Chapters Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
Prologue: Mom is going to kill me
"Are you done yet?" Scootaloo asked, not even trying to mask her excitement as her sister, Sunset Shimmer, tightened the last few bolts on the ramp that she had built for Scootaloo.
"Calm down Scoots," Sunset said with a laugh, "the others aren't here yet."
"But I want to give that ramp a test run," Scootaloo said with a pout, "do we have to wait for everyone else?" Sunset sighed and shook her head as she continued to work.
"Hand me that 10mm socket, will you Scoot." Sunset said as a black sports car with yellow and blue trim pulled up in the driveway.
"How is Canterlot High's cutest couple?" Sunset called as both her cousin, Aria Blaze, and Flash Sentry joined them in the yard. Aria rolled her eyes at Sunset.
"We've only been dating for a month," Aria said, "I doubt that makes us CHS' cutest couple."
"Well the finalists are the two of you, Lyra and Bon-Bon, and Pinkie and Sonata." Sunset said, "but we also received votes for Applejack and Rarity, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash."
Aria and Scootaloo both laughed when they heard that.
"What did the girls say when you told them?" Flash asked.
"I decided that it would be best to keep that fact for myself." Sunset said, "we also received a single vote for Snips and Snails."
"I can't unsee that now," Flash deadpanned,"thank you."
"If I have to suffer, then so do you." Sunset replied as Fluttershy's car pulled up and Rarity and Adagio Dazzle climbed out of the eco friendly hybrid along with Fluttershy.
"My," Fluttershy said as she looked at the ramp, "that looks dangerous."
"Yeah, Sunset," Aria said, "your mom is going to kill you."
"And our mom will kill us because we didn't talk her out of it." Adagio said to her sister.
Everyone turned to look at the sound of an engine back firing, and saw Applejack's old beat-up pick-up truck turn onto the street. They could clearly make out AJ's trademark Stetson and Rainbow's polychromatic hair through the dust covered windshield.
"Is everybody here?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.
"No," Sunset answered after looking around and doing a head count, "Pinkie and Sonata aren't here yet."
"We could spend ages waiting on those two love birds." Adagio said. And they all knew that she was right. Ever since the two of them had been dating, Pinkie and Sonata hadn't been known for punctuality.
"We're right here." Pinkie Pie said from the center of the group. Sunset could have sworn that neither Pinkie or Sonata Dusk had been standing there mere moments ago.
"How did they get here?" Flash whispered to Aria.
"We've found that it works best if you don't question it." Aria whispered back, "honestly I think that they are both agents of C.H.A.O.S."
"Now?" Scootaloo begged impatiently. Sunset looked around at her gathered friends and sighed.
"Ok Scootaloo," Sunset said with a smile, "show us what you got." Sunset and the others watched as Scootaloo put plenty of distance between her the ramp. She then began to ride her scooter towards the ramp, picking up speed as she went.
"Mom is going to kill me." Sunset said as she watched her younger sister fly towards the death trap that Sunset had built.
"You betcha," Aria said to her, "can I have your guitar?"
Sunset wanted to turn to her cousin, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Scootaloo. She watched with horror as her sister made her final approach to the ramp. Before Sunset could stop her, both Scootaloo and her scooter were airborne. Everyone present watched in amazement as Scootaloo pulled off the trick that she had been telling them about. However, her scooter wasn't ready to once again be under the effects of gravity and when it hits the ground, the rear wheel snapped off the axle. Scootaloo luckily landed in the grass. Sunset broke into a run as soon as Scootaloo hit the ground.
"Scootaloo!" Sunset cried as she held her younger sister, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Scootaloo said nonchalantly.
"Your scooter has seen better days," Aria said as she picked up what remained of Scootaloo's preferred method of transport.
With that the heavens suddenly opened up with a torrential downpour. Sunset quickly ushered everyone inside and out of the rain.
"What do we do now," Rainbow asked, "I'm sick and tired of watching 'The Princess Bride'."
"Rainbow, it's a classic," Rarity said.
"We watch it everytime we come here." Rainbow pointed out.
"Let's tell stories!" Pinkie suggested. Everyone smiled and nodded their heads at her idea.
"You know there is one story that I want to hear," Sonata said, "one that I've wanted to hear for a long time."
"What story is that if ya don't mind me askin'?" Applejack asked.
"The story about how Sunset was adopted by Aunt Tia." Sonata answered both of her sisters and Scootaloo all nodded in agreement.
Sunset sighed and looked at her friends. She could feel all eyes upon her.
"Haven't I told you that story?" Sunset asked.
"Nope." Aria said, "you've always been tight lipped about that."
"Uhh," Sunset sighed, "I guess now is as good of a time as any. Promise me that I won't have to tell it again?"
Everyone looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.
"We promise," they all chorused.
"Ok," Sunset said, "I guess that I should start at the beginning..."
"WAIT," Pinkie cried out, "we need popcorn for a story this epic. Sonata, on me!" With that both Pinkie Pie and Sonata disappeared into the kitchen. Soon everyone heard the sound of popcorn being popped and the house filled with the buttery aroma of freshly popped popcorn. The two girls soon returned with enough popcorn and soft drinks for everyone. Sunset took a seat across from everyone else and looked at her hands for a moment before beginning her tale.
"I guess that the night of the Fall Formal is the best place to start," Sunset said.
Author's Note
And we begin a new adventure set in the Sirensverse!
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
I hadn't been prepared to lose. Everything that I had done up to that point, I had done solely for the purpose of allowing me to return to Equestria and conquering it. Twilight and the element bearers wouldn't be able to stop me, not with the Element of Magic under my control.
But, as I quickly found out, I wasn't prepared and I wasn't in control. The Element of Magic awakened something deep inside of me. Something that I wasn't prepared for and hadn't been aware of.
The Element of Magic turned me into a demon. I was aware of my actions, but I wasn't in control. SHE was, and I was along for the ride.
I tried pleading with the demon to stop, the last thing that I wanted was to hurt anyone. She wouldn't listen. I can still hear her laugh and her cruel taunts. She thought that she had won.
Then we got blasted into oblivion by weaponized friendship. To the six girls that would later turn out to be my saviors, it only lasted a few seconds. To me it lasted for a lifetime as I was forced to relive every cruel thing that I have ever done. I can't apologise for everything I've done, and there are some things that will never be forgiven.
But that wasn't all, the demon made sure to leave a physical reminder of what she had done. I still have the scars on my back. No one could see them at the time since I still had my leather jacket. Everyone else returned to the dance as if nothing had happened. I, however, was put to work cleaning up the mess that I had made in the front of the school.
I left as soon as Luna said that I was free to go. And I was glad that I was still free. Princess Twilight had every right to haul me back to Equestria in chains. But she didn't. I guess that she was the first one to see it. A little spark inside of me that was worth redemption. For that I'm thankful.
At the time I was living in an abandoned gas station two blocks away from the school. The rats were my only company. Even Snips and Snails had no clue where I lived. I hid there all weekend. I was worried when the cop car pulled into the station and I didn't move the whole time that he was there. But he stayed in his car either eating his lunch or working on paperwork. I guess that I got lucky. Unfortunately I hadn't supplied myself with enough food. I hadn't planned on being in this world any longer and I had let my supplies dwindle. I was out of food by Sunday night, but I was too afraid to leave. I was certain that the students of CHS were after me to exact their revenge. Leaving my sanctuary wasn't an option. I tried scrounging for food. I almost ate a rat, but the thought of it made me throw up.
Eventually my need for food won out over my need of self preservation. I remembered that there was a homeless shelter not to far from where I was staying and that they didn't ask to many questions. So I made my way to the shelter. I was only interested in a meal and maybe a shower. My back was covered in small scratches and as I would learn later two large scars where the wings had protruded from my back.
I didn't notice the familiar red pick-up truck that was parked outside the shelter that night. And it was noisy inside while I stood in line waiting to get the first meal that I had eaten in days. I wasn't prepared for the voice that addressed me.
"Would you like some mashed potatoes Sugarcube?" The familiar voice asked, I looked up and found myself eye to eye with Applejack. Only the service line was between us. I had a choice. I could either stay or I could run. I knew enough about human nutrition and anatomy to know that if I ran I probably wouldn't get very far.
"Mashed potatoes please," I managed to squeak out. It seemed like my voice had abandoned me as well. That's when Applejack really looked at me.
