Sunset Shimmer was livid.
She had just been dismissed for the tutelage of Princess Celestia because she had been unlucky enough to be caught in the restricted archives researching so called forbidden magic.
Now she was being escorted from the palace by a pair of guards after Princess Celestia had ordered her removed from the palace.
Sunset tightened her hands around the straps of her backpack in anger.
'She showed me all these things, all those possibilities and she just throws me away when I try to attain the potential she saw in me. She knows I should be a princess damn it!"' Sunset thought to herself with a growl.
The path from her quarters, where Sunset was able to gather her meager personal possessions, took them past a certain room.
Sunset noticed this and quickly made a plan and enacted it.
As they approached the door, she quickly charged her horn and fired off a pair of force blasts that sent the pair of guards flying into the walls.
Sunset heard their groans as she shoved the door open and ran towards the mirror that Celestia had told her was a portal created by Starswirl the Bearded.
She touched the surface of the mirror, causing ripples to form where her fingertips touched the silvery surface. She smirked, nebulous plans forming to get her revenge and show the Princess just how worthy she was.
"Sunset Shimmer! Don't!" Shouted Princess Celestia as she entered the room, panic written on her face.
"You can't stop me! Not anymore!" Sunset yelled back as she jumped through the portal.
The strange thing about magic and magical items, especially those that rely on certain celestial events to function, is that another celestial event can cause it to behave in a way that was never expected or indeed, even theorized by their creators due to a lack of understanding.
In the case of the mirror portal, Starswirl the Bearded, while a very intelligent and learned wizard, he didn't understand things like solar maximums and minimums or coronal mass ejections.
In fact, just minutes before Sunset leapt through the portal, what would be classified as a 'X3' class coronal mass ejection by a society that had a deeper understanding of the bodies in their star system.
However, the world that the nation of Equestria was a part of did not have this understanding, even as the sciences began to learn more about the world around them. There was no way to observe the local star with more than a telescope with a filter but, even if such a technology existed, due to the reverence for Princess Celestia, many who would be best suited to study the behavior on the star refused to entertain even the idea of looking upon the star with a critical eye due to an unspoken dogma.
This meant, that the studious and usually cautious unicorn that Sunset Shimmer was, she had no idea that a massive wave of high energy particles were about to slam into the upper atmosphere of Terra.
As she made her leap, the wave struck the upper atmosphere, interacting with the magnetic fields that protected the planet from the stellar radiation put out by their star, generating auroras over the city of Canterlot, bringing the busy streets to a standstill at the unexpected site so far south.
The mirror, merely completed its task of transporting the user to a different dimension, however due to the interference of the radiation, missed its target.
Sunset stepped out of the other side of the mirror with a victorious smile on her face, until she slipped off the ledge that the other end of the portal was located on.
She fell to the hard metal surface of the floor. Rolling onto her back, she looked up to see the swirling portal flicker and then collapse in on itself with a loud pop.
It was at this moment a hatch across the room slid open.
"I think I found the source of the radiation." A male voice said. "It looks like it is in storage room E561. What the hell?"
Sunset turned to look at the man who was startled by her presence in the room.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in here?" He asked gruffly. "These decks are restricted to authorized personnel." He said as he moved towards Sunset.
Sunset, not wanting to get captured so soon after escaping from the Royal Guards, she quickly got to her feet and rushed past the man, ducking under his grasping arms.
She moved out of the hatch as she heard the man yell for security, but she paid him no mind as she charged down the corridor.
She found another hatch that was open and charged through it, finding herself in a warehouse area with large machines and hundreds of people moving crates of various sizes around the area.
She made her way around the edge of the room until she reached the opposite side, duckingf through a hatch that had been opened by a worker entering the massive room.
She continued moving through the corridors, hiding from any of the strange, furless creatures that came her way.
Soon enough she found herself in what appeared to be a more civilian area of whatever structure she had found herself in.
