Messages from Beyond the Mirror
"Sunset, things are starting to get bad here in Equestria with the prolonged war with the Zebras. Me and my friends have recently been put in charge of the new parts of the government on request from Princess Luna to lead the efforts to stop this war before it gets any worse. Please don't come through the portal to Equestria, there's been some problems with the portal lately and I don't know what would happen to you. I'll be in touch with you as soon as I can."
Sunset Shimmer looked at the latest message from Twilight Sparkle in Equestria, and honestly she wasn't sure what to make of it. She had been receiving messages like this from Twilight for awhile now, but she didn't really know what to make of the whole thing just yet.
"Sunset, are you okay?" A female voice asked and she looked up to see Celestia looking at her.
"I'm fine, I just got another message from Twilight," Sunset said with a frown on her face. "It seems like things are getting a lot worse over in Equestria..."
"Do you want to go back?" Celestia asked, taking a seat next to her, she had adopted Sunset not long after the Friendship games.
"Honestly, yes, but Twilight said I shouldn't because she wasn't sure what would happen if I did," Sunset said with a sigh. "What do you think I should do?"
Celestia paused for a long moment, she wasn't really sure what to do either, this wasn't exactly a normal problem for a Principal or a mother. Then again things hadn't exactly been normal ever since Sunset first came to Canterlot High a few years ago.
"Sunset, I can't tell you what to do here," she said with a sigh. "You need to do whatever it is that you feel is best, I can't expect any more from you."
Sunset smiled a little at that, Celestia in any universe always seemed to know exactly what needed to be said. She figured that Twilight probably had very good reason to not want her to come through the portal, while she didn't completely understand them she would at least respect them.
She opened the journal back up and took out her pen, she thought a moment before she started to write in it again.
"Okay Twilight, I understand and I won't come to Equestria for now, if there's any chance I'll be able to in the future let me know. I hope everything works out with the war with the Zebras, just make sure that you help keep Equestria safe for all of us. I'll be here to help you if you need it."
She finished writing and looked at the book for a long moment, she just had to hope that everything would work out. While she didn't plan to return to Equestria, she did have a deep connection to her home world and didn't want to see anything happen to it.
She put her book away and got to her feel, she had to go meet with her friends and hope they'd be able to give her some more insight.
00000
"So, that's why Twilight has been so slow to reply huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, Sunset had explained about the war to her friends, and they were all concerned too.
"That sounds terrible," Fluttershy said softly. "All those ponies dying because of the war."
"Yeah, I know," Sunset said with a sigh as she leaned back and looked over at this world's Twilight.
"You want to go back don't you?" Rarity asked and Sunset looked at her shocked. "Don't worry, we don't blame you, Equestria is your home and if you want to go back we'll understand."
"I wish I could, but Twilight said specifically not to," she said and sighed. "Honestly I don't know what to do."
"Honestly Ah don't know what ta tell yah," Applejack said with a sigh. "Twilight wouldn't tell yah not ta come if it wasn't important. Ah don't think she'd want yah ta not help otherwise."
Sunset nodded in agreement, honestly she just wished that she had a better plan than this. She remembered that Twilight had once sent a message saying that the Equestrian version of the Crusaders were considering using the Portal to move Ponies out of the line of fire, but she assumed that this development had shot that idea down.
"What, exactly started the war?" Twilight asked. "From what you've told us of Equestria, it can't be that common for there to be a war this bad."
"Natural resources, Equestria needed coal that they could get from the Zebras, but they're starting to run out," Sunset said with a sigh. "Its was already getting bad but it just seems like its going to get worse from here."
"That sounds, strangely like a video game I once played..." Rainbow commented then shrugged. "Well, we're here for you Sunset, so if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."
"Yeah, we'd be glad to help!" Pinkie Pie said in her usual enthusiastic way. "You've got nothing to worry about."
Sunset smiled as her friends all nodded in agreement, even if things weren't going well back home, at least she had her friends to back her up.
00000
Months passed before Sunset finally heard from Twilight again, things in the human world weren't exactly much better than they were in Equestria. Oil reserves were starting to run out and nations were starting to look like they were about to go to war over what was left of them.
Sunset sighed as she sat her backpack down and took a seat on her bed in her dorm at Canterlot University. She was about to get her homework out when there was the familiar glow from the journal.
She opened the book up as the words finished writing themselves out on the page, she hoped that it was good news. Her heart fell as she started to read the words.
"Sunset, things are getting worse here, there are rumors that the Zebras have gained access to the Megaspells that were developed by Fluttershy's ministry. Things are getting even more desperate here, Stable-tec, the Crusaders to you, have been building Stables all around Equestria in preparation for the possibility of the megaspells being used.
There is some good news though, I have a daughter now named Eclipse, she, wasn't exactly planned but I'm starting to worry for her future. If I have to, I may have to consider sending her through the mirror to you. There are some projects my Ministry is working on that should be able to help, at least I hope so.