"Whoa there Sunset," Applejack said, "I didn't recognize you. What're ya doin here?"
"Trying to survive," I mumbled.
"What was that?" Applejack asked, "I didn't hear ya."
"Just trying to get something to eat," I said a little louder. I then managed to find a place to sit and eat. It wasn't long before Applejack was confronting me though.
"Sunset, what are you doin at a place like this?" Applejack asked me once she got me outside.
"The same thing as everyone else," I replied, "trying to eat."
"Well yeah," Applejack said, "but this is the homeless shelter..." Then all the pieces seemed to fall into place in Applejack's mind.
"Sunset," Applejack said softly, "why didn't you tell anybody that you are homeless?"
Because nobody cares about me, I wanted to scream at her.
"Who would I have told?" I asked.
"Well, I guess you could have said somethin to Principal Celestia." Applejack replied.
"Hmph," I said, "I doubt that she cares that much."
Applejack looked at her watch and then grabbed me by the wrist. Next thing I knew, she was loading me into the passenger side of her family's truck and I found myself sandwiched between her and Big Mac.
"Where are you taking me?" I managed to ask.
"We're taking you back to the farm." Applejack said, "atleast there you'll be able to get a hot shower and better food than ya can get at the shelter. Plus it'll give me an opportunity to look at your back, I can tell that you're in some pain."
"Why are you doing this," I said, "I've only ever been mean to you."
"Well Sunset," Applejack said after a quiet moment, "the road to friendship has to start somewhere."
"Eyup." Big Mac said.
Author's Note
I can't promise what day I'm going to update this story, but I am going to try to post a new chapter once a week.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
The rest of the ride out to Sweet Apple Acres was filled with deafening silence. There was no point in running. I knew from experience in PhysEd that Applejack could easily outrun me, and it wouldn't have surprised me if Big Mac could as well. I wasn't surprised that when we pulled up in front of the farm house to find the family matriarch standing on the front lawn.
"Mcintosh, you and your sister can go inside the house and get Sunset somethin' ta eat," Granny Smith said, "Sunset, I'm glad to see that you're safe."
Granny Smith reached out and wrapped her arms around me and led me inside. This was the first time that I had ever been on a farm. Even when I'd lived in Equestria I had never been to a farm.
Once I was inside, Granny directed me to a seat in the kitchen. She told me to sit down and she looked me over. I don't remember hearing anything being said but out of the corner of my eye I saw Applejack leave the room. She returned a few minutes later carrying a bright orange case with a large red cross on it. Then I saw Big Mac leave the room and shut the door behind him.
"Alright Sunset," Granny said, "we need to look you over for injuries, please remove your shirt."
I tried to take my shirt off, but it seemed like it was glued to my back. It was also quite painful. I began to panic. Why won't my shirt come off?
"Sunset," Applejack said reassuringly, "it appears that your shirt has adhered itself to the dried blood on your back. We need you to calm down so that Granny can cut your shirt off."
I nodded and tried to calm my breathing. For a few moments the only sounds I heard was the sound of fabric being cut. The silence was suddenly broken by Applejack's shocked gasp.
"Sunset," Applejack said, "your back is covered in many small scratches, most of which seem to have healed, but you have to large gashes on your shoulder blades that have only just begun to clot over."
That explains the pain in my back when I move my arms, I thought to myself.
"Sunset," Granny Smith said as she came to stand before me, "I'm not going to lie, this next part is going to hurt, but we have to do so that you don't get an infection."
I nodded and braced myself. Or I least I thought that I had. I found out later that they had packed the wounds can with sterile silver guaze after washing them out with saline solution. By the time that they had finished I was ready to pass out, but they kept me awake. After they cleaned up and Applejack loaned me one of her spare shirts, Big Mac came back in to the kitchen. He took first aid kit from Applejack.
"I know that you want to get some sleep Sugarcube," Applejack said, "but why don't you try to eat something first? We have some fresh apple pie."
Again I nodded. I tried to sit up straight as I ate the rather large slice of pie that she gave me, but I was still in pain. Thankfully, Big Mac came and put a soft pillow behind my back. After I ate the best tasting slice of Apple pie that I had ever had, Applejack led me upstairs to her bedroom. Once inside I found that a folding cot had been set up, but I was thankful for that, it beat sleeping on a grimey cold floor.
"You get the bed Sunset," Applejack said as I started to sit on the cot, "I'm on the cot."
"But Applejack," I tried to protest, "this is your bed, and you've been so kind already."
"Sunset," Applejack said, "it wouldn't be right of me to allow you to sleep on that hard cot in your current condition."
I wanted to protest further, but it was painfully obvious to me that I had already lost the argument.
I lay there in the darkened room. I could hear the crickets outside chirping, every now and then I could hear an owl.
"Applejack," I asked breaking the relative silence, "why did you help me, I know that I don't deserve it."
"Maybe the old you didn't deserve it," Applejack said, "but after the Formal, when you pulled your self up out of that hole, I saw something in your eyes. I could see the real you. That's the person that I'm helping. That's who I want to be friends with."
I didn't know what to say.
"Good night Sunset," Applejack said.
"Good night Applejack," I replied. That was the first night in a long time that I had slept in a soft warm bed. It was also the night that my nightmares began.
Sunset... Sunset... I woke with a shock. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my gas station. The second thing I noticed was that midmorning daylight was streaming in through the window. Lastly I noticed Granny Smith standing in the doorway.
"Sorry to wake ya Sunset," Granny said, "but it's unhealthy to sleep all day and have nightmares."
"What time is it?" I asked as the fog in my mind cleared.
"It's 11:30," Granny said, "and before you say somethin, you aren't goin to school today."
I wanted to protest, but Granny held up her hand to stop me.
"I already called Principal Celestia and told her the situation," Granny said, "now why don't you get a bite to eat and then join me in the living room. We can watch the stories on the television."
The only time I saw Big Mac was when he came inside to have lunch. I offered to help him with his work around the farm, but he told me that I wasn't in any condition to do what needed to be done. Granny later told me that Big Mac had always had a fiercely strong independent streak.
I heard the sound of a truck firing up and I saw Big Mac leaving. Granny told me that it was time for him to go pick up Applejack and Apple Bloom from school. What I didn't expect was the car that was following the Apple family when they returned, it was an eco friendly hybrid, and I could just make out the four girls inside.
Author's Note
I decided to address what happens in Sunset's nightmares at a later point in the story, just know that she is having them.
I'm planning to update this story on a regular schedule. Which would be a first for me. I'm going to shoot for Friday's.
For those of you that have been following my Author's Note's know that I have been having health issues over the course of the past year and a half. Two weeks ago I had surgery on my arm. I had the staples holding my incision closed removed earlier this week. While I was there they did an ultrasound of my arm and shoulder. They found two blood clots in veins that lead from my arm to my heart so now I take blood thinners in addition to all the other meds I get to take. The doctor did say that the clots looked small and fresh and he hopes that taking Blood thinners for six months should clear them up.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
I tried to read the girls faces as they climbed out of Fluttershy's car. I couldn't tell whether they were upset, angry or sad. I wasn't sure if I could face all five girls at once.
"Dontcha worry Sunset," Granny Smith said, "I'll be right here if you need me."
She must have been reading my mind. I sat on the sofa quietly while the girls be filed into the room. Big Mac graciously led Apple Bloom out of the room as everyone else found a place to sit. Somehow I ended up sandwiched between Pinkie Pie and Rarity. The six of us just sat there for several tense minutes before Rainbow Dash broke the ice.
"Yeah," Rainbow said, "this isn't awkward."
We all giggled at that remark. I didn't know where to begin with these girls. I had just tried to kill them the last time that I had seen them.
"Sunset," Rarity said, "Applejack has told us what happened. We would like to apologise, we had no idea that you would get hurt."
"You don't need to apologise," I said on the verge of tears, "if anything I should be apologising to you. I'm the one who destroyed your friendships."
"You may have started to drive the wedge between us," Applejack said, "but we should have communicated with each other better and realized that you were behind it. Instead we each let our pride get in between each of us."
I was a bit shocked to hear these words. They were saying that I wasn't entirely responsible for breaking them up, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I could still hear the demon laughing at me. Mocking me.
"If we had realized that you didn't have any place to live we would have invited you to join us earlier." Pinkie said, I hadn't noticed it before but her hair was straight, and her perpetual smile was gone. She looked kind of scary.
