“Hey.”
Sunset glanced towards the sparking portal, its surface rippling with tension as her friend emerged.
“Hey, yourself.” Twilight countered, brushing herself off. “Sunset, aren’t you coming?”
“Coming where?” Sunset stared towards the sky, a smile spreading across her face as the warm rays of her namesake brushed over her.
Twilight placed her hand on the surface of the mirror portal, its surface rippling yet again as tendrils of magical energy seeped away. “C’mon, Sunset. I thought you wanted to come back home. To come back to Equestria.”
Sunset shook her head, leaning against the portal base behind her. “I don’t see a reason to.” She stated, closing her eyes. “After all, what is there left for me in Equestria? This is my home, Twilight.”
“Are you sure, Sunset?” Twilight began, her eyes wandering towards the unstable portal, “You might not ever be able to return again once I leave.”
The other girl nodded, her fiery hair bouncing with each movement. “Like I said before, this is where I fit in, Twilight. It’s where I belong now.” She paused for a moment, casting a longing glimpse towards the portal’s swirling interior. “I’m not Sunset Shimmer the unicorn, a former protégé of Princess Celestia anymore. I’m Sunset Shimmer, a normal girl, with a normal life, at a normal school, with normal friends.”
“B-but—“
Sunset shook her head. “I know it’ll be hard to give up on Equestria like this, but even if the portal closes forever, we’ll still be in each other’s memories, won’t we? And besides,” She continued with a half-grin, “we just might be able to talk through the journals still.”
“Sunset.” Twilight began, taking her friend’s hands, “Are you sure that you’re ready for this? Ready to be completely on your own, away from all of those who—“
“No.” The girl replied, pulling her hands from Twilight’s grasp, “I’m sure that I’m not ready, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for doing this, but you’re wrong, Twilight. I’ve still got friends here, remember? Y’know, this world’s version of… well, them.”
“Sunse—“
“I’ve completely changed since the Fall Formal, Twilight.” Sunset turned her head away from her friend. “Before I learned how to make friends, before I met you, I only had the thought of returning to Equestria on my mind. But now?” She chuckled for a moment before regaining her composure. “Heck, I’d be lucky if I even remembered that I was a unicorn at all. I’ve remade myself, Twilight. I’m not the mare who greedily stole your crown anymore. I don’t want to go back.”
Twilight shook her head. “Look, Sunset. Celestia told me herself to come back here one last time to bring you back. She wants to see you again, Sunset. She wants to see the filly that she guided over the years, the filly that grew and grew before her very eyes. She wants to see—“
“She wants to see the filly that turned around to nearly stab her in the back.” Sunset deadpanned, “Twilight. We’ve already gone over this before. I don’t want to go back to Equestria, not when I’ve worked so hard to make the new me over here in this world. If… if I go back to Equestria, I’d be losing all of that.” The girl glanced towards the portal again, its surface slowly fading from its once colorful hues into more of a mirror-like sheen. “The ponies back there only know me as the mare who committed high treason against a Princess of Equestria, not the upbeat teenage girl who just wants to live her life.”
“Please, Sunset.” Twilight pleaded, “Just do this for Celestia. She’s the one who raised you, who taught you everything you know. She’s the reason why you’re the way you are; determined, thoughtful, ambitious.”
Sunset scoffed. “Yeah,” She continued, “and the reason why I became hard-headed, selfish, mean to pretty much everybody, and pretty much just an all-around jerk. Celestia’s great and all, but personally, I think she’d be better off leading Equestria, not raising adopted foals.”
“C’mon, just—“
“I honestly have to say that this is a bit selfish of me, but I’d prefer to stay here, Twilight.” Sunset cut in once more, “It’s everything I want. Everything I’ll probably ever want, even. I’d rather care less about Equestria now. Especially when life is going so smoothly for the very first time.”
“Sunset!” Twilight scolded, playfully smacking her friend on the shoulder, “How about you stop interrupting and let me finish for once?”
“Fine, fine.” Sunset smirked, “And just when I thought that I could get away with cutting you off every so often, too.”
Twilight folded her arms. “Now then. As I was saying, at least come back for a couple hours, Sunset. One last time wouldn’t hurt, would it? And besides, Celestia isn’t the only one who wanted to see you again…”
Sunset raised a brow. “Oh?” She began, “Who else, then?”
A blush formed over Twilight’s cheeks. “…Me?”
“Hm.” Sunset grumbled, “And here I was just talking about how selfish I used to be.”
Twilight shook herself out of her stupor. “S-sorry about that.” She dismissed with a wave of her hand, “I… I don’t quite know what got into me at that moment.”
Sunset shot a glance towards the evening sun, then towards the violently pulsing portal. “Twilight.” She began slowly, “I think it’s time for you to go now, before you’re stuck here in this world with me. I don’t want to make this harder than it already is for me. Just… go, Twilight. I’ll be fine here.”
“Sunset, no—“
With a heave, Sunset shoved her friend back through the portal, a bright flash filling her vision moments after as the portal imploded. “Goodbye, Twilight.” The girl murmured, her teary eyes focusing on the sooty hole that was once the portal. “Goodbye, Equestria. I’ll miss you.”
“Sunset!” A voice from behind the girl exclaimed.
“Sunset!” The voice repeated again, audibly closer.
Twilight Sparkle—this world’s Twilight, stopped a few feet from Sunset. “Sunset?” She began slowly, reaching towards the girl, “Is something wrong?”
Sunset sank to her knees and wept, the glimmering shards of the portal encircling the base of the statue and herself.
Author's Note
Also, here's the Author's note for the chapter.
Thank you all for reading. This story was written by TheMajorTechie in collaboration with Evictus, Saberking2012, and Skittle Sky.
Notes from TheMajorTechie:
After this story, I will no longer consider myself as an editor for Evictus, but I will still stick around in the comments. Until next time, peace out, y'all. 