Can Sunrise Come After Sunset?by Autum BreezeChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3PrologueCan Sunrise Come After Sunset? Prologue ___________________________________________________________ “What… what happened?” Sunset Shimmer stared out and the open, empty, dark landscape before her, her eyes wide with horror, her face ashened. She had gone through the portal to see what information she could gather during the three day time limit the portal would be open. However, the moment she’d passed through, something had felt off. The world just felt… wrong. Her point of arrival had been off too. Normally, she’d find herself coming out in a room within Canterlot Castle and it was merely a matter of navigating through it to avoid being spotted while gathering what information she could. This time, though, the portal had revealed her to be in what she could best describe as a crumbling stone building, like a barracks or something. The place had clearly seen better days. In fact, she’d been surprised the ceiling hadn’t already caved in. What awaited her outside was not something she ever could’ve expected. Not even in her worst nightmares. She wasn’t even sure where she was in Equestria, because it had nothing to compare to her previous ventures back. If this was Canterlot, it was completely unrecognizable. Aside from the small building she’d arrived in, there were no buildings. It was as if the entire city had been turned to sand and ash. The sky was wrong too. She had no idea what time of day or night it was, because all that was visible of the sky was grey emptiness with the faintest wisps of cloud. A cold, lifeless wind was blowing, causing occasional puffs of the dirt to rises up and pass her. “This… this is wrong!” Sunset whispered, her voice hoarse. “Princess Celestia? Anypony? Hello?!” All that answered was the wind. No sounds to indicate life came back to her. Panic filled Sunset’s body. This was all wrong. Her body was screaming that everything was wrong. Turning tail, she hurried back through the empty landscape to the crumbled remains of the building she’d arrived in and ran towards the mirror. However, her horror only grew as, instead of passing through the reflective surface, she slammed head on, bouncing right back, skidding along the ground for a moment. Once her head stopped pounding from the blunt force impact, what just happened caught up with her. “No!” she screamed, running to the portal and placing her hooves on the cold surface. “It can’t be closed already! It’s not even been half a day!” Lighting her horn, she tried to force the mirror to activate, to make the portal reopen. Maybe it just needed a magical push. Maybe… maybe… Her eyes widened further as, right before her eyes, the mirror in her magic lost the magical glow of her aura. “What in the…?” the unicorn looked up at her horn and tried to cast the spell again… only for her fear to magnify as the magic on her horn flared, right before fizzling out. For several moments Sunset tried desperately to cast a spell, any spell, but it did nothing. It was like her magic was gone. “No,” she whispered, before frantically pawing at the mirror, hoping, pleading for her hooves to pass through the reflective surface. “No, no, no, no, NO!” She probably spent hours trying to light her horn and pawing on the mirror, only for her efforts to yeild nothing. “Princess Celestia!” she scream in absolute panic, leaping to her hooves and galloping away, desperately looking for anything, anyone. “Princess Cadenza? Anypony?!” ___________________________________________________________ Sunset lay where she was, atop the pile of ragged blankets that counted for a bed. The empty structure she was counting as a dwelling was the best of the few remaining structures in what was once the grand city of Manehatten. She only knew it was Manehatten though, because of an extremely faded sign that was buried halfway through one of the far worse off remaining structures, barely able to make out “Manehatten Beauty Salon” due to the missing letters and how faded those that remained were. She would’ve had no clue she was in Manehatten otherwise, the world looked the same, no matter where she went, grey, lifeless. In a word, empty. Sunset had no concept of time anymore. With no sun or moon visible to indicate the time of day, it all had blurred together. The only way she could vaguely tell the time anymore was when she ate and when she slept. Beyond that, time was meaningless. She could’ve been travelling for days, maybe months, she just couldn’t tell. Sunset had hoped she could find someone, anyone, anything living, to help her understand just what had happened to Equestria since she last came through the portal, but… nothing. She lay there, not knowing what else to do. A small voice in the back of her mind told her it was pointless, that she must be the only living beign left in Equestria. She had no purpose anymore, no reason to go on. She should just… end it. The thought terrified Sunset… but it was so sound as well. What point was there in living when you’re literally the only thing left in the entire world? She gave a slight shake of the head, faintly pushing the thought aside… though with more effort than she liked to admit. She had to keep hope that somebody was out there. She couldn’t be the only one left. There just had to be others. She gave a dry laugh. Even she was sure if she was telling true or just lying to herself. Her stomach sent a signal that she soon would have to eat again. Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? She didn’t know. It didn’t feel like it mattered anymore. She looked up lazily, her eyes moving slowly over the empty grey sky. She’d give anything to see it blue again, just once, even if only for a moment. Suddenly, two ponies appeared right before her eyes. One was pink, with a mess of purple and white for her mane and tail and what looked like a screw and baseball for a Cutie Mark. She was wearing some kind of propeller beanie on her head. The other was a more purpleish-pink, with a purple with turquoise highlights mane and tail and a Cutie Mark that looked kind of light a shooting star. Sunset leapt up, if a little clumsily, in fright, her eyes wide. Then, her eyes began to water as joy and desperation filled her heart and she rushed forward, hugging the two tightly. It took everything she had not to start bawling her eyes out as she felt them in her forelimbs. The feeling of holding others close to you, the warmth of another living being… she thought she’d never get the chance to feel this ever again. “Sweet Celestia. I thought I was the only pony left.” She pulled back with great difficulty (she’d gone so long without contact with anything else, the urge to hold them forever was so strong), looking from the purplish pony to the pink one, both she realized now were mares. “What happened to Equestria? Where’s Princess Celestia? Why won’t my magic work? Where’ve you two been? What’s going on?” The pink mare glanced at the other, who looked down, her expression showing shame, of all things. The pink mare sighed, looking to Sunset and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Sunset… I’m sorry. This world is dead.” Sunset just stared… failing to understand. “What…? What do you mean… dead?” Yes, that was something she had considered more times than she liked to admit, but surely it wasn’t true. Equestria couldn’t actually be dead. There was no way. There had to be something, someone else out there. Someone who could fix this somehow. Get the world back on track… restore her magic. The pink mare sighed again, looking to her companion once more. “There was a very misguided pony.” She looked back to Sunset. “A unicorn. She led herself to believe Cutie Marks are evil and wanted to make all of Equestria equal.” Sunset felt like making a snarky remark. Cutie Marks, evil? Who would be immature enough to come up with a stupid idea like that? “One day, Princess Celestia and her long lost sister, Princess Luna—” Princess Celestia’s sister came back? “—went to stop her after a single pony managed to escape in the dead of night and made it to Canterlot. When they arrived, the unicorn took both their Cutie Marks, taking away their ability to keep the Sun and Moon moving.” Sunset’s eyes widened in horror. Even Princess Celestia lost her Cutie Mark to that crazed mare? Just how powerful was this pony? “And, with day and night out of sync… the whole world suffered. By the time the unicorn realized her mistake…” the pink mare’s voice grew heavy, “it was too late.” Sunset just stared at the mare… not wanting to believe a single word she’d just uttered. “No…” she took several steps back, shaking her head. It couldn’t be true. It just… it just wasn’t possible. “No, you’re lying.” She tried to force her to admit to it. “It… it can’t be true. It… it just can’t.” “It is… Sunset,” the other mare murmured quietly, before everything else fell away. Sunset stood there, her last words to Princess Celestia ringing in her ears. You’re a hypocrite! You don’t even have friends! All through her travels, she’d hoped—no, needed to find Princess Celestia. She needed to apologize. To beg for her forgivness. If Equestria was truly dead and Celestia with it.... “I… I can’t…” “Sunset.” Her head darted up as she felt a hoof on her shoulder, only to see it was the pink mare, giving her a firm, but sad expression with... Sunset could see her eyes. They had no pupils. They were just purple spirals. How had she never noticed that before? How had it happened to this mare? Any plans to ask any relating questions were halted by the mare’s next words. “This world is gone. You’re only hope is the other world, the one you went to after you abandoned Celestia’s teachings.” Sunset just stared at her, the words slowly processing through her mind… before her body sagged. She slumps to the floor, her legs having lost the will to keep her up as the weight of everything came crashing down around her. “I… I should’ve stayed there. The portal won’t open anymore. Nothing I do would open it. I can’t go back… I don’t even have anything to go back to.” Sunset flinched as the pink mare gave an angry snort, stomping a hoof. “You do have something and someone to return to, Sunset Shimmer,” she said with a firm resolve Sunset couldn’t understand. “I will take you back there myself. It will be the last time you travel between the two worlds, but you will be far better off there than if you stayed in this dead world.” Sunset gave the smallest of frowns. “How? You said so yourself. This world is dead.” Her voice went quieter as the words came out, the reality they spoke of causing what little was left of her spirit to fall as the hopelessness of it all finally caught up to her. “There’s no magic left. The portal is just an ordinary mirror now.” The two mares started talking, Sunset wasn’t sure what and, frankly, it didn’t matter. The two were clearly insane if they thought it was possible to just step itno the other world without a portal The only other remaining living being in their world besides her… and they’d bone gone insane. Sunset was suddenly taken aback when she felt one of them grab her hoof and looked up to see the pink mare, before her eyes widened as the mare reverted into a filly. The next thing she knew, she felt a familiar senseation… that made her very soul weep. Magic. The magic of the portal. The filly was speaking the truth. She was going back. Author's Note Yes. Another story. I really need to stop doing this. Okay, for context, thanks to my wrist (which, while definitely better than it was is STILL not back to 100%), i haven't been going down to the library as often i used to. The last time i did, i couldn't finish what i had been writing (the latest chapter of Twilight's Twinlight where Ken meets a certain nerdy girl in a way you would be quite surprised by), because, by the time i was able to do EVERYTHING my long absence from the library had left me to download AND write, i was as mentally out of it as Ken is at the point in the chapter I had to stop writing at because it was making no sense anymore. Probably didn't help that my body was likely coming down from the over a litre of coffee i'd had with breakfast (because i was an idiot who didn't think it through very well), so was VERY exhausted by 2pm. So, why did i start this then if i could barely finish that chapter last Friday and could've finished that instead? Honestly? Because i'm still trying to trust my USBs in the home computer (Paranoia, i fucking hate you) and i'd been too stupid not to paste what i'd already finished of chapter 24 as an unpublished chapter and only way able to think of it once my mind cleared up enough after my showing and there's no way i was rewriting the whole damn thing on the home computer. every time i tried, it just seemed way to taxing. So, instead, i've gone and done this, as it has been an idea nagging in the back of my mind since the comments posted in the chapter Tying Up Loose Ends in It's A Screwed Up Life from those who wanted to see how that Sunset was going to cope with everything. So, since i had to wait three hours for my phone to finish charging and wanted to steer clear of my room so i wouldn't accidently dilodge the charging cable due to movement from the floorboards whenever i moved around my room, i decided to make around on the computer, maybe rewatching a video reaction videos and, thanks to watching Applegeek's reactions to the Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree Bloopers, inspiration struck, so i decided to finally get at least the prologue out. Now, for those worried about my Haku, Love Bug's Life and Twilight's Twinlight fics, those are not on hold. Baring any complications, i SHOULD have chapter 24 done and published before the end of next Thursday and will TRY to get Haku and Love Bug's at least a bit updated. also considering trying to update A Rose Fancied By No Other, but don't hold me to that one. Anyway, that's all