Sunset Shimmer dropped her backpack on the floor next to the statue of Canterlot High. She was here for a specific reason, and that’s because of what the mirror contained. It was actually a portal to the world she came from, Equestria. Despite making this world her new home, she wanted to spend a weekend with Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike and Starlight Glimmer, her friends native from that world as well.
It was a pretty normal week to say the least, besides the overwhelming amount of tests over the past few days, which Sunset was sure she passed. No Equestrian magic, no rogues plotting to use it, nor did any villains from Equestria show up seeking to conquer the world with the leaking magic in both worlds. The girls considered it a breath of fresh air to say the least. For once, things were normal. And if anything went wrong while she was gone, Sunset would head right back to help.
She was kinda curious about how much changed since she last appeared in Equestria as well. She heard Princess Twilight and her friends opened up a School of Friendship for the nations beyond Equestria, and wanted to see what that was about. She mused at the idea of her learning during the weekend and shook her head, choosing to let all the tests she did be but a fleeting memory for the moment.
Present to watch her go were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and this world’s Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Of course they couldn’t refuse a chance to say goodbye to their friend for the weekend. Pinkie Pie was the first to hug Sunset, the girl smiling sheepishly. “I’m gonna miss you super duper much, Sunset! Please don’t forget to write while you’re there!” Pinkie said in a sad tone.
“Don’t worry, Pinkie. I’ll be back Sunday night. It won’t be forever.” Sunset assured her overeager friend.
Twilight agreed, “At the very least, you lent us a magic book to communicate with you.”
“That is true. It won’t be long.” Fluttershy added.
Rainbow put her arms behind her head and said, “Just don’t forget about us while you’re there. Then again, I won’t be surprised if you find pony me just as cool as yours truly.”
Sunset rolled her eyes, “I’ll be sure to not forget. You girls are my best friends after all.”
“Just have fun, darling. You won’t miss anything while you’re gone, we assure you.” Rarity chimed in.
Sunset chuckled, “I hope so.”
Twilight said, “I really do want to learn more about Equestria. Maybe when you come back we can talk about the differences in magic, science, anatomy-“
“Uh, Twilight...” Spike lightly tugged on Twilight’s sock to distract her.
The bispectacled girl blushed at her enthusiasm and smiled, “Oh right, sorry...”
Sunset replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to reveal every detail to you when I come back.”
“And if ya see well... us, tell ‘em we said hello from the other side.” Applejack suggested.
Sunset nodded, “I will.”
The girls waved her off, and Sunset inhaled. For once she had nothing to worry about once she stepped through the portal. Without any hesitation, she picked up her bag, waved to her friends once more and took a step, the base of the statue rippling as the portal opened. As bizarre as it was, Sunset realized that traveling across space wasn’t as scary as it sounded.
What did scare her was the giant green finger appearing in the rift. She gulped, “That doesn’t look good...”
Sunset had no idea what was happening, for she felt her entire body flung around in the rift between worlds, her destination and fate unknown now.
“Oh man, it’s so boring here!” the green-skinned teen, Beast Boy, whined, leaning on the sofa while half-asleep. The living room in Titans Tower had its usual occupants, Robin, Raven, Cyborg and Starfire were all eating something in the kitchen not too far away. Beast Boy only had tofu in his hand, a snack he had grown to eating. He took a bite, and his teammates all shared a gag at that, wondering how he could stomach it.
The Teen Titans were taking in the peace they currently had. Following all the adventures they had, they felt as though a break was needed. Their expanded team had all gone back to their homes, reuniting only for possible threats like the Brain or even something beyond their world again. For now, it was the five.
Starfire sat next to Beast Boy and petted the silkworm lying on the sofa next to him, “Who is the good boy, Silky? You are!” the bug creature giggled.
Beast Boy yawned and grabbed the remote, wanting to watch TV, the screen lowered itself with the press of a button. Cyborg hopped on over next to him, a bowl full of popcorn in his hand. “Hey, Beast Boy. Want a bite?” he offered his friend, a handful of popcorn seen in Beast Boy’s face.
“No thanks, dude.” Beast Boy said, leaning on the chair arm.
Cyborg smiled, “Sweet! More for me then!” he munched down the popcorn he wanted to give Beast Boy.
Robin crossed his arms and said, “You know, I’m surprised. Nothing’s came up in a while. Normally, Doctor Light would be robbing a bank by now.”
“Can you blame him for not trying after having every single Titan take him down?” Cyborg wondered. “I think we scared crime away.”
