Sunset Shimmer takes a deep breath, enjoying the many smells of early springtime as she exits Canterlot High School. It was a very long day at school, and although she would usually be tracking down her friends right about now, she decided that it would be a better idea to get home as soon as possible. She has a research paper about the history of Canterlot due in a couple of days, and she needs to get to work on that as soon as possible. She may be able to recite the history of Equestria's Canterlot from memory, but the Canterlot of this world is a lot more complicated. Politics sure are confusing when there are more than two leaders throughout all of the nation's history.
Sunset glances at the sky. It's beautiful today, with only the occasional cloud blocking what would otherwise be a spotless blue expanse. Early signs of the sunset can be seen, as in the far horizon, the blue is beginning to turn many vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow. It's a common sight, and one that Sunset doesn't pay too much attention to.
Sunset continues down the sidewalk, carefully avoiding other people walking by her as they go about their own daily business. Everyone is always so busy, it seems. She's no exception, of course, but sometimes it's strange to think about how every single person you see has their own life to live, their own stories to tell. That's a part of what makes life interesting, she supposes.
As these thoughts drift through her mind, her attention is pulled to a woman standing on the other side of the road. She swears that woman wasn't there just a moment ago. However, as she looks closer, Sunset's eyes widen.
The woman looks strikingly similar to her. She has light amber skin with crimson and yellow hair. Her focused, cyan eyes shift from one thing to another as she looks about herself in an interested, almost hesitant manner. Her clothing is hard to discern, as despite the fair weather, she has covered herself in a brown, dirty cloak that looks a bit too big for her. Similarly dirty boots cover her feet, and her appearance in general gives the impression that this woman has had it rough and is out of her element.
Sunset feels her breath get caught in her throat. In the years that she has been in this world, she has always dreaded the day that this would happen. After all, she's originally from Equestria. Just as Princess Twilight ended up bumping into her human world counterpart, it was practically inevitable that Sunset would do the same. Unlike Princess Twilight, however, Sunset has no intention of going home anytime soon. As such, having two women with the same identity could prove... troublesome.
Sunset sighs. She may as well bite the metaphorical bullet and get this over with.
After finding a safe time to do so, she quickly crosses the street and begins to approach the woman. Said woman has turned around, meaning Sunset is right behind her. After hesitating for a moment, Sunset starts to reach out her hand. However, before she can tap the woman on the shoulder to get her attention, she raises a hand in a stopping motion. Sunset is caught off guard by this, and she watches as the woman turns around.
Now that she can get a good look at her, there can be no mistake: This woman is also Sunset Shimmer. However, as Sunset takes a closer look, she realizes something that's a bit strange. Princess Twilight and the human Twilight are practically indistinguishable from each other physically (bar smaller things like their glasses and hairstyles). However, this woman is unmistakably older than Sunset. Much older. She's taller than Sunset, and yet she walks with a slouched back. Faint wrinkles line her facial features. Her eyes appear perpetually tired and sunken into her face. However, despite these things, she seems to have aged pretty well.
Sunset struggles to speak for a moment before finally spitting something out.
"U-uh, hello, ma'am. I... I was walking home, and I couldn't help but notice you on the other side of the street! My name is-"
"Don't you worry about me, young lady." The woman cuts Sunset off, her voice somewhat weak, but unmistakably similar to Sunset's. "I'm just a visitor. I'll be out of your hair soon."
"O-oh. You're new to Canterlot?"
The woman lets out a quiet, tiny chuckle.
"Not quite. But I'm also not from here."
"I... see." Sunset tries to process the woman's words. While her appearance is in and of itself a mystery, the fact that she won't be here long is a good thing, right? It means that Sunset won't have to deal with the consequences of there being two of her. And yet, she can't help but be filled with hundreds of questions for this woman. What is she visiting for? Where is she from if not Canterlot? What has her life been like, and how does it differ from Sunset's own? Despite these many questions, Sunset can't think of a natural way to bring up any of them. "Well, I hope you enjoy your time here! Canterlot is a beautiful city!"
The woman chuckles once more.
"I know it is. I think I'm going to have a look around now, if you don't mind. For old times' sake."
The woman begins to walk past Sunset, who chooses to just smile. This has been a strange encounter, but she should count her blessings rather than tempt fate, she supposes. With a contented nod to herself, Sunset sets off to her home, choosing to be satisfied with what she did learn than be disappointed with what she didn't.
Sunset stares at the blank space filling the bottom half of her laptop screen. She has been working on this paper for hours, and she is growing not just tired, but aggravated. The more she researches this world's politics and history, the angrier she gets. Perhaps she's just used to Equestria, where there is a pretty clean line drawn between good guys and bad guys, but it feels like there are a whole lot of jerks in this world. She generally tries to avoid political discussions whenever she can, as she feels it isn't her place to comment on such matters in a world that she technically doesn't belong in, and now that she's seen just how much chaos and strife there is out there, she feels justified in her position. Things just seem to be getting worse, after all, and the most popular idea growing alongside these problems isn't a focus on solutions, but a general sense of apathy. Ugh, Equestria is so much easier to understand. Why can't she just write a paper about THAT?
