"Is that a noose?"
"Yes. That is a noose. No, I don't know why there's a noose there, I've been wondering the same thing since I got here. No I don't know why the rope is that long and the end is below waist height either. And I've tried climbing on it, yes."
"Huh." Applejack drummed her fingers on the table, silent for a moment. "Doesn't even seem large enough for a neck. Well at least it looks... festive?"
Sunset briefly glanced behind herself. "I don't know if it's always decorated to look like a wreath, but I suspect it's just the season."
"I guess that could make sense." Applejack was quiet again for a bit, and had a look around the room. "So. Barren, almost empty white void. Third time already, isn't it?"
"At least this time there was some furniture." Sunset nodded towards the white table and the two white chairs, so featureless it was hard to tell them against the pristine white of the walls, floor and ceiling. The only other item was the decorated noose hanging from the ceiling behind her, a note of red and green and light brown in the white symphony of the room.
"Magic?" Applejack asked. "Or is it just a locked door, like last time?"
"Magic," answered Sunset. "I've checked, no openings on the walls or floor, nothing I could see on the ceiling."
Applejack hummed. "How do we get you out, then?"
"Been trying to figure that out." Sunset gave a nod towards Applejack. "Why don't you tell me how you got in?"
Applejack paused at the question. "Well, shucks. Afraid I don't have an answer for that. I just sorta got here, I guess."
Sunset sighed, and leaned back into her chair. "It's alright. I figured that would be the case." She placed her hands behind her neck, and looked up at the ceiling. "Have you figured out what presents you'll get the others yet?"
"I have, yeah." Applejack smiled. "No telling in advance, though."
"I wouldn't have asked for it either way." Sunset smiled too for a moment, then frowned slightly. "I wish I had a surprise to spoil for you girls," she muttered.
"I don't get it. Why don't you just ask the others what they want?"
Sunset massaged a temple with her hand. "You don't just ask someone what present they want, Rainbow. That's not how that works and you know it. You never ask us about it."
"Yeah but that's because I don't need to ask," Rainbow Dash smugly replied, still with her legs kicked up over the table. At least her shoes were clean.
Sunset raised an eyebrow at that, throwing the other girl a rather questioning look.
Rainbow gave an awkward smile. "Alright, maybe I'm not that good at guessing. But the thing is I'm not good at sneaking questions into talks either. I'm sure you could do it without bothering the others."
"It still feels dishonest," Sunset replied. "And they would realise what I'm doing. There's not that many ways you can get someone to tell you what they'd want without them catching on to it."
"Well, I wouldn't be bothered by it." Rainbow pulled her legs back and leaned forward in her chair. "So you can ask me, if you want. That'll make your life easier."
Sunset gave a tired sighed. "We've been over this already, but let's see what the problem is again just for the sake of it. Rainbow, what present do you want?"
Rainbow Dash thought about it for a second. "It doesn't really matter, I'm fine with anything."
Sunset silently pointed at Rainbow with her hand open, a deadpan expression on her face. "Do you see where the problem is?"
Rainbow shrugged. "It's the truth." She leaned back into her chair and kicked her feet up on the table again. "If you're so worried about getting the right presents, why didn't you just use your mind reading powers to figure out what everyone wants?"
"That might be even worse than asking," said Sunset. "But aside from that, am I really a good friend if I need to look into someone's head to know what they want? I feel like I'd just be sidestepping the problem entirely. Am I really good at empathy if I'm using magic to cheat?" She let the question hang in the air for a bit, to no reply from Rainbow. "Besides. I don't have my geode with me now anyway, using it isn't really an option at this point."
Rainbow frowned for a moment, and looked over herself. "Huh. I don't either."
"I bet you've got this whole presents thing figured out already. Probably made a spreadsheet for it too."
"A spreadsheet for something like buying presents? Me?" Twilight nervously tugged at the collar of her shirt. "Oh, come on now, you know I... I'm not convincing you, right?"
Smirking, Sunset lifted her eyebrows in a sign of confirmation. "Not one bit."
"Ugh." Twilight let herself go against her chair. "In my defence it was only one spreadsheet this time. And I didn't try to analyse anyone's brainwaves without their consent."
"You what?"
"Crystal Prep me had weird ideas of what was socially acceptable when trying to fit in."
"Ooh." Sunset gave an understanding nod. "Can't really blame you. It seems the place is doing better now that Cinch is out, though."