from me for now. and for those wondering why Sunset's final words to Celestia were You’re a hypocrite! You don’t even have friends! when that is NOT her final words in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, watch Minty Root's animation of the same name. i chose it over the comic version because i felt it was more haunting a thing for Sunset to realize were her final words that she can never apologize for and would fit the story better. Hope you enjoyed this start and that i did it enough emotional just to start. let me know in the comments what you think and maybe any idea for what you would like to see happen in the future for this version of Sunset. and who is the child mentioned in the story description, you may ask? I'm not naming names, but i will give a hint for you to speculate on: Rollercoaster of Friendship. Make of that what you will. Til next time, stay safe, stay clean and later everybody Chapter 1Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ Sunset inhaled the morning air of Sire’s Hollow as she trotted through the town. Ponies would smile and wave to her, which she’d nod back in reply. “Sunset,” a warm voice called. Turning to her right, Sunset saw her little brother waving to his little friend as she and her father walked off. Her mother stood next to her brother, waving her over. Sunset rolled her eyes, but smiled and started in their direction. Suddenly, the sky grew dark, grey clouds forming rapidly, somehow all on their own, shrouding the sky, blocking out almost all the light. A strong, wrong feeling wind picked up, blowing against Sunset. Looking around, Sunset’s eyes widened in horror as all the plants withered and died. Buildings quickly crumbled and decayed. “Starlight!” Sunset turned at the terrified sound of her little brother’s voice to see him looking in the direction his friend had gone. Turning her attention in the direction he was looking on in fear, she felt horror as the filly unicorn and her father seemed to wither away, turning to dust on the wind. Looking around frantically, Sunset’s heart leapt into her chest as she saw ponies all around her suffering similar fates, withering to skeletons, before turning to dust. What in Equestria was going on? “S-Sunset?” Sunset whirled back around, only for her blood to run cold. Her mother and brother were withering away, just like everypony else. “Big sis?” her brother asked, his voice quivering with fear, looking to her for help, the trusting look of a little brother, who knows his sister will always protect him. Sunset tried to run, but stumbled forward, slamming into the ground. Turning around, she realized her foot had gotten caught on a discarded bag, no doubt dropped by a pony who’d turned to dust. Wait. Her foot? Sunset quickly looked herself over, realizing she was in the human form she took whenever going through the mirror. “Sunset!” “Big sis, help!” Her eyes snapping back to her family, Sunset felt sick at the sight of their gaunt forms looking back at her, their sunken eyes looking to her, pleading for her to help as their bodies started to turn to dust, pieces of them blowing off into the wind. Pushing herself up, Sunset ran towards the two ponies left that mattered in her life. She had to get to them, had to save them. She reached her hand out, desperately trying to reach them, the two reaching their hooves out to her in kind. She was just within arm’s reach, her fingers barely touching her mother’s skeletal outstretched hoof, when she turned completely to dust, the wind quickly blowing her away. Sunset heart caught in her throat. She barely glanced towards her brother, now determined to save him, if nopony else, just as he too turned to dust and was blown away, the look of fear and pleading for help being the last thing of him she ever saw. “No. No, no. no, no-no!” Sunset ran away the dust, frantically grabbing at it, desperately trying to catch the lingering remains of her brother, to no avail. She lumped to her knees as she watched the last fragments disappear into the wind, leaving her to watch, helpless. She was alone. The entire town was gone and she was all that remained. ___________________________________________________________ “Mama… Little brother…” Sunset sobbed, tears slipping out from her closed eyelids as she lay in the bed. Applejack looked down sadly at the yellow girl, leaning forward and lightly brushing away her tears. Lifting the covers a bit better over the slumbering girl, Applejack got up and left the room, silently closing the door behind her, then headed down the hallway. It was hours after school had ended and they’d learned the truth of Sunset’s origins. It was evening now, approaching night. Not long after the young magical girl named Screwball had left them all, Fluttershy holding the distraught (though that didn’t even feel like a powerful enough word to fully describe her) Sunset, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had hurried out to join them, having been filled in, more so than even themselves, on the situation by Screwball. By the time they’d come out, Sunset had cried herself to sleep. Naturally, the first thing the adults did was get Sunset to a hospital, where she was rushed to the Emergency Care Wing. She was dangerously malnourished. The doctors said it was a miracle she was even still alive, that her body shouldn’t even be functioning with the lack of nutrients within it. She’d be on an IV drip for a very long time. Must be because she used t’ be a unicorn, Applejack thought to herself as she moved out of the way of a stretcher being pushed the opposite direction. Maybe it’s the last o’ her magic, tryin’ its best in its last efforts to keep her alive in a world without any. She reached the hospital waiting room, where the rest of her friends were sitting in chairs, their faces anxious. They’d all called their families on the way to the hospital to inform them they’d be late getting back home and why. Thankfully, their families had been understanding, even if it had taken a little convincing, since it was Sunset Shimmer, after all. They all looked up as she came over and sat down, her head hung low. “Any change?” Rarity asked tentatively. Applejack slowly shook her head, as if the simple motion took a monumental amount of effort. “She’s still asleep. She… she mentioned her ma and little brother in her sleep. Must’a been dreamin’ ’bout ’em.” “Wait. If all of her world is dead, then wouldn’t that mean her mom and brother…?” Fluttershy asked, but couldn’t bring herself to finish. No words or actions were needed. “It’s… still so surreal, ya know?” Rainbow Dash murmured, her eyes on her knees. “Her world. Sunset came from another universe to ours. And, now… now it’s dead.” “Where’re Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna?” Applejack asked, noting the absence of the adults. Pinkie Pie sighed, none of her usual joy and vibrancy showing. “They’re speaking with the hospital staff... and the police.” Applejack’s eyes widened. “The police?!” Rarity nodded. “It makes sense. Sunset was missing for several days and, when she was found, her condition is truly horrible and, with her being a student of their school, they’re the only ones right now with any authority on her personal life. As to what will happen to her afterwards…” She trailed off, none of them wanting to imagine what fate would befall Sunset once she’d recovered enough to be discharged. No one really knew her outside of school. Where did she live? Did she even have a home? How had she supported herself all these years in a world different from her own, where she didn’t have any documented records aside from school? There was silence for a few moments, neither girl knowing what to say, the only sounds being the hustle of the hospital. After what felt like hours, Rainbow Dash’s head suddenly shot up. “Wait. What about her parents?” The others all looked to her with mild confusion. “Huh?” was all Pinkie Pie could say. “Dash, we just went over that,” Applejack said dejectedly. “Sunset’s family would’ve died along with her world. She wasn’t there when it died, so she was spared, but, if Screwball’s right, that world’s been dead fer years now. Sunset survived fer a while, but her family would o’ died a long time ago now.” Rainbow stood up, shaking her head, fists clenched. “No, I mean her family here, in our world!” There was a pause as the girls all looked to her with confusion. Rainbow shook her head. “That Screwball kid said everything in our world is a human reflection of Sunset’s world, right? With almost every human in this world having a pony or other creature double in Sunset’s world.” “Yeah, so?” Pinkie asked, cocking an eyebrow. Rainbow raised her fist. “Then, if Sunset and her family come from that world, wouldn’t there be another version of her family, a human version, her in our world?” There was silence for a moment, before all their eyes widened as it sunk in. “There’s another version of Sunset’s family in this world!” Applejack gasped. “And, maybe, another Sunset,” Fluttershy held a hand over her mouth. “Do you think Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna realize this?” Rarity asked, her eyes still wide with shock. “Let’s go talk to them, now!” Rainbow turned on the spot and headed off towards the front desk, her friends hurrying in pursuit. “Maybe Sunset won’t have to go away when she recovers after all!” As the five girls ran off to speak with the heads of their school, a girl watched them pass by, before turning her head and staring down the corridor Applejack had come from earlier. She watched the hallway for several moments, her expression mournful understanding. Without a word, she got up and left the waiting room, then the hospital itself and walked away into the darkening evening. Author's Note Yeah, this surprised me too. And update to this, after all this time? Eeyup. Your eyes do not deceive you. Honestly, this story has been on hiatus for so long because, i realize, i had no idea how to move the story forward. i mean, i know where i want it to go, but i couldn't figure out the right in between, the launching point from where the story could reasonably continue from where the last chapter and Tying Up Loose Ends both ended. I'd orignally debated about jumping a few days ahead, seeing how Sunset was coping with the loss of Equestria and being trapped in the human world, but couldn't figure out how to word it without it feeling honestly empty and uncaring to the emotions of the characters and the world they live in, so i just kept putting it off. then, two nights ago, as i was laying in bed, i scrolled through my stories and passed over this one, the cover art catching my eye more than usual and i couldn't figure out why. then, the image of Sunset reaching out to her family in a dying Equestria flashed in front of my mind and it almost all completely fell into place, but, with still having a job irl, couldn't do anything the last two days. it also fell a little better into place the more i wrote. at first, i intended for Sunset to be sleeping at the Apple Family farm, since, even though they're going to still be fine in the human world, AJ's family would know best out of the five the feeling of losing family, since, if you think about it, Pear Butter's mother had to have died early, just as Bright Mac's dad had to, since we never see either of their other parent, only Granny Smith on Bright Mac's side and Grand Pear on Pear Butter's side. However, as you can see, i didn't do that and went with the far more logical idea. Sunset was in really bad shape, not just mentally, but physically, so hospital is a much more logical place for her to end up. As for who Sunset's family could be and where they'll fit in the story as a whole? I'll leave you to guess and speculate that. Though, if you've read my stories, you should easily be able to figure out who her family is, especially since it's pretty much outright stated at the beginning of this chapter without saying their actual names. As for the mysterious girl in the hospital? Many guessed her identity before she even made an appearance. her role in the story, on the other hand? That's yet to be seen. Don't expect any quick updates (to this or any of my other stories) any time too soon after this. i only ended up writing this because the itch got to me and, due to events against my control, any original plans i'd had for the day had to be scrapped, so i chose to do this instead, rather than leaving it for another day. Hope you enjoyed this, small as it is, chapter and, until next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody. Chapter 2Chapter 2 ___________________________________________________________ Applejack sighed as she walked in the direction of Canterlot High. Her mind was still reeling. Sunset had a family in this world. Granted, it was this world’s version of her family, but… She shook her head. This world’s version. The idea there were other worlds and Sunset was from one of them still hadn’t fully processed for her. “Too bad we couldn’ contact ’em,” she mumbled to herself as she climbed the stairs into the school. Soon as Dash’s revelation of Sunset having a reflection of herself in this world likely meaning her family had one too, they’d gone to their Principal and Vice Principal. They’d hesitated and had to pull them away due to not wanting to sound like loons or like they were withholding information from the police, but, once certain they’d been far enough away to not be heard, they explained their theory. At once, Vice Principal Luna had gotten in contact with someone, they weren’t sure who. After a few minutes, she’d told the girls they’d look into it, having a lead they could use to track who might be Sunset’s family. This morning, as she’d been eating breakfast with her family, she’d gotten a text from Rarity. They’d found Sunset’s family. They were living all the way in a town called Sire’s Hollow, a fair distance from Canterlot. Her father was apparently MIA, but her mother and younger brother, Stellar Flare and Sunburst, still lived there. However, they hadn’t been home when Principal Celestia called them, so she’d left them a message instead. The question was, how long before they’d get back? What if it took too long and Sunset was discharged? Where would Sunset live after that? Sure, they’d learned through their principal and vice principal’s research, that Sunset had a loft less than half an hour away from school… but she couldn’t be left alone now. In her emotional state? That wasn’t even taking into consideration that she’d need someone monitoring her health for quite a while anyway, to make sure she didn’t have any other health issues that arise from her current health further down the line. “Whoa, AJ!” The farm girl stopped in place, realizing she’d been about to slam into Rainbow Dash. Glancing around, Applejack realized, in her pondering, her muscle memory had pulled her towards her locker. “Oh. Hey, Dash,” she said, glancing down, before turning to her locker. While they had made up at the hospital while Sunset was being looked at, it still felt a bit awkward, considering how they’d recently been so at odds with each other. “So…” Rainbow said hesitantly. “So…” Applejack wasn’t sure what to say. Rainbow Dash sighed, before slapping her cheeks and shook her head. “Sunset’s got a family here.” “Yeah… Yeah, she does,” Applejack put her stuff in her locker and closed, it turning to RD and the two started walking towards their first class. “It’s… still kinda hard to believe, right?” the athlete asked, seeming a little lost. “Even after everything she’s been through, she still has a family here in our world. That’s good… right?” Applejack glanced away. “Depends on how ya look at it, Ah guess.” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean? She has family here.” “She has a family here, Dash,” Applejack corrected her, stopping. “It won’t be as simple as reuniting a lost child with her family. Our Sunset ain’t their Sunset. Heck, she’s not even our Sunset, either. We’ve never met our Sunset, only the Pony Sunset.” Dash still looked confused. “I don’t get it.” Applejack facepalmed. “Dash, if there’s a version o’ Sunset’s family in our world, then there’s another version of Sunset in our world and she’s already with her family. How would you feel if another version o’ you just showed up ta be part o’ yer family?” Dash opened her mouth to respond, paused, clearly thought it over for a moment, then closed it, nodding. “I… get your point.” The two walked into class, though Applejack found it hard to focus. Sunset was constantly on her mind. She could vaguely understand how Sunset probably felt. For over two years, she’d thought her parents were dead, only to learn they’d been stuck on an island after a plane they’d been returning from a farming convention on crashed. Scootaloo’s parents had been on there too, so, both girls had been reunited with family after two years assuming their demise… though that was just it, wasn’t it? Assumed demise. Applejack had gotten her parents back… Sunset would never get her world back. That kind of grief… how do you even cope with something like that? Pinkie Pie shared similar feelings at lunch. Being family, distant or not, she’d felt the pain of losing Applejack’s parents too… While all their group were concerned for Sunset and her future, they noticed it was clear they were worrying more, likely because of Applejack’s parents’ believed demise. Once school was finally out, Applejack said goodbye to the group and headed straight for the farm. Walking up the path, she saw Grand Pear helping Granny Smith pull down a ladder they’d been using for something. Judging by the five new clean tiles on the roof, one of her parents had been fixing the roof while they’d been keeping the ladder steady. “Granny Smith? Grand Pear?” she asked, the two looking to her. “Well, howdy there, AJ,” Granny Smith smiled, waving. “Good to have you home,” Grand Pear smiled too, before it turned into a slight frown as he noticed the look on his granddaughter’s face. “Something wrong, Applejack?” She started, before shaking her head. “Ma or Pa around? Ah gotta ask ’em sumthin’ important.” “Sure,” Granny Smith replied, glancing at Grand Pear, who gave her a raised eyebrow in return. “Yer pa stepped out fer a bit, but yer ma just went inside. She’ll probably be in the kitchen.” Applejack gave her thanks and went inside, quickly finding her mother standing over a pot on the stove. “Ma?” she asked, setting her bag down on her chair. “Yes, honey?” she asked, glancing up from her pot, only to pause, her expression becoming concerned. “Applejack, is somethin’ wrong?” She was too honest with her feelings. Applejack sighed and sat down, her mother coming over and putting an arm around her. “Ma… remember how Ah called last night about stayin’ at the hospital because Sunset Shimmer was there?” Pear Butter seemed confused for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Ah do. Ah… Ah’m still surprised ya did that. Proud, certainly, but, with everythin’ ya’ve said about her in the past, it did take me by surprise. What about it?” Applejack glanced away and sigh. “We… we know where her family are, but… but we’re not sure if they’ll get back in contact afore Sunset gets out o’ the hospital.” “And…?” Pear Butter encouraged her to go on. Applejack sighed again. “If’n her family ain’t got in contact by the time she’s released… would it be alright if she stayed with us fer a while? I mean, she’ll need someone ta help her through this and… well, we kinda have experience with what she’s going through.” Pear Butter looked confused, like she was trying to understand where Applejack was coming from, but she closed her eyes, sighing and smiled. “O’ course, honey. If’n she wants that, she’s more than welcome t’ stay as long as she needs.” Applejack blinked, before smiling and softly hugged her mother. “Thanks, Ma.” “Though Ah doubt Apple Bloom or Big Mac are gonna be none too pleased by the idea,” Pear Butter laughed. At once Applejack stiffened. Crap. She hadn’t thought of that. ___________________________________________________________ In Canterlot General, Sunset lay in her hospital bed, asleep, the quivering of her eyebrows implying a bad dream. A young girl watched her, a hand resting on the poll bar of the bed. “I’m so sorry you went through that, Sunset,” she murmured, closing her eyes and biting her lip. “I didn’t act fast enough and now I’ve failed two worlds.” Sunset sniffled, a tear sliding down her face. The girl’s expression firmed. “But I’m not going to let you lose this world too. I’ll do what I must to keep it safe, no matter the cost.” Without another word, she walked out, no one paying her any mind as she passed through the reception and out the door. Author's Note So severely sorry for the massive lack of updates. We only recently got out of summer weather, despite having been almost a month into Autumn, so finding the drive to write again hasn't been as easy as i'd have hoped. In fact, I'd planned on a much different update to another fic for this Easter weekend, even planning on it happening yesterday so I could manage an Australia Easter Day upload... but, apparently Summer wanted one last dig at us, because it's been between 28-31 degrees between Saturday and yesterday. Today is the first good weather day this whole long weekend and, it being so close to the end of the holiday, I didn't have enough time to get into the groove for any of the major fics I'd been wanting to update. Heck, thanks to a certain recent revelation regarding Berry Punch I'd been informed of thanks to a random Twitter post yesterday, a plotline in Unexpected Aftermath could've had more meat added to the bones, but, it would need more around it I just didn't have time to think about properly until now, so, had to shelf that idea for sometime, hopefully only until later this month. But, I wanted to get something out before the Easter Weekend was over, so, I had to think about what could be updated without needing too much thought into it. Then, this fic passed my view as I was going through my fics to choose an update for. Yes, this isn't a fic you can just throw anything at and hope it sticks... but, it doesn't need some world-building, don't we? In this world set before the Fall Formal, there's a lot of differences that need to be established. While most things aren't going to change much too soon... but the butterfly effect is still a thing. Changes big and small are soon to affect a timeline already effected by both Sunset's escaping The Wasteland and Screwball preventing both the Sirens going to Canterlot High and the Memory Stone being an issue. And what got that girl over Sunset's bed have meant? You'll have to wait and see. Hope you enjoyed this little snack chapter and, Til next time, stay safe, stay clean and hope you had a good Easter everybody Chapter 3Chapter 3 ___________________________________________________________ Flash glanced down at his phone, his expression worried frustration as he saw he had no new messages. He selected a number and brought it up to his ear, waiting, hoping for an answer this time. “Yeah, this is Sunset,” Sunset’s voice message replied from the other end after several rings. “If this isn’t important, piss off. It is matters, leave a message and, if I care, I’ll get back to you.” “Sunset, please, just answer!” Flash almost screamed into the phone. “It’s been three months, now! Where are you? Why did you stop coming to school? I’ve been to your loft countless times and you’ve clearly not been there. What’s going on? If something wrong, I want to help. Please, just… just call back as soon as you can, alright?” He hung up, before throwing his phone, it unceremoniously and completely ruining the mood by lightly landing on his bed instead of hitting the wall. Flash slumped in his chair by his desk, his head in his hands as he rang through his hair. It had been three months since Sunset had randomly vanished. One day, she’d just not come to school. At first, this wasn’t a big deal. High as Sunset’s grades were, she’d normally play hooky, so her being absent wasn’t too odd. In fact, much as he hated to admit it, CHS had basically breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Sunset had a really bad habit of being mean to others students. There was a reason she’d been voted Biggest Meanie in their freshmen year’s Year Book despite it not being a superlative. Many had questioned Flash why he’d started dating Sunset given that, but, Flash was sure there was more to Sunset than the cruel exterior she gave off. Maybe he was being naïve, like many had suggested to him when asking about their relationship, more annoyingly often than not followed up by suggesting he break up with her, but he was sure she needed him. Sure, he didn’t think he was much. He had a car, sure and was a member of the soccer team and played guitar… but he wasn’t an idiot jock. He was able to see, even recently, something had been eating Sunset from the moment that met. She’d been hurt in her past and he was sure that was the reason she lashed out at everyone, why he was the first person she’d seemed to open herself up even a small amount to. What could’ve hurt her so much in the past, he didn’t know. He hadn’t asked her because he felt he should let Sunset feel comfortable enough to bring it up herself. He wanted to help her heal, knowing the pain was clearly tearing her up inside… but, until she confided in him, there wasn’t really much he could do. And, frankly, it was not knowing what had hurt her in her past that made him worry so much that she’d been gone all this time. What if she’d come from an abusive family? It would certainly explain why she was so abusive to everyone else. If that was how she was raised, she’d think it was how she should treat others. If she had come from an abusive family, did she escape from them and they’d found and taken her back? Not knowing was the worst part, because he wanted to help… but you can’t really help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. It actually disgusted him how, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, no one at the school had been worried for Sunset aside from himself. The opposite, in fact. The school had become a somewhat happier place, with people moving out of their clicks and mingling more, not afraid of needing others solely like them to shield them should Sunset go on the warpath. He’d even heard people saying they hoped Sunset never returned. He was glad everyone felt at ease enough not to feel pressured to stay in their clicks… but their happiness of Sunset being gone… he’d found himself lashing out a few times himself. The fact the police were involved in the search should’ve been enough to quiet those talking so harshly about Sunset, but, if anything it made it worse. Rumours had started spreading that she was actually part of a criminal gang and she’d left town to avoid the heat. A sudden single knock from the window made Flash jerk, the sudden motion causing his chair to go off balance and he toppled over, sprawling out on the floor. He was suddenly glad he was home alone tonight. Explaining that would’ve been really embarrassing. Another knock at his window made him scramble to his feet as it dawned on him; he was on the second floor. For someone to be knocking on his window, they’d have needed to climb up to the small ledge outside his window to knock. Then again, it was a single knock. For all he knew, someone could’ve thrown something at his window. Cautiously, he approached it and looked outside. There was nothing but darkness, the light from his room not revealing anyone waiting outside his window. He opened the window, only to leap back as a rock came into his felt of vision. It flew passed where he’d been standing and smashed into his light, breaking it, plunging his room into darkness. “Hey!” he yelled, now annoyed as he returned to the window and look out into