"I really didn't want anyone to know my living situation at the time." I replied.
"Um if you don't mind me asking," Fluttershy asked quietly, "what are you going to do now?"
"Fluttersy is right darling," Rarity said taking my hand into hers, "we can't allow you to go back to living on the streets like some vagrant."
"She won't be." a familiar voice said. We turned to look, and standing there in the doorway from the kitchen stood Principal Celestia. I wanted to run, she was the last being in any world that I wanted to face. Unfortunately Rarity was holding my hand.
"She will be coming to live with me and my sister." Celestia said, "I expect you girls not to spread that around the school, Sunset will have a hard enough time as it is."
"Principal Celestia," I managed to stammer out, "what are you doing here?"
"Mrs. Smith called me and explained the situation to me," Celestia said, "I am disappointed, disappointed that I didn't realize that you were homeless until now. You should have come to me."
At the time I thought that the sorrow that I heard in her voice was disguised anger. I later learned that she was angry, but she was angry with herself and not with me.
" What was I supposed to tell all of you," I cried, "that I was a magical pony from another universe and that I was seeking asylum? You all would have put me in an asylum."
"Sunset," Applejack said, "none of that matters now, we are all offerin' to be yer friends."
I looked at each person in the room one at a time. Each of them nodded at me. I had never had friends before. Even when I was dating Flash I only used him to get popular. I was sorry that I used him and I hoped that one day, he would forgive me.
"What do I do now from here," I said quietly, "everything has changed."
"Well you should return to school," Celestia said, "if you are now trapped in our universe, you should learn everything that you can about it."
"We should throw you a party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.
"I don't think that she's in the mood for a party Pinkie," Rainbow said, "she has been through a lot of stuff and I'm sure that she is still processing."
I was thankful for what Rainbow Dash had said. I couldn't have handled a party then, though Pinkie eventually got her wish of throwing me a party. Suddenly I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. I broke down into a sobbing mess, and in my current state of mind, I didn't care who saw me or who heard me. Luckily, it was only my new found friends and Principal Celestia. Rarity wrapped me up in a warm embrace.
"There, there darling," Rarity said, "everything is going to be better now."
"But I tried to turn the students at CHS into zombie slaves," I cried, tears streaming down my face, "and I almost killed you!"
"Sunset you didn't have any control over what you were doing," Applejack said, "once you put the crown on yer head the demon took over."
"But I've spent most of my life studying magic in all of its forms," I replied, "I should have known what was going to happen."
"No one can know all the possible outcomes Sunset," Celestia said, "that is what makes life worth living, the sense of discovery."
It was strange hearing those words come out of Celestia's mouth. If a certain pony princess had told me those words, I'd probably still be her student back in Equestria. I didn't realize it at the time, but subconsciously, I think that I was starting to realize that Princess Celestia and Principal Celestia were two different beings.
"What now?" I asked.
"Why don't you grab your belongings and I'll help you get them in my van," Celestia said, "and then we can go to my house and get you settled in."
"All I have are what I'm wearing," I said quietly, " my few other belongings are at the gas station."
Celestia looked at her watch, and then she glanced out the window. Which caused the rest of us to look. The Sun had already set for the evening.
"It's too late to head over there now," Celestia said, "how about we go there after school tomorrow."
And with that, Celestia led me to her van. Little did I know it, but the night wasn't yet over.
Author's Note
One of the songs that my fiance and I want to have played at our wedding is "Love is in Bloom".
On another note, I almost titled this story Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tail. But I changed it because I felt like that was to provocative.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
Most of the ride from Sweet Apple Acres to Celestia's house was a ride in silence. I didn't know what to say to this woman. She reminded me of Princess Celestia, and I had been nothing but a disappointment for the Princess. I thought I was a disappointment for the Principal as well. After driving in silence for nearly thirty minutes, Celestia finally spoke up.
"Sunset, Luna and I are opening our house to you," Celestia said breaking the silence, "but there are some ground rules."
"Okay," I said meekly. Honestly, I was afraid of Celestia. I didn't know where I stood with her, after my behavior up to the Fall Formal, it wouldn't have surprised me if she had reform school waiting for me.
"First off, you are welcome to eat anything in the refrigerator or in the pantry. You are also welcome to watch the television and use the DVD player. Luna and I ask that you don't enter our bedrooms without our permission."
I simply nodded.
"You will have a curfew of 9:00PM, you don't have to be in bed by nine, but I do expect you to be home by then." Celestia continued. 9PM was late for me, I was rarely out after dark. I had read too many police beat sections of the newspaper.
"Do you have a problem with any of these rules?" Celestia asked me.
"No ma'am," I squeaked out. I didn't know it at the time, but I was more afraid than Fluttershy normally was. I was absolutely terrified.
As we pulled in to the driveway, the first thing I noticed was how nice the house looked. Then I noticed the blue Camaro and the white sport bike parked next to it. Celestia led me in through the garage. I stopped and looked at the pair mountain bikes that were parked near the door.
"Do you ride," Celestia asked me, "it's a great hobby."
"I never learned," I replied as she led into the kitchen. The kitchen was a little bit larger than I expected, it even had a wet bar built in to it. Sitting at the dining room table, Luna was fastidiously typing away on her laptop, while Ms. Raven Inkwell, Celestia and Luna's secretary looked over her shoulder. They both stopped what they were doing and watched me when I walked in.
"Good evening Ms. Shimmer." Luna said as she closed her computer.
"Hello Sunset." Raven said.
I simply blushed and waved. I was a little in awe my surroundings. I also didn't know what to say to these women. For a little more than two years I had made the lives of these women Hell, and yet they were still willing to help me.
"Well, it looks like you are going to have a busy night," Raven said to Luna, "I'll get going. See you tomorrow at School."
I was shocked to see Ms. Raven bend down and kiss Ms. Luna, I was even more shocked to see Luna passionately return the kiss. I watched as Raven grabbed a white motorcycle helmet and stepped past me and headed out the door. I turned and looked at Luna. Her eyes were like daggers.
"Yes, Ms. Inkwell and I are in a relationship," Luna said, "and I would appreciate it if you didn't pass that around the school."
"Yes ma'am," I said.
"You don't need to be so formal when we are home," Celestia said, "but when we are at school, I'm still your principal and Luna is still your Vice-Principal."
"Okay," I answered, at the time, I didn't know if I could separate the two of them from the personas that they projected at school.
"I guess someone should show you around." Luna said as she closed her laptop.
"Could you," Celestia said, "I need to eat something, is there any pizza left from last night, or did you and Raven finish it?"
"It's in the fridge." Luna said. I was surprised to see Celestia open the refrigerator and pull out a pizza box, she opened it and grabbed a slice and started to eat it with out bothering to warm it up.
"Well, as you can see this is the kitchen," Luna said to me as she waved her arm about, "and this is the dining room,"
She then stood up and gestured for me to follow her. She led me through an archway into the living room. I was amazed by the size of the television. I had only seen the ones at school and the one at Applejack's family farm, and they were noticably smaller than the one I was looking at now! I also noticed that there were several small black plastic boxes on the shelf underneath television. Luna must have noticed what I was looking at.
"Do you play videogames," she asked me. I had heard other students at school talking about videogames before, but I had never played them myself.
"No," I replied quietly, "we don't have videogames where I'm from."
"Don't tell Celestia," Luna said with a laugh, "that would break her heart."
"Don't tell me what," Celestia said as she walked into the room and took a seat on the couch.
"Sunset has never played a videogame before," Luna chuckled. Celestia looked at me with wide eyes.
"Well we'll just have to correct that, won't we." Celestia said with a grin as she grabbed a game controller.
"Allow me to finish the tour before we start corrupting her." Luna said, as she playfully slapped Celestia on the head.
These two women were so much different from how they acted at school. Gone was the professionalism that I had grown accustomed to.
The tour concluded with what was now my bedroom. I could tell from looking at the walls that I wasn't the rooms first occupant. There were several posters for boy bands plastered on the walls.
"This room was used by our niece, Cadence," Luna explained, "she moved out while she was in college and just got a job at Crystal Prep."
Luna left me to myself after she completed the tour. I just sat on the edge of the bed and cried.
Author's Note
I'm free from the hospital! Though I almost died. I woke up one Sunday morning and I was bleeding from my arm. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop so I called the paramedics. I had passed out from blood loss by the time they arrived, but they managed to get me to the ER in time and I ended receiving 5 units of blood.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
"Sunset... Sunset... Sunset!"