"I've heard so." Twilight stood straight again. "But, yeah, anyway, I do have all my presents figured out and bought. I take it you're still struggling with that?"
Sunset gave a slow, sombre nod. "Maybe I should have gone with a spreadsheet too."
"I'm sure you can figure it out," Twilight said. "You're one of the best students I know, if you really have trouble you can just make your own spreadsheet." She giggled. "But you're also one of the best friends I know. You can find something."
"I'm a terrible student, actually," Sunset replied. "All talent and no will to apply myself, and when things don't come to me I get stuck. Or I cheat. But I can't really do that here."
"You can't compare your attitude towards studying with your attitude towards friends. Especially not after all the work you put in to get better at the latter," Twilight replied, crossing her arms and adjusting her glasses.
"But I can compare my reactions when something doesn't work out." Sunset looked at the ceiling. "I can't think of anything, and I'm starting to wonder if I really know the people I'm friends with."
Twilight's expression shifted to a softer one. "Well, if it can help I can show you what I got for the others. Just so you don't end up buying the same things." She slid a hand in her pocket, then frowned. "Did you see my phone anywhere?"
"I doubt it made it in here." Sunset looked around the room. "You know, maybe you're right. Maybe I should be focusing on trying to get out instead of only thinking about gifts."
Twilight also had a look around the room. "I would agree with that, yes. It does seem like a slightly more pressing issue right now."
With a hand around her chin and an inquisitive look on her face, Pinkie Pie marched around the white room, inspecting every corner and wall.
Sunset just sat on her chair, looking nowhere in particular. Not that it mattered, every part of the room looked the same if she squinted just a touch. "It's useless, Pinkie. I've checked everything already." But she did have some small degree of hope still, if anyone could find something in there it was Pinkie.
The girl stopped in front of the decorated noose, and looked it up and down. "Have you tried pulling on it?" she asked, wrapping her hand around the length.
"I have," Sunset replied. "Nothing."
Pinkie still gave an experimental tug, but the rope did not budge, and as Sunset had said nothing came of it. "Maybe you're pulling on it wrong," she said, turning and focusing back on the wall.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "How many ways can you possibly pull a rope?" she asked. Then, a moment later, she added, "Please don't actually answer that."
Pinkie closed her mouth, mildly disappointed at being cut off before she even could begin. "All I'm saying is that it's your rope. I don't think I can do much with it." She leaned forward and tapped the wall with a fingertip, then leaned back and shrugged. A second later she was sitting on the table, in front of Sunset. "Having trouble with deciding what to get for me and the others?"
Sunset jumped in her chair at the girl's sudden appearance. She'd gotten mostly used to things like it, but the white and featureless environment highlighted just how against any form of logic it was. Once she'd quickly calmed down, she nodded. "Yep. That obvious?"
Pinkie nodded.
"I suppose you don't have this kind of problems."
Pinkie rolled onto her back, fists resting below her chin, elbows pointing to the ceiling. "I have planned out every set of presents I will give my friends for the next fifty years. You'll love the one coming for your birthday five years from now, by the way."
Sunset was silent for a moment, not really surprised by what she'd just heard. "If you're thinking of helping me with choosing I-"
"Nah." Pinkie tapped Sunset's nose with a finger, then rolled to the side until her face was the right way up again, propped up by her forearms. "I figured you wouldn't want any help with that. I'll try to look around some more to see if I can find an exit."
Before Sunset had time to reply, she felt herself lifted upwards as Pinkie appeared beneath her chair, looking under the table. Then a moment later she disappeared, leaving Sunset and her chair to fall back on the ground. She looked around, confused. "Pinkie?" she called, not seeing the girl anywhere.
A sound came from the wall to her left, like something tapping against it from outside in a steady rhythm. There was something familiar about its cadence, for Sunset. The sound moved from the bottom of the wall to the top, then across the ceiling, and from there it traversed the remaining four sides of the room in sequence. Then it stopped.
"It's kinda cold out there," Pinkie said, appearing behind Sunset's chair and making her jump for the second time, this time out of her chair entirely. "And there's a whole lot of empty black void with nothing in it. No exits that I could see though."
Sunset stared at Pinkie. "How did you..." She thought better of it. "Never mind."
Rarity leaned into her chair, lips pursed.
Sunset stared back at her from the other side of the table, arms crossed.
Rarity hummed, and clicked her tongue, and made other such quaint noises with the uppermost portions of her digestive system.
Sunset lifted her eyebrows.
Finally, Rarity broke. "I don't like it."
