The apartment's front door opened, and Sunset Shimmer stepped in from the dark street outside. "Home sweet home," she said dully, flipping on the living room light.
Twilight Sparkle walked in after her, adjusting her glasses as she looked about. "It's pretty small. Do you live here alone?"
Sunset tossed her jacket onto an armchair and gave her a nod. "Yeah. It's been that way since I moved here."
"Seems a little lonely," Twilight said, her hands fiddling with the bottom of her vest.
"Sometimes," was Sunset's reply. She shut the front door, locked it, and then moved over to her couch. She leaned her back against it, yawning. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired from the games, not to mention the weirder stuff."
Twilight got a sheepish grin. "Heh, yeah, me too." She straightened out her vest, brushing nothing in particular off of it. "Do you want to just go to bed, then?"
"If it's okay with you." Sunset smiled at Twilight and pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Bedroom is over there. Bathroom is connected to it. Do whatever it is you do before you sleep, and I'll get a bed together for you, okay?" A nod was Twilight's reply as she slipped silently past, and Sunset set to work.
Twilight made her way into the bedroom, eyes taking in what little decor there was. Aside from the pale purple paint and matching curtains, there wasn't much to speak of. Some photos of Sunset and her friends sitting on the nightstand and a poster of the Rainbooms on the wall were the most notable things.
Sunset came into the bedroom with a stack of blue sofa cushions, plopping them down in a line next to her own bed. "It's not much, but I'm not used to having company over. It's been a while since anyone else spent the night here."
"It's fine." Twilight's backpack landed softly on the floor, and she knelt down next to it. "Sometimes, I'd get so busy with my studies that I'd spend the night sleeping in my chair."
As soon as she had unzipped her backpack, Spike the dog popped out of it to greet her. "Yeah, and sometimes, you'd forget to eat all day, and I'd have to remind you."
Twilight blinked a few times. "You did?"
Spike hopped out of the backpack, explaining, "Well, I was asking for my food, but I hoped it would remind you to eat, too."
A smile came to Twilight, and the ran a hand through Spike's fur. "That's sweet of you. Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Spike glanced around the room. His nose moved to the carpet and he began roving about the room, sniffing everything he could find. "You walk around here without shoes a lot," he commented.
Sunset stepped over to her dresser while Twilight got back to her feet, taking her backpack up with her. "Um," Twilight started, "can I use your bathroom?"
"No, but don't worry, I'll get you a bucket you can use." She looked over her shoulder at Twilight with one eyebrow raised and a crooked smile. Twilight just watched her, her backpack held close to her chest and teeth biting into her lower lip. Sunset's smile faded, and she said, "Of course you can."
Twilight nodded quickly. "Thanks," she said, and shuffled away. Her block-heeled shoes clicked against the tiled floor, and the door swung shut behind her.
A few minutes later, Twilight emerged, her Crystal Prep uniform stuffed into her backpack and replaced with pale blue flannel pajamas. Sunset was facing her dresser with her bare back to Twilight, pulling a purple shirt from a drawer. Twilight whipped back around with a slight gasp and a mumbled apology.
"Don't worry about it," Sunset told her, pulling on her pajama top. She shut the drawer and turned around. "You ready for bed?"
It took a moment for Twilight to face the other girl again, and she peeked over her shoulder first. "Uh huh," she said with a nod. Her backpack and shoes landed next to her makeshift bed, which had gained an orange blanket and pillow since she'd last seen it. Sunset headed for the door while Twilight took a seat on her bed for the night.
"Just one more thing," Sunset said, holding up a finger as she backed out of the room. She came back within a minute, carrying three new items with her. She placed a box of tissues on her nightstand, a bottle of water next to the tissues, and a stout, blue plastic bucket on the floor.
Twilight raised her eyebrows at the sight of the bucket. "Oh, I thought you must've been joking."
Sunset had to stifle a laugh. "I was. Feel free to use the bathroom anytime you need it."
"Um, then what are those for?" Twilight inquired with a furrowed brow.