As I awoke the next morning the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my little abandoned gas station. The second thing I noticed was that wherever I was, it was soft and warm. The third thing I noticed was Ms. Celestia's voice. I jumped out of bed and found myself looking Principal Celestia. She wasn't dressed for school and she held two coffee mugs in her hands. She offered one to me.
"I think that it would be best if you stayed here today instead of going to school today," Celestia said, "many of the students haven't forgiven you yet and I fear for your safety."
"Why are you helping me," I asked, "after everything that I've done to you."
Celestia sat down on the bed and looked me in the eyes.
"Sunset," Celestia said, "whatever you did in the past wasn't you, I can see the real you in your eyes. I see a frightened young woman, who had her whole life planned out, with her own dreams and aspirations, only to have all those dreams stripped away in night."
Was I that transparent? Or did part of the Equestrian High Princess cross over to this high school educator?
"You deserve to have live life like an ordinary teenager," Celestia continued, "and trust me, ordinary for a teenager is anything but ordinary."
"How long am I staying here?" I asked. I was afraid that she would get rid of me once she knew the real me.
"Atleast until you are eighteen.' Celestia said, "according to your records you are, what, fourteen, or fifteen?"
"I'm fifteen." I said quietly.
"Well in the eyes of the law you are a minor and you need an adult to watch after you. I'd like to be that adult, if you'll let me."
I didn't know what to say. No adult had ever taken a keen interest in me since I had fled Equestria for the human world. Did this woman genuinely care about me? I had so many questions, but at the time I didn't know how to ask them.
"You mean that I can stay here," I asked quietly.
"As long as you like." Celestia answered.
"Don't you have to work today," I asked as I looked at the digital clock on the night stand.
"Luna can handle things at CHS today," Celestia said as she took a look around the room, "I thought that I would take you shopping. You need more than a single change of clothes, and I don't think that the way my niece decorated this room fits you."
I looked at the way the room was decorated, boy band posters and hearts really weren't my thing. I nodded.
"Alright then," Celestia said, "take a shower, get dressed and then join me downstairs for breakfast."
"Okay," I said. I waited for Celestia to leave the room before I climbed out of the bed. Part of me didn't want to leave it's soft warm confines, but I didn't want to keep Celestia waiting. I had been a disappointment to the first Celestia, I couldn't allow history to repeat itself with this Celestia.
When I finally stumbled down the stairs, I found myself in the kitchen, and I could smell bacon and pancakes. It was the best breakfast that I had had in a long time. To this day Celestia's pancakes are my favorite food. Celestia was on her phone as she waved to a seat with a plate piled high with pancakes. Next to the plate was a glass bottle filled with authentic maple syrup.
"I'll take it if that's the earliest you can get us in," Celestia said with a sigh, "okay we'll be there Monday morning."
Celestia must have seen the unasked question in my eyes because she looked at me after she put down her phone.
"I just made a doctor's appointment for you on Monday morning," Celestia said, "I wanted something earlier, but unless it's an emergency we can't get you in earlier than that."
"Why do I need to see a doctor," I asked. I had avoided going to the doctor as much as possible since I had arrived in this world. The only medical professional that I saw on a regular basis had been the school nurse. I had evaded medical appointments because I was afraid that they might learn that I wasn't human. I didn't want to end up on the autopsy table, I liked my parts where they belonged.
"It'll be okay," Celestia said. She must have seen my apprehension, "I won't allow anyone to hurt you."
"But what about the men in black suits from Area 51," I asked. Granted the only thing I knew about Area 51 was what I had read when I looked up the Roswell Incident and had stumbled upon an old episode of the X-Files.
"Not going to happen," Celestia reiterated.
"You promise," I asked.
"Yes Sunset," Celestia said, "now let's clean up breakfast and get shopping!"
I helped clean, but there wasn't much for me to do. Everything except the skillet that Celestia had cooked the pancakes and bacon in went in the dishwasher, the skillet got washed by hand.
"What kind of music do you like," Celestia asked as we got into her van.
"Um, I don't really know," I answered, "I usually listen to whatever is playing."
"Music is a language in and of itself," Celestia said, "it can convey so much emotion and tell us stories"
I was surprised when Celestia pulled into the parking lot of the Canterlot Grand Emporium. I know that she had said that we were going shopping, but I had expected to go to the Sprawl-Mart, not the mall. I had never had the funds to afford to be able to shop here.
"Don't worry about how much something costs Sunset," Celestia said as we walked in the entryway.
At the first store that we went to I tried to only buy items from the bargain rack, but Celestia stopped me saying that I needed real clothes. She made me put everything back and then she ushered me to a different part of the store. We ended up spending most of the day at the mall. Celestia must have been watching the time, because we left the mall ten minutes before CHS ended classes for the day.
Luna wasn't back from school when we arrived back at the house that the sisters shared. But I was surprised to see Raven waiting for us.
"You two look exhausted," Raven said as she helped us carry the shopping bags from the van.
"I forget how much fun shopping could be," Celestia said, "how did things go today at school?"
"Sierra squared, delta squared," Raven replied, at the time I had no idea what she had meant.
"That's good to hear," Celestia said back, "Sunset why don't you go put away the clothes we bought today and then you can start decorating your room. Raven there is a favor I need to ask you."
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
"So did you ever go back to your little gas station," Scootaloo asked.
"Eventually, I still had several of my few possessions stashed there" Sunset said, "and mom wasn't happy about it."
"Anyone need more popcorn," Pinkie asked looking at every one. Both Rainbow and Sonata nodded their heads.
"Why wasn't Aunt Tia happy about it," Aria asked.
"Because, that section of town isn't known for being the most upstanding," Celestia said from the doorway. No one had heard her come in, "Sunset was in a lot of danger when she lived there, the last thing I wanted was for her to go back."
Sunset sighed, she was glad that she now has someone like Celestia in her life to look after her. She had spent some much time alone that she had nearly forgotten that she was a teenager and still growing up. If Sunset had a chance to do everything over again, she would have approached Celestia sooner and told her about her situation.
Celestia was still disappointed with herself, all the warning signs that something was wrong with Sunset had been there since the day that Sunset had enrolled at CHS, but both Celestia and Luna had chosen to ignore the signs. Celestia's eyes shifted from her eldest daughter to her youngest. Celestia had vowed to herself after she took Sunset in that she would never allow another student to slip through the cracks, and she had almost failed with Scootaloo.
"Sunset has always been fiercely independent," Rarity said, "I can understand why she wanted to go back. We all want to see where we came from."
"Does that mean that she'll return to Equestria," Fluttershy asked.
"I'd like to go back to Equestria someday," Sunset replied, "but only to visit, this is my home now and I have a family here."
"Plus I've banned her from any interdimensonal travel without my permission," Celestia said sternly.
Pinkie Pie came bounding back into the living room carrying a large five gallon bucket of popcorn. Celestia wondered where Pinkie had gotten the bucket from, she didn't recognize it.
"So you don't want to return to Equestria permanently," Adagio asked. Adagio loved having Luna as a mother, and she loved Celestia, Sunset and Scootaloo, but part of her wanted to return to Equestria and claim her real mother's empire.
"Not really," Sunset answered, "there's really nothing waiting for me there, those few ponies that may have cared about me, well I burned those bridges when I fled from Equestria the first time."
"What about Princess Twilight," Fluttershy asked, "surely she cares about you, otherwise she wouldn't have given you the chance at redemption."
Four other girls and Celestia all nodded in agreement. The three Dazzlings and Scootaloo hadn't spent much time, if any, with the Princess of Friendship when she had visited the human world. And thus they didn't really know her.
"Guess that there is one pony who cares about me," Sunset conceded.
"I'm sure that if you looked," Celestia said, "you'd find more than one."
"Maybe," Sunset said, "I don't know."
"Anyways get back to the story," Rainbow said, "what happened after Ms. Celestia asked Raven for that favor?"
"Looking back on it now," Sunset said, continuing to tell her tale, "I know what that favor was, but at the time I didn't. I was still trying to get used to my new living situation, and going to school the next day didn't help much..."
Author's Note
I know that this chapter is short and it was intended to be short. This chapter also changed POV, but we will be back in the first person next time.
