershy was long gone, she wasn’t even sure why she checked. Maybe it was the strangeness of this week but some part of her was hoping she had come back. No such luck.

“Sunset Shimmer?” asked Luna.

Sunset turned around and then finally sat. She sighed, her shoulders sloping downward. “The others asked me if it was true,” she said. She looked up at Luna and felt that tightness again in her chest. Warmth and loss, all in one. “But she didn’t. She just assumed it was lies.”

Luna’s expression softened. She nodded. “It’s nice to have friends.”

Sunset just put her face in her hands.

“What a mess.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

It was late when Sunset got out of detention. The days were starting to get shorter and the sun was already dipping below the horizon as she exited the offices. As the month-long punishment dragged on it would be darker and darker when she finished. Still, she turned down the offer of a ride from Luna, and exited the school on foot.

Her detention had been, all things considered, mostly just boring. She had been assigned to putting together a packet of papers with binding to hand out at the school assembly tomorrow. A mere five pages with a cover, a flyer for some after school programs, and a staple in the corner. There were nearly eight hundred to assemble, so it took a while, but it wasn’t difficult or painful in any regard.

Luna spot checked every twenty-five or so to makes sure Sunset was doing it right, but she had done them perfectly. She may be officially a delinquent now, but she refused to do a bad job at a task when she could otherwise do it well.

To her credit, Luna made no effort to engage Sunset in conversation about the bullying or anything other than the assembly on the next morning. It made the task all that much quieter and mind numbing, but it also meant Sunset didn’t have to dance around attempts to weasel names out of her.

Around an hour into the task, Principal Celestia showed up as well. She was her usual optimistic self, and even Luna appeared to modulate her tone when her sister was around. Celestia thanked Sunset for coming to her assigned detention and assured her that eventually everything would settle down and get back to normal.

Normal, Sunset remembered ruefully. What a foreign concept. She had no idea what ‘normal’ even looked like anymore. Was normal a peaceful life as a Canterlot High student, laughing with friends, anxiously filling out college applications, and worrying about the future? Or was normal being a protégé of Celestia, conferencing with unicorns in Canterlot, mastering unknown magics, and fighting off the evils of the world? Was there room, at all, for something in between?

She didn’t know. She really wanted to, though. That feeling of warmth but emptiness was eating at her, nostalgia for something she loved but no longer had.

Once upon a time she had a purpose, a drive and directive, motive for her actions that had slowly crumbled beneath her in – to be honest with herself – the last six months, even before the Fall Formal. When she saw Twilight through the portal becoming confident and strong, mastering magics, doing all the things Sunset should have been doing, she realized it. She wasn’t nearly as pivotal to the future of Equestria as she thought she was. And now, in this world, she was even less. Just a target to make moves against and laugh at the futile attempts to fit in with a world she barely understood and only remotely liked.

Stealing the crown had been a desperate act to cling to the dream that had long dissolved into mist, she realized. That was probably why it went so terribly wrong.

Sunset stopped at an intersection and looked both ways down the streets. What now? She thought. What did she need to move forward after waking from her dream? Where was her place now and where should her place be in the future?

Looking down the darkened road toward the bridge over Lake Aquinas and on towards the industrial park, she couldn’t help but feel the emptiness in her widening. She was adrift, and isolating herself in an empty place that’s been forgotten might not make that better. She needed something warm. Even if it was the tiniest ember left behind in the ruins of a fire.

She turned away from that street and headed towards the well lit roads leading to the suburbs. It was a comparatively shorter walk and less than an hour later, well into the night, she arrived in front of a small house on a tightly packed street. She walked up to the porch and pulled a very infrequently used key out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

Inside she was flooded with the warmth of the house compared to the cool outdoors, and hit by the smell of cooked pasta. Her stomach immediately groaned in anticipation as she closed the front door behind her.

Sea Spray walked quickly into the living room from the kitchen and stared at Sunset, clearly confused and a little annoyed. She put her hands on her hips.

“She returns,” said the woman archly. “Get expelled this time?”

“Honey,” said a warning voice from behind her. Auburn Storm stepped out and stood next to his wife. “That’s not nice.”

“Hmph,” said Sea Spray, and kept her eyes on Sunset.

Sunset remembered all the reasons why she originally liked this foster family, the disinterest in her, the greedy focus on the government issued reimbursement, the aggressively dismissive attitude, and was stunned at how well she’d engineered a terrible life for herself. She actually searched for a family that didn’t care.

“This was a bad idea,” said Sunset. She started to turn and leave.

“We just started dinner,” said Auburn quickly. “Would you like to join us?”

Sunset hesitated, her stomach aching at the thought of getting fed a real meal instead of what she’d have to scrape together that hadn’t been sullied by Trixie and her followers.

“It's pasta and meatballs,” said Auburn. He shrugged. “You don’t have to eat the meatballs.”

Sunset swallowed. Pasta sounded wonderful. Company sounded wonderful. Maybe she could endure this too?

“Okay,” said Sunset.

Sea Spray rolled her eyes and brushed past her husband to head back towards the kitchen. Auburn Storm just smiled and motioned for Sunset to come along. She stepped away from the door and followed Sea Spray.

The kitchen table was set for two, but Sea Spray quickly put out a third plate and silverware. In the center of the table was a fairly large bowl of spaghetti, quite a bit for only two people to eat. She wondered if somehow they knew she would show up today, or if she had been lucky. A simple salad sat on the table as well, just lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and carrots, but complete enough.

Sunset sat down at the newly created place setting and immediately began serving herself some pasta. Her hunger drove the speed and efficiency of her actions as she covered the plate with noodles and then poured on the sauce, careful to keep any meatballs or remnant of meat off her plate.

She dug in voraciously and her belly savored every bite. At some point a glass of water appeared next to her plate and she drank that too. The whole meal seemed to go by in a blur as she ate her fill and found herself just a little bit more sated than she had since last week.

During this time, Sea Spray regarded her cautiously and made no effort to talk. Auburn Storm asked some basic questions about health and the weather, and Sunset answered them just as simply. It wasn’t until she put down her fork for the last time that he asked any question of weight.

“So, were you just hungry or did you want to stay for a while?” he asked.

Sunset looked at him, seeing him focused on her and curious, and felt guilty that she didn’t have a better response. “I dunno,” she said. “I was hungry, but that’s not why I came here.”

“Then why?” he asked.

Sunset looked at her plate, the remnants of pasta sauce in trails across the surface where she’d run her fork along. “I’m –“ she started, but stalled.

She looked up at her foster parents. One interested, one tolerant. One engaging her, one trying her best to distance herself. They both had every reason to regard her as a stranger, but even Sea Spray – whom had always been disappointed with Sunset – was trying to be civil. Was her distance just a defense, though? Why try to be close with someone who was clearly just looking for a stepping stone to someplace else.

But those were old motivations, old desires, blasted away by the power of a rainbow-colored ray of magic.

“My home is gone,” Sunset started quietly. “My first home, I mean, where I came from. I can’t go back there again. And it’s--” she struggled to give voice to words that troubled her so. “It’s destructive for me to continue trying to get back.”

Sea Spray and Auburn Storm were silent, waiting. They weren’t even trying to interject. They were letting Sunset speak at her own pace. She was both thankful for the respect, and angry that they weren’t even trying to help her say these things.

“I don’t want to keep trying,” Sunset continued. “But I don’t know how to feel differently. I want to feel like this is home. I don’t want to be by myself anymore. But I don’t know if there is a place for me. I don’t even know what my destiny is anymore.”

Sunset pushed her plate to the side and rested her hands on the table. “I can’t change very quickly. At least, I haven’t before. But I want to feel something other than anger at myself. I want to be worth something for once.” She looked up slowly from the plate and met Sea Spray’s eyes.

She wasn’t looking quite so disinterested anymore.

“Can you help me?” asked Sunset.

Auburn Storm’s hand suddenly was on top of hers, holding them softly. He smiled at her, like it was the easiest thing in the world. She envied that.

“We can try.”

Chapter 4: Shelter in a Storm

Sunset Shimmer’s sleep was restless and fitful. She was not used to her bed at her foster parents’ house and the temperature just seemed too warm. She kicked off the blankets early in the night and stripped down to just a t-shirt and underwear before she could get halfway comfortable. Once she finally did fall asleep, she faced nothing but strange dreams.

She was back in Equestria, but as an older pony than she ever was before crossing the mirror. There she was in charge of periodically checking on the prisoners of Tartarus to make sure they were all present and accounted for. She stepped through a magical gateway into the depths of the prison and checked off ‘guests’ on a list as she patrolled.

At first they were the beasts she expected – unruly manticores, melusine, and chimera -- but gradually they began to be regular ponies convicted of bizarre crimes. Unicorns accused of ‘indulgency’, earth ponies convicted of rabble-rousing, pegasi jailed for jibber-jabber.

Then, at the end, she found the alicorns. First Celestia, who had crimes of manipulation, then Candace for bigamy, and Twilight for over-preparedness. Finally, in the last cell, was Luna, who was switching back and forth between her true self and Nightmare Moon. The checklist was blank for the reason she was imprisoned.

“What are you in for?” Sunset asked the prisoner, whom was currently Nightmare Moon.

The alicorn’s normally perfect mane fell ragged around her face. “I saw!”

“Saw what?” asked Sunset.

“The death of the world!” howled Nightmare Moon. “Night! Day! It is irrelevant! No one wins in the end. The push of darkness held by an equally strong force of light.”

“That is the way of things,” Sunset said. “One always replaces the other.”

“And therefore, no one ever changes!” yelled Nightmare Moon. “Every day quieted is a day closer to my shout. We never improve, never get better, only delay the relapse.”

Sunset shuddered at the thought. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“But it does!” said Nightmare Moon. “Harmony is a curse, not a blessing.”

With a poof of dark purple smoke Nightmare Moon faded and was replaced with Princess Luna, who looked impassively at Sunset. She brushed her tangled bangs aside and tried to fix her mane.

“She’s not wrong,” said Luna in a calmer, composed manner.

“She isn’t?” asked Sunset, alarmed at the change in demeanor.

“No, but she is mistaken that all states are binary,” said Luna. She shook her head and her hair began to flow gently in that ethereal breeze only she and her sister seemed to feel. “Life is not an even split between good and evil, light and dark, but is a spectrum of shades in between. So, too, does Harmony bring balance to the world, trading one big bad for many smaller goods.” She looked sad. “Fear not the demon in the final cell, Sunset Shimmer. You are stronger than she is.”

Sunset’s head turned slowly. “The final cell?” Her gaze focused on the darkened path and single barred cell at the end. It was pitch black down that way, even the path was swallowed up by the inky night. Sunset’s steps were cautious and slow but she proceeded ever forward.

At the end, in the final cell, was a small spot of light shining in a circle several meters beyond the bars. Sunset looked around but could see little else but the glowing beam coming from somewhere above too distant to view.

There was a rustle, like rough clothes scraping against stone, as something moved in the darkness.

“Who is in there?” asked Sunset. She checked her list but found no information on this prisoner at all.

The sound of scraping moved in the blackness coming closer to the cell door but not becoming any more visible. “We are,” said the voice. It was a raspy whisper.

“There are more than one of you in there?” asked Sunset. That wasn’t how any of the previous cells were. All were single-occupancy.

“Yesss,” hissed the voice.

Then there was a sudden panicked scramble and the sound of heavy footfalls. In a blur a figure threw itself at the bars, causing Sunset to jump back in alarm. The figure was a slight of a human, breathing heavily, looking – for all intents and purposes -- scared out of her skull.

She was her, Sunset Shimmer, in human form. She reached between the bars desperately at the Sunset in unicorn form.

“P-please!” the prisoner pleaded. “Let me go! I can’t be in here anymore! She took my dreams! She takes everything!”

“Calm down,” said unicorn Sunset. “I can’t let you out, I don’t even have a key.”

“She’s coming back, I can’t be here or she’ll torture me,” said the human.

“Who is coming back?” asked Sunset. “Who else is in there?”

The human froze and then looked slowly back towards the spot of light. “Ourselves,” she whimpered. She stepped into the light and exploded into fire. The heat caused Sunset’s mane to flutter around her. She pushed it aside to watch.

The fires died down and the human had become the demon. The beast that Sunset had turned into wearing the Element of Magic.

“Come, Sunset,” said the demon, curling her finger in the unicorn’s direction. “Let us get what we deserve. Release yourself.”

“No,” Sunset shook her head. “You’re dangerous, you deserve to be in there.”

The demon smiled broadly. “In where, dear?”

Sunset looked past the demon and saw the lit hallway behind her and the rows of cells beyond. She looked around and noticed that the darkness was on her side now, the spot of light resting a meter beyond her hooves behind her. Sunset was in the cell, and the demon was free.

Sunset pulled at the bars. “No! Let me out!”

“I don’t even have a key,” mocked the demon. “You do, though. You can join me if you wish. Together we can be free and rule the world.” She bent down and looked into Sunset’s eyes. “Inside there, you’re the one who is trapped, forced to be someone you’re not, forced to endure things you’re better than. Admit it! You want to have my power, you want to give into your desires.”

“No!” shouted Sunset. “I was wrong, I don’t want to be a demon.”

“But you are,” said the demon. “You just hide it.” She turned on her heels and clicked her tongue. “But, if you want to deny who you are and live a lie, then who am I to judge?” She began walking back towards the light and other cells. “Enjoy your cage. There is nothing else to look forward to.”

Sunset rattled the bars of the cell. “Come back here!” she shouted.

The demon laughed, louder and louder.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Equestria…

When it came to raw power between the two of them, there was a simple answer: Princess Celestia was stronger. In any singular challenge, but especially one that involved magical strength, she outstripped Princess Luna nearly two to one. This wasn’t a particularly well known fact, but Luna was not one to hide the truth and so spoke honestly when the topic arose. It rarely did.

Where Luna’s true strength lay was in other half of her identity. As Sentinel of The Dream, she roamed the dreams and nightmares of sleeping creatures. Often she did very little more than observe. Nightmares were the mind’s way of working out problems it feared to voice during waking hours, and she very delicately did not want to interfere with that process. But when those nightmares became problematic, traumatic, or otherwise interfering with that creature’s life, she would try to step in and ease the troubled mind.

She did this, for the most part, simultaneously with operating her physical body. The maintenance of two complex, independently operating entities, each tasked with the heavy burden of maintaining peace in Equestria, required a great deal of discipline for the Princess, so as not to get confused or have The Dream influence her waking self too greatly. The result could be – the result, in fact, was – problems such as Nightmare Moon.

Few knew how long Nightmare Moon existed prior to her emergence in Equestria. Many, including Celestia, believed it happened all at once with her corruption. They would be surprised to know how long the malignant entity had suffered in silence before coming to the fore.

Nightmare Moon was Luna’s id. Aggressive, impulsive, instinctual, the entity was birthed in The Dream and fed a litany of daily grievances until it had become strong. Not so strong as to invade the waking world – at least not until the Elements of Harmony became involved – but powerful enough to direct the activities of Luna’s Sentinel duties. Dreaming Luna had become slave to her compulsive desires, and in many ways, Twilight’s use of the Elements of Harmony on her had freed her twofold. First by stripping the waking Nightmare of influence, and second by quelling it’s hunger in the dream to the point where Luna almost felt normal again.

But in its absence, the all distracting presence of Nightmare Moon had left a hole in Luna’s activities in The Dream. One she filled with exploration and curiosity. If something as abstract as Nightmare Moon, a mere shade of Luna’s identity, could be given physical form, what else was possible?

And so, Luna walked, exploring, testing the boundaries of The Dream, to see what was possible. To her surprise, she walked so far she found Sunset Shimmer.

She was dreaming of being a pony again, which may have helped, but she was most definitely not in Equestria, not even in their dimension. Which meant the Dream went much further than most had thought.

But what she saw was troublesome: a mind in turmoil, starved of identity and fearful of looking for a new one. Luna knew little of Sunset Shimmer, her tenure as a student of her sister begun and ended during those years Nighmare Moon was caged. But Luna knew a little, and she knew well the minds of ponies.

So she spoke, and tried to help.

“Fear not the demon in the final cell, Sunset Shimmer. You are stronger than she is.”

It was good advice given what Luna had seen in the structure of this nightmare, but it was also achingly familiar. She too feared Nightmare Moon in the weeks after her restoration to mere Luna. The world she was forced to live in was also strange and unfamiliar and she was desperate for anyone to help her understand it – but too proud to ask and risk embarrassment.

As Luna watched Sunset walk off, she knew the pony would not listen, but that was part of the way dreams worked. The structure could not be avoided easily, but maybe, when Sunset woke, she would recall the one voice that stood against the waves and not be so troubled afterwards. Or she would dismiss it.

Such were the small grievances that Luna endured that originally created Nightmare Moon. Fortunately, Luna was much better adjusted these days. Someday, she believed, Sunset would be too.

Her eyes lingered on the cutie mark on the unicorn that walked away and then withdrew herself from the dream to continue her walk. At the same time, Princess Luna in the waking world turned away from her watch at the top of the palace in Canterlot and descended the stairs into the Princesses’ quarters.

It was the middle of the night, but Luna was sure she would not be interrupting anything. She came to Celestia’s door and stood there, silently and unmoving. The tingle that told her where her sister was grew stronger until it was almost next to her. The door then opened and Celestia looked back with a grin.

“You can come in anytime, sister. You needn’t wait here like a page,” said Celestia.

Dreaming Luna sighed at another missed social cue. “Forgive me,” Luna voiced aloud. “Much has changed in the time since my imprisonment. I sought to be polite.”

“I appreciate that,” said Celestia as the grin faded into a kinder smile. “But I always have time for you. I’ll never get back the years we spent apart but I don’t want anything to get in the way of the time we have now. Come in.”

Luna followed Celestia into her quarters, noticing the worn but elegant décor, the nearly threadbare rug before the fire, and the untouched four post bed. The bed was a cultural prop, an expectation that anyone would have upon seeing the private room of a monarch, but it was unnecessary. Neither Luna nor Celestia had any need to sleep since taking on responsibility of rising the sun and moon. They did, occasionally, as they weren’t incapable of sleep, but it was more for the novelty than the necessity. At night, Celestia tended to do paperwork, and Luna patrolled.

“What troubles you?” asked Celestia as she moved to the tea set laying by the window. She poured a cup with her magic and then offered it to Luna. Her sister took the offered beverage with a nod and then placed it down beside her without sipping.

“I saw Sunset Shimmer tonight in The Dream,” said Luna.

“I see,” said Celestia impassively. She sipped from her cup slowly. “So we do not need the mirror.”

“Of that, I am unsure,” said Luna. She paced around the rug. “The world’s dreaming is connected to ours, but that does not mean anyone can travel along it. You may recall, long ago I suspected other worlds were connected to The Dream – and even postulated that there was but one Dream shared by all worlds -- but could not ever be certain. Seeing strange worlds in someone’s sleeping mind does not mean they truly exist.”

“But now you know,” said Celestia. “Because Sunset is not in our world right now.”

“Yes,” said Luna. “I will try to explore more. I have not known anything from the Dream to manifest in our world. Even Star Swirl believed the mirrors were the only way.”

“He did, but I suspect Twilight will soon surpass him in knowledge, so other ways may come to light,” said Celestia. Her smile grew slightly more proud.

Luna studied Celestia’s reaction and wondered if she should continue.

“There is another matter that troubles you,” said Celestia, rather than asking.

“Yes,” said Luna. “It is Sunset Shimmer herself. I had not seen her clearly before tonight, and I cannot help but be curious about her cutie mark. Have you a hand in that?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, and I‘m as troubled by it as you are.” She put down her tea and walked towards the fire. “I have tried many things to divine the reason for the similarities between her mark and mine to no avail. I had believed that it was a sign of her destiny to wield the Elements of Harmony, but that has proven to be incorrect. The answer I have always given to Shining Brow was that it was coincidence, and I find myself believing this may be the case. A startling one, to be sure, but a coincidence none the less.”

Luna stood beside her sister and gazed into the fire. Her dream self was cresting the peak of snowy mountains inside the dream of a very ambitious pegasus with the cutie mark of a bright star above the arc of a horizon.

“You will forgive me again, sister, if I am not so convinced,” said Luna. “The Elements of Harmony do not let just anyone wield them.”

“I didn’t think you’d accept that explanation,” said Celestia, her smile returning. “I would love the help in unraveling this mystery. I have chosen to hide much of this from the others in the palace, for obvious reasons. None would appreciate the implications, not even Twilight.”

Luna looked up towards her sister, still taller and nobler than she. But unlike a thousand years before, Celestia was sometimes weary and haunted. Worn bare in places, like the rug at their feet. The envy Luna felt so long ago simply failed to arise. Instead she felt awe, greater than that snowy peak beneath the night sky her dream self just saw.

“You grew up without me,” said Luna, before she has the sense to stop herself.

Celestia did not appear offended, and merely nodded. “It was a very lonely time, and I don’t miss it at all.” She playfully nudged Luna. “Don’t make me go through that again, dear sister.”

“If it is within my power, I shall be by your side until the end of time,” said Luna.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset stared blearily at the street as she walked to school. Wednesday. Hump day. It certainly was an effort to get up this morning. Not that she wanted to sleep, the nightmare had taken care of that. But she wasn’t rested either, which mean putting one foot in front of the other was a daunting task.

She took a sip of the coffee she had got from her foster father on the way out the door. It wasn’t gourmet, but it was good enough and she was happy to have it to boost her energy. She was offered breakfast too, some simple warmed bread and jam, but she wasn’t very hungry and politely turned it down. She got a smile out of Sea Spray for trying to be nice and Auburn kindly offered to give her a ride. It was a surreal morning for Sunset’s life, but kind of good as well.

She turned down the ride, though, because she had errands to run. She had really left things at an awful state with Fluttershy yesterday, and she needed to make some effort at fixing it. As with the last two days, she headed towards Fluttershy’s house in the morning, hoping to catch her before she met up with Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

To her surprise, though, she ran into Pinkie and Rarity before getting to Fluttershy’s house. She blinked, and walked over, receiving a cheerful greeting from Pinkie and a begrudging one from Rarity. She still had work to do with that one, but first things first.

“Where’s Fluttershy?” asked Sunset.

“She left without us this morning,” said Pinkie.

“Perhaps to avoid someone who has been particularly rude to her recently,” added Rarity.

“Wish I’d had that option this morning,” muttered Sunset.

“She probably went to the shelter,” said Pinkie.

“The animal shelter?” asked Sunset. She knew about Fluttershy’s involvement in the local animal shelter from her earlier research into the human counterparts of Twilight’s friends, back when she was looking for leverage over the Elements of Harmony. She had pretty much forgotten most of it, though, when she realized how weak-willed Fluttershy was. Leverage wasn’t generally necessary with her, just a stern gaze.

Though recent events had made her question how frail she actually was.

“She helps out feeding the animals every few days,” said Rarity. “And plays with them on the weekends.”

“Right,” said Sunset. She checked her phone for the time. There probably wasn’t enough to get to the shelter from here and then back to the school before first bell. She could try, though. “Thank you.”

“Why don’t you walk with us?” said Pinkie before Sunset could turn away.

“Uh, o-okay,” said Sunset. There was little possibility she’d get to talk to Fluttershy for any meaningful duration, and she could always catch her between periods or at lunch. She stepped to the side and followed when Pinkie hopped past.

“Why are you looking for Fluttershy?” asked Pinkie.

“I need to talk to her,” said Sunset.

“Well, obviously,” said Pinkie with a smile.

“I think you should keep your distance,” said Rarity without looking at her.

Sunset huffed and turned on the aloof girl. “All right, let’s get it over with,” she said. “I was just as well going to leave you to last but, I’m not in the mood to put up with it anymore.”

Rarity patted Sunset on the shoulder. “Keep a stiff upper lip, dear, it’s only been two days.”

“What do you want from me?” asked Sunset.

“I believe you know already,” said Rarity, raising an eyebrow.

“But you’re not even giving me a chance,” said Sunset. “I admit it. I’m a screw-up. But you’re never going to see what you want in me unless you start looking, instead of just queuing up behind the rest of the bullies.”

“How dare you,” snapped Rarity. “I am not a bully.”

“Then what do you call this? Proactive critique?” asked Sunset.

“Protecting my friends from your attitude,” said Rarity. “You think I can’t get guess the reason for Fluttershy’s absence and your presence? What was it? Hmm? You run off because she said something that made you uncomfortable? Or the opposite? You say something to her that hurt her so much she’d rather not even see you? I know Fluttershy and I know you, so I know which of those is more likely.”

Sunset tried not to look too wounded by that accusation, because it wasn’t altogether wrong. But Rarity asked for the world! How could she possibly change quickly enough for her? How could she even get Rarity to understand she was trying to change? She took a breath calmly.

“I made a mistake,” said Sunset evenly.

“Not your first,” said Rarity.

“Come on, give me a chance to at least finish a sentence,” said Sunset.

“I owe you no favors,” said Rarity. “Your persistent effort to befriend us is admirable, but your flailing around and stumbling over your own words is hurting everyone.”

“I’m trying not to!” said Sunset.

“Try harder!” said Rarity. She crossed her arms. “It’s hard enough just getting used to being friends again – something we have only been again for a week now – without you in there putting us at odds!”

Sunset opened her mouth to rebut, then froze, caught on the words Rarity said. “Putting you at odds?” she asked. “How am I…?”

“Nevermind,” said Rarity. She flipped her hair to the side and continued walking towards the school.

Sunset swallowed as she watched Rarity leave. She turned her head towards Pinkie.

“What’s been going on when I’m not around?” asked Sunset.

“With the five of us or everyone else in the world?” asked Pinkie.

Sunset sighed. “How about the five of you? I don’t think there is much I can do about the other one.”

“Well,” Pinkie wound up then launched in a rapid fire monologue. “Recently, Applejack’s family has been pressuring her to pick a future, which is something she doesn’t want to do because she’s saved up to go to school in the big city – not downtown big city though, the BIG big city, but her family wants her to stay and run the farm and it’s causing conflict in her family. Rarity can’t afford to go to someplace like the BIG big city, which is her hearts and dreams because of Fashion Week, and at best hopes to make it to a state university, which isn’t bad at all, but it’s not the BIG big city so she’s jealous and she worries about her sister’s dreams being squashed as well. Rainbow Dash is thinking about going overseas for school to find a better place to play soccer, which will totally separate her from us and she doesn’t even want to bother with school just thinks she needs to be at a university to be noticed by pro league sports. And Fluttershy wants to work with animals but doesn’t want to be separated from her friends so she’s thinking of going to wherever the rest of us go and that doesn’t make anyone happy because she’s limiting her future for the sake of her friends which makes us uncomfortable.”

Sunset blinked at the deluge of information and tried to quickly parse it in her head. “Woah,” she said. “What—I’m almost afraid to ask, but, what do YOU want, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie made a thoughtful face then slowly nodded. “Breakfast, mostly. Apples and muffins.”

Sunset stared. Then she felt a strange pressure in her upper chest. It became uncontrollable and she burst out laughing.

“Aha!” shouted Pinkie and pointed a finger at Sunset’s face. “You can laugh!”

Sunset tried to get control of herself, holding her hand to her chest and breathing slowly. “You are crazy,” she said in a breathy manner.

Pinkie shrugged and smiled. “As my mother says: To each her own in her own way.” She tipped her head slightly to the side while she looked at Sunset. “Within reason.”

“Right,” said Sunset as she calmed down. Then she shook her head. “I still don’t see how that involves me, though.”

“I dunno,” said Pinkie. “Unless it’s because you’ve been a convenient thing to use against everyone else, especially since Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are totally behind helping you while Rarity and Applejack are worried you’ll turn on us and go crazy again.”

“Wow,” said Sunset, drearily. “That’s a real pick-me-upper.” She frowned. “Should you be telling me all this?”

“Nobody told me not to,” said Pinkie.

That was not a positive sign, thought Sunset. She continued walking towards school.

“What are your plans?” asked Pinkie, staying beside her.

Sunset’s mouth hung open for a moment, stunned at how often that question had come up recently. “Survive, really, beyond that I don’t know. I’d like to get a handle on this friendship thing.”

“What about school?” asked Pinkie. “College?”

Sunset shrugged. “I’ve never really put much thought into it. I always knew I was going to leave here before graduating.”

“But you didn’t,” said Pinkie.

“Yeah.”

“Then we should figure this out,” declared Pinkie. She raised her eyebrows. “Together!”

Sunset looked at Pinkie. “T-together? You mean you help me figure out my future or figure out both of …?” She stared at the expectant look from Pinkie. “You don’t have a plan either?”

Pinkie was cheerful as always. “Nope.”

“Really? I thought everyone around here had a college plan.”

“Maud went to college,” said Pinkie. “I’m not really trying to follow in her footsteps though.”

“Who’s Maud?” asked Sunset.

“My way too awesome sister.”

“Oh,” said Sunset. She briefly boggled at the idea of someone Pinkie would consider more awesome than herself. The possibilities were staggering. “What do you want to do?”

“Dunno,” said Pinkie. “Life’s more fun with surprises!”

“It’s also more limiting without a plan,” said Sunset. She looked at the sidewalk as she walked. “I suppose suggesting clown school would be wrong.”

“Yup,” said Pinkie, though she didn’t sound offended. “Because there aren’t any schools. It’s a trade that’s usually apprenticed or self-taught.”

“So you’ve looked into this?” asked Sunset.

“I totally know stuff,” Pinkie said seriously… before she began wagging her eyebrows.

Sunset smiled again.

“Hmm, close, but no laugh that time,” said Pinkie.

“Comedian,” said Sunset with a snap of her fingers. “That’s up your alley.”

“Yeah, but not really an original idea,” said Pinkie. “I could get these suggestions from Rainbow Dash. I’m looking for some juicy other-worldly options!”

“Pinkie,” said Sunset cautiously. “Are you using me in order to get strange ideas?”

“Yup,” nodded Pinkie.

“Wow,” said Sunset, looking a little dazed. “That’s not a turn I anticipated.”

Pinkie giggled maniacally.

*** ( MLP ) ***

After first period, Sunset found herself confronted for the second day in a row by Flash Sentry, who came up to her desk right at the end of class. He looked at her expectantly.

“Hey, do you have time to talk at lunch today again?” he asked.

Sunset looked at him with a slight frown. “Flash, I can’t tell you about Twilight every day.”

Flash held up his hands. “Oh, uh, no that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted you help with something.”

Curious, Sunset shook her head. “I don’t have plans, so I’m free if you are.”

“I’ll find you in the cafeteria,” said Flash as he turned and quickly left. Sunset didn’t even have an opportunity to stop him and beg for a less public meeting place. The cafeteria was bound to be where Trixie’s gang of angry students would look for her first.

With a sigh, Sunset got up and grabbed her heavy bag. She still wasn’t putting anything into her locker, just in case there was a repeat of yesterday’s mess. It had been cleaned up at least, no sign of honey was in her locker when she checked it this morning. Not even the sweet smell lingered, instead there was just the sterile odor of disinfectant.

As she left the classroom she saw Rainbow Dash balancing a book on her finger as she walked down the hall. She ran to catch up with her.

“Rainbow Dash,” said Sunset as she approached, her voice just loud enough to get her attention but hopefully not enough to attract anyone else’s notice.

Rainbow turned and grabbed her textbook with one hand as it started to fall. “Hey, Sunset.” She looked at Sunset’s overfull bag. “You taking your whole locker with you?”

“Yeah, just in case,” said Sunset.

Rainbow Dash raised one eyebrow. “Just in case of what?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Sunset. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I figured,” said Rainbow Dash, nodding. She folded her arms behind her back, holding the book between her palms. “Did things go alright with Luna yesterday?”

Sunset was thrown off her train of thought for a second. “With the detention?”

“With the fighting,” said Rainbow Dash. “That’s why she came for you, right?”

“Oh, right,” said Sunset. “She didn’t do anything except ask questions. I guess I should be glad she didn’t give me even more detention. I’m not sure if she really believes I didn’t do it, though. Kinda frustrating.”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow, nodding. Then she stopped walking and turned to face Sunset. “Look, I know you want to do all of this yourself, but I don’t think you should. And if you’re upset that I talked to Luna, that’s fine, I’ll back off, but I still think it was the right thing. Someone should be looking out for you.”

Sunset stared. Too many things were packed in those three short sentences for her to process immediately, especially since each revelation required her to revisit her earlier thoughts about the girl in front of her.

“Wait, you talked to Luna?” asked Sunset.

“Uh, yeah,” said Rainbow Dash. “You didn’t know that?”

“You’re the third account?” asked Sunset.

“Third?” asked Rainbow. “I just told her about the stuff Pinkie and Fluttershy told me, and then about the softball. I didn’t say anything more. Don’t really know much more since you’re so tight lipped.”

Sunset swallowed. “Why—why did you do that for me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” said Rainbow Dash. She checked the clocks on the hallway wall and began walking again. Sunset followed in a daze as Rainbow kept talking. “Besides, you’ve got a target as big as a mountain on you right now, and, yeah, I suppose you did stuff to make that happen, but you’re trying to make friends and do better. I don’t see why you shouldn’t have someone watching your back.”

“But, I don’t deserve it,” said Sunset. “Not after what I did to you.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I’m not sure feeling safe should be limited to only the people who deserve it.” She smiled. “Besides, if you’re trying your hardest to be nicer, then in my book you do deserve it. And I’ll stand in the way of anyone who thinks otherwise.”

Sunset’s jaw hung slightly open. Then the second bell rang.

“Crap,” said Rainbow. She started to jog away. “See you later, Sunset!”

Sunset shook herself from her stunned daze and realized she hadn’t gotten around to asking where she could find Fluttershy. She sighed and walked towards her second period class, her mind full of the actions of her strange ‘friends.’

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset hadn’t noticed before how many classes she had in her day that had none of the five girls in them. She kept her eyes open and tried to spot them, but it wasn’t until lunchtime that she found any of Twilight’s friends again.

She didn’t find all of them either. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were sitting down as Sunset came up to them, with no sign of Rarity or Fluttershy. She asked after the two missing girls immediately.

“Rarity spends half her lunches in the arts room working on clothing designs,” said Applejack. “Only eats with us couple times a week. She tends to forget to eat when she’s all in her ‘zone’ so ah bring her a sandwich towards the end of the period if you want to follow me today.”

Sunset shook her head. She still was nervous about facing Rarity again, mostly because despite all she knew about the girl, every time they talked it ended in a fight. She didn’t want to actively pursue a conflict with Rarity, so she figured keeping her distance was best for now.

“And Fluttershy?” asked Sunset.

“She didn’t come in today,” said Pinkie, just a hair more somber sounding than normal.

“She didn’t?” asked Sunset. “But you said this morning she left without you.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “She didn’t come here, if that was the case. She’s probably at the shelter if she’s not at home. We were going to check on her after school.”

Sunset frowned. She didn’t like the idea of Fluttershy being off by herself. What was the point of these ‘friends’ if they weren’t with her and didn’t know where she was?

“Hi, Sunset!” came a voice from behind her.

Sunset turned to see Flash coming up with a tray full of two salads and couple of juice bottles. He was smiling just a little awkwardly, as he had been since they started talking again.

“Did you want to come and sit by the rest of Flash Drive?” he asked.

Sunset turned back towards Rainbow Dash. “What shelter?” she asked. “How far is it?”

“How far from where?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Here? It’s on Chapel Ave. Are you going to walk?”

Sunset looked back at Flash. “You have your car today?”

Flash blinked at her. “Uh, yeah.”

Sunset took one of the salads, closed its lid, and stacked it on the other. Then she pocketed the two drinks. “Come on, we’ll talk on the way.” She walked past Flash and headed towards the door.

Behind her heard a dazed voice say, “On the way to where?”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset stared out the window of Flash’s car as they drove into town.

“Are you even allowed to leave the school for lunch?” asked Flash.

Sunset shrugged. “Haven’t been told not to. I’m sure I’ll get some amendment to the high and mighty ‘rules’ after this but I don’t care.”

“You don’t care about the rules?” asked Flash, blinking as he drove. “That’s a new one. Even before you at least cared enough to avoid them.”

“Didn’t seem to help me in the end,” said Sunset. “Trying a new way. Trying lots of new ways.”

She caught Flash shaking his head out of the corner of her eye.

“Don’t help if you don’t want to,” said Sunset.

“No, it’s fine,” sighed Flash. “Someone should be watching out for you.”

Sunset turned to glare at him. “Why is everyone saying that? I never had anyone looking out for me before. Am I suddenly all that weak looking?”

“No-no,” said Flash quickly. “I mean, I don’t think you’re weak.”

“Good,” growled Sunset.

“It’s kind of the opposite, honestly,” said Flash.

“What?” snapped Sunset.

“You’re acting like you’re, I dunno, immortal, or invulnerable,” said Flash.

“I definitely don’t think I’m that powerful.”

“No, I know,” said Flash. “But you think you can brave anything, like this sudden trip off school campus when you know you’re on a short leash after the Fall Formal. Do you even care what might happen to you?”

Sunset crossed her arms and stewed. She idly wondered if everyone had been so chatty over the last few years if she might not have ended up in this situation.

“Look, there are things I’m trying to do right now,” said Sunset. “And this is one of them.”

“Going to an animal shelter?”

“Not…” Sunset took a calming breath and tried to say what she wanted to say right, the first time, for a chance. “Not letting Fluttershy stay hurt by what I said.”

“Oh,” said Flash. He drove silently for a minute. “What did you say?”

“I—I told her I thought she was only pretending to be my friend because Twilight told her to,” said Sunset.

“Did you really mean that?” asked Flash, sounding a little disappointed.

“At the time I didn’t really think she really cared,” said Sunset. “It’s not like she’s really selective about who she’s kind to. And I was a real jerk to her for years, why on earth would she care about me?”

“You thought because she’s nice to everyone, she can’t really like anyone?” asked Flash.

“Well, how could she?” asked Sunset.

Flash smiled. “Friendship isn’t an exhaustible resource, Sunset. There’s enough for everyone.”

“Hmph,” snorted Sunset. “Says you, I’m having trouble with one.”

Flash nodded. Then looked briefly at Sunset. “Just for clarity, is the one me or is it someone else and I’m assuming too much.”

Sunset sighed. Then she realized something. “What was it that you wanted to talk about today?”

Flash looked at his watch. “Don’t worry, it’ll wait. Let’s focus on this.”

Sunset felt uneasy. “Are you sure? I don’t want to screw up the one—‘

“I’m sure,” Flash said with a smile. “We can talk tomorrow.”

Sunset half-smiled. “Okay.” She looked ahead at the road. A few minutes later she spotted the shelter and pointed. Flash took them into the parking lot.

“You can stay if you—“ started Sunset.

“Really?” said Flash in apparent disbelief.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The two entered the shelter and was greeted with the cacophony of barks and squeaks and chirps of dozens of animals at once. It was nearly deafening. The front desk was empty and there were leashes and tiny bits of kibble laying everywhere.

“What happened here?” asked Flash as he looked around.

Sunset peeked around the desk to make sure no one was cowering there. “Hello?” she yelled out. “Anyone alive back there?” She paused then added, “Who isn’t an animal?”

A distant, barely audible voice replied. “I’ll be with you in a moment!”

Flash and Sunset looked at each other.

“Was that…” started Flash.

“Fluttershy?” finished Sunset.

In a whirl, a girl with pink hair flew through the lobby carrying three kittens and a lapdog. “Hello, welcome-to-the-Canterlot-Pet-Center-I’m-sure-you’ll-find-a-fluffy-floaty-flighty-friend-for-life-here-I’m-a-little-busy-but-look-around-and-I’ll-check-back-with-you-in-a-few-minutes-thanks!”

And then she was gone again.

“Oookay,” said Sunset.

“Did you knock off the people who worked here too?” asked Flash.

“Not at all,” said Sunset.

“Then I’m thinking you’re not the cause of Fluttershy’s problems today,” said Flash.

Sunset grimaced. “Fluttershy!” she called out as she followed the streak of pink and yellow into the back of the shelter. She ended up walking down a short hall, walking carefully around small piles of pet food, and entering a cleaning room where half a dozen pups were splashing in a tub while a trio of kittens watched from a shelf, and Fluttershy was desperately trying to use a towel to dry off an excited corgi.

“Just a moment, I’ll be with you soon!” called Fluttershy as she tried to grab the jumping puppy.

“Are you here all alone?” asked Sunset. She looked at the chaos in disbelief… then quickly caught a kitten that made diving leap towards her. “What happened?”

Fluttershy turned and stared. “Sunset Shimmer? What are you doing here?”

“No, no, no,” Sunset said with a shake of her head. “My question first. What happened?”

“Oh, well, normally Gentle Grace is here to watch the animals and I help her in the morning,” said Fluttershy. “But this morning she wasn’t feeling well and fell while stacking cages. I helped her get to a doctor but there was nobody scheduled to come back to the shelter until this afternoon. She gave me a list of people to call but none of them could help.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to have to close the shelter for the day and risk someone not finding their special pet, so I thought I could keep it open myself.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

“I love the animals so much, and I really understand them, and I thought I could do a fine job keeping them happy.” Fluttershy made an uncomfortable look towards the playing pups in the bath. “But there were so many of them and they were not used to me giving them baths and keeping them fed and, well, they just got so excited when people showed up...” she wrung her hands gently.

“So you’re in over your head,” said Sunset. She sighed and gently put the kitten down on the floor. The little thing jumped around and then rubbed itself against her boots. She rubbed her forehead. “Why didn’t you call anyone? Ask for help?”

“I didn’t want to burden anyone,” said Fluttershy. “And, I knew everyone would be busy with school.”

“You should be at school,” said Sunset. “And, really? The only thing your friends know how to do reliably is bend over backwards to help you. They wouldn’t have minded at all.”

“Well, then, why did you come?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset Shimmer’s jaw hung open for several seconds. She really didn’t have a good answer for that one, really. She had told herself she wanted to apologize to Fluttershy for being rude yesterday, but she’d really gone far beyond what she would consider, under normal circumstances, sane measures to accomplish that. Why had she gotten so bent out of shape about the idea of Fluttershy being here?

