//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four:  The Demon Seed 
// Story: The Origin of Sunset Shimmer 
// by Godslittleprincess 
//------------------------------//

	A month later, spring had finally arrived, and Sunset Shimmer was standing in the middle of a large lecture hall.  Before her sat a single phoenix egg in a box full of straw.  Behind her stood her mother, biting her lower lip in anticipation.  Sitting in the top row, was a group of examiners, armed with clipboards and quills.
Hatching the egg would be difficult but, thankfully, not impossible.  Sunset was just glad that she hadn’t been asked to hatch a dragon.  She furrowed her brow in determination, staring down the egg like an enemy on a battlefield.  Then, she closed her eyes and focused all her magic on the egg.  The egg began to levitate and glowed with a teal aura.  Sunset grunted, concentrating with all her might.  The egg glowed brighter and brighter until—POP—a chunk of shell went flying from the top of the egg, and a little phoenix chick poked its head out of the resulting hole.
Upon hearing the pop, Sunset Shimmer relaxed, lowering the egg and chick back onto the straw.  The little phoenix chirped merrily, prompting Sunset to open one eye in anticipation.  The phoenix chirped again and began to hop about happily on the straw.  Sunset Shimmer’s eyes flew open and her jaw went slack.  She actually did it!
Sunset felt like squealing and jumping around in a happy circle but instead composed herself, turned towards the examiners, and bowed.  Only the subtle smile playing on her face revealed any hint of her true emotions.  The examiners glanced at one another several times, muttering to one another and scribbling notes on their clipboards.
Finally, the head examiner, a tan unicorn mare with glasses, spoke, “Congratulations on your enrollment to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Miss Shimmer.  You may start classes next Monday.”
“Th-th-thank you,” Sunset managed to squeak out, still suppressing the urge to squeal.
The examiners had the phoenix chick carted out of the room and departed, leaving Sunset Shimmer alone with her mother.  Sunset turned to Prissy Pen and finally let out an excited squeal, galloping joyfully towards her mother.  Prissy Pen caught her daughter in a tight, happy hug, spinning her around a few times.
“Oh, sweetheart,” cheered Prissy, “I am so proud of you.”
“I just wish Dad could have seen this,” replied Sunset, almost wistfully.
“For what it’s worth, dear, your father would have been proud of you, too.”



On Monday, Sunset Shimmer galloped to home from school and burst in through the door.
“I’m home!” Sunset announced.
“Ah, Miss Sunset,” Frau Zuckermane greeted her, smiling warmly, “wonderful to see you.”
However, Frau Zuckermane’s smile suddenly dropped and her face became rather stern, causing Sunset to blink a few times in confusion.
“Little miss,” Frau Zuckermane whispered, “you mustn’t enter so loudly.  The madam runs a tight household and doesn’t like any unnecessary interruptions.”
“Oh,” Sunset replied.  “Well, is Mom home yet?”
“I’m afraid not, but your cousin is in her room if you would like to play with her for a while.”
Sunset frowned.  In the time that she and her mother had been living with Aunt Austerity and Cousin Prune Tart, Sunset had had plenty of time to learn that her cousin only played with china dolls, and Prune Tart and her dolls only played “proper” games like having a tea party or visiting the library.  If Sunset was lucky, Prune Tart would pretend to go to the ballet or the museum.  The former consisted of Prune Tart staring at her dolls through a pair of opera glasses, and the later involved walking around Prune Tart’s bedroom while Prune Tart repeatedly paused and made pouty faces at the furniture or the wall.  Just once, Sunset wished that Prune Tart would agree to a more exciting game like hide-and-seek or tag.
“You know, little miss, if you play with your cousin, I might stop by your room later with a plate of jam cookies,” said Frau Zuckermane, smiling mischievously.
“Okay,” Sunset agreed reluctantly, smiling weakly in return.
Sunset Shimmer made her way to her cousin’s room and knocked on the door.
“Enter!” Prune Tart commanded in her usual snooty tone.
Sunset opened the door and let herself in.  Sure enough, Cousin Prune Tart was having yet another tea party with her dolls.  Sunset and Prune Tart locked eyes, a look of mutual disgust growing on their faces.  Sunset, however, forced herself to swallow her dislike and offer her cousin a smile.
