Princess Celestia's newest personal student was not having a good day. "Ah!" the now completely frustrated young unicorn filly grunted after passing a pile of blue boxes for the fourth time. "Another dead end…I never going to find the exit" She was currently trapped in a seemingly endless maze of piled objects. The room was filled with endless rows of boxes, bags, and assorted oddities that had stopped being interesting hours ago. The longer she stayed in this labyrinth-like room the more baffled she became. Coming into this dusty basement storage room to explore seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the small yellow pony seemed hopelessly lost.
The promising young filly had arrived in the capital city of Canterlot only a short time ago to take part in a very important event. Every year the best youth from around the county came to apply to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. A small delegation even came from the small villages inside the remote Neighstone territories. Among that select group who had passed the local prerequisite test were several unicorns from the county hamlet of Sholes Valley. Sunset Shimmer was among the candidates. Despite all of the pictures, she had seen of Canterlot, the real thing was overwhelming. For a pony that had been living in a small community before, the sight of so many tall buildings left her completely gobsmacked.
The most amazing structure of all was the royal castle complex and next to it, the county's most prestigious school. The campus was nothing short of paradise on Equestria with beautifully manicured spaces and elegantly designed department buildings. Sunset struggled to maintain her composer around this new and exciting environment. However, the other candidates for the entrance exam were not making things any easier.
Neighstone county boasted some of the most beautiful mountain vistas outside Canterlot. This included the small town of Sholes Valley. Some of the older residents of Sholes still remembered the area before it was developed. Supposedly, a celebrity magazine writer stayed at one of the sleepy hilltop cottages for some rest. However, what began as a tranquil retreat morphed into a very popular series of articles inspired by the local topography. Soon the valley around Sholes transformed from a backwater to the new celebrity hot spot. Vacation homes dotted the hills while vehicles clogged the valley's main road. Since these new residents mainly appeared on the weekend they were named "the weekenders" by the overrun local population. Among these audacious new hillside lodges was a very different building, the Sholes Valley Orphanage.
The humble stone building once blended into the rest of the rustic countryside, but now it stood in stark contrast from the other 'weekender' dwellings. The foals that called the orphanage their home could only gaze at the surrounding fancy homes with awe and wonder if they would ever meet anyone when lived inside. One of these ponies was a shy filly named Sunset Shimmer. The orphanage's cramped interior rooms were too dark for reading, so she enjoyed reading in the back courtyard. The largest hillside house of all was located on a ledge right above the orphanage. One day when Sunset was outside she saw another unicorn filly her age on the balcony of the magnificent house above. Before Sunset could think of a way to speak to this newcomer, the weekender in question introduced herself… with an overripe melon.
Gilded Pyrite was a child of privilege who constantly reminded every pony of that fact. The entitled unicorn's hobbies included sunbathing, lounging, and practicing her levitation by throwing objects at the creatures below her terrace. Any pony walking within sight was in danger of getting struck by the falling produce, water, or paint. Unfortunately, is was especially true for poor Sunset as the orphanage courtyard was in easy striking range. Gilded took great delight in taunting the brightly colored filly and hurled convenient bombs without mercy. Sunset did her best to dodge the cruel weekender's attacks, but her magic was too weak to repel all of the torrents. She would have avoided the outdoor area completely if there were any indoor spaces suitable for studying. There were no quiet areas inside. The orphanage was built to officially house 50 foals but lodged twice the number. Every available space was used, resulting in a messy. cramped, and chaotic arrangement. The older orphans also stole the scarce resources from the younger ones, so Sunset studied hard for a chance to get out of this situation. The only way to pay for school was to qualify for a scholarship. Every year unicorns were selected to study at the best school in far away Canterlot that mercifully included room and board. When Sunset heard that she and another unicorn from Sholes Valley had qualified for the chance to go to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, she was ecstatic… until she heard the other pony's name.