“Flash!” Sunset called out over shoulder. She waited for the boy to arrive and she motioned to the chaos around them. “We need to help get this under control.”

“We do?” said Flash. “What happened to the staff?”

“It’s us for the time being,” said Sunset. “Can you find a broom and see about cleaning up the messes? I’ll help Fluttershy get this bathing, uh, escapade finished." She pulled out her phone and checked the time. “If we hurry you should still be able to get back before the end of the period.”

“Me?” asked Flash. “What about you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Sunset.

“But you said Luna—“ started Flash but was quickly cut off.

“Check the closets for the broom,” said Sunset.

Flash nodded and walked off.

“Sunset, are you sure—“ said Fluttershy.

“Tell me what you were doing and let’s see if we can’t get it done,” said Sunset. “You’re surely not going to get ahead of things like this.”

“O-okay,” said Fluttershy. She looked around. “Can you get me some more towels? They’re in the cabinet over there.”

Sunset nodded.

*** ( MLP ) ***

The sun hung low in the sky as Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer left the pet center. Fluttershy was smiling as they headed back towards the school, even though her clothes were water-stained in several places. Sunset looked more fatigued than anything else, and was carrying her leather jacket over her shoulder. She yawned widely.

“Ugh,” she said. “How the heck does your friend manage to do that by herself every day?”

“Oh, she has help usually,” said Fluttershy. “Like me in the morning, and Tender Touch in the evening. And she’s very good with the animals.”

Sunset looked at her. “Better than you?”

“Oh, definitely,” said Fluttershy.

“Hrm,” said Sunset. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Animals like routine,” she said. “It helps comfort them because they know what to expect and they are less on edge. I thought I could get by without knowing Gentle Grace’s process because I’m usually so in tune with animals. But,” she sighed. “There were too many. I couldn’t give them all my attention at once.”

“You were insane to think you could,” said Sunset.

Fluttershy hung her head. “I know,” she said sadly.

Sunset sighed. “No, look, I don’t mean that. You gotta assume when I say things like that –“

“You don’t mean them?” finished Fluttershy.

“Well, yeah,” said Sunset.

“Why say something you don’t mean?”

“It’s not like I don’t mean it at all,” said Sunset. “It was silly for you to try and do something this big by yourself, especially when you’d never done it all before. I don’t really think you’re insane though.”

“Oh,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset took a breath. “And I didn’t mean what I said yesterday. When I implied that you, well, that you were lying about being my friend.”

Fluttershy looked up at her. “What did you mean?”

Sunset looked at the pavement as they walked. “I meant… I mean that I didn’t find it possible anyone could care about me after what I did to them these last three years. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Fluttershy was quiet for a dozen steps. “I forgive you.”

“That’s so easy for you to say,” Sunset breathed.

“It’s easy for me to mean, too,” said Fluttershy. She stopped and gently touched Sunset’s arm. The latter girl turned and looked at her expectantly.

“I forgive you,” said Fluttershy.

“I know,” said Sunset. “You said that already.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “For everything. I forgive you for everything.”

“Y-you can’t do that!” said Sunset.

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Why not?”

“Because!”

“Oh, yes, that’s very convincing,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset Shimmer pointed her finger between Fluttershy’s eyes. “You just used sarcasm!”

Fluttershy smiled. “Did you think I didn’t know how?”

Sunset folded her arms again and turned her nose up at the girl. “There’s no reason for you to forgive me, so don’t.”

“I don’t think you get to make that rule,” said Fluttershy. “And it’s too late, I’ve already done it.”

“Take it back!”

“Why?” Fluttershy stopped smiling. “You don’t want forgiveness?”

“Because there’s no way I’ve made up for everything I did to you,” said Sunset. “I mean, I made your life hell for years! I turned your friends against you. I tried to—I was a monster that attacked you in the night.”

Fluttershy nodded and started walking away from the shelter again. She held her hands behind her back. “You’re trying to do better,” she said.

“I haven’t succeeded yet,” said Sunset before she began walking behind Fluttershy.

“But you’re trying,” said Fluttershy. “Really, really trying. You did some mean things to me, to a lot of people, but the worst was acting like we were just toys to be tossed aside. Like we didn’t have feelings that mattered.” She looked up at the sky. “The last two days you’ve been different. Like you finally see the people around you as real.” She shook her head. “I know you still have a long way to go, but as long as you keep trying, it’s only a matter of time. And if I know that I’m going to forgive you sometime later, why not do it now?”

“Because I might get worse again,” said Sunset sadly.

“If so, it won’t be because you wanted to,” said Fluttershy. She stared ahead at the school. “You had detention today, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” admitted Sunset. “Probably going to get the third degree on that one.”

“I didn’t really have permission to skip school either,” said Fluttershy.

“Sarcasm and cutting classes?” said Sunset. “What has become of the timid girl I knew?”

Fluttershy tipped her head. “I’ve become friends with a really bad influence.”

Sunset laughed and after a second Fluttershy did as well.

“Thank you for helping today,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset was about to reply when she noticed the figure standing in front of the school. It was an adult woman with long dark hair and crossed arms.

“Uh-oh,” said Sunset.

*** ( MLP ) ***

“There were four rules, Sunset, just four!”

Sunset was watching Luna pace around her office. She had probably done something similar with Fluttershy first while Sunset waited outside. By this point, though, Fluttershy had gone home and it was just Luna and her remaining. This was not, in Sunset’s opinion, a good omen.

“And they are not difficult things to remember,” continued Luna. “But every day since I told them to you, you’ve been in here to explain why it seems like you’ve broken them.”

“To be fair, it’s only been two days,” said Sunset.

Luna glared at her. “Don’t comment. I’m trying to be lenient with you, Sunset, but you are not making that easy.”

“I’m sorry,” said Sunset.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it,” said Luna. “You skipped class – no, you skipped many classes, you didn’t show up for your detention, and you got Fluttershy and Flash Sentry to miss class as well!”

Sunset opened her mouth to protest that she had nothing to do with either of their decisions to miss some or all of their classes, but then she shut it again. It would make little difference at this point and at least if all the blame was taken by Sunset, they would be in less trouble.

“Anything to say?” asked Luna.

“Sor—uh, I mean, I was only trying to help,” said Sunset. “I know there were rules, but I needed to help Fluttershy. She would have been buried on her own.”

“Fluttershy seems to be your partner in crime these days,” said Luna.

“That’s… that can’t possibly be accurate,” said Sunset.

“No?” said Luna. She moved behind her desk and sat down. “She was in here yesterday speaking on your behalf and again today.”

“She shouldn’t be doing that,” said Sunset.

“No, it’s not the wisest course of action to associate with a delinquent,” said Luna.

“Hey!” said Sunset.

“You have no right to be offended,” said Luna. “You did as you wished at this school under our noses for far too long and my sister and I have every right to expel you or even turn you over to the police for your actions.”

Sunset’s eyes widened and she felt a twist in her stomach.

“But my sister believes your remorse is genuine,” continued Luna. “And we would not be good teachers if we did not give our students the ability to admit to and make amends for their mistakes. But you are certainly pushing the bounds of our good intentions.”

Sunset looked away.

“So there will be more punishment,” said Luna.

Sunset nodded without turning back.

“Your detentions will include Saturdays now. And the teachers whose classes you skipped this afternoon will each be giving you another assignment to prove you are paying attention and involved in class.”

Sunset waited until she was sure there wasn’t another rule coming then said, “Okay.”

“Well, then,” said Luna. “It’s already pretty late so I suggest you head along home.”

Sunset was startled and faced Luna. “That’s it?”

“Did you want more?” asked Luna.

“No! I mean, no.” Sunset stood and grabbed her bag. She was about to turn and leave when she thought of something. “Vice Principal Luna? Fluttershy, she’s—not in too much trouble is she?”

Luna looked up from her desk at Sunset. “She has been reprimanded and her parents notified, but it doesn’t seem like she will too troubled by that. She was more worried about you.”

“Me?” asked Sunset.

Luna nodded. “Almost all of her concern was that you would be expelled or your diploma shredded.” She sat back in her chair. “Quite dramatic, honestly. We just wouldn’t print you one.”

Sunset sighed.

“Miss Sunset Shimmer,” said Luna, rather formally for someone leaning back in a reclining chair. “It is my sister’s opinion that the worst rebels can be redeemed through the actions of good friends. And while I wonder now what she means by ‘redeemed’ I can’t help but be encouraged by your attempts to integrate with Twilight Sparkle’s friends. Whether it is by choice or by force, you are looking in the right direction as far as I’m concerned.”

Sunset slightly frowned. “Uh, thanks?”

“Just don’t drag them all into an abyss of delinquency,” said Luna. She sat up again and began moving the papers around her desk. “You can go.”

Without delay, Sunset slipped out the door and closed it behind her. She took a few steps through the front offices before stopping and looking over her shoulder.

She smirked. “And she calls Fluttershy dramatic.”

She continued out of the offices and out the front door of the school. She found Fluttershy sitting on a planter there, swinging her legs and watching a parade of ants circle a dropped banana peel.

“Still here?” said Sunset.

Fluttershy was startled and then hopped down onto the ground.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” said Fluttershy. “You weren’t expelled, were you?”

“No,” said Sunset with a smile. She walked up to the girl. “I think I have you to thank for that as well.”

“Oh, well,” Fluttershy looked away with a blush.

“Thank you,” said Sunset.

“You don’t have to,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset nodded. “It’s getting dark, we should get out of here.”

Fluttershy wordlessly agreed and began walking next to Sunset, her head down and looking slightly withdrawn.

“Do you think Gentle Grace will be alright for tomorrow?” asked Sunset.

Fluttershy brightened as she looked up at Sunset. “I think so, she texted me a short while ago. In the very least she has people scheduled to work the shelter for the rest of the week.”

“Good,” said Sunset. “If anything like that happens again…” she looked down at Fluttershy with a serious expression.

Fluttershy looked nervously back.

“Please call me, so I can help.” Sunset smiled again.

Fluttershy blushed even more furiously and looked down at the ground. “Okay,” she nearly whispered.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity sat in her room and stared at the phone in her hands, reading the texts she had just received from Fluttershy about her day with Sunset Shimmer. She saw her own impassioned replies.

She wasn’t making any progress. Nobody was listening to her.

This experiment had simply gone too far.

Rarity had had enough.

Chapter 5: An Element Apart

Rarity awoke to her bedroom light automatically coming on as scheduled, shining brightly on her face and shocking her out of a rather wonky dream she was having where Applejack was hosting a haute couture fashion show which was being held up because someone had mixed up the decorations with the wrong breed of apple. She put her hand over her eyes to block out the light and sighed.

In her mind she summoned up her schedule for the day and was immediately waylaid when she recalled the fifth item down: confront Sunset Shimmer.

This would not be the highlight of her week, but the sooner she dealt with this issue, the sooner she could get back to what passed for normalcy in her -- and her friends’ -- life.

With a firm nod to herself she got out of bed, putting on her purple slippers, and gathering her cleaning products from her narrow closet. She had a rather organized kit of care products if she did say so herself, but it took two hands to carry, ten minutes to open properly, and about an hour to apply. As such, she was forbidden from leaving it in the bathroom by her family quite soon after she began assembling it. It was just as well, there wasn’t really enough room when the kit was in the bathroom to use the toilet.

Through her cleaning and beautifying regiment she tried unsuccessfully to think of something other than Sunset Shimmer and the demon’s ongoing campaign to corrupt all of Rarity’s friends. The one time she did manage to get her mind onto another topic, it was the upcoming deadline for the Sapphire Shores design competition and how, again, it would take a miracle for Rarity to come up with she liked something in time. She almost preferred thinking about Sunset Shimmer to that, at least she had some hope that she would be able to successfully get rid of the flame-haired girl.

With her hair cleaned and styled, her face washed and makeup applied, and her nails properly tended to, Rarity exited the bathroom carrying her kit and nearly knocked her sister in the forehead as she walked out.

“Ah, geeze, Rarity!” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “Watch out!”

“Oh my,” said Rarity, moving the kit aside and looking down. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle, I didn’t expect you to be up. It’s so early!”

“I have to use the bathroom,” said Sweetie as she anxiously hopped. “Move, move!”

Rarity quickly shuffled aside. Her sister brushed past her and quickly closed the door with a slam, rattling the hinges.

Well, that was brusque, thought Rarity. Though she supposed that in a similar situation she wouldn’t have much patience for pleasantries. She usually tried to avoid intersecting with her family’s morning schedules by getting up much earlier than anyone else. She was obviously less successful on some days than others.

Heading back to her room, Rarity replaced her kit and looked at the clothes she had laid out for the day. As usual, her morning eye was a little more critical than her evening one and she moved some of the accessories around and replaced a lavender shirt with one slightly more heather. Satisfied with what she saw, she quickly slipped the outfit on and checked herself in her mirror. It was good combination, though she should have last night putting some ribbon on the sleeves instead of fuming over Fluttershy’s texts.

She peeked back out of her room when she heard the bathroom door open again. Since she shared a wall with the bathroom, she typically had to try not to hear it -- or any of the activity inside it for that matter. She saw Sweetie Belle rubbing her eyes as she walked out.

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity called out. “Did you want me to put together an outfit for you today?”

Sweetie looked startled at the sound of her sister’s voice but quickly yawned and waved. “Nah, it’s okay , I’m gonna try and sleep a little more.” She stumbled back through her door and closed it behind her.

Rarity closed her door again and frowned. She couldn’t put together an outfit, but maybe she could whip together something nice for her sister anyway. She turned back to her closet and pulled down a basket full of hats. She quickly scanned the scraps of fabric she had and collected a few colors that complement Sweetie’s hair. She brought them over to her sewing machine and carefully folded and wrapped them together such that they looked like a flower, then sewed it into a ribbon that she would tie around the crown. A half hour later she was done and she started to hear the movement of the rest of her family waking.

She picked up her bag of books and the newly assembled hat and went out to the kitchen for breakfast. She found her mother, Cookie Crumbles, there pouring a bowl of cereal for herself. She was still in her pajamas and had her hair tied in a simple pony tail.

“Good morning, dear,” said Cookie Crumbles. “The paper is on the table.” She turned and looked at the hat in Rarity’s hands. “That looks pretty, are you going to wear that today?”

“Good morning,” said Rarity. “No, this is for Sweetie Belle.” She set the hat down on Sweetie Belle’s chair and pulled the coupon section from the newspaper.

“That’s beautiful,” said Cookie with a nod. “Would you like some cereal?”

Rarity declined and went get a bowl and a grapefruit. As she was reading the sales and carefully cutting and separating her fruit her father, Hondo Flanks, came in. He was wearing one of the three suits he had, sans-tie, and it looked more than a little threadbare. It killed Rarity to see him in such a poorly surviving outfit, but she lacked the proper fabrics to make it much better. Someday, she promised herself...

“Good morning, ladies,” said Hondo. He rubbed Cookie’s shoulder briefly and came around to kiss the top of Rarity’s head. As he moved past his daughter he took off his jacket and hung it over the back of an empty chair at the kitchen table. He then went to the cupboard and got out a loaf of bread to make a sandwich.

Rarity looked with a sigh at the jacket and noticed the buttons on the sleeve hanging loose and low. With a quick and practiced motion, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small plastic sewing kit and went to work fixing the buttons. At least this, she told herself, she could do.

Hondo looked over from the toaster back at Rarity. “That’s a nice hat,” he said. Then his eyes widened. “Oh, Rarity, you don’t have to do that.”

Rarity nodded. “Yes I do,” she said. “It’s only way I can help you.”

“Sweetheart, you just being happy helps me, don’t ever think I expect more from you.” Hondo went back to his toasting bread and got out a jar of peanut butter.

Rarity thought about Sunset Shimmer’s caustic presence, as well as her failure to come up with a design for the Sapphire Shores contest. She wondered just how far she was from being truly happy.

“Helping you makes me happy, daddy,” said Rarity with a smile. She continued working until she’d checked and secured all the buttons on the jacket as well as fixed a loose thread hanging from one of the pockets.

By that time, Sweetie Belle had come in and sat next to Rarity while their mother left to finish her morning routine. After finishing with the jacket, Rarity handed the hat to Sweetie Belle.

“For me?” asked Sweetie. She put the hat delicately on her head. “How does it look?”

“Marvelous,” said Rarity with a broad smile. She put her sewing kit back in her bag and thought for the hundredth time about what she needed to do today. “Sweetie Belle, can I ask you a question?”

“Hmm?” asked Sweetie as she ate the cereal that Hondo put in front of her.

“What do the kids in your grade think about Sunset Shimmer?” asked Rarity.

“The one who blew up the school?” asked Sweetie. She received a nod in reply. “She’s awesome!”

“Awesome?” Rarity paled.

“She caused so much damage and she’s still coming to school? She has to be an expert at getting out of trouble,” said Sweetie Belle. “Scootaloo wants to apprentice to her.”

“I don’t know if that’s really what you should be thinking,” said Rarity, placing a hand to the side of her forehead.

“What do you think about her, then?” asked Sweetie Belle. She tipped her head slightly to the side.

Rarity sighed. “I think she’s a destructive influence, not just to the school building, and it was foolish for the Principal to let her come back. People could have died. People were hurt.”

“She must have had her reasons,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yes, she cared about herself and nobody else!” said Rarity.

“I meant Principal Celestia,” said Sweetie Belle with a half-smile.

“Oh,” said Rarity, momentarily stunned. After a moment she looked away and said quietly, “I suppose.” She didn’t want to talk too badly about Celestia in front of her sister, but she knew that Celestia would forgive a deadly dictator if they showed any measure of the ability to make friends afterwards. It was both admirable and utterly insane how far Celestia would go to encourage friendship.

“She hasn’t done anything bad since then, has she?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“It’s only been three days,” said Rarity.

“Sweetheart,” Hondo Flanks stepped in and sat down next to his daughters. He was holding a small cup of coffee. “It will only ever be some number of days since the last time someone makes a mistake. Whether it's three days or three hundred, for those people it can feel impossible to get completely away from the ghosts that haunt your past.”

Rarity’s jaw dropped and she stared in horror at her father. “N-no! I didn’t mean to imply she’s anything like—“

“Sometimes we make bad choices,” said Hondo. “And it seems, even if we recognize them at the time, that maybe it’s just easier to keep making bad choices than to go back and take a new path. Someone in that situation,” he paused briefly and made a small smile. “Well, it can take something really significant for them to realize just how far they’ve fallen before they learn to change.”

“Daddy...” started Rarity.

“Now, Rarity,” said Hondo. “If this girl did something terrible but now she’s trying to do better, I think you owe it to her to give her a chance.” He put his hand on her shoulder gently. “For me, anyway.”

Rarity felt like defending herself and explaining exactly how Sunset Shimmer was different, but couldn’t find words that weren’t going to seem hurtful. Instead she nodded silently and bit her lip. This was not the conversation to have with him.

“Now you girls get ready for school or you’ll be late,” said Hondo. He took a sip from his cup, then stood up again and moved to the counter to finish making his sandwich.

Rarity, feeling a little guilty, picked up the coupons she was collecting and pushed them into her bag. She quickly ran back to her room to check her hair and make sure she was still presentable, and then headed for the door. Sweetie Belle was there already, slipping her shoes on.

“Do you want me to come with you to Scootaloo’s place?” asked Rarity.

“I’ll be fine,” said Sweetie Belle. “It’s only a couple streets over and I’m a High Schooler now!” She turned and waved. “See you later!” She cheerfully walked off.

Rarity smiled at her sister’s pride and then began walking towards Pinkie’s house.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Pinkie stared at Rarity as they walked to Fluttershy’s house on the way to school. It was a look of either utter amazement or complete incomprehension. It was really hard to tell with her sometimes.

“I think we should give her another chance,” said Pinkie after a few moments of silent puzzling. “She certainly tried very hard to help Fluttershy yesterday while the rest of us waited at school.”

“I didn’t know Fluttershy needed help!” said Rarity loudly. She sighed. “And how many chances does she get?”

“I dunno,” said Pinkie. “My mother always says try, try, and try again, which is at least three chances.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. “How many of the things you say your mom says are actually true?”

Pinkie raised her eyebrows. “She says a lot.”

“Hmm,” mused Rarity. She reached a hand into her pocket and played with a thimble between her fingers, an idle motion she developed a few years back. “I’m just concerned about her sudden change of heart and whether it is destined to last. I’d love to help her get through her difficulties, of course, but it’s just not safe to get too involved with her until we know she’s going to stay good.”

“How will we know she’s good for good?” asked Pinkie, jumping around. “Do you want me to spy on her?”

“Um, no,” said Rarity.

“I can go digging into her past and see what skeletons I uncover!” said Pinkie.

“She’s from another world, Pinkie, she has very little past here that we don’t know about,” said Rarity.

“Are you suuuuuuuuure?” asked Pinkie. “Who knows where she goes when she’s not at school? Maybe she doesn’t go anywhere and turns into a flying siren who then sings to the janitors at night, entrancing them and controlling their every whim!”

“I-- no, I don’t think that’s likely,” said Rarity.

Pinkie gasped. “What if she’s still the demon and just has fooled everyone into thinking she’s a girl!”

“That’s essentially what I have been saying,” said Rarity. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to you.”

“How do we expose her then?” asked Pinkie. “Silver bullets? Garlic? Silver garlic?”

“What is—no, I’m sure she’s just a girl now,” said Rarity.

“But you said--“

“I’m speaking metaphorically, dear,” said Rarity. She took a calming breath. “She wasn’t a physical demon for years and still she destroyed our friendships, ruined our lives, pushed around the entire school, and set up events to steal a magic crown. If anything looking like a demon was a major step down in her power.”

“I don’t know,” said Pinkie, putting a finger on her chin. “Don’t you think we kinda made that way easier for her by not talking to each other and just assuming the worst of everyone? Not that it excuses her or anything, but we probably could have been better friends.”

Rarity stopped walking and stared at Pinkie. “Are you serious? It’s our fault she manipulated us?”

“That’s not—“

“It doesn’t matter if we’re the most vulnerable people in the world, it doesn’t give her any right to abuse us!”

“I don’t know if I was really abused—“ said Pinkie.

Rarity stepped up and gently took Pinkie’s hands. “We have to – all of us have to stick together now so this doesn’t happen again.”

Pinkie froze and her brow slightly furrowed. “Rarity,” she said softly. “Are you alright?”

Rarity dropped Pinkie’s hands and took a deep breath. She huffed slightly and turned to the side. “I’m sorry,” she said after a bit. She continued walking.

“Rarity,” said Pinkie.

“I’m fine,” said Rarity quickly. “But regardless, we need to keep Fluttershy safe and I think this whole Sunset business is going to hurt her if we’re not careful.”

“I suppose,” said Pinkie as she put her hands in her pockets. “Oh, there she is!”

They approached Fluttershy’s house and Rarity felt her brain scream on setting eleven. Fluttershy was standing in front of her house with her bag and books, looking pretty, her hands held lightly behind her back and a small blush on her cheeks in the cool fall morning air.

And there was Sunset Shimmer, talking and laughing with her. Rarity felt the dread rising in her.

“Good morning!” said Pinkie loudly as the approached.

“Oh, good morning,” said Fluttershy in her usual soft voice. “Sorry for making you all worry yesterday.”

“Oh, darling don’t even think about it,” said Rarity, smiling for her friend. “If anything we’re sorry you were in such a state and we didn’t know.”

Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad, we did alright.”

Rarity turned her eyes towards Sunset and tried not to glare. The girl was fashioned static, like many people their age, stuck in her leather jacket and skirt. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if not for the beating the coat took during the Fall Formal. The frayed edges and scorched zippers looked absolutely terrible. Rarity was annoyed the girl hadn’t replaced it entirely.

She pushed those criticisms to the side as be she could. “I’m surprised to see you this morning. Where do you live, anyway? Is this truly on your way?”

“My foster parents live downtown,” said Sunset.

“Oh, my, so far away,” said Fluttershy. “Why do you go to CHS?”

Sunset laughed weakly. “Why do you think? The portal. Transferred in to be close to it.”

“Wait,” said Rarity. “You walk all the way down here? You’re passing the school to get here.”

Sunset shrugged. “What else am I going to do with my mornings?”

You could stop bothering Fluttershy for one, thought Rarity. “Whatever, we should get going.” She motioned towards the school.

Sunset looked at Rarity’s outstretched hand. “After me, huh?” asked Sunset. She sighed and stuck her hands in her jacket. “All right.” She started walking... and almost immediately Fluttershy started walking beside her.

Rarity huffed and then followed. Pinkie jumped around beside her.

“This is fun, isn’t it?” said Pinkie.

“Hmm?” said Sunset in front.

“Well, the more the merrier!” said Pinkie. “It’s a shame Rainbow Dash and Applejack don’t live nearby.”

Sunset turned her head slightly. “Where do they live?” she asked. “I know Applejack lives on a farm but I could never figure out where there was a farm within the county lines. I have no idea about Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Why is that important? Do you need to know where we all live?”

“Uh, no,” said Sunset. “I just, well, I spent some time a while ago trying to figure it out, and wasn’t able to. It always puzzled me.”

“So you don’t need to know anymore,” said Rarity.

Sunset sounded like she was growling then Fluttershy gently put a hand on her arm. The sound stopped and Sunset shook her head. “You’re right, I don’t. Forget I asked.” She crossed her arms – causing Fluttershy’s hand to fall to her side – and started walking a little faster.

Fluttershy turned and gave a look to Rarity that she’d never seen from the girl before. It almost looked like disappointment. Then she sped up to match Sunset.

Rarity shook her head again.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity crossed out the design she was working on and angrily turned the page. Somehow she had failed to recognize the clashing patterns on the jacket and tights and it looked like storm of stars and leaves attacked an innocent model. Completely ridiculous! It would never even rank in Sapphire Shore’s competition.

She leaned back in her chair and breathed heavily.

“Ease off, sugah,” said Applejack from beside her. “You’re going to give yourself a stroke.”

Rarity remembered where she was and looked around. The arts room wasn’t entirely looking at her but at least half of the students were. She was sitting at one of the large drafting tables during their Senior Crafts class. Applejack had apparently walked over from the woodworking area and was now beside her. The nearby painting and pottery stations were manned by a half-dozen or so students, all of whom had looked up to watch her reaction.

Rarity held up a hand towards the class. “Sorry about that,” she said politely. After a moment the students realized there wasn’t going to be a dramatic explosion and went back to their work.

Normally Senior Crafts was the highlight of Rarity’s morning, a free form class that students who had earned enough credits in related art periods earlier in their high school years could take and just focus on creation. Students were graded on output and general improvement and nearly everyone got an A in the class if they tried at all. Today, however, Rarity felt haunted by any number of demons, not the least of which was the demon in the leather coat being friendly with Fluttershy.

“Anything you wanna talk about?” asked Applejack as she sat down close to Rarity. She had a piece of carved wood in her hands that she was very carefully working with a small blade. It was becoming the head and mane of a horse, akin to a large chess piece. It was really quite a remarkable carving. Applejack was very talented.

“It’s just this contest,” said Rarity, trying not to think of Sunset Shimmer. “The deadline is next week and there is a ton of work I need to do even after I come up with a design. If I don’t have something by Friday I don’t think I’ll be able to do the mock ups in time.”

“I thought you had all sorts of ideas with feathers and jewels and swooping sashes,” said Applejack. She motioned with the piece of wood as she said ‘swooping.’ The simplification made Rarity smile.

“Yes, I thought I did, but they’re just not good enough,” said Rarity with shrug. “They’re too mundane or not... not Sapphire Shores enough!”

“Mundane?” asked Applejack with narrowed eyes. She leaned in close to the page, her shoulder brushing against Rarity’s arm. “Have you seen how normal people dress?”

“I mean mundane for a superstar signer-slash-dancer,” said Rarity. “I’ve seen her outfits in her videos, I have to do something at least as amazing if I want to win this.”

“But doesn’t she have like an army of designers that get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to create costumes for her?” asked Applejack, straightening up again. “You can’t possibly be expected to compete with that. I thought this was more of an amateur thing.”

Rarity put a hand to her chest and leaned away from her friend. “Amateur! I couldn’t possibly create something that would be described as that.”

“Rarity,” said Applejack in her patient but slightly condescending tone. “I wasn’t calling you an amateur, I was just tryin’ to figure out what this contest was supposed to be.”

“Oh, I know, darling,” said Rarity. She settled back in her chair. “I really do, I’m just upset with myself that I can’t make these designs come to life in the way I imagine them. I don’t want to send in something that I’m not satisfied with.”

“Well, everything I’ve ever seen you do has been amazing,” said Applejack with hesitation. “Especially considering you have to gather your materials from thrift stores and clearance racks. They should offer some consideration for what you have to work with.”

“I’m afraid they’re interested in the designs themselves, not the background of the person who made them,” said Rarity. Not to mention she absolutely did not want anyone’s pity for her life. She would be recognized for her work or not at all.

“What about all those nifty designs you made for all the Fall Formals?” asked Applejack.

“Unfortunately much of those don’t fit Sapphire’s style, and almost all of them were actually copies of designs I’d seen elsewhere with just a bit of my own touch,” said Rarity. “As you said, I’m pretty good as a seamstress, but it’s as a designer that I want to be known by.”

“Well, it all looks amazing to me,” said Applejack. “Wish I were a judge on this competition.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” said Rarity. She looked down at the blank pad. She began sketching out a simple model and then began covering it in a dress of layered greens and red with slight apple motifs across the fabric.

“Come up with something?” asked Applejack.

“No, just started imagining you as a judge at a fashion show,” said Rarity as she quickly drew out the mock-belts and ruffles of cloth to look like the bandanas Applejack wore around her neck at the farm. “Come to think of it, I think I had a dream about that last night.” She grabbed a pencil and began filling in the colors her mind had been imagining over the sketch. “It’s not really Sapphire’s style either, but it helps to keep my creativity going.”

Applejack shook her head and turned to lean against the drafting table. “Dreaming about me now, are you, sugah?” She smiled and continued whittling. “See, I don’t see how you can make all that fer me in a flash but can’t do the same for Sapphire.”

“I’m not competing against anyone else for your fashion,” said Rarity with a smirk.

“Thank goodness,” said Applejack. “I don’t think I could deal with so many dresses.”

“I could make you some bedazzled overalls if that’s your preference,” said Rarity.

Applejack laughed. The two continued their work in silence for a few minutes. Rarity finished one angle on the Applejack-judge design and started doing a turn-around for completeness sake. She got halfway through a second angle when she slowed and stalled.

“I’m worried about Fluttershy,” she said, unable to keep herself from bringing it up to the one person who saw things the same way as her.

“I know,” said Applejack quietly. “But, you know, maybe she’s gettin’ through to Sunset. It might be a good thing.”

Rarity frowned. “So quickly? I don’t think so. It’s probably a trap.”

“A trap?” asked Applejack. “Why would you think that? What does she get out of it?”

“Revenge for us beating her,” said Rarity firmly. “She pretends to relent, makes a show of being sorry, targets the most vulnerable of us five, gets her to care, maybe even seduces her, and then turns the knife on her and –“

“Seduces?!” Applejack said, startled. She covered her mouth quickly after students began to look towards them again. She started whispering just loud enough for Rarity to hear. “What are you talking about?”

Rarity put down her pencil and pulled out her phone. She swiped through several screens and then showed Applejack the text conversation she had with Fluttershy last night.

“Your spelling is awful,” said Applejack.

“Ha, ha,” said Rarity, dryly. She knew she was being sarcastic. Out of all of them, Rarity was the only one to insist on proper grammar and punctuation in text messages.

Applejack frowned after a minute. “So, what? You think Sunset intended this? Seems a stretch.”

Rarity took back the phone. “Doesn’t seem like it to me,” she said. She shoved it back into her bag. “I don’t want to take the chance. We should do something.”

Applejack visibly paled. “Ah don’t know what you’re thinking, but getting in the way now might be a bad idea. What’re you even gonna say?”

“I don’t know,” said Rarity. “But I can’t do nothing.”

Applejack looked uncomfortable. “She could be being honest.”

“I want to give her the benefit of the doubt,” said Rarity, though the words curdled in her mouth as she spoke them. “But there should be contingency plans.”

“Rarity, isn’t this sort of... I dunno, scheming?” asked Applejack. “You ain’t normally this...” she trailed off.

“What?” asked Rarity. Now Applejack was driving her crazy. Was she on her side or not?

“Vicious?” ventured Applejack.

Rarity’s mouth hung open. “That’s how you think of me?”

“Not normally,” said Applejack looking anywhere but at her.

“I can’t believe you,” said Rarity. She closed her sketchbook. “I’m just trying to protect our friends.”

“Are you sure?” asked Applejack. “Because it seems like you’re trying to punish Sunset, and I’m not sure why.”

“Not sure why?” shouted Rarity. She felt her frown etching deeply into her face. She put her sketchbook into her back and grabbed her pencil box. She hefted her bag onto her back and pushed past Applejack and headed for the door.

“Rarity!” called out Applejack from behind her but she just ignored it and walked out.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity was waiting at the cafeteria when her lunch period came along. She’d ducked out of her last class a few minutes early just to make sure she could be there at the right time. After the bell rang, she waited and watched as students walked past her. She occasionally took a drink from the fountain or pretended to be sorting her book bag to appear slightly less suspicious, but after a minute she saw her target coming along, flaming hair and all.

Rarity stepped in front of her before she had a chance to even get near the doors to the cafeteria.

“Rarity,” said Sunset Shimmer. She didn’t look surprised. “I don’t suppose you’re here to compliment my outfit.”

“Come with me,” said Rarity firmly.

Sunset sighed and then nodded. “Lead on,” she said. Rarity turned and headed back towards the arts room. It was typically empty during this period and thanks to the Senior Crafts class, Rarity was allowed in during lunch. Normally it was to work on her projects and use the sole sewing machine in the room, but today it afforded her a brief amount of privacy.

They entered the room quietly and Rarity instinctively walked over to the large drafting tables before remembering to turn around and face her enemy.

Sunset Shimmer wasn’t even looking at her. She was slowly walking the perimeter of the room studying the art on display. It was all works from members of Senior Crafts, both current and prior classes. Tall ceramic vases were sitting next to clay sculptures, beautiful paintings, carved wood, small pieces of furniture, and dozens of sketches in charcoal and other medium. She seemed to walk a few steps and pause then move on. She stopped entirely at the end of the row, where nine clothing designs were hung in a grid.

“These are yours,” said Sunset, turning back.

Rarity was a little startled by the recognition. “Yes, a few pieces I did last summer when I interned at a local studio.”

“You’ve already worked as a designer?” asked Sunset, her eyes were wide and strangely full of awe.

“I did some costume work,” said Rarity. “Basic sewing. These designs were not used by the studio, they weren’t even asked for.” She sighed. “But Fluttershy got a hold of them and handed them off to my teacher without asking.”

“They’re good,” said Sunset, looking up at the designs again.

Rarity sighed. “Stop, please.”

Sunset looked at her. “Stop what?”

“Stop trying to manipulate me,” said Rarity. “You can’t just compliment me to get me on your side. I’m not so vain.”

Sunset made a short laugh and shook her head. “You know, your attitude is incredible.”

“Looks who’s talking,” said Rarity. “Are you sure you feel comfortable judging me?”

“You know, you were right,” said Sunset. “When you told me I was doing this for myself. I was too caught up in my problems to realize that the rest of you had issues of your own. I listened to you. I put aside my troubles and I chose to ignore what it cost me.”

“Until something else you want come along,” said Rarity. “You have nothing, it costs you nothing to act nice. But what if that portal opened tomorrow? Hmm? Would you run through it?”

Sunset looked like a deer in the headlights. “I-- uh, I don’t want to lie to you.”

“Then don’t,” said Rarity.

“I don’t know,” said Sunset reluctantly. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

“If you are even considering fleeing this world, then I have one thing to say to you,” said Rarity. She crossed the room to look Sunset directly in the eyes. “Stay away from Fluttershy.”

Sunset blinked. “What?” she looked puzzled.

“Back off, stay away, stop being friendly,” said Rarity.

“I thought... you all wanted to be friends,” said Sunset slowly.

“We don’t need friends who are thinking of running off the first chance they get,” said Rarity.

“I didn’t say I would do it,” said Sunset.

“But you would think about it,” said Rarity. “Means you want to.”

“Now that’s not fair,” said Sunset angrily. “I have not had the greatest week! I’m doing the best I can but it’s been days, Rarity, since the Fall Formal. Don’t I get some sort of a grace period?”

“You tell me,” said Rarity. “You were the great manipulator, does it matter how long someone is kind to you before sudden cruelty has an effect?”

Sunset looked uneasy. “You don’t have to say these things.”

“I do, because my friends are at stake,” said Rarity.

“I-I don’t want to hurt them,” Sunset stammered. “Not-- not anymore.”

“You’re unpredictable, unreliable,” said Rarity. “You don’t have to want to hurt anyone to do it. You’ll do it just by being yourself. How many times have you made some snide remark at Fluttershy’s expense without even thinking?”

Sunset looked stunned.

“You can’t help yourself,” concluded Rarity.

Sunset swallowed visibly and started blinking rapidly, looking away. Then she coughed and breathed out with a throaty chuckle. “You know, this is exactly what I would have done to get rid of somebody.”

Rarity was disgusted. “Don’t even try it.”

Sunset sniffled. “The crazy crap that Trixie is doing is amateur hour. Stuff you see in novels, melodramatic as all get out. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.” She rubbed her eyes. “But you… you know.”

“Don’t you dare compare me to you,” said Rarity.

Sunset turned to face Rarity and she saw her eyes were wet. “You know, though, what I realized recently? All that stuff I used to do was rooted in how much I hated myself. I realized how much being denied by Celestia made me feel worthless and alone. It made it so easy to figure out how to hurt others.” She was barely keeping herself from crying now. “So what’s your demon, Rarity?”

“Shut up!” said Rarity.

“What makes you hate so much?” said Sunset as she rubbed her eyes again.

“I am not like you!” said Rarity. “I never hurt my friends!”

Sunset looked away, unable to keep Rarity’s gaze. She was rubbing her eyes still. “Well, be happy. You’re right, I don’t know what world I want anymore. I might just leave. I might… hurt Fluttershy again. She’s probably better off without me around.”

Sunset stumbled slightly then ran out of the room.

Rarity watched her go, boiling over with rage. How dare she even try and compare them? Rarity was a refined girl. A generous girl! She protected the people she cared about. She had nothing in common with that demon who hurt everyone and anyone who stood between her and a stupid crown! Rarity would never do that. She would rather hurt herself instead of let harm come to her friends.

It was absurd. She had no demons. She didn’t hate herself. She didn’t!

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity said nothing at first. She remained silent at lunch while her friends commented on Sunset’s absence. Even when Flash Sentry came around she focused on her food. She let them ponder and postulate while she said nothing.

It worked fine at first. She had no real idea of what Sunset was doing or where she was, so it wasn’t like she could explain her whereabouts. It was a fine line to walk, but one that seemed sensible.

It started to seem more like lying as the day went on and it became apparent that Sunset hadn’t just skipped out on lunch but had instead fled the school. She hadn’t shown up to her afternoon classes, again, trying the nearly infinite patience of the principal. Her friends asked with more worry, and Rarity’s silence started to feel criminal.

And Fluttershy kept looking at her expectantly.

At the end of the day, the normally shy girl was standing at her locker, and she did not look timid at all. Sunset’s bad influence no doubt.

“You haven’t said anything,” said Fluttershy instead of a hello.

Rarity licked her dry lips, trying out the various excuses in her head to figure out which one was best. All of them felt bad. Worse, they felt slimy. They felt like things Sunset would say.

“Forget about her,” said Rarity. “She’s dangerous.”

“What do you know?” asked Fluttershy calmly. She was seriously, unambiguously angry, and yet still practically whispering her words in the same voice she always used.

“It was only a matter of time before she hurt you or someone else,” said Rarity.

“You talked to her, didn’t you?” asked Fluttershy.

“She’s too selfish to change, she’ll always be that demon inside,” said Rarity.

“You told her to leave?” Fluttershy said more than asked.

“She was going to hurt all of us!” shouted Rarity before she realized how loudly she was speaking.

Fluttershy stared at her with that disappointed look again. It was painful to see and made Rarity’s heart ache.

“So you decided to beat her to it,” said Fluttershy.

Rarity’s mouth went dry and she struggled to respond. Fluttershy turned away and walked off before another word could be said.

“No,” she said quietly. “No, no, no.” She dropped her bag and ran after Fluttershy, pushing through the throng of students in the hallways until she got through the back door of the school onto the blacktop. Hundreds of students were milling about but she searched for the familiar pink hair of her friend.

She found her standing with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. They were all looking at her with surprised stares. Applejack’s mouth was hanging open. Pinkie Pie said something and they all turned to look at Rarity.

She could read their expressions clearly. She’d seen them before.

Rarity turned away before anything could be said and ran home. She barely registered the world around her as she ran. She didn’t really know why she was running. Home was a vaguely comforting concept and she needed it right now. Streets blurred into each other but her instincts and habits burned into her mind for three years got her back.

She ran into the empty house -- Sweetie Belle would be with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom no doubt -- and went right into her room, closing the door behind her. She put her back against the door and tried to repair her psyche.

They were crazy to be angry with her, she rationalized. Sunset had shown her true colors last week and for all her remorse, it was likely to be temporary. People just didn’t give up on things they desired just because they didn’t get them. If that was the case, Rarity would have stopped trying to enter contests after failing to get into the--

No, no, she shouldn’t compare herself to Sunset. That was the real crazy thing to do. They were not alike, in any way. Apart from their ages, of course, and their general cool disposition. Though both of them tended to break down in spectacular--

Okay, she had to stop with that.

Rarity held her knees against her chest as she sat and tried to clear her mind. She did the right thing. She was sure of it. It was going to hurt a little, because it was a sticky situation, and someone had to step up and rip the bandaid off. If she didn’t do it now, then Sunset was going to do it later. It was better that it was Rarity and not Sunset who got everyone… hurt?