As she walked she walked past a window, but didn't immediately take note of it as she tried to figure out where to go next.
A flash outside the window drew her attention, making her look towards it, causing her to gasp in shock at the sight of deep space and the numerous craft of all sizes moving around in all directions outside the window.
"There she is!" A voice called out, causing her to turn.
Her eyes widened at the sight of a half dozen armored figures with strange weapons pointed at her.
She took off running again, but only got a couple of steps before her muscles locked up and she fell onto her face.
Sunset found herself cuffed to a table in an interrogation room. When she was captured, they had taken a sample of her blood, pictures of her face, scanned her fingers and hands, and shined a light in her eye to 'scan her retina' as she was told.
Soon, a middle aged female entered the room, holding a tablet.
"You have been the cause of a great many headaches for my staff and I today young lady." The woman said. "My name is Administrator Mela Tines of the Federation station Cook Gateway. And you, young lady, don't show up in any database, be it Federal, Imperial, or Alliance." She said glaring at Sunset. "As far as we can tell from security footage, you just appeared in that storage room in a burst of Chernkov radiation. The medical scans show no ill effects on you, which is odd, but of little importance to me other than the fact you are not a health risk to be around. What is of importance is that I now have another mouth to feed on a station with a population of nearly a million and I have no idea whether or not you will be an asset or a liability. To that end, I am turning you over to the Federal orphanage in the Duamta system. Your transport will be leaving shortly. Good day to you and I hope the next time you are on my station, you are doing something productive."
Sunset sat in awe as the couple of times she had tried to speak through the woman's tirade were quickly overridden by a tired and stressed beaurocrat. She was quickly taken from the room by a pair of security personnel who had her fitted with something called a Remlock suit, a tight form fitting garment that they said would protect her if she was exposed to vacuum.
Not quite understanding what that meant she followed as her escorts took her to a hangar bay. The commander of the vessel she was to board, a ship named the Celestial Wayfarer, lead her to the small cabin she would be in for the duration of the trip with strict orders not to leave the cabin during the voyage.
The trip didn't last long, only a few hours that were punctuated by the many sounds of the ship as it traversed the stars. Thankfully her cabin had a screen that she was able to work out that showed the outside of the ship, though most of the time was in some strange dark dimension that seemed to whisper to her through the speakers in the cabin. Soon enough they had reached their destination. The commander handed her over to the representative of the orphanage and Sunset Shimmer, after a short argument about her name, was a registered citizen of the Federation.
Sunset entered the small room she had been given in the orphanage. It was approximately three meters by eight meters with a small twin sized bed, a desk, and a small set of shelves for trinkets. Other than that, it was completely barren and emotionless.
Sunset dropped her backpack that she had managed to keep and the duffle bag of clothing and toiletries she had been issued onto the desk and sat down on the bed.
After a moment, the stress of the day caught up with her and tears began to make their way down her cheeks.
With what little she had seen, any of the nebulous plans that she had for getting her revenge on Celestia had evaporated. She was trapped in this strange new dimension and, as far as she could tell, had no way of getting home. She had lost access to her magic, one of the most important things about her.
Now, she was adrift, almost literally, as she found herself in a galaxy where the fates of trillions of people were decided by the few. And it wasn't the beaurocrats or the politicians. It was the members of the Pilot's Federation that decided the fates of the galaxy at large. They could make or break alliances and either save or doom a star system. Though she knew none of this, Sunset's fate now rested in the hands of the Elite.
Author's Note
Huzzah! Yet another new story. This time set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. I hope I can capture the vastness that is Elite: Dangerous, while not boring you all too much. Let me know what you think!
The next day found Jackie waking up to the sight of her new roommate, the strange girl named Sunset Shimmer, sitting in a half lotus position and seemingly meditating. Shrugging to herself, she grabbed a change of clothes and went to the dorm's lavatory to get ready for the day.
Sunset was indeed meditating. She had woken a couple of hours earlier and already taken care of her morning ablutions and made a discovery that shook her.