Until next time, I hope you all enjoy this little tidbit and stay tuned, more to come soon!
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
That first day back at school, I was terrified. It had been one week since the Fall Formal, everyone was glaring at me as I walked to my locker. Well almost everyone. There were five girls that extended their arms out to me in friendship, and for that I am thankful. I doubt I would have made it through the day if they hadn't been there for me. But there was one thing that I had to take care of before I met up with my new friends.
The first thing I did was that I made it clear to Snips and Snails that they were to stay away from me as much as possible. This was mostly to protect them. I didn't want them victimized because of me. If any of us deserved forgiveness it was them. I had essentially bullied them into taking my orders. I probably bullied them more than anybody. I tried to explain that to them, but I don't know if they understood what I was saying.
"Look," I said, "I don't want you two to get hurt because of what I did, so I would appreciate it if you would stay away from me, for your own good."
"Why for our safety," Snails said, "are we in danger?"
"I'm afraid that the other students are going to go after you if they see you hanging out with me," I explained, "I'm not going to bully anyone anymore and I'm done being the 'Biggest Meanie', so please stay away from me for your own sakes."
"You have changed Sunset Shimmer," Snips said, "have you been replaced by a pod person?"
I had no idea what he was talking about and I didn't know what a pod person was. Though it wouldn't be long before Pinkie remedied that situation when we watched a bunch of horror films for Halloween.
After Snips and Snails went to their first class of the day my friends walked around the corner, each of them had a smiles on their faces.
"Wow, that was a pretty brave thing you did for those two," Rarity said, "I guess that they were the closest you had to actual friends before the Fall Formal."
"You heard that," I said, I could feel my cheeks turning a shade of red that likely matched my hair, "I'm just worried about them, that's all."
"Yes we did," Applejack replied, "and don't worry about them, we'll look after them."
"And we'll be subtle about it," Fluttershy added.
"You can count on it," Rainbow said. Then I noticed that the pink haired tasmanian devil of our group was missing.
"Where is Pinkie," I asked.
"Just follow us," Rarity said with a sly smile.
"Ok," I said nervously, I knew that they were planning something, but I didn't know what. They led me to the music room. I was surprised to see that both Luna and Celestia were also there. Luna's face bore a conspiratorial grin, while Celestia had the same confused look that I'm positive was plastered on my face.
They led the two of us into the darkened room. If I had been more sociable then I probably would have known what was going on. Needless to say, I was shocked when the light suddenly came on and everyone shouted "SURPRISE!"
My eyes darted around the room. Hanging from the windows was a banner that said "WELCOME BACK SUNSET!". There was a table set up with freshly baked breakfast muffins on it, they were so fresh that I could see the steam rising from them.
"Why did you do this," I asked quietly, "I haven't done anything to deserve it."
"Sunset, darling," Rarity said, "you never need a reason to celebrate your friends."
"Indoubitably,' Pinkie Pie said, "you looked like you needed a pick-me-up."
"And nothin' provides a better pick-me-up than one of Pinkie Pie's party's," Applejack said as she handed me a chocolate chip muffin.
I wanted to cry. No one had ever thrown me a party before. I had never known my real parents and the Princess had always been to busy. I was considered too young to attend the Grand Galloping Gala. I was about to say something when suddenly I felt light headed and found myself on the floor and everyone was standing around me with worried expressions on each of their faces.
"She's coming around," Rainbow said, "let's back up and give her some air!"
"What happened," I asked as I tried to stand up, only for Ms Celestia and Ms. Luna to hold me down.
"You blacked out dear," Rarity told me, "and without a fainting couch nearby."
"I blacked out," I repeated. I don't think that I had ever blacked out before, but it explained why I felt woozy and dizzy.
"You went down like a ton of bricks," Rainbow added. I winced at Rainbow's analogy, the front of the school was still surrounded by construction equipment and construction warning signs, and I had been responsible for it.
"Are you feeling okay Sunset," Fluttershy asked as she passed me a cup of water.
"I feel like my head was in an Appleloosan rodeo," I said. Everyone looked at me with uncomprehending eyes.
"Appleloosa is a town in Equestria known for it's annual rodeo," I explained as I slowly tried to sit up.
"Any idea what caused you to black out," Luna asked me, her voice was filled with obvious concern.
"If I had to guess," I said, "I think that I was overwhelmed, no one has ever thrown me a party before."
"WHAT," Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "not even a birthday!"
"I've been living on my own since I was eleven, remember," I said, "I never really needed to celebrate my birthday."
"So when is your birthday," Pinkie Pie asked. Foolishly, I told her.
"June 16th," I said, "that's what my records say, and as far as I can tell that's the closest to the Equestrian date."
"So not everything is a direct parallel between your world and ours," Celestia said. I simply nodded, in Equestria she was a nearly immortal goddess-princess that ruled the world's largest empire and held domain over the Sun, while in this world she was a high school principal in suburbia. Life loved to play jokes apparently.
Suddenly the warning bell rang.
"Girls you need to get to class," Celestia said, "Luna and I will escort Sunset to In-School-Suspension."
"Ms. Celestia," Rarity said after looking around the room, "we cannot leave this room a mess for someone else to clean, allow us to take care of it."
"All right," Celestia said, "I'll write each of you a note excusing you tardiness."
In-School-Suspension wasn't that bad. I was forced to surrender my phone, but it was an old cheap flip phone that didn't even have a camera. I sat there quietly doing the homework that had accumulated over the past week. The whole time I was under the ever-watchful eye of Vice-Principal Luna.
Eventually Luna took me to the cafeteria to get lunch. She stayed outside the cafeteria and chatted with Ms. Cheerilee and Mr. Doodle while I went through the lunch line and got my tray. That day, Granny Smith was serving meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. I exited the line with my tray and the cafeteria became deathly silent. Everyone was looking at me. Mostly everyone was glaring at me, everyone except for my five friends. I knew that since I was in detention I couldn't find refuge with them. I began to walk toward the door where Luna was patiently waiting for me. I had taken about ten steps when I tripped over something, spilling mashed potatoes and gravy all over the front of my clothes.
"Sorry about that," Gilda said playfully, "I didn't see you there." I could hear the entire student body of CHS snickering at my plight. I knew that I deserved their ridicule and hatred. Tears streaming down my face I slowly stood back up and quietly and quickly left the cafeteria wearing what remained of my intended lunch. As I stepped out of the door I heard a voice say my name. I turned to look and saw five girls standing there.
"Sunset, we saw what happened," Fluttershy said quietly.
"Yeah," Rainbow added, "Gilda isn't going to get away with that."
Rarity reached into Pinkie's backpack and pulled out two blueberry muffins from that mornings little party and handed them to me. What surprised me was that they were still steaming hot and just as soft as they had been when they came out of the oven.
"I know that they aren't much," Rarity said, "but take these.
"Thank you," I managed to say, "please don't do anything to Gilda, that will only make my torment worse."
"If that's what you want," Applejack said, "then as your friends we'll respect your wishes."
Fluttershy reached out with some paper towels and tried valiantly but ultimately in vain, to get some of the potatoes and gravy off of my clothes.
"Come Sunset," Luna said softly, "it's time to return to detention."
I could see in her eyes that she knew exactly what had happened to me. I could also see that she knew that if she did something about it at that moment, that it would only make things more difficult for me. She led me away from the cafeteria in silence. My friends watched me from the doorway as I returned to detention, behind them I could hear the cafeteria roar with laughter.
Author's Note
Wow this was a long one for me. I hope you all enjoy it. I really am enjoying writing in the first person. The story just seems to flow out more naturally.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
How I ever managed to get through that first day back at school, I'll never know. But I was relieved when it was over and Celestia and I walked into her house at the end of the day. The first thing that I did was change out of my gym clothes that Luna had let me put on after lunch. Except for dinner, I spent most of the evening in my room. I guess that I was still trying to hide from the world.
Saturday afternoon Luna took me shopping. Luckily we didn't run into any of the CHS student body. One thing that Luna insisted on buying for me was my own controller for the game systems that she and Celestia had.
Luckily for me, Monday turned out to be a student holiday and teacher workday. I spent the morning being bored in the house. Then I remembered that my guitar was still at the abandoned gas station along with the rest of my few meager possessions. I checked the time on my phone before I wrote a short note for Celestia, then I grabbed my keys and went out the door.