That wasn’t where she was going with that. She was sure of it, though her justification had slipped her mind she was positive it was better than that. It had to be. The alternative was that she wanted to hurt her friends, which was absolutely, undeniable untrue.

Except for Sunset Shimmer. But she wasn’t really a friend. Just like they weren’t really Sunset Shimmer’s friends. They were just pretending to be friends because Twilight asked them to.

But Fluttershy had to go and get too absorbed in the play and started to really care for Sunset. That was a mistake and Rarity was just trying to protect her by… driving away… her friend.

Rarity started to cry. There was a rational explanation for what she did. There was! She had to remember it because it was clear as day and then it wasn’t. She knew it was there, somewhere, she just had to reconstruct the chain of thoughts that led to it. Then she wouldn’t feel so crazy.

She knew Sunset was a threat because… because she’d always been a threat. She drove them all apart for over two years and that was bad. Rarity knew it was bad because it hurt so much not to have her friends there when she--

When she needed their support. Back for the first contest she wanted to enter after the fashion show they put on in their last year of middle school. She was supposed to pick three designs and send them to Canterlot University’s young designers competition. But she couldn’t decide on which three and she didn’t think any of them were really good enough to win a competition. She wanted her friends to help her decide but they had abandoned her and she was sure it was because she wasn’t good enough so she…

She never entered the contest.

Actually, for all her talk, she’d never entered any contest. She never thought any of her work was good enough and always gave up right on the submission date. She wasn’t good enough to live her life’s dream of being a designer.

Sunset was the reason she wasn’t living her dream.

But… that wasn’t any more reasonable than her earlier arguments, was it?

Sunset couldn’t be the reason she was a failure. She was a bully but she couldn’t steal her talent. No, that wasn’t right.

But if that wasn’t right, that meant nobody had stolen her talent. It meant…

Rarity got up from the door and rubbed her red eyes. She put a hand on her nightstand to help steady her as she felt fragile enough to be blown away in a breeze. She walked over to her desk which was covered in her work. Designs, color swatches, fabric choices, patterns, decals, accessories, all the tools to make designs.

Worthless. Because she was the one who had no talent.

She picked up her most recent designs for Sapphire Shores’ contest. They disgusted her. She tore them up. Then she picked up the designs beneath them. They were worse. She tore those up too.

She found more work that wasn’t good enough for anyone to see and destroyed those. She threw scraps of fabric she’d collected into the trash. Partially assembled blouses were shoved into bags and then shoved into the overflowing wastebasket.

Then she overturned her worktable. None of it was worth a thing. Her sewing machine fell to the ground a broke into several pieces.

She stared at the wreckage in her room and cried loudly. Then she collapsed on her bed and cried into her pillow until she passed out.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity woke up when the light on her nightstand turned on, brightly shining on her face. She sat up quickly and looked around her room, witnessing the destruction around her. She then turned the lamp off and removed the bulb for good measure, placing it in the drawer of her nightstand.

She rolled over and went back to sleep.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity woke up again when her father was gently shaking her. She stared, bleary-eyed at him, as he looked at her with a deeply concerned expression. He asked her what happened and she told him she didn’t want to talk about it. Her father, always the patient one, didn’t ask again. He did tell her, though, that if she didn’t have a story to tell him, she had to go to school.

Reluctantly, Rarity got up and pieced together just enough makeup and clothing not to be considered a vagrant. She went to the bathroom, joylessly showered, and got herself ready for the outside world. She wished she had armor, or possibly an invisibility cloak. Instead all she had was her clear complexion, her well curled hair, and a pair of sunglasses to hide her red eyes. She skipped breakfast since she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to keep it down.

She planned to look at nobody when she got to school and just go to her obligated classes as required to reach graduation and the vanish into oblivion. That plan got as far as the school grounds because she was shocked to find Sunset Shimmer there, standing with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.

Sunset didn’t look all that happy, but she was there and talking with the rest of them. Fluttershy was trying to force a smile and had a hand gently on Sunset’s arm as she talked. Sunset was nodding in accordance to whatever Fluttershy was saying.

These were her friends. Were.

Rarity turned to the side and headed into the school before they even noticed she was there.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rarity wasn’t sure what happened that day in class. She was there, she attended every one of them, but she wasn’t paying attention. She wasn’t even thinking about anything else in particular. She tried to think of nothing. She especially thought of nothing in the classes she shared with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie.

Before any memories could be made, it was the end of the day. Not just any day, either. It was Friday. The weekend awaited. A weekend so devoid of activity as to be worse than the the school days it was supposed to be a reprieve from.

Eager to avoid the start of such a long march of solitude, Rarity found herself walking into the arts room after the last bell. On a Friday, it was rare anyone -- normally including Rarity herself -- stayed after school to work on their crafts, especially this early in the school year. Once again, she found herself alone in that room. She slowly went through the designs she kept there, dropping each one onto the floor as she judged it unworthy.

When she was done she looked up at the wall and saw her designs there too.

What a joke. What was the idiom? Big fish in a small pond but a small fish in the ocean. Rarity could very well be the best designer CHS had ever seen, but compared to the real talent out there, she was nobody.

She pulled out the ladder and climbed up to reclaim her work. It was hers by right and she could take it down if she so desired. She carefully unclipped the nine pictures from the threads that held them aloft and neatly stacked them by the trash can.

It was then that Sunset Shimmer walked in.

The two girls stared at each other, neither happy to see the other, neither sure what was supposed to happen next. Sunset was carrying a broom and a dustpan and so Rarity commented upon them.

“You’re here to clean something up?” asked Rarity.

Sunset nodded. “Vice Principal Luna wants me to sweep up the pottery area. She says a lot of clay dust and chipped ceramic end up on the floor.”

Rarity nodded back. “She’s right. It turns into an awful mess that students accidentally track all over the halls.”

“Yeah,” said Sunset.

They stared at each other again. Rarity weighed her awful weekend and the awful person in front of her and struggled to figure out which was worse. To her surprise, the weekend won out.

“I can help you,” said Rarity, rolling up her sleeves. “The pottery wheel is a nightmare to move and the kiln has to be properly opened and disassembled to be cleaned.”

Sunset looked as if she’d just seen a UFO. “Okay?” she said experimentally.

Rarity turned and grabbed a smock out of the painting cabinet. She tied it on and headed to the kiln to begin the cleaning.

Sunset joined in and began sweeping and scrubbing. They worked together to clean the kiln and the wheel, and then Rarity held the dustpan as Sunset swept up the rest of the room. Then they cleaned up the discarded paints, put away the spare canvas materials, and wiped down the desks.

Finally, Sunset wheeled in a large trash bin and began collecting the wastebaskets from around the room. She stopped at the large one by the door and stared at the designs that were stacked on top of it.

“Are you throwing these out?” asked Sunset.

“Yes,” said Rarity, preferring brevity to any lengthy discourse.

“Why?” asked Sunset.

Rarity shrugged. “They’re worthless.”

Sunset shook her head. “They’re great, I don’t know why you’d say that.”

“You don’t have an eye for fashion, darling,” said Rarity. “Just look at that coat you’re wearing.”

Sunset shifted her weight as she looked at the papers. “Maybe not, but this still looks amazing to me. You shouldn’t throw it away, they might be useful for like a portfolio or something.”

Rarity frowned and walked over. “I don’t want to look at them anymore,” she said. Then she snatched the papers from Sunset and shoved them into the large trash bin. “They’re just the last in a long line of failures.”

“I thought you did these for fun,” said Sunset.

“I did them to be noticed,” said Rarity. “But I should have known better. I’m not worth it.” She shook her head. “You of all people should appreciate how pointless it is to fight against your fate.”

Sunset picked up the smaller bin and slowly dumped it into the large can, watching the designs get buried in soiled paper towels and discarded paints. She sighed and then slowly pushed the bin out of the room.

Rarity waited for a couple minutes and then realized Sunset wasn’t coming back. Her delay tactic for the weekend had evaporated and she didn’t have anything left to focus her attention on. She eventually packed up her things, taking her pencils and card stock that she normally left behind in the room, and then headed for the back exit of the school.

The sun was setting on the horizon when she stepped out into the cool fall air.

And Sunset Shimmer was standing there.

“This is getting stalker-ish,” said Rarity.

“Why’d you do it?” asked Sunset. “Why’d you come after me?”

Rarity looked up at the darkening sky. “I don’t know for certain anymore.” She had a pretty good idea, though. It still made her uncomfortable to think about it.

Sunset shuffled her feet. “They don’t hate you, you know.”

Rarity turned her head towards Sunset.

“Your friends. They’re more worried about you than anything.” Sunset crossed her arms.

“And you?” asked Rarity.

“Oh, I hate you,” said Sunset.

“Well, at least that’s normal,” said Rarity.

Sunset shook her head and unfolded her arms to hang by her sides. “No, I don’t mean that,” she said after a moment. “I hate how you made me feel. Insignificant. Helpless. I hate how much that hurt me because I thought I was above it.”

Rarity could imagine how she might feel and it pained her deeply. “I hate how similar we are,” she said quietly.

Sunset stared at her. “Yeah,” she said.

They looked around the school grounds awkwardly as minutes passed. Then Sunset finally spoke up.

“Come on,” she said. She put her hands in her pockets and started walking.

Rarity, with little else to occupy her, just went along. Occasionally, they talked.

“You came back to school,” Rarity said at one point.

“Fluttershy came to get me,” said Sunset. Rarity winced at how much she must have burdened Fluttershy with her actions. “She convinced me to return.”

“How?” asked Rarity.

“With a… convincing argument,” said Sunset Shimmer.

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that, but Sunset only looked away and said, “You’ll have to ask Fluttershy about it.”

Rarity wondered if she’d get the chance.

“You giving up on your designer dream?” asked Sunset.

“Yes,” blurted Rarity. Then she frowned. “No. I don’t know.”

“Pinkie said you wanted to go to a fancy fashion school in the big city,” said Sunset. “I suppose you were hoping for a scholarship.”

“Sort of,” said Rarity. “Not really. That school was never going to happen.”

“Because of money or skill?” asked Sunset.

Rarity said nothing.

Eventually as the sun got close to falling beneath the horizon, they stopped walking in front of a vacant office building. Rarity looked around but saw nothing but other office buildings in all directions.

“Where is this?” asked Rarity.

“This is where I spend most of my time,” said Sunset. She led them in through a door with padlock she had a key for and up a flight of stairs. The further into the building the less it looked like an office and more it started to look like an apartment complex. Doors were open and inside were simple, but complementary decorations and window dressings.

“You live here?” asked Rarity.

“Most of the time,” said Sunset. She continued past the smaller offices until she reached a larger, corner office that had been fully furnished with a bed, bookshelves, stacks of paper and various toys and a couple instruments.

“You did all this yourself?” asked Rarity.

Sunset nodded. She put her bag down next to a stack of textbooks and then collapsed into a reclining chair that looked out the large windows into the twilight. “I couldn’t stand my foster parents originally, so I build this place piece by piece to get away.” She reached out and picked up a guitar that was leaning against the wall. She plucked gently at the strings in a casual, melodic way.

Rarity listened for a few minutes then leaned against the desk by the window. “Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

Sunset’s plucking slowed and stopped. “I built all this because it was necessary to my plan, my obsession to prove... something. It drove me on to the point that nothing was too big or too complicated as long as it was in service to the plan. I did some great things lying to myself.”

Rarity wasn’t sure about the word ‘great’ in that sentence, but said nothing.

“I can’t afford to fool myself anymore,” said Sunset. She looked up from her guitar to watch Rarity. “You were right, about the demon.”

Rarity eyes widened.

“It’s always there,” said Sunset. “Offering me the choice between power and friends. Making the easy way out seem enticing. I can’t get away from it. So I have to learn to ignore it. Because it’s a liar. It only seems easy, it only looks like power. It all falls apart as soon as it comes together.”

Rarity looked down.

“And I think you’re more than a little familiar with that voice too,” said Sunset.

With a grimace, Rarity looked back at Sunset. “What is she like?”

Sunset frowned. “Who?”

“The other me?” asked Rarity. “The one who lives in that world of ponies.”

Sunset bit her lip for a moment and she looked off into the distance. “I only know what I saw through the portal, but she’s a friend of Twilight and Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash and all the others you’re friends with here.”

Rarity nodded.

“She owns and is the sole worker at the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville,” said Sunset. “I understand she is quite well known across Equestria for her designs. I’ve seen more than a few of them though the portal, and I have to say they’re quite nice. Cut for ponies, of course, not humans.”

“She’s that successful?” asked Rarity.

Sunset shrugged. “Seems that way. Though she’s a celebrity for other reasons too, specifically because she’s the Element of Generosity.”

Rarity studied her hands. She felt like she could be famous too if only she could get them to do what she wanted.

“Why are you giving up?” asked Sunset.

Rarity bristled again at that phrasing, but quickly calmed herself. It wasn’t incorrect, she was just used to couching her failures in other words that seemed less harsh. But she was right. She was giving up.

“I’m not as good as that other Rarity,” said Rarity. “I’m not going to make it as a designer.”

Sunset seemed annoyed. “Is that what your voice tells you?”

Rarity opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself again and tried to think about what she was saying. Was her voice the one who told her she could succeed, or the one telling her nothing she did was good enough?

“That seems like a yes,” said Sunset. “Maybe you shouldn’t be listening to that voice either.”

It wasn’t that easy, Rarity said to herself. She couldn’t just go against her own thoughts. But then again, everyone was expecting Sunset to do that and it seemed, at least until Rarity ripped into her yesterday, that she was starting to succeed.

If Sunset Shimmer could do it, couldn’t Rarity? It wouldn’t be easy, that was for sure, but it could be done.

What did she have to lose by trying? She could be embarrassed, of course, and that was a scary prospect. She didn’t want to be shown to be a hack in public, she would just die. Well, figuratively, anyway. She wouldn’t die literally. One she could get over, the other was slightly more permanent.

Which, she guessed, meant she wouldn’t die and embarrassment was possibly not such a terrible as she had been imagining. So, why not give it one more try? Or maybe more than one?

Rarity felt her heart beat a little faster. Could it ever be different?

“Why are you trying to help me?” asked Rarity through a daze.

Sunset leaned forward, resting her elbows on the guitar on her lap. “Because your friends still care about you. Fluttershy is worried about you. If I can help you back to them just a little bit, then she’ll be less worried, more happy. That seems like a good thing to me.”

Rarity was stunned by this simple explanation.

“And I believe helping someone else instead of myself was the criteria you gave to me on Tuesday to be able to apologize to you,” added Sunset.

Rarity trembled as she realized just how wrong she was, not just about Sunset but about how similar they were. While she was standing still and pointing back at the past, Sunset was rushing past her and heading towards the future. Rarity realized she had things to learn from Sunset now.

“I was the selfish one on that day,” Rarity said. “Towards you. Towards all of my friends, really. I was upset at myself for… well, for a long time now, and I took it out on you.” She stood up. “But I don’t want to hear your apologies, because I don’t deserve them. We both have a lot of growing to do, and it’s better we don’t waste time competing.”

Sunset stood up and gently placed the guitar on the ground next to the chair. She came over to Rarity and held out a hand.

“Maybe we start again, then?” asked Sunset.

Rarity look at the hand and slowly reached out to shake it.

“Nice to meet you, Rarity,” said Sunset.

Rarity looked up at this girl from another world. “You too, Sunset Shimmer.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Hondo Flanks said very little to his daughter as he drove her back home from the industrial park he picked her up at. Rarity was relieved at that, as she wasn’t quite sure what to tell her father about Sunset’s illegal abode. It seemed as though nobody had cared for several years that she was living there, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t start to care if it was brought to everyone’s attention.

The car ride was short, regardless, and Rarity had gone through the usual pleasantries about school and the weekend and who was Sunset Shimmer. She had carefully picked her words in light of their conversation yesterday morning so as not to invite more questions.

They arrived home fifteen minutes later and Rarity did her best to act normal, greeting her sister and mother, and dismissing the concerns about her room. She said she would clean it up and it would be fine. At that, she headed back to her bedroom and opened the door.

It really was a mess. The pieces of her sewing machine were everywhere, mixed with torn fabric and paper, stained from water colors and markers. The effort to get this back to any sort of sensible organization was practically not worth it.

Hondo reappeared behind her while she surveyed the wreckage.

He whistled calmly. “Looks like a hurricane hit in here.”

“Yes, not one of my finer moments,” said Rarity.

“One I hope we won’t be repeating anytime soon,” said Hondo.

Rarity shook her head. “No,” she said. “I feel better now.”

“Better enough to talk about it perhaps?” asked Hondo.

Rarity turned and smiled expectantly at her father.

Hondo put up his hands. “All right, all right, far be it for me to be interested in the lives of my daughters.” He smiled and started to walk away.

“Daddy,” Rarity said quickly. Her father paused and smiled as he turned back.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

Rarity tried not to look as uncomfortable as she felt. “Do you-- I mean, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I was just wondering if, you-- you ever think about having a drink again?”

Hondo looked kindly down at his daughter. He then got on his knee so he was looking up at her instead of down, and took a slow breath. “All the time,” he said. “That’s not really going to change for me.”

Rarity felt awful for even discussing this, she even felt tears well up at the hopelessness of constantly fighting back an urge you can never, ever, indulge in. “How do you not?” she asked.

Hondo put his hands gently on Rarity’s arms and smiled at her. “I remember there are people who love me that I’d be letting down if I did, and then I make the right choice.”

Rarity tried to smile but her lip was trembling and she felt herself tear up.

“Don’t cry for me, sweetheart,” said Hondo. “Doing the right thing for you and Sweetie Belle is better than any drink I’ll ever have.”

Rarity closed her eyes and nodded.

“Do you need some help with your room?” asked Hondo.

Rarity shook her head.

Slowly, Hondo’s hands left her arms. A moment later she felt his lips press against her forehead briefly. “If you change your mind, I’ll be here.”

She heard his steps drift away. She stepped back into her room and closed the door before finally opening her eyes. She looked at the mess again and sniffled once, then smiled.

She picked up her table and put the pieces of the sewing machine on top. She opened a drawer in her nightstand and pulled out a small case of screwdrivers. Righting her chair, she sat down in front of the table and got to work.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Just over a week ago, she was a defeated demon that had been effectively banished to a dimension where her greatest strength was essentially useless. Still, it seemed like Sunset Shimmer had fewer concerns then than she did now.

The weekend was slow and uneventful, but that was actually preferable to the alternative. Her Saturday detention was brief but boring, as she was asked to make up all the work done in the classes she’d missed. Fortunately, she hadn’t actually missed anything she didn’t already know.

On Sunday, she spent the day with her foster parents at the flea market. It was a fascinating event full of tables and crafts, and second hand goods for sale. She wished she’d gone earlier when she was still decorating her place at the industrial park. She could have found far more of the things she was looking for at prices only slightly higher than free.

Her foster parents even managed to be kind and entertaining, and they ate out for dinner at a reasonably nice tavern. She may have even promised to start bringing her stuff over from her squatter space on a slightly more permanent basis.

Then Monday rolled around it was time for school again. She headed out early, as usual, and made her way to Fluttershy’s house. The girl was cheerful as always, and even teased Sunset on her unchanging clothes, asking if she needed someone to shop for her.

Sunset was protesting the need for a variety of clothes when Pinkie Pie and Rarity appeared, the former looking peppy and grinning madly, and the latter was clutching a bundle of rolled up papers and had bloodshot eyes. She was smiling, too.

“Good morning,” said Sunset, experimentally.

“Good morning,” Pinkie and Rarity said in unison. They then laughed at the coordination.

“You don’t look so good,” said Fluttershy carefully to Rarity.

Rarity laughed. “Oh, believe me, darling, I feel worse, but I couldn’t spare a wink if I was going to finish these on time.”

“These?” asked Sunset as she looked at the rolled up papers.

“Uh-huh,” nodded Rarity. “I have sketches and mockups for five designs and I’d like you all to help me decide which ones to send to Sapphire Shores’ contest. I think they’re some of the best work I’ve ever done, but I could always use an outside opinion.”

“Oh, we’d be happy to help,” said Fluttershy.

“I’ll show you all at school,” said Rarity with a smile. She charged on ahead. “Let’s go!”

Sunset watched as Rarity marched forward with Fluttershy beside her laughing and Pinkie hopping along. She smiled at the fashionista, and hoped this would last at least a little while and give her some time to relax.

Though her smile faltered slightly.

“Five designs,” she said under her breath. “Not six.”

One step at a time, came the voice of Star Swirl the Bearded.

Sunset only shook her head in response.

Chapter 6: An Act of Contrition

Author's Note

7-17-2016: Minor revisions.

Chapter 6: An Act of Contrition

Chapter 6: An Act of Contrition

It was two weeks before Sunset realized she had put Flash on hold and never gotten back to him. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen him in that time either, he had just not brought it up and she had completely failed to remember. She felt guilty about it, but to be fair, she had a lot on her plate these days.

“I know,” said Flash with a smile as they walked down the paths behind the school and between the athletic fields.

“That doesn’t excuse it,” said Sunset. “You asked for my opinion on something and then I forgot. If I’m going to do this friendship thing right, I have to remember stuff like this.” She waved a finger at Flash. “And you can’t just let me ignore you!”

“You weren’t ignoring me,” said Flash, sticking his hands in his pockets. “We saw each other every day. You were just mostly with Fluttershy or Rarity or Pinkie Pie. Mostly Fluttershy. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Sunset sighed. “You know, all this being nice can turn into quite a bit of complacency.”

“What’s going on with Fluttershy, anyway? I haven’t really talked to her since the animal shelter thing.”

Sunset bit her lip as she thought about that question.

“Something wrong?” asked Flash.

Sunset shrugged. “I might be misreading the situation. There is the possibility it’s all in my head.”

Flash studied Sunset with intensity. He also began twisting his lips in an awkward display of thought. “She looks at you a lot,” he finally burst. “When you’re not looking back.”

Sunset nodded, which was as neutral a way as she could conceive of taking this information.

“I’m just saying,” continued Flash. “If the thing you’re thinking is the same thing I’m thinking, then it’s not just you thinking those things.”

Sunset rose an eyebrow. “I need a map to navigate that sentence.”

“She likes you,” said Flash.

“I know,” said Sunset.

“She likes you, likes you,” said Flash.

“Thanks for that clarification,” said Sunset.

Flash hesitated before saying more. “Do you like her?”

Sunset glared at him and sped her walk up a bit. Flash eventually caught up at the end of the rows of tennis courts and then matched her pace.

“I’m sorry,” said Flash.

“I hope this wasn’t the thing you wanted to talk to me about,” said Sunset. “Because, really, this isn’t your business.”

“Not even as an ex-likes-you-likes-you person?” asked Flash.

Sunset slowed down and turned to look at him. No matter what he said, it was Sunset’s decision this matter, and it was what Sunset’s values were that led the day here. His opinion was his own and she owed nothing to him on that front. They were no longer dating.

On the other hand, she was a foreigner in this land, even three years on. As much as she had gotten used to the strange names and different history of this world, she still thought like a pony, and still had to translate the terms she used into things appropriate for humans. Flash could, possibly, have an opinion worth hearing.

But she had other people to worry about now, and she didn’t know if Fluttershy would want this discussion to include Flash. It would be better not to push it without permission. She sighed at the complicated nature of her life now.

“Does this even happen in Equestria?” asked Flash, interrupted her internal deliberation.

“Does what happen?” asked Sunset.

“Well, uh—“ he stammered a bit as if suddenly unsure of what he was talking about. “Girls liking girls? Did you even have girls and boys—“

“Yes, there is both gender and sex,” interrupted Sunset before this became exceptionally inane. “And yes, romantic relationships are not limited to the biologically required pairings, we have magic after all.”

“Ah, so you...” said Flash, who now seemed to be blushing. “Okay then.”

“This world is so strange,” said Sunset as she kept walking. “You have television and movies, and seem to delight in watching other people do all sorts of things but act all awkward when it’s happening in front of you. Doesn’t anyone watch plays?”

“Not nearly as much as telev—wait, you don’t have TV?” asked Flash.

Sunset shook her head. “Magic can recall certain events from the past into the present, and make them visible to be seen, but it’s not well suited to entertainment. Manipulating a recollection of a past event to add things like narrative or music is difficult and time consuming. Plays are the primary means of entertainment.”

“You don’t have recordings?” asked Flash.

“Photography,” said Sunset. “But film is not nearly as developed as it is here, probably comparable to how it was fifty years ago. Technology in general is far superior here than in Equestria. Probably because of magic.”

“Film isn’t as developed?” asked Flash with a smirk.

“Oh, stop,” said Sunset, dismissing his puns.

“So, wait, magic interferes with technology?” asked Flash.

“Magic renders it unnecessary,” said Sunset. “I was surprised when I came here that humans had progressed so far without magic, but it makes sense. There was no other option. Humans spent millennia pursuing flight while we had it readily accessible. Illnesses rose up and decimated early humanity until you learned simple things like cleanliness.” She shrugged. “Even your gods... well, I’ve learned enough not to talk too much about that situation.”

Flash smiled at her.

“What?” asked Sunset.

“It’s easy to forget you’re from another world,” said Flash. “Until you go talking about how inconvenient dying from sickness is.”

Sunset scowled. “Well, it’s not like I blame you for it, it was just a surprise to learn all this about human history. It’s different, not bad!”

Flash held up his hands. “Alright, alright, I understand.”

Sunset stopped and turned on Flash. “Again, you’re delaying. Tell me what it is you wanted from me back on the day we helped Fluttershy at the shelter.”

Flash's smile faded and he went quiet for a second. He grimaced briefly and then took a breath. “How good do you think Flash Drive is?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Flash, I already told you I thought--"

"No, no," interrupted Flash. He held up a hand. "Thank you, again, for that. But forget about being friends, and anything you may think about me and what happened between us. I really want to know what you'd think if you didn't know me. Would you listen to Flash Drive's music?"

Sunset struggled to speak for almost half a minute. "I'm sort of a classical music fan," she admitted.

Flash winced like she'd taken a swing at him.

"Uh- now, that's--" started Sunset.

"It's alright," he said. "I put too much pressure on you." He looked at his hands and shook his head.

With a mild shake in her hand, Sunset reached out and touched Flash's shoulder. "What's-- uh, what's happening?"

Flash looked up at the clouds. "Brawly Beats, he... you know who B-Beats is, right?"

Sunset suppressed a chuckle. "Yeah, I know who your drummer is."

"Right," nodded Flash. He hesitated again. "He doesn't want to go to college."

Sunset nodded and Flash looked at her expectantly for a few seconds before she realized she was supposed to have reacted. "So... the rest of Flash Drive is going to college?"

With a shrug, Flash said, "Well, yeah, of course."

Sunset frowned as Flash got up and began pacing about. "You know, B-Beats has never really been the best student. And he's just kind of hoping to skip it. Spend more time helping the band."

"That's good, right?" ventured Sunset. She was starting to feel uneasy.

"It's good," said Flash in a way that it was clear there was more.

"But?" prompted Sunset. She took a shot in the dark, bringing voice to concerns she'd begun to feel herself. "But the band's going to be far away and Brawly will be stuck here?"

"Not just far, but two different places," said Flash.

Sunset's mouth dropped. "You're disbanding?"

"We're going to college!" said Flash, exasperated. He blinked. "I'm sorry, Sunset, I know you don't know all of this. It's just -- it was fun, we're pretty great at it, but college was always the plan. For most of us college is the plan. Including Ringo, he wants to become a talent manager."

"You're leaving him behind," said Sunset softly.

"No," said Flash quickly. "We're not! We just didn't change our plans because of Flash Drive. But B-Beats didn't get that and now I don't know what to do. I don't know how to tell him we're not on the same page. It's going to hurt him and... he's my friend"

Sunset nodded and now she stood. She looked off back at the school. "He's your friend, but you're not all going to abandon your futures just for him."

"Ehhhh," groaned Flash. "When you say it that way--"

Sunset turned back. "Tell him," she said simply. "Now. While he has time to come up with something else."

Flash came back down and sat on the bench. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"I'd want to know," said Sunset. "Before... before anything happened that was irrecoverable."

Flash sighed loudly. "You're right. I'll tell him."

Sunset nodded, but her thoughts were already racing ahead of her.

*** ( MLP ) ***

At the end of the day, Sunset opened her locker as a formality at this point. There wasn’t anything in there she cared about anymore, but she was morbidly curious as to what had been done during the course of the day. Often it was fairly unoriginal and frankly repetitive. Honey was a recurring theme, then sawdust, and at one point ketchup packets.

Today it was vinegar. The smell was a little overwhelming and she shut the door immediately.

“Don’t they realize you don’t keep anything in there?” asked Fluttershy, who was watching over Sunset’s shoulder.

“It’s still kind of annoying,” said Sunset. “That might be their plan at this point since actually getting me in trouble has failed on several angles. Luna just isn’t buying the tall tales and threatened to put anyone who told a lie to her in detention as well. Anything more complicated than that seems to be beyond Trixie’s ability.”

“Hopefully it will end soon,” said Fluttershy. “I’d like it if you had a locker again.”

“Me too,” said Sunset. She hefted her heavy bag onto her back again.

“Do you need help?” asked Fluttershy.

“No thanks,” said Sunset, and made a small smile. They walked towards the front offices. When they got there, Fluttershy would keep going and Sunset would go to her detention. It was a two minute walk and Sunset had told Fluttershy not to bother several times, but still the girl came along.

“Are-are you doing anything this weekend?” asked Fluttershy as they walked.

“Detention as usual,” said Sunset.

“‘That’s just Saturday morning, what about the rest of the day?” asked Fluttershy.

“Not sure,” said Sunset. “Why, is the gang going somewhere?”

“No, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the mall with me,” said Fluttershy. She was looking at her feet and not at Sunset at all.

Sunset frowned. “I’m not doing anything else, we can go to the mall.” She saw Fluttershy start to look up and she quickly smiled. “I’ll warn you I’m not a great companion for shopping, I don’t have much money to buy with.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” said Fluttershy with a bright smile. “We can just look, if you want.”

Sunset nodded. She wished she could confidently say anything else, but she couldn’t think of something, and she definitely didn’t want to do it here in the middle of the school.

Instead she said nothing until they got to the front office.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Sunset. She waved casually.

Fluttershy gave her a hug instead.

“Okay, okay,” said Sunset for the second time today. She gently pushed the girl back and waved again.

This time Fluttershy waved back and turned to leave. With a sigh, Sunset headed into Luna’s office.

“Good afternoon, Sunset Shimmer,” said Luna from behind her desk. The principal was dressed conservatively as normal, dark pants, midnight blue blouse and a buttoned jacket. She looked deep in concentration as she typed on her laptop. She hadn’t even looked up when Sunset entered.

“Hi, VP,” said Sunset.

Luna looked up this time.

“Vice Principal Luna,” said Sunset with a grin.

Luna closed her laptop and folded her hands on top of it. “We’re halfway through your detention, which while rocky at the start has become fairly routine at this point. I hope you understand the necessity for discipline at this point.”

Sunset shrugged. “It’s not like my crime had anything to do with your school, per se, just happened to occur here.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “That’s a rather pragmatic approach to take, considering it was Celestia and my generosity that resulted in this line of detentions rather than a stay at the local jail.”

Sunset paled. “Right, I know. I’ve said I’m thankful before, I still am. I’d much rather be here than there. Sorry.”

Luna nodded. “I’m not sure how things work in the world you come from,” she said and paused a long time before continuing. “But Celestia and I have offered you more than just a commuted sentence. You have opportunities now that you wouldn’t have with a criminal record. A possible future here in our world, if you intend to stay.”

Sunset stepped away from the office door and sat down in the chair opposite Luna.

“I don’t have much choice at this point,” said Sunset. “But if you’re asking what I’ll do if a choice presents itself...” she shrugged. “I don’t have an answer for you, other than to say that after possibly six years, I will know less about my original world than I will about this one.”

“Then perhaps it’s worth your time to consider a future here,” said Luna. “Do you have anything you have thought about doing with your life?”

“Have I thought of it?” asked Sunset. “Unfortunately, I can’t seem to escape people asking me about it so, yes, I’ve thought of it. Do I have any idea of what I might want to do? Not at all.”

“You are lucky to have so many people looking out for your future,” said Luna. “But if you’re still having trouble, perhaps I can help you as well.”

“It’s not like I don’t know my options,” said Sunset. “I just don’t think any of them are great. Not a lot of need for a genius in Equestrian magic, so whatever I do I have to accept that it won’t be what I want or what I’m good at.”

Luna sat back in her chair. “I don’t think that’s fair, you’re good at quite a lot. You excel in your classes, and that was through no manipulation or subterfuge that I ever became aware of.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Okay, yeah, I’m good at math and science, but that’s only because they were crucial to understanding the underlying concepts of intra-crystalline dependencies as set forth in Star Swirl’s Magical Fundamentals – which, I’m sure you don’t care, but turned out to be horribly simplifying the equations such that I had to deduce the proper constants myself.” She folded her arms. “I did it to learn more powerful magic, I’m not really interested in doing it for the sake of math and science itself.”

“There are not many that pursue science and math for their own sakes,” said Luna with a smile. “Perhaps there is an application of those ideas you haven’t considered.”

Sunset frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, engineering for one,” said Luna, motioning to her laptop. “Computers are machines that rely on science to work, and mathematics to construct and program. There are many engineering disciplines, of course, not just computers. I know that cars are pretty enticing for many. As is architecture.”

Sunset unfolded her arms and considered the idea. For as much as the Star Swirl in her head bugged her about the future, he rarely had any really great ideas that fit into this world. Science was, after all, the magic of this world.

“I’d like to fly,” said Sunset, almost without thinking. “I guess I could think about it.”

“That’s all I ask,” said Luna. She pushed aside some folders on her desk and picked up a blue one. “Today we’ll be doing something different.”

“Run out of extra class work for me already?” said Sunset.

Luna looked at her evenly.

“Go ahead, I’ll refrain from commenting,” said Sunset.

“As I mentioned before, you are quite good at you classes, despite your attitude,” said Luna. “It seems to me to be a waste having you do things I could just as easily have our janitorial staff accomplish. So starting today, you will provide tutoring.”

Sunset blinked. “Tutoring? Me?”

Luna nodded. “Your grasp of most of these concepts is at least at the college level, it should be no challenge to teach them to others. Betters still, if you could inspire others to look beyond the lessons into applications, I would be indebted to you.”

Sunset started to smirk again but Luna held up a finger. She stopped herself.

“Your students will be others in detention at first, but we will see where we go from there.” Luna opened the blue folder and pulled out a page of names and topics. “Does this interest you or would you like to go back to cleaning the gym?”

Sunset grimaced. “No, this sounds much less disgusting, I’ll do it.”

Luna smiled.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset threw her bag onto the recovered papasan chair in her room at the office park and then collapsed into the recliner beside her desk. She was still holding the paper with names and curriculum on it. It was an equally depressing and ominous list.

In the years attending CHS, Sunset had come to understand the established expectations when it came to education in this world. There was a spectrum of education each grade was to receive and a bell curve with a majority of students in the center of that range of topics. Some of the topics on the list were far below that curve. And that was only the depressing part.

The ominous part was that she recognized some of the names on the list. She wished she hadn’t. At least the names she knew were not too far down in the spectrum.

Still, for all her distress, she was thinking. It was a challenge. Not exactly the sort of challenge she would have picked for herself, but it was something she could work through. Something she could use her mind to figure out.

“And what, exactly, were you using it for until now?” asked Star Swirl as he stepped into her peripheral vision. He tipped his large and unwieldy hat to the side. “Your mind, that is?”

“Don’t start,” said Sunset. She turned away from the phantom.

Star Swirl walked in from the other side of her vision. “No, no, don’t be upset, I think this is a good thing. Something to disrupt the careful balance you’ve attained.”

Sunset tried to ignore it, but it was, in a way, her own mind challenging her, and she couldn’t escape it. “Balance?” she said angrily.

“For better or worse, the last two weeks have been about routine,” said Star Swirl. “You’ve seemed to have won the friendship of Rarity, and something else from Fluttershy, and their friends have generally accepted your presence in their group. But is that all you seek to accomplish?”

“I ‘seek’ a way to evict you from my mind,” said Sunset. “I’m doing the friendship thing and your complaint is...what? I’m not doing it fast enough?”

“Speed was your original folly,” said Star Swirl.

“Then what?” asked Sunset. “Because I’m thinking if you say ‘folly’ again I’m not responsible for what I do next.”

“Friends are not a checkbox, Sunset,” said Star Swirl. “Not a goal to achieve for the sake of itself. Friends empower us, in ways you’ve seen and others.”

“Yeah, Twilight’s friends utterly trounced me,” said Sunset. She shook her head. “And I get it, but it’s just not something that’s second nature to me.” She put the paper of names on her desk and leaned her elbows on her knees. “Without someone actually coming after me, I thought I might relax a little bit. I’ve got plenty of time.”

“You never know when a new challenge might arise,” said Star Swirl. He walked over to the desk and pointed a hoof at the paper.

“This?” said Sunset. “The tutoring? You think this is an opportunity to make new friends?”

“Every day could be a day to meet a new friend, but this is also a chance to explore your future, and find out what you might want to become,” said Star Swirl.

“A teacher?” asked Sunset. She tapped her finger rhythmically on the desk. “I’m not bound to be too good at this.”

“And why not?” asked Star Swirl. “For all your ambition, you have spent your life learning and growing your mind. You know how it is done and could teach it to others.”

“I know how I did it,” clarified Sunset. “But unless you want me to inspire these students to become myopically focused on gaining power until it nearly destroys them, I don’t know if I’ll get the same interest.”

Star Swirl sighed and walked around to the window, looking out into the dark. “You blame too much of your behavior on your mistake. You are still a learner at heart, it is what enticed you to magic in the first place.”

“Well, that and growing up in a school for magical geniuses and being tutored by a god,” said Sunset.

Star Swirl turned. “Must you have a retort for every comment?”

Sunset thought for a second, then nodded.

Star Swirl rose an eyebrow. “You don’t act this way around Fluttershy.”

“So what?” asked Sunset. “I don’t want to get rid of her. You? I could go either way.” Sunset folded her arms. “And I used to, you know, do that... until I realized how much it hurt her.”

“Then listen up,” said Star Swirl. “I am here for a limited time, and nothing you do will make me go faster or slower. So while I am here, take advantage of my knowledge and experience, because once I’m gone, only the rightful possessors of the Elements of Harmony will ever hear from me again.”

Sunset studied the specter in front of her. “How old are you anyway?”

“A few weeks,” said Star Swirl with a bob of his head. When he received a stare of death, he smirked. “Oh, you mean the real Star Swirl.”

“Yes,” Sunset said patiently.

“Quite old,” said Star Swirl after a moment of hesitation. He turned back towards the bookshelves. “You know your history.”

“I know what’s written,” said Sunset as she watched Star Swirl slowly pace about the room. “But I know better than think that’s the whole story.”

Star Swirl paused by a stack of old textbooks. He put a hoof on top of the stack as if testing its stability. The books didn’t move at all and Sunset didn’t expect them to. “Stories are never whole,” he began quietly. “They’re only ever bits and fragments of what really happened. The pieces the storyteller liked the most, regardless of whether they really mattered.”

Sunset leaned forward onto her desk, placing her elbows on the old wood. “So tell me what was left out. How did you become so powerful?”

Star Swirl was still for a second, then he turned his head towards her with a half-smile. “At school, actually. Though there weren’t any back then, so I had to create one. Or tried to, anyway, It took a while to convince anyone it was worth it even after I had the ear of the King.”

Sunset considered that. “Because of the friendship thing?”

“Oh, no, this was before I understood the power of friendship. No, this was something much more fundamental,” said Star Swirl. He turned to fully face Sunset and then pointed at his horn. “Prejudice.”

Sunset frowned and folded her arms. “Prejudice?”

“It was a different time,” said Star Swirl. “With different rules.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Over a thousand years ago…

A young sky blue unicorn wearing a purple cloak walked slowly down a forested path beside an older, tall and regal looking male white unicorn with a red cape trimmed in silver and wearing a gold crown prominently showing a sun and a moon at its crest. The younger unicorn was animated, waving his hooves around as he pointed at the trees and the sky. The older unicorn only smiled.

“Your enthusiasm is admirable, but I don’t see the necessity,” said King Bullion.

“But, your highness,” said Star Swirl as he quickly galloped ahead and turned to face the more regal pony. “It’s all connected! Everything, in fact. Understanding the balance is crucial to maximizing crop yields.”

The older unicorn shook his head and slowly walked past Star Swirl. “That’s an Earth Tribe matter, it doesn’t affect us. The Unicorn Tribe only needs to focus on the sun and the moon.”

The Star Swirl walked backwards to stay in the king’s sight. “But it does affect us, just like the weather does. And all of it is held in balance by the fundamental force: magic.”

“We have magic, the Earth and Pegasus Tribes do not,” said Bullion. “That is what makes our tribe the most important.”

The young magician took a deep breath. “I think the other tribes do have magic, and possibly all living things have magic, they just express it in different ways,” he said. “Ours is external but I think the other races have an intrinsic magical energy they use to be strong or fly. I can’t prove it yet, but I think there’s a way to make all the measurements I’ve taken align. A sort of unifying equation that can prove magic is not only everywhere, but is possibly interchangeable. The Academy can prove this.”

The king stopped and turned. He did not look happy. “Star Swirl, your assistance to our tribe in stabilizing the spells to raise the sun has been significant, so I have allowed you to indulge in your fancies, but this is too much.” He rose his head up and looked down at the younger pony. “The Unicorn Tribe is magic. It is our birthright and our honor to lead the lesser tribes through this harsh world. What you propose is blasphemy! The very idea can lead to only one thing: unrest.”

“King Bullion,” started Star Swirl but he was cut off with a simple gesture from the King’s hoof.