Beast Boy said, “I know right? That was pretty cool, but now things are boring. There isn’t even anything good on TV! I mean, who wants to watch Pretty Pretty Pegasus?” Raven looked away upon hearing that.
Robin said, “Just because nothing’s happening, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared though. This boring phase can only last for so long.”
“You know, you’re really starting to act like your old mentor.” Beast Boy commented.
Robin scowled at that remark, “I’m nothing like him.”
“Do not be upset, Robin. Beast Boy was only kidding.” Starfire assured Robin.
Beast Boy replied, “Yeah, dude. No need to get offended. I don’t even get why, he’s cool.”
“He is not ‘cool’ at all. He treated me as a sidekick and never thought of me as an equal.” Robin stated.
As they were talking, Raven and Cyborg noticed the TV starting to shoot out sparks of lightning. “Uh, guys...” Raven called out to her friends. She covered her hand in her trademark black aura, readying a spell for in the event something or someone hostile appeared at their tower.
“Oh great, the TV is busted again.” Cyborg groaned as he dropped the bowl of popcorn, “That’s like the fifth time this month!”
Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire all glanced at the screen glowing and shooting sparks of electricity. “What the heck? I don’t think it’s supposed to do that.” Beast Boy muttered in confusion.
The Boy Wonder gritted his teeth and said, “Whatever’s coming out of there cannot be good. Keep your guards up.”
Cyborg aimed his Sonic Cannon at the TV, “Already doing that!”
Beast Boy was unsure of what animal to change into, so he stood up and waited to see what was coming. Raven readied her magic while Starfire’s glowed green. More sparks emitted from the television, until it finally rippled. First a hand, then a foot, then the rest of the body hopped out. The girl in question fell to the floor and panted, sweat pouring down her face and her red and yellow hair now messy.
“I never... want to do that... again...” Sunset muttered under her breath. She was feeling dizzy, something she hadn’t dealt with since she first arrived at Canterlot High. She looked at her hand and noticed that she was still human, “Looks like whatever happened didn’t change me back. Huh.”
She gagged and raised her head, her line of sight immediately greeted by five people, all of whom looking curious and uneasy at the mysterious visitor. Curious herself, she turned around and saw the giant television. With a defeated sigh, she faced the teens once more and said,
“Wonderful.”
Author's Note
This will mostly be a weekend-update story.
“Who sent you here?! Control Freak?” Robin asked their sudden visitor.
Sunset raised her hands defensively, “Wait a minute! I’m not going to hurt you! I don’t even know what’s happening myself. Who’s Control Freak?”
Beast Boy pointed an accusing finger at Sunset, “Oh yeah? That’s what someone who’s working for Control Freak would say! I see right through your act!”
“Seriously. Who is that?”
Starfire looked at her green-skinned friend, “Perhaps we should let the stranger do the explanation.”
Robin was the first to lower his guard, the other Titans doing the same silently as well. The leader of the team said, “If you’re not working for Control Freak, then why did you jump out of our television?”
Beast Boy popped in over Robin’s shoulder, “I’m telling you, dude. She’s secretly a cartoon character brought to life to destroy us in secret.”
Ignoring him, Sunset replied, “I’m not sure how I got here either. Something must’ve went wrong with the portal. Before this gets anymore weird, I’ll just head back.” she turned around and pressed her hands on the TV, expecting the usual ripple effect to happen. Nothing did. “Huh...?” she questioned what was happening. She tried again to no avail. “No...” she let out, “No...” Sunset repeated as her hands remained pressed on the television she jumped from, “I can’t be stuck here. I have to get back!” she declared, hopelessly looking at her reflection, “I have to!”
Kneeling in defeat, Sunset exhaled as she lowered her hands from the screen. As of now, she had no way of getting back to the Mirror World or Equestria. No words that could escape her mouth could express the amount of worry, fear, and slight anger over her current situation. The Titans all glanced at one another over this and silently agreed to hear the sudden stranger’s plea, because she didn’t appear to be hostile.
Robin put a hand on her shoulder and quietly asked, “What happened?”
“...I’m not from this world. Me being here was an accident. But... it looks like I’m stuck here.” Sunset answered.
Cyborg asked, “Another world? So the TV became a portal?”
Raven answered for Sunset, “It appears so. How it happened is the question.”