Her cutie mark, the familiar yin-yang sun that had adorned her shoulders for the past few years, was gone. In her haste and disorientation the previous morning she had missed its absence.
That coupled with her lack of a horn, had sent her into a momentary spiral of dark emotions. She quickly pulled herself out of it, and after getting dressed for the day, had set herself to meditating.
She was growing more and more worried as time passed that she was without her magic at all, but as she was just about to give up, she felt a flicker of the familiar warmth that was her magic.
In her mind's eye, what was once a raging inferno of powerful magic was now a small ember, barely anything to make note of back home. But here, in a place that as far as she could tell, had no magic whatsoever, it was tremendous. All she had to do was coax that ember back into being a fire and she would have her magic again.
'But what good will it do me?' Sunset thought as she came out of her meditation. 'Magic, as far as I can tell, isn't the norm here. For all I know, if I started to show off my magic, I would wind up in some government laboratory somewhere and no one would miss me. Just another missing person out of millions. Probably billions. No one would care. No, magic won't do me any good here. I need to learn. Find out what I need to do to survive. Find out the players on this galactic stage so I know who to avoid pissing off and who to make friends with.'
At that thought, Jackie exited the lavatory and saw that she was back to paying attention to her surroundings.
"Hey, glad to see you're properly awake." Jackie said. "It's almost time ta get ta classes. I am sure that they are gonna want ta test ya before they get ya started with any lessons."
Sunset nodded. "Probably. Well, lead the way." She replied.
Jackie gave a smile and waved for Sunset to follow. "Alright Sunny! Let's go!"
Several hours later, Jackie was sitting across from Sunset in the canteen near the school after classes watching with a bemused expression as Sunset rapidly demolished several plates of food.
"Land's sakes girl, slow down. It ain't going nowhere." Jackie chided gently.
"Honestly Jaqueline, how many times have I asked you to work on your elocution?" A refined voice called out.
Jackie turned to a girl about her age, but more finely dressed and with, of all things, purple hair. "Tabs, I talk how I talk. It has served me fine up until now and it will for a long time." She replied.
"I do wish you wouldn't use nicknames either, but I guess it would be a lost cause." The girl, Tabs, said. "Now who is this, er, delightful young lady?"
"Tabs, this is Sunset Shimmer. She is a new intake to the orphanage, just arrived the other day. Sunny, this is Tabatha Belle. Her family runs the one of the clothing shops on this station and a few others. She is in one of the more advanced classes." Jackie said.
Tabatha smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet Miss Shimmer. I do hope they are treating you well at the orphanage. If you need anything to spice up your wardrobe, let me know and I will do what I can." She said.
Sunset nodded, not wanting to speak through the mouthful of food she was currently chewing.
"They gave her a knowledge test this morning and then got her started with catching up her education to fill in the holes." Jackie explained. "It was her first time learning the way we do out here in the black."
Tabatha's eyes widened. "Oh dear, that must have been an experience darling. What did they have her set at?" She asked Jackie.
"Four ta one, I think. Relatively gentle and not too much of an overload." Jackie replied. "Though, she did come out of it with that 'l know kung fu' look on her face and demanding food." She added waving to the now sated Sunset.
"That was delicious." Sunset said as she leaned back in her seat. "I'm not sure what that was a reference to, but I learned so much, a lot more than I expected to for the few hours I was in there."
"Yup. That's the beauty of advanced technology. By stimulating certain areas of yer brain, they can make it seem like hours have gone by, when it is only minutes." Jackie replied. "Granted, you don't want to turn it too high, otherwise your brains start leaking out yer ears."
"Don't be so dramatic Jaqueline." Tabatha said.
"I'm not. Didn't you hear about that moron a couple of weeks ago?" Jackie asked. "He got tired of the slow pace and overrode the safeties and set the system to a twenty-four ta one rate. When they found him, his brain was fried."
Sunset gulped. "That sounds horrible." She said.