“I am unmoved by your appeals,” said Bullion. “Your plan to tamper with our tradition in this ‘Magical Academy’ is an affront to our values and it cannot be allowed.”

“But my work created the Sunset!” said Star Swirl. “Without that ‘tampering’ our people would be dying with every day, burned out by the exhaustion of lowering the blazing sun. If you can see the value in that—“

“I do,” said King Bullion loudly and with finality. “And for that, I let you speak in this manner to me. But you are not King of our tribe. I must protect our people and, in turn, our agreements with the Earth Tribe and the Unicorn Tribe. For those agreements to stand it must be clear, the Earth Tribe are the only ones who can grow, the Pegasi are the only ones who keep the weather in check, and we are the only ones who can raise and lower the sun and moon. Do you understand?”

Star Swirl looked down at the path and shook his head. “I implore you,” he said as he looked up. “Knowledge can cause unrest but nothing can hold it back. If I am right and we don’t research this, someone else will and that knowledge will spread without any regard for you or your people. You can’t contain ideas; they spring forth unbidden from the most unexpected places. Believe me, our only hope to avoid the unrest, rather than simply delay it, is to find out everything we can and carefully educate.”

“I do not agree,” said the King. “Just looking for truth in these ideas will cause the trouble you seek to avoid, and then not even proof that they are false will contain them any longer.” He sighed and nodded towards Star Swirl. “I can see the power in your mind, Star Swirl, but it is a power for you alone, not to be broadcast, and not to be shared through this Academy idea. Your brilliance is only outshined by your temperance, but there are far more ambitious and crass unicorns out there that will take your talents and turn them towards ruin.”

The King continued walking as they exited the forest and approached the castle grounds with the looming towers in the distance. He turned as they reached the bridge that crossed the river that separated the forest from the town. “Now I ask you to listen well, my friend,” he said. “Hold this curiosity within you and rededicate yourself to the task this tribe needs most prominently: solving the eclipse.”

Star Swirl nodded before his liege, his eyes turned downward.

“Our people need relief from holding back the moonless night,” said the King. “Do not come to me again until you have a solution on this matter.”

“Yes, your highness,” said Star Swirl.

With a nod, the King turned and swiftly walked over the bridge and down the path towards the castle. Star Swirl lingered behind, walking up to the top crest of the bridge and then sitting down and leaning against the railings. He sighed and played idly with the edge of his cloak under the bright sun while listening to the flowing river beneath.

Strangely, he quickly began to feel better, and he turned his thoughts again onto the puzzle of interconnected magics. He was sure there was some angle he hadn’t considered, a means by which the different expressions – direct, indirect, and cosmic magics – might be viewed to present a unified theory.

He grumbled briefly about the King’s inability to see the potential in his idea but his anger fled as quickly as it formed, he just couldn’t stay frustrated for some reason and again he turned towards his unified magic theory.

He looked towards the sun, the powerhouse of magic it was, and wondered again if it were the divine source he sought. Light was an interesting force that could be harnessed in many ways, and distorted, if viewed through the wrong lens.

Lens! thought Star Swirl. That idea now stuck in his head like a flash of inspiration. A lens bent light and focused it, like a unicorn could bend magic and focus it. But there were lots of types of magic if Star Swirl’s theory was correct, so it would be less like a single lens and more like a… prism!

Star Swirl leapt back to his feet. His heart raced as his mind latched onto the idea. Not necessarily a literal prism of glass, but a prism of crystalline magic. He had only just started understanding the basics of crystal magic but his studies were quickly producing scores of theories.

Star Swirl smiled broadly and breathed deep, feeling he had made a very positive leap.

It was then he noticed the gentle tones that had been hearing for a while now. They were quiet, easily overlooked, but melodic. He turned and looked around for the source of the pleasant notes. Eventually he looked down off the bridge and saw her. A young mare with the tail of a fish swimming in gentle circles in the water, her head raised just above the surface and singing the melodious notes. Her eyes were closed as she sang the simple melody and she looked to be smiling between notes.

When she stopped to take another breath, Star Swirl spoke up.

“Hello there,” he said simply.

The hippocampus was startled and took a mouthful of water before coughing then treading water. With a strong swish of her tail she propped herself up halfway above the water and gently tapped on her throat with her hoof as she coughed. On her tail was a picture of a heart with a single blue note shaped like a lightning bolt on top of it.

“It was beautiful singing,” said Star Swirl. “I didn’t mean to disrupt you.”

The girl was frozen, caught with indecision for just a moment.

Then she squeaked, dove beneath the water, and swam swiftly away.

“Wait!” Star Swirl called out to no avail.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset frowned at Star Swirl’s sudden pausing. She unfolded her arms and studied the phantom before her. “What is it?”

“I hear something,” said Star Swirl. He looked towards the windows and the darkened skies beyond. “Do you?

Sunset sighed. “I hear what you hear and I don’t....” She paused and frowned.

Sunset leapt up from her chair and ran to the windows, peering out. A blue and red flashing light glared against the windows from below. Multiple lights.

Police!

“Crap!” said Sunset. She grabbed her bag, stuffed as many papers as she could inside, and ran. The visage of Star Swirl melted away as she headed for the exit.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset felt awful as she banged on the door, but she was exhausted and sweaty and couldn’t run any further than this. She should have gone home, she knew that intuitively, but in her haste to get away, she reverted to old habits and was halfway here before she realized her mistake. She hoped this didn’t turn out as awful as she felt.

The door opened, shining bright light onto Sunset’s face. She squinted against it and saw the taller form of Honey Blossom, an auburn and pink haired woman with light yellow skin. She was holding a newspaper in one hand and had on large glasses which she raised to look down at Sunset.

“Oh, Sunset Shimmer,” said Honey Blossom. “Goodness, you look a fright! Come in.” She motioned with her hand holding the newspaper. Sunset stepped in out of the cool night air and shivered slightly.

“Thank you,” said Sunset. She put her bag down by the line of shoes in the corner and rubbed her sides slightly. “Is Fluttershy around?”

“She wasn’t expecting you, I gather,” said Honey Blossom with a small smile.

Sunset shook her head. “I just got chased out of… well, anyway, I got stranded and came here because it was closest.” That wasn’t entirely true, but close enough to at least sound honest.

“She’s upstairs,” said Honey Blossom. She pointed towards the stairs. Then she called out. “Fluttershy!”

Sunset nodded and walked towards the stairs. She had her foot on the first step when she heard an ‘eep’ and looked up. She saw Fluttershy at the top of the stairs looking down. She was wearing oversized fuzzy pink pajamas, bright blue slippers, and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. She was suddenly blushing heavily.

Then she turned and bolted. A door slam was heard distantly.

Sunset turned to look back at Honey Blossom, who was looking a little surprised, though not as much as Sunset felt.

“Is she upset with me for some reason I don’t know?” asked Sunset.

Honey Blossom shook her head.

“Right,” Sunset said slowly. Then she started walking cautiously up the stairs. When she reached the top she looked around at the three doors, one of which was a bathroom, one which was open and dark, and the last which was closed and had light emanating from the crack at the bottom. She walked up to the closed door and knocked gently.

“Fluttershy?” said Sunset. “Are you alright?”

“Mmm hmm,” came Fluttershy’s voice.

“Can I… come in?” asked Sunset.

“Just a minute!” Fluttershy said quickly. The door rattled slightly as someone walked quickly past.

Sunset shivered again. She realized she sweated quite a bit during her run here and her shirt was damp and cold. She needed to change. And probably get a shower.

“Fluttershy--” started Sunset.

“Almost ready,” said Fluttershy through the door.

“Ready for what?” asked Sunset. “I just want to sit down.”

There were several more seconds of rustling on the other side, and then the door swung open quickly. Fluttershy was standing there, and she had completely changed. Her hair was down like she normally had it at school (a little tangled but generally the same), her pyjamas had changed into a slightly better fitting t-shirt and cotton pants, and the slippers were nowhere to be seen instead showing her bare feet and painted nails.

“What… was that about?” asked Sunset.

“Nothing,” said Fluttershy. Her cheeks were still flushed. “Come in. Sit down.”

Sunset nodded and held off her questions. Fluttershy’s room was large, with a queen bed beneath a pair of windows, a desk, dresser, and room enough in the middle for a rug and a loveseat (which was currently covered in books). Sunset walked towards the desk and sat down with a sigh.

“What happened?” asked Fluttershy as she came over and sat on the edge of the bed closest to the desk.

Sunset shook her head. “You know I live off in some abandoned office space, right?”

Fluttershy frowned but nodded. “I thought you were living with your foster parents more these days.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, more than not, but I still like my space. And a lot of my stuff is still at the office. For lack of a better name, it’s my thinking space and I’m comfortable there.”

“Okay,” said Fluttershy. She shifted slightly on the bed, inching more towards the edge. “What happened?”

“Well, it’s kind of illegal,” said Sunset. “You know, I don’t actually own that space so, I didn’t have any right to be there. And the cops showed up tonight.”

“Oh my,” said Fluttershy. “Did you get--?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I left before anyone saw me. But I doubt I’ll be able to go back anytime soon.” She sighed. “Maybe at all. And my stuff is probably lost.”

“I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy.

“I was pushing my luck as it was,” said Sunset. She turned around and straddled the back of the chair and rested her arms on the back. “I lived there for years, it was going to happen sooner or later. I suppose I’m lucky I’d already started moving my books.”

“Would have been luckier if you’d moved them all,” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah, I suppose,” said Sunset. “I would have kept more in my locker if I hadn’t been--” She sat up and froze. Was it luck that they came today? Or was it something else?

“What is it?” asked Fluttershy.

“I told you this morning I wasn’t using my locker for anything,” said Sunset. “That I didn’t need to and it wasn’t a big deal anymore.”

“Yes,” said Fluttershy. She looked expectantly.

“This, however, is a big deal,” said Sunset. “Exactly the kind of big deal to get me upset again.”

Fluttershy frowned. “You think the bullies--”

“Oh, let's be clear, it’s Trixie,” said Sunset, scoffing. She grimaced and wrung her hands. “And yes. I haven’t been careful lately because I thought they were losing interest. But everyone knows I go to detention and they could easily see when I left. Someone could have followed me.”

“And called the police?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset nodded. “Trivial for them, a pain in the butt for me. And it follows the pattern of their earlier attempts to goad me on: telling on me to authority.” She shook her head. “The only thing I wonder is how they even found out I lived someplace other than home.”

“Who else knew?” asked Fluttershy.

“You guys knew, but I trust you at this point,” said Sunset. “Flash knew, but he wouldn’t tell. Other than that, just Princess Celestia. I have no idea who she could have told.”

“Vice Principal Luna? Or someone else in the school?” asked Fluttershy.

“Possibly, but that doesn’t help us much,” said Sunset. She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. “I guess the most straightforward thing to do is just confront her tomorrow.”

“I-is that a good idea?” asked Fluttershy.

“She won’t hide it if it’s her,” said Sunset. “She might take credit if it isn’t, though, so I just need to make sure I make her tell me instead of asking directly. Won’t be hard.” She slumped down on the back of the chair again. “I really loved that place.”

Fluttershy got up and came over to Sunset and gave her a gentle hug. “You’ll find someplace new.”

Sunset nodded, though she rankled slightly at the close contact. “Maybe.” She shrugged a bit in Fluttershy’s embrace. “Stop, I’m all sweaty and yuck.”

Fluttershy slowly stepped away and sat on the bed again. “You can use the shower if you want,” she said. “I have some clothes that might fit you.” She started blushing again. Her eyes dropped to the side. “I’m sure you can spend the night if you want, and we can wash your clothes for morning.”

“If you don’t mind,” said Sunset. “I would rather not explain all this to my foster parents.”

Fluttershy squeaked suddenly then quickly composed herself. “I mean, I don’t mind, I’ll ask my mother.” She got up and headed for the door. “It’s in the hall, there are towels in the closet. I’ll find some clothes while you’re cleaning up.”

Sunset nodded. “Thank you,” she said.

Fluttershy lingered for a moment just staring at Sunset then she pulled herself away and into the hall. Sunset sighed. She wasn’t doing herself or Fluttershy any favors tonight, but she was too tired to worry about it now. She just wanted to be clean and warm and not think about any of this until she had dealt with Trixie.

Sunset stripped her leather coat off and hung it on the back of the chair and then pulled her boots off and put them against the wall by the window. Her socks joined them soon after. She looked at the mirror behind Fluttershy’s desk and realized it was a vanity. Makeup was lined up neatly beneath the reflective surface and a series of hair ties and pins were lined up in a small shoebox that had been lined with velvet.

The pins were all variants of Fluttershy’s butterfly cutie mark and it again amazed Sunset that humans in this world just felt compelled to wear their symbol. It was one thing to have the image appear on your hair or skin, but another to deliberately put it onto your clothes and jewelry. How did they rationalize it? Was it cultural or biological?

Sunset sighed and pushed the thoughts aside. A mystery for another day, today’s mission was sleep, tomorrow was Trixie, and then after that, at some distant point, deal with Fluttershy’s feelings. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a mess. She hadn’t realized how frizzy her hair had become and the sweat marks on her top. She was surprised Fluttershy’s mother even recognized her in this state.

Then her eyes settled on her cutie mark on her shirt. Ah, right. She was just as guilty of unconsciously using it as Fluttershy was.

She turned away from the mirror and headed towards the bathroom. She heard voices downstairs as she crossed the hall but decided not to pry. She was already taking advantage of Fluttershy’s hospitality. She closed the door to the bathroom and started the shower. When the water was warm, she stripped off the rest of her clothes and stepped in.

It was heavenly. Sure, she showered at her foster parents’ place occasionally, but most of her shower were using the cold water at the office where the heaters were turned off. Tonight, most of all, she needed to be comforted and this was almost luxurious. She spent a couple minutes just letting the water wash over her. Then she began cleaning the day off of her.

At some point Fluttershy knocked on the door and took her clothes away but Sunset barely paid it any attention. She found some shampoo that smelled of citrus, a scent she had associated with Fluttershy that she hadn’t known the source of. She cleaned her hair thoroughly and finally, at the end, just sat in the tub with the warm water raining down on her for several minutes.

Eventually there was another knock at the door, and Sunset poked her head out of the curtains to say she was getting out now. She reluctantly turned off the faucet and grabbed a couple of towels. After she was dry she looked around and remembered her clothes had been taken. There hadn’t been any replacements, though. She poked around for a robe or something but finally gave up and tied up her hair in one towel and then wrapped another one around her body.

She walked out of the bathroom and into Fluttershy’s room. The girl had returned and was laying on her belly on the bed. She was writing into a small notebook with a smile on her face and one leg turned up behind her. She looked to be the epitome of the cute, innocent, high schooler. Beside her bed on the floor had been laid out a series of blankets and a pillow, clearly a makeshift sleeping bag. On top of the covers was a flannel shirt and pants. They were even close to Sunset’s colors.

“That’s for me?” asked Sunset.

Fluttershy yelped again and quickly shut the notebook she was writing in. She looked up at Sunset and quickly shoved her hair behind her ear with one hand and pushed the book behind her with the other.

“Relax,” said Sunset with a smile. “I’m not going to steal your diary.”

“It’s not-- I’m not--” started Fluttershy, but then she just sort of trailed off as she stared at Sunset. Her cheeks were flushed so thoroughly her face was almost entirely red. With the amount of blushing Fluttershy was doing tonight, Sunset wondered exactly how inaccurate her innocent perception of the girl was.

“Those clothes are for me?” asked Sunset again.

“Oh! Yes,” said Fluttershy. She hopped down and picked up the clothes. She handed them over to Sunset with two hands. “I’ll go downstairs for a few minutes to give you some privacy.”

Sunset nodded. “Thank you,” she said. Fluttershy nodded back and then walked out and closed the door behind her.

A mocking voice in Sunset’s head wondered if she should sweep for cameras, but the thought was quickly dismissed.

Without much hesitation she dropped her towel and quickly put on the clothes she’d been handed. The shirt was about right, maybe even a little bigger than she needed, but the pants were short, leaving her lower calf exposed. They were clearly sleeping clothes though, so Sunset imagined it hardly mattered.

She pulled the towel out of her hair and sat back down at the vanity. She picked up one of Fluttershy’s brushes and began pulling out the tangles in her hair.

A few minutes into her brushing, Fluttershy returned with a gentle knock. Sunset bit her to come in and she came over to watch. After a minute of silence, Fluttershy spoke up.

“Do--do you want me to do that for you?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset looked up at Fluttershy in the mirror, about to make a comment about the girl’s own tangled hair but stopped herself. Then she noticed that the tangles were gone. At some point, Fluttershy had brushed her hair and fixed her appearance.

Sunset softly laughed a little and then just gave it and held up the brush. “If you’d like,” she said simply. The brush was quickly taken out of her fingers and she felt it careful pulling along her hair moments later. She watched Fluttershy intently focus on her hair, deliberately placing the brush with care and gently pulling it along, stopping microseconds before some perceived knot and then carefully slipping her fingers between the strands and pulling them apart without so much a tug felt by Sunset.

The care was so soft and gentle, Sunset closed her eyes and just relaxed.

“It’s always been just you and your mom, right?” asked Sunset after a moment.

“Uh-huh,” said Fluttershy. “Far back as I can remember. My dad died when I was a baby so I don’t really know him apart from pictures.”

“I’m sorry,” Sunset said softly. “I was raised in a... boarding school, of sorts. Never knew my real parents, but Shining Brow was kind of like a mother. She didn’t really take that much care of me though, just told me stories.”

Fluttershy’s brushing slowed. “Shining Brow… the english teacher?”

“Oh, right, everyone knows her,” said Sunset with a smile. “Yeah, her. She’s not a teacher where I came from, she’s a guard. A palace pony. One of Princess Celestia’s favorites.”

“Wow,” said Fluttershy, then continued brushing. After a moment, she spoke again. “Why did you ask?”

Sunset bit her lip as she thought about how to say what she was thinking. “There were other kids like me at the school, living there, spending all their time studying, but they had families back home. Sisters and brothers, you know. I always wondered, well, what it would be like to have a sister.”

Sunset breathed slowly. “Someone to take care of me like this. Someone to listen when I’ve done something stupid.” She thought about her life. “Someone I don’t have to… compete with, or prove anything to. Someone who I can accept like they are and they can do the same with me.”

She started to feel her heart clench a little at the fantasy. She knew now she had made her life harder than it needed to be, and the idea that maybe if there was just someone there to compare notes to, she might not have made so many mistakes.

Sunset realized that Fluttershy had stopped brushing her hair and she slowly opened her eyes again.

Fluttershy was right in front of her and looking deep into her eyes with an anxious expression. Sunset didn’t budge a muscle.

“Does it have to be a sister?” asked Fluttershy breathlessly.

Sunset swallowed and she felt a lump move slowly down her throat. Her eyes were caught by Fluttershy’s and she was almost paralyzed by their intensity. There was a sense of terror building in her gut that was threatening to take over her mind if it wasn’t for an echo of an earlier conversation that was now repeating incredibly loudly in her head:

You're leaving him behind.

“Right now,” Sunset said as quietly as she could and still be heard. “It does.”

The intensity in Fluttershy’s eyes died a quick death and she started to move away. Sunset reached out urgently and grabbed her hand, holding her in place.

She took a breath and measured out her words. “Right now, I need to figure out who I am, because everything I thought I was came crashing down on me three weeks ago. I’m still building on that and I don’t have the ability to be more than… than a sister to anyone right now. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Fluttershy looked down and slowly nodded. She tried to leave again and Sunset put her other hand on top of the first and held her tightly.

“I need you,” Sunset said before she could stop herself. Fluttershy looked back up at her with a scared and confused expression. “More than the others, I need someone who cares about me to help me make the right choices. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing…” she trailed off, unsure what she wanted to say.

She wasn’t sure what else to say at all she realized and then she hung her head. She had no idea how to comfort people, especially people who wanted something she just didn’t know if she could give. She slowly loosened her grip on Fluttershy’s hand and let her arms fall into her lap.

“I’m sorry,” Sunset said to the floor.

Then she felt Fluttershy’s arms wrap around her and pull her into a tight hug. Her face was buried into Sunset’s damp hair.

“I would love to be your sister,” said Fluttershy. Her voice was coarse. She was holding herself back, Sunset could tell. But she held her tightly. “I will always be there for you.”

Sunset felt herself choke up as some vast and impervious wall began to crumble. Her eyes were wet as she recalled some long forgotten desire, pushed away from years and years of disappointment that made it so bitter to look at she simply chose to believe it didn’t exist anymore. As soon as she acknowledged the desire was there it swelled to become her whole being. And it was the stupidest, smallest, most innocent desire she’d ever had.

She just wanted to be accepted by someone she admired.

She didn’t even know she admired Fluttershy until that moment. But the small, quiet, easy to injure girl simply persevered. More than that, she thrived, in an environment that tried to turn her every joy into a guilty crime. She looked away at the pity, strode past the mocking, and reached out towards the weak and needy and gave them the kindness they needed to heal from injuries of a bitter world.

The kindness Sunset needed to heal.

That was when she cried. She sobbed into Fluttershy hug and held her tighter, as if the girl would evaporate just like everything else she’d wanted in life. But she was still there, still holding her, letting her cry, and perhaps doing a pretty poor job of keeping from crying herself. That was okay, too. She didn’t have to be superhuman, nobody was. She just had to hold her.

“J-just for now,” Sunset said between sobs, trying to get control of herself again. “Maybe later--”

But Fluttershy hushed her softly. “Shh. We’ll talk about later when it’s later.”

Sunset nodded and continued crying.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Honey Blossom crept quietly to the door of her daughter’s room. It was late now, long past when they said they had gone to bed, but she knew how young girls liked to gossip into the night, and knew a little more about the situation going on in her daughter’s room than even her daughter had suspected. The joint crying was hard to miss, even half a house away. No matter what she saw, Honey Blossom told herself it would be fine and she would just be there for them in the morning.

She slowly opened the door, careful not to make any noise she didn’t have to. When the opening was wide enough, she poked her head in and peered into the dimly lit room.

Inside she saw the two girls, one sleeping on the bed with a frock of fiery hair and one on the pile of blankets on the floor that looked like her daughter. It all looked fairly innocent and boring. But it still brought a smile to the woman’s lips.

Because Sunset Shimmer’s arm was hanging off the edge of the bed and she was holding Fluttershy’s hand as they slept.

Honey Blossom closed the door just as quietly as she opened it and then headed into her own bedroom. She had worried at first, but now she a little more convinced that these kids would be all right.

*** ( MLP) ***

The news about Sunset’s ‘other’ home was quickly spread among the circle of friends while they were standing outside the school in the morning. Fluttershy said little having heard the story already, Rarity was a little miffed, Pinkie seemed interested in repeating every third word as a question, Applejack got angry, and Rainbow Dash…

“I’ll sick the soccer team on Trixie,” said Rainbow Dash. “That’ll teach her.”

Sunset laughed but shook her head. “I don’t think that will help. And I’m not yet sure it’s her. I have to deal with this myself or it’ll never end.”

“Well, it’s about time to deal with it,” said Applejack. “Whatever help you need, let us know and we’ll be there. You’ve put up with it for too long.”

“I’ll keep that mind, but she’s not going after any of you,” said Sunset. “Just me. So it would be a little unfair to involve you.”

“She’s not hesitating to involve her friends,” said Rarity.

“No, that’s true,” said Sunset. She sighed. Then she paused. “Well, maybe it’s not.”

“What?” asked Rarity.

“Well, I don’t really think they’re her friends,” said Sunset. “At least, I don’t remember leaving such a large group around when I was -- well, you know.” She sighed. “Trixie is the rallying point, but the rest are a crowd, rabble-rousers, not friends.”

“Ah don’t see how that make much of a difference,” said Applejack. “They’re still bullying you.”

“Oh, oh! I know! I know!” said Pinkie. “It’s like a party!”

Rarity stared at her. “How is it anything like a party?”

“Well, the host of the party just sets up fun things to do and drinks and little hotdogs wrapped in biscuit,” said Pinkie. “Everyone else comes to join in the fun but there are always lots of people at the party the host doesn’t know, they just hear about the event and attend.”

“But how does that make a difference here?” asked Fluttershy.

“Trixie’s the host,” said Sunset. “She’s set up the games -- in this case, giving me a hard time. We don’t need the guests to do anything.”

“You just need the host to stop setting up the party!” said Pinkie.

“Yeah,” said Sunset.

“Okay,” said Applejack slowly. “But that still leaves you dealing with Trixie. Do you have any ideas as to how?”

Sunset touched her chin. “Maybe,” she said. She, in fact, could think of several ways of ‘dealing’ with Trixie, most of which would probably scare her straight in a heartbeat, but she was hesitant to use them. She was walking a fine line now, trying not to involve Luna or Celestia with a bully but also not repeating past mistakes. She could crush Trixie, she knew, but she just wanted her to knock it off.

“The question is, what does she want?” said Sunset. “What is bullying me getting her?”

“Revenge?” asked Rarity.

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t think so. To be honest, Trixie was never important enough for me to directly harass. She talks a lot but she wasn’t worth manipulating.”

“Then maybe that’s it,” said Applejack. “Leading the charge against you makes her important.”

“Enough that we’re talking about her right now,” said Rainbow Dash.

“If that was the case, shouldn’t she have gotten bored by now?” asked Sunset. “I ignored her as best as I could and she’s still trying.”

“But people are still following her lead,” said Rarity. “Even if it’s not very effective, she still get attention this way.”

“Then I need to give her attention another way,” said Sunset. “Redirect her towards something more interesting than coming after me.”

“Well, what else does she like?” asked Fluttershy.

“Magic,” said Sunset. The other looked at her. “The slight-of-hand kind, not the stuff from my world.”

“Though that would probably interest her too,” said Pinkie Pie. “I know she also likes to sing and listen to music.”

Sunset paused. “Sing?” she said. She hadn’t known that about Trixie, which was yet another testament to how much she had ignored the girl previously. She knew about the magic, and the attention seeking, and her competitive nature. She probably could have guessed at the singing if she’d even paid attention to her voice but that, too, was beneath her noticed.

Sunset groaned. She had been so quick to dismiss people before and now she was learning how foolish that had been. She had treated Trixie as if she was insignificant, and here she was leading the charge that was making her life increasing uncomfortable.

This posed a problem, because Sunset’s instinct was to shove down Trixie so hard that she never even tried to be important again. But that was a failed strategy, it was exactly what she was responding to. If Sunset wanted to handle this directly, she needed an approach she would not originally have taken. Not to bring her down further, but to raise her up. To end the conflict by making her feel like she was important.

“It's about time to plan the Spring Fundraiser isn't it?” said Sunset suddenly. She received a series of blank stares.

"The bake sale or car wash thing?" asked Applejack. "What's that got 'ta do with anything?"

“Maybe I should try to get more involved in her with what she's doing,” Sunset said cryptically.

“More?” said Rainbow Dash, incredulous.

The bell rang and all of the girls looked anxiously towards the building entrance.

“Let me try something,” said Sunset. “I’ll let you know how it goes.” She turned and headed into the building. She heard Rainbow or Applejack say something to her but it was drowned up by the other talking students.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset found Trixie between third and fourth period. Eventually the student had to go to her locker – an ironic statement considering Sunset’s on predicament -- so waiting there between periods was the easiest way to be sure to run into her. When Trixie finally laid eyes on her, Sunset was leaning against her locker with her arms folded and looking generally unimpressed.

“Well, well,” said Trixie. “Did I finally get the full attention of the demon?”

“Nice job there,” said Sunset. “How did you even find out?”

Trixie smiled proudly and gently pushed Sunset aside to get at her locker. “You have Trixie’s full attention now, and you weren’t even trying to hide it.” She opened her locker and threw in a few books then pulled out one more. “You should be more careful with your secrets.”

“Yeah, well, it’s no secret anymore,” said Sunset.

“How awful for you,” said Trixie with dripping sarcasm.

“Listen, Trix, we need to stop this,” said Sunset.

Trixie lifted her hands to her sides innocently. “Fine, just drop out. Leave the stage clear for a new queen.”

“There’s no throne to take,” said Sunset. “Usurping me gets you nothing anymore.”

“Eh, maybe not,” said Trixie as she shut her locker door. “But I do get a warm and fuzzy feeling thinking about it.” She started walking towards her next class, but Sunset stepped in front.

“We can do better,” said Sunset evenly. “You want something to be proud of? I can help you with that. But we have to stop fighting.”

“Help me?” Trixie laughed. “The great and powerful Trixie doesn’t need your help.” She tried to step past but Sunset moved as well.

“I’m serious,” said Sunset. “This can’t possibly be as fun as it was. After three weeks, don’t you want something more?”

“That’s what the police was about,” said Trixie, angrily. She was getting progressively more frustrated as Sunset refused to let her get away. “Back off.”

“That’s only going to work once,” said Sunset. “I’m not going to be foolish enough to go back.”

“Then Trixie will find something else,” said Trixie as she simply gave up and pushed Sunset aside. “You’ve got lots of friends to hassle now.”

Sunset felt that long hushed voice in her mind surge forward and her hand was moving before she had time to stop herself. She grabbed Trixie’s arm tightly and yanked it back, pulling the girl towards her so she could growl into her ear. “Don’t you dare even touch them.”

“Ow!” yelped Trixie. She winced and then turned a partially closed eye towards Sunset. “So, that’s how to hurt you now.”

Sunset got control of herself and quickly released Trixie. She felt guilty. She hadn’t wanted to do that but she lost control for a moment. She didn’t realize she had such a tentative grip on her personal ‘demon.’ She again wondered how futile this whole endeavor was. If she truly lost it again...

Trixie rubbed her upper arm where Sunset had grabbed it and looked smug again. “If you want them left alone, then do what Trixie says. Leave.” She walked confidently towards her next class.

Sunset watched her move away and realized how little ability anyone had to pressure a bully who didn’t care what you thought. All those people she had dismissed, had marginalized, they had become helpless before her, no argument was powerful enough to reach her ears. Even without the influence she wielded, she had reduced her classmates to nothing. In a way, that was what Trixie was fighting against, the idea that she was ever as little as nothing.

“Please!” shouted Sunset so Trixie would hear. The students in the hall noticed and turned her way, a dozen and a half pairs of eyes on her, the conversation between her and Trixie was no longer anywhere near to private.

Trixie stopped her walk and slowly turned back with a deadly smile.

Sunset pressed on. “If I leave it’ll hurt them too. It's going to hurt me when they- but you can do anything else to me you want. Just tell me what you need and I’ll do it, as long as you leave them alone.” She lowered her eyes. “I’m the one who did everything, I’m the only one who should suffer. I was wrong, and if I haven’t said it enough I’ll continue to say it for the rest of my life.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t right, and I regret it, and I will do everything I can to make amends. But nobody else should be put through pain just because they took pity on me. Punish me all you want, but get it over with and be done.”

Sunset waited a moment in the silent hallway. Then she looked slowly up. Trixie seemed delighted. She walked back towards Sunset with a hand on her hips and a smile from ear to ear.

“Trixie will punish you,” said Trixie. “But you don’t get to set conditions. You’ll be done when I say you’re done. And if you won’t leave Trixie make sure you know that it would have been vastly better for you if you had.” She reached Sunset and looked down her nose at her. “We may only have one year left but I will make the best of that time and nobody is going to tell the great and powerful Trixie to stop.”

Sunset breathed out. “Please,” she said softly. “Isn’t there something you want more?”

Sunset watched Trixie take a breath and begin to reply. Then suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. Both of them looked up to see a girl standing there with pink hair, wisteria skin, and a rainbow symbol on the pleats of her skirt. She was looking evenly at Sunset.

“Stop,” she said simply.

Trixie looked at her with disbelief. “She’s—“

“Had enough,” she said.

Trixie laughed. “I am the great and powerful Trixie, I’m not going to listen to one girl’s—“

“Stop.”

Sunset turned to see three more students, two girls and a boy, step forward from the crowd around them. They walked over to stand next to Trixie and all three were frowning at her. One of the two girls was taller and had dark green hair and light peach colored skin and a mark of a tree with a large orange hanging from the leaves at the corner of her blouse. She cleared her throat.

“We’re not happy with her,” the student said, motioning with her head towards Sunset. “But this isn’t better. This is cruel.”

“After what she did to us?” shouted Trixie.

“She never did anything like this to me,” said the girl.

Trixie glared.

Sunset watched as more students stepped forward and stood in front of Trixie. She had to step back to make room for those coming to her defense.

“You all care about this demon?” asked Trixie, angrily.

A shorter boy with large glasses, blue hair, a flannel shirt, and a symbol of a crashing wave with a fish flying above it straightened from his slouched stance and shook his head. “Celestia wouldn’t approve. She would say there is a better way.”

“Like what?” Trixie nearly spat.

Sunset pushed forward through the crowd. “We can be friends, Trixie,” she said quickly. “I know what I did was wrong, let me try to make it up.”

Trixie’s face nearly turned red. “Trixie doesn’t want anything from you!” Her eyes searched the crowd with a manic expression. Eventually she huffed out loudly and growled as she turned away and stormed off. She disappeared around a corner as the second bell rang.

The students around Sunset began to slowly disperse and head for their next classes. She felt a mixture of disappointment at Trixie’s attitude and sheer awe at the random strangers who came to her defense. She felt like she should have done something for them but she couldn’t think of what.

“Thank you,” she said loudly, for lack of a better idea. “Please, tell me what I can do for you. Anything at all, I’ll do anything to make up for what I did.”

The students around her seemed to consider it and then eventually they continued on to their next classes without saying a word. One boy, the one who had spoken up earlier, came over to her. He looked up at Sunset, who towered over the boy by over half a foot, and nodded.

“Find the better way,” he said simply. Then he turned and walked off.

Sunset just stared. Softly she said, “okay.”

When she students were mostly gone, Sunset recognized someone standing at what was originally the back of the crowd, her hands on her hips, a smile on her face, and her eyebrows raised. Sunset walked up to her.

“Rainbow Dash,” said Sunset. “What are you—“

“Was that your plan this morning?” asked Rainbow.

Sunset’s mind went blank for a second as she tried to remember. “Uh, no,” she said eventually. “I thought, well, I thought something that turned out to be foolish. I wouldn’t have listened to me back then, I should have realized Trixie wouldn’t either.”

“Ah,” said Rainbow with a nod. “Good thing a few people had the courage to intervene, then.” She smirked.

Sunset stared then her mind slowly began putting possible pieces of the puzzle together in a way that implied a larger picture. “You did that?” she said.

Rainbow continued to smile.

“But—“ started Sunset.

“You know, it was a pretty lousy thing you did, making Applejack and I think we hated each other,” said Rainbow Dash. “Made me think all sorts of bad things about friends in general, not just AJ.”

“I know,” said Sunset. “I’m—“

“But, it made me realize how important it is to stand by people even when they don’t seem to want you around,” said Rainbow Dash. “In a way, you couldn’t have done anything to us if we hadn’t already been ready to think bad things about each other.” She nodded to herself. “There’s a lot to be said about having loyalty to your friends.”

Sunset realized what Rainbow was saying in that moment. There was no apologizing to be done to her, and no cost to be repaid. Loyalty was repaid with loyalty, and attaching a value to that was wrong. Sunset had been trying to offer something that had no meaning.

“Thank you,” Sunset said. “I will probably never be able to say that enough, but I will try.”

Rainbow playfully punched Sunset in the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.” She put her arm around Sunset’s shoulders. “Come on, we’re late for class.”

They walked down the hall together. Sunset smiling at her luck. Anyone in the world could have taken pity on her or offered her a chance at repentance, but she doubted anyone else would have been as patient and nice to her as those who did.

Her friends.

“So, what was your idea?” asked Rainbow as they turned the corner.

“It wasn’t anything like this. Just a thought to turn the spring fundraiser into a musical showcase,” said Sunset.

“Musical showcase?” asked Rainbow, excitedly. “You mean, like, bands?”

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “Why? You like the idea?”

“Have I never told you about the Rainbooms?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Er, no,” said Sunset. “Am I going to regret you telling me?”

“Hah! It’s only the most awesomest thing in the whole world!” Rainbow nearly shouted. “How could you ever regret hearing about that?”

Sunset laughed. "So tell me."

*** ( MLP ) ***

A young-looking blonde girl dropped a bundle of letters into the mailbox and then looked around casually to make sure nobody was watching. It was a habit she'd developed centuries ago that was infinitely more useful then than it was today, but she found it hard to break. Caution was not in her nature, but she had worked hard to protect herself and her sisters since coming to this world and now that they were closing in on a possible escape to their imprisonment, she was going to take every precaution. Plans had to be set in motion with backups and positive fail-states so that nothing could bring them down short of complete and total collapse of their abilities.

Confident that there was nobody around, the girl stuck her hands in her pockets and hummed to herself as she walked away.

That bundle of letters would get the ball rolling on a new set of identities for them. It was cumbersome work these days to create a new persona, with computers and detailed record keeping and various checks and controls. It had to be done slowly and methodically. Probably could take months until it was reliable enough to be used.

Fortunately, all she needed was an identity strong enough to enroll them in a public high school, which was on the easier side of things. Creating their first company ten years ago was infinitely harder even though that company only existed on paper. That required references and bank records and confirmed mailing addresses of a half-dozen employees. This could be done with a P.O. box and some stolen social security numbers.

The girl wished she could just talk with people, but so much of this had to be done through the mail. Back a hundred years ago, she could just lull an official into a pliable mood and have them create all the records she needed. Computers had certainly made it hard for someone to hide the fact that they were an ageless magical creature from another world.

Fortunately, if all her plans came together, Adagio wouldn't have to worry about that ever again.

*** End Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Two Steps Back

Sunset dropped the heavy load in front of her locker at the end of the day and hoped it would be the last time she had to bear it. Fluttershy stood nearby holding a couple books that didn’t fit and watched expectantly. It had been almost a week since her locker had last been vandalized, almost a week since the confrontation with Trixie, and it appeared that the ongoing torment had passed. Her locker was clean and, as she opened it, empty.

“Looks good,” said Sunset with a nod. “Hopefully this isn’t a trap.”

“Have you seen Trixie since last week?” asked Fluttershy as she handed over the books in her arms. Sunset began putting them on the shelves in the locker.

“I’ve seen her, but not talked,” said Sunset. She finished putting the three textbooks books away and then opened up her bag. “She has continued to give me nasty looks but I think that’s it.” She looked at the cover of the history textbook in her hands. “For the attacks, anyway.”

“I hope so,” said Fluttershy. She bent over and began picking up books out of the bag and handing them off to Sunset who put them in their right places.

There was a general order to Sunset’s locker, not one of any scientific derivation but she liked to keep similar topics and similar sized books together. When she couldn’t accomplish both, it was usually a judgement call based on how frequently she needed the tome. Still, she didn’t have that much, and it was only a couple minutes of sorting before Fluttershy was holding the last book in the backpack.

“Oh,” said Fluttershy suddenly and Sunset turned to look. She was holding the large, leather bound diary that Celestia had given her back in Equestria. It was one of two books she still had of the collection she crossed the mirror with, and the only one she couldn’t sell for cash in those early days. Sunset looked on it sadly, and wondered about the connection she was supposed to have with Celestia.

Fluttershy ran her fingers over the cover, adorned simply with Sunset’s cutie mark. “It’s yours,” she said. “Did you write this?”

Sunset gently took the book from Fluttershy and shook her head. “It’s blank. An unfortunate relic from my youth.”

“Unfortunate?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset nodded. She turned the book over in her hand and casually flipped through the blank pages. “It was supposed to make me feel close to my teacher, but it didn’t work. I ignored it as a foal and it brought me no comfort afterwards.”

“Why do you still have it, then?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset chuckled wryly. “I couldn’t sell it,” she said. “Was only worth the leather binding which was next to nothing. I kept it because it was wasteful to sell it for what I was being offered. But it’s really not worth anything.” She sighed. “I should probably throw it away.”

“You could use it,” offered Fluttershy.

Sunset smiled. “I’m not sure what would happen if I—“ she stopped abruptly as she reached the front of the book. Inside, opposite the cover, there should have been a blank page but instead it had writing. Sunset was sure it didn’t have writing when she received the book, she had initially thought it was a puzzle after all and spent days trying to make the surely invisible text appear.

It now appeared they had, though not in the manner her younger self imagined. There were only seven words on the page and it was the only page she noticed with writing. They had to have appeared after she’d crossed the mirror into the human world. The words stared back at her and she felt a lump in her throat up a little.

“Sunset?” said Fluttershy softly.

Sunset closed the book quickly and coughed to compose herself. “Sorry,” she said. “Got lost in thought.” She quickly dropped the book onto the floor of her locker and shut it roughly. “I-I need to run to my detention. I’ll see you afterwards.” She paused.

Down the hallway behind Fluttershy, past the throng of students, she saw her. Trixie. She was standing before two other students, a dark pink-haired girl with blue eyes who Sunset believed was named Fuchsia-something. She was pointing animatedly at Fuchsia's dress and then at herself. She had that self-assured smirk the whole time.

“Okay,” said Fluttershy with a smile, pulling Sunset’s attention back to her. The girl leaned in and quickly gave Sunset a hug, then waved goodbye.

Sunset waved absently back and headed towards Luna’s office. She felt slightly adrift again. The tightness in her chest was hard to ignore and the words in the book seemed to be lingering in her mind:

I always loved you, Sunset. Good luck.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Years earlier…

Sunset struggled against the two royal guardponies holding her down as Shining Brow rummaged through her saddle bags. They were heavy with books that she’d pulled from the secret compartment in the chest in her room. It hardly mattered at this point that anyone knew.

The titles of the books made Shining Brow’s eyes widen and she brought one over to where Princess Celestia was standing. Celestia’s expression was grim, It was almost as if her hair began flowing slightly lower in response.

“I asked you not to go near these books, Sunset Shimmer,” said Celestia. “You aren’t ready to understand them.”

Sunset’s teeth ground together. “You lied to me,” she seethed.

Princess Celestia blinked quickly. “It’s a subjective opinion, I’ll admit, but--”

“You said becoming an alicorn and a princess was a long and complicated journey,” interrupted Sunset. “But you can simply make me one!”