“Umm, mind if I hang out here while I wait for my mom?” Sunset asked, forcing herself to keep smiling.
“If you must,” retorted Prune Tart, turning back to her dolls.  “Why, yes, Lady Mauve, I am a natural purple.  Oh, do stop.  You ladies flatter me so.”
Ignoring the sickeningly inane conversation, Sunset Shimmer sat herself on the floor by the foot of Prune Tart’s bed and took her magic book out of her saddle bag.  Right now, her class was working on simple transformation spells, like turning toothpicks into matches.  She actually picked up on it quite quickly.  Next week, she and her classmates are going to work on teleporting short distances.  Sunset has definitely never tried that one before.
Sunset flipped open the book to the table of contents, looking for the chapter on teleportation spells.  Then, something on the page caught her eye.  It was the title of the very last chapter, “Higher Level Magic.”  Sunset knew that she wasn’t supposed to read ahead, but her curiosity got the best of her.  She flipped to the page written next to the chapter title.  Right on the first page of the chapter in bold letters were the words “Come to Life Spell.”
Sunset’s eyes widened as she began to read.  Apparently, this particular spell can make inanimate objects move by themselves.  Wow!  Sunset Shimmer rubbed the top of her head, trying to think of an application for such a spell.  Then, her eyes shifted to Cousin Prune Tart who was still gossiping with her dolls.
“She’s been bearable I suppose.  Unfortunately, she’s rather uncultured.  You should see how she stuffs herself with Frau Zuckermane’s cookies,” blathered Prune Tart.
Sunset Shimmer’s face burned with rage and embarrassment.  She wanted to scream at Cousin Prune Tart that she was sitting right behind her and could hear everything she was saying.  Of course, Prune Tart probably wouldn’t have cared anyway.  Sunset’s eyes shifted to her book, still open to the page with the Come to Life spell, and then shifted back to Cousin Prune Tart.  Time to make this tea party a little more interesting.
Sunset Shimmer focused her magic on Prune Tart’s dolls, performing the spell as instructed in the book.  At first, nothing happened, but then, Sunset saw the dolls turn their gaze towards Prune Tart, who, of course, was too busy pretending to be talking to them to notice.  Prune Tart did notice, however, when the dolls began passing around cups and saucers to one another.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH!” Prune Tart screeched, falling backwards.
Sunset stifled a giggle and continued to concentrate on holding the spell, making the dolls dance and somersault all over the room.  Prune Tart darted her eyes all over the room, her jaw slack with horror.  Suddenly, Prune Tart turned towards Sunset, and her eyes narrowed into dangerous green slits.
“You!” Prune Tart screamed.
The shock of having been found out so quickly caused Sunset to lose control of the spell, resulting in the dolls moving more frenziedly.  They no longer merely twirled and flipped.  They wreaked havoc on the room, throwing Prune Tart’s possessions everywhere and overturning furniture.
Prune Tart’s peach-colored coat faded to an off-white color as she shrieked, “Do something!” at her cousin.
Sunset Shimmer hurriedly flipped through her book, looking for a counterspell, as Prune Tart continued to scream at the ongoing destruction.  She hadn’t meant for her little trick to go this far.  Her stomach sank as she heard the sound of a familiar but unwelcome voice resound from outside the door.
“What in Equestria is going on here?!” shouted Aunt Austerity, throwing open the doors.
When Austerity saw the madhouse that her daughter’s room had become, her facial expression rapidly went from shock to horror to rage, pure burning rage.
“She did it!” cried Prune Tart, pointing her hoof accusingly at Sunset who began flipping through her book even more frantically.
In panic, Sunset Shimmer did the only thing she could think to do in a situation such as this.  Blast the china dolls to bits.  Sunset focused her magic and fired away, much to Aunt Austerity and Cousin Prune Tart’s dismay.  As she utterly obliterated the final insurgent doll, Sunset Shimmer let out a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, her relief did not last long as she soon found herself staring into two sets of eyes glaring at her.  Between the two of them, her aunt’s gaze was the most frightening.  Aunt Austerity’s jaw was set so tightly Sunset could have sworn that she heard teeth grinding, and Prune Tart’s face somehow became several shades redder than it was earlier.