I was able to catch a bus across town. I know that nobody could see me, but I slid down in my seat as the bus passed CHS. I glanced sideways out the window as the bus passed, and I thought that I could make out Celestia sitting in her office.
I'm so dead if I get caught, I thought to myself, but I do want my guitar.
It wasn't long before the bus turned onto the run down street that I had once called home, and I would be lying if I I didn't tell you that part of me relaxed now that I was in a familiar place.
After getting off of the bus I still had to walk about half a mile to the old service station. Since I had spent several days living with Celestia and Luna, I now saw this neighborhood in a whole new light. Most of the buildings were boarded up, and those few that weren't looked like they were being used to sell drugs or for prostitution. I started thinking that coming back here had been a bad idea. I reached into my pocket to grab my phone so that I could let Celestia know that I was alright. I could feel my face go pale, my phone wasn't in my pocket. I had left it on the kitchen counter next to the note I had left for Celestia. I was tempted to immediately turn around and go back to Celestia's house or maybe meet her at CHS, but I had already come this far, and I felt committed to getting my few belongings. Moving quickly I made my way to the rundown gas station. I looked around making sure that no one was watching, I ducked inside. Someone had been here in my absence. Most of my belongings were scattered across the floor. My old laptop computer was missing, as was several or my few t-shirts and my backpack, my school books were had been placed on the counter. Luckily my guitar was still behind the clerk's counter where I had left it. I searched frantically for something that I could carry my things in. Eventually I found some old plastic bags. I began to stuff them with what I owned. I ended up having to double up the bags that I put my books into. I scarcely noticed that the sun was starting to go down as I exited the gas station for the last time. And it was dark by the time I walked inside Celestia's house. I didn't see her van or Luna's car in the driveway and the lights were off, so I had hoped that I had made it home before them. I stepped inside the house and put my belongings on the counter and turned on the lights. I started to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Where have you been," I heard Celestia ask me. She and Luna were sitting in chairs in the living room that were facing the front door, the door that I had just entered through. They had been sitting in the dark quietly waiting for me.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I just got bored today and I wanted my guitar..."
"So instead of calling Luna or I and asking an adult to go to a dangerous part of town, you went yourself," Celestia said, obviously furious.
"I wasn't in any danger..." I started to say but Celestia cut me off again.
"Sunset, people go missing in that side of town," Celestia said, "you could have been kidnapped or worse."
"Sunset, you were lucky that we found your note," Luna said, "but to leave your phone behind."
"I didn't realize that I had left it until I was already there," I said.
"Sunset, I can't let this go," Celestia said, "for this behavior, I'm not going to allow you to participate in the musical showcase, and instead of going home after school, for the next week you will spend your after school hours in my office."
"Ok," I said. Honestly I thought that I was getting off light.
"Oh," Luna said, "we have three new girls enrolling at CHS, I'd like you to show them around."
"Ok," I said, "maybe I can make a good impression on them before everyone tells them about how I used to be."
"Now that we have settled that," Celestia said, "let's order dinner. Chinese food or pizza?"
"Chinese," I said.
"Pizza," Luna said.
Luna looked at me and I could have sworn that she growled at me.
"Rock paper scissors," Luna suggested holding up her fist. I had lived in the human world long enough that I was familiar with the game and held up my fist. Luna threw paper and I threw scissors.
"Chinese it is then," Celestia said as she pulled out her phone, "Sunset what do you want?"
"General Tao's chicken," I answered. To my surprise, Luna ordered the same thing. Celestia ordered Beef and Broccoli for herself.
Author's Note
So I've got two more chapters and the epilogue planned out after this chapter. This story has been a fun change of pace for me!
Just a little warning, the next chapter will be dark.
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
Since I had to spend the day in Detention with Vice-Principal Luna I decided to grab my history book from my locker. I had always struggled with history class. With the exception of PhysEd, all my other classes were advanced placement classes. But human history was a subject that I struggled with. As I zipped up my backpack and stood up, the door to my locker slammed shut. Applejack and Fluttershy would wait for me to turn around before talking to me. Rarity wouldn't do something so unladylike. And Pinkie Pie would creep up behind me and wait to scare the hell out of me. That left only one person.
"What the hell Rainbow," I said as I turned to face her, "oh hey Gilda, did you need something?"
You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. Everyone knew that there had been a shift in the balance of power at CHS. I had lost my crown, the only question that needed to be answered, would I take it back, or would Gilda rise to power. Gilda was a bully just for the fun of it. I atleast had some morals. Gilda was everything that I wasn't. She didn't care. I never bullied Lyra or Bon-Bon for being lesbians, and I'd be a hypocrite if I bullied Scootaloo for being an orphan. Yes, I would take Microchip's lunch money, and I would tease Trixie because her magic tricks failed consistently. But even I had my limits.
But now there was void that needed to be filled, and Gilda was determined to take over.
"So Sunshit," Gilda said, "you think that everything is going back to normal?"
"I-" I started to say. I wanted to explain to her that I was different now and that I had changed. Buy she cut me off.
"I've seen the real you," Gilda said, I could feel her savoring each each word as it came out, "you are nothing. Nothing but a scared little girl that got a taste of power and then you lost it like a fool. You had the entire school within your grasp and you allowed it to slip through your fingers. To think that I once feared you!"
After she said that I felt someone grab me and shove me into an empty locker. I don't know if it was Lightning Dust or Short Fuse. Both of them were Gilda's lackeys and I could hear both of them laughing.
After about five minutes, I could tell that they had left to torment some other poor souls. I tried to open the locker, only to learn that you couldn't open the locker from the inside. I started to panic. That's when I also learned that I was claustrophobic. I couldn't breathe. I needed air. I needed to get out. I tried to bang on the locker door, but it was so cramped that I couldn't move my arms or hands. I did the next best thing, I slammed my head against the lockers. It made a deafening bang inside the locker, it was so loud that my ears began ringing. Someone certainly must have heard it. After I got no response, I slammed my head into the locker a second time. I vowed then and there to never shove someone else into a locker ever again. I was in the process of slamming my head into the locker for a third time when I thought that I heard a click and the locker door opened, unfortunately, momentum, and disorientation, meant that I continued forward and stumbled out of the locker and ended up sprawled out on the hallway floor. Not my most dignified moment.
I blinked my eyes furiously, trying to get them to see straight and trying to get the ringing in my ears to stop. I looked up at my surroundings. Applejack was standing in front of me, holding out her hand to help me up. Rainbow Dash was standing next to her holding my backpack.
"Are you Okay Sugarcube," Applejack asked me as she helped me to my feet. Honestly the world was still spinning around me and though I could hear her, there was still a slight ringing in my ears, "just breathe."
"I'm fine," I lied. I was grateful that the world had stopped spinning enough that I could stand straight, but I was developing a massive headache.
"Who did this," Rainbow asked, "was it Gilda?"
"Just let it go," I begged her. I was afraid that if we we went after Gilda and her minions, then it wouldn't take long for me to backslide into my old ways and I never wanted to be that bitch again.
"If that's what you want," Rainbow said, "we should atleast tell Luna or Celestia."
"Let's leave them out of this," I exclaimed, "this is my own fault, everyone wants revenge and this is my punishment."
You once had everything, a voice in the back of my mind said, now you have nothing!
I looked around, I recognized that voice. The only other people nearby were Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Yes I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere, the voice said. I swear I could hear the demon laughing at me. All I could hear was the insidious laughing.
I had to escape from the demon. I took off running. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care who was in my way, I shoved them out of the way. I could hear sounds of someone chasing after me, I knew that the demon was after me. Panicking, I pushed Derpy out of my way as I hid in one of the girls bathrooms. I made sure to lock the door behind me. By now my head was pounding and I felt queasy.
I tried to slow my breathing.
"What's the matter Sunset Shimmer," I heard a familiar and yet sickeningly sweet voice ask. I looked around and saw her in the mirror. She had her wings draped around her like they were clothing. Her white fangs were clearly visible against her red lips. Her eyes were darker than the night sky on the night of a new moon.
"I can return you to power," the Demon said, "I'm your only choice."
"No," I said ,"I don't want what you are offering! I have friends now!"
"Are they really your friends," the Demon taunted me, "or are they your keepers?"
"No, that's not true," I cried, I could feel the warmth of the tears as they cascaded down my face.
"You know that it's true," the Demon responded, "only I have always been by your side. I can give you everything that you deserve."