Thus, she has found herself at a dead end. She only has a couple more paragraphs to go before she hits the necessary page count, because Celestia forbid a paper be judged by its quality rather than its length. What else can she write that isn't complaining about why everyone won't just get along or work together to fix increasingly dangerous world issues? Not to mention that she still has to make her... ugh, citations page. Truly, the stuff of nightmares.
Sunset leans back at her desk and lets out a deep sigh. It's time for a break. She glances out of a nearby window. The sun has nearly set completely. If she's quick, she might be able to head up to the roof and catch the last few moments of the sun disappearing below the horizon. Not even bothering to put her shoes on, she immediately heads out the door and towards her roof.
When she gets outside, a warm breeze hits her. It immediately calms her down and brings a slight smile to her face. She closes the door leading to the roof behind her before she suddenly jumps.
There, standing near the edge of the roof, is the woman that she met earlier.
With a confused look on her face and a tilt of her head, Sunset slowly approaches the woman from behind. What is she doing here? Why is she just staring at the sunset? Didn't she say she wouldn't be around for long?
"Um, excuse me?" The woman does not turn around, nor does she respond to Sunset in any way. Growing increasingly concerned, Sunset walks up next to the woman to look her in the face. The woman just glances at Sunset and gives her a smile before turning her tired, focused gaze back towards the sunset. "W-what are you doing here?"
"I'm enjoying one more sunset, dear."
"One more... what are you talking about? Why are you on my roof?"
"Please do not fret. I only have a few more moments here."
"I... I don't understand."
"Hmhm. I know you don't."
As the woman speaks, the smile never leaves her face, nor do her eyes ever tear away from the sunset. Sunset Shimmer decides to look at the sunset along with her in an attempt to figure out what is so interesting about it. However, the longer she looks, the more she realizes that it's just like any other sunset. The countless hues of reds and oranges and yellows blend together to make a spectacular sight. The horizon, consisting of distant buildings, creates a picturesque image in Sunset's mind. The slowly setting sun is hard to look at directly, yet it is still almost unfathomable in its beauty. Sure, Sunset has appreciated the sight before, but for some reason, she has never quite pondered it as much as she is now. There really is nothing else like it.
...Perhaps "any other sunset" isn't so bad.
"It's beautiful."
"Indeed it is. The sunset is something to be treasured."
"..." Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Sunset turns back to the woman once again. "D-do you know who I am?"
"I do."
"Then why haven't you said anything?"
"Because you're not why I'm here."
"Then why ARE you here?! And why are you so much older than me?!"
"..." The woman finally sighs and turns away from the sunset, her focused eyes turning squarely onto Sunset's own. "I am not this world's version of you, Sunset Shimmer."
"Th-then who are you?"
"...A visitor. Nothing more, nothing less."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"That answer isn't what you need right now." The woman's voice is suddenly gruff and serious. However, she takes a deep breath before speaking again, allowing her voice to return to normal before she does so. "What you need is to appreciate the sunset. Appreciate the beautiful sky. Appreciate the landscape around you, and the air that you breathe. Appreciate this world as it is."
"I... I don't understand. Why are you telling me this?"
"You're struggling with that paper of yours, aren't you?"
"H-huh?"
"Your research into the history of this world and how the modern day came to be... you've realized that things aren't going so well, haven't you?"
"Well, yes, I suppose. But I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Tell me. What do you suppose is to blame for the seemingly unending flow of problems in the world?"
Sunset thinks for a moment, both about her answer to the question, and why this woman is asking it at all.
"Well, everyone seems to be blaming the people in positions of power making terrible decisions. That's why they're growing apathetic to it all, because they feel like they can't do anything about it."
"Apathy comes in many forms, Sunset Shimmer. Are you, yourself, not guilty of growing apathetic at this very moment to the idea that others are becoming more apathetic?"
"This feels like a loaded question. And not a particularly insightful one."
"My point is that you aren't doing yourself any favors by finding someone to blame. This isn't a movie, you know. You are the protagonist of your own story, but on a wider scale? There is no hero coming."
"You're a lot more cynical than I was expecting."
"Quite the opposite, dear." The woman looks back to the sunset one last time. The sun has nearly disappeared over the horizon, and the sky has now been painted a deep violet color. "I've simply had time to learn what I want. So, I chose to pay you a visit. I just wanted to see one more sunset."
"You say that like you'll never get to see another one ever again after you go home."
"Nothing is permanent, Sunset Shimmer. Not even the sunset."
"..."
The sun finally disappears. Looking up, Sunset can see scattered stars beginning to blink into view above her. She smiles. Half of the beauty of watching a sunset is that it does, eventually, come to an end. Sunset looks back down at the woman, only to discover that she is nowhere to be seen. Sunset frantically glances across the roof, but she finds nothing. She hesitantly looks over the side of the building, but there's nothing out of place down there, either. It's as if the woman just... vanished.
Sunset lets out a confused sigh. She has way more questions than answers after today. Where did that woman go? If she isn't the other Sunset Shimmer, who is she? And what was all of that nonsense she was talking about?
Shaking her head, Sunset decides to go back inside. For whatever reason, despite the many questions flooding her mind, she feels a strange sense of peace. She thinks she has an idea on how to finish her paper, and if she's quick, she might be able to get to bed early.
Heck, she might even wake up early enough to watch the sunrise.
Author's Note
So I've been thinking about the end of the world lately.
As always, I appreciate any and all feedback!
