Author's Note
I am hoping to write a story for Sunset Shimmer (About the events after the first movie.) in the future. This was more of a practice story but hopefully, I can write it soon.
Against Royalty
Sunset Shimmer was known to be Princess Celestia's student. A loner. Arrogant. Spoiled. But was very well educated despite her past. Her parents were killed in a freak magic accident when she was ten. She went homeless, choosing to stay on the cold streets of Canterlot than go into the foster care system which was known to be somehow worse than living on the streets, Sunset didn't want to take chances on figuring out why.
She lived in a cardboard box in a dark alley with newspaper as her blanket. She had to practice magic, more advanced than what was expected of her age because of her desperate need to steal food to be able to survive. One day Sunset was roaming the back streets of Canterlot looking for food.
She was creeping up on a food stall. Using her magic to distract the owner as she plucked fresh apples in the dark. She turned around to see a spear pointed in her face. Two of the Canterlot Royal Guards were glaring down at her, with the Alicorn sun Princess standing behind them with surprise written in her expression.
Sunset tried to explain herself but managed to just stumble through an explanation that barely made sense, but luckily Celestia was a kind pony. It became clear to the Princess that Sunset was homeless and very talented. So, they made a deal. Sunset had to stop stealing, committing crimes. In exchange, Celestia would allow her to be her personal student, enroll her into her school for gifted unicorns, and letting her live in the castle.
The arrangement worked for a few years. Sunset was a good student but Celestia began to lose her patience when Sunset repeated, insistently, loudly refused to make friends. Claiming they were a waste of time. Magic could make Equestria better. Magic was vitally important to the survival of Equestria. Not friends. They were optional.
Princess Celestia started to limit her studies. Making Sunset push against her. Pushing her to see more advanced magic. Celestia started to limit her hours in the Library. Outside of her chosen hours, she was banned. Sunset broke in one night, looking for more spells. More power.
That is where she currently was. Using her magic to hold up a lamp as she used her light aqua eyes to scan the signs for each bookshelf in the Royal Canterlot Library. Her hooves echoed across the marble floor. She occasionally flinched in paranoia as she heard distant echoes of noise deep within the castle. She came to the last section of the advanced magic section. A restricted section locked by a cage.
Sunset briefly looked around, then started her locking picking spell. The cage rattled, the noise ringing across the area. Sunset flinched again. Her heart beating rapidly in her chest from fear that she would be discovered. She didn't dare move as light shining through the glass in the entrance of the Library doors.
She heard distant mumbling from a guard, then a laugh from another. In another moment, the light faded as they disappeared further down the hallway, further and further away from the Library. She let out a sigh of relief, then continued fiddling with the lock until it clicked open.
She smiled. The first real genuine smile she had since Celestia let her live in the castle. She opened the creaking gate. Pausing for a few seconds to make sure no pony was listening. Then continued through the gate, into the large room with many bookshelves.
She read every spine of the books as she pasted them.
"Portals?" Sunset muttered out loud in surprise as a book caught her attention. Her hoof ran across the spine, across the title of the book. The Alternate Universe of Portals. She tilted her head slightly in interest. She grabbed the book, slipping it into the saddlebag hidden beneath her black cloak.
She moved further down the bookshelves. Shoving a few more books into her bag, then carried them back to the gate. She locked the gate back up, then teleported herself and her things back to her chambers. The bright light assaulted her eyes as she reappeared. She groaned, using her hoof to cover her eyes. She was sure she turned her light off before she left...Maybe she was mistaken?
She looked around when she dropped her hoof to look at her room. She checked her door first, it was still locked. Good. She checked her things on her desk, nightstand, drawers. Where those moved before? She picked up her brush carefully examining it as if it was a result of an experiment.
She couldn't seem to remember the exact position she last saw her brush. She shook her head. She was becoming too paranoid for her own good. Celestia was willing to do a lot of bad things, but she wasn't about to go peeking into her room without her knowledge.
She took off her cloak, tucking it safely into her closet where no pony could find it. She placed the books on her bag before hanging them up. She slumped into her bed, snuggling into the covers and soft pillows. She scanned the titles of the books once again before looking at the first book for a few more seconds.
Celestia never mentioned anything about portals.
She flipped open the door. She was good at speed reading. She had to learn quickly when she needed to cram for exams. Portals...Why would Celestia hide something so important from her?
(One Week Later.)
Sunset had enough. Constantly being held back because Celestia was scared of her power. She wasn't going to be held back anymore. She was going to get the respect she deserved. The world. This other world could have more magic than she could dream of.
She was going to figure out the truth. She found where the portal was hidden. Guards were guarding the door of course. Guards covered every door in the castle, even a storage closet. Which is how Celestia disguised the portal. She covered it up in a storage room. It was a pretty stupid plan.
She used her magic to drop the guards to the floor with a sleep spell before they could react to her presence. She opened the door to the dark room. Stepping further in to stare at a large mirror. A mirror. It just opened up. It would close in three days. She wanted to get this done. She would go, then be back in three days' time. Simple.
"Sunset?" Her mentor called when she pressed her hoof against the mirror. Causing a ripple effect across the glass. She gasped in surprise. Then turned to the entrance of the room to see Celestia staring at her with two guards behind her. "Step away from the mirror. Slowly."
"Why?" Sunset snapped back in rage. "So you can deny me what I deserve? What I am destined for? No. No, I won't let you do that to me."
"You haven't been following my orders. I ordered you-"
"I can't make friends! How many times do I have to tell you this? I can't be friends with ponies just because you order it!"
"You didn't even try. You bribed them, Sunset." Celestia accused with the stamp of her hoof.
"You don't even have friends! So don't stand there. High and damn mighty on your precious throne. Demanding that I make friends when the ruler of Equestria doesn't need to. You fucking hypocrite." Celestia opened her mouth to respond when Sunset took a step back. Forcing one of her back hoofs through the mirror with a confident smirk. "It's not like you are powerful enough to stop me. There are legends that you created the crater in the badlands in one single spell. But I have seen no proof of such magic. You over-exaggerated your powers. You can't stop me."
"I don't need to justify-"
Sunset interrupted her, enraged at her mentor from pent-up emotions. She fired magic at her. Celestia yelled in alarm as the beam hit her. She stumbled back, using her wing to cover the burns appearing on her face. Sunset wanted to hurt her more. Wanted revenge. But memories of how Celestia saved her when she was ten flashed in her mind.
She bit her lip, feeling a wave of guilt hit her but she quickly pushed it down. Celestia's eyes filled with tears.
"Sunset-"
Sunset didn't want to hear it. She just committed a crime against royalty. She could be banned. She could have a new life on the other side of the portal. She didn't know what to expect when she crossed that barrier but she knew it was better than staying at Equestria.
She disappeared into the mirror. Not staying to hear Celestia whisper the words she wanted to hear the most.
"I am sorry...I am so sorry."
---The End---
