It was a hot day, the sun scorching down onto the earth furiously. Everyone was doing some sort of activity on the beach. Pinkie was eating ice-cream from the local vendor, Applejack was drinking some fizzy apple cider from the icebox, Rarity was under the umbrella, applying tanning lotion with Spike nearby, while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash joined the rolling waves out in the ocean. Sunset, on the other hand, was sitting by the waving, looking onward towards the beaming sun. Twilight wandered over to her orange friend, curiosity and worry her two main expressions at the moment.
“What are you doing here by yourself?” she asked.
It wasn’t until she spoke that Sunset snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, hey Twilight,” she responded. “I was just watching the ocean to make a reflection.”
Twilight noticed that she had evaded her question. But she couldn’t just turn a blind eye. She could sense something was off.
“Shouldn’t you hang out with them? They could use some knowledge,” Sunset giggled in a joking manner.
Twilight shook her head. “They’re having fun without me. Besides, I’d much rather talk to you, to be honest.”
“Really?” Sunset asked, feeling half perplexed. “What makes you think that they are having fun without you?
“Well, I tried to give them some interesting facts about the beach but they didn’t seem interested. I started off with talking about seashells but then they jumbled off something completely unrelated.” she laughed. “Like this one, for example:”
She showed her a picture of a sapphire necklace adorned with seashells on her smartphone. “That one… looks similar to every other shell here,” Sunset said, staring at the pretty picture with confusion.
“But that’s where you're wrong. If you look at the inside, it’s actually turquoise! And it’s got a different color to it. Each one is unique,” she said, pointing out various shells in the picture.
Sunset laughed as she looked at the seashell. Twilight laughed along as well. “You’re such a dork,” she chittered, gently nudging her.
“Says you,” Twilight shot back playfully.
They had a good laugh, gazing out at the beautiful sunset together. It was a breath away from their troubling dilemma. It was also short-lived, however, as Twilight looked back at her with the same concerned expression.
“Hey, Sunset?” She looked over at her. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“What is it?” Sunset asked.
Twilight fidgeted as she tried to find the words. Sunset knew it had to be something important. “Well… I know you told me how the other Twilight got here and why she came here in the first place, but… You never told me why you came here. You must've had a reason to come here,” she asked.
Sunset sighed. She felt it was bad enough that the girls already knew. But Twilight was the last person that Sunset wanted to explain. “...It’s best that you don’t know,” she answered.
Twilight had a confused look on her face as Sunset started to feel depressed. But Twilight had to know. “Huh? Why? Is it really horrible?” she asked.
“...That’s one way to put it…” Sunset answered hesitantly.
“You can tell me. I know you don’t like thinking about the past but…” Twilight grabbed her hand and added in a more gentle tone, “I don’t like seeing my friends suffering. I promise that whatever you tell me, will stay between us. So please…Let me in. Don’t keep me in the dark...” she said, touching Sunset’s shoulder.
Sunset thought for a moment about what to do next. Knowing that Twilight would eventually figure out her past, Sunset had no other choice. She sighed and looked right at her.
“...It all started a few years back. Sometime before I join this world… I was Celestia's apprentice and was next in line to be her protege.
Unfortunately, I was not as clean as Twilight back in the pony world... She told me that I was impatient and manipulative. I didn’t care about that. I was under her wing for years, always loyal, obedient and ready and yet, unprepared! She kept telling me that ‘Patience is the Key’ and ‘My Time Would Come.’
While I had the magic, she deemed me unworthy... I was furious with her when she tossed me out of the castle. All I wanted was to make her proud. Was that too much to ask? So I waited until she was asleep to get the crown. All in the name of revenge.
Of course, it wasn’t easy as there were guards everywhere, so my chances were slim. Taking them out wasn’t an issue for me. It was the fact that Celestia kept it so close. Unfortunately, that didn’t work into my favor so I ran away into the mirror, biding my time. I attempted to try again sometime later and this time, I was… somewhat successful. Once I took the crown, I was pursued by Twilight and her friends. All the way to the portal. I lost control of myself and tried to face her head-on.
Unfortunately, it proved to be in vain as she took me down with ease.”
She grabbed her chest and felt her heart pulsing. It was so much for her to take in. Especially hearing this from her new friend. She looked away for a moment to try and think.
“So… what did she do?” Twilight asked in a perplexed yet quiet voice.
Sunset looked back at her with immense guilt. There was completely no way for her to turn back now. Sunset breathed a heavy sigh and spoke further.
“Despite her aim to return the crown, I noticed sorrow in her eyes. She had no intent to take my life or humiliate me. She just wanted to do the right thing. But hatred had hardened my heart then, I had no intent to take pity from any-pony. When Twilight came to this world... She tried to save me, even as I continued to fight her. She didn’t even make any attempt to fight back despite having the advantage over me. At the time, I didn’t understand why she held back. But once I realized I wasn’t going to win, I fled and came to this world in hopes that I can achieve my dreams.
Even after getting the crown though, I still lost… because of their friendship...” She looked out to the ocean and took a deep, melancholy breath. “I’m not going to sit here and say I don’t regret what I did back then… I had my reasons for what I did. They were petty, but they were reasons… I just wish I had known sooner... But sitting here now, thinking about my past and what I did, the only people who know this is Celestia and now, you. So if you hate me now or see me as this big, ugly monster...I don’t blame you. I don’t even trust myself…”
Twilight had a lot to take in. She was both shocked and saddened to hear what Sunset did. She had no idea what to make of Sunset now, having heard her entire story. But she knew one thing.
“Sunset,” she began softly, “I could never hate you. You may have done some bad things in your life, but look at what you’ve done after all that. You’ve risked your life, you changed your ways and redeemed me. I can’t think of too many people who would be willing to risk their lives to save someone like me. And besides, nobody’s perfect, right?” She smiled at the teenage girl gently and opened her arms out to embrace her.
Sunset returned the gesture gratefully. It was a nice feeling. At least after everything that she had just said.
“Thanks for hearing me out,” Sunset said, feeling relief course through her body.
“That’s what friends are for!” Twilight beamed at Sunset. In a more hushed tone, she added, “I only want you to do one thing.”
Sunset looked at her with confusion, a worried frown creeping onto her face. “Tell me?”
Twilight nodded, “If you ever start querying yourself, or something is eating away at you, talk to me. Day or night, I’ll always listen.”
Sunset nodded and looked down at the ocean below. The big blue waves splashed and rolled gently onto the sparkly beach. “We should probably go back now. They’re probably wondering what is going on.” She decided after a long moment of comfortable silence. Sunset gestured to the group with her head.
Twilight nodded slightly and they returned to their spot. Sunset was incredibly relieved to have told someone what had transpired, and how she had become corrupt. It was something she could never, ever forget.