"Welcome to the club, Rarity."
"It's awful!" Rarity spread out her arms for dramatic emphasis. "All distasteful design and the same horrid monochrome. And that thing." She pointed an open hand behind Sunset.
"Yeah, the noose." Sunset nodded. "I don't like it either."
"It's not even an actual noose," said Rarity. "That knot is static, it doesn't come closed if you pull. But it makes sure to look like one! And the decorations, oh." She went on to make other, rather hard to transcribe noises with her mouth, clearly not appreciative of what she was seeing.
Sunset just nodded along, deflated. "Can we move past talking about how awful the place looks? I've had enough time to realise that for myself. Trust me. More than enough time."
"Oh, yes, sorry." Rarity recomposed herself. "I didn't mean to imply any of it was your fault. So, huh..." She looked around the white and mostly empty room. "Any plans on how to leave?"
"You've gotten all your presents for all of us ready already, right?" asked Sunset, letting her arms droop to her sides.
"I have, though I'm not telling what they are." Rarity smirked, then frowned. "But dear, there are more important matters right now than presents, and you're too smart to refuse to come out of here just because you can't think of what to get us."
"I've already tried everything I could think of," replied Sunset. "At this point I'd rather take suggestions on something else. Don't bother with trying to figure the place out, you won't come up with something I haven't already. And you'll be gone soon enough, anyway."
"Not a surprise, but not unwelcome either." Sunset smiled. "I kinda feel like I've been giving off the impression that I'm not happy to see you girls. Apologise to the others for me, when you see them."
Sat on her chair, Fluttershy nodded, then looked again around the room. Her eyes focused on the rope for a couple of moments longer, but then she diverted her eyes. "How has it been, in here?" she asked.
"Boring," Sunset replied. "You can only walk up and down a room so many times before it makes you wanna vomit, and it's honestly a shame I can't physically do that because at this point I'd appreciate the touch of colour." She sighed. "But it's nice to have someone to chat to. How are you doing, choosing presents for the girls?"
"I was having some problems with that," Fluttershy said, tapping her fingers together. "Thankfully Pinkie offered to help me out."
Sunset was annoyed for a second. "Wait, why did she-" Then, realisation dawned on her. "Of course. Yeah, I deserve this one."
Fluttershy looked confused. "Is something wrong?"
Sunset shook her head and smiled back at her. "Don't worry about it." She was silent for a bit, drumming her fingers against the pristine white table. "How's Ray doing? You're taking care of him while I'm gone, right?"
Fluttershy nodded. "He's well. He's eating a bit less, but that's normal in the winter. He's still healthy. He does miss you though, and hopes you'll get better." Fluttershy gave an awkward half smile. "And we miss you too, of course."
"I miss him too," Sunset replied. She quickly added, "And I miss you girls as well." She looked at the ceiling, blank and seamless and spotless and so annoyingly white. At least Celestia's coat had the occasional cake residue on it. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this whole mess."
Fluttershy extended a hand and took one of Sunset's in her own. "It's okay. We'll help you out of here. That's what friends do."
Sunset smiled. "I appreciate that. I really do. Unfortunately, I don't think you can help me out of here. I dug this hole, I'm the one who needs to pull herself out of it. It's not about refusing help from friends, I swear, I just think I know enough about magic and how it works to say I'll probably have to be the one to actually do stuff. The most you can do is be here for me, and I'm glad you are."
Fluttershy smiled back at Sunset. "And we'll keep being here no matter what. Because that's what friends do."
"Sure is," said Sunset. "I'll try to get back to you girls. I swear."
"This is so fascinating."
"Of course you'd say that." Sunset shook her head, though she was smiling sincerely. "I'm glad you came too. A bit annoyed there's one more person I don't have a present for, but I'm glad you came."
Twilight distractedly ran a hand through her long straight hair, squatting in front of the decorated rope and tracing along its length with the other. "Did you really expect me not to come when I heard?" she asked, without looking away from the rope. "I'm honestly surprised Celestia isn't here herself. And she might still end up coming if you don't get better soon."
Sunset's smile got a little wider in amusement. "Have you gotten taller since the last time?"
Twilight paused. She stood up, turned to Sunset, and took a step forward. "Huh. I might have. I will have to take note of this later." She snapped back towards the rope. "But for now, helping you get out of here."
"Be my guest," Sunset replied. "But like I've said, I don't think you'll get anything out of it. No offence, but I was Celestia's pupil for only a little less than you, and I've got a lot more experience with magic on this side of the portal. And I've been inside here for a while. If I couldn't find anything, I'm not sure you'll be able to."
