Time gets in the way. It slips by when you're not paying attention, when you forget to clutch onto each second like it's precious. From when I first discovered Sunset Shimmer to when she destroyed me couldn't have been more than an hour. The next time we met couldn’t have taken more than three days.

I wasn’t bitter about what she did. Honest. I just couldn’t allow her to do it again. Our time would come around again as long as people weren’t bringing magic into the world.

Maybe I should’ve run, taken Sonata and Aria and left the continent, waited it out. But Sunset didn’t make me quiver in my boots, she fascinated me. Oh, yes, ever since I read the magic coming off of her, I knew she wasn’t from here. It took a little espionage to realize she could come and go as she pleased. If she’d been a little more careful, maybe I’d have offered her a partnership much earlier.

I’d been inside Canterlot High a few times, sometimes pretending to be a student. This was the first time I’d been there at night. They didn’t even lock the door.

I was there looking for student records, making sure there weren’t any other magical threats standing in our way. The principal’s offices were always in the same place. I wondered if the grafitti in the sub-basement had changed any over the years, and smiled.

I knew she was waiting there, of course, because she wanted me to. Her magic was boiling over, special ears and all, and it rolled through the hallways and curled around my ankles. I decided that, given a couple more decades, she might be able to weaponize it.

“I appreciate the honesty.” I called. “It’s been a while since anyone ambushed me so politely. How’d you know I was coming?”

“Princess Twilight has her methods.” she called from around the corner.

“And people to do her dirty work. Come out into the open, Shimmer.”

She did, and I could see the magic foaming around her shoulders and spilling over like bathwater. It was the inedible kind, sadly. “I’m only here to talk things over.”

“And why should I take your word for that?”

“You’ll have to.” We stared for a moment, before she took a breath and said, “Look, I don’t want to deal with you, and you don’t want to deal with me, but we’re both stuck here together and we might as well try to sort things out.”

“Easy to say when you’re here voluntarily.”

“Don’t give me that.” she said. “I’m here because I made my decisions a long time ago, and I have a responsibility to keep this place safe. Safe from people like you.”

“Do you honestly think you’re in a position to be giving out moral advice? After you got beat into the ground by a princess? That magic didn’t turn you into a she-demon because you were feeling grumpy that day, Shimmer. That’s who you are.”

It was a barb that would’ve worked a month ago, but she shrugged. “Then that says a lot about you, that you’d just get a pair of tacky wings out of the deal.”

I smirked. “Give us a little time. We’ll come back with something that’ll really knock your socks off.”

“Try it and see what happens.”

“Oh? And then what, you’ll sing us away again? Convince us to give up all our evil tendencies and clean up our acts and sing in the choir with you?”

“You’re the one who thinks I care about redeeming you.”

I faked a pout. “Oh, you don’t? Don’t think that everyone can be saved and turned into a neat nice person with all their crimes forgiven, as soon as you’ve blasted them into a hole in the ground?”

“At least I found forgiveness. And at least I only hurt this school, and my own reputation. What about all the people you’ve hurt, all the places you’ve invaded? One day that’s going to come back to bite you, Adagio, and then who’ll be left to forgive you?”

I laughed. “Wisdom from the teenager! You’re the one standing on my territory. I’ve been here for centuries before you were born. And I don’t feel any worse about what I do than you do about eating a steak when you’re hungry. Maybe if you wanted me to stop feeding on people, you should’ve let us ascend and take our magic back.”

She paused, and said, “I’m a vegetarian.”

“Oh? How long have you been a vegetarian, then? Less than four weeks?”

She hesitated, and said “Yes.”

“Oh, how morally squeamish.” I laughed, “But anyway, don’t let me get in your way, I’ve got other things to do today.” and headed for the office door.

“Get away from there.”

“Or what?” I said, turning to look her in the eyes again. “Your aura doesn’t scare me, Shimmer. It couldn’t shift a rock. Maybe in a couple decades it could, but not today. Go home to the ponies and train.”

Just before I touched the doorknob, a shard of orange light came crashing down on it. It was blinding, and the impact sent me flying across the hall into a couple of lockers. Then, slumped on the tile, I followed the fire-light back to her clenched hands, and although I couldn’t make out its shape I knew by her stance that it was a blade.

I hadn’t even seen her move.

“Twilight is the element of Magic. She can teach it faster than you would believe.” She was breathing harder, forcing her lungs to slow down. “You think I need friends around me to use my magic? Everyone in this school is my friend, and whatever you’re doing here, if it hurts them you’ll have to go through me.”

The look in her eyes was completely serious. I picked myself up and dusted myself off, but she didn’t move.

“Oh, you’re such a self-sacrificing knight, aren’t you? And here I thought you were interesting. There used to be tons of saps like you, running after their princesses. Some of them even chased after me. But don’t you think it’s funny that the only reason you’re defending your corner of this cramped world is for someone who isn’t even part of it?”

She broke the stance, and the light retracted back into her palms. “I’m not doing this for Twilight. You might not understand why, but I’m doing it for me. And not out of guilt, or hatred, or penance. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. I want to be the kind of person who does what’s right.”

“Then did you ever consider that there are reasons to keep sirens around? Or have all of the negative energies of Equestria not bubbled over yet?” It was a probe, but I knew Sonata would ask if I’d learned anything about home. My great-great-great-great-nieces might be figuring out their digestive systems right about now.

“Yes, I’m sure you can use your powers constructively, if you want to. You don’t, though. If I could trust you to do more than seek attention, I would ask for your help. There are things that need doing here.”

“Like what?”

She opened her mouth, and then shook her head. “I can’t. You’re too dangerous, I won’t tell you without proof that you won’t use it to make the world a worse place.”

I clicked my tongue. “Shame. Because there are bigger things in the works that I could use your help with. You really don’t understand how small this place is, but you will, and eventually you’ll either leave or die of boredom.”

“If this world is so terrible, then why bother trying to take over?”

“Because it’s not about taking over, it’s about regaining what we’ve lost. It’s about breathing magical air again, and letting all of the real darkness in the world come out of hiding on a leash. It’s about finding an oasis after walking a straight line in the desert for a couple aeons. You’re going to learn what I’m talking about, eventually.”

When she spoke next, it was soft, and she didn’t make eye contact. “...I could just send you home, if you wanted to go.”

Smirk. “Was that the offer she told you to give us?”

“No. That’s the offer I decided to give you instead.” I was about to respond, when she said “Please, consider it. Go talk to the others, we can meet up again tomorrow night and you can give me your answer. I don’t want to fight you or yours, Adagio. I just want what’s best for my people. You must understand that.”

It was an excellent ploy, even if the execution was a little obvious. She would’ve made a nice speechmaker, given a little bit of training, and I wanted her on my side even more. “Okay, Sunset. I’ll go ask them. But how do I know you aren’t going to take this chance to sic your friends on us?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” she said, and smiled weakly. “You’re immortal, aren’t you?”

I scowled.

Once I’d left the way I came and she thought I was gone, I felt the magic reduce itself back to the shape of her body, and she collapsed from burnout, slumped against the door.

You see? Fascinating.

Author's Note

In accordance with Yudkowsky's First Law of Fanfiction, I had to give my antagonist the same canon-compatible detail-boost as my protagonists. Unfortunately, I dabbled in this technique without realizing its power, and then Sunset complicated my plot by doing reasonable things. This was the first time a character I was writing acted on their own, which I always assumed was a writerly exaggeration. She ambushed me while my guard was down, is what I'm saying.

But it's alright, because otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to roll with it.