"It was. Learnin' center was closed for a few days while they cleaned up the mess and made sure that it couldn't be replicated." Jackie explained. "It was enough of a warning for most of us, but there is always someone dumb enough to try it to get ahead."
Sunset nodded at that. She remembered a few occasions when another student at Celestia's school had pushed themselves too far and had nearly died as a result of overestimating their capabilities. This was a similar situation, just with technology rather than magic.
"Are there ways that you can safely go higher on the time dilation effect?" She inquired.
"Well, one can get implants that can help, but those are generally restricted to either the military or those that can afford them outright." Tabatha said, brushing her purple hair behind one ear. "They are exoberently expensive and a lot can go wrong if not properly installed, so they are very hard to come by."
Sunset nodded. "What is the military like?" She asked.
"Well, that depends upon which one you mean. There are three primary factions in the galaxy. The Federation, the Empire, and the Alliance. All three are in a state of cold war, using proxies to shift the borders. There are also several factions within those three as well, all of them jockeying for more influence." Tabatha explained. "Currently, and most likely for the foreseeable future, this system is in Federation space. We are quite deep within it, but with all the major and minor factions within the Federation, who exactly is in overall control of it changes on a semi-regular basis."
"Who are the proxies that these factions use to affect the balance of power?" Sunset asked, curious about how the politics of the galaxy could be so fluid.
"The Pilot's Federation." Jackie answered. "My brother was a member and would do missions to bring the credits in between the big harvests. They're a group of independent commanders who fly for whoever they see fit to fly for. Only thing they respect is ability. When you're flying in the black, you have to be good, or you're dead."
Sunset awoke the next morning, or she assumed that it was morning even though it felt like she had just lay down to sleep and there was no sun to mark the passage of time, to the chime on her room's door going off. She staggered to her feet and made her way to the door. After a moment of inspecting the door in her still half asleep state, she was able to open the door.
'Ah, Ms. Shimmer. I am Eliza Song, the assistant director of this orphanage. I am in charge of our new intakes." The woman at the door, Eliza greeted. "Oh dear, your poor hair. Follow me and you can get tidied up a bit."
Eliza motioned for Sunset to follow her. Sunset followed, a bit bemused by the whole situation.
'How is it that everyone is taking an alien in their midst so well.' Sunset thought to herself.
They stopped just down the hall from Sunset's room.
"This is one of the sonic showers. It isn't as good as a water shower, but it gets the job done. We unfortunately don't rank high enough on the station's list for those that can have water in their showers." Eliza grumbled the last to herself. "There are fresh clothes and all the toiletries you will need inside."
Sunset opened the door and looked inside before looking back to Eliza.
"Ummm, thank you, but could you explain how to use it? I have never used one before." Sunset said sheepishly.
Eliza's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. I just assumed that you came from some place that used them." She apologized before showing Sunset how to use the shower.
Sunset exited the shower feeling clean, and after glancing in the mirror after Eliza left the room, she realized that the portal had turned her into one of the beings, human, she had caught in conversation on the first station she had been on, just with pale white skin, and her hair had lightened from its vibrant red and gold, but still maintained the streaks.
"You said you thought I came from some place that had showers like this? What gave you that idea?" Sunset inquired as she adjusted the tunic she was wearing.
"The report that we were given was that you had stowed away on a cargo vessel and had gotten off on Cook Gateway. It said that you had just managed to escape a pirate raid on the base where the ship originated from." Eliza explained.
"Oh, well. I hadn't been there very long. I have been meandering my way around for a while. The last pilot found me and chucked me off at Cook Gateway." Sunset replied, rolling with the story the station administrator must have come up with but failed to brief her on. Thankfully, she had learned to lie through her teeth by observing court at Celestia's side. "Where are we going now?"
"Well after we get your belongings, we are going to the infirmary to get you checked out. See what immunizations you need and if you need any of the standard gene therapies." Eliza explained.