Twilight didn't seem particularly discouraged by the other's words. "Sometimes an outside perspective can do wonders for a problem you're struggling with. And in this particular case, I am exactly that. Literally." She threw Sunset a glance.
Sunset crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. "Are you saying you found a way to fix it?"
Twilight tapped the rope, and it swayed slightly from side to side. "I'm saying I might have found a way to help you get out of here, from out there. Maybe. And I'm starting to think we'll have to go that route."
"Maybe?" Sunset stepped around the rope, to look Twilight in the eyes. "What about it?"
"I've been on this side for a bit longer than you think, after I heard." Despite being right in front of her face, Twilight still managed to keep her eyes on the rope and not on Sunset's. "I was trying to figure out something. If I came in here it's partly because I wanted to be sure there wasn't another option before going through with it." Finally, she looked at Sunset. "And it seems like that's the case. Do you trust me?"
"Always," Sunset replied, without needing to think about it. But she frowned in worry a moment later. "How bad is it going to get?"
Twilight said, "I don't know. What I do know is that you'll be on your own for it. We can't come back in after it's started." She hesitated for a moment. "I don't want to lock you in here."
Sunset looked back at Twilight, and forced a smile. "I can make it. If you think this'll give me a way out, then I can make it. Do you trust me?"
"Always," Twilight replied.
Sunset nodded. "Then do it."
Twilight nodded back, and a moment later she was gone. A short time later, the light in the room began to dim.
"Of all the things, I was not expecting this to be what happened."
"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are."
Sunset was silent for a bit. "Well, at least you're making up for the light going down."
The other her chuckled, and the way her fiery glowing wings and horn moved with the rest of her body made the shadows of the furniture and Sunset's shake back and forth along with her.
That made Sunset smile. "Maybe this won't be as bad as Twilight thought. Isn't that gown uncomfortable to sit in?" She gave a nod towards the other's dress.
The other shook her head. "No, not really. Although it is a bit too long on the back." She turned slightly, looking at the rolled up fabric behind her keeping her lower back from properly touching the chair. But it was either that or having it drag on the ground. "You can tell it wasn't really designed for doing anything other than floating in the air and looking cool."
"I feel like that's kinda the point with you," Sunset replied. "In a good way, I mean. You're all about being cool and floating in the air and having wings and powerful magic and being good and stuff."
"Hey now." The glowing, angelic-looking Sunset offered a reassuring smile. "I'm you, after all."
"You're me, except better," Sunset replied. "The best possible me, probably. And as you can see right now, I am very clearly not you."
The other Sunset frowned. "But you can be me. You were me, once, after all. You can do it again."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Without any technomagical energy-stealing gizmo to slam on the ground so I can transform?"
The other Sunset gave another chuckle. "Well, okay, maybe not physically. Though I wouldn't rule out the chance of it happening again. But the things that made you me are still there, and you can still be as like me as you can manage. That will be good enough."
Sunset's expression turned closer to a smile. "I guess you have a point there. My friends are still there, you're right." She sighed. "But not here. I'm alone here, for now."
The room grew darker, and not just because the other Sunset had left.
"I should have seen this coming."
"What did you expect?" The twisted, demonic image of herself grinned at Sunset from across the table, her face hardly visible in the shadow of the room. "This is what you're like when you're alone, after all."
Sunset's expression was angry, for the first time in a while. "Not anymore. I'm different, and you're a thing of the past. You should stay there."
"Your past is what makes you who you are, Shimmer," the demon replied. "You fly too close to the Sun, guess where you end up? You don't get to bury me forever just because you sang a song or two about it. You saw what Twilight's head is like, and she didn't even want to do what they forced her to. You put that crown on yourself. Why should I be gone forever if Midnight is still there?"
"Because I've changed," Sunset growled. "Because I wouldn't make the same mistakes I did. Don't you dare compare what I did to what Twilight went through. I've moved past you."
"And yet I'm still here." Sunset's demonic form looked from side to side. "You just had to dig deep enough. And all it took was one chance to screw things over. I'm more than just a memory, Shimmer. I'm a part of you, whether you like it or not."
"I'll make sure to throw you deeper in when we're done."
"That attitude won't get you out of here, Shimmer."
Sunset grit her teeth, but stayed otherwise silent for a few seconds. Finally she crossed her arms. "And what will get me out of here? If you're suggesting I let you out, then forget about it. I'd rather stay locked in here forever."