With a shake of her head, Celestia turned away and faced her throne. “I can do nothing of the sort,” she said. “Unless you are worthy.”

“You are holding me back, again!” shouted Sunset Shimmer. She struggled against the guards who were holding her. “It is my destiny to become one! I don’t need to prove anything! You’ve seen it in the mirror!”

“The visions in the Crystal Mirror are for those who look upon them only,” said Celestia. “I did not see what you saw.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“More to the point, my student,” said Celestia. “You have demonstrated no fondness for any of the positive virtues that might empower you as an alicorn. A pony fueled by envy and ambition will become no better than the tyrants you spoke so negatively of before.”

“This land needs someone to protect it from all your waffling!” said Sunset Shimmer. “You need strength! Luck won’t keep you safe from the all the people lined up to conquer Equestria!”

Celestia put the book down on her throne and kneeled down in front of Sunset Shimmer. “And you, Sunset Shimmer? Are you at the front of that line?”

Sunset Shimmer glared at her. “I wanted to protect us. But, I don’t need you anymore. I now know there are other worlds out there. Worlds safe from Nightmare Moon, and Sombra, and even Tirek.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. Then she glanced back at the mirror beside the throne. As she did, Sunset released the spell she’d learned from Tirek’s book, sending a shockwave of magic at Celestia and knocking her to the ground.

Sunset took advantage of the scrambling guardponies to pull herself free of her captors and grab the saddlebags between her teeth. She ran towards the crystal mirror as quickly as possible, channeling the opening magic through her horn and open the gateway between worlds. She stopped, halfway through the surface, and looked back at her once-mentor.

Celestia was getting onto her hooves again, her brow furrowed and her lips thin. Her guardsponies were staying behind her for some reason.

“I’ll get stronger,” Sunset Shimmer said. “And after you lose to the enemies that are coming, I’ll be back to show you the savior you wouldn’t let me be.”

With a snort, she stepped through the mirror and was felt an odd tug on her being that pulled her forward, back and threatened to turn her insides out. There wasn’t pain so much as loss, as her body was plunged into a myriad of sensations she could make neither heads nor tails of.

Sunset Shimmer stumbled and fell on the other side of the mirror because her legs refused to move properly. Her balance was off and she tumbled forward, smashing her face into a stone staircase and rolling down onto a grassy plain. Her face felt horribly sore while her whole body was assaulting her with feelings she had no idea how to interpret.

“What’s happened to me?” she asked herself. Her voice echoed strangely in her head and she reached up to rub her snout again. Her hand touched her face and she realized her entire head was a different shape. She wasn’t a unicorn anymore. She wasn’t even a pony anymore.

Straightening her legs, Sunset Shimmer tried to walk but found that her legs were not all the same size anymore. Not to mention, she was wearing clothes on her hind legs and not her fore legs. Her hind legs were shod in boots as well. Perhaps whatever she was, it stood on two legs like dragons?

Sunset Shimmer tried to get onto her hind legs and stand upright but found balance to be difficult and she fell again, this time onto the saddle bags she had brought with her. The books inside scattered about the grassy field. She growled at the idiocy of not being able to even stand, and then used her magic to pick up the books and put them—

The books refused to move.

Sunset Shimmer glared at the tomes and tried again. Still they refused to budge. In fact, she barely felt a tingle of magic remaining. She reached up with her paws to touch her forehead and then remembered she had no horn.

No horn meant she wasn’t a unicorn. Not being a unicorn meant she didn’t have magic.

“NO!” screamed Sunset Shimmer at the night sky.

She grabbed her head with her paws and tried again to use her magic. To summon a storm, to teleport, to pick up a blade a grass. Nothing! Nothing responded at all!

She had no magic at all.

She had no power at all!

She crawled back towards the stairs she fell down and discovered a tall statue of an horse. She didn’t even bother wasting time on an ironic remark. She threw herself at the statue’s base hoping to escape back to Equestria. She slammed into the cool marble and yelped as she fell back again.

“NO!” she yelled again, as she climbed up and ran her paws across the surface of the stone. It was hard and unyielding. She pounded her fists into it and begged for it to open again. She couldn’t be trapped in a world without magic! She had to have magic. It was why she was special. It was her talent!

She slammed herself into base of the statue again and again until she fell to her knees in tears.

The doorway was closed. Nothing but a faint trickle of energy remained. She couldn’t go back.

She was trapped.

Her sore paws clenched into fists and she growled.

She was tricked! Tricked by Celestia!

She rubbed her tears away and leaned against the closed portal to get onto her hind legs. Experimentally she moved her hooves about and tried to keep her balance. It took her six tries but she finally took two steps without falling.

She would master this. She would find a way. She would find whatever power this world had to offer and make it bend to her will.

Then she would return to Equestria and give Celestia exactly what she deserved!

*** ( MLP ) ***

Present Day

Sunset managed to compose herself after visiting Luna and went down to the classrooms. She had been teaching maths the last few days to students who were in detention that needed help and she was starting to enjoy it. Though it was a little frustrating that most weren’t all that interested in learning despite their poor grades. It was even more frustrating when she encountered students she knew.

“Again, girls?” said Sunset as she entered the classroom and saw who her students were. “What was it this time? Boxcar racing? Snake charming? Rabble-rousing?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Rabble-rousing is not a thing. I checked.”

“Good on you for checking,” said Sunset dryly. “It is a thing, though, just not what you think it is.”

“Our video page is getting more hits now,” said Apple Bloom. “We have to, ya know , kick it up a notch so it’s still entertainin’!”

Sunset tried to smile. “Do you girls know why people are coming to your site?” she asked. “So you can be sure it’s really something you want to exploit?”

“It’s to see how awesome we are,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Ah,” said Sunset. She didn’t quite want to burst their bubble, they probably wouldn’t listen anyway, but she had a pretty good idea they weren’t becoming popular because of how ‘awesome’ they were. “So what was it this time?”

“Skateboarding off the loading dock onto a pallet ramp,” said Scootaloo proudly. “We got some awesome video of it before we got caught.”

“You’re going to get killed,” said Sunset. “The loading dock is like four feet stall. If you fell the wrong way that distance you could break a leg.”

“We were fine,” said Apple Bloom.

Sunset sighed. “Well, don’t ever say I didn’t try to help you.”

“Why would we say that?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Sunset smiled at Rarity’s sister. “Nevermind. Let’s get back to calculus.”

“Awww,” pouted the trio.

“This is detention, not gossip hour,” said Sunset. “What did you expect?”

“That you’d be a totally awesome teacher that understood we don’t really need to learn calculus?” offered Scootaloo.

“Why would that be an awesome teacher?” asked Sunset. “You do need calculus.”

“Nah, ah’ve never seen Applejack use it. When am I ever going to need it?” Apple Bloom waved Sunset off dismissively.

“Well, maybe you don’t want to be Applejack,” said Sunset. “And there are all sorts of things you can figure out with calculus that might be useful to you.”

“Like what?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Sunset shrugged. “Alright, how about your video.”

“Our video?” repeated Sweetie Belle.

“While I don’t advocate this at all,” Sunset warned, knowing full well this was probably an endorsement to these three thrill seekers. “Let’s say you wanted to know how high you could jump off a ramp with your skateboard without breaking either a, the board, or b, your legs. This is the sort of thing you don’t want to get wrong, right?” She hesitated. “You don’t want to break your legs... right?”

“Right,” said Scootaloo after far too long of a hesitation.

“Hmmm,” mused Sunset. “Well, calculus is your answer there, as long as you can find out reliable values for the break points of the various parts of your board, their combined strength, your legs, and reasonable guesses about falling speed, you could figure out how high and how fast you can go before you do some tragic damage to yourself.” She sighed. “Please don’t actually do this though.”

“Calculus can do all of that at once?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well, differential calculus can,” started Sunset. “That particular equation is probably going to involve quite a number of multivariate equations and a graph that looks like six electrocardiograms stacked on each other, but generally speaking, yes. The answer can be derived.” She paused. “And really, thanks to computers, you really don’t have to solve those by hand.”

The three girls looked at her in a mixture of total confusion and awe.

“Alright, let’s start with Scootaloo and go around until you don’t have any more questions,” said Sunset. She pointed at the dark purple-haired girl.

“What is an electro... cardiogram?”

“That’s not really all that relevant to what I was saying, but an electrocardiogram is that machine in hospitals that shows your heart activity as a wavy line on a screen or piece of paper,” said Sunset.

“How does that work?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Sunset tried to smile as she launched into a variety of topics she had only casual knowledge of.

An hour and a half later as the trio – who she learned called themselves the ‘Crusaders’ though by what calling and upon what force they were crusading it was never made clear – departed from detention, Sunset found Luna standing in the hall just outside the door. She nodded kindly but looked at her disappointingly.

“I would have come by,” said Sunset. “I always do after detention.”

“I know,” nodded Luna. “I trust in your activities here, this is not about monitoring your activities.”

“Then, what?” asked Sunset as she walked past the Vice Principal and headed back towards the front offices.

“I wished to see your teaching style,” said Luna as she walked alongside her student. “You strayed far from the topics assigned.”

“Ah, you were listening,” said Sunset. “I didn’t really want to, but they had questions I could mostly answer and you told me to ‘inspire learning’ so I thought giving them the truth instead of a future promise was better.”

“It is fine, I just hope you were giving them the right answers,” said Luna. “And that you were not encroaching on topics we should not be teaching in school.”

Sunset thought back over the discussion and slightly blanched. “I... was... offering a well justified reason why they should not be killing themselves in order to post videos online.”

“I see,” said Luna. “And this reasoned argument was one they listened to?”

Sunset bit her lip. “They definitely heard it.”

Luna laughed softly. “I will caution you that not even the most logical argument can sway all minds, and you are probably better trying to avoid any dangerous topics altogether.”

Sunset sighed. “I’ll try to remember that,” she said.

They walked in silence for a minute

“Did you enjoy it?” asked Luna

“Talking about skateboard tricks?” asked Sunset.

Luna smirked. “Teaching.”

“Oh,” said Sunset. She reddened slightly as her misunderstanding. “It’s not bad, certainly better than cleaning.” She thought about the last few days since she started teaching other detention students. “I like the dialog, and it’s nice that I actually can answer the questions they have. Though I wonder if doing that day in and day out would become enormously tedious.”

“You need not consider your full career in this conversation,” said Luna.

Sunset was quiet for a moment as she turned the conversations around in her head. Would she have liked herself as a teacher? She believed she would, though in a formal teaching situation she might have the freedom to go into basic biology during a calculus discussion. Or maybe she would? She didn’t know how it all worked.

But if she were to consider, beyond all of the formalities of teaching, the actual act of passing on learning, then, well..

“Yeah, I liked it,” said Sunset. “I am, uh, I’m glad there is a use for some of the knowledge I’ve gained other than to cause destruction and bitter disappointment.”

Luna nodded but said nothing, urging Sunset to continue.

“I still miss my magic,” she said softly. “It was what everything I learned was for and now I can’t even feel it.”

“You still believe you would return to your home world, given the chance?” asked Luna.

Sunset shook her head. “It’s not that, I still wouldn’t have a place there unless some pretty powerful people took pity on me.” She thought back to the book with her cutie mark on it and the words written inside. “Though I suppose it’s not unlikely they would, I just don’t want to live that way.”

The two arrived at the front of the school and Luna turned to face her student. The vice principal looked strangely serene and at peace, an attitude that had grown ever more prevalent as Sunset’s detention had stretched on. She made a small, comfortable smile.

“You know you shy away from anything you view as a gift,” said Luna.

“I...” Sunset frowned and her mind rebelled at that thought. It couldn’t be right.

“Your talents are never enough for you,” said Luna. “The things people offer are viewed with skepticism and distain, and even the friends you’ve made were not welcomed until you had created a struggle to overcome to properly admit them.”

There was a moment where Sunset believed she was sleeping and this some crazy nightmare. She couldn’t come up with any reason to think that, other than the strangely talkative and suddenly all too prescient Luna staring down at her.

“How do you even know—“ Sunset started but felt she probably didn’t want to know the answer. “No, I-I don’t do that.”

“If you say so,” said Luna with a nod. “Then perhaps I have over-orchestrated this opportunity to see you teach.”

Sunset frowned again. “You—why?”

Luna turned and looked out the front doors, largely glass with a metal frame, and stared out at the stone statue in the courtyard lit by the nearly set sun. She seemed to be composing thoughts in her head and her lips slightly moved as if reciting. Eventually she tipped her head slightly to catch Sunset in the corner of her eye.

“I have held off on talking with you about this,” said Luna. “Because I did not want to distract from your recent... adjustments, but I feel this should no longer be a concern.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Talk about what?”

Luna folded her arms and turned away from the doors to look at Sunset. “I thought it was just strange dreams at first, but they became increasingly lucid to the point that I could no longer ignore them.” She cleared her throat. “There is another me in them.”

“Another you?” asked Sunset, wondering what was going on. “Like a mirror?”

Luna shook her head. “Like a version of me that is a winged unicorn, that enters my dreams from another world.”

Sunset’s brows rose. “You’ve met Princess Luna?”

Luna sighed and nodded slowly. “She came to me not long after your detention started. We have talked a great deal about the many worlds and the responsibilities of someone who can enter and calm dreaming minds.” She looked unsteady. “She has begun to teach me certain things, which she admits may not work but wanted to try all the same.”

Sunset nodded. “She wants to teach you how to cross dreams?” she asked.

Luna nodded. “It may not work, for the same reason you cannot perform magic, but it is intriguing none the less.”

“That’s incredible,” said Sunset. She was actually hadn’t been sure Luna could reach her here. There had been that one dream, where a strangely composed Luna had talked to her, but it was brief and had not recurred. She had begun to believe it was just her mind or the Elements of Harmony playing tricks on her.

But if what Luna was saying was true, then perhaps their worlds weren’t so distant after all. If Princess Luna could come here, could someone go back?

“I admit to a certain degree of relief that you know what I am speaking of,” said Luna with a breath. “I was worried I had begun to go insane.”

“I know Princess Luna can enter dreams,” said Sunset. “There are old books I’ve read that speak of it, but that was all I knew. Luna, that is, Princess Luna, was trapped when I was young and I’ve never met her face to face.”

Luna nodded. “Nightmare Moon,” she said with pretty obvious shake to her voice.

“She told you, then,” said Sunset.

Luna nodded. “Her world – your world – is so strange to me. It is hard to even imagine what it would be like to be her.”

“She and Celestia are rather unique in our world,” said Sunset. “Most of us are just ponies with rather normal lives.”

Luna made a small smile. “Even the life of a speaking pony causes some distress to me.”

“Well, you humans are pretty strange too,” teased Sunset. Luna’s smile vanished and Sunset worried she had become too casual.

“She has asked me to look out for you,” said Luna, seriously. “Several times, in fact. And while she does not get specific, she worries you will hurt yourself out of anger.”

Sunset felt Luna’s somewhat serious gaze to be intimidating and she turned away. “I’m not going to hurt myself,” she said.

“Not all hurt is physical,” said Luna. “I’ve worked with children around the globe, and while many suffer physical abuses, the worst in the long run are the mental ones.” She moved slightly to get into Sunset’s line of sight. “You often hate yourself.”

Sunset turned more to get away. “Anyone who is honest with themselves should hate themselves.”

“That is simply not true,” said Luna. “You are young, too young to carry a burden so heavy.”

“Well I did some terrible things,” said Sunset. “I somehow got off without much punishment.”

“How much punishment would have been enough?” asked Luna. “Banishment? Stripped of magic? Forced to spend your time with us strange humans?”

Sunset growled and looked back at Luna. “This isn’t a joke.”

Luna looked serious. “No, it’s not, and your hatred of your past choices is only going to cause more suffering if you don’t allow for the potential of good things happening to you.”

“I can’t just stop... being skeptical,” said Sunset. “Trust is just as dangerous.”

“Perhaps,” said Luna. “But skepticism is not the same as pessimism. I have been trying to show you more than you have perhaps seen before, the possibilities and vibrancy of this world and this life. Detention is, admittedly, a poor vehicle for this, but it has still worked. You have become comfortable with me, with our talks, and now with students who look to you for knowledge.”

Luna spread her arms wider. “Accept this at face value, Sunset, and let these things become part of your worldview. You are not without option and this world is not absent of excitement, even for someone who was born a unicorn.”

Sunset looked at her and tried to push down a gnawing sense of betrayal. Luna had intentionally manipulated her, forcing her through detention to do and see what she wanted. It was crazy that she expected Sunset to thank her for the chance.

But Sunset knew this was an overly vicious view. Luna was trying to help her, and while her intentions were misguided, she believed she was being a good teacher. And Sunset did not honestly hate much of what she had been asked to do these past four weeks, though she found the bulk of it boring. In another situation, with a different administrator, would she have fared better or worse?

“I don’t know what to think about this,” said Sunset quietly. “I thought I could trust you.”

“Then continue to,” said Luna. “I have not done anything underhanded, only presented you with options. Did I ever force you to like something? Forced you to dislike someone? I only instructed you to participate, any reactions you had were your own, absent of manipulation.”

Sunset sighed and shook her head. She was feeling more than a little overwhelmed by this revelation and wasn’t sure how she wanted to respond.

“I-I really need to leave now,” Sunset said.

“You are free to,” said Luna. She stepped to the side. “You need not return if you don’t wish to.”

Sunset took several steps before stopping and looking back. “Wait, what?”

“You are done, Sunset Shimmer,” said Luna, who was still standing there waiting. “Your detention is over. Unless you break the rules again, you don’t have to report to my office anymore.” She smiled. “I still need good tutors, though, and I think you could be a great one, but that is your choice alone.”

Sunset stared. It seemed strange, but she had expected to finish her detention soon, just not tonight. She thought she was due to continue until next week. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything or just accept it and move on.

In light of the conversation Luna just had with her, she made herself turn away and leave.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset was back at the school a few hours later, long after Luna presumably had left the school and only a few maintenance people remained. It was dark, and late, and Sunset thought she should be tired, but she was too excited to be sleepy. The tall stone pony loomed overhead, perched atop its pedestal, keeping vigil over the school grounds and the forms of two slightly shivering teenagers.

Fluttershy, was not quite as resilient to the time of night. She yawned deeply but simply rubbed her eyes. “I didn’t think it’d be so late.”

Sunset smiled back at her and apologized. Then she looked at her watch. “The moon will be at its peak in just a few minutes, the flow of magic will be at it’s highest, and I’ll try to peer past the veil then.”

Fluttershy nodded, though her eyes were slightly droopy. Sunset realized she should have resisted Fluttershy’s requests to come along tonight. She wasn’t used to it and it would undoubtedly be something she’d pay for tomorrow morning at school, but at the time, Sunset was glad to have someone to share this with.

Fluttershy shivered and then rubbed her arms with her hands. Sunset got up from her place beside the statue in the courtyard of Canterlot High School, and moved closer to her friend. She pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around Fluttershy’s shoulders.

“You’ll be cold,” said Fluttershy quietly.

Sunset felt the chill on her shoulders but ignored it and shook her head in response. “It’s alright, I’ll be fine.” She tapped her chest. “Don’t worry about me.”

Fluttershy pulled the jacket tighter around herself and sat down on the steps around the statue. “I always worry about you,” she said.

“You shouldn’t,” said Sunset. “I’m made of sterner stuff.”

Fluttershy tried to tuck her chin down beneath the collar of the jacket to cover herself even more. “Everyone can get hurt,” she said. Her words were slightly slurred as she blinked heavily.

Sunset smiled despite herself. This girl was both impossibly strong and strangely helpless at times. She bent down and wrapped her arms around her, trying to share her body heat with her friend. In response, Fluttershy stopped trying to hide in the jacket and instead rested her head on Sunset’s shoulder, nestled up against her neck.

“Just a couple minutes,” said Sunset. “Then I’ll be able to see back to Equestria. I’ll try to describe it. Is there anything you want to know about? I have some control.”

Fluttershy shook her head slightly. “I know you’ve waited a while, it’s the first time you’ve tried since Twilight left. You should see what you want to.”

“I don’t actually have anything in particular I’m looking for,” said Sunset. “I should probably spy on Princess Luna in revenge, perhaps check in on Twilight too, so I have something to tell everyone else.”

“Sounds good,” said Fluttershy. She only sounded half there. Sunset held her tightly and hoped she would stay warm enough.

Sunset’s mind drifted as she waited and she quickly returned to Luna’s statements earlier this evening. She wasn’t so blind to her thoughts that she could reject the idea that she hated parts of herself, specifically the parts that resulted in demons rampaging over the school. She absolutely knew that to be true and it was those parts she was actively trying to change. Though into what hadn’t really been clear.

She knew her ambition had driven her to do senseless things in pursuit of more power. But ambition itself wasn’t bad, or Rainbow Dash would be just as demonic as her. Rarity as well had no shortage of desires and she hadn’t become a monster.

Though she had her own demons that haunted her. Perhaps she wasn’t a good example to study.

As usual, her thoughts returned to Fluttershy. She had no idea what to do about the girl and the fact that her recent accomplishments came in no small measure to her influence had made the matter infinitely more complicated.

“Fluttershy?” asked Sunset softly. The girl nodded in response. “Do you think I’m too hard on myself?”

“Yeah,” said Fluttershy, though she said it in a way that Sunset wasn’t sure it was agreement or just an acknowledgment that she heard Sunset.

“Don’t you worry I’ll go crazy again?” asked Sunset.

Fluttershy nodded, but said nothing.

Sunset felt adrift. “Then—what am I supposed to do?”

Fluttershy was motionless save for her gentle breath against Sunset’s neck. It was entirely possible – and not really unexpected – that she had fallen asleep and didn’t even hear her. Sunset was about to let her be when the girl spoke.

“Trust us,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset was confused. “To do what?” she asked.

“To keep you safe,” said Fluttershy. “We’ll help you if something happens again.”

“But—but what if you don’t notice?” asked Sunset. “What if you can’t see what I see? It might be too late.”

Fluttershy picked up her head and looked at Sunset. She spoke quietly but looked into her eyes without any sign of tiredness. “Then tell me. Don’t hide your feelings. If you’re afraid, then let me give you strength.”

Sunset felt her cheeks turn red at the intensity of Fluttershy’s stare. She swallowed and nodded stiffly. She didn’t dare move, their faces were so close she didn’t want to accidentally do something she didn’t intend.

Though what she intended right now was a little murky.

Her watch beeped, and Sunset glanced down at the timepiece, breaking eye contact with Fluttershy. “It’s time,” she said breathily.

Fluttershy gently sat up and pulled the jacket tight around her body again. She watched as Sunset turned away and began kneeling in front of the base of the statue. She took a deep breath.

Then Sunset reached out her palm and placed it against the smooth stone. It was cold to the touch, almost like ice, and the feeling snaked through her hand and up her arm. She shivered but ignored it as she closed her eyes and opened her mind to try and to push through the—

She felt nothing.

Sunset’s eyes shot open. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the stone. She tried to shut out everything else in the world and focus purely on her sense of magic. Something to feel the tendril of mana seeping through that she could use as a bridge to see Equestria.

But there was nothing. No mana, no delicate tingle of magic, no bridge. The portal was numb to her, she couldn’t feel anything different than a normal statue of stone.

“What?” she breathed. She closed her eyes and pressed her whole body against the stone and tried again to feel.

“What is it?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset’s face screwed up as she felt the grief bubbling up inside of her. It was gone. Even the last, barest drop of mana from the portal had dried up. The distant foggy connection to Equestria had closed.

Closed because Twilight came through.

Sunset turned away sharply and balled her fists and-- No! She told herself to stop. She couldn’t let herself get that way. She had no idea why it was gone. It could have been Twilight. It could have been herself. She didn’t know. She couldn’t blame.

The bitterness in her heart refused to die completely away.

“Sunset?” said Fluttershy.

Sunset opened her eyes and looked up at her friend. Immediately Fluttershy looked surprised.

“It’s gone,” said Sunset. “I can’t see anything. The connection is broken.” She swallowed again and then looked at her cold, sweaty hands. They were shaking. She was cold, she thought. She couldn’t feel it though.

She felt her heart racing. She at least thought she’d still be able to look. She just wanted to see her home. One day she was going to stop, she knew, she couldn’t look on for another three years, but she had believed she would make that choice.

But the choice had just been taken from her.

She felt empty and numb. Even the skin on her face felt hard and slack. The world actually was darkening even more than—

Oh. She fell into blackness.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset awoke with a start, sitting up at the first rays of dawn. She looked slowly around and realized she was in Fluttershy’s bed again. Her mind was foggy. How had she ended up here? She was saying at her foster parents’ home now, not here.

Slowly the details filtered in from last night as she blinked away the sleep. She felt warm under the blankets piled on her. Then she felt a chill when she remembered the closed portal.

“Hey,” said a soft voice from the doorway. Sunset turned to see Fluttershy there, fully dressed and made up for the day, holding a steaming mug.

Sunset sat up and rubbed her forehead. “What time is it?” she asked.

Fluttershy came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Almost seven,” she said. “I was about to wake you up so you could get ready for school.” She put the mug down on the desk and the reached out to gently touch Sunset’s head. “Your fever is gone.”

“I had a fever?” asked Sunset. She felt a little stiff and had a headache right now, but otherwise was alright. She didn’t remember having a fever last night, though she didn’t really remember getting home from the school.

Fluttershy nodded. “I think you were pushing yourself a little too hard and then the shock of... um, well, you passed out.”

Sunset was still. The bitterness and sense of loss was still there, maybe even stronger today than last night. “The portal’s shut,” she said angrily. “Well, it was already shut, it’s sealed.”

“What does that mean?” asked Fluttershy in a calm and even voice.

“I don’t know yet,” said Sunset. “It may mean I’m cut off forever, it might just mean that the portal closed more fully this time. I won’t really know until it’s supposed to open again.”

“You said that was almost three years?” asked Fluttershy. She got up and grabbed her mug and took a sip from it. It smelled like honey as it wafted near her.

“Yeah.” Sunset said. She sighed. “It... well, it sucks. I had expected to check in and keep track of what’s going on in Equestria but now I’m just – just not going to be able to.” She felt her chest tighten again and she put hand against it gently. “It was silly, but... I wanted it. And now I’ll be even more out of touch with my home when the portal opens again. If the portal opens again.”

“Oh, Sunset,” said Fluttershy. “I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sunset said after a moment. “I can’t do anything about it. I just need to-” She grimaced for a moment before throwing the covers off and getting up. “I’m going to take a quick shower.” She walked out of the room without hesitating.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Much of the day passed in a blur for Sunset Shimmer. She remembered the events that happened, including a number of impromptu congratulations from Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity when they learned that her detention had finished (slightly) early. There was talk of party – from Pinkie, of course – but Sunset said little. She declined almost everything until she realized she had nothing to do after school anymore and was stuck either going to her foster parent’s house or wandering the city. At the last minute, Rainbow Dash invited everyone to discover the ‘joy’ of the Rainbooms and Sunset reluctantly agreed to come.

As they walked to Rainbow Dash’s house, Sunset realized she had nothing to focus her energies on, nothing to distract from the gaping hole that was left now that the last shred of Equestria had been ripped from her. She hadn’t even realized how much it mattered to her until it was impossible to see. She pushed her fist into her chest trying to stop her hammering heart.

At some point, Fluttershy reached out and held her hand, squeezing it softly, and smiling at her. Sunset realized that she must have been pretty obviously freaking out and was thankful for the distraction. Her heart eventually calmed and she simply walked in silence holding Fluttershy’s hand and tried to figure out what was next.

The foremost question in her mind was the one that she’d been hammered with for some time by Vice Principal Luna and her friends: was she going to go back to Equestria someday? Despite the closed portal, Sunset had no better answer. She wanted to. She really did want to go back to where things were normal. But she wasn’t sure why anymore.

Normal was such a bizarre word. It meant nothing on its own at all, only deriving meaning through context. Normal for her friends here in the human world was exactly what had been happening – minus some demonic activity – and they were probably happy that life had been so boring the last month. Normal for them was finishing school and going to college or starting a career or just pitching in more at the farm. Normal was what this world expected from them.

But Sunset’s normal was so different she found it hard to reconcile. This world wasn’t boring by any measure, but it wasn’t what she grew up expecting. As a foal she heard stories of adventures and magic and vast kingdoms of various creatures. As a unicorn she expected a life of new and amazing magics and research. As a student of Celestia she hoped her future included the vast potential of being close to an alicorn. Maybe even becoming an alicorn herself.

In comparison, the last three years have been a constant progression of accumulating and hording social power in the hopes of being in an ideal position to ride a wave of victories back into Equestria and...

And what?

Sunset couldn’t help but feel like some part of her plan had been erased from her mind when the Elements of Harmony scrubbed the demon away. She could clearly remember her goal of getting the crown, and then going back to Equestria to show up Celestia, but then she couldn’t remember what she was going to do next.

Vaguely she recalled imagining herself replacing Celestia as regent of Equestria but that seemed silly now. Not only was Luna there now but also Twilight and Cadance and if anything, the defeat of Discord and Sombra made it pretty clear that a single force, no matter how strong, was not going to overcome the combined might of Celestia’s alicorn friends and family.

When she was a foal, Sunset had visions of protecting Equestria from the threats she read about, showing Celestia that her policy of non-aggression was hideously dangerous to the safety of the kingdom. But then, all of the threats Sunset had imagined had actually come to pass and Twilight had overcome them all with the power of friendship, exactly what Celestia had been advocating all along.

The truth was, and Sunset found this painful to even consider, that she had been wrong. Her childlike ambitions were based on bad conclusions and her years long plans were never going to succeed because they were targeting goals that were irrelevant.

But if that were true, then what was the point of Sunset Shimmer now? Did she have any role to play that wasn’t simply ... ‘normal?’

Her spiral of mental self-deprecation was interrupted by their arrival at Rainbow Dash’s house. It was Sunset’s first time there and she was briefly distracted by the opportunity to learn something new.

Rainbow Dash lived in a simple single family ranch in a named community called Cloud Walker Ways, which was simply too accurate to be coincidental. Sunset was again struck with how closely this world appeared inspired by Equestria. If Sunset didn’t know better, she would have thought that the human world was created the instant she stepped through the mirror, using her own memories of Equestria as the base.

The house was clean and, if not quite spacious, then at least well organized. Rainbow only briefly walked the group through the house – all of them had been here before except for Sunset – making some comment about dinner being pizza because her parents were working late, before finally taking them into the garage and opening the door.

Inside the two-car garage, instead of a car, was a layer of carpet remnants across the entire floor, a drum kit positioned in the center, a few microphone stands and microphones, and a mess of wires connecting to a pair of amps and electric guitars. The guitars were simple, and most were obviously weathered with age, except for one brightly painted blue guitar with a rainbow design across it. Sunset also noticed an acoustic guitar sitting in a stand by the corner, next to a narrow bookcase stacked with music sheets.

“I’ve never noticed this before,” said Rarity, looking around, wide eyed.

“It’s not always set up like this,” said Pinkie Pie. “Only when we’re practicing.”

Sunset stared. “We? You’re in this band too?”

“Yup!” said Pinkie as she went and sat down behind the drum kit. “I’m a founding member.”

“Since when?” said Applejack.

Pinkie checked her watch. “A week ago.”

“Ah,” said Sunset. She looked to Rainbow Dash. “So you play guitar I imagine, and Pinkie drums. Is there anyone else?”

“My cousin Echo Reverb plays guitar and sings backup,” said Rainbow Dash. “She was visiting when we started, but she’s gone back home.”

“So it’s just you two,” concluded Rarity.

“Only if you all don’t join,” said Rainbow Dash.

The girls looked at Rainbow, unsure of how to respond at the sudden invitation.

“Uh,” started Applejack.

“I don’t know how to play an instrument,” said Fluttershy, looking embarrassed.

“That’s okay,” said Rainbow, offering a thumbs up. “We can teach you something. Or you can help write some lyrics. It’s like poetry.”

“Oh, I like poetry,” said Fluttershy. “I can do that.”

Sunset blinked. She had no idea Fluttershy liked poems. She’d spent much of the last two weeks with her and it hadn’t come up.

“Well, I for one have my hands full with my designs,” said Rarity. “And it doesn’t look like you have much need for someone who plays piano.”

“Aw, come on, Rarity!” said Rainbow. “You could play synth! I’m sure we could find a keytar for you to play somewhere. And you can make costumes for the band!”

“A keytar?” said Rarity with a mixture of surprise and thinly veiled disappointment. She sighed. “I suppose if doesn’t take up much time and gives me an opportunity to show off more work I could find a way to pick up a ‘keytar.’ We’d better never play somewhere my piano instructor could see, though. She’d have a heart attack.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes but grinned madly. “What about you Applejack, what’s your excuse?”

“Who says ah have an excuse?” Applejack said indignantly. She put her hands on her hips.

“Great! You can play the bass,” said Rainbow and then she turned to look at Sunset. Applejack’s jaw dropped but was ignored.

Sunset blanched. “I really can’t,” she said.

“We can teach you to play something,” said Rainbow. “Come on! I’ll be awesome!”

“No, I mean, uh, I’m not really allowed,” said Sunset. She looked around nervously, realizing all eyes were upon her. “Its part of the rules I agreed to with Vice Principal Luna. I can’t join any groups or clubs until at least the new year. If you’re doing all this for the musical showcase, I especially need to tread lightly.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry. I can cheer you on, though.”

“Hmm, we should see if Luna will make an exception,” said Rainbow Dash.

Sunset held up her hands. “Please, don’t. I don’t want to make a fuss right now. I’ll check back after Christmas to see if it’s allowed, alright?”

Rainbow Dash grumbled slightly then nodded. “Okay, but you have to hang around and tell us if we’re any good. Not that we could possibly be bad, but it’s good get some constructive criticism.”

“I’ll do my best,” said Sunset with a half-smile. She watched as Rainbow Dash flew around the room equipping people with instruments and sheet music. An impromptu tambourine lesson was given to Fluttershy, and Rarity was positioned by a dusty electronic keyboard that was pulled out from an old box and plugged in.

“Where did all this stuff come from?” asked Applejack as she plucked the strings of the electric bass she’d been given.

“Mom used to have a band,” said Rainbow Dash as she was checking the wires between the amps and the guitars and microphones. “Dad was a roadie and a bit of a singer himself. It’s how they met.”

Fluttershy looked at the tambourine I her hand. “I guess they don’t play anymore?”

“Nah, not since I was born,” said Rainbow. “They said it was a phase they got over.” She shrugged. “Dad’s a flight attendant and Mom’s in hospital administration.”

“Huh,” said Sunset as Rainbow continued moving about setting up a practice. She hadn’t known about Rainbow’s parents’ past lives as musicians. They had apparently changed gears after having Rainbow, much older than any of them were now.

Sunset didn’t really know much about how careers worked in the human world. The life at and around the school was her primary focus over the last three years and while she was aware of a great deal of other professions, she didn’t really understand how school eventually led to them.

In Equestria, once you find your cutie mark, it’s often not a very far jump from there to what you spend your time doing. There were outliers, of course, but they often were just following the path they had been set on before getting their cutie mark. Changing course midway through was fairly rare.

But here, maybe things were different. Schooling took much longer in the human world for one thing, a small microcosm of a person’s life was spent there, enough that you could almost treat it as two separate existences: the life during and the life after school.

It seemed Flash and his band-mates were doing that. And Rainbow Dash’s parents had viewed it the same way. Investing in music in a way that they had accumulated all these instruments and eventually met and fell in love over it. But it was now divorced from their current lives to the point that this equipment had been gathering dust until Rainbow unearthed it. Their professions were as distant from that first life as... well, as Sunset was from her original goals.

“Alright, this is a simple one I wrote but let’s give it a try,” said Rainbow Dash, suddenly catching Sunset’s attention again. “Fluttershy just hit on the lines I drew on your paper, and remember Applejack, just the notes I drew circles around.”

“Ah get it,” grumbled Applejack. Sunset wondered if she really intended to join and/or play the bass, but now she was doing it. Sometimes Rainbow Dash could be like a force of nature when she set it in her mind to accomplish something.

“Okay, everyone,” said Rainbow, holding her hand out. “One! Two! Three!”

It was a gloriously awful sounding mess.

But in the end, they all laughed over it. Even Sunset, who clung to the silly moment like a lifeline.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Fluttershy and Sunset walked away from Rainbow’s place at night heading back towards their homes. They had made a great deal of progress with the music, and in the end it was pretty enjoyable and low pressure. Sunset hadn’t minded listening to the same dozen bars over and over again because she got to contribute to making them better. Even Rainbow Dash’s normal obsessiveness towards doing things better and more awesome seemed appeased by the progress they were making. All in all it had been a good night, and helped keep Sunset’s mind off her troubles.

Now, in the quiet of the night, she was starting to feel depressed again.

“Do you—do you want to come over again?” asked Fluttershy as they approached the point where they needed to go their separate ways. “I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind you saying over again. She likes the – uh, the company.”

Sunset made a small smile. The truth was she really did want to go with Fluttershy. Her home was safe and warm and being with Fluttershy made her feel comfortable. She felt cared for there in a way she hadn’t in her life until recently. In fact, she wouldn’t mind feeling that way forever.

Which was sort of the problem.

“Thank you,” said Sunset. “But I should head home.”

Fluttershy nodded stiffly. “Are you going to be alright?”

Sunset held her breath. “No, not really,” she said. “But I have to go home. I have to face my foster parents and I need to decide some things by myself. I can’t rely on you to make me feel better all the time, I need to find that place on my own.” She shrugged. “You won’t always be there, and should find a way to be independent.”

Fluttershy looked a little wide eyed and her mouth moved just barely enough to let the sound out. “I could be—“

“Please,” Sunset implored before Fluttershy could finish. “Please, just give me time.” She breathed deeply. “You’re one of the best things in my life right now, but I really need there to be some distance between us.”

Fluttershy looked down at the ground as they walked and Sunset felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She forced herself to look away.

“I’ll – I’ll be better,” said Sunset to the stars. “Once I have my feet beneath me. Then we can – well...”

Distantly, Sunset could hear a soft voice say, “Okay.”

A few minutes later they reached the intersection where Sunset had to turn to head towards her foster parents. She finally looked down and over at Fluttershy who was slowly walking away from her. She was looking over her shoulder at Sunset frequently, as if she were waiting for some sign.

Sunset frowned as she continued on her own path. Her steps felt heavy as she realized she was alone now, for the first time since the previous night. The dark streets seemed as bright as her future.

“Don’t get depressed,” came the voice of Star Swirl along with the familiar clop-clop of his hooves against the pavement.

“I hardly think this is the time for celebration,” grumbled Sunset, staring at the pavement.

“Your friends disagree,” pointed out Star Swirl. He galloped slightly ahead and stood in her way.

Looking up, Sunset reached out and pushed the phantom aside and then continued walking. The sensation was strange, she didn’t really ‘feel’ anything when she moved her arm, but all the same Star Swirl stumbled to the right and got out of her way.

“Sunset,” called out Star Swirl.

Sunset slowed her walk and then spoke through her teeth. “They don’t understand.”

Star Swirl ran forward again but stayed out of the girl’s path. “Then help them. Just last night Fluttershy—“

“How?” shouted Sunset. She clenched her fists. “Their world isn’t gone! They haven’t been cut off from the one thing that makes them special. Their lives haven’t been shoved into a blender and turned into oatmeal. They won’t get it.” She stomped forward again. “Nobody in this world will understand.”

Star Swirl kept pace beside Sunset. “You aren’t even giving them the chance to understand. Let them try, they want to help you.”

“Ugh!” growled Sunset. She looked at Star Swirl. “You’re in my mind, don’t you get it? I know they want to help, I know they’ll try. That’s the problem!” She felt her chest as her heart pounded furiously. She closed her eyes tightly and tried – but failed -- to slow her pulse.

Instead she continued. “I care about them now.” She swallowed. “I wish I didn’t. Great Celestia, I wish I could go back to hating everyone. It was so much easier.” Her breath was ragged. “I’m not going to dump my problems on them. They deserve better.” She shook her head. “Better than being stuck trying to fix the stone that struck them.”

Sunset sped up her walk. "Of course, you don’t understand. How could you?”

Star Swirl said nothing for a long while. He paced a bit behind Sunset then followed her when she continued on her way home. The silence was almost worse than the badgering.

Almost.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Over a thousand years ago...

A sky blue unicorn – who was not nearly so young anymore with his gray hair and beard peeking out from beneath a large brimmed hat – stood on what should have been a dusty path but was instead covered in checkerboard black-and-green tile beside overgrown weeds and grass the color of purple. The path led downwards beneath the ruins of the castle into a shadowy but not very deep cave and Star Swirl walked slowly into the depths.

As the olive sun in the magenta sky vanished from sight the cave began to echo his steps. Each scrape of his hooves becoming a clattering of noise that rang back at him for minutes. The murky light afforded by the still normal-colored green luminescent moss drained the blues and purples from his clothes leaving them all in shades of gray. Still, he walked deeper, approaching the soft sounds of water gently splashing in a pool.

Eventually the cavern opened up and revealed a deep natural pool beside a strange tree. The tree didn’t appear too out of place for the Everfree Forest save for the gentle white glow coming from the tips of the branches and little buds from flowers. Color returned to his vision as his eyes adjusted and he could see the deep etchings in the tree along its trunk, the ancient symbols that would one day mean so much more than they did today.

With a splash, the water in the pool was broken by the surfacing of a hippocampus, a mare with the body of a fish and the head and torso of a pony. Her long cyan mane was tied into a single bunch and lay across her shoulders, dripping water back into the pool. Her eyes were fixed on Star Swirl and her mouth dropped in shock.

“Oh my,” she said. She swam to the edge where Star Swirl stood and reached out with a hoof to gently touch his beard. “It’s so much worse. You look as though you’ve been gone a century.”

Star Swirl smiled kindly at her. “It is the price of power, we both knew it was going to happen.”

