"Oh pony feathers," said Sunset Shimmer as she settled into the booth, "I forgot to get cutlery."
Her companion looked at her and raised an eyebrow, before dramatically clapping her hands together and producing a napkin-wrapped knife and fork seemingly from nowhere. She handed them to Sunset Shimmer and then did theatrical wave of her hands to produce another set for herself. The smirk on her face almost projected that often repeated catchphrase into Sunset's mind.
"Thanks," smiled Sunset, only rolling her eyes a little, "I guess having lunch with the great and powerful Trixie has its perks."
"Oh, I think some might consider there are other perks beyond my prestidigitation," stated Trixie, stretching out and then crossing her slender stocking clad legs with a mischievous grin.
Having drawn a few admiring looks, Trixie turned on the vinyl covered bench and made herself comfortable. The booth she was sharing with Sunset Shimmer was towards the back of the Taco Loco, coolly located away from the midday sun that was cooking tables by the window. When eating chilli laden food nobody needed the extra heat beating down on them.
"Yes, all eyes are on you… or parts of you. Why are you wearing your stage outfit anyway," asked the flame haired girl, "you got a performance?"
"There's a pop-up craft fair in the park, so Trixie will do some truly breathtaking street magic to… make a little money," replied the pale blue girl as she took off her top hat, revealing her white and blue striped hair with its signature star hair clip.
"Well, how about a free lunch to get you started?"
"Free? You get to bask in the company of Trixie," proclaimed Trixie, with enough of a smile in her eyes to let it be known that she was kidding, mostly.
"That's fair. Well actually, I do have an ulterior motive," confessed Sunset, "magicians always keep secrets, right?"
"Hmm, technically magicians always keep their secrets," Trixie said, "but for my glamorous assistant Sunset Shimmer I'll be discretion itself."
There was a pregnant pause, as Sunset looked down at the table and shuffled uncomfortably in her chair. She seemed to be struggling to find a way to start talking and made a couple of false starts before finally getting the words out.
"Erm, ok. Well there's some stuff I need to say, just get out of my head. To share with another person. But some of it's not very new me," sighed Sunset, making air quotes, "and my other friends are kind but I think I'd prefer to say all this to you."
Trixie leaned forwards, the expression on her face trying to be sympathetic but there was just a hint of something more like enjoyment. Almost as if this was a particularly juicy episode of a soap opera. She'd spent some time with Sunset Shimmer since the incident with the memory stone, and enjoyed that she still had a bit of an edge despite her reformed image.
"It's just that you're ambitious too," Sunset continued, "and sometimes that ambition can have some other emotions attached to it, which aren't the best kind."
Both girls sat back to make space for the welcome interruption of their food arriving. Although it didn't look high class at all, Taco Loco was one of the best restaurants in town. Their food looked delicious, with Trixie choosing the tacos whilst Sunset went for a vegan nachos platter. Sunset looked up in surprise at the happily smiling waitress with a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. She knew that Sonata Dusk worked here, when she wasn't touring with the Dazzlings, but today she wasn't wearing the usual staff uniform. Rather than the homage to '50s kitsch, she was wearing an outfit that seemed to be an unlikely mashup between a goth and sailor moon cosplay. Or maybe a Halloween french maid. The only normally recognizable part of her style was her long ponytail.
"They changed the uniform, Sonata?" Enquired Sunset.
Sonata smiled warmly, bouncing up and down as she clapped her hands together, "I'm going to a Skull Crusher concert after work with Fluttershy. I'm so excited!"
"You're friends with 'shy?" Sunset's jaw nearly dropped open in surprise.
"Well, we've been hanging out a little, listening to Crusher tracks. We ran into each other at the Starswirled festival, after I'd been ditched by Aria and Adagio. She's pretty wild when she starts moshing."
