Light Comes From Stars

by Gapeagle

Chapter 1: Urgency

"Twilight hasn't answered any of my letters. There must be another way to contact her."

Sunset stared at the mirror before her. Ever since the Crystal Prep students arrived on campus, magic had been acting up in the strangest of ways. Sunset's friends were ponying-up close to everyday and on the oddest of circumstances. That wasn't even the worst of Sunset's problems as Twilight's human counterpart, a student from Crystal Prep, was taking the magic from her friends.

"There's only one thing to do then," Sunset urged herself.

In the corner of her eye she spied the other Twilight making her way over to the statue. If Sunset wanted to traverse the mirror, she had to do it now or else she would be seen. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the seemingly smooth marble base. The marble rippled like water upon her touch. She then hesitated. A pang of guilt sprang through her as she felt like she was abandoning her friends.

"C'mon, Sunset, it would only take a moment and I'll be back," she told herself.

With that, she threw herself into the mirror. The magic it contained took hold of her and sent her flying through the dimensional energy. It had been a while since she felt the sensation of traveling through dimensions. Her stomach started to churn as much as her head as she tumbled on. Colors and flashes of light blinded her. At the end of this colorful and swirling tunnel was a dark hole that became larger and larger with each split-second.

"Gah!"

The hole engulfed her and before she knew it, she was face-first in a pile of stacked books. The books, made unsteady by the force of her slamming into them, soon toppled all over her new mane and horn. Several grunts of pain afterwards, Sunset used her magic to levitate the novels and tomes off of her.

"Why would they put so many books in this room?"

Upon saying these words, she froze in confusion. Her surroundings were not that of the Crystal Palace, but of Canterlot architecture. The high ceilings, the stained windows, the smell of burning oils and incense all contradicted the memories of when she stole Twilight's crown.

"Well, she did tell me they moved the mirror to her castle..."

Her eyes wandered about. No, she thought, Twilight said her castle was crystal too. These walls are made of stone. White Canterlotian stone. Maybe they just returned it to Canterlot? Sunset shrugged her pony shoulders at this and stood up. Her hearing, smelling, and eyesight felt hyper with her pony senses. She could hear armored hoofsteps in the distant halls and the pungent smell of books filled her nostrils.

It would be best if I get out of here and see Celestia. Heck, maybe Twilight is here too. Though Sunset never enjoyed the idea of seeing her teacher again, she was willing to go through it for her friends. After a relaxing breath, she made her way out of the book-filled room and headed down the adjacent hall. It all felt too familiar to her. Last time she was here, she was running away from Celestia in a fit of rage. The halls were the same. The torches and small pony statues no different. From this she concluded that these were the very same halls she ran through to the mirror. Odd, why would they place it in the same exact spot?

At the end of the hall was a set of winding stairs, lit only by a handful of dim torches. So dim, in fact, that Sunset made her horn glow with light to see. It must be night. Huh, I never noticed that the human world and Equestria had different time zones.

The stairs were long and Sunset began to huff as she ascended them. With her new legs, she wobbled about, trying to remember how to use them properly. She had to calculate some of her steps carefully and her pace up the stairs was not a speedy one.

"Finally!" she cried when she reached the top. "Now to find Princess Celestia."

"Halt!"

Sunset froze upon hearing the voices of two stallions. She glanced off to her left to see a pair of royal guards run at her with spears in their magical grip. They stopped right before her and held their weapons at her fiercely. She only smiled back at them and gave a short wave with her hoof.

"Good to see you two. Is the Princess around?" she asked courteously.

"Who are you! How did you enter the palace at this hour?" the darker of the two unicorn guards demanded.

"I'm Sunset Shimmer," she pointed a hoof at her chest.

Their eyes widened. "Sunset Shimmer? You have returned!"

"Yes, yes. I know it's been a long time."

"Of all the days you should return, it's today!" the other growled. "The princess has enough stress on her hooves already. Now she has to deal with your traitorous flank!"

Sunset backed up. "Traitorous? Guys, I'm reformed. I've learned the magic of friendship! I'm not the pony tha-"

The darker one cut her off. "Save it! You still have the charge of assaulting the princess before you escaped into the mirror. We must take you to her, whether you like it or not."

"Then I'll come peacefully."

They preceded to flank either side of her and lead her up the massive hallway. She could only raise her brows in confusion. None of this felt right. Not only did the guards seem unaware of recent events, but they seemed to remember her all too well. She had been gone for years and they acted like she was gone for only months.

"May I ask what has happened since I left?" Sunset risked the question.

"Too much, lass, too much," the lighter colored guard sighed. "You've come at the worst of times."

"I'm sorry to be an inconvience. I just want to ask Princess Twilight some things about magic. You see-"

"Princess Twilight? There's only two princesses, and one is not well known. Who is this Twilight you speak of?" The darker guard hissed.

"Uh...The Princess of Friendship? Do you live under a rock?" Sunset was becoming annoyed.