The demon held out her right hand so that it extended out of the mirror.
"Take my hand Sunset," the Demon said, "I will never leave you."
I hesitated. I felt my right arm begin to rise up towards the Demon's hand. The Demon was right. It had stayed by my side throughout my self imposed exile. It had helped me during my rise to power. It had listened as I planned my schemes. The Demon had been my constant companion since I had arrived in this world. I balled up my fist just before I slammed it into the mirror. I could hear the demon screaming as the mirror shattered into dozens of shards. I looked down at my hand. There was a long sliver of glass sticking out of my hand. I couldn't help butt notice how satisfyingly comforting the pain felt as I pulled the glass from my hand.
"Why am I not surprised that you know how to pick a lock," I heard Applejack say.
I heard something messing with the lock on the bathroom door. I hurriedly stuck the sliver of glass in the inside pocket of my jacket. I could use it later as I sure that the only way I could rid myself of the Demon was to rid the world of myself. I was certain that Luna or Celestia were about to find me covered in my own blood. I was relieved when Applejack and Rainbow walked in.
"Sunset," Applejack gasped as she saw my blood, "everything is going to be alright. We're here for you."
I could see that she meant it. Her eyes told me everything. I smiled for a brief second. Then I threw up and passed out.
I woke up on the emergency room. I was told that I had a mild concussion and a broken finger. I had punched a mirror that had been mounted on a concrete wall and I had only broken a finger. My hand though was also covered in blood soaked bandages.
"What's your name?" The doctor asked me.
"Sunset Shimmer," I answered.
"What's your birthday," he asked.
"June 16, 1998," I replied.
"Do you know where you are," he asked next.
"Unless I'm wrong," I said, "I'm in the hospital."
"Alright, you were able to answer my questions," the doctor said, "we'll get your mother on here and tell you both what is going to happen next."
My mother? I didn't know who he was talking about. Atleast not until Principal Celestia entered the small examination room. The look on her face was one that I had never seen before. She was worried about me. The first thing that she did was wrap me up in a motherly hug when she entered the room. I could see that she had been crying.
"Sunset," Celestia said, "I was afraid that I might lose you. There was so much blood."
"We've managed to stabilize her," the doctor said, "like I told miss Shimmer, she has a mild concussion and a broken finger. She luckily didn't need to receive any blood. The concussion is what caused her to pass out."
"How long will she have to stay in the hospital," Celestia asked.
"I feel comfortable with allowing her to return home tonight," the doctor said after a moment of thought, "provided that she takes it easy for the next few days."
"She'll get plenty of rest," Celestia said.
"There is one more thing," the doctor added, "she has prominent scarring on her back and is a little bit under nourished, does she get enough to eat at home?"
"She usually eats more than both my sister and I," Celestia said, "as for the scars she just started living with us, and I couldn't tell you what her living conditions or eating habits were like before."
"Well as long as the situation has been remedied," the doctor said, "If you'd like, I can give you a list of vitamins that would be great for her."
"I'd appreciate that." Celestia said.
"If you have no questions for me, then I will fill out your discharge orders," the doctor said.
Celestia and I didn't say anything until we were back on her van and driving home.
"Want to tell me what happened today," Celestia asked.
"Not really," I mumbled. I knew that I would ht to tell her about some of it. I wasn't proud about what I had almost done.
"Gilda confronted me today," I said finally, "she let me know that she is taking over my spot as CHS' queen bully, and that I'm fair game."
"What happened in the bathroom," Celestia asked her voice taking on a gentle but stern tone.
" I received a visit from the demon I became," I said, "she offered to return me to my former glory."
"Did you accept it's offer," Celestia asked me.
"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted," I told her, "but I declined the offer. Sorry about the mirror, I'll find some way to replace it."
"Don't worry about it," Celestia said as we pulled into the driveway, "I'm just relieved that you are ok and not hurt worse than you are."
Later that night after dinner, I sat at my desk in my room. In my hands I was carefully holding the sliver of glass from the mirror that I had taken earlier that morning. I had originally taken the shard for self-destructive intentions, but now I was having second thoughts. I kept remembering what the Demon had said about my friends, but I also remembered the looks on Applejack's and Rainbow's faces when they found me. Sighing I set the glass shard down on my desk and made my way downstairs.
"Celestia," I asked, "do we have any plaster, I need some for an art project."
"There should be some in the garage by the dryer." She answered as she looked up from the book she was reading.
Author's Note
If you ever need a friend to talk to, don't hesitate to send me a message.
The basic idea for this chapter came to me when I first planned this story. It has evolved from the original idea that I had, and I like the result
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
I was sitting by myself that morning before school started. I had chosen to sit near the statue outside on the school's front lawn. Most of the students just glared at me, and honestly, by that point I was used to it. I had gone from the most feared person at CHS to the most despised. But it wasn't all bad. I was learning that I had friends. And not everyone was glaring. Derpy waved a friendly wave at me as she and her sister went inside the school.
"Earth to Sunset Shimmer," a voice called out. I looked up and found that my friends were all standing around me.
"Ok, what, sorry," I said, "I was lost in thought."
"I'll say," Rainbow said, "you looked like you were miles away."
"Sorry," I repeated, "did you say something?"
"Darling," Rarity said, "we were talking about the sleep over at Pinkie Pie's house this weekend during the Musical Showcase."
"You're going to be there aren't you," Fluttershy asked.
"Celestia gave me her permission last night," I said, "this is my first sleep over, ever."
"Really," Pinkie said, eyeing the portal, "you never had one in the pony world?"
Looking at the portal, I thought about the life that I had lived on the other side. I had been pretty sheltered, being the Princess's personal student and protege. I hadn't had friends there either, but while here I didn't want them, there I had been to busy, or so I thought. I realize now how wrong I was.
"I didn't have any friends there," I said quietly.
I felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around me and noticed that Fluttershy was hugging me. I also noticed that she was crying.
"What's wrong Fluttershy," I asked.
"It makes me sad that you've gone through life without any friends," she said, "or without a family."
"I've got you guys now," I said, "and I guess that I have Principal Celestia."
"Yeah," Pinkie said, "I bet you that Ms. Celestia is going to fall in love with Sunset like a mother does her daughter and adopt her!"
"Now that's just crazy talk," I said, "why would Celestia adopt me?"
And why would she? The Princess had had plenty of opportunities to adopt me and she had flatly told me that she couldn't. As much as I wanted a family of my own, I had accepted the fact that it would never happen.
"Never say never," Pinkie said with a knowing look on her face. I swear that she could read my mind.
The bell rang and my friends went to class and I went to spend the day in detention. I spent the morning struggling to read my history book. I was mostly picking at the bandages on my right hand and thinking about what Pinkie had said earlier and the look that she had given me.
"Miss Shimmer," Luna said looking up from her desk where she was typing away on her laptop, "quit picking at your bandages, or I will tie your hands down."
Something told me that she meant it.
"But how will I get any of my work done," I asked, I don't know why I decided to be a smart ass.
"You'll manage," Luna said.
"Ms. Luna," I said a while later, "why doesn't anyone want me?"
"What do you mean Sunset," she asked me, I had apparently caught her off guard.
"Back in Equestria," I said," my parents abandoned me as a foal, and then the Princess refused to adopt me. Then when Twilight returned to Equestria, she left me here."
Luna got up and walked around to the front of her desk before leaning back on it and looking at me.
"Sunset," Luna said, "I'm sorry that you have had to experience so much heart ache, but I'm positive that there is someone out there who wants you for a daughter. You're smart, beautiful, sarcastic."
The bell rang, signaling the start of Lunch period.
"Ready to get a bite to eat," Luna asked.
"I brought one from home today," I said as I held up the reusable shopping bag that I had packed my lunch in. I didn't want a repeat of the other day, I didn't have a spare set of gym clothes since I had worn them home. I didn't want to end up wearing my lunch again.
"Oh, okay," Luna said, "start eating."
I was halfway through my lunch when both Raven and Celestia walked in. I couldn't hear what they were saying to Luna but at various times each of them glanced in my direction.
"Sunset," Celestia said finally, "you said that almost everyone in your world has a counter part or a copy in our world?"
"Yeah," I answered. I was worried about where this conversation was going.
"We can't seem to find any records of a Sunset Shimmer in this world," Raven said. Well I knew that I was unique, but I didn't think that I was that unique.
"What do you mean," I asked worriedly.