"Gene therapies?" Sunset inquired. Genes were not an unknown concept to her, but the research into them in Equestria was rudimentary at best.
"Yes. Since we are in space for most of our lives, either on stations like this or on ships, there are many things that we miss out on, like proper gravity and sunlight." Eliza explained. "The gene therapies help with countering the effects of the different gravity ratings of stations and planets throughout the galaxy and the lack of vitamin D from lack of natural sunlight. There is only so much the sun lamps can do to counter the deficiencies. They also help with the muscle density losses as well."
"Interesting." Sunset replied, once again overwhelmed by the staggering advances this human society had made. They were literal light years beyond what Equestria was, where they thought the electric light was a quaint curiosity.
"Then once we have the doctor take a look at you and we can properly determine your age by the Federation standard, we can work on figuring out where you are with your schooling and get you started with that." Eliza replied.
"Oh, well, I'm not sure how well that is going to go. I kinda figured out how to use the monitor on the ship I was brought here on by trial and error and the same with the door this morning. I know what is probably basic reading, writing, and maths, possibly some sciences as well, but I doubt I am up to your standards." Sunset replied nervously. Which was true. She had done well with her basic primary school education, but after she had become Celestia's personal student, those had become soft subjects that she devoted little time to in favor of her arcane studies. 'Really kicking myself for not keeping up with the basics now.' She thought to herself as the pair reached the infirmary after gathering her meager belongings.
"Ah, you must be Ms. Shimmer. I am Dr. Buran. It is a pleasure to meet you." A kindly middle aged man introduced himself.
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well Doctor." Sunset replied with a smile that she didn't quite feel. She HATED doctors with a passion. Mostly because of the needles.
"Well, hop up on the bed there and lie down. We will get started with a scan to see what we are working with, and then develop a treatment plan." He said, gesturing to a bed positioned on the wall.
Sunset lay down on the bed after placing her bag on a chair. Once she was comfortable, the doctor pressed a few buttons and an arm above the bed began to pass over her, a yellowish light playing along her skin.
Once it was complete, she waited patiently for the doctor to tell her about all of the shots that she would need.
"Well, looks like blood type A-, height 1.56 meters, weight 54.8 kilos, age is 13 by Federation standards, and no gene therapy packages whatsoever and no immunizations either." Dr. Buran said out loud. "Well then my dear. It looks like you have slipped through a few cracks. Thankfully you are as healthy as can be despite no immunizations and gene therapies. But let's get that sorted right now."
Sunset froze. This was going to mean a lot of needles wasn't it.
She was surprised when there was a cold feeling on her neck and a slight pinch.
"What was that?" She asked as she put a hand to her neck.
"Oh, just a basic hypo injection. It is a cocktail of immunizations and things to kick start the gene therapies that was developed oh, a hundred and ninety years ago or so." Dr. Buran replied. "It is designed to work slowly as, while rare, there are occasionally groups that live separately from the rest of the galaxy. Namely those that were from the old generation ships that still have surviving crews. Most stay with their people, but some want to explore. This helps them do so and it bolsters their immune system as well as helping to correct for issues that the technology on the old ships didn't have the capability to properly treat."
"I see." Sunset replied. "Any side effects I should be aware of?"
"There are some, usually a marked increase in calorie consumption, but that is also part of the teenage years." Dr. Buran said with a wry smile. "But if you begin to feel out of sorts or you have any difficulties breathing, eating, drink, walking or speaking, come to me immediately, even if you have to have someone carry you." He said, his expression sobering.
Sunset nodded with a gulp before thanking the doctor and leaving with Eliza.
"Don't like doctors?" Eliza asked.
"Not particularly." Sunset replied.
"Well, thanks to the immunizations that you were given and the kickstarter for the gene therapies, you won't have to go see any unless you become ill or are injured." Eliza said. "And even then, unless you have broken a bone, gotten a concussion, or somehow developed cancer, you won't be there but for longer than we were today. Once everything settles, you will be as healthy as an old Earth horse."