"Oh kay… Did not know that,"
Sonata moved away to serve another table, moving confidently despite her high heeled platform boots. Sunset watched her go with the same surprised look on her face. She turned to Trixie, who was already sprinkling extra chilli sauce on her tacos.
"Got to say I'm not sure I could wear that all day without feeling very self conscious," the flame haired girl commented.
Trixie waved a hand to indicate her own outfit, "hmm, didn't look that outlandish from where the great and powerful Trixie is sat. Besides, you've got a glam rock dominatrix vibe when you do that magic thing."
"I don't choose the look and it's only when I pony up! Erm, so I was telling you about my recent feelings."
Normally Trixie would've avoided listening to anything that had that kind of introduction, but Sunset Shimmer had treated her with respect and that really touched her. Despite her growing confidence and ability as a stage magician, many of the students at Canterlot High still viewed her as a bit of a joke. Admittedly following real magic with sleight of hand and trickery was a tough break, but that Sunset had acknowledged her meant something.
"I don't think anyone really knows how much time I spent spying in Equestria before I stole Twilight's crown," Sunset sighed, "they also don't know that I'd been spying on her before she became an alicorn."
"Trixie is still struggling with this", the other girl searched for the right words, "kingdom of ponies."
"Yes, it does sound like a crazy made up kid's TV show," agreed Sunset, "but it was my home. Where I was born. Where my… where my parents were."
The flame-haired girl seemed to be lost in thought momentarily, as if recalling a painful memory. Trixie leaned forwards, placing a hand on top of Sunset's for comfort. The two girls sat in silence for a moment, then Sunset continued.
"The portal between here and there was never guarded in any way. There was nothing stopping me from slipping between worlds whenever I wanted.
"The crazy thing about those portals is that nobody knows where they came from, or even how many there are," she said, "Twilight was actually once abducted by a twisted version of herself from yet another realm."
"There are more worlds?" Trixie sat up in surprise.
"Seems like yeah, but there's no way of knowing how many," confirmed Sunset, "there's really no reason why there can't be an infinity of worlds. You know, one for all possibilities.
"Anyway, I had been watching Twilight because I thought she was a… replacement for me. Or perhaps I was a test run for her. Celestia plays a long game, which is what you'd expect from an immortal goddess. Although she appeared to be totally devoted to her subjects, I'd just come to suspect that she was hiding things from me.
"So erm, I unearthed a lost prophecy when I was a student at Celestia's magic school that was addressing me. Warning me to escape from her influence before it was too late. I had thought the prophet was saving me from Celestia, but in hindsight I think they were saving Equestria from me. It wasn't long before Celestia found another gifted unicorn to be her personal protégé, as if I'd never existed.
"As it turns out this new protégé, Twilight Sparkle, was highly capable but never really questioned the nature of her relationship with Celestia, or had any desires beyond passing all the tests that were set for her. She graduated, but still remained in close proximity with the princess.
"And so Twilight, the trusted former pupil, was sent to organise a summer sun festival in Ponyville. There she met her friends and defeated Nightmare Moon by activating the Elements of Harmony. She was suddenly in possession of unimaginably powerful artefacts.
Had I not run away could I have done the same thing? I'm not so sure, and what then? Could Celestia defeat Nightmare Moon again, without the elements? I hate to think about what would've happened if she couldn't."
Sunset paused again, and raised her eyes from the table to look at Trixie. Her companion froze, a taco half consumed in her mouth. Her eyebrows arched in a way that suggested Sunset should continue her confession.
"I'd been slipping back because I needed to find a suitable magical artefact to bring here. You see, magical artefacts are much more robust than unicorn magic, and I thought one might survive the journey through the portal with its power intact.
"An element of harmony would be perfect, but Celestia had locked them away at that point. Thank the sisters that I didn't know about the alicorn amulet or Grogar's bell at that time," said Sunset with a grimace on her face.
"Are magical props common in…" asked Trixie.