Sunset sighed just a little. "Well, if I'm right, they'll come in handy tonight. Don't worry about it, though." She slid onto her bed, pushing the covers aside. Twilight still stared at her, head tilted to one side. "Just trust me, okay? I didn't go all magical overcharge to save you from yourself just to play a stupid prank."
Twilight turned away at that, one hand reaching up and fiddling with her hair. "Right, of course not. S-sorry."
Sunset brought a hand over to Twilight's shoulder and gave her a little smile. "Hey, don't worry about it. Everyone will get over it. Trust me on that. Canterlot High is a lot nicer than Crystal Prep, I'm pretty sure."
"No kidding." Twilight glanced back at Sunset when the light on her nightstand went out. The other girl was pulling up her covers, and Twilight followed suit with her own. Her glasses slid from her face, and after a moment's hesitation, she deposited them on Sunset's nightstand. "Thanks for inviting me, by the way. I really appreciate it."
Sunset rolled over to face Twilight. "It's no problem. I figured you could use a little company after everything that happened. I know I wouldn't want to be alone after something like that."
Twilight's fingers were wrapped tightly around the edge of her blanket as she responded, "I spend almost all of my time alone."
"Been there," Sunset commented. "It's nice to be alone sometimes, but I definitely wouldn't want that forever."
"Well, I'm usually not completely alone." Twilight's eyes scanned the room, and she sat up a little. "Where is Spike, anyway?"
"He wandered off somewhere and said something about me having a really nice laundry basket," Sunset replied with a chuckle.
"Oh." Twilight laid back down. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a pretty smart dog." Her gaze was fixed on the ceiling for almost a minute before she finally said, "Goodnight, I guess."
"'Night, Twilight." Sunset rolled back over, and the room fell quiet.
* * * *
Light punctured Twilight's eyes, blinding her. Her eyelids snapped shut out of reflex, squeezing her burning tears out and down her cheeks. Trillions of needles and razors flowed through her veins. Every muscle and tendon stretched beyond capacity, and her skin felt like a coat of lava. Something massive ripped its way out of her back. It was too much even to scream.
Then everything stopped. The light faded, and her eyes were allowed to open. Agony turned to pleasure, needles to ecstasy, lava to armor. She'd never felt anything like it before. She didn't feel pressured by her classmates, she didn't feel worry for her future, she didn't feel any of the anxiety that clung to her like an army of lampreys. She only felt power. Her power. She didn't just feel like she could do anything, she knew it.
With a flex of her hand, space itself tore open before her. She could feel more magic flowing out of the hole, tickling her fingers and her mind. She didn't know all that magic could do, but now that she'd gotten a taste of that knowledge, there was nothing she wanted more. The ground shattered beneath her with a mere thought, and she smiled. The veil was so thin, she could almost see the magic lying just beyond the border of this world. It was so close, and she was so close to grasping its nature.
A noise reached her. Her classmates and rivals were in a panic all around her, like ants in a firestorm. She saw them screaming, running, and falling over themselves in terror. She saw them and she laughed.
Twilight awoke with a sharp gasp. One hand propped her upright, the other flew to her heart as it ran like a machine gun in her chest. She coughed, then gagged, and then her shuddering body leaned forward. Sunset's hand slid the bucket over just in time to catch Twilight's stomach contents as they were violently ejected. Twilight retched, hands wrapping around the bucket as another wave spilled into it. Sunset moved around behind her, pulling Twilight's loose hair back and away from her mouth without a word.
It wasn't long before Twilight went dry, switching to a fit of coughs, her throat burning. Sunset plucked a tissue from the little box, brought it over, and dabbed at Twilight's mouth. The former prep student took the tissue herself, wiping the sick liquid from her lips. Sunset's hand came back yet again, this time offering the water bottle. "How," Twilight shakily started, but lost her question to another cough, and just took the bottle instead.
After washing away the taste of her own bile, Twilight managed to ask through her panting, "How did you know?" She turned her bare eyes to Sunset, who was shifting back onto her bed. Sunset's eyes were downcast, a frown fixed on her face. Twilight shivered. "Sunset?"