I'm sorry it took me so long to reply to you, I'll talk to you again soon."
Sunset blinked at the words, had more time passed in Equestria than it had in the Human World? That didn't really make sense, unless there was something else going on that she didn't know about.
She looked at the page for a long moment, honestly she wasn't sure what to say back to her friend. While she thought the door to the room opened and the human world's Twilight Sparkle came in and adjusted her glasses.
"Hey Sunset, is everything okay?" She asked as she saw the look on Sunset's face.
"I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with Equestria," Sunset said with a sigh as she looked at the page and then paused a moment. "Is it, possible that time could pass differently between two worlds?"
"Well, in theory yes, but until the portal was found it was all just theoretical," Twilight pointed out. "Maybe if there was another factor or something it would be more likely, like that time traveling spell that Twilight mentioned. Honestly I don't know, I'm still not clear on how all of this works."
"The other Twilight has tried to look into it, but its not really clear," Sunset said with a shake of her head. "There's some trick to it, heck we don't even know how we get and lose clothes when we go through it."
"Yeah, that is kind of weird," Twilight admitted. "I mean would be awkward if you came in naked, well in our world at least."
"So what should I do?" Sunset asked as she looked at the book for a long moment.
"Do what you have to," Twilight replied. "Maybe it'll make her feel better if you do, and it'll help you out."
Sunset nods with a smile as she takes out the pen and starts to write on the pages again.
"I was glad to hear from you again Twilight, I'm sorry everything's been going so wrong in Equestria. I'm happy to hear about Eclipse though, if you want to send her here then just let me know, I'll gladly take care of her for you. I hope you get everything taken care of to end this war soon. I look forward to hearing from you again."
She sighed and finished writing it, she leaned back and closed her eyes, she just wished that it wouldn't take too long for her to get back to her.
"It'll be okay Sunset," Twilight said reassuringly.
"I hope you're right Twi, I really hope you're right," Sunset said with a sigh.
00000
More time passed, things had gone from bad to worse when in order to get at the oil reserves near Flankorage the Zebrican Empire had invaded. Things had just gone from bad to worse as the war was starting to threaten to lead to all out Nuclear War, and Sunset was afraid that Canterlot would be the first target.
She had moved into a small house on campus and was just sitting down for her morning coffee when there was a knock on the door. She looked out the window and saw a van with the words VAULT-TEC on the side.
"What's this about..." She asked herself as she opened the door where an older man wearing a suit and hat was standing. "Can I help you?"
"No, but I'm here to help you," he said. "I'm from Vault-tec, and I'm happy to report that because of your academic records you and your friends have been selected for placement in Vault 39."
Sunset sighed, she hadn't exactly been sure what to do with this, she had heard about Vault-Tec sure, but she wasn't sure why they had picked her. Something about all of this was kind of weird.
"Uh, okay," she said incredulously. "What's the catch?"
"No catch Ms. Shimmer, Vault-Tec is interested in preserving the best of humanity for the future," the Vault-Tec representative said with a genuine smile on his face. "You just need to fill out some paperwork, its all for legal reasons but its well worth it to be prepared for the future, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess," Sunset said and took the clipboard and read it over, it was all pretty standard stuff, asking about her medical history and anything that tended to run in her family as well as general information.
Of course she couldn't exactly put down that she was a Unicorn Pony from Equestria, that would sound really weird. She filled out the information as best she could and hoped she was doing the right thing as she gave it over to the representative.
"Very good, I'll just get this to corporate, congratulations on being prepared for the future with Vault-Tec," the representative said and walked off.
Sunset sighed as she closed the door, she wasn't really so sure about this whole thing, but it actually did give her a little bit of peace of mind. She sat down in her chair and took out her books to start working on homework, putting her headphones in to listen to some music.
"Across the savage skies and through the fissures in the fields
The rumble of the engines and the trundle of the wheels
Through hell and horror trudge and yet our spirits never yield
Will they sing of these forsaken pawns of war?"
She looked up when she saw the familiar glow coming from her journal. She smiled a bit as she picked it up and opened it to see what message Twilight had sent her this time. She just hoped that it was some good news.
She started to read.
"Sunset, I'm sorry but this is probably the last time I'll be able to send you a message. I'm leaving my journal with Spike, the war here has gotten a lot worse. If things change, I'll send a message to you again, this is just a precaution. Spike has instructions that if anything happens to me he'll give the journal to somepony that he can trust. If you receive a message from another Pony, give him or her a chance.
I'm sorry things went so wrong here, but don't give up home. The end is just the beginning of a much larger story. Something tells me that you'll still have a part to play in all of this.
I am and always will be, your friend."
Sunset hugged the book to her chest, she couldn't hold it in, she cried.
Author's Note
Yeah, I know I left the ending a bit ambiguous as to what happened next, but it won't be too long before you find out. Stay tuned for chapter 15 of Fallout Equestria: Wasteland Jewel, where the story of Sunset Shimmer continues.