“Look what you have done, you horrid, horrid beast!” Prune Tart shouted at Sunset.
“I didn’t mean to.  Honest, I didn’t.  I promise I’ll help clean up and fix everything,” Sunset implored.
“You will do no such thing,” spat Austerity, each word laced with venom and ice.  “You have caused enough damage for one day, and as punishment, you will spend the rest of the afternoon in the attic.  You are not to leave until I say so.”
“But—,” protested Sunset Shimmer.
“Go on now,” commanded Aunt Austerity, practically shoving Sunset out of Prune Tart’s room.  “The maids will show you where it is, and if I see either hide or hair of you anywhere but the attic, I will see to it that you go without supper tonight.”
Sunset Shimmer hung her head in defeat as Aunt Austerity slammed the door behind her.  One of the maids in the hallway had overheard the fiasco and escorted Sunset to the stairs that led to the attic, so she did not have to spend much time wandering around the mansion.  Once Sunset had reached the top step, she opened the door and peered inside.
The dusty, windowless room was dark and filled with an assortment of boxes and furniture, which casted foreboding silhouettes all around the room.  Sunset Shimmer cautiously entered and closed the door behind her, which further darkened the room to the point where she could hardly see anything.  On her right, she heard an odd rustling, which caused her knees to shake.
Sunset took a deep breath and illuminated a spark of light from her horn, but the tiny glimmer of light did little to calm her fears.  The darkness was so thick and the light was so small that Sunset might as well have gone spelunking with only one match to light her way.  Sunset Shimmer heard yet another odd noise in the attic.  This time, however, it was a high-pitched squeak.  She turned towards the sound and saw a creature in the back right corner with what seemed like large leathery wings.  The creature’s eyes snapped open revealing glowing red irises.  Sunset screamed, tore out of the attic, and raced down the stairs.
“Aunt Austerity!” she cried.  “Help! There’s a monster in the attic.”
As she frantically ran through the hallways, Sunset Shimmer suddenly bumped face-first into the very pony she was looking for, knocking her onto her rump in the process.  Needless to say, Aunt Austerity was less than pleased at Sunset’s unusual greeting.
“I will have you know that the only monster that I have in my attic is the one that I am looking at,” huffed Austerity as she righted herself and dusted herself off, “and just in case I did not make myself clear earlier, you are most definitely going without supper tonight.”
“Oh, is she?” asked a stern voice from behind Sunset.
Sunset Shimmer turned around and found her mother glaring darkly at Aunt Austerity.
“Mom!” Sunset cried, rushing towards her mother for an embrace.  Prissy Pen wrapped her forelegs around her daughter protectively while still glaring at Austerity.
“She very much is,” retorted Austerity.  “That little hobgoblin utterly destroyed my daughter’s room.”
Prissy’s eyes widened in surprise, and she pulled away from Sunset so that she could look at her daughter in the face.
“You did what?” Prissy questioned.
“It was an accident.  I was only trying to scare her by making her dolls come to life.  I didn’t know they were going to start destroying the room,” gushed Sunset defensively.
“That’s no excuse for what you have done!” snapped Aunt Austerity, sharply.  “You are living under my roof now, and there is a certain code of conduct that I expect followed.  If it is not followed, you will be punished as I see fit.”
“Enough!” shouted Prissy Pen.
Prissy sighed and rubbed her forehead with her front right hoof.  She then looked from her daughter to her sister-in-law and then back again, studying each of their expressions.  Prissy could see her daughter’s face burning with shame and anger while her sister-in-law’s expression remained as cold and unfeeling as an iceberg.
“Sunset, dear,” Prissy called, setting her face sternly, “go to your room and wait for me in the corner.  Don’t move from the corner, and don’t touch anything.”
“But—” Sunset began but then stopped when her mother hardened her gaze.
“Okay.”  Sunset sighed and began walking away, her head hung low.
Once Prissy Pen was sure that her daughter was out of earshot, she turned to Austerity and said, “I know that you are upset over the damage that my daughter has caused, but were insulting, frightening, and degrading her really necessary?”
“Oh, pish posh,” replied Austerity, nonchalantly.  “A young lady will never learn how to properly behave unless she’s brought up in the strictest environment possible.”