"I have been trying to construct a suitable paper trail for you," Raven explained, "that includes a birth certificate and a social security number. I was searching for your counter part because that would have given me a place to start, but I exhausted every resource I have, including those in the dark web, looking."
"I don't exist," I said. I didn't know if I should have happy or sad.
"So I had to start from scratch," Raven said as she dropped a thick file onto my desk, "luckily you're only a teenager and you don't need much of a paper trail. If you had been an adult, this would have been much more difficult."
I looked at the file and started to glance through it. Inside I found a legit birth certificate and social security card, among other records like healthcare reports and even education transcripts. I felt my eyes begin to water.
"I'm a person..."
Author's Note
One chapter left! But you're gonna have to wait until 2021!
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
"I'm a person..." I said quietly. I leafed through the papers in the file a second time. I actually existed! I had a future in the human world. As I looked at my birth certificate I noticed several tear stains forming.
"There's something wrong," I said. Luna and Celestia leaned over to look, while Raven grabbed the paperwork and began looking for her mistake.
"I'm happy, the happiest that I've ever been in fact," I explained, "and yet, I'm crying."
"It's part of human nature," Celestia, "and pony nature too, I'll wager."
"I have a future," I said excitedly, "for the first time in a long time I don't feel adrift... I feel alive!"
"One more thing Sunset," Luna said, "today is your last day of Detention, tomorrow you go to class."
My elation at having the paperwork required to survive in this world was suddenly diminished. Was I being thrown back to the wolves? The student body at CHS still hated me. Most of them anyway. Atleast I had five friends. Then I remembered that I only had P.E. with Rainbow and Art with Pinkie. Well I'd see them at lunch. Then I realized that I couldn't hide forever. Eventually I would have to face the rest of my fellow students, even if they did hate me.
"I'm done with detention," I sighed.
"Yes," Luna said, "and I hope that it is the last you see of it until you graduate."
I hoped that she was right, I had endeavored to change. Never again did I want to be the biggest meanie. That part of my life was over.
"My past is not today," I whispered to myself, "tomorrow isn't written."
"What was that Sunset," Celestia asked me.
"Nothing," I replied, "just something that the Princess used to say to me."
"Come by my office after school," Celestia said, "I don't want to put you in a position where the other students could hurt you.
"Ok," I said as I indicated the paperwork that was now my past, present and future, "could I keep this and look at it?"
Celestia looked at both Raven and Luna. Raven cocked an eyebrow while Luna just leaned back in her chair. The moment of silence seemed to last forever.
"Sure," Celestia said, "I don't see what harm it would do."
After lunch, both Celestia and Raven returned to the Administration Office. Luna sat quietly playing a game on her phone and I began to read each sheet of paper in the file. Most of it was what I expected. However, the final sheet of paper threw me off guard. It was a petition to adopt me. I read it atleast three times. The only thing missing was my signature and the date.
Celestia wants to adopt me, I thought to myself, why would she want to do that after everything that I've done, I'm a monster. I don't deserve her love. Suddenly I found myself having trouble breathing and the room was spinning. I think that Luna was trying to say something to me, but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. I'm not exactly sure what happened next, but the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the floor, with papers spread out around me, and Luna was standing over me with a look of concern on her face.
"Sunset... Sunset are you alright," Luna was saying, "you hit the floor hard, I'm calling the nurse, don't move."
I sat there, waiting and watching my surroundings. Even though I could hear Luna speaking normally, everything and everyone around me seemed to be moving extremely fast. I remember that Nurse Red Hearts arrived and asked me several questions while she looked me over and shined a little flashlight in my eyes. By the time I told her my answers, she had departed from the detention room and return with a stretcher. She advised Luna to call my parents and then she took me to the Nurse's office and had me lay down on one of the beds.
As I lay there, I thought about everything that I had done to Celestia, both this world's and Equestria's. I thought about how much of a bitch that I had been and how I had only ever made Celestia's life a living hell. And yet she wanted to adopt me? She must have seen something that I couldn't, or I refused to see in myself. If she was willing to sacrifice so much just to give me another chance, then I guess that I could give myself a chance as well. I made up my mind in that moment that I would allow Celestia to become my mother.
I was starting to nod off, when I heard a couple of voices whispering by the Nurse's desk. I tried to see who was out there, but all I could see through the curtain was human shapes.
"How are you feeling," Celestia asked me, "Luna told me that you passed out."
"I'm feeling better now that you're here....mom," I said trying out the word, "I think that I just got a little overwhelmed."
A smile spread across Celestia's face, and her eyes lit up the room. Nurse Red Hearts stood there watch the entire exchange with a look of disbelief.
"I will always be here for you my Sunshine," Celestia said.
"Mother," Red Hearts said, "daughter? That's not in her records."
"My records might be incomplete," I answered sheepishly. Red Hearts looked at Celestia, waiting for an explanation.
"It's a long story Red,"Celestia said, "just know that if anything happens to Sunset, come and get me immediately."
"Um, Ms. Hearts," I asked, "could we have some privacy?"
"Sure, I need to go check on the medical supplies in the locker room," Red Hearts answered as she stood up, "just don't try to get out of that bed young lady."
We bo watched as the school nurse left her office.
"I'll do it," I said once Celestia and I were alone, "I'll become your daughter."
"Sunset," Celestia said, "I want you to think about this, if you allow me to adopt you, then things are going to change for you."
"I can only go up from here," I said, "living with you and Luna has shown me what has been missing from my life, you've shown me what I've always been searching for. You knew what I needed even though I didn't."
I meant every word I said. I finally had a family.
Author's Note
Ok, so I lack self control. Just the epilogue is left. Let's see if I can make it to 2021!
Sirens of the Night: Sunset's Tale
Epilogue: So, That's My Tale
"Well now you know everything," Sunset concluded as she wiped a year from her eye, "that's how mom became my mom"
"That story is so sad," Sonata said, "and happy at the same time."
Sunset looked at each of her friends and at her sister. She could see that they each had a deeper understanding of who Sunset was.
"Flash," Sunset said, "I never apologized for how I treated you, and for that I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter," Flash replied, "it doesn't matter because I forgave you a long time ago Sunset."
"Really," Sunset said surprised, "but I treated you like you weren't even a person. Why would you forgive me?"
"It's what friends do," Flash explained, "it's also why I didn't believe that you were Anon-A-Miss."
Hearing Anon-A-Miss being mentioned brought back a flood of memories that Sunset would have forgotten about. Without saying a word Sunset turned and ran upstairs, leaving her friends, her sister and her mother in the living room.
"Way to go Flash," Rainbow said icily, "you had to go and mention Anon-A-Miss, didn't you."
"Sorry," Flash said, "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Sunset does a valiant job at hiding it," Celestia said, "but both Anon-A-Miss and Incognito have really worn her ragged, I don't know where she is emotionally."
Scootaloo was about to speak when Sunset came back down stairs. She was carrying something wrapped in a towel. She placed the bundle on the coffee table, but held her hand on it preventing anyone from unwrapping it.
"I made this shortly after the day that Applejack and Rainbow found me bleeding in the school bathroom," Sunset explained as she unwrapped the towel, "I use it to remind me how bad things used to be, and that now I have people that I can turn to for help."
Sunset stepped away from the table, revealing a shard of glass from a mirror. There was evidence of dried blood on the edge of the glass. The glass itself was embedded in a frame made of plaster. The names of Celestia, Luna, and her friends were sculpted into the plaster. The names of Scootaloo and the three Sirens had been scratched into the plaster.
"There's room for a few more names," Sunset said as she straitened a paperclip and began to add Flash's name.
Her friends watched her in silence. Celestia was the first one to make a move. With tears cascading from her eyes, she knelt down and embraced her eldest daughter, it wasn't long before Scootaloo joined the hug too.
everyone began to head home Scootaloo remembered something that Sunset had said.
"So, you never learned to ride a bike," Scootaloo asked her older sister during dinner.
"I never had a reason to really," Sunset answered with a mouthful of lasagna, "but I'd love to learn how."
"Then it's my duty as your little sister to teach you," Scootaloo declared.
Sunset didn't know what the future would bring, but with her friends by her side, she knew that they could face anything together.
Author's Note
This scene was actually the first idea that came to me when I first started thinking about writing this story. I'm quite happy with how it turned out.
Don't worry, the Sirens of the Night will be back!