Sunset Shimmer took in a long, slow breath, one hand reaching up and gripping her other arm. "A while back, the school was..." She brought up her other hand, rubbing it over one eye for a second. "I first came to Canterlot High in search of the same thing you did. Well, not exactly the same. You came for knowledge, I came for power, and because I thought it was where I would... I found power there, but not the kind I was after. It was only when I tapped into the same kind of magic you did that I found that power. But when I got it, it overwhelmed me."
Sunset brought one leg up, resting her forehead against it as Twilight asked, "What happened?"
"I became a monster. A big, raging, magic-spewing demon. I finally got what I was after, and I couldn't handle it. It twisted me, and I almost killed six girls, and tried..." She took in a sharp breath, shuddering a little.
"Is... is that what you meant when you said you've made the same mistakes?" Twilight asked, still shivering and with both hands on her own shoulders.
Sunset nodded. "It was horrible. I was horrible. I got my butt handed to me and changed back, obviously, but it was a while before I got back to normal. Every time I would sleep, I'd see the monster again. I'd see myself tearing the school apart and terrorizing all those kids, and I couldn't do anything to stop myself because I wanted to do it. I wanted to see them all suffer. I wanted to rip the girl who'd stopped me in half."
Her hands relaxed, one having clenched into a fist. "Then I'd wake up, cold and sweating, crying sometimes. It was still a nightmare, even when I woke up. I hated myself for what I'd let happen, what I did, and all the horrible fantasies I had in my dreams. I didn't want to hurt anybody anymore, but it didn't matter when I was asleep."
Sunset slid down from the bed, coming to rest with her knees on Twilight's sleeping bag. Twilight's gaze was locked on her, eyes shining and mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. "I've been where you are right now, Twilight. I know that feeling, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody ever. But it won't last forever."
Twilight reached up, wiping a hand across one eye. "How long? I mean, when did it stop?"
Sunset's eyes turned toward the floor for just a second. "I stopped having panic attacks after a few weeks, but the nightmares kept coming for months. The others will forgive you before very long, I'm sure about that. I know you won't want to hear this because it seems so simple and trite, but you're gonna have to forgive yourself, too, and that'll be the hardest part."
"I'm sorry." Twilight turned away, both hands clutching the front of her shirt. "I don't know what came over me. I just wanted to understand what I'd found, and I messed everything up."
"Yeah, you did. You let your curiosity get the better of you, and it almost got people killed. You even almost destroyed the fabric of reality itsel—" Sunset stopped abruptly at the squeaking sound coming from beside her. Twilight's face was buried in her hands, her shoulders shuddering. Sunset grimaced, shifted over, and put an arm around Twilight, who flinched at her sudden touch. "Hey, it's not all your fault. You didn't know what was gonna happen. Nobody knew. And you had all that pressure..." Sunset sighed, her voice lowering. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. You just... you reminded me..."
Both of Twilight's hands slowly receded downward, and she turned her shining cheeks toward Sunset. "Of what?"
Sunset looked from Twilight to the floor. "Me. I wanted that power and that crown so bad, and I didn't think about the consequences. I enslaved a school and almost invaded another world. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that, but you just reminded me so much of who I used to be." One of her hands moved up to her chest, fingers running over the cutie mark on her pajama top. "But the old me was a monster." She turned back to Twilight with a sad smile. "You aren't a monster, Twilight. You're better than I ever was."
"I don't know," Twilight said. She wiped a hand over her eyes again, sniffling once. "I just..."
"Give it time." Sunset pulled Twilight closer, hugging her with one arm. "If you're anything like I think you are, you'll be back on top before you know it. And in the meantime, you have some great friends to help you through it."
Twilight sniffled again, saying, "I don't really know anything about friendship."
Sunset's smile brightened and she slid both arms around Twilight, pulling her in closer. Twilight's head fell onto her shoulder and her hands found their way to Sunset's back. Sunset Shimmer whispered, "I think I can help you with that."