"Equestria. No, not very common actually," explained Sunset, "that was part of the problem. I wanted something that had significant power but would be easy to take. Asking a little too much, it seemed.
"Then something happened that just made my rage and jealousy a thousand times worse. Twilight Sparkle's ascension! She had become an alicorn… an actual princess.
"At the time I couldn't see the heroic deeds she'd done, the genuine danger they'd all faced. It just seemed so unfair that I was just burning up. Witnessing her coronation just made things worse. I watched from the adoring crowd in Canterlot, my rage building.
"But then I realised… Twilight's crown. It was the element of magic, and perfect for my needs. Only suddenly everything seemed to be falling apart when the other end of the portal was moved from the royal castle to the Crystal Empire."
Trixie looked at Sunset with a quizzical expression, "you've said there were four princesses. Couldn't you have taken one of the other crowns?"
"No, they wouldn't work. Even the mighty Celestia's crown is just inert jewellery," Sunset replied, "only Twilight's was an actual artefact. I don't think even Queen Chrysalis' is magical."
"You did manage to get the crown though," mused Trixie.
"Yes, but that's one of the weirdest things. I guess Celestia might have sensed my return, or maybe she'd always kept an eye on the portal. Moving it to the Crystal Empire should've ruined my plans, but then she holds a royal summit there and Twilight brings her crown.
"After having the foresight to make it harder for me to creep around Equestria, Celestia landed exactly what I wanted in my lap. The Crystal Palace was also far less well guarded than Canterlot. I still wonder if Celestia had some kind of plan."
"Is she really that smart?" Asked Trixie, "that omniscient?"
"I shudder to think, I mean… I originally fled because I was scared of being her tool. What if it was just part of some greater plan she had? What if she'd just effortlessly manoeuvred Twilight and me to be exactly where she wanted us?"
Trixie shrugged, whilst munching on her final taco. She gestured for Sunset to continue.
"So I get the crown, and you know what happens next."
Trixie swallowed the last of the Taco and held her fingers up by her head to make devil's horns. "The great and powerful Trixie remembers," she stated, flatly.
"Erm, yeah," Sunset sighed, "it seems inevitable that my plan would fail, with hindsight. I thought she'd just be so disoriented, coming here and turning into a human. I remembered having major body dysmorphia when I'd first arrived.
"Not Twilight though. I mean, she says she was a little freaked out but nothing major. She had just become an alicorn not long before, so not only had she grown two new limbs and a whole bunch of new anatomy. No, her whole metabolism changed and her powers grew hugely. After that coming here was not going to give her any nightmares."
"I can tell you it was years before I stopped being a pony when I dreamed. But there was Twilight, making friends and allies as if she had done this a million times."
"But aren't her friends here just like the ones from her home?" Asked Trixie.
"Yes and no. It is amazing how the most notable absence at Canterlot High was of Twilight's counterpart. I'd always been a little worried about what might happen if anyone met themself. Would there be some horrible implosion of time and space… but I thought she just wasn't around. I never thought she'd be at another school. They eventually met and nothing happened. Well nothing bad, anyway.
"I guess I'd always been a bit nervous of meeting myself too. The funny thing is how people were surprised, but not shocked to see me. Like the other me had left, but not in a permanent way. She might still come back, for all I know. Be freaked that I've been living her life."
"Trixie cannot comment, for her parents travelled a lot and she hasn't always been a student here."
"Sure Trix'. I've asked around and people remember this world's Sunset. It's just that nobody knows where she went. Anyways, Twilight and I have our big showdown and she doesn't just beat me. She befriends me.
"I'll tell you something weird though. Twilight's friendship isn't normal friendship. She is a friend, and an amazing and generous one at that. What I mean is, when she says that friendship is magic, it's really true.
"When she holds out her hand to you, it's like… there's just no way you can turn her down. I think her magic just kinda, makes you be her friend. I mean, not like an enchantment or anything. You just can't resist.