“Why didn’t you give up the elements earlier?” asked the hippocampus.

Star Swirl’s smile grew sadder. “You know why,” he said seriously.

The mare looked away and Star Swirl nodded. He took a step closer to the tree.

“The two sisters won’t win,” said the mare. “Discord is the ruler of Equestria now.”

Star Swirl’s expression darkened considerably. “Discord rules nothing. He is chaos incarnate and he would find more interest in losing than holding power. He has no friends, and no enemies, merely toys he discards as soon as he gets the slightest bit bored!”

The hippocampus withered visibly under Star Swirl’s rant, and she retreated to the center of the pool, treading water.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Don’t be sorry,” said Star Swirl, sounding slightly less angry but still not kind. “Convince your sisters to turn on him. You could inspire a change in the tide of his conflict. Or at the very least, stop supporting him.” He moved closer to the edge of the pool and got down on his knees. “Please, Sonata, I’m terrified of the day I have to fight you. I don’t want to lose...” he choked up slightly. “I can’t bear to lose someone else. Not so soon after Princess Platinum.”

Sonata drifted even further from the edge of the pool. “My sisters are my family, I can’t betray them.”

“This conflict will cost you,” insisted Star Swirl. He poked at his beard. “Look at what it’s taken from me.” He looked sad now. “From us. I know you can feel it, I taught you better than the others.”

Sonata’s eyes widened and then she sank slightly, leaving only her head above the waters. Her brow furrowed.

“The energy you get from the negative feelings you’ve been using your songs for feels different, doesn’t it?” asked Star Swirl.

Sonata nodded slowly. “They’re... sticky,” she struggled. “Makes it hard to think sometimes.”

“Turn back,” said Star Swirl urgently. “Now, while you’re still you.”

“My sisters—“ said Sonata.

“We can help them,” said Star Swirl. “The princesses can help.”

Sonata was taken aback slightly then began to frown. “The princesses?”

“They have power, the first alicorns of our generation,” said Star Swirl. “You can trust them.”

“What about you?” said Sonata.

Star Swirl sighed and got back onto his hooves. His eyes drifted to the tree. “My magic is fading. I’ve overextended myself with the elements. I don’t imagine I’ll have much left after this.”

“It can’t be,” said Sonata. She swam closer to the edge, her frown forgotten. “You’re the greatest mage there’s ever been. You created the sunset!”

Star Swirl smiled. “Something that Discord’s corruption has spoiled as well.” He shook his head. “I’m only the first, Sonata. There will be others after me who will be greater. Besides, I’d like to think it wasn’t my magic that mattered at all.” He reached up and tapped his head. “I’ll still have my mind, and my research.”

“This shouldn’t have happened,” said Sonata. “Why didn’t those sisters do it if they have so much power?”

“They did all they could,” said Star Swirl. He shook his head. “And they will do more once I’m finished, but I need to put the pieces in motion.” He looked back at her. “Help me?”

Sonata was sullen. “I can’t leave my sisters.”

Star Swirl nodded. “Then, if you could, please inspire me one more time.”

Sonata stared at him and she looked ready to cry. But when she opened her mouth, out came a serenade that more beautiful, and yet more desperate, than any Star Swirl had ever heard before. It was he who began to cry as he reached into his cloak and removed the Elements of Harmony. They began to float and began to circle his head as he pulled them out and released them. With a faint glow they hummed along with the song, spinning faster.

Star Swirl closed his eyes and concentrated on the music, the magic, and the future. When he was finished he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. The hippocampus started to approach him, but then began to shake and instead dove back into the waters and swam away.

Above him, the Tree of Harmony pulsed with the magic of the elements, and waited.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset Shimmer awoke in her bed in her foster parents’ house, the lingering thoughts from a time before she was born still vivid in her mind. She glanced out the window and saw that it was still night.

“Star Swirl?” she said softly into the night.

There was no reply.

Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), Pt 1 (OLD VERSION)

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Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), End (OLD VERSION)

Sunset felt the swirl of energy flowing before her, tugging at her nerves. She was standing on the ridgeline above the CHS outdoor concert area where the undeniably ominous tones from the three Dazzlings were pressing outwards. Like a sentinel, a force now stood strong and opposed to the creeping malice: the Rainbooms.

Twilight sung proudly in front of her friends, her voice loud and clear. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy supported her, singing in harmony to her while playing their instruments. Pinkie Pie kept them steady and in sync with her drumming. They were strong together and the magic, finally, responded.

Each girl was caught up in a rainbow of color a light and grew ears, long tails of hair, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sprouted pairs of wings. The swirling light then lingered, surrounding them, creating a barrier that pushed forward ever so slightly, moving back the miasma from the Dazzlings.

“It’s working!” shouted Spike, as the column of light edged forward.

Yes, thought Sunset, it’s working, but not enough. Rainbooms were holding their own but not pushing back the Dazzlings’ music. They could play until they got tired, but the magic the Dazzlings had already absorbed from the students and from the Rainbooms already meant they had become a colossal threat.

The energy pushed slightly outward with the start of the chorus of the Rainboom’s song. It startled Sunset who stepped cautiously backwards to say beyond the field. She wasn’t sure what to think. The energy was bright, and Equestrian, but that same magic had punished her once, and she was weary to face it again. She doubted she was a threat like the Dazzlings had become, but she had once been, and she didn’t know if the magic would recognize her or not.

Sunset refocused on the battle. The warring energies were becoming more violent as the quick expansion of the Rainboom’s energies stabilized and slowed. It hadn’t been enough to turn the battle. The Dazzlings were still stronger.

On the stage, she saw Adagio flex her wings and lean forward as she sung, an angry gaze directed straight at Twilight. Aria was still smug looking, stretching her wings wide and singing loudly as he eyes glowed red. Sonata appeared to sing with a staunch determination, like she had set herself upon a goal and wasn’t letting herself see any alternative. Upon each of their collars, their red rubies glowed brightly, the same color as Aria and Sonata’s eyes.

Sunset had to do something, but she couldn’t fathom what. The battle was currently even, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way. Eventually one side would tire, and in her gut, Sunset knew that for all the power Twilight brought to bear, she wasn’t inexhaustible.

There was a bright flash of red light and Sunset watched as the glowing rubies around the necks of the Dazzlings became blindingly bright, sweeping the stage and much of the arena in a crimson glow. Sunset put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sight. Then, when it had dimmed slightly, she looked up to see three ghostly forms in the sky, a trio of hippocampi, glaring ominously down at the Rainbooms.

The barrier of magic wavered and shrunk slightly just from the look.

Sunset swallowed.

*** ( MLP ) ***

“Your enthusiasm is admirable, but I don’t see the necessity,” said the older unicorn.

“But, your highness,” said the blue unicorn as he quickly galloped ahead and turned to face the more regal pony. “It’s all connected! Everything, in fact. Understanding the balance is crucial to maximizing crop yields.”

The older unicorn shook his head and slowly walked past the younger. “That’s an Earth Tribe matter, it doesn’t affect us. The Unicorn Tribe only needs to focus on the sun and the moon.”

The younger unicorn walked backwards to stay in the older unicorn’s sight. “But it does affect us, just like the weather does. And all of it is held in balance by the fundamental force: magic.”

“We have magic, the Earth and Pegasus Tribes do not,” said the older unicorn. “That is what makes our tribe the most important.”

The younger pony took a deep breath. “I think the other tribes do have magic, and possibly all living things have magic, they just express it in different ways,” he said. “Ours is external but I think the other races have an intrinsic magical energy they use to be strong or fly. I can’t prove it yet, but I think there’s a way to make all the measurements I’ve taken align. A sort of unifying equation that can prove magic is not only everywhere, but is possibly interchangeable.”

The older unicorn stopped and turned. He did not look happy. “Star Swirl, your assistance to our tribe in stabilizing the spells to raise the sun has been significant, so I have allowed you to indulge in your fancies, but this is too much.” He rose his head up and looked down at the younger pony. “The Unicorn Tribe is magic. It is our birthright and our honor to lead the lesser tribes through this harsh world. What you propose is blasphemy! The very idea can lead to only one thing: unrest.”

“King Bullion,” started Star Swirl but he was cut off with a simple gesture from the King’s hoof.

“I am unmoved by your appeals,” said King Bullion. “Your plan to tamper with our tradition in this ‘Magical Academy’ is an affront to our values and it cannot be allowed.”

Star Swirl looked down at the path and shook his head. “I implore you to listen well,” he said as he looked up. “Knowledge can cause unrest but ultimately nothing can hold it back. If I am right and don’t research this, someone else will and that knowledge will spread without any regard for you or your people. You can’t contain ideas; they spring forth unbidden from the most unexpected places. Believe me, our only hope to avoid the unrest, rather than simply delay it, is to find out everything we can and carefully educate.”

Star Swirl nodded before his liege, his eyes turned downward.

“Our people need relief from holding back the moonless night,” said the King. “Do not come to me again until you have a solution on this matter.”

“Yes, your highness,” said Star Swirl.

After a while he began to feel better, and he turned his thoughts again onto the puzzle of interconnected magics. He was sure there was some angle he hadn’t considered, a means by which the different expressions – direct, indirect, and cosmic magics – might be viewed to present a unified theory.

He looked towards the sun, the powerhouse of magic it was, and wondered again if it were the divine source he sought. The light of the sun touched all things and perhaps, through that light, magic was imparted. Though there was little in his research to support such an idea, he knew that many creatures, ponies include, worked so much harder in the light than in the dark. If there was more than simply pleasant thoughts behind that correleation.

But the light was an interesting thought. Even if magic was not delivered by rays of the sun, it could be harnessed in many ways, and distorted, if viewed through the wrong lens.

Lens, thought Star Swirl. That idea stuck in his head. A lens bent light and focused it, like a unicorn could bend magic and focus it. But there were lots of types of magic if Star Swirl’s theory was correct, so it would be less like a single lens and more like a—

PRISM!

What if crystalline magic – a crystalline matrix! – could produce the results he was looking for. He had already proven that certain mathematical crystal constructs would resonate in contact with a pegasus in flight, if there were other activities in Earth tribe ponies and unicorns then perhaps it would be the connection he was looking for. A start to build a functional equation.

Star Swirl smiled broadly and breathed deep, feeling he had made a very positive leap.

Then he heard the gentle tones. He turned and looked around for the source of the pleasant notes. Eventually he looked down off the bridge and saw her. A young hippocampus swimming in gentle circles in the water, her head raised just above the surface and singing the melodious notes. Her eyes were closed as she sang and she looked to be smiling during her breaths between notes.

When she stopped to take another breath, Star Swirl spoke up.

“Hello there,” he said simply.

The girl was startled and took a mouthful of water before coughing then treading water. With a strong swish of her tail she propped herself up halfway above the water and gently tapped on her throat with her hoof as she coughed. On her tail was a picture of a heart with a single blue note shaped like a lightning bolt on top of it.

“It was beautiful singing,” said Star Swirl. “I didn’t mean to disrupt you.”

The hippocampus shook her head. Her blue mane flowed gently behind her, somehow not even appearing damp. She blinked her purple eyes. “I didn’t expect you to notice.”

Star Swirl raised his eyebrows. “Why not? I did not recognize the song, but it was lovely to listen to.”

The girl hippocampus giggled. “It should be. It was meant to inspire you.”

Star Swirl blinked. “Inspire me?”

The girl nodded. “And your inspiration was wonderful.” She sighed and patted her belly with her hoof. “It was why I was distracted.” She looked wide eyed at Star Swirl. “Are you special?”

This time Star Swirl laughed. “Well, I’d like to think so, but the jury is still out.” He smiled at her and leaned his leg on the railing. “You seem to be special yourself. Did your song cause me to be inspired?”

The girl shook her head. “The inspiration was there, I just helped it along. It’s just something my brood sisters and I do.”

“Marvelous!” said Star Swirl. He laughed loudly. “You are definitely special in my book. How did you know I was close to an answer? Did you feel it?” He blinked. “Oh, my name is Star Swirl. I’m terribly sorry for not introducing myself. What is your name?”

The hippocampus seemed to blush. “I-I’m Sonata Dusk.”

“How wonderful to meet you, Sonata,” said Star Swirl.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset planted her feet firmly as the magic came crashing down upon her and the Rainbooms. The three phantom hippocampi bellowed mightily down on the ridge, almost doubling the strength of the magic already coming from the stage. The ground trembled from the force and Pinkie’s drum set rattled in its harness.

The music died quickly under the onslaught as the Rainbooms struggled simply to hold onto the instruments they were playing. All the while the pressure from the three phantoms increased, pushing down on their heads and arms, forcing them down to the ground.

Sunset, with nothing to hold onto except her jacket, bent her legs and pushed against the force. She felt her leathers flap against her back as she straightened herself and stared down the enemy.

The hippocampi glared back with glowing eyes and brilliant red light coming from their throats. They barely looked like the hippocampi that Sunset had read about as a kid, they were deformed, exaggerated, made to look sharp and evil where the stories she had read had curves and luxurious hair. It was almost a mockery.

Magic. Sunset understood now. The magic changed everything. Even these girls, who probably fully comprehended what they were doing, they too had been changed by the power. The Elements of Harmony were powerful but indiscriminate. They fed both desire and dread, the dreams and nightmares of the possessors. It was harmony in the most brutal sense, what you always wanted in exchange for what you never wished to see.

She couldn’t help but feel helpless. The forces at play were far beyond anything she’d ever held save for the one time she had the Element of Magic herself. But she didn’t even have that now. She was little more than an observer as he friends kneeled under the collapsing energies of their once proud singing. She was outside of it all. Neither an enemy, nor a member of the Rainbooms. Just there. Helpless.

“Sunset,” came Twilight Sparkle’s voice over the wailing of the Dazzlings. Sunset turned her head to see her rival looking at her. “We need you.”

The unease in Sunset’s stomach intensified. She frowned and shook her head. “I can’t,” she said.

Twilight held out the microphone in her hand. Its grip was extended towards Sunset. “You can,” she said.

Sunset looked slightly away. “I can’t control it,” she said. “I don’t have the conviction to fight for Harmony.”

“You don’t have to,” said Twilight firmly. “Fight for us. Fight for yourself! Don’t you have something to prove?”

To prove?

She was the villain! All she had to prove was how powerful she was, how much she could beat aside challengers and emerge victorious. She had to prove she was worth being a princess, worth inheriting the vast control, and worth being recognized.

But was that the truth? Was that what she thought back then? A villain never really believes themselves to be evil. What did she believe? What did she believe now?

She looked at her friends, shaking to stay upright, pushing against the Dazzlings. The enemy. Sunset had no love for the Sirens, she could see they should be opposed. They all were fighting the same battle and the Dazzlings were on the other side. They had to be stopped or everything in this strange, awkward, magicless world she called home would be in trouble.

Honestly, all she wanted to believe was that she could help them.

But did she?

Sunset reached out and her fingers slipped around the grip of the microphone. Twilight’s hand dropped to the ground to hold herself up as soon as the microphone was taken. Sunset brought the scary instrument towards her mouth.

Unlike a guitar or a cymbal or drums, the microphone gave nothing but notice. Everything came from within the person holding it, only amplified. Every skill or flaw brought out in a hundred times magnification for everyone to see. The question would be answered here and now.

Who was Sunset Shimmer?

She took a deep breath.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Star Swirl adjusted his hat as he walked down the yellow-checkerboard path towards the tall castle. It was nearly a dozen stories tall and six beneath the surface. In any other setting it would be a monstrous eyesore on the humble seaboard. But now it was surrounded by trees growing basketballs, flying otters, self-propelled pink polkadot boulders, and armies of flowering ants marching in formations that created the appearance of scrolling words across the orange grass.

The words read: Yay! Discord is the Best! Discord is the greatest genius in the world!

“Right,” said Star Swirl as he stepped over some punctuation and onto the gangway that led to the main door. As he entered the castle he was announced by a talking shrubbery. At least, Star Swirl hoped it was a talking shrubbery, and not a pageboy that now looked like a shrubbery.

“Obsessive Magical Dolt, Star Swirl the Day Too Late,” said the bush with delight.

Star Swirl rolled his eyes at the mockery and continued downwards towards the general’s quarters. At each level he had to hold back traps designed to wash him to the bottom and impale him on spikes, and every other level he had to avoid fire. The fire was in a new place each time, but there was always fire. It was actually fairly predictable for a disciple of Discord.

Once in at the bottom, Star Swirl held his head high and walked up to the circular dias before the large semi-circular wading pool within which swam three hippocampi.

“Well, well, Star Slump,” said the hippocampus with a strawberry blonde mane named Adagio Dazzle. “Couldn’t keep up with Discord anymore and came to challenge his generals instead?” She smiled broadly. “Don’t expect it any easier here.”

“Adagio!” hissed the blue maned hippocampus named Sonata.

“No,” Star Swirl. “No challenge, just here to talk.”

“Boooring,” said Aria, who didn’t even bother to sit up to throw comments. “Let me know when you want to be angry.”

“Your magic doesn’t work on me unless I let it,” said Star Swirl to Aria, then he turned his gaze towards Sonata. “And you haven’t given me a reason to let it.”

“Yes,” said Adagio before Sonata could respond. “The Crystal Shield. We’ve heard of your immunities. Too bad it couldn’t help dear Princess Platinum. How lonely it must be to have the perfect defense, yet you can’t give it to anyone.”

Star Swirl said nothing and tried not to betray the pain deep in his heart.

“I’m sorry, Star Swirl,” said Sonata softly. “She wouldn’t turn aside and Discord, he, he wouldn’t let it pass.”

Star Swirl nodded, his jaw tight and set. “There is no time for regret in war.”

“There is no war,” said Adagio. “Discord rules Equestria, there is no dispute. Accept it.”

“Discord cannot rule anything,” said Star Swirl. “He is chaos incarnate and he would find more interest in losing than holding power. You should know this. Nothing you have earned from his good favor will last. I beg you, turn aside, give up the spire, and join us.” He shook his head. “Or don’t, but leave, get out of this war. It will get you nothing.”

“It gets us fed,” said Aria as she groomed her purple hair. “If your triumvirate – oh, sorry, duumvirate now – gets their way we’ll be stuck barely getting by again, living a life of starvation.” She swam up to the edge of the pool and glared down at Star Swirl. “You don’t know what that’s like.”

“I know,” said Star Swirl. “I know what it’s like to be missing something that makes you whole, to be teased with satisfaction only to have to get by with next to nothing.” He shook his head. “I was not always a royal advisor.”

“No,” Adagio said sharply and she splashed water at the mage. The droplets struck against an invisible battier and fell away, leaving Star Swirl perfectly dry. “You don’t get to talk up some sob story, your life will continue in luxury even as your ponies try to starve us.”

Star Swirl shook with anger and shouted. “You can be satisfied from inspiration! Why? Why would you do this? Why feed from negative emotions when you can make people’s lives better? I can’t understand why you would do this!” He looked to Sonata. His once wonderful Sonata. He trusted her. He might even have—

“It’s not enough, Star Swirl,” said Sonata. “True inspiration is so rare. We will dwindle and die before we ever eat our fill. And each meal we miss we are that much less capable of inspiring again. We just can’t live like that.”

“But it’s changing you,” shouted Star Swirl. “You can’t take that magic into yourself and not be different after. You do this for too long and you’ll lose yourself entirely.” He stepped right up to the pool and looked as closely into Sonata’s eyes as he could. “You. The real you. The you were born to be.”

Sonata swam right up to him and looked back with a sad smile. “No one can be that person. We all become what we need to be to survive our environment. That girl you met has long since left.” She tapped the edge of Star Swirl’s large floppy hat. “Even you.”

Star Swirl looked down, then, after a moment, he stepped away from the edge and turned away.

“Your time has passed,” said Adagio. “The time of Discord—“

“What if I helped you?” said Star Swirl.

“H-helped who?” said Adagio.

“What?” asked Sonata.

Star Swirl turned back and looked at Adagio this time. “If I could make inspiration last, if you could be sustained on good, positive feelings, would you come to us? Would you help us weaken Discord?”

Adagio looked at Star Swirl like he had grown a second head. “What nonsense is this? You can’t change the way our power works.”

“I can,” said Star Swirl, with a slow nod. “I can capture and transform magic with my crystal lattices. I could store up energy in a – sort of, magic honey pot you carry with you. The positive feelings could be captured and changed into the same magic that inspiration gives you. Then you don’t have to starve anymore. You wouldn’t have to think about feeding again. One act of inspiration could supply you for months.”

“T-this is something you can do?” said Sonata.

Star Swirl looked up at her. He nodded stiffly.

“But you never said—‘ started Sonata.

“I’ve only recently been able to successful alter magic through a crystal well, I wasn’t really sure it could work until I found the tree,” said Star Swirl.

“The tree?” asked Sonata.

Star Swirl shook his head. “That’s my offer.” He turned towards Adagio again. “If your hunger drives you as much as you claim, even Discord cannot offer you what I can. Think it over, and give me your answer within a fortnight.” He closed his eyes briefly then turned and started back up the stairs.

“Star Swirl!” called out Sonata.

He paused but didn’t turn. “No, there’s nothing to say. If it’s come to this, to bargaining, then that girl really is gone.”

He continued up the stairs.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset felt the magic take hold of her and she was suddenly floating in a cloudy abyss.

“Well, here we are again,” came the voice of Star Swirl out of the shadows. He moved into view and was quickly joined by Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.

“S-Star Swirl!” said Sunset as she felt her feet land on solid ground she couldn’t see.

“Been getting on all right without me?” asked Star Swirl with a smile.

Sunset looked around. “I’m in the Element of Magic again? B-but you said I’d never see you--”

“I said only the rightful possessors of the Elements would see me again,” said Star Swirl.

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Does that mean I’m an Element of Harmony?”

The vision of Celestia stepped forward. “Not quite, my student. There are still trials ahead for you, and challenges to overcome within.” She tipped her head slightly. “Should you wish to continue.”

“What do you mean?” asked Sunset. She shook her head. “What’s going on here? Why did you pull me in. There’s still a battle going on!” She suddenly blanched. “I was just about to sing! Am I just standing here with my mouth open?”

“Please, Sunset, don’t worry,” said Star Swirl. “Nothing is happening. If it helps you to understand, consider time to have stopped while we talk.”

Sunset frowned. “But what has happened?”

“Well,” began Star Swirl. “The complexities of inter-field perceptive shift begin with some of the latter chapters of my Magical Fundamentals text, specifically—“

“Star Swirl,” said Celestia firmly.

“Yeah, time stopped,” Star Swirl said abruptly.

Sunset sighed.

“You have a choice to make, Sunset Shimmer,” said Twilight Sparkle.

“Boy, every version of you talks like that, huh?” said Sunset with a smirk.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather I extol the virtues of keeping an accurate and reliable schedule?”

Sunset laughed. “I would rather you give it to me straight, ‘Twi. No dramatics like the trio from eternity ago, here.”

“Hey!” said Star Swirl.

“Why are you most offended?” asked Luna towards Star Swirl. “You are older than us by far.”

“Yeah, but, she doesn’t have to rub it in!” whined Star Swirl.

“Please, Star, wear your age with dignity,” said Celestia calmly.

“Oh, is that what you do? No wrinkles, no sags, no gray hairs?” asked Star Swirl. “After over a thousand years? I don’t believe it.”

“Alicorns do not age like regular ponies,” said Celestia. “Just as you do not.”

Star Swirl opened his mouth and froze, then looked at Sunset. “Welp, we’d better stop there.”

“Please, keep bickering,” said Sunset, waving her hand towards them.

Celestia smirked impishly. “Afraid of letting some secrets fly?”

“What secrets?” asked Twilight.

“Nothing! This is not at all the point of this conversation,” said Star Swirl quickly and while waving his hands. “The point is: choices.”

“Right,” said Sunset, looking back to Twilight. “So spill it.”

“There’s some ceremony to this,” said Twilight.

“Skip it.” Sunset crossed her arms.

Twilight smiled. “It’s up to you. If you still want magic to be part of your life, you will forever be just on the edge of becoming the demon again. You have already realized why.”

Sunset held her breath. “Magic feeds the good and the bad,” she quietly said.

Twilight nodded. “You will always have those tendencies, the temptation to use the power selfishly. There will never be relief from that, but that doesn’t mean you will indulge. If you trust yourself, you can remain good.”

Sunset frowned. She didn’t really want to hear that, even though she suspected it was true. It wasn’t like her mind had been altered or she had been controlled. The demon was her, just as this was her. The only difference was what she chose.

“Or,” said Twilight after a moment. “You can give it up. We will seal away your magic and you will never need to worry about it again. The world will be safe from you no matter your choices.”

Sunset’s eyes widened again. That sounded terrible to her, like cutting off a limb that was working fine. She loved magic, it was what had made her special.

But it also hurt her, drove her to do things she regretted. Made her harm the people she now cared for. She sighed. Would it be better for her friends if she was never a risk to them again?

“This isn’t fair,” said Sunset with a grumble. She pointed out into the mists. “They’re losing out there, I need the magic to help them. This isn’t a choice at all!”

“Twilight will be protected,” said Star Swirl. “And she will protect her friends. No matter your choice, don’t worry about the Sirens.”

“How can I do that?” asked Sunset. “Those are my friends, this is my home. If I don’t stand up for them, if I don’t fight for my home, what am I supposed to think if something bad happens? If not today, then next time, next battle? Whose fault is it if they fall and I could have helped?”

“No one can truly know the future,” said Celestia. “We can only make the best choices for ourselves and hope for the best.”

“That doesn’t help me,” said Sunset. “I don’t know what to do! I love magic, but I don’t want to hurt my friends ever again.”

Twilight put her hoof on Sunset’s arm. “Then don’t.”

Sunset looked down at the arm. “It’s not that easy.”

Twilight laughed softly. “Nothing easy is worth doing.” She looked into Sunset’s eyes. “Do you really think this is stronger than you?”

Sunset looked away. “It might be,” she whispered.

“But is that risk worth the possibility that your magic might someday save them?” asked Twilight.

Sunset closed her eyes. She could see the laughing demon in her thoughts. She would laugh forever, echoing in her mind, goading her on, pushing her towards the wrong choices.

She opened her eyes. “But I don’t have to listen to her,” she said.

Twilight nodded at her.

“For my friends, I can ignore the demon,” she said with a little more confidence.

Luna looked at her and nodded.

“For my home, I can be strong,” said Sunset.

Celestia turned and nodded.

“I won’t let anyone conquer me,” said Sunset.

Star Swirl smiled. “You can try, anyway. That’s what matters.”

Sunset frowned. Then she stepped over to Star Swirl and looked down at him. She wet her lips. “’If I can, give your love to’... who?”

Star Swirl looked down once, then furrowed his brow as he looked up again. “I guess I need to tell you one last story.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Star Swirl had to set up listening posts all along the riverline to find them, over seventy to monitor, some with magic, some with protégés in exchange for teaching favors. His patrol took hours and for weeks on end he heard nothing but stories of more empty trading vessels wrecked upon the shores, their cargo gone.

Then, almost three months after taking up the task, he found them. Not holed up in a towering castle or underground caverns, but in a large and quiet estate with a small stream running through it. Star Swirl didn’t believe for a second they built it, and wondered what had happened to the unfortunate resident who once called it home.

As he walked, he adjusted his outfit. The carefully stitched cloak inlaid with the crystal lattice that provided the foundation for his now well-known Crystal Shield. The amulets giving him the fortitude and strength to withstand the strongest and most complex of his spells. The large hat with enchanted bells, each a different task or contingency.

Cautions and backup plans, layers and layers of armor. He didn’t know what he would find on the other side of the large door to the manor, whether they would even be interested in talking or if he would be caught immediately in a battle.

Idly, he recalled that once upon a time he was a scientist; a wide eyed boy with dreams of magical revolution. How little he knew back then of what revolution really was like. When the Unicorn Tribe pushed down the Earth Tribe strike, he fought. When Equestria was founded and the non-pony races rose up, he fought. When Discord conquered Equestria, he fought. And now, he was dealing with the aftermath of that last war on behalf of the two Princesses. If that young boy encountered him now, he would think Star Swirl was a warrior.

He guessed, in a way, he was.

The doors to the manor opened unbidden and Star Swirl came through, on guard, and carefully scanning each room with his eyes. It was tastefully decorated, to his surprise, nice furniture, paintings on the walls, with large bookcases filled with tomes.

When he reached the back of the first floor he found an open area with tall windows, vaulted ceilings, a tasteful fountain with a stone fish spitting water into the air, and three mares sitting on cushions beside a huge stone table covered in a nautical map.

Star Swirl blinked at the mares, but his eyes quickly found the small ruby red gems hung around their necks. The gems were glowing brighter than he had ever seen them before. His heart fell.

“Star Swirl the Bearded,” said Adagio Dazzle, the mare in the center. “Surprised by what you see?”

Star Swirl’s eyes lingered on the gems. “No,” he said with a shake of his head. He stepped over to stand before the three girls. “I’d heard the stories, and while I may have wished them to be untrue, I knew better.” He looked disdainfully at Adagio. “Or do you mean your simple glamor, there? One of my young students could do that.”

Sonata looked away. Aria chuckled.

“What’s your issue, old colt?” asked Aria. “We did what you wanted, we fought against Discord, and you won! You should be happy!”

“I asked you to inspire!” said Star Swirl, frustrated.

“We did,” said Adagio. She got up and walked to the side, looking out the windows on the large farm grounds behind the manor. “I think we saw you out there at the front of some of those battles. We gave those fighting the will to fight on.”

“Then why are you doing this now?” Star Swirl stamped his hoof on the ground in anger. “Why are you back to negative emotions? Why are your gems glowing red?”

“A girl’s gotta eat,” said Aria with a smile.

“No, no, no,” said Star Swirl. “I helped you. I gave you those gems so you could get the most from inspiration. You don’t need negative emotions anymore.”

“But we do,” said Adagio, turning. “Perhaps the wealthy scion of a noble pony house has never known the hunger but it is worth anything to avoid.”

“You weren’t hungry anymore!” said Star Swirl.

“But we were, we were hungry not to be just getting by,” said Adagio. “We were hungry to do more than simply survive. If you had ever lived the life we had, you would not let yourself get even close to it ever again. Negative emotions are much more plentiful, and thanks to you...” she reached up and tapped her gem. “They taste even sweeter than inspiration.”

“That’s not why I made those,” said Star Swirl.

“Perhaps not, but they’ve certainly worked,” said Aria as she laid back on her large pillow. “In fact, we have never been stronger. Not even the boons Discord gave us come close.”

“Then why are you attacking sailors?” asked Star Swirl. “What is that all about?”

Adagio laughed. “We needed the supplies, of course. It takes an awful lot to feed an army it turns out.”

Star Swirl froze. “An army?” he said cautiously.

“Yes,” said Adagio with a grin. She called out and Star Swirl heard doors open. Like legion ponies and demi-races began stepping out from the many rooms and corridors in the large manor. They flooded into the area and stood at attention, surrounding Star Swirl and the Sirens like an audience to a show. A blank faced, hundred pony large audience.

“Why?” asked Star Swirl with a shake of his head. “You wish to be the new Discord? You’ll fall just like he did, the Princesses can stand against you.”

“Hmm, I wonder if they can stand against their own people though?” said Adagio. “We sang for quite a number of their citizens during the war. I don’t suppose we were being too underhanded back then, were we?”

“No,” said Aria with a grin. “Unless seeding a gentle chord of discontent through the ranks is underhanded, in which case, yeah, we might have done that.”

“Oops,” said Adagio.

Star Swirl looked to the mute and stone faced soldiers around them, stolen from their walks of life and pressed into service by a song on the breeze. It was the antithesis of what Celestia and Luna stood for. The opposite of everything Star Swirl tried to build into Equestria.

He looked at Sonata, who was being quiet and still. If he hadn’t seen her move earlier, he might even believe she were under her sisters’ thrall. But no, as she turned her head to face him, he could see the life in her. Even if it now peeked out from layers of repression.

“Why do you stand for this?” he asked her. “I know you’re better than this.”

Sonata swallowed hard. “You know nothing,” she said, her voice was rough and strained.

Star Swirl was shocked and turned back towards Adagio. “What happened to her?” he said.

“She’s fine,” Adagio said dismissively. Her eyes locked onto Sonata. “She just needs to eat.”

Star Swirl nodded. “She doesn’t agree with this, does she?”

“Don’t think the dozen times she’s met you has changed the fact that she is one of us,” said Adagio. “She stands with her sisters.”

Star Swirl looked back to Sonata. “Have they hurt you?” he asked.

“Don’t talk to her,” said Adagio loudly. “You talk to all of us!”

Star Swirl grimaced and held out a hoof towards Sonata. “Don’t be part of this, come with me and I’ll protect you. Don’t go down with them.”

“You’ll not take her anywhere!” screamed Adagio. She began singing and her gem glowed brighter. She pointed her finger at Star Swirl. “Destroy him!”

The crowd moved as one, converging onto Star Swirl from all directions. Pegasi flew up to cover him from above holding spears or lances from carriers on their flanks. Earth ponies marched forward looking angry. Unicorns levitated pointed stars and maces, brandishing them menacingly.

Star Swirl looked back at Sonata. “Please, Sonata, come with me!”

“Star Swirl,” said Sonata sadly. “It’s too late.”

“He’s finished,” said Aria with a laugh, then she joined in the song.

Star Swirl leapt away from several swings and used his magic to create barriers to push back most of the mindless army. The pegasi kept flying up and around the field and taking swings at him he continually had to avoid.

“I can help you!” yelled Star Swirl over the crowd.

Sonata had her eyes closed tightly and seemed to be shaking.

“Forget him,” said Adagio between notes. “He’s nothing but an obstacle to our victory.”

“He’s just keeping us from what we want,” said Aria. “We can have the world!”

Sonata snapped open her eyes and then got up from the pillow. She pushed forward through the crowd of soldiers until she was standing before Star Swirl’s barriers. She stared at him, her eyes watering. Then she stepped forward, finding resistance for just a moment before a breach opened in the barrier and she moved through.

Star Swirl was sweating from the effort of holding back the other attackers but he managed a slight grin for Sonata. “Thank yo—“

Then Sonata reached towards his collar, shoved her hoof through he loops in his necklaces, and tore them away. They clattered to the floor in a pile. Star Swirl stared at her in complete shock as his barriers flickered and broke under the pressure of a hundred ponies and other races.

“Wh-“ started Star Swirl, but he was unable to finish because Sonata slugged him in the jaw. He crumbled to the ground as his magics broke around him. He clutched his face in pain.

The singing faded and Adagio and Aria laughed. “You did the right thing, sister,” said Adagio.

Sonata shook her head as she stepped over Star Swirl. “I never wanted the world,” she said with her raspy voice. “I just wanted a family.”

Aria stopped laughed. “What?”

Sonata took a deep breath as he gem glowed, releasing a flood of crimson energy that was absorbed into her throat. The gem’s glow faded and then died entirely, and finally it turned bright white like a diamond.

Then she screamed.

It was a single loud note that swept out from her in a wave slamming the entranced warriors and her sisters combined. They were flung out and pushed against the walls as the scream shattered windows and rattled the walls. Those that had been controlled clutched their ears tightly as they winced in pain and eventually passed out. The, with a final wave from Sonata, her sisters were thrown through the windows and landed in the yard.

Sonata scream died away and she wobbled slightly before tipping to the side and collapsing.

Star Swirl ignored the splitting pain in his face and got to his hooves and knees and scrambled over to Sonata. She looked pale and as she lay there her back hooves faded away and were replaced by a long, scaly tail. He gently cradled her head and looked down at her vacant eyes.

“Sonata,” he whispered.

“T-they’re free,” she whispered. “They’re no longer un-under our control. But there are others, there’s almost no-nowhere to take us where our song hasn’t been heard.”

Star Swirl nodded. “Why?” he asked.

She smiled. “You keep asking t-that, are you ever satisfied with the answer?”

Star Swirl swallowed and then slowly shook his head. He thought about where he could take Sirens now. She was right, no prison would hold them for long, and a prison was poor place to keep beings that fed on misery. Tartarus was an option, but he doubted they would be contained for very long there either. If not Equestria, and not Tartarus, though, then where?

Well, he could think of one place. He reached back and brushed the handle of the crystal mirror in his saddlebag.

“Do you still believe it, Star Swirl?” breathed Sonata. “Is knowledge worth any strife? Or are there t-things now, in our time, which you wished you never knew?”

Star Swirl swallowed. “It’s not the knowledge, Sonata. It’s the choice you make with that knowledge.”

Sonata coughed and then smiled. “I choose to forget. It’s time for that young girl I was to leave. Can’t resist change forever.” She swallowed and nodded. “Whatever you do, just make sure I’m with my sisters.” She then closed her eyes and was asleep.

Star Swirl felt his tears roll down his muzzle and fall. He had not done enough for Sonata. Not nearly enough.

It hardly mattered now.

He picked her up with his magic and slowly made his way into the back of the house where Adagio and Aria were stirring. He gently placed Sonata among them and then pulled out the mirror.

Adagio saw her sister first. “What did you do to her?” she demanded.

Star Swirl opened his mouth to explain, to criticize, to say the hundreds of things he could say to tell her how awful of a sister she had been. He could add the terrible things he had done, and the stupid offers from Discord, and even the prejudice of the tribes and maybe, after all of that, he might scratch the surface of how much this world had betrayed Sonata.

Instead he closed his mouth and cast a spell. The mirror’s surface rippled once and then exploded into light that consumed the three sisters in an instant, sucking up even parts of the turf and the fencing beyond before finally calming and finally fading entirely away.

Star Swirl put the mirror back in his saddlebag and walked back into the manor to deal with a hundred and forty lost souls.

*** ( MLP ) ***

“Here to sing our song out loud,
Get you dancing with the crowd.
As the music of our friendship,
Survives, survives, suriiiiiiiiives!”

Sunset breathed deeply as the song ended and she and the Rainbooms watched as the Dazzlings picked them selves up off the stage and looked in shock as the three gems around their necks cracked and shattered to pieces.

The students and guests in the audience that had cheered for the Rainbooms turned and jeered the Dazzlings. Some even threw fruit and vegetables at the stage as the Sirens ran, disgraced. They fled to the fields surrounding the concert and out of sight. They ran together, in unison, angry and perhaps a little afraid. The students, to their credit, did nothing but applaud when they were gone.

Twilight Sparkle put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder smiled at her. “We did it!” she said and the girls behind her cheered.

Sunset nodded, she tried to smile at least a little, and then looked off in the direction the Dazzlings went. After what she had seen from Star Swirl, she couldn’t feel happy about this victory anymore. That hunger he showed her in the Sirens, she’d felt that way too. She was a step away from it now. She would always be. One move in the wrong direction, and she’d be no different from Adagio.

Or Sonata.

Sunset looked over her shoulder at the long tail extending from her normal head of luxuriously wavy hair. She quickly reached up and touched her head, feeling the two extra ears peeking out from behind her bangs. She smiled.

Okay, she was a little happy.

The girls all walked down into the crowd and towards the stage. The applause continued as they walked up onto the stage where the Dazzlings were standing before. Sunset bent down and picked up the fragments of the three gems and gathered them in her hands. She could feel the ruined magic within them, tingling on her skin where they touched her palms.

“Without these, they aren’t going to be causing much trouble,” said Sunset.

“You mean we really beat them?” asked Rainbow Dash. Sunset nodded. “Awesome!”

“Yes,” said Celestia as she walked up on stage. “It’s clear who the victors of our little Musical Showcase are. The Rainbooms!”

The crowd applauded again and the girls took a bow.

“Fortunately, the show isn’t over,” announced Celestia. “Next we have the highlights of our competition starting with, Flash Drive!”

Flash Sentry ran on stage cheering for the Rainbooms and managed to run straight into Twilight. The two caught each other before they could fall to the stage and then blushed as they noticed how closely they were clutching each other.

Sunset sighed and turned away. She found Fluttershy standing by the stairs off the stage. She was simply standing there and waiting.

She’d been waiting a while.

Sunset walked up to her until they were inches apart. Fluttershy was smiling in her serene way she faced all of life. Strong, silent, but not unfeeling.

Sunset looked down at her with a smirk. Then she motioned over her shoulder without taking her eyes off of Fluttershy. “You know, she could do better than that.”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrows. Then she reached out and gently took Sunset’s hands. “I certainly hope not.”

Sunset’s smile faded slightly. “You could do better, too.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I think that’s up to me to decide.”

Sunset nodded. “So, uh, are you thinking?”

Fluttershy held Sunset’s hands tightly and gathered them close to her chest. “I don’t want any better.”

Sunset felt her cheeks flush and she coughed slightly to cover her face and pull her hand from Fluttershy’s tight grip. She looked back at the girl and noticed how radiant her smile was. Was it always that way?

“O-okay, then,” said Sunset. She used her free hand to pull Fluttershy closer and into a hug. “I guess we’ll start with that.” She felt Fluttershy move in her grip and she slowly let go. “Come on, Flash Drive needs to play.”

They walked off the stage. As Fluttershy’s wings faded away into mana Sunset put her arm around girl’s shoulders.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Twilight and Sunset walked across the courtyard at night after the concert was fully wrapped. The tech crew were packing away the sound equipment behind the school, and the girls were waiting for the two former proteges of Celestia at the once again active portal. Sunset found it hard to believe so much had happened in merely a weekend.

“It’s a whirlwind of activity, being an Element of Harmony,” said Twilight in response to Sunset’s surprise.

“I’m not an Element,” said Sunset. “At least, I don’t think I am. Nobody has given me a name or anything. Although I can feel some sort of magic around me all the time now. Maybe I’m being given a trial period.”

Twilight let out a breath. “It’s so incredible. You got to meet Star Swirl. I mean, you had him in your head for months!” She paused and pointed at Sunset. “By the way, that’s the sort of information you should lead with next time we meet. I’m fairly certain that trumps details about concerts.”

Sunset laughed. “I’ll have to remember for next time.”

Twilight nodded. “So, that’s that then? You’re not coming back?”