the dark night. “You could’ve hit me!” “Apologies,” a girl’s voice he did not recognise called from down below. Flash looked in the direction of the voice. Due to the now much darker surroundings, he couldn’t really see the person. Yes, there were streetlamps nearby, but he could only just make out the figure of someone standing by the trees close to his house. The light from the streetlamps was enough to reveal the person’s presence, but he couldn’t make out any features. “What do you want?” Flash asked, before his eyes narrowed. “If you’re another kid from school here to tell me how happy you’ve been since Sunset stopped coming to school and think I should just break up with her, I swear—” “No. nothing like that, I assure you, Flash Sentry,” the girl replied, quickly, but firmly… and somehow gently too. This confusing combination was enough to give Flash pause. “Alright, fine. If that’s not why you’re here, why are you and why did you throw rocks at my window?” “It’s about Sunset Shimmer’s whereabouts,” she said cooly. At once, Flash’s eyes widened as his heart leapt into his chest. “Sunset? You know where she is, where she’s been? Where? Why has she been gone for so long? Is she in danger? Did someone hurt her?!” that last part came out in a growl. The girl in the dark sighed, catching Flash off guard. It was a heavy sigh, one that he could just tell had a massive amount of weight behind it… that he’d heard before. Back when his great uncle had died, his dad had heaved similar sighs for many years… which only made Flash more worried. “Sunset was indeed hurt… but… not by anyone here,” the girl said after several minutes. “Her pain… it’s not one most would be able to comprehend. She’s safe now, I assure you, but… life has not been easy on her these last few months and will not be much kinder in the months to come.” Flash’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” “I’m not at liberty to say,” the girl replied, sounding crestfallen. “Not now, at any rate. All I can do, I try to help Sunset, to make up for my mistakes.” “Mistakes?” Flash felt conflicting emotions of curiosity, confusion, concern and scepticism. “What mistakes?” The girl just shook her head. “I can’t say now. However, if you want to find Sunset, listen carefully when you next go to school.” “Huh? What do you mean? Hey!” he called out as she turned and disappeared into the night. Flash remained at his window for a long time, not sure how he felt. Sunset was safe, he’d been suggested that much, which put one part of his mind at ease… but so many new questions were whirling around in his mind as he went and had a shower, the water pouring onto his head the same as the questions were pouring through it. Who was that strange girl? How did she know Sunset? Why did she keep hidden in the shadows? What mistakes had she made that effected Sunset? Why would simply going to school like normal and listening let him know what had happened to her? If anything, he’d hear the opposite. The Principal and Vice Principal had done their best to quiet everything down, especially over the last week, but… it didn’t stop the whispers. He didn’t want to actually listen to those harsh whispers. It was bad enough having to hear them, but actually listen? After a few moments, he sighed. He’d have to take the girl’s advice and listen. He didn’t like it, knew he’d hear a lot of things he didn’t want to… but, if listening did help him learn something, it was worth a shot, right? Better than not knowing at all. ___________________________________________________________ Flash scowled as he walked through the halls of Canterlot High towards his next class. As expected, listening had done him no favours so far. All anyone talked about whenever Sunset’s name came up with the rumours or how glad they were she wasn’t around anymore. He should’ve guessed. That girl last night was just another Sunset Hater and she’d decided, with Sunset not around to take the brunt of the hate, he should get some, since he was still holding out on her instead of joining in with everyone else. He was about to slam the door to his locket closed in frustration, when his ears perked up. “Sunset’s alright?” a very soft voice said. It was so soft he could easily have missed it, but, whirling around, he saw two girls passing close by. One was one of the fashionistas of the school, Rarity. Walking alongside her was a yellow girl were pink hair. Something Shy, wasn’t it? He remembered Sunset mentioning a name that sounded like that once, though he couldn’t remember the context of the conversation they’d been having at the time. The two were walking off down the hall in the oppsite direction he was going to be heading. Frowning, Flash decided he’d look for them at lunch and find out more. ___________________________________________________________ Flash sat at the table with his bandmates. It wasn’t their usual table, but, over the last couple months, everyone had been switching tables every now and then, so they hadn’t questioned why had wanted to sit here. Flash had chosen this table in particular today because, after watching Rarity and, thanks, to a name drop, Fluttershy, he’d seen what table they went to at lunch… which had honestly surprised him. Everyone knew that, since shortly before the last year ended, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been at odds after Applejack, a normally honest to a fault person, had lied to Rainbow Dash about when a bake sale would happen. The group also included Pinkie Pie, the school’s known party planner, who’d been at odds with both Rarity and Fluttershy for quite some time, but, the five were almost acting like all the problems they’d had with each other since last year had never happened. This oddness of it aside, he knew his best chance of getting information from them about Sunset was to listen in, like the girl in the night had suggested. Granted, logically, he thought it would be smarter to just outright ask, but… he had this gut feeling that wouldn’t have gone well. For all he knew, these girls might actually be just as uncaring about Sunset’s absence as everyone else seemed. He was honestly just going off a hunch from the small snippet of conversation he’d gotten from Rarity and Fluttershy as they’d passed him in the hall. The conversation could easily have been negative about Sunset for all he knew… but it was the closest bit of good news he’d heard all yesterday, so he was trusting his gut on this. While his mates were chatting about music, Flash half joined in, keeping his ears trained on the conversations from the table next to them. “… stay on the farm,” Applejack was saying. “Ya know, in case her parents don’t get the message any time soon.” “It is rather worrying,” Rarity said, sounding concerned. “Couldn’t the police do anything about it?” The police? “Doubt it,” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively. “The cops can’t just go searching for her parents and demand they come back, Rares. It wouldn’t exactly go over well, would it?” “More likely they’d think they were in trouble for something,” Fluttershy said, the barest hint of a stutter being avoided clear in her voice. “I really hope we can cheer her up,” Pinkie Pie said, sounding oddly dejected. “I mean, what kind of party do you throw to cheer someone up after something that horrible.” “Losin’ her family would’ve been hard enough… but her whole world?” Applejack interjected in agreement. Were they talking about Applejack’s family or that kid Scootaloo’s parents? It was common knowledge at the school that both sets of parents had gone missing for quite a while… but they’d come back last year, hadn’t they? It had been all over the news. Applejack, her brother and grandmother and Scootaloo had all been absent from the school for a few weeks to get reacquainted with their long lost relatives. So… who were they talking about? Sunset’s parents, maybe? Flash had assumed they’d been abusive to Sunset and that was why she was the way she was, but… if the police knew that, they wouldn’t have contacted her parents for any reason, right? “Have the doctors seen any improvements?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone. Flash’s eyes widened. Doctors? Applejack sighed. “Kinda? Ah asked about it and they said she’s been in an’ out o’ consciousness, but, not for long. A minute or two, tops. Ah… ah don’t think she wants to wake up right now, ya know?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Can you blame her? If not for that Screwball kid helping her, she’d have been trapped forever in that place and died. Knowing that… I don’t think I’d want to wake up for a long time either.” “Think we should go see her again after school lets out?” Fluttershy asked tentatively. “She’s not likely to be awake, darling,” Rarity sighed, before making a firm grunting sound. “Still, you’re right. For now, until her parents get in contact, we’re the only ones she really has in this world. On the offhand chance she is awake, I’m sure Sunset would appreciate some familiar faces.” Flash’s mind was ablaze as his eyes widened. There it was! They knew! Those five girls knew where Sunset was and what had happened to her and… and… Suddenly, everything else they’d been saying caught up with him with the new context that they had indeed been talking about Sunset the whole time. Applejack had said Sunset losing her family would’ve been hard enough, but then asked about her whole world? What did that even mean? They’d said the police had been trying to contact Sunset’s family and were waiting on a reply, implying they were still around… so, did that mean the rest of Sunset’s family were gone? Were she and her parents the only members of their family left? That would explain the mentioning of losing her whole world, too. If you and your parents became your only living relatives, that would be like losing your whole world as your immediate family would be all that’s left and you’d have no one else in this world to connect to. And what was this about doctors? Was Sunset in the hospital? Was that why she’d been absent from school all these months? Applejack mentioned she’d been in and out of consciousness. Had she been in a coma? And what Rainbow Dash had said. If not for some kid named Screwball helping her, Sunset would’ve been trapped forever in some place and died? Sunset had been trapped somewhere and could’ve died there?! Had she been involved in an accident? Had someone kidnapped her? Wait. Was the girl he’d spoken to that night at his house been this Screwball and she’d been the only one to care to let Sunset’s boyfriend know she’d been found? So many questions whirling around in his mind and he wasn’t sure where to begin. However, one thing Rarity had sent did strike a cord with him, an angry cord. They were the only ones Sunset really had? What was he, chopped liver? He was her boyfriend, damint and, last he checked, he’d been the one worried about Sunset all these months, not those girls. Heck, if he recalled right, last he’d bothered to pay it mind, they’d been among the students glad for Sunset’s absence from school and now they had the nerve to think they were the only people Sunset had in her life? If he didn’t know it would cause a scene that could unintentionally land him in detention, he’d have gotten up and that moment, stomped over to their table and laid into them. However, getting and being stuck in detention afterschool was not going to help him find Sunset. From what that girl in the night had suggested, his best bet of finding out what was going on with Sunset would be to follow those girls after school. They’d lead him right to her and then he’d give them a piece of his mind and get them to tell him everything. Author's Note I'm sure THIS is not what you were expecting to get another update so soon, huh? Well, I've been trying to get back into the swing of my other fics, particularly some of the ones with Twily in them, if you know what i meant, but, the mood just hadn't gotten set yet. IRL had a few bumps it wanted to throw my way that put me off writing. However, yesterday morning, while skimming through my fics to figure out which ones i'd best be able to update right now, i decided to randomly let the auto read function read the entire page of my stories i was on at the time and, when it got to this story, i read a part that I myself, despite being the other, had totally forgotten about, as this chapter has made obvious: Flash. While i had already planned on him and Sunset staying together since it is BEFORE their breakup... i'd totally forgotten about him last chapter, it completely slipping my mind that, yeah, since he IS still Sunset' boyfriend, he'd have been really worried when she not only stopped showing up at school, but also didn't answer any calls or texts. So, i decided to do Flash justice and so he got sole focus in this chapter. Of course, he has NO idea the real trauma Sunset's been through and, it will only be by accidental misunderstanding that the girls will be able to come up with a believable cover story as to what happened to Sunset without blurting out the whole magical unicorn from a dead world thing and not sound like absolute loons or like they're playing a cruel joke. And when he brings up his theory about Sunset coming from an abusive family, but how he guesses that isn't the case if the cops called them to inform them where their daughter is? Hoo boy. The girls are gonna have their work cut out for them with this. How to bring Flash in enough without telling him everything without making him feel like they're leaving him out or hiding something? And, with the events of the Formal now definitely going to be different from the movie and Screwball already having dealt with the Sirens and Memory Stone, might a certain lavender girl enter the scene sooner, now the energy readings she'd been monitoring are mostly gone? Wait and see. You will NEVER guess my endgame here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and, til next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody
PrologueCan Sunrise Come After Sunset? Prologue ___________________________________________________________ “What… what happened?” Sunset Shimmer stared out and the open, empty, dark landscape before her, her eyes wide with horror, her face ashened. She had gone through the portal to see what information she could gather during the three day time limit the portal would be open. However, the moment she’d passed through, something had felt off. The world just felt… wrong. Her point of arrival had been off too. Normally, she’d find herself coming out in a room within Canterlot Castle and it was merely a matter of navigating through it to avoid being spotted while gathering what information she could. This time, though, the portal had revealed her to be in what she could best describe as a crumbling stone building, like a barracks or something. The place had clearly seen better days. In fact, she’d been surprised the ceiling hadn’t already caved in. What awaited her outside was not something she ever could’ve expected. Not even in her worst nightmares. She wasn’t even sure where she was in Equestria, because it had nothing to compare to her previous ventures back. If this was Canterlot, it was completely unrecognizable. Aside from the small building she’d arrived in, there were no buildings. It was as if the entire city had been turned to sand and ash. The sky was wrong too. She had no idea what time of day or night it was, because all that was visible of the sky was grey emptiness with the faintest wisps of cloud. A cold, lifeless wind was blowing, causing occasional puffs of the dirt to rises up and pass her. “This… this is wrong!” Sunset whispered, her voice hoarse. “Princess Celestia? Anypony? Hello?!” All that answered was the wind. No sounds to indicate life came back to her. Panic filled Sunset’s body. This was all wrong. Her body was screaming that everything was wrong. Turning tail, she hurried back through the empty landscape to the crumbled remains of the building she’d arrived in and ran towards the mirror. However, her horror only grew as, instead of passing through the reflective surface, she slammed head on, bouncing right back, skidding along the ground for a moment. Once her head stopped pounding from the blunt force impact, what just happened caught up with her. “No!” she screamed, running to the portal and placing her hooves on the cold surface. “It can’t be closed already! It’s not even been half a day!” Lighting her horn, she tried to force the mirror to activate, to make the portal reopen. Maybe it just needed a magical push. Maybe… maybe… Her eyes widened further as, right before her eyes, the mirror in her magic lost the magical glow of her aura. “What in the…?” the unicorn looked up at her horn and tried to cast the spell again… only for her fear to magnify as the magic on her horn flared, right before fizzling out. For several moments Sunset tried desperately to cast a spell, any spell, but it did nothing. It was like her magic was gone. “No,” she whispered, before frantically pawing at the mirror, hoping, pleading for her hooves to pass through the reflective surface. “No, no, no, no, NO!” She probably spent hours trying to light her horn and pawing on the mirror, only for her efforts to yeild nothing. “Princess Celestia!” she scream in absolute panic, leaping to her hooves and galloping away, desperately looking for anything, anyone. “Princess Cadenza? Anypony?!” ___________________________________________________________ Sunset lay where she was, atop the pile of ragged blankets that counted for a bed. The empty structure she was counting as a dwelling was the best of the few remaining structures in what was once the grand city of Manehatten. She only knew it was Manehatten though, because of an extremely faded sign that was buried halfway through one of the far worse off remaining structures, barely able to make out “Manehatten Beauty Salon” due to the missing letters and how faded those that remained were. She would’ve had no clue she was in Manehatten otherwise, the world looked the same, no matter where she went, grey, lifeless. In a word, empty. Sunset had no concept of time anymore. With no sun or moon visible to indicate the time of day, it all had blurred together. The only way she could vaguely tell the time anymore was when she ate and when she slept. Beyond that, time was meaningless. She could’ve been travelling for days, maybe months, she just couldn’t tell. Sunset had hoped she could find someone, anyone, anything living, to help her understand just what had happened to Equestria since she last came through the portal, but… nothing. She lay there, not knowing what else to do. A small voice in the back of her mind told her it was pointless, that she must be the only living beign left in Equestria. She had no purpose anymore, no reason to go on. She should just… end it. The thought terrified Sunset… but it was so sound as well. What point was there in living when you’re literally the only thing left in the entire world? She gave a slight shake of the head, faintly pushing the thought aside… though with more effort than she liked to admit. She had to keep hope that somebody was out there. She couldn’t be the only one left. There just had to be others. She gave a dry laugh. Even she was sure if she was telling true or just lying to herself. Her stomach sent a signal that she soon would have to eat again. Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? She didn’t know. It didn’t feel like it mattered anymore. She looked up lazily, her eyes moving slowly over the empty grey sky. She’d give anything to see it blue again, just once, even if only for a moment. Suddenly, two ponies appeared right before her eyes. One was pink, with a mess of purple and white for her mane and tail and what looked like a screw and baseball for a Cutie Mark. She was wearing some kind of propeller beanie on her head. The other was a more purpleish-pink, with a purple with turquoise highlights mane and tail and a Cutie Mark that looked kind of light a shooting star. Sunset leapt up, if a little clumsily, in fright, her eyes wide. Then, her eyes began to water as joy and desperation filled her heart and she rushed forward, hugging the two tightly. It took everything she had not to start bawling her eyes out as she felt them in her forelimbs. The feeling of holding others close to you, the warmth of another living being… she thought she’d never get the chance to feel this ever again. “Sweet Celestia. I thought I was the only pony left.” She pulled back with great difficulty (she’d gone so long without contact with anything else, the urge to hold them forever was so strong), looking from the purplish pony to the pink one, both she realized now were mares. “What happened to Equestria? Where’s Princess Celestia? Why won’t my magic work? Where’ve you two been? What’s going on?” The pink mare glanced at the other, who looked down, her expression showing shame, of all things. The pink mare sighed, looking to Sunset and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Sunset… I’m sorry. This world is dead.” Sunset just stared… failing to understand. “What…? What do you mean… dead?” Yes, that was something she had considered more times than she liked to admit, but surely it wasn’t true. Equestria couldn’t actually be dead. There was no way. There had to be something, someone else out there. Someone who could fix this somehow. Get the world back on track… restore her magic. The pink mare sighed again, looking to her companion once more. “There was a very misguided pony.” She looked back to Sunset. “A unicorn. She led herself to believe Cutie Marks are evil and wanted to make all of Equestria equal.” Sunset felt like making a snarky remark. Cutie Marks, evil? Who would be immature enough to come up with a stupid idea like that? “One day, Princess Celestia and her long lost sister, Princess Luna—” Princess Celestia’s sister came back? “—went to stop her after a single pony managed to escape in the dead of night and made it to Canterlot. When they arrived, the unicorn took both their Cutie Marks, taking away their ability to keep the Sun and Moon moving.” Sunset’s eyes widened in horror. Even Princess Celestia lost her Cutie Mark to that crazed mare? Just how powerful was this pony? “And, with day and night out of sync… the whole world suffered. By the time the unicorn realized her mistake…” the pink mare’s voice grew heavy, “it was too late.” Sunset just stared at the mare… not wanting to believe a single word she’d just uttered. “No…” she took several steps back, shaking her head. It couldn’t be true. It just… it just wasn’t possible. “No, you’re lying.” She tried to force her to admit to it. “It… it can’t be true. It… it just can’t.” “It is… Sunset,” the other mare murmured quietly, before everything else fell away. Sunset stood there, her last words to Princess Celestia ringing in her ears. You’re a hypocrite! You don’t even have friends! All through her travels, she’d hoped—no, needed to find Princess Celestia. She needed to apologize. To beg for her forgivness. If Equestria was truly dead and Celestia with it.... “I… I can’t…” “Sunset.” Her head darted up as she felt a hoof on her shoulder, only to see it was the pink mare, giving her a firm, but sad expression with... Sunset could see her eyes. They had no pupils. They were just purple spirals. How had she never noticed that before? How had it happened to this mare? Any plans to ask any relating questions were halted by the mare’s next words. “This world is gone. You’re only hope is the other world, the one you went to after you abandoned Celestia’s teachings.” Sunset just stared at her, the words slowly processing through her mind… before her body sagged. She slumps to the floor, her legs having lost the will to keep her up as the weight of everything came crashing down around her. “I… I should’ve stayed there. The portal won’t open anymore. Nothing I do would open it. I can’t go back… I don’t even have anything to go back to.” Sunset flinched as the pink mare gave an angry snort, stomping a hoof. “You do have something and someone to return to, Sunset Shimmer,” she said with a firm resolve Sunset couldn’t understand. “I will take you back there myself. It will be the last time you travel between the two worlds, but you will be far better off there than if you stayed in this dead world.” Sunset gave the smallest of frowns. “How? You said so yourself. This world is dead.” Her voice went quieter as the words came out, the reality they spoke of causing what little was left of her spirit to fall as the hopelessness of it all finally caught up to her. “There’s no magic left. The portal is just an ordinary mirror now.” The two mares started talking, Sunset wasn’t sure what and, frankly, it didn’t matter. The two were clearly insane if they thought it was possible to just step itno the other world without a portal The only other remaining living being in their world besides her… and they’d bone gone insane. Sunset was suddenly taken aback when she felt one of them grab her hoof and looked up to see the pink mare, before her eyes widened as the mare reverted into a filly. The next thing she knew, she felt a familiar senseation… that made her very soul weep. Magic. The magic of the portal. The filly was speaking the truth. She was going back. Author's Note Yes. Another story. I really need to stop doing this. Okay, for context, thanks to my wrist (which, while definitely better than it was is STILL not back to 100%), i haven't been going down to the library as often i used to. The last time i did, i couldn't finish what i had been writing (the latest chapter of Twilight's Twinlight where Ken meets a certain nerdy girl in a way you would be quite surprised by), because, by the time i was able to do EVERYTHING my long absence from the library had left me to download AND write, i was as mentally out of it as Ken is at the point in the chapter I had to stop writing at because it was making no sense anymore. Probably didn't help that my body was likely coming down from the over a litre of coffee i'd had with breakfast (because i was an idiot who didn't think it through very well), so was VERY exhausted by 2pm. So, why did i start this then if i could barely finish that chapter last Friday and could've finished that instead? Honestly? Because i'm still trying to trust my USBs in the home computer (Paranoia, i fucking hate you) and i'd been too stupid not to paste what i'd already finished of chapter 24 as an unpublished chapter and only way able to think of it once my mind cleared up enough after my showing and there's no way i was rewriting the whole damn thing on the home computer. every time i tried, it just seemed way to taxing. So, instead, i've gone and done this, as it has been an idea nagging in the back of my mind since the comments posted in the chapter Tying Up Loose Ends in It's A Screwed Up Life from those who wanted to see how that Sunset was going to cope with everything. So, since i had to wait three hours for my phone to finish charging and wanted to steer clear of my room so i wouldn't accidently dilodge the charging cable due to movement from the floorboards whenever i moved around my room, i decided to make around on the computer, maybe rewatching a video reaction videos and, thanks to watching Applegeek's reactions to the Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree Bloopers, inspiration struck, so i decided to finally get at least the prologue out. Now, for those worried about my Haku, Love Bug's Life and Twilight's Twinlight fics, those are not on hold. Baring any complications, i SHOULD have chapter 24 done and published before the end of next Thursday and will TRY to get Haku and Love Bug's at least a bit updated. also considering trying to update A Rose Fancied By No Other, but don't hold me to that one. Anyway, that's all from me for now. and for those wondering why Sunset's final words to Celestia were You’re a hypocrite! You don’t even have friends! when that is NOT her final words in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, watch Minty Root's animation of the same name. i chose it over the comic version because i felt it was more haunting a thing for Sunset to realize were her final words that she can never apologize for and would fit the story better. Hope you enjoyed this start and that i did it enough emotional just to start. let me know in the comments what you think and maybe any idea for what you would like to see happen in the future for this version of Sunset. and who is the child mentioned in the story description, you may ask? I'm not naming names, but i will give a hint for you to speculate on: Rollercoaster of Friendship. Make of that what you will. Til next time, stay safe, stay clean and later everybody