Sunset quirked an eyebrow at the phrase. "So now what?" She asked.
"Now, we get you settled into your permanent room." Eliza explained. "The room you were in last night was for temporary housing of new residents that hadn't been through medical yet. Now you will be assigned to the room you will be in for a few years."
"Is it a single room?" Sunset asked.
"Unfortunately not." Eliza said apologetically. "The rooms are two people per. We just don't have the space right now to allow for a more private setup. This is the best we can do on this station."
Sunset sighed. "At least it is only one other person." She replied. "Who am I going to be rooming with?"
"Hmmm, let me see." Eliza said as she consulted her tablet. "It looks like you will be with a Jaqueline Apple. She is a relatively recent intake as well, she is just a few months older than you. As to why she is here, well that is her story to tell." Eliza sighed. "She puts up a strong front, but we, the adults at least, can tell that she is still having difficulties and that she probably will be for a while. Maybe you can help her. Just, be gentle, please."
Sunset nodded at the woman's pleading gaze. She herself actually was an orphan in Equestria, but she was very young when it happened, so she knew just how sore a spot it could be not having any family, but to become orphaned at her current age, she couldn't imagine the pain.
Eliza pressed the call button on panel next to the door.
A couple of moments later, the door opened up and a pale, freckle faced blonde appeared, seemingly put out at being disturbed.
"What do y'all want? I thought I said I wanted to be left- oh, Miss Eliza. Sorry about that, didn't realize it was you." The girl said.
"It's alright Jaqueline." Eliza said with a small smile. "I brought your new roommate. I do hope you read my message that I sent this morning."
Jaqueline blinked owlishly before turning to her terminal, which had a blinking light, indicating an unread message. "Uh, it looks like I might have missed seeing that." She drawled out awkwardly.
"Yes, well this is Sunset Shimmer. She is just a couple of months younger than you." Eliza said. "I know that you would prefer to remain roomed by yourself, but unfortunately, you have the room with a bed for another girl."
"Ah understand. Can't be helped that ya just don't got the space for everyone you are takin' care of." Jaqueline said before turning to Sunset. "Pleasure to meet ya. Name's Jaqueline Apple, but you can just call me Jackie."
"Sunset Shimmer. No nicknames here." Sunset said, extending her hand and getting a firm handshake that she felt like it was going to dislocate her shoulder.
"We'll come up with something I'm sure." Jackie replied. "Come on in sugarcube, let's get ya sorted out.
Sunset glanced at Eliza, who nodded, before entering the room.
Looking around she saw it was very spartan in appearance. Only some clothes strewn about and a rumpled bed that were obviously Jackie's on one side and another bed across from it. Both were built into the wall and had just enough space to for Sunset to sit up comfortably without hitting her head.
Jackie on the other hand had to slouch to keep from hitting her head.
"This side will be yours I guess. Ain't been here all that long and, well, Ah didn't exactly have time to pack anything before I got ejected from my...my family's ship." Jackie said, her voice hitching at the mention of her family.
Sunset dug the toe of her shoe into the deck plate she was standing on.
"Eliza mentioned that whatever happened was very recent, but that the details were yours to share." Sunset said, with a remarkable amount of tact and sincerity that she hadn't displayed in years. "If you want to talk about it, I'll be here to listen. I lost my family, my parents at least, when I was very young, so I don't remember them. The rest of the colony raised me, the administrator especially had taken me under her wing. I thought she was grooming me to be her replacement, but now, I'm not so sure." She added, crafting her backstory a bit more, altering some of the details of her true past to fit her new present and hopefully, future.
"Not much to tell really. Granny, my big brother Mac and little sister Bloom and I were in our freighter heading back from making a delivery from our hydroponics farm to the Maia system when something yanked us straight out of witchspace and knocked everything offline." Jackie said with a shrug. "Finally got power restored and we started taking fire before the shields could start to come back up. Granny and Bloom were in the first compartment hit. Mac and Ah were on the bridge. One minute alarms are going off alongside explosions, next Ah'm getting shoved into an escape pod by Mac and getting ejected into the black. I watched the power plant cook off before the pod knocked me out."