“Learn what?” exclaimed Prissy Pen, incredulously.  “How to belittle and shame other ponies just to make herself feel better?   How to intimidate other ponies into getting her way?  This may be your home, but Sunset Shimmer is still my daughter, and as such, I will have the final say in what constitutes as an appropriate punishment for her, and I absolutely will not have you or anyone else treating her cruelly, especially over an accident.”
With that, Prissy Pen simply turned her back on Austerity and trotted off in a huff.  When she reached Sunset’s room, she could just barely make out the sound of stifled sobs.  Prissy poked her head through the door and found her daughter curled up in a corner with tears flowing from her eyes.
“Sweetheart?” Prissy called, causing Sunset to look up at her.
“I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?” replied Sunset Shimmer through her tears.
“It seems so.”
At her mother’s answer, Sunset Shimmer buried her face into her forelegs and resumed crying.
“Now, dearest, please stop crying,” implored Prissy Pen, setting herself on the floor next to Sunset and wrapping a foreleg around the remorseful filly.  “Just tell me what happened.  Don’t worry.  You’re not skipping dinner tonight.”
Sunset Shimmer breathed deeply and moved closer to her mother.  She recounted to Prissy Pen how, against her better judgment, she had read ahead in her magic book and used an advanced level spell.  Prissy sighed and merely rubbed her temples with her front hooves.  Then, Sunset told her how Aunt Austerity had sent her to the attic as punishment and how she only ran out to flee from a monster.
“A monster?” asked Prissy Pen.  “In the attic?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Sunset nodded, “it had wings and red eyes.”
“Alright, come on,” said Prissy Pen, getting up from the floor.
“Where are we going?” asked Sunset, following suit.
“To get a better look at this monster of yours.”
“What?!” Sunset cried, retreating back into the corner.
“Think of it as your punishment for what you did to your cousin’s room,” answered Prissy.  “Also, I’m telling Frau Zuckermane not to give you any cookies for the rest of the week.”
“But—”
“No buts,” interrupted Prissy Pen, looking at her daughter with a soft yet stern expression, “I know it was an accident, dear, but you still have to take responsibility for your mistakes.”
Sunset sighed and nodded, “I guess you also want me to stop reading ahead of my lessons.”
“At the very least, don’t try out any spells that you aren’t already learning about in class,” Prissy said with a smile, gently patting Sunset’s mane.  “Now, come on.  We can’t make that monster go away if we don’t even know what it really is.”



Sunset Shimmer cracked open the door to the attic, levitating a lit flashlight with her magic.  Her mother followed closely behind her with her horn lit.  Although the lights and her mother’s presence dispelled most of the fear that Sunset had felt earlier, she couldn’t help but feel just a bit uneasy.  A layer of dust and cobwebs covered everything, and spiders scurried about, building fresh webs and catching prey.  Sunset lifted her light to the corner where she had first spotted the monster.  As she did so, Sunset squeezed her eyes tight, fearfully anticipating its frightful image.
“Now, how in Equestria did this get in here?” asked Prissy Pen quizzically.
Sunset Shimmer cautiously opened her eyes and saw that her light had fallen on a vampire fruit bat.  Although the creature was repulsive to behold, it was nowhere near as scary as what Sunset had thought she would find.  Relief washed over her as she released the breath that she hadn’t known she was holding.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, wasn’t it, dear?” Prissy Pen inquired, smirking at her daughter.
Sunset shook her head.  Then, she looked at her surroundings, remembering the dust, the shadows, and the spiders, and grimaced.  The attic probably didn’t have a monster living in it, but it was still a pretty frightful place nonetheless.
“Well, we might as well find someone to let the poor creature out of here,” Prissy Pen said, matter-of-factly.  “It probably doesn’t want to be in here anymore than you do.”
“I wouldn’t blame it,” replied Sunset, shuddering as she warily watched a large black spider crawl on top of a dust-covered chair.



Unfortunately, the incident with Prune Tart’s room was not the last time that Sunset ended up at the receiving end of her aunt’s wrath.  Later, that week, while working on her own variation of the apples to oranges spell that was supposed to turn plums into limes, Sunset accidentally turned Prune Tart’s hair green.  If her mother hadn’t been home at the time, Aunt Austerity certainly would have locked her in the attic until dinner time.  Thankfully, Sunset instead merely spent the afternoon helping Frau Zuckermane polish furniture and silverware.  After her third magic-related mishap, however, her luck ran out.