“On my world, the only way between worlds was through a statue and a mirror. The magic may have leaked here temporarily to give me an entrance, but even I’m not sure.” Sunset explained. “But now I’m stranded here and probably can’t even reach out to my friends. They’ll have no idea where I’m at and I have no way to get back now.”
Starfire walked to their visitor, “What is your name?”
Standing up, the visitor from another world answered, “Sunset Shimmer.”
Giving Sunset a reassuring smile, Starfire said, “Do not be worried, Sunset Shimmer. My friends have shown me kindness when I came to this planet, and I will do the same for you. My name is Starfire and these are my friends, Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven.”
“Thank you, Starfire.” Sunset replied, “But I don’t know how you all can help me.”
Cyborg said, “This ain’t the first bout of weirdness we dealt with. Handling stuff like this is practically our job.”
Raven added, “It really isn’t...”
Beast Boy proudly declared, “Yeah. We’re kinda the best team for dealing with magic mumbo jumbo!”
Sunset asked, “So after trying to attack me, now you trust me?”
Robin said, “Sorry about that. We have had... bad experiences with televisions. “ he summed up, “We’re the Teen Titans. We’ll help you so long as you don’t break our trust.”
“I know a thing or two about earning trust...” Sunset admitted.
The newcomer dropped her bag and opened it, pulling out a book. “Now let’s see...” she said, grabbing a pen as well. She began writing in the book about how she was stranded in another world separate from the two she’s known, hoping that Princess Twilight or her friends would get it. Sunset finally stopped writing and looked over the words, anticipating the usual reaction from the book. However, the words remained untouched, ”It’s as bad as I thought.”
Raven crossed her arms, “...You wrote in a book.”
“Uh, yeah. I don’t know what you were expecting.” Beast Boy added, “Is it homework?”
Shaking her head, Sunset answered, “No, it’s a magic book from where I’m from. I was able to communicate between two worlds with it, but it appears my theory on its magic leaking in this dimension being temporary was right. I guess I really stranded.” she held the geode around her neck, silently hoping that it was still active.
“Well, don’t worry, we’ll help you find a way back to whichever world you came from. In the meantime, you should probably get yourself adjusted to Jump City.” Robin warned.
“But... But where will I stay?” Sunset wondered, “I don’t even know where to begin here.”
‘It’s bad enough I did that to myself once. Now I have to go through the process of living in a new world again out of the blue? Great...’ Sunset thought in annoyance.
Starfire faced her friends, “Would it be alright if she stayed here?”
Beast Boy shrugged, “Sure.”
“Huh? I can’t ask that of you, I just met you guys.” Sunset reminded them, not wanting to be a burden on the team.
Robin said, “We have a spare room you can use. Plus, we want to ask you a few more questions.”
“Y-Yeah, I can do that.” the newcomer responded.
Sitting back down, Cyborg said, “Great. I can—“
The alarm went off, signaling that a stranger was standing outside the tower. Robin growled, spotting a man in a half black and half white suit covering his entire body from outside the window. Something about it reminded him of an old foe he encountered a few times before he went solo and met the Titans, but it definitely wasn’t him he noted. It was someone new. He just stood there, waiting.
“There’s someone waiting for us.” Robin said.
Cyborg added, “And he doesn’t seem to be here to give us a gift.”
Robin nodded in agreement, “Titans, GO!”
Sunset reached a hand out as the team went to confront the stranger outside, “So should I leave with you to confront him? I’m sure I can help somehow.”
“No. Stay in the tower. You’ll only get yourself hurt. We’d prefer if you got back home in one piece.” Robin ordered.
“But—“
Starfire cut her off, “Sunset. Please stay here. Not even we know who we are dealing with. Can you at least let us keep you safe until then?”
“...Fine. I’ll sit this out.” Sunset said as she sat on the sofa.
With that done, the Teen Titans finally arrived to meet the stranger. Beast Boy changed into a rhino, Starfire was ready to throw her Starbolts, Raven readied her magic, Cyborg aimed his Sonic Cannon, and Robin held out his staff in front of him. Sunset peeked out the window, wondering what these five were capable of. The Boy Wonder asked the stranger, “Who are you?”
The being clad in black and white chuckled as he revealed himself at last, “I am Equinox. My goal is to bring balance to all worlds in order to prevent chaos from spreading.”
“Then why are you here?” Raven said in a disgusted tone.
Equinox answered, “Because this world is now imbalanced, and it’s all because of the girl awaiting your return in the tower. I am here to ensure this world is back to proper balance.” he clenched a fist after saying this.