"Have your journey through dimensions fried your brain?" The guard asked back. "There is no Twilight here. Only Celestia."

"And Luna?" Sunset asked. "C'mon, Twilight told me Luna's back too."

The guards glared at her as if she insulted them. They took hold of her shoulders and started to drag her.

"Hey! What gives?"

"How do you know such a name?" both guards demanded.

"Who doesn't?"

That did not help her cause as they started dragging her faster to the throne room. She wanted to struggle, but she knew it would only cause more suspicion than she's already created. The guards were red in the cheeks with anger as they dragged her through the hallway. The familiar columns and stained windows were the only friendly aspect of this relatively lifeless palace.

They threw open the great doors to the throne room and threw Sunset to the ground. She coughed on the dust from the stone floor and looked up desperately. There was no ruler on the throne at all. Guards were lined on both sides with spears pointing towards the arched ceiling. Her eyes darted about in search for Celestia. Finally they locked on the great white alicorn that was staring absently out of a stained window.

"Princess Celestia!" Sunset gasped and started to run to her former mentor.

Celestia did not even glance her way. None of the guards moved at all to prevent Sunset from reaching the princess. The unicorn's hooves came to a slow stop next to the one she admired. However, the princess still refused to move at all. There was no reaction from her. No smile and certainly no kind or loving demeanor. The princess seemed more traumatized than anything else.

"Princess, Your Highness, I've come back. It's me, Sunset Shimmer," Sunset said as she knew something was wrong.

"Why now?" Celestia asked with whisper.

"I need Twilight's help. There's been a-"

One of the guards that escorted yelled out. "She knows Nightmare Moon's true name!"

This made Celestia give the smallest of head movement. "Now why would you know that? I never told you about my sister."

"Twilight did. She told me everything. You remember that book we had that let us send messages together? I used that to talk with her."

"She stole my book?"

Sunset blinked in confusion. "No, you gave it to her..."

With a quick glow of her horn, Celestia summoned the book in question. The princess's cutie mark on the cover made certain that it was Ceelstia's messenger book. She then absently opened it and flipped through the pages with her golden magic. "There are no new messages here. You are mistaken, Sunset."

"What?"

Sunset forcibly took the book and looked through it herself. Celestia was right, all the pages were blank and there was no sign of recent use. What's going on?! She gulped loudly.

Celestia blinked without a care. "This Twilight seems to know much of me. Too much in fact. Only the most trusted of ponies know my sister's name."

"Somepony has betrayed us!" a guard shouted.

"Twilight is your prized student! You granted her alicornhood and the title of princess. What's wrong with you?" Sunset started to become aggressive.

"I've never had a student since you, Sunset," Celestia muttered lowly. "I think you've gone mad since you left."

Maybe the portal sent me back in time when I left? "Um, how long have I been gone?"

"Nigh on four years now."

Well, it pushed me back four years. "Twilight has been your student for years then. Twilight told me that you said the time between her and me wasn't that long. You granted her to be a student at your school when she got her cutie mark, but did not make her your personal student until I left. Where is she?"

"Sunset, your words make no sense to me," Celestia slowly shook her head. "I know no Twilight."

"What has happened?" she blurted aloud.

Celestia glanced out of the window. Sunset followed her absent gaze to the moonless night sky. No moon? She had never seen a moonless sky before in Equestria. The human world had them all the time, but not here. She felt a chill go up her legs.

"Princess, what has happened?"

"My sister came back," Celestia started, "I tried to reason with her. I tried to show her how we could be family again. All these years, she never gave up her mission to prevent the dawn from rising. She left as Nightmare Moon and returned as Nightmare Moon. Two weeks of perceptual night followed her arrival. I tried, Sunset, I tried to steer her away from her evil dreams. I tried to reform her in some way. When Equestria started to die from the lack of sunlight...I had no choice. I had to save my ponies. I had no means of banishing her twice...So I ended her once and for all."

"You mean..."

Celestia began to falter. "Yes, my former student, I destroyed my own sister."

"But the Elements of Harmony!"

"Are still lost. I couldn't bring a spark to activate them again. My only means of delaying the inevitable was gone."

"But Twilight and her friends..."

"Enough with this 'Twilight!'" Celestia bellowed angrily. "You are mad! You are lost! Just as lost as I am right now! Be gone! I am your teacher no more. There is no hope for me now. My only reason to live, the thought of meeting my sister once more, is gone! Obliterated! I have no more reason to toil through this horrid world. Leave me be, Sunset," she sighed and stared at the floor. "Go forth and try to carry on with your own life."

Sunset was far too stunned to cry. Her breathing became raspy and her eyes were widened beyond necessity. The Princess broke down in sobs as she wept for the loss of her beloved sister. Why is this happening? Without a thought, Sunset turned and galloped away. The guards watched her with solemn eyes and frowns as she passed.

"Twilight! Twilight, where are you! What's going on!" Sunset cried throughout the palace.