Standing in front of the school admissions building, the unicorns from the Neighstone area were waiting nervously to take the entrance exam. Some of the ponies were more stressed than others. Ever since Gilded Pyrite discovered the other candidate for the school was a lowly orphan she was livid. How dare a lower-class pony two years younger than her, attend a school only for the social elites. Gilded was going to make life Tardaus for Sunset. The trip to the capital was a long train ride in which the spoiled Gilded took every opportunity to bully Sunset. By the time the group arrived in Canterlot, Sunset was practically in tears. Soon it was Sunsets turn for the entrance test. The now exhausted filly moved with shaking legs in front of the review panel and saw a small red egg in the middle of the room. With the feeling of the weight of the world on her, Sunset tried to hatch the egg, but it was for naught. “NO!” screamed the filly in her now shattered mind. “I CAN'T FAIL, I CAN'T FAIL, I CAN'T FAIL, OR I WILL HAVE TO GO BACK!” Panic overtook Sunset as she realized the full consequences of failure. Back to that small town, back to fighting for food, back to the older foals wrecking her books, back to that evil pony who used her for target practice. The pressure was too much as the room seemed to spin. Sunset’s vision went white as her magic suddenly blasted out of control…
Slowly the world came back in clarity for the young pony, first, her sight returned then her hearing. But Sunset was beyond both of them for several minutes when she saw who was in front of her. At first, sick disappointment attacked the poor filly until the soft words spoken by the beautiful sun goddess finally sunk in. Sunset had not failed... She had a magic surge and passed the exam... The filly had to repeat these words several more times to herself for them to sink in. She, Sunset Shimmer was not a failure. Above the din of the room yet in perfect clarity was the chirping of a small red phoenix. Proof to every creature she had done the impossible and had earned the right to attend the school. She had earned the right to be Princess Celestria’s student.
Several weeks later Sunset discided to explore the castle. The structure was immense, but the little pony was determined to understand its layout. Even with a map, it was easy to get turned around. Sunset needed to be able to find her way around, she had this opportunity and was not going to waste it by being a burden. When she first arrived, Sunset worked hard to make sense of the castle network but still needed to ask for directions. Now she was determined not to disappoint the Princess by being late due to getting lost.
It was a quiet weekend when Sunset discided to trot downstairs to the basement. The long corridor was the beginning of a labyrinth of rooms that appeared to have not been used in ages. Sunset poked her head into several of them until she one room that looked like an old book storage room. Unable to resist her love of all things paper, the filly entered what appeared to be a hidden library. Unfortunately for Sunset, the promised rare manuscripts stacked in the back of the room were nothing but old catalogs. Disappointed, the pony tried to locate the door she had entered but could not find it. After trotting around for a while Sunset started to worry she would never be able to leave. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Fearing she was in trouble, Sunset ducked behind a box only peeking out when she did not hear any further noises. Peaking out from a partially fallen cover was the source of the mystery pony.
It was a mirror. Despite being alone Sunset laughed out loud. The tired filly trotted over the glass to get a better look at this latest discovery. “Wow”, she said to herself, “this is was a completely different style than anything I have seen in the rest of the castle.” Instead of white and gold, this mirror was silver. The mirror was covered with a thick cloth that had partially fallen off one side, revealing its glossy surface. Sunset gazed at her reflection and began to remissness about everything that had happened recently. She had gone from sleeping in a lumpy bunk bed to a room of her own. From small backwater town to the capital. From fighting for attention in a crowded orphanage to getting personal attention for the sun princess herself. Her reflection seemed to change... the small terrified orphan that was bullied and looked down upon was now a proud, confident leader. Every pony loved her as they would the Sun Princess. No pony would ever be mean to her again. Even Princess Celestia loved her so much she adopted her. Sunset and her mother, the Princess were seated on elegant thrones surrounded by admirers. From her grand position, the perfect pony looked back at the now mesmerized filly. Sunset had to get closer, it was her wildest dream come true. She longed to be that pony. She needed to be that pony. She had to be that pony. Sunset slowly reached a hoof out to touch that perfect image of herself.
Only for a sudden jolt of cold to go through her hoof. Shaking her head to clear a sudden bout of dizziness, Sunset looked up in confusion... only to spot a door. Happy to be free at last, Sunset moved quickly to the available outlet that would hopefully return her to the hallway and freedom. With newfound inspiration, Sunset strutted out the door hoping that fantasy image could be real someday with enough hard work, after all, hard work is how she got to live in the castle. Sunset was too worn out and relieved to question the door's sudden reappearance. Before leaving Sunset grabbed the fallen cloth from the floor with her magic and replaced the tarp covering the mirror. Once again the mysterious silver mirror covered in the ornate phases of the moon was in darkness.
Author's Note
Finally got enough courage to write and publish my first story. It was inspired by the notion of Princess Luna and Sunset Shimmer having more than common than just rebelling against Princess Celestia. Maybe their dark sides had some help. Was it stress from outrageous expectations 😱😰 or something supernational that eventually corrupted them? 😈
Wanted to portray a young Sunset shimmer who was completely overwhelmed in Canterlot. It was an all-or-nothing shot for her to escape her tormentors, especially Gilded Pyrite. The environment was a survival of the fittest that remained with Sunset when she become Princess Celestia's student.