Two weeks after the afternoon of the living dolls, Sunset Shimmer was out in the backyard working on a plant-growing spell that she had been struggling to get right in class.  To summarize, Aunt Austerity’s perfectly trimmed rose bushes turned into a massive tangle of thorns and flowers that overran the entire yard.
When Austerity saw what her niece had done, she immediately grabbed Sunset by the tail using her magic and began dragging her towards the attic.  Sunset Shimmer screamed and resisted as hard as she could, begging pitifully for mercy, but Austerity merely furrowed her brow, pressed her lips tighter, and kept pulling.
Turning to the crowd of maids and butlers that had gathered at the scene, Austerity commanded in a harsh tone, “Make sure that my sister-in-law does not interfere this time.  This uncontrollable little demon has wreaked enough havoc on my home, and I will see to it that she is properly disciplined.”
“Mom!  Mom!” Sunset cried out, praying that her protectress would be able to reach her in time.
From a distance, Sunset could hear her mother desperately calling to her in reply.  She even saw Prissy Pen running to her just as she was being dragged up the stairs.  Afterwards, she heard her mother arguing with the servants as they repeatedly apologized for the entire situation.  Then, Aunt Austerity threw her into the attic and locked the door.
“Let me out!” screamed Sunset, pounding on the door.  “Let me out!  Please!”
Eventually, Sunset Shimmer gave up and huddled against the door, trying to avoid looking at the menacing shadows that loomed all around her.  She peeked through the keyhole, hoping that her mother would be outside coming to get her.  Sadly, no one was waiting for her at the other side of the door.
Sunset slumped in defeat, covering her head with her forelegs.  Then, her ears perked up when she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming up the stairs.  The hoofsteps were followed by the sound of rattling metal coming from the keyhole.
“Hello?” Sunset called out.
“Shh,” answered a voice in a low whisper.  “Sunset, dear, it’s me.  Your aunt doesn’t know I’m here.  I’m going to try to get you out, but you must be very quiet.”
Sunset could hardly believe it.  Not only did her mother actually come for her but she was actually trying to help get her out.  If she hadn’t just been instructed by her rescuer to remain quiet, Sunset would have squealed.
“Ugh, Austerity has gone too far this time.  It’s like she’s never raised a child before,” Prissy grumbled to someone on the other side.
“The madam doesn’t raise children,” scoffed a familiar accented voice.  “She beats them to wet clay and molds them into her own twisted image.”
“Frau Zuckermane?” asked Sunset.  “But won’t you get in trouble?”
“All the more reason for you to be quiet, dear,” whispered Prissy Pen.  “Is it unlocked yet?”
“I’m afraid it’s no use, Mrs. Pen,” replied Frau Zuckermane, further rattling the lock.  “No matter which way I pick, this lock won’t turn.”
Sunset Shimmer and Prissy Pen groaned simultaneously.  Sunset pressed herself against the door while Prissy slapped her hoof onto her face.  For a while, neither of them could say anything.
Then, Prissy broke the silence, “Sunset, dear, I am going to get us out of here as soon as I can, but until then, you’re going to have to avoid upsetting your aunt.”
“How?” replied Sunset.  “She gets angry with me every time I mess up.”
Prissy Pen sighed.  She knew that there was only one way to keep her daughter safe from her sister-in-law’s wrath.  However, there was no easy way to say what she was about to say.
“Darling,” Prissy began, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop practicing your magic, at least while you’re at home.”
“What?” exclaimed Sunset.
“Just until I can find somewhere else for us to live.  Until then, we’ll have to make do.  Understand?”
Sunset groaned but reluctantly agreed.
“Mrs. Prissy, with your permission, perhaps the little miss would like a few extra cookies with breakfast tomorrow morning,” suggested Frau Zuckermane.
At the mention of cookies, Sunset Shimmer’s eyes brightened, and her ears perked upwards.  She hoped against all hope that her mother would allow her at least the small comfort of the promise of cookies to look forward to.
“Well, I suppose a few cookies won’t hurt,” Prissy Pen relented.  “Besides, after what she’s been through tonight, she probably needs them.”