"Or at least, there's only a few who have. It hasn't ended well for them.
"And it's not like she's controlling you, or ever tries to manipulate you. She's a really good friend, that you just can't say no to. It sounds horrible but somehow it isn't. I know I wouldn't change anything."
Sunset looked up and noticed that Trixie was fiddling with the dessert menu. With a roll of her eyes she motioned Sonata back over to their booth.
"Hi, can I get you girls anything else," she smiled warmly.
"Trixie would like the churros and horchata," stated the blue skinned girl.
Sonata turned to Sunset, who gestured at her unstarted plate of natchos to indicate she didn't need a dessert quite yet. Sonata shrugged, wrote the dessert order down and walked nimbly away. Sunset turned back toward Trixie, took a deep breath and continued.
"I'm sorry to say I'd never fully gotten over my envy of Twilight. Every time she gained some further victory I always have just a flash of resentment, like she's stolen it from me.
"She hasn't, of course, but I think I'll always be bitter that it should've been me. I know it's irrational, I was the one who ran away from it all. But still, it's hard to just th-"
"Feel that you've never been given the respect you're due. The great and powerful Trixie… knows that frustration very well," interrupted Trixie.
She reached out and gently placed a hand on Sunset's arm before continuing in a softer voice, "Trixie understands... I understand feeling that you've been overlooked by destiny, that greatness should be yours for the taking. But I've learned that when others succeed it doesn't diminish your efforts, unless you let it.
"Sometimes it's okay to be second place. When your rival is the very best, then maybe they can be a role model instead of an enemy. That world's Twilight sounds incredible, but here it's you that we all look up to."
Sunset let out a deep breath that shuddered with pent up emotion, "thanks Trixie. At every stage I'd hoped that I would get over my envy. See that Twilight's bravery and selfless actions are just that, and not reflexively feel they are some horrible insult directed at me.
"So now she's to be the ruler of all Equestria. Celestia and Luna are abdicating and will be conferring absolute power onto Twilight. I guess she'll have her friends, and it'll be a different kind of reign because I know that Twilight can throw down when needed but it's just not her way. She'll be fair and humble even if she is the most powerful being in all Equestria.
"I thought this news would just throw me back into a jealous rage." Sunset paused. Her gaze seemed to be focused on a point far away as she considered her feelings.
"It seems different this time. As the ruler of Equestria, Princess Twilight won't have a day that ever wholly belongs to her again. She can't stop because the very life of every pony around her will depend upon her performing her duties. Even if I originally came to this world to raise an army and conquer my homeland, that was a juvenile dream.
"But the more I think about it, has Twilight ever been free? All those times she stepped up to defend Equestria against existential threats, was it ever of her own choice?"
"What do you mean," asked Trixie, a little confused, "she sounds so brave. That she has to do it."
"That's exactly it. She feels she has to," replied Sunset, "she gets dragged into harm's way, facing whatever evil has attacked Equestria. Whenever Celestia tells, or worse asks Twilight to act, she has to face some unimaginable threat without considering the risk to her own life because that's what is expected of her. It seems like no one has ever stopped to ask what she wants, or if she is willing to be a sacrifice.
"So was this all part of Celestia's plan? Has Twilight been nothing more than a puppet since the moment she stepped into the school for gifted unicorns? If at any point she'd said that she didn't want to be a part of this what would've happened?"
"Maybe that's why Celestia found it so easy to forgive me… I was a broken tool, not worth getting upset about once my replacement had been found.
"But I think I'm the winner, this time. As a nobody I get to choose my path. Twilight is a hostage to her destiny."
Sunset paused again. The lunchtime crowd was starting to clear, and she realised that her nachos were sitting untouched on the plate still. She'd never spoken at this kind of length about her thoughts, but she was feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her.
"Anyway… glam rock dominatrix? Really?"
Next Fluttershy Rocks Out
Author's Note
Just tying a few threads from other stories together.