Chapter 1Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ Sunset inhaled the morning air of Sire’s Hollow as she trotted through the town. Ponies would smile and wave to her, which she’d nod back in reply. “Sunset,” a warm voice called. Turning to her right, Sunset saw her little brother waving to his little friend as she and her father walked off. Her mother stood next to her brother, waving her over. Sunset rolled her eyes, but smiled and started in their direction. Suddenly, the sky grew dark, grey clouds forming rapidly, somehow all on their own, shrouding the sky, blocking out almost all the light. A strong, wrong feeling wind picked up, blowing against Sunset. Looking around, Sunset’s eyes widened in horror as all the plants withered and died. Buildings quickly crumbled and decayed. “Starlight!” Sunset turned at the terrified sound of her little brother’s voice to see him looking in the direction his friend had gone. Turning her attention in the direction he was looking on in fear, she felt horror as the filly unicorn and her father seemed to wither away, turning to dust on the wind. Looking around frantically, Sunset’s heart leapt into her chest as she saw ponies all around her suffering similar fates, withering to skeletons, before turning to dust. What in Equestria was going on? “S-Sunset?” Sunset whirled back around, only for her blood to run cold. Her mother and brother were withering away, just like everypony else. “Big sis?” her brother asked, his voice quivering with fear, looking to her for help, the trusting look of a little brother, who knows his sister will always protect him. Sunset tried to run, but stumbled forward, slamming into the ground. Turning around, she realized her foot had gotten caught on a discarded bag, no doubt dropped by a pony who’d turned to dust. Wait. Her foot? Sunset quickly looked herself over, realizing she was in the human form she took whenever going through the mirror. “Sunset!” “Big sis, help!” Her eyes snapping back to her family, Sunset felt sick at the sight of their gaunt forms looking back at her, their sunken eyes looking to her, pleading for her to help as their bodies started to turn to dust, pieces of them blowing off into the wind. Pushing herself up, Sunset ran towards the two ponies left that mattered in her life. She had to get to them, had to save them. She reached her hand out, desperately trying to reach them, the two reaching their hooves out to her in kind. She was just within arm’s reach, her fingers barely touching her mother’s skeletal outstretched hoof, when she turned completely to dust, the wind quickly blowing her away. Sunset heart caught in her throat. She barely glanced towards her brother, now determined to save him, if nopony else, just as he too turned to dust and was blown away, the look of fear and pleading for help being the last thing of him she ever saw. “No. No, no. no, no-no!” Sunset ran away the dust, frantically grabbing at it, desperately trying to catch the lingering remains of her brother, to no avail. She lumped to her knees as she watched the last fragments disappear into the wind, leaving her to watch, helpless. She was alone. The entire town was gone and she was all that remained. ___________________________________________________________ “Mama… Little brother…” Sunset sobbed, tears slipping out from her closed eyelids as she lay in the bed. Applejack looked down sadly at the yellow girl, leaning forward and lightly brushing away her tears. Lifting the covers a bit better over the slumbering girl, Applejack got up and left the room, silently closing the door behind her, then headed down the hallway. It was hours after school had ended and they’d learned the truth of Sunset’s origins. It was evening now, approaching night. Not long after the young magical girl named Screwball had left them all, Fluttershy holding the distraught (though that didn’t even feel like a powerful enough word to fully describe her) Sunset, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had hurried out to join them, having been filled in, more so than even themselves, on the situation by Screwball. By the time they’d come out, Sunset had cried herself to sleep. Naturally, the first thing the adults did was get Sunset to a hospital, where she was rushed to the Emergency Care Wing. She was dangerously malnourished. The doctors said it was a miracle she was even still alive, that her body shouldn’t even be functioning with the lack of nutrients within it. She’d be on an IV drip for a very long time. Must be because she used t’ be a unicorn, Applejack thought to herself as she moved out of the way of a stretcher being pushed the opposite direction. Maybe it’s the last o’ her magic, tryin’ its best in its last efforts to keep her alive in a world without any. She reached the hospital waiting room, where the rest of her friends were sitting in chairs, their faces anxious. They’d all called their families on the way to the hospital to inform them they’d be late getting back home and why. Thankfully, their families had been understanding, even if it had taken a little convincing, since it was Sunset Shimmer, after all. They all looked up as she came over and sat down, her head hung low. “Any change?” Rarity asked tentatively. Applejack slowly shook her head, as if the simple motion took a monumental amount of effort. “She’s still asleep. She… she mentioned her ma and little brother in her sleep. Must’a been dreamin’ ’bout ’em.” “Wait. If all of her world is dead, then wouldn’t that mean her mom and brother…?” Fluttershy asked, but couldn’t bring herself to finish. No words or actions were needed. “It’s… still so surreal, ya know?” Rainbow Dash murmured, her eyes on her knees. “Her world. Sunset came from another universe to ours. And, now… now it’s dead.” “Where’re Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna?” Applejack asked, noting the absence of the adults. Pinkie Pie sighed, none of her usual joy and vibrancy showing. “They’re speaking with the hospital staff... and the police.” Applejack’s eyes widened. “The police?!” Rarity nodded. “It makes sense. Sunset was missing for several days and, when she was found, her condition is truly horrible and, with her being a student of their school, they’re the only ones right now with any authority on her personal life. As to what will happen to her afterwards…” She trailed off, none of them wanting to imagine what fate would befall Sunset once she’d recovered enough to be discharged. No one really knew her outside of school. Where did she live? Did she even have a home? How had she supported herself all these years in a world different from her own, where she didn’t have any documented records aside from school? There was silence for a few moments, neither girl knowing what to say, the only sounds being the hustle of the hospital. After what felt like hours, Rainbow Dash’s head suddenly shot up. “Wait. What about her parents?” The others all looked to her with mild confusion. “Huh?” was all Pinkie Pie could say. “Dash, we just went over that,” Applejack said dejectedly. “Sunset’s family would’ve died along with her world. She wasn’t there when it died, so she was spared, but, if Screwball’s right, that world’s been dead fer years now. Sunset survived fer a while, but her family would o’ died a long time ago now.” Rainbow stood up, shaking her head, fists clenched. “No, I mean her family here, in our world!” There was a pause as the girls all looked to her with confusion. Rainbow shook her head. “That Screwball kid said everything in our world is a human reflection of Sunset’s world, right? With almost every human in this world having a pony or other creature double in Sunset’s world.” “Yeah, so?” Pinkie asked, cocking an eyebrow. Rainbow raised her fist. “Then, if Sunset and her family come from that world, wouldn’t there be another version of her family, a human version, her in our world?” There was silence for a moment, before all their eyes widened as it sunk in. “There’s another version of Sunset’s family in this world!” Applejack gasped. “And, maybe, another Sunset,” Fluttershy held a hand over her mouth. “Do you think Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna realize this?” Rarity asked, her eyes still wide with shock. “Let’s go talk to them, now!” Rainbow turned on the spot and headed off towards the front desk, her friends hurrying in pursuit. “Maybe Sunset won’t have to go away when she recovers after all!” As the five girls ran off to speak with the heads of their school, a girl watched them pass by, before turning her head and staring down the corridor Applejack had come from earlier. She watched the hallway for several moments, her expression mournful understanding. Without a word, she got up and left the waiting room, then the hospital itself and walked away into the darkening evening. Author's Note Yeah, this surprised me too. And update to this, after all this time? Eeyup. Your eyes do not deceive you. Honestly, this story has been on hiatus for so long because, i realize, i had no idea how to move the story forward. i mean, i know where i want it to go, but i couldn't figure out the right in between, the launching point from where the story could reasonably continue from where the last chapter and Tying Up Loose Ends both ended. I'd orignally debated about jumping a few days ahead, seeing how Sunset was coping with the loss of Equestria and being trapped in the human world, but couldn't figure out how to word it without it feeling honestly empty and uncaring to the emotions of the characters and the world they live in, so i just kept putting it off. then, two nights ago, as i was laying in bed, i scrolled through my stories and passed over this one, the cover art catching my eye more than usual and i couldn't figure out why. then, the image of Sunset reaching out to her family in a dying Equestria flashed in front of my mind and it almost all completely fell into place, but, with still having a job irl, couldn't do anything the last two days. it also fell a little better into place the more i wrote. at first, i intended for Sunset to be sleeping at the Apple Family farm, since, even though they're going to still be fine in the human world, AJ's family would know best out of the five the feeling of losing family, since, if you think about it, Pear Butter's mother had to have died early, just as Bright Mac's dad had to, since we never see either of their other parent, only Granny Smith on Bright Mac's side and Grand Pear on Pear Butter's side. However, as you can see, i didn't do that and went with the far more logical idea. Sunset was in really bad shape, not just mentally, but physically, so hospital is a much more logical place for her to end up. As for who Sunset's family could be and where they'll fit in the story as a whole? I'll leave you to guess and speculate that. Though, if you've read my stories, you should easily be able to figure out who her family is, especially since it's pretty much outright stated at the beginning of this chapter without saying their actual names. As for the mysterious girl in the hospital? Many guessed her identity before she even made an appearance. her role in the story, on the other hand? That's yet to be seen. Don't expect any quick updates (to this or any of my other stories) any time too soon after this. i only ended up writing this because the itch got to me and, due to events against my control, any original plans i'd had for the day had to be scrapped, so i chose to do this instead, rather than leaving it for another day. Hope you enjoyed this, small as it is, chapter and, until next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 ___________________________________________________________ Applejack sighed as she walked in the direction of Canterlot High. Her mind was still reeling. Sunset had a family in this world. Granted, it was this world’s version of her family, but… She shook her head. This world’s version. The idea there were other worlds and Sunset was from one of them still hadn’t fully processed for her. “Too bad we couldn’ contact ’em,” she mumbled to herself as she climbed the stairs into the school. Soon as Dash’s revelation of Sunset having a reflection of herself in this world likely meaning her family had one too, they’d gone to their Principal and Vice Principal. They’d hesitated and had to pull them away due to not wanting to sound like loons or like they were withholding information from the police, but, once certain they’d been far enough away to not be heard, they explained their theory. At once, Vice Principal Luna had gotten in contact with someone, they weren’t sure who. After a few minutes, she’d told the girls they’d look into it, having a lead they could use to track who might be Sunset’s family. This morning, as she’d been eating breakfast with her family, she’d gotten a text from Rarity. They’d found Sunset’s family. They were living all the way in a town called Sire’s Hollow, a fair distance from Canterlot. Her father was apparently MIA, but her mother and younger brother, Stellar Flare and Sunburst, still lived there. However, they hadn’t been home when Principal Celestia called them, so she’d left them a message instead. The question was, how long before they’d get back? What if it took too long and Sunset was discharged? Where would Sunset live after that? Sure, they’d learned through their principal and vice principal’s research, that Sunset had a loft less than half an hour away from school… but she couldn’t be left alone now. In her emotional state? That wasn’t even taking into consideration that she’d need someone monitoring her health for quite a while anyway, to make sure she didn’t have any other health issues that arise from her current health further down the line. “Whoa, AJ!” The farm girl stopped in place, realizing she’d been about to slam into Rainbow Dash. Glancing around, Applejack realized, in her pondering, her muscle memory had pulled her towards her locker. “Oh. Hey, Dash,” she said, glancing down, before turning to her locker. While they had made up at the hospital while Sunset was being looked at, it still felt a bit awkward, considering how they’d recently been so at odds with each other. “So…” Rainbow said hesitantly. “So…” Applejack wasn’t sure what to say. Rainbow Dash sighed, before slapping her cheeks and shook her head. “Sunset’s got a family here.” “Yeah… Yeah, she does,” Applejack put her stuff in her locker and closed, it turning to RD and the two started walking towards their first class. “It’s… still kinda hard to believe, right?” the athlete asked, seeming a little lost. “Even after everything she’s been through, she still has a family here in our world. That’s good… right?” Applejack glanced away. “Depends on how ya look at it, Ah guess.” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean? She has family here.” “She has a family here, Dash,” Applejack corrected her, stopping. “It won’t be as simple as reuniting a lost child with her family. Our Sunset ain’t their Sunset. Heck, she’s not even our Sunset, either. We’ve never met our Sunset, only the Pony Sunset.” Dash still looked confused. “I don’t get it.” Applejack facepalmed. “Dash, if there’s a version o’ Sunset’s family in our world, then there’s another version of Sunset in our world and she’s already with her family. How would you feel if another version o’ you just showed up ta be part o’ yer family?” Dash opened her mouth to respond, paused, clearly thought it over for a moment, then closed it, nodding. “I… get your point.” The two walked into class, though Applejack found it hard to focus. Sunset was constantly on her mind. She could vaguely understand how Sunset probably felt. For over two years, she’d thought her parents were dead, only to learn they’d been stuck on an island after a plane they’d been returning from a farming convention on crashed. Scootaloo’s parents had been on there too, so, both girls had been reunited with family after two years assuming their demise… though that was just it, wasn’t it? Assumed demise. Applejack had gotten her parents back… Sunset would never get her world back. That kind of grief… how do you even cope with something like that? Pinkie Pie shared similar feelings at lunch. Being family, distant or not, she’d felt the pain of losing Applejack’s parents too… While all their group were concerned for Sunset and her future, they noticed it was clear they were worrying more, likely because of Applejack’s parents’ believed demise. Once school was finally out, Applejack said goodbye to the group and headed straight for the farm. Walking up the path, she saw Grand Pear helping Granny Smith pull down a ladder they’d been using for something. Judging by the five new clean tiles on the roof, one of her parents had been fixing the roof while they’d been keeping the ladder steady. “Granny Smith? Grand Pear?” she asked, the two looking to her. “Well, howdy there, AJ,” Granny Smith smiled, waving. “Good to have you home,” Grand Pear smiled too, before it turned into a slight frown as he noticed the look on his granddaughter’s face. “Something wrong, Applejack?” She started, before shaking her head. “Ma or Pa around? Ah gotta ask ’em sumthin’ important.” “Sure,” Granny Smith replied, glancing at Grand Pear, who gave her a raised eyebrow in return. “Yer pa stepped out fer a bit, but yer ma just went inside. She’ll probably be in the kitchen.” Applejack gave her thanks and went inside, quickly finding her mother standing over a pot on the stove. “Ma?” she asked, setting her bag down on her chair. “Yes, honey?” she asked, glancing up from her pot, only to pause, her expression becoming concerned. “Applejack, is somethin’ wrong?” She was too honest with her feelings. Applejack sighed and sat down, her mother coming over and putting an arm around her. “Ma… remember how Ah called last night about stayin’ at the hospital because Sunset Shimmer was there?” Pear Butter seemed confused for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Ah do. Ah… Ah’m still surprised ya did that. Proud, certainly, but, with everythin’ ya’ve said about her in the past, it did take me by surprise. What about it?” Applejack glanced away and sigh. “We… we know where her family are, but… but we’re not sure if they’ll get back in contact afore Sunset gets out o’ the hospital.” “And…?” Pear Butter encouraged her to go on. Applejack sighed again. “If’n her family ain’t got in contact by the time she’s released… would it be alright if she stayed with us fer a while? I mean, she’ll need someone ta help her through this and… well, we kinda have experience with what she’s going through.” Pear Butter looked confused, like she was trying to understand where Applejack was coming from, but she closed her eyes, sighing and smiled. “O’ course, honey. If’n she wants that, she’s more than welcome t’ stay as long as she needs.” Applejack blinked, before smiling and softly hugged her mother. “Thanks, Ma.” “Though Ah doubt Apple Bloom or Big Mac are gonna be none too pleased by the idea,” Pear Butter laughed. At once Applejack stiffened. Crap. She hadn’t thought of that. ___________________________________________________________ In Canterlot General, Sunset lay in her hospital bed, asleep, the quivering of her eyebrows implying a bad dream. A young girl watched her, a hand resting on the poll bar of the bed. “I’m so sorry you went through that, Sunset,” she murmured, closing her eyes and biting her lip. “I didn’t act fast enough and now I’ve failed two worlds.” Sunset sniffled, a tear sliding down her face. The girl’s expression firmed. “But I’m not going to let you lose this world too. I’ll do what I must to keep it safe, no matter the cost.” Without another word, she walked out, no one paying her any mind as she passed through the reception and out the door. Author's Note So severely sorry for the massive lack of updates. We only recently got out of summer weather, despite having been almost a month into Autumn, so finding the drive to write again hasn't been as easy as i'd have hoped. In fact, I'd planned on a much different update to another fic for this Easter weekend, even planning on it happening yesterday so I could manage an Australia Easter Day upload... but, apparently Summer wanted one last dig at us, because it's been between 28-31 degrees between Saturday and yesterday. Today is the first good weather day this whole long weekend and, it being so close to the end of the holiday, I didn't have enough time to get into the groove for any of the major fics I'd been wanting to update. Heck, thanks to a certain recent revelation regarding Berry Punch I'd been informed of thanks to a random Twitter post yesterday, a plotline in Unexpected Aftermath could've had more meat added to the bones, but, it would need more around it I just didn't have time to think about properly until now, so, had to shelf that idea for sometime, hopefully only until later this month. But, I wanted to get something out before the Easter Weekend was over, so, I had to think about what could be updated without needing too much thought into it. Then, this fic passed my view as I was going through my fics to choose an update for. Yes, this isn't a fic you can just throw anything at and hope it sticks... but, it doesn't need some world-building, don't we? In this world set before the Fall Formal, there's a lot of differences that need to be established. While most things aren't going to change much too soon... but the butterfly effect is still a thing. Changes big and small are soon to affect a timeline already effected by both Sunset's escaping The Wasteland and Screwball preventing both the Sirens going to Canterlot High and the Memory Stone being an issue. And what got that girl over Sunset's bed have meant? You'll have to wait and see. Hope you enjoyed this little snack chapter and, Til next time, stay safe, stay clean and hope you had a good Easter everybody
Chapter 3Chapter 3 ___________________________________________________________ Flash glanced down at his phone, his expression worried frustration as he saw he had no new messages. He selected a number and brought it up to his ear, waiting, hoping for an answer this time. “Yeah, this is Sunset,” Sunset’s voice message replied from the other end after several rings. “If this isn’t important, piss off. It is matters, leave a message and, if I care, I’ll get back to you.” “Sunset, please, just answer!” Flash almost screamed into the phone. “It’s been three months, now! Where are you? Why did you stop coming to school? I’ve been to your loft countless times and you’ve clearly not been there. What’s going on? If something wrong, I want to help. Please, just… just call back as soon as you can, alright?” He hung up, before throwing his phone, it unceremoniously and completely ruining the mood by lightly landing on his bed instead of hitting the wall. Flash slumped in his chair by his desk, his head in his hands as he rang through his hair. It had been three months since Sunset had randomly vanished. One day, she’d just not come to school. At first, this wasn’t a big deal. High as Sunset’s grades were, she’d normally play hooky, so her being absent wasn’t too odd. In fact, much as he hated to admit it, CHS had basically breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Sunset had a really bad habit of being mean to others students. There was a reason she’d been voted Biggest Meanie in their freshmen year’s Year Book despite it not being a superlative. Many had questioned Flash why he’d started dating Sunset given that, but, Flash was sure there was more to Sunset than the cruel exterior she gave off. Maybe he was being naïve, like many had suggested to him when asking about their relationship, more annoyingly often than not followed up by suggesting he break up with her, but he was sure she needed him. Sure, he didn’t think he was much. He had a car, sure and was a member of the soccer team and played guitar… but he wasn’t an idiot jock. He was able to see, even recently, something had been eating Sunset from the moment that met. She’d been hurt in her past and he was sure that was the reason she lashed out at everyone, why he was the first person she’d seemed to open herself up even a small amount to. What could’ve hurt her so much in the past, he didn’t know. He hadn’t asked her because he felt he should let Sunset feel comfortable enough to bring it up herself. He wanted to help her heal, knowing the pain was clearly tearing her up inside… but, until she confided in him, there wasn’t really much he could do. And, frankly, it was not knowing what had hurt her in her past that made him worry so much that she’d been gone all this time. What if she’d come from an abusive family? It would certainly explain why she was so abusive to everyone else. If that was how she was raised, she’d think it was how she should treat others. If she had come from an abusive family, did she escape from them and they’d found and taken her back? Not knowing was the worst part, because he wanted to help… but you can’t really help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. It actually disgusted him how, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, no one at the school had been worried for Sunset aside from himself. The opposite, in fact. The school had become a somewhat happier place, with people moving out of their clicks and mingling more, not afraid of needing others solely like them to shield them should Sunset go on the warpath. He’d even heard people saying they hoped Sunset never returned. He was glad everyone felt at ease enough not to feel pressured to stay in their clicks… but their happiness of Sunset being gone… he’d found himself lashing out a few times himself. The fact the police were involved in the search should’ve been enough to quiet those talking so harshly about Sunset, but, if anything it made it worse. Rumours had started spreading that she was actually part of a criminal gang and she’d left town to avoid the heat. A sudden single knock from the window made Flash jerk, the sudden motion causing his chair to go off balance and he toppled over, sprawling out on the floor. He was suddenly glad he was home alone tonight. Explaining that would’ve been really embarrassing. Another knock at his window made him scramble to his feet as it dawned on him; he was on the second floor. For someone to be knocking on his window, they’d have needed to climb up to the small ledge outside his window to knock. Then again, it was a single knock. For all he knew, someone could’ve thrown something at his window. Cautiously, he approached it and looked outside. There was nothing but darkness, the light from his room not revealing anyone waiting outside his window. He opened the window, only to leap back as a rock came into his felt of vision. It flew passed where he’d been standing and smashed into his light, breaking it, plunging his room into darkness. “Hey!” he yelled, now annoyed as he returned to the window and look out into the dark night. “You could’ve hit me!” “Apologies,” a girl’s