"Admirable, though I'm sure your friends would be able to deal with me again. So, no, not quite what I was suggesting. Though you'd like it, wouldn't you?" The demonic Sunset smirked.
The human one slammed her palms against the table. "Excuse me?" She looked like she was only a moment away from jumping at the other's throat.
"You'd like being me, Shimmer. Just like you liked it back then. The power, the freedom..." The demon's smile grew a little wider. "The wings."
There was a sharp thud as Sunset stood up, and the motion lifted the table up on her side just a notch before letting it slam back down. "Stop it." Her tone was ice cold, the words pushed out through her teeth as she forced herself not to lunge forward.
"Does truth make you angry, Shimmer?" The demon leaned forward, resting her elbows side by side on the table and her head on her palms. "Just like the old times. You were just like this when you ran away from Celestia."
"That was different." Sunset still managed to contain herself.
"Maybe. What you did was different. What you felt? Were you angry at her for what she said, or were you angry with yourself because you knew she was right?"
Anger slowly drained from Sunset's face as she heard that, replaced by confusion. "I... You hated Celestia. I don't get it. We hated her. You're not the one of us who's supposed to have that kind of introspection!"
"Oh, but I did hate her," the demon replied, leaning back in her chair. "Because I didn't want to admit I was wrong. Because I didn't know there was another way. Because I was angry, and I refused to accept things as they were."
Sunset slowly sat back into her chair. "Then... what do you want? What's this all about?"
The demonic Sunset tilted her head to one side, then the next, then she sighed. "You remember when we put on that crown, right?"
"I don't think I could ever forget," Sunset replied.
The other sighed again. "Best moment of my life, right there."
A hint of rage returned to Sunset's face. "It hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt. I was crying when it happened."
"Oh, sure, it stung a little on the way in." The demon dismissively waved her claws, like she was shooing a fly, while her eyes were fixated on something distant only she could see. "But after that? Best I've ever felt. It was everything we'd ever wanted." She focused back to Sunset. "More power than we'd ever imagined, and it was all in our hands. We were gonna crush that little nuisance who'd dared take what should have been ours and then had come try to ruin our plans in this world, and then we were gonna go back to Celestia and make her pay. Us and our-" She had to force a hand on her lips to stop a fit of laughter. "Our army of mind-controlled high school students. Can you imagine her face if we'd actually made it there?" She sighed again. "Of course, Twilight just had to ruin it all for us. We should have stolen the Alicorn Amulet instead, I tell you. That would have gone a lot better. And just crushed that stupid crown while we were at it."
"I would have never done that," said the regular Sunset. At a knowingly raised eyebrow from the other, she continued, "I was maybe kind of obsessed with the whole princess business."
"Kind of?" The demon pointed with a claw at the wall behind her, suddenly lit up by a red light, revealing a set of familiar pictures from Sunset's first few years at Canterlot High.
Sunset looked down. "Okay. Very much obsessed with the whole princess thing." A moment later she chuckled. "An army of mind-controlled teenagers. Not even that many of them, really. I was very dumb."
"We were angry and tripping on power, and feeling real magic for the first time in years. I had so much fun ripping off that wall."
"I'd forgotten about that," Sunset said, a touch of embarrassment in her tone at the memory. She looked up at her other self again. "So. What's this about, then?"
"I've done a lot of things you regret, Shimmer," the other began. "I don't think it's any stretch to say I wasn't a good person. I lied, drove others apart, manipulated them, and all for the sake of getting revenge. And we've been over what I tried to do once I almost got what I wanted. And why did we do all of that?"
Sunset looked back at her. "Because I was angry."
"Exactly. And, for the record, I still haven't learned. I'd still try it all again if you let me out of here. But there's something different about me, Shimmer. Unlike you, I'm honest with myself. I'm not doing this because I'm angry anymore. Ever since we put on that crown, I've been doing this because I want to. Because I enjoy it. Because power is fun, and control is fun, and I want to do it again. For you it was about revenge. Me, though?" The demon smirked again. "I'm just a bad person."
"Like I ever doubted that," Sunset replied.
"But you see what this is about now, don't you?" the other continued. "After you put on that crown, after you became me, you enjoyed what you were doing. You even enjoyed everything you'd done up to that point. Then you learned. I didn't. You changed. But I didn't, and I'm still here. You were me, and everything you did while me you felt about the same way I still feel about it. That's what you're angry about. Yelling at yourself because I'm still here in your head. And when you make a mistake, what do you do, huh? How do you feel?"
Sunset looked at the table, thinking, as she silently listened to the other. She was breathing slowly, calmly, and her expression shifted as she mulled over what she had to say to herself.
"Angry at me for reminding you of what we'll never be. Angry at yourself for not being better, and now for being the reason you're stuck here. Angry because you refuse to acknowledge how you felt when you were me. Angry because you wanted to be me again, for just one moment, and that's what brought you here. But guess what, Shimmer?" The demon stood up from her chair. "I'm here, and I'm not leaving you anytime soon. So you better start treating me with some more consideration. Get over it, and start accepting it, and don't you dare make us both end up in here again just because you forgot about me!"
A moment later, Sunset stood up too. "As if. I don't make the same mistakes twice. I'm getting out of here, and you are not coming with me. I'll make sure to keep you locked up where you belong." She was smiling as she spoke.
"We'll see about that, Sunset." The other smirked, crossing her arms. "Now get back out there quick. I can't take over the world when you're still stuck in here."
Sunset smirked back. "Good luck with that, Shimmer. And for the record? At least I don't need wings that edgy to fly. And those clothes look awful."
The demon cackled at that. A moment later, she was gone. And the last bits of light left the room along with her.
The room was dark. Pitch black, the walls and furniture impossible to see. But Sunset still heard some movement from in front of her, from her position on her chair. And a second later, a light appeared in front of her, then moved upwards and stopped above the centre of the table. The girl let out a small gasp. Then a muted chuckle. "I guess it makes sense, after all."
From across the table, Sunset Shimmer, the unicorn, smiled at her. She looked maybe a bit younger than the human one did the last time she'd been through the portal, though where that put her relative to the human's current human age was not something either Sunset wanted to spend time trying to figure out. "I must admit, this is not something I expected to see. So... Who are you, exactly?"
Sunset was taken aback for a moment. "Well, I'm Sunset Shimmer. The Sunset Shimmer. I'm pretty sure, at least."
"Then that would make you me," the unicorn replied, nodding. Her eyes went a little wider. "But if you're me, then... who am I?" she asked, looking at Sunset.
Sunset spent a moment thinking about it. "I think you're also Sunset Shimmer. You're me, too."
The pony thought about it for a moment. "That does make sense, I suppose. So we're both Sunset Shimmer." She looked around the room, then frowned. "Where are we, exactly?"
"Stuck in here, it seems," Sunset replied. "We made a mistake out there. Got a little too caught up with what we were trying to do for our own good, refused to let go when we should have. We tried to bite off more than we could chew, and it backfired." She saw the other was starting to get worried, and smiled at her. "But we've got friends out there trying to help get us out. Good friends. We're trying to get back to them."
"Well, if they're doing their part, then we should do ours, no?" the unicorn replied, standing up from her chair. "There's gotta be something we can do to get us out of here. Let's look around."
Sunset watched her begin to search around the room, her horn lit to shine on the dark corners of the place. "I already..." she began to say, but then shook her head and got up as well. She was right, they wouldn't get out of there by doing nothing.
A bit of fruitless searching later, along walls that were just as seamless and white as Sunset remembered them, the pony seemed to find something. "Hey," she called, "what about this?"
Sunset, who was busy inspecting the table, turned to see the rope hanging from the ceiling, still with its festive decorations, now illuminated by the other Sunset's magic.
"You didn't tell me there was a switch here," said the unicorn.
"That's not a-" Sunset's words cut off as she saw the other slip her hoof in the noose-like portion at the bottom, the one she'd have needed to bend down to reach with her hand. And somewhere in the back of her head, however that could work when she already was there, she mentally slapped herself.
"Could you lend a hoof?" Sunset asked, visibly trying to pull down. "This thing seems a little hard to pull on."
"No hooves here," Sunset replied, approaching. "But I can lend a hand," she added, wrapping one around the rope.
The two looked each other in the eyes for a moment. Then, they both pulled down, together.
The rope budged, if just a bit. A click was heard. Sunset smiled. The lights in the room turned back on. And somewhere above them, a bell began to chime. Then the light kept growing, and the chimes kept repeating. And the light grew brighter and brighter, until Sunset was blinded by pure white shining as if it was right against her face. And the chimes, steady in their rhythm, became duller, quieter, less vibrant. More artificial, like a beeping sound repeating somewhere near her.
Sunset opened her eyes.