With a sigh, Sunset shook her head. “It’s not my home anymore. I belong here, now, with these friends. I’m not sure I wouldn’t trip over my own hooves if I went back through that portal.”

“You did alright six months ago,” said Twilight skeptically.

“Ah, right, I did do that,” said Sunset with a chuckle. “Seems like a lifetime ago now.”

“It was,” said Twilight. She stopped walking and turned to face Sunset. “Look, I don’t know what’s in store for you, but, well, thank you. For helping! For trying so hard to be a friend to my friends. I don’t know what sort of trial period exists for being an Element of Harmony, but in my opinion, well.” She shrugged and smiled. “You’ve convinced me.”

“That means a lot,” said Sunset. The two girls hugged.

“So,” said Twilight as they started walking again. “What will you do next?”

Sunset looked up at the moon. “Someone needs to look out for the Dazzlings.”

“The Dazzlings?” said Twilight. “Why?”

Sunset folded her arms behind her back. “Star Swirl showed me something that made me realize they’re not really all that different from me. In the end, anyway. They just need a chance to change.”

“Really?” said Twilight. “He—he showed you this while you were inside the Element of Magic?”

“Yeah,” nodded Sunset.

“Hrmm,” mused Twilight.

“What are you thinking?”

Twilight lifted an eyebrow at Sunset. “I think I’m a little jealous the Elements never talked to me.” They laughed together.

“I wouldn’t worry, Princess,” said Sunset. “You have enough on your plate.”

“That is true,” said Twilight. She laughed again as they reached the other girls by the portal.

“Sure wish you could stay longer,” said Applejack, leaning over to give Twilight a hug.

“Me too,” said Twilight. She turned after releasing Applejack and hugged Rarity. “But I have responsibilities in Equestria that I have to get back to. Its citizens need me.” She hugged Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy in turn. Then she gestured towards the portal. “But now I can go through the portal whenever I need to. This isn’t goodbye, it’s just goodbye ‘til next time!”

The girls nodded. Sunset picked up the book lying beside the portal and held showed it to Twilight. “Just for safety’s sake,” said Sunset. “You’d better leave it closed unless I send you a message. You never know when someone might randomly stick... their... neck...” she trailed off as she watched Pinkie Pie stick her head in the portal and the pull it out again. “Well, then.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. She turned to Spike. “Ready?”

Spike gave her a thumbs up. “Ready!”

With a wave and a leap, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Element of Magic, was gone.

Sunset turned away from the portal and took Fluttershy’s hand as they all disbursed to head back to their homes.

There was no time for doubt anymore. Sunset had too much to protect now. She would live up to her words, she would be, at the very least, a guardian to her friends and her home. She owed Twilight – she owed the Elements –

No.

She owed herself that much.

*** ( MLP ) ***

One Week Later

Trixie kicked the stones on the sidewalk on her walk home from school. She had finally dumped the rest of her backup players from the concert. Clearly they were at fault somehow for her miserable failure. How else could a competition between Trixie and the Dazzlings end up with the Rainbooms winning? It was pure insanity. Nobody was better the Great and Powerful Trixie!

Though, recently, she’d been a little light on actual displays of power. It clearly had to do with Sunset Shimmer. That girl got everything she wanted and never had to suffer the indignities that Trixie had. It was infuriating! And now she was some sort of stupid celebrity for her role in getting the Dazzlings kicked out of the concert. Not only were people not shunning her like they should, they were actually inviting her to do things. Things they should be inviting Trixie to!

Eventually she made her way back home, possibly in the worst mood of her life. She walked up the path to her front door and then paused. Sitting on the porch was a small package wrapped in brown paper and addressed simply ‘Trixie, The Great And Powerful.’ It said ‘From A Friend’ in the corner. It was a pleasing package.

Trixie sat down on the porch, slipped off her back pack, and then moved the package onto her lap. Her hands gently found the seams in the wrapping and tore back the brown paper revealing a slightly large and weathered leather tome. A black sun was embossed in the corner of the largely blank cover. She gently turned the cover. The first page contained only a title:

The Mystic Arts Of Tirek & Scorpan

Trixie smiled.

Author's Note

Let's talk about Star Swirl for a minute.

Star Swirl is an enigmatic character in the series as he never directly appears in the show, only referenced. The only images of him we ever see are in storybook format as well, leading us to think we're probably getting a sanitized version of who was probably a more complicated character.

That's obviously the take I'm going with here. The series implies that Star Swirl had lived a very long time from as early as Hearths Warming Eve to some period after Luna was banished to the moon. With such a long life, he had to have changed substantially throughout that time. I've painted him as a bit of a dreamer as a boy, a scientist as a young man, a principled servant of the revolution as middle aged man, and a tireless but cynical agent of the peace as an older man. It is the irony of his life that the monarchy he ached to serve as a young man ended up being who he worked for as an adult but only long after he'd lost his ideals.

We will probably not see very much more of Star Swirl from here on out. So I wanted to give him a decent farewell.

The Dazzlings are not quite ready for redemption the way Sunset was. They aren't misunderstood and they aren't generally remorseful either. In my story, they've made tough choices and then later decided they were the only ones they could have made and have warped their view of the world to match that idea. Here we see they made their choices for safety rather than power like Sunset did, but the difference isn't all that great in the end.

We will see the Dazzlings again, so I don't want to tip my hand too much at this point. Suffice to say, yes, Sonata in Equestria is very different from the one we know from Rainbow Rocks. The implication in this tale is that was her choice. The burdens of her past choices grew too great and she simply broke. Or rather, she chose to let go of her sanity and became something else. While I didn't get around to closing the loop on the comment Aria made in the first part of Shines Like Rainbows, this is what Adagio thinks she can cure with enough power. For all the strife between them depicted in this tale, they still consider each other like sisters and she wants the Sonata she grew up with back.

Whether this is possible or not remains to be seen.

As always, if you like or dislike what you've read, please leave me a comment! Writers live on feedback! This is the end of Arc 2 and there will be a bit of a gap between here and the next chapter as I try to recover from the injury I suffered earlier and try to avoid burnout.

Hope to see you all at the start of Arc 3!

Prelude: The Darkest

Author's Note

This represents the start of a significant re-write of this story. The old version has been mostly trashed and this new version is now replacing the old chapter by chapter. A great deal of thought went into this and I believe this (slightly shorter) version of this story is more entertaining and better focused on the character of Sunset Shimmer. I hope you enjoy!

Prelude: The Darkest

Aches.

Sunset couldn’t remember being so sore before. Her shoulders hurt, her arms hurt, her legs hurt. She was covered in dust and plaster, and felt like the skin on her hands had been rubbed raw. She was filthy, and it wasn’t just her clothes that needed cleaning.

The front of the school was still in shambles, but it was a slightly more organized mess owing to the limits of how much glass, plaster, and concrete three students pick up, move, or sweep in a night. Once the last student left the party, the three offenders were enlisted in cleaning up the gym where the Fall Formal was held, probably as a reminder of what they had ruined earlier in the night.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were standing nearby, looking down at her, Snips, and Snails now long into the night. After Sunset’s little performance, the trio had been told that their choices were either go to the police or help clean up the school facade. Snips and Snails fretted over it for a few agonizing minutes but Sunset took the non-police option as soon as it was offered. Fewer authority figures staring her down the better.

Sunset didn’t complain once during the tasks. She didn’t scowl. She wasn’t delinquent in her assigned duties. She hated every single second, but at the moment she was willing to accept whatever punishment Celestia chose for her. She had absolutely no idea what else she could be doing right now. Every single plan she’d laid and goal she’d set had vanished in swirl of colored light and the magic of friendship.

“Do you need a ride?” asked Celestia to Sunset after the work was done. It was past midnight and even the principal looked exhausted.

“No,” said Sunset. She wasn’t really keen on looking Celestia in the eyes right now.

“Where do you live?” asked Celestia.

Sunset recited her foster parent’s address. She wasn’t planning on going there, but that was the lie she always --

Oh, what did it matter anymore?

“No, actually, I don’t live there,” said Sunset after a moment. “My parents live there, but I sleep elsewhere.”

“Why?” asked Celestia, sounding curious.

Sunset shrugged. “I didn’t really want people looking over my shoulder while I was, well, you know. It was easier to be alone.”

“Where do you go, then? A shelter?” asked Celestia. She actually sounded worried. For Sunset. how gullible could she be?

“I have a place,” said Sunset. “It’s an abandoned office.”

Celestia sighed. She bent over to catch a glimpse of Sunset’s eyes. “Sunset that’s illegal. You can’t live on someone else’s property without their permission.”

“No one’s ever come by,” said Sunset as she turned on her heel. “In, like, years.”

“That doesn’t make it less illegal,” said Celestia. “Why don’t you go home -- to your parents?”

“My foster parents don’t want to see me,” said Sunset dismissively. “They never go looking for me.”

“Have you ever talked to them about it?” asked Celestia.

“About what?” scoffed Sunset. She kicked some of the rubble around the broken facade as she slowly paced. “If you mean have I ever told them I’m a magical being from another world, then no. It never came up.”

Celestia shook her head. “Have you ever told them you wanted privacy? That you wanted your space? Maybe you could have stayed home.”

“Yeah, right,” said Sunset sarcastically.

Celestia put her hands on her hips and looked at Sunset. The latter got a sinking feeling.

“Oh boy,” said Sunset.

“Let’s go visit your parents,” said Celestia with a nod.

Sunset frowned and then stared at the sinking moon in the sky. “Are you aware what time it is?”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Getting woken up at two o’clock in the morning by a school principal did not put Sunset’s foster parents in a particularly great mood. Being told that Sunset was involved in a fight at the Fall Formal -- Celestia thankfully omitted any mention of magic or demonic visages -- was enough to actually get them to react in an insensible manner.

They grounded her. Gave her harsh words. Put on a good show for Celestia. Sunset wasn’t entirely sure that Celestia was convinced that the display was genuine -- the principal never brought up the other place Sunset lived -- but it was, actually, the most emotional she’d seen her foster parents get over her… assuming it wasn’t just a show.

“I want you to come back to CHS,” said Celestia to Sunset as the former was leaving the house. They stood at the doorway while Sunset’s parents fumed quietly just out of earshot in the living room.

Sunset stared at her principal agast. “Why? I just ruined the Fall Formal and your school.”

“For a number of reasons,” said Celestia. “You aren’t a bad person, no matter how this night turned out.”

“Others may disagree,” said Sunset. She covered her mouth while she yawned. “I wasn’t exactly nice to a great deal of people.”

“But not everyone,” said Celestia. “You may have hid your actions from me and Luna but you did it by acting like a concerned, involved member of the student body.”

“Just lies,” said Sunset in a breathless manner.

“Convincing ones,” said Celestia. “I think you understood what it meant to be a friend far better than you think you did.”

Sunset looked away, unwilling to bear such optimism. After a moment, she felt Celestia’s hand gently touch her on the shoulder. She forced herself to look up again.

“Come back,” she said. “Do it in earnest instead of to cover your trail. You may feel uncomfortable, but in time it will become genuine.”

“Pretend until it's real?” asked Sunset. She shook her head. “It’s not that easy.”

Celestia patted her shoulder. “It’s a start. I hope to see you on Monday. Good night.”

Sunset watched the principal leave and wondered how this Celestia could be as forgiving as the one in Equestria. These were such starkly different worlds, to produce such similarly driven people was beyond improbable.

Once Celestia was gone, it was Sunset’s foster mother, Sea Spray, who came over to talk to her. The older woman had long purple hair that had started to turn gray, held in a bun on the back of her head, big violet eyes, and blue-grayish skin. She held herself high, back straight, shoulders squared, as if she’d been raised in the army. For all Sunset knew, she could have been. She knew very little about her guardians.

Sunset tried to walk past her towards her room, but the woman stepped in her way.

“What is she going to do?” asked Sea Spray. “Will she tell the police?”

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“If the police find out, it comes back on us,” said Sea Spray.

“I know,” said Sunset. “They probably won’t.

Sea Spray looked at her, one eyebrow arched, arms crossed. The skepticism was easy to read in her expression.

“Is there going to be more nights like this?” she asked.

Sunset sighed loudly. “There shouldn’t have been one night like this.”

“What do we do, then?” asked Sea Spray. “We’ve let you have your way, but if it results in destroyed schools then we have problems. I won’t let you drag us down in your flames.”

“How compassionate,” said Sunset.

“We can take measures,” warned Sea Spray.

Sunset growled and stepped closer into Sea Spray’s space. “Like what?” she said. “Huh? Lock me up? Take away my toys? Chain me to the porch? You would have a heck of a lot more trouble if you tried that than you do now!”

“You think you’re the only clever one?” asked Sea Spray with an arched brow. “I know where you go, I know about the perfume office building. I don’t have to lock you up here, I can take away your hideouts. You’ll have nowhere to go.”

Sunset’s jaw dropped. She had no idea her foster parents knew where she went. How did they find out? Who told them?

“I can find other places to go,” said Sunset. “You can’t follow me everywhere.”

“I can try,” said Sea Spray.

“Why would you?” asked Sunset. “Leave me be, I don’t want to be arrested any more than you want to lose your monthly check.”

“You may not want to be arrested, but if you’re being so reckless that you nearly destroyed your school, you clearly aren’t being cautious enough.” Sea Spray pointed at her. “And if you’re not being careful, then I need to be.”

“Oh, please!” said Sunset, throwing up her arms. “When have you ever cared what I did? For years I lived on my own and you never said a thing.” Her arm snapped out and she pointed towards the front of the house. “Even when I had the police bringing me back home weekly you just sat there and dealt with it! But now, just because my stupid principal shows up, you suddenly decided to grow a spine?”

Sunset pushed past Sea Spray and headed towards her room. “You never cared about me,” she shouted as she stormed off. She ran into her room and slammed the door shut and latched it.

In a huff, she sat roughly on her bed and glared at her bedcovers. She was sick of it. Sick of everything. Stupid teachers. Stupid parents.

Stupid Elements of Harmony.

She felt the tears in her eyes and tried to force them to stop. Annoyingly, that just seemed to encourage them. She was breathing heavily for a few seconds. Then she was bawling.

She had failed. Failed so utterly and incredibly that no semblance of her plan was salvageable, not even the goals. Not even her backup plans. She wasn’t even supposed to be in the human world anymore, and now she was stuck for another thirty moons. Maybe even more if they destroyed the mirror or stopped her from coming back. She had no idea what to do anymore.

Even the ‘guidance’ the Elements and Celestia tried to bestow upon her from their high and mighty perches was agonizing. She couldn’t just pretend to be a friend to people because she had nobody to pretend to! There was nobody she even wanted to be friendly with. She had forged her life and surrounded herself with people based on how useful they would be to her goals, not by how much she actually wanted to be around them.

And right now she didn’t want to be around any of them. That was the true punishment. She was stuck in a world that didn’t want her, and she didn’t want. No police or parents, or public magical shaming could compare to the fact that she was already a prisoner and she’d been one for three years already without a possibility for parole for another three more.

How would she manage for that long? Who would she be by the time the portal opened again? What would she become? Who was Sunset Shimmer now?

Sunset buried her head in the pillows on the bed and cried until exhaustion took her into slumber.

Shine Like Rainbows (Rainbow Rocks), Pt 2 (OLD VERSION)

Sunset Shimmer took a sip from a cup of punch as she watched Twilight Sparkle begin stammering and falling to pieces in front of Flash Sentry. They were in the busy gymnasium during the Musical Showcase pre-event party, a relatively mild event that had yet to be graced by the Dazzlings.

For once, Flash was actually keeping himself together during their conversation, remaining upright and not apparently fumbling his words or getting anything spilled on him. At least, that’s the best that Sunset could guess from her distance.

“Ah, the lovebirds found each other,” said Rarity sweetly.

“Hrmph,” grunted Sunset.

Rarity looked at her strangely then a look of understanding appeared on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, darling. I forget you and Flash used to be an item.”

Sunset shrugged. “It’s been history for a while,” she said. “And he’s been smitten with her since the first time she visited. I’m not interested in Flash that way, anyhow. We’re good friends.”

Rarity looked between Sunset and Flash briefly. “I see,” she said with a tone of understanding.

Sunset looked at Rarity with a raised brow. “What do you see?”

“Nothing dear,” said Rarity with a smile.

“I’m serious, there’s nothing between us now,” said Sunset. “We’re friends.”

“I don’t doubt that,” said Rarity. She was still smiling. “I wonder what Twilight thinks.”

“Clearly she’s taken with him,” said Sunset. “It’s going to be a distraction.”

“Yes, I’ll bet,” said Rarity. “Did you two have fun today?”

“Fun?” asked Sunset. “We were waiting to get here all day. The Dazzlings need to be dealt with. We both know that.”

“Yes, but-- well, darling, I can’t help but notice that most of us don’t keep up with you,” said Rarity.

“What do you mean?” Sunset turned towards Rarity.

Rarity put one hand on her hip and raised her other hand, palm up. “You’re from another world, where everything is different from here and you were a master of a talent that doesn’t even exist here. Not that we don’t all try, but you sometimes talk about things we simply can’t understand.” She raised her other hand. “Now, Twilight, she comes from your world and she knows as much about magic as you do.”

“More at this point,” said Sunset. “What’s your point?”

“My point, dear, is that you finally have someone to talk to actually understands you,” said Rarity. “Wasn’t that just a little bit comforting?”

Sunset sighed. “Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know. I find it hard to talk to her.”

“Why?” asked Rarity.

Sunset looked at Twilight with a frown. “I can’t get over how much I owe her.”

“Owe her?” said Rarity.

“I screwed up so badly,” said Sunset. “I could have done something terrible if it wasn’t for her. And even afterward she helped me – she helped me heal, and asked you all to help me fit in. Everything I have right now I owe to her. But she also has everything I ever wanted. Everything. She’s just this enormous figure now and I feel a little... marginalized.” She took another sip from her cup. “I hate her and admire her at the same time. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You can start by stop putting her on a pedestal,” said Rarity. “Nobody is that large. Even if we’ve put a lot of faith in her, she’s only human.” She paused. “Well, a pony—a unicorn—she’s an individual, not a god.”

“But, she kind of is,” said Sunset. “She’s essentially a thaumaturgical force as the Element of Magic. The base force, in fact, since magic is may be the underlying essence of sentient thought.”

Rarity blinked. “I don’t know what that means, but I can tell you that when I look at her, I see a girl.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” said Sunset.

“More importantly, she acts like a girl,” said Rarity. “She doesn’t appear to want more from us than we’re giving and she acts like she expects much the same from herself.”

Sunset looked into her cup. “I understand what you’re saying, but I just can’t do it, she’s not a girl, she the basis of reality.” She drank what remained of the punch. “And it could have been me.”

“Oh, Sunset,” said Rarity, sympathetically. She patted the girl on the shoulder.

“Hey, there they are,” whispered Applejack as she edged closer to Sunset and Rarity.

Sunset looked up to see the Dazzlings walk in, surveying the room and looking generally out of place. It was a little incongruous, considering the air of confidence they had when they were serenating the cafeteria into engaging in open battle. Now they almost looked like the trio of new, awkward students they should have been the day before.

She wondered if one or all of these girls had doubts about their place in the world. Would they too end up regretting what they did yesterday when they were shown the power of friendship?

Sunset watched Pinkie Pie wave down Twilight to get her to step away from Flash. She seemed reluctant but quickly broke off her conversation and came over to them.

“Okay, lets head over there and settle this,” said Twilight. Her awkwardness had been shed on the walk over and she was now grinning with determination. The other girls quickly followed her lead and took each other’s hands as they walked over to the Dazzlings.

Sunset stepped back to watch. She wasn’t part of this, but she had helped it happen. That would be the limit of her involvement. It had to be enough. She could no longer hope for more.

“There’s not going to be a Battle of the Bands,” Twilight’s voice echoed loudly. “We’re gonna make sure of that! Alright, girls, let’s do this!” She held tightly onto the girls’ hands and closed her eyes as she stuck out her chest proudly. “Friendship is MAGIC!”

Sunset knew it was wrong even before Twilight had finished. There was no spark, no magic she could feel. Whatever they were summoning had failed to acknowledge the call. There was no surge in magic at all.

She watched Rainbow Dash whisper something to Twilight and she replied with a shake of her head and a blush. Twilight clearly did not have a backup plan. Spike scurried up and said something quietly as well.

Meanwhile the Dazzlings looked amused. Adagio put her hands on her hips and smirked, staring directly at Twilight.

“Talk about throwing down the gauntlet!” said Adagio, though she was addressing the rest of the room now. There was a gentle pull to her voice that Sunset could feel, and she realized just how powerful the Dazzlings were. There was energy to each of their words now, not just the songs. “This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren’t they? Claiming there won’t be a battle. Seems they think they already got this thing all locked up.”

Sunset felt the energy find its mark as the students in the gymnasium quickly began shouting at one another. Everyone now heard Twilight’s words as a challenge to the school and not at the Dazzlings, the response was vitriolic.

“Not if the Great and Powerful Trixie has anything to do with it!” announced Trixie. There didn’t actually need to be magic to evoke that response.

“Whatever, Trixie,” said Flash Sentry, dismissively. “Everyone knows we’re the best band at CHS.” Sunset was dismayed to see Flash caught by the magic. She knew that he couldn’t help it, he had no defenses on his own, but she still hoped that he was kind enough to be above this. But no, anyone with ears could be victim to the Dazzlings’ magic.

“No! The Crusaders are gonna win!” yelled Apple Bloom. Even Sunset’s erstwhile detention students were caught in the fray.

Six months ago, Sunset had cared little for the people in this school. She held a slightly soft spot for Flash, but everyone else was meaningless to her. She moved and abused them, controlled their minds, and discarded them when she saw fit to advance her plans. It barely registered to her.

Today she saw dozens of weak spots that were attacking her very soul. She cared about these people now, and seeing them in the thrall of Adagio was painful. She wanted nothing more than for the people she knew to be spared this. If she could give up herself in exchange she would but she knew better than to hope the Dazzlings were interested in such a worthless trade.

After all, Sunset wouldn’t have been.

Twilight and the others with her wilted under the Dazzling’s combined stare and then fled. They ran past Sunset and she reluctantly turned away and followed. There was no more to be gained at this party.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Twilight Sparkle was pacing in front of the statue in front of CHS. It had become their primary gathering point since the arrival of the Dazzlings and they had naturally gone there when things had not turned out well at the party.

Sunset was standing and leaning against the statue to one side, while Pinkie and Fluttershy were sitting on the dais the statue was place on. Rarity was standing on the path beside the statue and Applejack and Rainbow Dash were on the grass on the other side of Twilight. Spike, Twilight’s dragon-turned-dog, was sitting beside Rarity and the beneficiary of her petting.

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Twilight as the turned and walked faster. “I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That’s how it worked before.”

Sunset frowned slightly. That wasn’t exactly how it worked before, though she couldn’t remember it firsthand anymore. She did recall what she was shown by the Elements of Harmony, though, and she knew that Twilight’s magic didn’t activate until after she was directly attacked.

“Maybe their magic is different,” offered Applejack.

Twilight thought about that for a second. “Well, it definitely is, but I don’t understand why our magic isn’t working right.” She looked at the statue. “Maybe with the portal closed my connection to the Element of Magic is broken.”

Sunset blanched. She had been the one to recommend closing the portal. If that was the issue, then it was her fault the attack didn’t work.

Twilight closed her eyes tightly and stood still. After a moment she screwed up her face slightly and then finally opened her eyes.

“I don’t understand how magic works here,” said Twilight after moment. “But I don’t feel my connection to the Elements is any different than when it is on Equestria. I don’t really know a great way of testing it though.” She looked at the statue. “We could try leaving the portal open and confronting them again, but I’m worried they could use it to escape.”

“Would they be any easier to fight in Equestria?” asked Applejack. “With all yer unicorn magic and everything?”

“I don’t know,” said Twilight. “Legend says they caused a great deal of damage before Star Swirl was able to banish them. If he thought he could have controlled them easier in Equestria I have to think he’d have done it, or at least sent them to Tartarus.”

Rarity cleared her throat quietly. Sunset looked at her and saw she had stopped petting Spike and now was looking rather plainly back at Sunset.

“What?” asked Sunset.

“Do you have any ideas?” prompted Rarity.

“Oh, uh, I’m sure Twilight has already thought of everything I have,” said Sunset. “She’s had a great deal more time to study magic than me.”

“Oh, no, please, if you have any ideas I’d like to hear them,” said Twilight. “You’ve been in this world much longer than I have.”

Sunset didn’t really think that mattered when they were on the topic of Equestrian magic, but it wasn’t a point she was going to argue with the Element of Magic. “I was just thinking that last time your magic didn’t kick in until I attacked you with mine,” said Sunset. “You took my magic and sent it back at me. I wonder if that’s something we have to do here.” She shrugged. “Or not, I mean, it’s not like everything can be reflected.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait, you might be onto something.” She turned to Rainbow Dash. “You showed me that video before. You said the magic comes back when you play music, right?”

“Usually,” said Rainbow Dash. “It doesn’t always, but when it does it’s because we’re playing awesomely good music together.”

Sunset opened her mouth but hesitated again. She thought she knew why it didn’t always work, but she wasn’t sure. It all seemed so coincidental. As if the magic really only worked when Sunset was there to watch them play. Surely Twilight’s presence was infinitely more important.

“Hmm,” said Twilight. “So maybe that’s the key. We could use that magic to defeat the Sirens by playing a musical counter-spell!”

“You mean like a song?” asked Fluttershy.

“Uh-huh,” nodded Twilight. “But we’ll need to play it in front of everyone who has been controlled by the Sirens to fully break the spell.”

“Everyone will be at the Musical Showcase,” said Pinkie.

Applejack chuckled. “I guess the Rainbooms really are gonna be the band to beat.”

“And I believe you, Twilight,” said Rarity. “Just became the Rainbooms’ newest member.”

“Oh! Uh, o-okay,” said Twilight blushing furiously. The rest of the girls laughed.

“So, what do you wanna play?” asked Pinkie, hopping around and holding various instruments. “The Triangle? Sousaphone? Theremin?” She pulled a Theremin out of nowhere and began waving her hands over it, creating eerie sounds. “Soooo magical!” she sighed.

“I might take a little too long to learn how to play something with these things,” said Twilight. She waved her fingers around. “I’ll just sing.”

“Woah, woah,” said Rainbow Dash with her hands up. “Sing? As in, lead singer? ‘Cause that’s usually my gig. This being my band and all.”

Applejack frowned. “It’s our band, and of course as lead singer. She’s the only one with the magical know-how to help us pull this thing off!”

Sunset looked away.

“Okay, yeah, that’s cool,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ll just use this as a chance to hone my already insanely good lead guitar skills.”

“It’s only temporary,” said Twilight. “And we don’t have to win the Battle of the Bands, we just have to perform during the first round of the competition. Everyone who hears the counter-spell will be cured and everything can go back to normal.”

“Until the Sirens cause trouble again,” said Sunset, looking back. “Do you think the counter-spell will affect them too?”

Twilight frowned. “I hope so, though I don’t know what normal is for them, or if they are even acting differently.” She paused. “What do you think, Sunset?”

Sunset bit her lip and hesitated before answering. “I think I was confused, and I let power go to my head. But these girls, they’ve been doing this for centuries. I don’t know if they’re going to turn over a new leaf just because this plan doesn’t work.”

Twilight nodded. “We still don’t know why they picked here, right now, so we will have to be careful.”

Sunset agreed. “I suppose we’ll see what they do after they’re hit with the counter-spell. Maybe we can talk them out of trying again.”

“Alright,” said Rainbow Dash. “Let’s get to learning that musical counter-spell.”

Twilight swallowed audibly and winced. “Well, that might be a problem. I don’t know any.”

“What?” gasped Pinkie loudly.

“But I’m sure I could figure out how to write one,” said Twilight with just a hair less certainty than she probably should have, in Sunset’s opinion.

“Totally!” chimed in Spike. “Twilight can write a spell like it’s nobody’s business. That’s pretty much how she got to become a princess in Equestria.”

“Technically,” said Twilight in an uneasy voice. “I helped finish a spell. And there was a little more to it than that, Spike.”

Spike waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, whatever.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ve got this,’ she said. Then she turned back towards the school. “Come on, Spike.”

Sunset blinked and all of the girls watched as Twilight started walking away.

“Uh, where are you going?” asked Applejack.

Twilight turned on her heel and put her hands behind her back. “Last time we were here we slept in the library.”

“What?” Pinkie shouted, again. “Are you crazy? We’re besties now.” She turned towards the heavens. “Slumber party at my house! Yay!”

“A sleepover?” asked Twilight, excitedly. She walked back and Pinkie began leading the group towards the parking lot.

Sunset stood by the statue, looking anywhere but at the departing group of friends. She was wringing her hands behind her back.

“Are you coming?” asked a quiet voice.

Sunset looked up to see Fluttershy before her, holding out a hand.

With a smile, Sunset took the hand and let herself be pulled along. Fluttershy wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” said Sunset to the pavement.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset had never actually been to a sleepover before, though she had read about them in any number of girls’ novels. She had always viewed the depictions of gossiping, hair braiding, truth or dare games, and midnight promises with a healthy amount of skepticism. Given that those same books seemed to wildly mis-portray the activities of concerts, student councils, shopping, and solving mysteries, it made sense to simply discredit the whole narrative.

Pinkie Pie, apparently, had read those same stories and decided to use them as a handbook.

They had done the hair braiding first. All of them had a great deal of hair and though Rarity protested until the very end, the duty had been done and they all looked like they were part of some sort of hair braiding cult. Sunset didn’t like the braiding anymore than Rarity did, her hair was naturally voluminous and she liked it that way. Right now it seemed like some sort of heavy weapon attached to the back of her skull and pulling on her temples.

The gossiping was attempted next but the girls knew little of anything juicy to spur vigorous conversation. Well, all the girls except for Pinkie who seemed to know things about everyone from incredibly suspicious points in time. Like before Pinkie had ever met the person. Fluttershy managed to convince everyone to shut down the gossip train before things got too creepy but it was immediately followed up with Truth or Dare so it hardly mattered because gossip about the lives of teachers was immediately turned into gossip about Flash Sentry and Twilight.

Because they’d met twice in six months, so, of course, there was something irreverent to talk about.

Sunset wasn’t even sure why she was so irritated by this recurring theme of Twilight and Flash Sentry. She didn’t care about Flash that way anymore. She may not have ever cared that way about him. But suddenly talk of him awkwardly cleaning up spilled mochas with Twilight was driving up her heart rate. She groaned loudly every time the topic came up.

Fluttershy was the only one who seemed to notice Sunset’s discomfort, as she frequently interrupted the chain of questions to dare someone to put their nose to the window pane or explain how the girls volleyball net ended up tangled in the lacrosse equipment last fall.

Twilight, at least when they weren’t talking about her and Flash Sentry, seemed to be calmly enjoying herself, and Sunset was glad. The I-don’t-know-but-possibly-a-demigod girl was occasionally withdrawn at times and she wasn’t sure why. She obviously liked the idea of the slumber party, and while she blushed so hard she nearly fainted when talking about Flash, she still seemed excited by the topic. But when the conversation was on other people or other things, Twilight would just sit silently and stare murderous looks into the notebook Pinkie had given her.

Eventually, after pizza, another round of gossip, and an aborted effort by Pinkie Pie to initiate a mystery they all had to solve together, it was time for bed. Pinkie’s room was large by most measures, but it was still tiny for seven girls to sleep in. Sunset managed to secure a large enough space to stretch out in but found it hard to sleep It wasn’t because she was on the floor, she’d absolutely slept in worst situations than this before she reconciled with her foster parents, she was just anxious.

She was afraid to voice how worried she was. Not just at the Sirens, who were clearly a larger threat than Sunset ever was, but also at being near the center to a magical battle. She knew she had to be wherever the final song took place in order to enable the girls to transform. Even if she reasonably believed that Twilight would be a substitute for herself in enabling the transformation, she didn’t want to take the chance she was wrong.

But being that close to magic and not even touching it... that was scary. The sort of scary that could lead to her falling down that abyss of demon logic. What if they couldn’t do it? What if she had an idea that involved using their magic? Could she trust herself? Would such an idea really be for the best of everyone or just be the demon trying to weasel her way free again? How would she recognize the difference?

At about six after midnight, Sunset heard someone walking through the sleeping forms and out of the room. She kept her eyes mostly closed to look like she was sleeping but as the sounds neared the door she opened her eyes wide and saw Twilight slipping out into the hall.

Sunset wondered what was up, was the girl just using the restroom or was she also having trouble sleeping? She gave Twilight the benefit of the doubt for ten minutes before getting up to find out what was happening.

She found Twilight sitting at the kitchen counter with the notebook laid out before her. Her head was in her hands and a pen was in her mouth. She looked tired and nervous and as far from in control as possible. It was a look Sunset was alarmed to see because Twilight wasn’t allowed to look that way. She had to have the answers or they were in big trouble.

“Hey, Twilight,” Sunset said as she entered the kitchen. “You’re up late.”

Twilight’s head shot up in alarm and that look didn’t really ease when she saw Sunset standing there. “H-hi!” she said. She quickly picked up the notebook and held it up in her hands. “I’m just looking over the counter-spell. We’re only going to get one shot at this so it has to be perfect.”

Sunset nodded and looked around. She realized she needed a reason to be in the kitchen other than a stalker-y following of Twilight. She headed over to the refrigerator. She figured she’d grab a leftover slice of pizza or maybe just a glass of juice.

“You know, I know what you were thinking before,” said Twilight suddenly. Sunset looked over her shoulder back at the girl. “It’s quite a coincidence, music being the trigger for our magic right when the Sirens show up and we need it.”

Sunset turned and leaned her back against the fridge. “Actually, it’s probably not a coincidence. I think the Sirens have been here for a little while now.”

Twilight nodded. “They’ve been here for ages, actually.”

Sunset shook her head. “No I mean, I think they came to Canterlot and have been waiting for something to strike. Maybe they were waiting for this concert, though that doesn’t seem likely.” She considered the likelihood of that. They’d have had to gotten to Flash back in September when he came up with the idea for the Musical Showcase. But if they could do that, then why wait at all? Why wouldn’t they have gone right for Celestia?

“You think the magic knew what we’d need and already began creating a response?” asked Twilight. “That also seems unlikely, unless there is something like the Tree of Harmony here. Magic needs something to direct it. It can’t just act on its own. Some core element has to be present to give it form.”

Sunset looked at the floor. She actually thought of an element that was present and could have directed the magic but wasn’t sure if she could speak about it. There was still the off chance that the Star Swirl the bearded was a product of her imagination and she really didn’t want to divulge her insanity to Twilight at this moment. She also wasn’t sure if it was possible since it would mean some part of her mind had controlled the magic the other girls were using.

Yet another problem that Sunset might have unknowingly created.

“I don’t know,” Sunset said instead. “But those girls knew exactly what they were doing the second they stepped into this school. They had to have had a plan and this concert fit right in with it.”

“Which brings us back to coincidence,” said Twilight. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

“Okay,” said Sunset. She wasn’t really comfortable with all these unknowns, but she knew they had little other options. At least Twilight was there with them now, someone with real power and understanding. “We really are lucky you’re here.” She turned back towards the fridge and opened it.

It was full, from top to bottom, with cans of whipped cream. Sunset just boggled for a moment.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Twilight said from behind her. She could not have seen what Sunset was looking at.

“Who could possibly need this much whipped cream,” said Sunset. A couple of thoughts jumped into her head that were so inappropriate she quickly dismissed them and pretended she hadn’t thought about them. Instead she grabbed a can and turned around to face Twilight again. The girl was looking sadly at her notebook again.

“I know there’s a lot of pressure, Twilight, but at least everyone’s looking to you for answers to their problems,” said Sunset. She folded her arms. “Instead of waiting for you to cause a problem.”

“Just because everyone expects something from you doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen,” said Twilight.

Sunset sprayed some whipped cream on her finger and then ate it. “Well, that doesn’t stop them from expecting it.”

“But that only makes things harder because the last think you want to do is... “Twilight paused and looked to be struggling with her own words.

“Let everybody down,” said Sunset at the same moment Twilight spoke the same thought.

Sunset looked at Twilight and half-smiled. Twilight smiled back, looking relieved. How this girl could be relieved at something Sunset had said was beyond her, but that was what she was seeing.

Sunset closed the door to the fridge and became aware of someone standing behind it.

“Yeearrgh!” Sunset jumped back and then realized there was a slightly older girl there with purple-gray hair and looking incredibly, incredibly bored.

“Boulder was hungry,” said Maud, Pinkie Pie’s sister. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a box of cheese crackers and sprinkled them over the small rock she had in her hand. After a moment she stopped, turned and walked off.

Twilight looked at baffled by the interaction as Sunset felt.

“I cannot believe that is Pinkie’s sister,” said Sunset.

“You and me both,” said Twilight with a laugh.

Sunset felt a little less anxious and then yawned. “I’d better try and get some sleep,” she said. She looked at Twilight and noticed she seemed unsettled now. “I’m sure this counter-spell is nothing compared to the stuff you’re expected to deal with as a princess of Equestria. Don’t worry.”

Sunset turned and headed back towards the bedroom. As she reached the doorway she heard Twilight.

“Sunset Shimmer—“

Sunset turned quickly and looked back at Twilight. Her heart was suddenly racing for some reason.

Twilight seemed to shrink under the gaze, though. “Never mind,” she said. “It’s not important.”

“Oh,” said Sunset. Her eyes lingered on Twilight for a moment longer and then she turned away and went back to bed.

In the room she lay still and listened for Twilight returning to bed. The girl was working hard, giving up her sleep to finish that spell. Sunset only hoped she didn’t overtax herself in the process.

She sighed. She wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t trust herself not to chase after power recklessly. The demon was always on her mind, offering a hand from the darkness, taunting her with how easy it could be if she just gave up trying to be good. On a whim she whispered, “Star Swirl?” But nobody answered.

A little after one in the morning, Sunset fell asleep. Twilight still hadn’t come back to bed.

*** ( MLP ) ***

“You may think you’re in control,
But we’re here to prove you wrong,
With the friendship in our music,
With the power of our song!”

Sunset kept the smile on her face as she sat on a hay bale and listened to the Rainbooms, featuring Twilight Sparkle, practice the counter-spell in the Sweet Apple Acres barn. She felt like she should earn a crown for doing so.

“Gonna stomp our feet, clap our hands,
With the magic of friendship,
Gonna stop your evil plan!”

If they could defeat an enemy with lyrics so on the nose that there was no doubt what they were trying to do, this would be the song to do it with. Well, at least, these were the words to use; the song was so out of rhythm that there was a point where Spike hid under one of the hay bales to escape the chorus.

As the song drew to a close, Spike got back to his position by the mixing board and gave the band a very uncertain thumbs up. “That sounded, um, way better than the last five times you played it!” He laughed nervously.

Incredibly, Applejack’s brother Big Macintosh walked past the window and said, “Nope.” He continued on after his drive-by musical critique and was gone.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going wrong with this counter-spell.”

“Could it be you’re turnin’ what should be the chorus in to a five-minute guitar solo?” asked Applejack with narrowed eyes. She was clearly irritated by Rainbow Dash’s showboating, though Sunset had to admit that the extended riffing was the least painful part of the song.

“I have to pick up the slack somehow!” said Rainbow Dash. She looked back at the rest of the Rainbooms. “Are you guys even trying?”

“I’m trying,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset winced. Rainbow had a bit of a point in so far as what they were creating didn’t sound that great. It wasn’t even harmonious enough that the transformations were happening, despite Sunset and Twilight’s presence. Something had to change for the better if they had any hope of activating the magic to defeat the Dazzlings.

On the other hand, Sunset had become aware that Rainbow Dash’s caustic commentary was not in any way helpful. She was just putting herself at odds with the rest of the band.

“It’s fine,” said Twilight with an unsettled laugh. She didn’t look fine. “One more time from the top!”

“Or!” Rarity said quickly before Pinkie could start drumming. “Perhaps we could take a short break.” Sunset saw both Applejack and Fluttershy looked relieved at this suggestion.

Rarity continued. “We could try on some of the wardrobe choices I’ve put together.” She reached behind a stack of crates and pulled out a clothing rack covered with colored outfits. She reached into the dizzying array of suits and pulled out a dress that looked like it belonged in a marching bad. “I’m particularly fond of this tone.” She held it up to the rest of the band. Nobody appeared to have much of a reaction. “Eh, of course we could always go with something more modern.” She put the dress back and began rooting around for another outfit.

“Rarity, we’re trying to save our school here,” said Applejack. She had her hand on her hip and was frowning. “Enough with the costumes!”

Sunset watched as Rarity pulled a gleaming gold helmet with a black visor from a garment bag and then shove it onto her head. Her wavy purple hair streamed down and out the back.

She turned towards Applejack and spoke with a strange, modulated voice. “Oh, you can never have enough costumes!”

“So, from the top, then?” said Rainbow Dash.

“How about we do something fun?” said Pinkie Pie as she leaned on her drum kit and idly twirled her drumsticks. “You know, like how a band is supposed to be? I’ve even written a song about it, and everything.” She reached into her mess of hair and pulled out a handful of pages of sheet music. She tossed them in front of the bass drum and they scattered about the barn.

Sunset reached out to grab one of the pages as they swept past. It seemed to be a piece called ‘A Perfect Day For Fun.’

“We have to get the counter spell right,” said Twilight. “Or we won’t be able to defeat the Sirens and they’ll probably catch on to what we’re trying to do. We only get one chance at this and we have to do it when everyone is at the first stage of the competition.”

Sunset frowned and checked her phone. “The first stage?” she said. “That’s, like, in fifteen minutes from now!”

“What?” said Applejack, who quickly checked her watch.

“B-but we’re not ready!” said Twilight.

“There isn’t any more time to practice,” said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash looked determined as she pulled her guitar strap over her head. “Then we’ll have to make more time.” She walked over to her guitar case and pulled out a stack of papers before placing her instrument inside.

“How are we going to do that, exactly?” asked Rarity.

“We compete for real!” said Rainbow. She began handing out the pages of sheet music in her hands. “I’ll go back to lead vocals, and we beat all the other bands until we get to the finals!”

“If we make it that far,” said Fluttershy.

“Oh, no worries, we’ll make it as long as I’m here,” said Rainbow. “By then you’ll have the spell ready, right?”

Applejack looked skeptically at Rainbow Dash and Twilight was looking anywhere but at Rainbow.

“Of course she will,” said Spike quickly. “Twilight Sparkle’s never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Right, Twilight?”

Twilight slowly turned to face Spike and the others. She was biting her lip. “R-right.”

“It’s settled then,” said Rainbow Dash. “Let’s pack up and go win us a Battle of the Bands!””

Twilight nodded very slowly in response. Sunset shook her head.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset Shimmer wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or horrified to see Snips and Snails on stage making a horrifying effort to old-school freestyle rap. They seemed to have started rapping about letters of the alphabet, then moved into foods and colors, and now were simply going in circles trying to find a way to stop. It was relieving to know some of the competition wasn’t going to be much of a challenge for the Rainbooms to defeat. But she felt a little guilty that it was her former allies she was seeing make fools of themselves.

Not that Sunset hadn’t made fools of Snips and Snails before. She still had a lot to make up for.

Finally the duo dropped their mics and stalked off stage and the gymnasium let out a collective sigh of relief. The curtains closed and the Rainbooms started pulling their equipment onto the stage.

As Snips and Snails walked past them, they glared at Twilight and Rainbow Dash and Snips boasted. “In your face, Rainbooms!” They continued out of the back of the stage.

Sunset put her hand to her forehead.

“Are we ready to rock?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Wait,” said Pinkie as she finished setting up her drums. “Where’s Rarity?”

There was the sound of jingling, like two dozen keys clanging against each other in a cacophony that kept getting louder. Everyone stopped and turned towards the door off the side of the stage in time to see Rarity burst in.

“I’m here!” she called out, which was barely audible over the clanging.

She was wearing a headband, boots, and a brown suede jacket and pants with a ton of fringe made of dangling metal. Every time she moved an arm or leg it caused the fringe to clang against each other and emit a half-dozen clashing tones.

Rarity noticed everyone staring at her and she put her hands on her hips.

“What?” she said, incredulously. “We will be performing in front of an audience. Did you think I’m not going to wear something fabulous? Hah!” She bent down and started getting her keytar out of the instrument case.

“Remember everyone,” said Twilight as she gripped her mic tightly. “We have to be good enough to make it to the finals but not so good that the Sirens catch see the magic within us and catch on to what we’re doing.”

“Got it,” said Rainbow Dash. “Cool enough to win, but not cool enough that we end up showing off the whole ears, tails, wings, and rainbows thing. Soooo.. about twenty percent less cool.“

“Good luck,” said Sunset to the band as she backed off the stage and stood in the wings. She crossed her fingers.

The curtains on the stage swung open again. Pinkie Pie was the first to move. She raised up her drumsticks and clacked them together. “One! Two!”

“We’ve just got the day to get ready
And there’s only so much time to lose.
Because tonight, yeah, we’re here to party,
So let’s think of something fun to do.”

Sunset found herself nodding along quickly. This was one of the more practiced songs that the Rainbooms had which meant, fortunately, they were able to play it very well.

It was also one of the songs that would trigger the transformation and the rush of magic if they played it too well, so it made Sunset nervous as well. She hoped Rainbow Dash knew what she was doing and keep from sparking whatever it was that caused the magic.

Sunset turned and looked around when she heard the sound of metal creaking. She saw the lights on the stage ever so slightly move back and forth as if on a swing. She looked up at the rafters to see if something had happened.

Her jaw dropped when she saw one of the other bands – Photo Finish and the Snapshots -- up there with a fishing line and a massive pair of magnets. What on earth were they doing? Sunset looked back to the stage at the girls but they were all singing and playing and too focused on Luna and Celestia in the gymnasium to notice the trouble makers up in the lights.

Sunset big her lip as she looked wide-eyed between the Rainbooms and the rafters. She didn’t know how to warn them that something was happening. She looked around for the ladder that led up to the catwalk and noticed it far back into the dark recesses of the stage.

She noticed Snips and Snails climbing up the ladder and nearly at the top. They didn’t look any friendlier than Photo Finish. Sunset couldn’t bear to simply wait and see and she ran off to try and stop them. She jumped onto the ladder and started quickly climbing. As she did, she heard part of the melody line drop out of the song and she turned to see what was happening on the stage. She saw that Rarity was now being dragged across the stage by Photo Finish’s magnets on string. Not only had it completely removed the keytar player from the song but she was getting in the way of Applejack’s bass playing.

Sunset huffed a frustrated growl and redoubled her efforts to climb. She started taking the rungs two at a time.

Which turned out to be a mistake when her foot slipped and she found herself nearly falling , only managing to catch herself by her right hand. She dangled for a moment, her heart racing as she looked down. It wasn’t far, but if she’d fallen the wrong way it could have been very bad. She swallowed deeply.

As she recovered her footing, she saw Snips and Snails reach the spotlights and began focusing them all on Fluttershy. She watched as the girl realized the increased attention and began to wilt. She cringed slightly and then tried to move away from the spotlight. The light pursued her doggedly around the stage before she finally leapt behind Pinkie’s drum kit and hid.

Pinkie, for her part, looked irritated and then quickly kicked over one of her snare drums. It spun on an axis and when the bottom was facing upwards, it shot a huge cloud of confetti into the air, which rapidly began covering the band. Rainbow Dash had to pull out some of the confetti from her frets with her teeth as she played, and Twilight began to cough as she accidentally inhaled some of the floating pieces of tissue paper.

The song was already more than half over. What a nightmare. Sunset carefully grabbed the next rung and began climbing the rest of the way up.

By the time she managed to get onto the catwalk and chase away Snips and Snails, Photo Finish’s band was sliding down the other latter on the opposite side of the stage and were running off.

Sunset rushed over to the fishing line and tried to untie it from the lighting rack where Photo Finish had left it, but she soon heard a tearing sound as Rarity’s costume was ripped apart and she landed on the stage and began to cry.

Sunset grit her teeth and slammed her fist into the railing on the catwalk. How did things get so back so quickly? This school was recovering! The students were on board with Celestia’s friendship-centric program? How could this simple music competition destroy everything?

Sunset looked out at the gymnasium as the song ended. She wanted to see Celestia’s reaction to the music, but she noticed Adagio standing behind her, with a broad smile, clapping slowly, and staring directly up at Sunset.

For a moment, Sunset could hear Twilight’s voice from yesterday. To maintain this power, they had to feed on the negativity and distrust of others. The more of this negative energy they consumed, the stronger their voices became.

Sunset looked out over the rest of the gym and saw nobody else clapping, nobody else smiling. Every student was watching closely and staring daggers at the Rainbooms. In fact, only Adagio, Celestia, and Luna seemed to have anything resembling pleased looks at all.

Sunset swallowed. They were in a lot of trouble.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset climbed down from the catwalk just in time to witness the explosion between Rainbooms. Rarity was dragging her ruined jacket behind her, while Applejack was berating her for even bothering with the costumes. Rainbow Dash was livid about the flurry of confetti while Pinkie Pie was complaining about Fluttershy hiding from a spotlight while they were on a stage. Everyone was yelling except for Twilight who was looking stricken at the notebook in her hands.

“Please, everyone,” Sunset rose her voice over the fight. “At least you sounded better than most of the other bands out there, and Celestia and Luna actually stood and applauded. I’m sure you’ll at make it to the next round.”

“It won’t matter if we don’t get our act together,” said Rainbow Dash.

“No, it won’t matter unless we get the counter-spell ready!” said Applejack. “We’re not here to win.” She turned to Rarity. “Or to look good.”

Rarity crossed her arms, said “Humph!” and then turned away.

“We have to win a little to even get to the finals,” said Rainbow Dash.

Sunset shook her head. “Why don’t you all find some place to practice where the Dazzlings can’t hear you and I’ll keep an eye on things here?” She looked around. “When the next round starts I’ll let you know where you’ve been assigned.”

“Right,” said Twilight and she led the band off the stage and through the doors of the gym.

Sunset watched them leave and then turned to scan the gym. The students weren’t looking quite so antagonistic between acts, though a fair share of nasty glances were made toward Trixie as she and her band began setting up. The Dazzlings were nowhere to be seen.

Sunset walked over to the judging desk where the Principal and Vice Principal were sitting while keeping an eye out for the troublemakers’ return. When she stood in front of them, she smiled as kindly as she could.

“Principal Celestia,” said Sunset. “I have a, uh, concern.”

“Hello, Sunset Shimmer,” said Celestia. “What’s bothering you?”

Sunset had to mentally restrain herself from giving the principal the litany of things that were actually bothering her and instead stuck to the script she’d composed in her head.

“There was a lot of movement of stage lighting during the last performance,” said Sunset. “I’m concerned that with the narrow catwalks and heavy lights that someone is going to get hurt. Maybe you shouldn’t let students up there for the rest of the performances.”

Celestia hummed and put a finger to her chin, then looked to Vice Principal Luna. “I don’t think students should have been up there to begin with,” said Celestia.

“Only the drama club should have any permission,” said Luna. “If other students are up there it’s against the rules.” She stood up and gathered the folders sitting on the table in front of her. “I will observe the rest of the acts from backstage to make sure no students are up there without permission.”

“Oh, but what about judging?” asked Celestia.

“I can hear quite well from back stage, sister,” said Luna with a smirk. “Besides, the safety of our students will take priority over this fundraiser.” She nodded to Celestia, then to Sunset, and then walked away.

Sunset thanked Celestia and then turned to leave.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia said just as Sunset had taken a step. The student turned back. “Is there something else going on that I should know about?”

“Something else?” asked Sunset, coyly.

“I know that you had a problem with the Dazzlings earlier, I hope that this isn’t an effort to trouble them somehow,” said Celestia.

Sunset shook her head. “I’m not doing anything underhanded. I only want to make sure everyone gets a chance to play fairly and safely.”

“Very well,” said Celestia. “I hope I don’t find out you’ve been interfering with any of the bands.”

“You won’t,” said Sunset. She backed away a few paces and then turned to walk towards the doors by the stage. She hoped that was enough to avoid the types of sabotage that was going on in the last song as she wasn’t particularly keen on falling from the ladder.

Once she got back near the doors she heard the announcement that Trixie’s band was up next. She turned and leaned against the bleachers to watch and listen. Less than a minute later, the Dazzlings walked back in.

Sunset debated on showing her hand but it was pretty obvious to her that there was little mystery anymore.

“You’re never going to get away with this,” said Sunset as she stepped out from the shadows. “You should just stop now.”

The three Dazzlings turned and looked at her. They appeared neither surprised nor anything other than pleased.

“Why won’t we? Because you didn’t?” asked Adagio.

Sunset frowned. They definitely knew.

Adagio laughed. “Oh, yes, we’ve learned all about you, Sunset Shimmer. The diva who would be queen but was conquered by her own magic.”

“Seems you bit off more than you could chew,” said Aria. “How bitter you must be now.”

“I’m not, I’ve learned from my mistakes,” said Sunset. “Trying to manipulate with power is wrong.”

“Says who?” asked Adagio. “Seems to me only those without power seem to believe such a thing. And in my experience, those without power pose no threat to us.”

“Friendship can turn even the powerless into a mighty force,” said Sunset confidently.

“And where are those friends now, hmm?” asked Aria. “Leaving you alone while they go off and have all the fun?”

“Why aren’t you in the band, then?” asked Adagio. “Where they worried nobody would come see them play if you were there?”

Sunset swallowed. She knew her reputation was crap at this school, it was just part of the fallout from the Fall Formal. She wished things would get better, but knew that a few months of being nicer wasn’t going to undo three years of manipulation. Still, her friends weren’t like that, they trusted her now.

Though, they didn’t really ask her to join again after that first time. Maybe they were hoping Sunset would forget the offer.

“Seems we’ve hit a nerve,” said Adagio with a satisfied smirk.

“Aww, too bad!” said Sonata. “So sad!”

“So, since we’re being so honest with each other,” said Adagio as she crossed her arms. “Why not tell me what makes you and your girls so special? Magic is rare in this world and that tired script about friendship tells me you aren’t too far removed from Equestria.”

Sunset bit her lip. She searched her memory for the right thing to say that wouldn’t give away the whole plan. She thought of Twilight and the words came unbidden. “The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria. It’s everywhere.”

Aria laughed. “Now where have I heard that before?”

Adagio frowned. “So Star Swirl the Bearded’s legacy still lives.” She looked much less pleased now. “How wonderful.”

“While that might be true,” said Aria. “In this world that magic isn’t quite so appetizing. You’re obviously from Equestria. I assume your little friends are too?”

Sunset bit her lip and said nothing.

“Aww, nothing more to say?” said Aria.

Adagio turned away from Sunset. “You’re welcome to keep trying to stop us,” she said over her shoulder. “But few have ever been able to stand against us at full power. You’re better off just giving up and leaving. We don’t want loser feelings anyway.” She started walking away. Aria laughed again and followed.

Sunset grit her teeth in frustration but then noticed Sonata still here, staring at her with a blank expression.

“What?” spat Sunset.

Sonata frowned sadly. “Star Swirl,” she said softly. “I-Is he—“

“Sonata!” snapped Aria. “We’re almost up.”

Sonata flinched and then smiled lazily. She spun on her foot and then chased after Adagio and Aria.

Sunset felt tense as she let them go. She had meant to get information out of them to figure out exactly what they planned to gain from this, but she got distracted by her own problems and possibly exposed vital information. At least she learned that they’d found out all about the Fall Formal, and possibly Twilight’s role in it. That meant much of their secrecy had probably already been lost. The only hope was that they hadn’t figured out that they had a counter spell that might work against their influence.

At least, Sunset hoped they had a counter spell. She certainly wasn’t planning to just give up.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Rainbow Dash paced anxiously about as the rest of the girls sat backstage listening to Trixie Lulamoon and her band play. That evening the stage by the football fields would showcase the final showdown of the Battle of the Bands. It had already been determined that the Dazzlings would be in that showdown, and Sunset Shimmer was sure their growing power had made that a certainty. But their opponent was still to be named. Trixie’s performance would influence the result, but just as much as the Rainbooms.

“Alright, gang, this is the semi-finals,” said Rainbow Dash, turning to face her team and Sunset. “We need to knock their socks off.”

“Um, I was just wondering,” said Fluttershy. “We haven’t played any of my songs yet—“

“We gotta do ‘Awesome As I Wanna Be’,” declared Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy sighed and rolled her eyes. Sunset reached out and patted her on the shoulder. They shared a look and Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“Is the counter spell ready?” asked Sunset, which was almost a formality at this point as she knew they still hadn’t managed to summon the magic during practice. The awkward squeak that came out of Twilight Sparkle seemed to confirm it.

“Don’t worry,” said Applejack, who was looking at an increasingly disheveled Twilight. “Finals aren’t until tonight. We’ll get in a little more practice before we’re supposed to hit the stage. We won’t let you down!”

Twilight looked a little like a deer in the headlights as Applejack’s statement received a round of nods and agreements. “You won’t let me down,” she said softly. “But I’m not sure—“

The applause drowned out Twilight’s sentence as Trixie’s band concluded their song. The cheers were loud and enthusiastic and each clap was like pin pricks on the skins of the Rainbooms because they were acutely aware that they were not hearing any for their performances.

Whether it was due to the Dazzlings’ influence or not, they were positively reviled. It was a stressful situation to be in for many members of the band. Rarity in particular seemed to be on a short fuse that not even the most elaborate costumes could ease. Pinkie Pie looked to be physically restraining herself from throwing confetti or cream pies every second she was on stage looking back at an ocean of frowns. Fluttershy barely spoke anymore and the two sentences a moment ago were the best they could hope for all day.

In fact, the only person who had gotten used to the near constant unspoken looks of distaste was Sunset Shimmer and she was the only one not on stage during the performances. It hardly seemed fair.

It also seemed incredibly bizarre that they were the only ones getting this treatment. None of the other bands had received the cold should the way the Rainbooms had. Maybe it was because the Dazzlings suspected they were Equestrian. Maybe it was because they spoke out so obviously during the pre-battle party. Maybe it was some facet of the Dazzlings’ long term plan that they still had no idea about. Anything could be possible and it was driving Sunset crazy.

“You guys are up,” said Sunset just loud enough to be heard. “Don’t let them get to you, you just need to impress Celestia and Luna.”

The band nodded drolly for the most part. Rainbow Dash was the only one with her head held high as they walked on stage to replace Trixie. The purple-suited magician sneered at Rainbow Dash as they passed and Sunset turned away to avoid adding to the band’s troubles. She didn’t want her own history with Trixie to invite any additional bullying on her friends.

Spike stood next to Sunset and cheered loudly. “Knock ‘em dead, Rainbooms!” he yelled. Twilight turned and offered a smile back at Spike and nodded.

Sunset wrung her hands as she stood and watched. Nearby, Luna walked over and stood by the ladders up to the catwalks. She shared a brief, somewhat bored look with Sunset and then focused her attention on the stage.

It was clear from early in the competition that the Dazzlings had influenced Luna and Celestia with their magic, but the extent of that influence was unknown to Sunset. Did they only do what they were told now or were they given directives to shape the competition to their advantage. Was the Rainbooms victories a result of instruction or were they allowed within the framework of impulses the Principal and Vice Principal were stuck within.

Sunset stepped closer to Luna and smiled at her. “H-how have you been, uh, sleeping, um, recently?” she asked awkwardly.

Luna slowly looked at Sunset and it almost appeared she was looking through the student. “That’s not something we should discuss right now, Sunset Shimmer,” she said calmly. Then she turned her eyes back towards the Rainbooms.

Sunset just felt unsettled as the Rainbooms began playing. Sure enough, they were playing what Sunset would consider Rainbow Dash’s personal ballad: Awesome As I Wanna Be. It was a guitar-heavy song extolling the unparalleled virtues of, sure enough, a guitar player. It was entirely possible that Rainbow Dash’s head would swell to take up the whole stage by the end of the song.

With a sigh, Sunset looked around to see what was happening out in the audience. Again, most of the students seemed to be enduring this performance. Nobody except Celestia seemed happy.

Sunset looked back to judge the reactions of the Rainbooms but couldn’t get past Rainbow Dash’s furious guitar playing. All the lights were pointed at her, nobody else was singing, it was all the Rainbow Dash show and she was smiling.

Then Sunset saw the glow start on the sides of Rainbow’s head and at the fringes of her hair.

“N-no!” Sunset said too softly to be heard over the song. Rainbow Dash was going to transform! She was going to reveal their lingering Elements of Harmony magic to the Dazzlings and possibly ruin their attempt to use the counter spell at the finals.

Glancing left and right, Sunset tried to think of something to do to stop her before the ears and tail formed. If the wings appeared they were sunk. Luna was standing just behind her, blocking the catwalk, and the sound mixing equipment was at the front of the stage. Sunset had access to nothing that could shut down Rainbow Dash’s transformation.

The glow started to form two ears on Rainbow Dash’s head. Sunset panicked. She had no time left. She did the only thing she could think of. She wasn’t really part of the band. Few people really even liked her. Everyone else had decided to hate that Rainbooms for some reason. She could be just one of the rest of the students for a moment and, and—

And sabotage them.

Sunset ran forward as fast as she could. She distantly heard the shouts of both Luna and Spike behind her, but she ignored it as she sprinted. She took four steps beyond the curtains and then leapt at Dash before the magic solidified into the two ears and long tail on Rainbow’s head.

“Don’t!” she yelled as she dove, as meaningless as her cry would be. She impacted Rainbow square in the chest and they toppled down to the stage and landed in a heap, sending the guitar flying and causing Sunset’s head to smack the stage hard enough for her to see stars.

She clutched her temples as the world spun for a moment and the music stopped. She blinked heavily and tried to focus. Eventually the world sharpened and she saw Rainbow Dash looking at her like she – well, it was a look she was used to. She stood up and offered to help Rainbow up as well but was ignored. She turned and expected to face the renewed hatred and distain from the audience.

What she got instead was much, much worse.

“Now there’s the bad girl we love to hate!” called out – of all people – Flash Sentry from the audience with an evil grin.

“It’s about time she did something wreck this!” said Octavia who seemed pleased but angry at the same time.

“The real Sunset Shimmer is back!” said someone actually sounded happy.

“N-no,” said Sunset. “It wasn’t like that.”

There was a mixture of boos combined with an unsettling cheer in the back of the gymnasium. She ran from the stage and considered simply running forever. Unfortunately, Luna was back stage and stood in front of her. She didn’t even say anything, just looked disappointed at her.

Rage flared up in Sunset and she tried to stamp it down. She just couldn’t get over Luna -- who is acting so out of character thanks to the Dazzlings and isn’t even aware of how odd she’s behaving – she of all people is giving her accusatory looks. Sunset was trying to help the plan! Luna is just caught in the thrall! How dare she?

How dare anyone expect this from her? She’s spent months trying to be better! Was it all for nothing?

Luna turned away and headed out the door as the rest of the Rainbooms caught up to her. Sunset was just barely keeping her temper in check when she turned to face them.

“What was that all about?” demanded Rainbow Dash. She looked both baffled and irritated. At least Sunset could sympathize with that feeling.

“You were showing your magic!” said Sunset imploringly. “The Dazzlings were going to see it. I didn’t know what else to do!” She waved her hands in the direction of the stage.

“Ugh!” scoffed Rarity. “Close the curtains? Unplug her amp? Give us a chance to deal with the situation?”

Sunset stared at her. They were on stage with Rainbow Dash and they didn’t notice? How much time was Sunset expected to give them to handle the obvious fact that the magic was showing? They weren’t dealing with the situation any better in her mind.

“I was just trying to help,” said Sunset with thinly veiled frustration.

“Yeah?” said Rainbow Dash. “Well, you didn’t.” She turned away annoyed.

Sunset felt her anger click up another notch.

“None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t been showin off!” said Applejack to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow laughed. “What was I supposed to do when you were–“

Trixie stepped into back stage and interrupted Rainbow before she could get to the heart of her criticism. “Good show, Rain-brooms,” she snickered. “I especially liked the part where Sunset Shimmer, in a fit of jealous rage, knocked out Rainbow Dash mid-guitar solo!”

“Jealous rage?” said Sunset loudly. “I cannot believe this. I’m not jealous!”

“If you say so,” said Trixie. Her smile was infuriating. Sunset regretted never fighting back against Trixie’s bullying. She could think of, right now, at least six ways to turn Trixie’s life into a living—

“Ooh!” cooed Trixie. “Looks like they’ve already decided who’ll be moving onto the finals! I’m guessing it wasn’t too difficult a decision.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled loudly as she walked over to the edge of the stage to listen to Celestia’s announcement. Sunset followed to hear the announcement as a formality since it was obvious where it was going to go. The rest of the Rainbooms plus Spike followed closely behind.

Celestia was standing by her judging table and had now been joined by Luna. They were both looking somewhat vacant as they addressed the gymnasium. In fact, they were slightly swaying as they stood almost like—

Sunset’s eyes locked onto Adagio standing nearby, her mouth open and very obviously singing towards the Principal and Vice Principal. Her voice was soft but just barely audible over the crowd. A soothing note that shifted up and down with the swaying of the teachers.

“The band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight’s finals is,” said Celestia with a vapid smile. She paused and Adagio’s singing faded away. The Principal’s eyes cleared somewhat as she blinked and seemed to realize where she was. She looked at Luna who looked back at her with a nod.

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Oh, my, they’re gonna—“

“The Rainbooms!” said Celestia loudly.

The collective ‘what’ from the crowd was also a little deafening.

“Are you joking?” yelled Trixie. She balled her fists and stormed off the stage, clearly about to have a very tense conversation with the Principal.

“D-did they just say ‘The Rainbooms?” said Pinkie Pie.

“This isn’t over!” Trixie said over her shoulder while waving her fist back at the girls.

Celestia brushed past Trixie and walked over to the Rainbooms. “Congratulations, girls. You deserve it.”

Rainbow Dash seemed stunned into silence.

“Seriously?” said Pinkie Pie. “We didn’t even finish our—“

Rainbow Dash recovered quickly enough to nudge Pinkie with her elbow and cut her off. She looked delirious.

Adagio walked up in Celestia’s shadow and suddenly had Aria and Sonata with her. They all looked very pleased with themselves. “See you at tonight’s big show, Rainbooms. We are really looking forward to it.”

“Yeah?” said Rainbow Dash. “Well, not as much as we are!”

The students swelled up around them and were clearly upset, even more so than when the Rainbooms were playing before. Sunset started to get a little nervous standing in this crowd.

“Guys, we should go,” said Sunset nervously. But Applejack had already started pushing the band back out towards the exit. Sunset followed while the students booed them out the door.

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset walked solemnly behind the rest of the Rainbooms as they headed towards the newly renovated stage for the finals. They had eluded the mob – or it simply gave up – and eventually they returned to the gym to get their order. They would play first before the Dazzlings, and then the victor of the contest would play a concluding set of music followed by spot performances from selected bands throughout the competition.

The arrangement reminded Sunset that originally this was supposed to be a fundraising event to pay for after-school activities. Only since the Dazzlings arrived did it become a fight for – apparently – life or death.

Much of Sunset’s anger had burned off and become yawning curiosity. They should not have advanced. Trixie clearly gave a superior performance, or at the very least finished her song while the Rainbooms was really giving a solo act centered on Rainbow Dash and even that was interrupted after the first chorus.

How they advanced was less of a mystery, because it was obvious to Sunset that Adagio has been influencing Celestia and Luna. But the question was why. Why did Adagio want the Rainbooms in the finals? What was gained by competing against them? What were they really after?

Because Twilight had said the Sirens fed off of negative emotions, and if that is all that the Dazzlings were doing – brewing up conflict – well, they’ve got plenty already. Trixie versus the Dazzlings would have just as much conflict as a Rainbooms versus the Dazzlings, and at least Trixie earned it.

Of course, the idea that one of the two finalists cheated to get there might also stoke the flames of everyone’s emotions and provide more... what? Energy? Whatever it was the Dazzling’s ate?

But to what end? Sunset couldn’t figure out what stage two of their plan was. Would they come back here every year and do this to get fed? Would they move to a larger stage now that they had eaten? Would they try to dominate the country? The world?

Would they try to get back to Equestria?

Sunset was worried, deeply worried for both her own world and Equestria. They were in a conflict they were losing and they weren’t aware of even the stakes or what the real purpose of the game was.

They arrived at the stage and found some equipment already setup. The repair crew must have finished while the semi-finals were going on because the stage was cleaned, lights were set, and there were benches set up in front for an audience of hundreds. Everything was even wired for power.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack had carried their instruments with them from the semi-finals, and a drum kit had already been setup on the stage. Pinkie took to the drums and began adjusting the bass drum to her liking, while the rest of the girls pulled out various cables and tested them in the center stage. Sunset helped wire up the microphones.

They had done all of this quietly, none of them working up the nerve to speak during the flight from the gym, nor the sheepish return. Finally, among the various tuning notes from Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Fluttershy spoke up.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “We were awful. Doesn’t anyone else think it’s strange we were the ones who made it to the finals?”

The all looked up and seemed bashful in their acknowledgement of this fact, but none of them spoke up.

“Very strange,” came a familiar voice. Sunset turned to see Trixie standing to one side of the stage. She was leaning on a large lever and looking smug again.

“What are you doing here, Trixie?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Pretty sure the losers are supposed to be up there in the cheap seats.”

Sunset put a hand to her forehead. She couldn’t believe Rainbow could still be so boisterous when they all doubted their victory here.

Trixie smiled. “The great and powerful Trixie is the most talented girl at Canterlot High. It is I who deserves to be in the finals. And I will not be denied!” She snapped her fingers and then dramatically leaned to the side, pulling the large lever she was on to the right.

The ground suddenly opened up beneath them and Sunset felt herself in freefall. A moment later she struck the floor and then felt a microphone land in the small of her back. The accompanying noise let her know that they had all fallen into this hole and the sound of plucked string and clanging metal said some of the instruments followed them down.

She picked her head up from the debris and saw the yawning opening in the stage floor with Trixie’s satisfied face beyond. She snapped off a salute.

“See you never!” she said. Then the doors swung closed, sealing the hole in the floor of the stage leaving them in near darkness.

“What the—“ started Applejack as she picked herself up. She stood, eased out a crick in her back, looked up and then looked down at the rest of the band. “What in tarnation is a door like that even doing there?” she shouted.

Rainbow Dash spotted a door and immediately ran towards it, dropping her shoulder, and throwing herself at full speed. She made an impressive slamming sound and ended up rebounded on the floor and rubbing her arm.

“Ow,” she said.

“Well, this is grand,” said Rarity as she got up, picked a random place along the wall and leaned there. She began studying her nails.

Sunset looked around the small room under the stage. There were a few pieces of equipment and supplies here -- a couple planks of wood that wouldn’t hold anyone’s weight, some boxes of screws, a sandbag, two pails of paint – but nothing that jumped out at her as a solution to get out of a locked room. Even the walls were sturdy and reinforced, in great shape all things considered, they wouldn’t be forcing their way out through the side.

She sat down on one of the two sandbags and tried to figure out how this now figured into the all but unknown Dazzlings plan for victory.

Rainbow got back onto her feet and made another go at the door – with similar results.

WHAM!

“Ow.”

*** ( MLP ) ***

Sunset had her arms wrapped around her legs and was resting her cheek on her knees. It had gotten very hot in the small room a little while ago and then, as the concert started above them, it started to get cool. She wouldn’t have thought that would be the case, with the lights and equipment generating heat above them, but apparently there was a breeze out that night and it was cooling the otherwise uninsulated room quite rapidly.

WHAM!

“Ow.”

She looked again at Rainbow Dash’s futile efforts to break the door down. She was likely to be so injured by her efforts she wouldn’t be able to play the guitar for a week. It wasn’t going to matter much, since Trixie was playing above them taking their spot on the finals.

The hours had left little for Sunset to do but wonder how they could have done this better. The existence of this trap seemed to imply that the Dazzlings were playing at a completely different level than they were. The door was bolted shut from the outside, the trap door had the release lever removed from the inside. Someone – and Sunset found it hard to believe it was Trixie – had prepared this room for prisoners. Adagio was the obvious answer. Which meant they had influenced the repair crew long before the semi-finals.

Which mean they wanted the Rainbooms to think they were going to go to the finals, only to have them get trapped down here.

Sunset hit her head against the wall behind her repeatedly. WHY? She just couldn’t figure out how this all fit together. Why now? Why the Rainbooms? Was it because of her? Or Twilight? Or something else?

WHAM!

“Ow.”

“Give it up, Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack, finally. “You’ve been tryin’ for hours. It’s not gonna open.”

Twilight Sparkle sighed. “It doesn’t even matter that we’re trapped down here. I don’t think the counter spell was going to work anyway.”

Applejack looked surprised. “Of course it would have worked, Twilight!” She hesitated and then folded her arms. “Assumin’ a certain band member didn’t try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin’ to play it!”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her arm as she got up and scowled at Applejack. “Hey! If you wanna tell Twilight she’s getting a little too caught up trying to be the new leader of this band, you don’t have to be all cryptic about it.”

Sunset kind of wished she still had Rainbow Dash’s super-human ability to lie to herself.

“She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity from the corner. She was quietly preening in this dark, clearly trying to take personal control in a situation where everything else had gone out of sorts.

“Me?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I’m just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!”

Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all perked up. “Our band!”

The four girls started actively complaining about the band, the situation, and just about everything. It quickly became petty.

Sunset turned to look at Twilight but she was cowering in the corner, trying to bore holes in to the sheet music in her hand with her stare alone. “But why wasn’t it working?” she was saying. “I should know what to do. How can I not know what to do? How could I have f-failed?”

Sunset heard the music above them end and a new performance begin. She hung her head. She had every question, and she felt like she had the right questions too, but none of the vital answers. If only she had some idea she was confident about she could have helped, but in the end she wondered if she just got in the way. All of her friends were fighting now over something that’s supposed to be fun, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Her arms suddenly felt tired and she rested them on her lap. She probably would never figure out why. That was the worst part of all of it because all she wanted since the start of this whole ordeal was just to keep her friends safe! Instead all she’d proven was that she was just as terrible at ruling the school as she was at protecting it.

Sunset’s legs ached so she stretched them out on the floor. She wondered if it was even worth it to try. Was there even a future worth pursuing at this point? Who did she owe for her turn of heart? Shouldn’t she just give up at this point?

“I write songs! You just never let us play any of them!”

Sunset looked up at Fluttershy’s voice. She was shouting at Rainbow Dash and looking angry. Rainbow was shouting back at her, and Rarity, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. They looked honestly enraged with each other.

Fluttershy wasn’t like that. Sunset of all people knew for sure. You had to push her very far to get her to be anything other than nice and optimistic. Even then, she had to be at her breaking point to start showing—

Negative emotions?

Something brushed against Sunsets magical defenses. She tried to summon her will and push back but felt fatigue drag on her. She tried again and endured the feelings of tiredness to see what she was feeling.

The green miasma appeared out of nowhere and filled the room and floated up through the cracks in the ceiling onto the stage. It was everywhere. Sunset’s eyes widened. No, it hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, it was coming from the Rainbooms! The green energy was draining out of each of them and flowing up to the stage.

Where the Dazzlings were now playing.

Sunset realized she hadn’t felt the magic from the Dazzlings in a while, even when she knew they were using it. During the semi-finals with Celestia and Luna, and before that with their own performances. When had she stopped feeling it?

The pieces fell into place in Sunset’s mind. They were after this energy. Not just anyone’s energy, but the Rainbooms. And why were they after that energy in particular? The answer was obvious: because of the Elements of Harmony. The magic left over – that they used to transform – was also magic the Dazzlings wanted.

Star Swirl sent them to this world for a reason. Twilight said it was because their magic wouldn’t work, but clearly it did, it had since they met them. It was the reason Twilight came to help. Sunset just didn’t question that fact because Twilight was the one to tell them, but if that wasn’t the whole story, if it wasn’t because magic didn’t work here, then why was this world important?

Negative emotion, concluded Sunset. Because they needed the emotion to power their magic and the people of this world just didn’t supply the same energy. It’s not that they couldn’t use their magic, they couldn’t recharge it. So why now after a thousand—

Because of Sunset. Because she brought Equestrian magic here, magic that could be used by the Dazzlings. Because she brought Twilight here!

Sunset ignored the gnawing feeling in her stomach at the idea that this was, once again, her fault, and stood up.

“Stop!” she shouted. “Everyone stop! This is what they’ve been after all along! They’re feeding off the magic inside you!” She ran over to the arguing girls and stepped between them.

Applejack looked at Sunset disdainfully. Sunset tried to convince herself it was because of the Dazzlings’ influence. “How can they be using our magic?” she asked. “It’s the magic of friendship.”

“Ever since you started this band, you’ve been letting little things get to you,” said Sunset. “And the Dazzlings have been right there trying to force you into situations where those problems would get worse.” She sighed.

“I know I’m still new to this whole ‘friendship’ thing,” continued Sunset. “But I know that if you don’t work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else. In this case, into a weapon the Dazzlings can use against us.”

Twilight stood up from where she was huddling before and walked over. “She’s right,” she said. “I can’t believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it. I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers.” She shook her head. “And all I've done since I got here is let you down.”

Sunset put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Nobody can have all the answers,” she said. She smiled. “That’s what Star Swirl would say. But he would also say that you can count on your friends to help you find them.” She felt a little embarrassed. “If you give them the chance.”

Twilight smiled back at Sunset, then her eyes widened. “I think I know what we have to do.” She looked at the door. “But first we gotta get out of here!”

Twilight led the charge and they all slammed up against the door, pushing hard against it and straining the frame. Despite the group effort the door only creaked. They all backed up to take another go at it.

At that moment, the door bowed on its own and then snapped in half as it blew out.

Sunset stared with her mouth ajar. In the dust from the door, Spike walked in.

“Spike!” said Twilight.

“Sorry I took so long,” said Spike as he waved everyone out from under the stage. When they emerged from the dark they saw the door was tied to a chain and the chain was hooked to the bumper of strange looking car. In the driver’s seat was the blue haired girl with large sunglasses that was Vinyl Scratch.

“I had to find somebody that wasn’t under the sirens’ spell to help me get you out,” continued Spike.

Twilight frowned. “Why isn’t she under their spell?”

Vinyl Scratch stood up on her seat and leaned over her windshield. She tapped her headphones.

“She never takes off those headphones,” said Spike.

Sunset grimaced, and wondered if anyone else in Equestrian history realized they could have defeated the Sirens if they had simply invested in earplugs.

*** ( MLP ) ***

They walked up to the ridge overlooking the concert grounds. There were hundreds of students and members of the community in attendance, all staring in a dazed rapture at the persistent vocal notes made by the Dazzlings on the stage. They were a good distance away from the students and stage but this was the best position to see everyone in. Unfortunately, they needed everyone to hear them.

“How are we supposed to play over them from up here?” asked Rainbow Dash. She looked around. “We don’t have a stage, or amps or even any drums.”

“Gotcha covered,” said Spike confidently. He then waved to Vinyl Scratch, who began driving her car up the hill and then parked it behind the girls. With a sudden grinding sound, the car began opening up revealing oversized speakers and LED displays and generally unfolding into a huge DJ’s station with the driver in the center seat.

“Uh, drum?” said Pinkie after a minute.

Spike opened the ‘trunk’ of the ‘car’ – Sunset was skeptical these terms should be used with this machine -- and revealed a disassembled drum kit. He began pulling out the pieces and handing them to Pinkie. With Vinyl’s help the three of them began assembling the kit.

“So, which version of the counter spell will we play?” said Rarity.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think it matters what we play, so long as we play it together as friends.”

“In that case,” said Rainbow Dash. “I know just the song.” She walked over to Fluttershy and put her arm around her. “Fluttershy has written a great one.”

Fluttershy smiled and blushed, then nodded.

“Well, if we’re going to save the world,” said Applejack. “I think we should do it in style. Rarity?”

“Ooh! I thought you’d never ask!” Rarity dashed off with a gleeful smile.

Sunset looked at everyone working to prepare for the song. They were working together, getting ready to fight together. She felt suddenly distant and ashamed for her role in everything.

“Twilight,” said Sunset quietly. The lead singer turned as she was studying the lyrics Fluttershy had handed her. “This is my fault.”

“What?” said Twilight as she lowered the sheet music.

“The Dazzlings only knew about you because of what I did during the Fall Formal,” said Sunset, looking at the ground. “Everything I did with your magic was just a beacon to them and I drew them here like moths to a flame. I’ve done nothing but make trouble for everyone.”

Twilight stepped closer and put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “But you also helped us, and you’re still helping,” she said. Sunset looked up at her.

“You’re going to make mistakes,” said Twilight. “I’m still making mistakes and I’m a princess now! At some point you have to forgive your current-self for the things your past-self did. You’re not the demon anymore.”

“What am I now, then?” said Sunset.

Twilight’s eyes sparkled and she wrapped her arm around Sunset and hugged her. “You’re a friend.”

Sunset felt frozen in the embrace and was unsure what to feel or what to do. Was Princess Twilight Sparkle actually hugging her? Eventually she managed to bring her arm around and hug back, but a second later Twilight stepped away. The princess’ hand slid down Sunset’s arm and took her hand tightly.

“And we’re going to fix this,” said Twilight. “Together.”

Sunset looked at the princess and nodded.

“I’ve got outfits!” called Rarity as she ran up the hill pushing a cart of clothes.

Twilight let go of Sunset’s hand and headed towards the arriving costumes. The rest of the girls clustered around to pick out clothes and quickly change in the refuge behind Vinyl’s DJ/Speaker/Car/Jambox thing. Sunset didn’t bother to even look, she knew Rarity had never taken her measurements for these outfits and probably hadn’t thought of including her.

Sunset turned back towards the stage where the Dazzlings were performing. She felt the tingle again, the Siren magic brushing against her own barriers. They had gotten strong and as she watched, they transformed and grew ears and wings slightly more fitting their natural hippocampi forms. Sunset swallowed. They needed to hurry.

“Alright,” said Twilight once everyone was outfitted and standing on the ridge. Pinkie was behind her drum set and twirling her drumsticks in anticipation. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were holding their instruments tightly. Sunset stood to the side, she had been given a microphone and a copy of the lyrics, but she had never practiced, and she wasn’t sure if she’d disrupt the magic if she was out of tune. She held the microphone tightly and resigned herself to whisper.

“Let’s do this.”

Author's Note

First, I'm deeply sorry for the delay of this chapter. I actually managed to injure myself and the pain pretty much sapped all the energy from me for several weeks. I'm still not fully recovered but I'm well enough that I actually feel creative again.

Second, this is easily the hardest part of this story I've had to write, and it's entirely because I couldn't figure out how faithful to the RR movie I wanted to be. Truth be told, I love the Rainbow Rocks movie, so it's hard for me to distort it without thinking I'm making it worse. On the other hand, my Sunset and, also, my Dazzlings, are somewhat more rational than the ones from that movie, and I feel like I'm betraying them if I don't at least acknowledge that. I ended up in a fairly faithful but slightly divergent story that I'm, honestly, not very happy with. I just really needed to get through this chapter and now I'm regretting not simply skipping over RR and saying "all that happened."

Third, regardless, we're through the bulk of this, and we've only got one more chapter to go in this Arc. It will tie up the concert, delve into the Dazzlings, and ride out the aftermath into the obligatory stinger. Then, honestly, I may put this story on hiatus for a short while and take a break. I was worried about burnout before and now I'm wondering if I've hit it. My dreams of writing Dazzlings fics and some Princess Luna stories are a little tarnished at the moment. We'll see where the muse takes me from here. I may just break for a month and then return with Arc 3.

Anyway, all of these points are just to say: sorry for the delay, I hope things improve from here on out.