Though she told her story in such a nonchalant way, Jackie had tears running down her cheeks. Sunset then did something that she hadn't done before.
Jackie started when she felt someone impact her solid frame. She almost lashed out before realizing it was Sunset and she was hugging her.
"Wha?" Jackie managed in surprise.
"Shut up and accept the hug." Sunset said, her voice slightly muffled by the taller girl's shoulder. "I don't give these out all that often and you definitely deserve it."
Jackie gave a watery smile as she looked at the top of the weird girl's bacon colored hair. "Ah guess you're right." She said before returning the hug.
"I can't imagine how much it hurts to have gone through what you did, but I do know you need to let it out. That pain, that sorrow, it will eat you from the inside." Sunset said.
"You ain't gonna say I need to do that to make them proud of me are you?" Jackie asked, her voice slightly shaky.
"No, you have to do it for yourself. So you can live and not just exist." Sunset replied, squeezing tighter. "When I left my home, I expected to be able to do whatever I wanted. But after the last couple of days, seeing just how BIG the universe really is, I had to let go of my ego and the selfish ambition that was driving me. I am so far out of my depth I don't know what to do. Nothing I was taught could prepare me for all this. But what I do know, what I did learn, that my teacher wanted me to learn, and I guess I did despite my ego and thick skull, was that I can't do it alone. I need, friends. I think, so do you. Even if we are just roommates that put up with each other after this, I will be here for you, to help you get through this."
Jackie sobbed, both touched at the sincerity and kindness that Sunset was displaying, and as this strange newcomer was able to crack the seal on the hatch she had hidden her pain behind. The tears started to to come faster.
"It, it just hurts so damn much!" Jackie sobbed. "First Ma and Pa, now the rest of my family. Gone! What did I do to deserve this?!?"
Sunset merely held tightly to the other girl and as slowly as possible, eased them into a sitting position on the edge of Jackie's bed, the blonde's head nestled in the crook of her neck, whispering for her to let out the pain.
The pair stayed like this for a while, before Jackie had fallen asleep, worn out from the emotional release.
Sunset, as carefully as possible, maneuvered the taller, and heavier girl into a comfortable position on the bed and covered her up, letting her rest.
Sunset then crossed to her bed and sat down heavily.
'I guess I owe Celestia an apology when, IF, I get home. She tried to teach me things like kindness and compassion, but I just payed lip service to it.' Sunset thought as she observed the sleeping blonde. 'She knew that I could be so much better than I was. Just a shame it took all this to get the better, nicer, Sunset to come out. I don't doubt that in this universe I will have to be ruthless to survive, but having friends and ponies, people. Gotta remember that, people, to care about, will help to keep me grounded and keep me from loosing myself again. I just hope that if I do get to go home, I can take them with me and that they will forgive me from lying to them about my past. But for now, the lie has to work. From now until the time I can return home, I am Sunset Shimmer, orphan from an unknown space colony that stowed away on a freighter and got introduced to the wider universe. I have to be to survive.'
Author's Note
I hope Sunset's little monologue helps clear up the rapid change of her attitude and personality. The suddenness of everything overwhelmed her and she realized that, in this new and hostile environment, her ego was going to get her killed. Jackie's revelation about her family's deaths was the final blow to going it alone. She realized that this was why Celestia tried to teach her about friendship. She absorbed the lessons, but she discounted them because she had only known the other unicorns at Celestia's school and in the courts and saw that they were superficial, fake in their overtures of friendship, just trying to advance their station by using her connection to Celestia. Now, seeing the raw honesty of Jackie, she sees that not everyone is like that, she also remembers what it was like before she became Celestia's student and doesn't want anyone else to go through that.