voice he did not recognise called from down below. Flash looked in the direction of the voice. Due to the now much darker surroundings, he couldn’t really see the person. Yes, there were streetlamps nearby, but he could only just make out the figure of someone standing by the trees close to his house. The light from the streetlamps was enough to reveal the person’s presence, but he couldn’t make out any features. “What do you want?” Flash asked, before his eyes narrowed. “If you’re another kid from school here to tell me how happy you’ve been since Sunset stopped coming to school and think I should just break up with her, I swear—” “No. nothing like that, I assure you, Flash Sentry,” the girl replied, quickly, but firmly… and somehow gently too. This confusing combination was enough to give Flash pause. “Alright, fine. If that’s not why you’re here, why are you and why did you throw rocks at my window?” “It’s about Sunset Shimmer’s whereabouts,” she said cooly. At once, Flash’s eyes widened as his heart leapt into his chest. “Sunset? You know where she is, where she’s been? Where? Why has she been gone for so long? Is she in danger? Did someone hurt her?!” that last part came out in a growl. The girl in the dark sighed, catching Flash off guard. It was a heavy sigh, one that he could just tell had a massive amount of weight behind it… that he’d heard before. Back when his great uncle had died, his dad had heaved similar sighs for many years… which only made Flash more worried. “Sunset was indeed hurt… but… not by anyone here,” the girl said after several minutes. “Her pain… it’s not one most would be able to comprehend. She’s safe now, I assure you, but… life has not been easy on her these last few months and will not be much kinder in the months to come.” Flash’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” “I’m not at liberty to say,” the girl replied, sounding crestfallen. “Not now, at any rate. All I can do, I try to help Sunset, to make up for my mistakes.” “Mistakes?” Flash felt conflicting emotions of curiosity, confusion, concern and scepticism. “What mistakes?” The girl just shook her head. “I can’t say now. However, if you want to find Sunset, listen carefully when you next go to school.” “Huh? What do you mean? Hey!” he called out as she turned and disappeared into the night. Flash remained at his window for a long time, not sure how he felt. Sunset was safe, he’d been suggested that much, which put one part of his mind at ease… but so many new questions were whirling around in his mind as he went and had a shower, the water pouring onto his head the same as the questions were pouring through it. Who was that strange girl? How did she know Sunset? Why did she keep hidden in the shadows? What mistakes had she made that effected Sunset? Why would simply going to school like normal and listening let him know what had happened to her? If anything, he’d hear the opposite. The Principal and Vice Principal had done their best to quiet everything down, especially over the last week, but… it didn’t stop the whispers. He didn’t want to actually listen to those harsh whispers. It was bad enough having to hear them, but actually listen? After a few moments, he sighed. He’d have to take the girl’s advice and listen. He didn’t like it, knew he’d hear a lot of things he didn’t want to… but, if listening did help him learn something, it was worth a shot, right? Better than not knowing at all. ___________________________________________________________ Flash scowled as he walked through the halls of Canterlot High towards his next class. As expected, listening had done him no favours so far. All anyone talked about whenever Sunset’s name came up with the rumours or how glad they were she wasn’t around anymore. He should’ve guessed. That girl last night was just another Sunset Hater and she’d decided, with Sunset not around to take the brunt of the hate, he should get some, since he was still holding out on her instead of joining in with everyone else. He was about to slam the door to his locket closed in frustration, when his ears perked up. “Sunset’s alright?” a very soft voice said. It was so soft he could easily have missed it, but, whirling around, he saw two girls passing close by. One was one of the fashionistas of the school, Rarity. Walking alongside her was a yellow girl were pink hair. Something Shy, wasn’t it? He remembered Sunset mentioning a name that sounded like that once, though he couldn’t remember the context of the conversation they’d been having at the time. The two were walking off down the hall in the oppsite direction he was going to be heading. Frowning, Flash decided he’d look for them at lunch and find out more. ___________________________________________________________ Flash sat at the table with his bandmates. It wasn’t their usual table, but, over the last couple months, everyone had been switching tables every now and then, so they hadn’t questioned why had wanted to sit here. Flash had chosen this table in particular today because, after watching Rarity and, thanks, to a name drop, Fluttershy, he’d seen what table they went to at lunch… which had honestly surprised him. Everyone knew that, since shortly before the last year ended, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been at odds after Applejack, a normally honest to a fault person, had lied to Rainbow Dash about when a bake sale would happen. The group also included Pinkie Pie, the school’s known party planner, who’d been at odds with both Rarity and Fluttershy for quite some time, but, the five were almost acting like all the problems they’d had with each other since last year had never happened. This oddness of it aside, he knew his best chance of getting information from them about Sunset was to listen in, like the girl in the night had suggested. Granted, logically, he thought it would be smarter to just outright ask, but… he had this gut feeling that wouldn’t have gone well. For all he knew, these girls might actually be just as uncaring about Sunset’s absence as everyone else seemed. He was honestly just going off a hunch from the small snippet of conversation he’d gotten from Rarity and Fluttershy as they’d passed him in the hall. The conversation could easily have been negative about Sunset for all he knew… but it was the closest bit of good news he’d heard all yesterday, so he was trusting his gut on this. While his mates were chatting about music, Flash half joined in, keeping his ears trained on the conversations from the table next to them. “… stay on the farm,” Applejack was saying. “Ya know, in case her parents don’t get the message any time soon.” “It is rather worrying,” Rarity said, sounding concerned. “Couldn’t the police do anything about it?” The police? “Doubt it,” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively. “The cops can’t just go searching for her parents and demand they come back, Rares. It wouldn’t exactly go over well, would it?” “More likely they’d think they were in trouble for something,” Fluttershy said, the barest hint of a stutter being avoided clear in her voice. “I really hope we can cheer her up,” Pinkie Pie said, sounding oddly dejected. “I mean, what kind of party do you throw to cheer someone up after something that horrible.” “Losin’ her family would’ve been hard enough… but her whole world?” Applejack interjected in agreement. Were they talking about Applejack’s family or that kid Scootaloo’s parents? It was common knowledge at the school that both sets of parents had gone missing for quite a while… but they’d come back last year, hadn’t they? It had been all over the news. Applejack, her brother and grandmother and Scootaloo had all been absent from the school for a few weeks to get reacquainted with their long lost relatives. So… who were they talking about? Sunset’s parents, maybe? Flash had assumed they’d been abusive to Sunset and that was why she was the way she was, but… if the police knew that, they wouldn’t have contacted her parents for any reason, right? “Have the doctors seen any improvements?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone. Flash’s eyes widened. Doctors? Applejack sighed. “Kinda? Ah asked about it and they said she’s been in an’ out o’ consciousness, but, not for long. A minute or two, tops. Ah… ah don’t think she wants to wake up right now, ya know?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Can you blame her? If not for that Screwball kid helping her, she’d have been trapped forever in that place and died. Knowing that… I don’t think I’d want to wake up for a long time either.” “Think we should go see her again after school lets out?” Fluttershy asked tentatively. “She’s not likely to be awake, darling,” Rarity sighed, before making a firm grunting sound. “Still, you’re right. For now, until her parents get in contact, we’re the only ones she really has in this world. On the offhand chance she is awake, I’m sure Sunset would appreciate some familiar faces.” Flash’s mind was ablaze as his eyes widened. There it was! They knew! Those five girls knew where Sunset was and what had happened to her and… and… Suddenly, everything else they’d been saying caught up with him with the new context that they had indeed been talking about Sunset the whole time. Applejack had said Sunset losing her family would’ve been hard enough, but then asked about her whole world? What did that even mean? They’d said the police had been trying to contact Sunset’s family and were waiting on a reply, implying they were still around… so, did that mean the rest of Sunset’s family were gone? Were she and her parents the only members of their family left? That would explain the mentioning of losing her whole world, too. If you and your parents became your only living relatives, that would be like losing your whole world as your immediate family would be all that’s left and you’d have no one else in this world to connect to. And what was this about doctors? Was Sunset in the hospital? Was that why she’d been absent from school all these months? Applejack mentioned she’d been in and out of consciousness. Had she been in a coma? And what Rainbow Dash had said. If not for some kid named Screwball helping her, Sunset would’ve been trapped forever in some place and died? Sunset had been trapped somewhere and could’ve died there?! Had she been involved in an accident? Had someone kidnapped her? Wait. Was the girl he’d spoken to that night at his house been this Screwball and she’d been the only one to care to let Sunset’s boyfriend know she’d been found? So many questions whirling around in his mind and he wasn’t sure where to begin. However, one thing Rarity had sent did strike a cord with him, an angry cord. They were the only ones Sunset really had? What was he, chopped liver? He was her boyfriend, damint and, last he checked, he’d been the one worried about Sunset all these months, not those girls. Heck, if he recalled right, last he’d bothered to pay it mind, they’d been among the students glad for Sunset’s absence from school and now they had the nerve to think they were the only people Sunset had in her life? If he didn’t know it would cause a scene that could unintentionally land him in detention, he’d have gotten up and that moment, stomped over to their table and laid into them. However, getting and being stuck in detention afterschool was not going to help him find Sunset. From what that girl in the night had suggested, his best bet of finding out what was going on with Sunset would be to follow those girls after school. They’d lead him right to her and then he’d give them a piece of his mind and get them to tell him everything. Author's Note I'm sure THIS is not what you were expecting to get another update so soon, huh? Well, I've been trying to get back into the swing of my other fics, particularly some of the ones with Twily in them, if you know what i meant, but, the mood just hadn't gotten set yet. IRL had a few bumps it wanted to throw my way that put me off writing. However, yesterday morning, while skimming through my fics to figure out which ones i'd best be able to update right now, i decided to randomly let the auto read function read the entire page of my stories i was on at the time and, when it got to this story, i read a part that I myself, despite being the other, had totally forgotten about, as this chapter has made obvious: Flash. While i had already planned on him and Sunset staying together since it is BEFORE their breakup... i'd totally forgotten about him last chapter, it completely slipping my mind that, yeah, since he IS still Sunset' boyfriend, he'd have been really worried when she not only stopped showing up at school, but also didn't answer any calls or texts. So, i decided to do Flash justice and so he got sole focus in this chapter. Of course, he has NO idea the real trauma Sunset's been through and, it will only be by accidental misunderstanding that the girls will be able to come up with a believable cover story as to what happened to Sunset without blurting out the whole magical unicorn from a dead world thing and not sound like absolute loons or like they're playing a cruel joke. And when he brings up his theory about Sunset coming from an abusive family, but how he guesses that isn't the case if the cops called them to inform them where their daughter is? Hoo boy. The girls are gonna have their work cut out for them with this. How to bring Flash in enough without telling him everything without making him feel like they're leaving him out or hiding something? And, with the events of the Formal now definitely going to be different from the movie and Screwball already having dealt with the Sirens and Memory Stone, might a certain lavender girl enter the scene sooner, now the energy readings she'd been monitoring are mostly gone? Wait and see. You will NEVER guess my endgame here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and, til next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody
