• Published 9th Jan 2017
  • 3,540 Views, 37 Comments

Parallels - Mikleo



Twilight Sparkle has a version of herself in the human world. Her friends have human versions of themselves. What about Sunset Shimmer?

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Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Not meant to be good or special, just meant to get me back into writing.

Sunset Shimmer let out a sigh, watching her breath mist up in the cold night’s air. With each step the bitter night wrapped around her, causing her to shiver as she pulled on her hoodie strings. She was walking from Canterlot High School, having stayed behind to help clean up the library. Pinkie Pie had needlessly thrown a party for a shipment for new books… Silly string was going to be there for days, to say the least.

Shoving her hands into her sweater’s pocket, she pushed her head against her chest, speeding up her pace. A smile crept up on her face. She really was lucky to have such awesome friends, though. Everyone had stayed behind to help, even Dash who had soccer practice.

Tiny white flakes began to drop from the sky, swirling around her as icy wind blasted against her face. Her hands balled up as her boots crunched against the snow, her eyes squinting up. Had it not been for the streetlights, her vision would most likely be incapacitated.

Even if she loved Pinkie Pie, she really wished she would chose more convenient times to throw her parties. Walking in the middle of the night during a storm wasn’t exactly her idea of fun. Gritting her teeth, Sunset pushed through the storm.

Suddenly, her eyes were caught by a flyer blowing in the wind. Stretching out her hand, she grabbed for it, only for it to blow behind her. She turned to follow it. Luckily it had snagged against the brown picket fence on her one side. Snatching it with her numbing hands, she brought it close to her face while it lashed around in the wind. She struggled to make out the words.

It was a missing poster for some child. Feeling her chest tighten, she let it slip from her hands, weaving its way through the wind. She was frozen in place, watching it turn into a small dot. Why was she so upset?

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her gloved hands, turning back around. Resuming a brisk pace she dragged her hand against the fence, watching a car drive by, headlights shining. Her foot took a step towards the street. Why?

Her friends were too awesome. No questions on her backstory, who she was, why she was here, if there was a parallel to her…

She felt as if a mental wall cover the memories. Despite her best efforts to bring it up, nothing came. It was probably for the better she didn’t break down into tears in the middle of the sidewalk, though. She turned to the side, only to slip on the ice. A yelp escaped her lips as she flailed her arms to grab onto something nonexistent, instead catching herself on the ground as she fell forward.

Sunset had fallen like this.

A dark silhouette walked in front of her, arms crossed, hair huge, and eyes seemingly glowing. Sunset scrambled back up into a standing position, feeling her breathing grow heavy. The figure wore a large coat, pulling her hood down as she flashed a grin.

Pulling her arms from her coat, Sunset mimicked her stance. A cold silence sliced through the air. Ringing filled her ears as she stepped back only to feel herself push into something. Craning her head around, she locked eyes with two other figures. The one in front of her closed in.

“Ah, Sunset,” Adagio hissed, putting a finger under Sunset’s chin. She pulled her head up, looking down on her. Sunset jerked away to feel the sirens behind her catch her. “How convenient for us to meet up again.”

“Cut the crap Adagio, I know you’ve been following me,” Sunset hissed with a scowl, breaking free of Sonata and Aria’s grasp. “I’ve seen you creeping around the school for weeks now and didn’t say anything because I thought I’d rather avoid the trouble. Appears I was wrong to do so.” She spit the words out with venom despite feeling chills crawl down her spine.

“Ah, caught red handed!” Adagion feigned worry, dramatically throwing her hands up in the air with an exaggerated frown. “Whatever shall I do?” Aria and Sonata remained silent, ghastly simpers covering their countenances. Feeling her blood run cold, Sunset locked eyes with Adagio.

She scowled. Adagio pursed her lips. “Poor little Sunset, all alone.”

“What do you want?” Sunset said quickly, feeling her unease grow. Adagio broke out a grin mirroring her friends. Folding her hands behind her back, she straightened up, pacing in front of her.

“Why, we just wanted to catch up with our friend.”

Sunset deadpanned. Adagio rolled her eyes.

“We want to return to Equestria,” she replied smoothly while altering her stance, resting all her weight on one leg. “We’ve been watching. We know you can bring us to the portal.”

The snow began falling harder, Sunset’s mind searching for a way out. But she had a lingering feeling she knew why they needed her and how they'd get her; the missing poster reminded her quite clearly that her background was not clean, and the arrival of the second Twilight surely led to someone questioning her. Even if it wasn't her friends.

“Why do you need me, then?” Sunset pressed, trying to walk around her. Adagio grabbed her shoulder and sucked in her teeth.

“Because we need you to escort us where we need to go. If we’re with you, no one will question us so long as we're disguised. Besides, it’s not like you have a choice,” she stepped closer, pushing her face into Sunset’s as she backed away, “Unless you want your little secret to spill.”

Despite her tense muscles, Sunset managed to push the siren aside, continuing her walk down the snowy sidewalk. Biting her bottom lip, she listened to the three following her. “What secret?” She continued her walk, though this time she was in the direction of the school. She knew what they were going to say but still chose to deny it.

“Simple,” Adagio seethed out, putting her hands on both of Sunset’s shoulders as she trailed behind her. Standing on her toes as she followed, she leaned into her ear. “You killed Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset stopped mid step, feeling her body shake as she shoved her hands into her pockets. Closing her eyes, she winced as the sirens cackled. Adagio backed off from her, circling to stare her in the eyes.

“Sunset Shimmer suddenly starts acting like a complete bitch to everyone she knows and moves out? You could’ve used some tact, you know.”

“I had to do something! H-how would I have taken her place?” Sunset whimpered, feeling her eyes grow wet as snow lashed her in the face. Adagio continued her assault, leaning into her face.

“Yes, she just had to die so you could shirk your past life from Equestria. Her poor family, friends, classmates watched as you sneaked into her place, pushing them all away while the real Sunset was dead?”

Adagio put a hand to her face, furrowing her eyebrows. “Though I must ask as a fellow villain, how did you pull it off?”

Sunset slammed her eyes shut, turning her head to the side as she felt her legs buckle. Wiping her eyes with her hands, she felt Adagio’s icy cold fingers wrap around her neck, pulling her closer.

“I don’t like to wait for explanations.”

Sunset drew in a sharp breath. “I-I studied her for a few weeks. I memorized her patterns, learned who she hung out with, how she acted. It was easy; she was so carefree and open. When she was home alone I did it quickly...” Sunset’s squinted her eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I’ve changed! I didn’t mean to, I was just so scared and… I’m…” She fell down to her knees, burying her face into her palms. Adagio smirked. She was right where she wanted her. Putting a foot on her back, Adagio pushed down, Sunset gasping as she was forced face-first into the snow.

“If you want to redeem yourself in the slightest, how about you help some sirens in need?”

Adagio backed off. Sunset’s arms shook as she pushed herself up from the ground, cheeks wet as she looked Adagio in the eyes. “O-okay.”

They started to begin their walk, until Sonata’s voice piqued in from behind the group.

“What did you do to this world’s Sunset Shimmer?”

Everyone stopped. Sunset turned around the blue siren, watching her downcast eyes look up to her. “What did you do?”

Sunset swallowed. “I didn't kill her, I took her away. I put her in Equestria.”

Aria spoke. “Then how hasn’t she been found? How hasn’t she come back?”

Sunset sighed. “Simple. Changed her backstory, personality. Used potions and spells. Even found a spell to make her blend into ponies memories. It was…”

Adagio butted in. “So you gave her a new life and she can’t even remember her family? That’s almost crueler than death. What’s her name in this new world?”

Sunset tensed up.

“Moondancer.”

Comments ( 37 )

Follow-up story?

7853286 I could always change it to incomplete if enough people like it. :twilightsmile:

Cool!

It's definitely a solid what-if. I think, if you wanted to take this story further, you should focus less on using the ending as a reveal, and more on examining the implications of it. Does Princess Twilight know? Human Sunset's parents? Moondancer's parents? What if they do? Should Sunset change her back? Would she even want to?

7853337 I'll definitely consider this if I plan to continue the story. Thank you! :pinkiehappy:

Please, sir, can we have some more?

This was great! Totally agree with the others about continuing this. :twilightsmile:

7853655
7853707
I guess I'll mark it incomplete for now :raritywink:

7853714 Also, just a tad confused. It's the Sunset from Equestria who's confessing that she killed that world's version of her, but then she says she took her to Equestria when Sonata asks about it...

7853729 Well I imagine the Dazzlings made the assumption she killed her and when brought up to Sunset she simply got upset and didn't fuss over the details until Sonata asked. That's why Adagio makes the comment too.

Edit: I tweaked the dialogue a bit to fit better.

Dude If I would have been drinking anything while reading that last sentence I would have spit it out completely, like holy shit, I did not expect that. This is gonna suck to explain to twilight that she was never really friends with moo dancer.

7853735 Oh, got it. Sorry, I'm not the best when it comes to understanding things. :twilightsheepish:

7853743 It's fine. I'm glad you're interested enough to ask for clarification :twilightsmile: Maybe I can add a bit in the next chapter to clear things up.

....did not expect that last sentence.

DUN DUN DUN.

Of course, our next most pressing question is, what the hell now?

I... did not see that coming... at all... literally I didn't see that coming... I'm gonna keep an eye on this.

Oh, that is an interesting idea, especially for how much sense it could make. I've seen a few fics where Sunset did something to her counterpart, though those never really fit well with post-reform Sunset, so worked better as standalone. This one, its bad, but at least it's not quite killing her, so it works. I'd like to see more, but this works fine as is with that last line.

... She's taking monsters back to Equestria who were banished to a no-magic world specifically as a means to contain them because they were too dangerous to leave in Equestria.

Simply because they might tell people something that, coming from the mouths of villains what haven't been reformed, would thus be completely ignored? If they got curious Sunset could simply have ready a very believable lie.

Unless she's taking the Sirens to Equestria to do to them what she did to Sunset/Moondancer, so they won't harm anyone or tell anyone her secret. If not that then I do not approve. She's smarter than this.

7855431 Thank you for your input! I would like to say that if the sirens brought this up to her friends, even if they didn't trust them, questions would arise and Sunset would most likely end up cracking sooner or later. Perhaps I could use what you've said to help polish things off in the next chapter.

I wrote this on a whim, I didn't think too much through. :twilightsheepish:

Edit: This could also be a way for Sunset to capture the sirens. I'll think it through and decide.

...So where are the humanverse sirens?:pinkiegasp:

7855431

She's smarter than this.

She's kinda not. Her actions in the movies are a big, long laundry list of stupid, stupid mistakes, and the only times things seem to go her way are through contrived coincidence or borderline omnipotent magic solving the problem for her. I've thoroughly looked into the subject and while Sunset might be a decent mathematician at best, she's not especially bright and has shown to care a lot about what people think of her and easily caves under peer pressure, especially following the Fall Formal.

Besides, the sirens were contained in another world because their magic was too powerful, but that doesn't matter anymore now that their gems are gone. Unless they happen to have an unindicated means of regaining their magic once they get back, she'd just be sending them to their home dimension. Even if they're still ruthlessly manipulative, there are quite a few ponies like that walking around anyway. (Like Sunset herself, if her plan is to mind-rape the three of them the way she did her counterpart.)

I could see them being arrested or something once they stepped through the portal, what with it being in Twilight's castle, but if Sunset doesn't want them spilling then and there, she'd have to be sneaky about it.

EDIT: Oh, forgot to actually comment on the story! Interesting idea here, even if I'm not quite sure how exactly Sunset pulled it off or whether or not she should get away with it as it appears she has so far. Or, if it's actually feasible. Sunset was said to start learning under Celestia shortly before Twilight did and Twilight knew Moondancer as a foal, so I'm not sure if the timelines match up.

7856824

The same can literally be said of all the characters in the franchise if we're going based on what they do to script rather than context clues and deductive reasoning based on a realistic view of sapient beings in a social and civil structure not too unlike our own.

Plot flanderizes characters, dumbs down their skills and abilities, requires them to be stupid in order for the very-simple-to-solve problem to be portrayed as a threat, and to meet the expectations for writing for a younger audience. (To be fair, writing for adults is pretty much the same these days, they just dress it up to look deeper).

So in the case of pure canon, Read As Written, etc., I completely agree with you. Working off of intention, rather than what is presented plainly, I would have to disagree.

7856872
The "It's because they're written that way" thing was brought up a few times in the comments of the blog post, yes, and I still don't buy it. Why would it be assumed that everyone's failings were strictly due to the plot, but their supposed strong points, even with little or nothing to actually support them, must be taken as 'real'? Do the context clues and deductive reasoning of someone repeatedly failing not count for anything?

It sounds like a handwave, something said to dismiss unwanted aspects rather than understand the characters being presented as anything other than what was first assumed. I don't know if you took the time to look at the blog post, but context clues and deductive reasoning have more against Sunset being brilliant than for it, hence my thinking she's not really all that bright even if she's supposed to be. Her intelligence is an informed trait, one she seldom (or, it can be argued, never) shows onscreen. If you had said "She's supposed to be smarter than this," I probably wouldn't have responded at all, because that sums up what we see across all four movies.

As said in the blog post, one certainly still can read Sunset as being smart, but Sunset giving in to their threat here is perfectly in-character for her, as is thinking with her heart ("What would my friends think of me?") rather than her head.

7856918

I never said 'everyone's failings' or assumed it'd be the majority of their failings that were due to the scripting. But considering they are ALWAYS this way, to the point that every character is enormously short-sighted and pants-on-head about every situation (or at the moment of problem-solving somehow nigh omniscient and infinitely confident without good reason...) is what I'm saying is due to the plot.

Will they make mistakes? Yes. Will they make very understandable, human mistakes? Yep. Will they make mistakes based on misinformation or personality problems or just not knowing things? Sure will.

Is that all they'll do until the time comes for the problem to be solved? ... No. No they wouldn't, otherwise I fail to see how they continue drawing breath without screwing that up, too. You made an assumption on what I was saying, which was not implied by wording within my post, nor did I intend to communicate as such through context. As such, the rest of your post down from that point is you going on about a subject I did not bring up and putting down a viewpoint I do not hold.

In short that has nothing to do with me.

7856956

I never said 'everyone's failings' or assumed it'd be the majority of their failings that were due to the scripting. But considering they are ALWAYS this way, to the point that every character is enormously short-sighted and pants-on-head about every situation (or at the moment of problem-solving somehow nigh omniscient and infinitely confident without good reason...) is what I'm saying is due to the plot.

Then let me see if I understand your point: Sunset Shimmer's failings, the ones that indicate she's not actually above average in intelligence, are purely due to plot? Even though, it seems you're saying, pretty much everyone is like that all the time (is that what 'they are ALWAYS this way' was referring to?)? What makes you think everyone is strictly acting dumb due to plot, rather than the plot heavily featuring characters acting dumb? Do you see the difference?

Will they make mistakes? Yes. Will they make very understandable, human mistakes? Yep. Will they make mistakes based on misinformation or personality problems or just not knowing things? Sure will.

Is that all they'll do until the time comes for the problem to be solved? ... No. No they wouldn't, otherwise I fail to see how they continue drawing breath without screwing that up, too. You made an assumption on what I was saying, which was not implied by wording within my post, nor did I intend to communicate as such through context. As such, the rest of your post down from that point is you going on about a subject I did not bring up and putting down a viewpoint I do not hold.

In short that has nothing to do with me.

Really? Let's see here.

The same can literally be said of all the characters in the franchise if we're going based on what they do to script rather than context clues and deductive reasoning based on a realistic view of sapient beings in a social and civil structure not too unlike our own.

It sure looked to me like you were saying it applied to everyone, even if 'can be said' is not the same as actually saying it, which kind of supports what I was saying. The exact same argument you're applying to Sunset 'can be said' for everyone else on the same level, so I'm pretty sure it has plenty to do with you.

Plot flanderizes characters, dumbs down their skills and abilities, requires them to be stupid in order for the very-simple-to-solve problem to be portrayed as a threat, and to meet the expectations for writing for a younger audience. (To be fair, writing for adults is pretty much the same these days, they just dress it up to look deeper).

Now here, what you said can be read as specific characters, not all of them all the time, so maybe I did misread your point based on the logical connections one could very easily make. Even so, my point still stands, that point being that you can apply the same plot-made-them-do-it logic to everyone else at all times, and it doesn't really hold up then either. Your point, if I'm understanding you here, is still a handwave that does not undo Sunset's failures to demonstrate that she really is smarter than this.

If I'm not understanding, please explain to me how the way 'plot flanderizes characters' and 'context clues and logical deduction' point to Sunset being smarter than the average bear, especially if we're not to use the same reasoning to say plot enhances characters either. I agree that the written intention is that Sunset be about as smart as either Twilight, but said intention does not line up with the canon facts.

7857006

It doesn't line up with canon facts. That is literally what I said I agree with you on. We are, at this point, in complete agreement with one another. Despite what seems to be a standoffish tone, which I would normally take up as a challenge, I don't feel like getting into an argument today with someone who is agreeing with me.

I agree that the written intention is that Sunset be about as smart as either Twilight, but said intention does not line up with the canon facts.

Point: Yours. Point: Mine. They align. We agree. The canon facts make Sunset out to be something of a dip. They also do the same across the writing spectrum. Issues that a character should be able to handle, something that they should be able to easily puzzle out, tanked due to plot convenience. Likewise characters who show no aptitude in a situation or a reason as to why they should be able to contribute, sometimes become as a fountain of knowledge and such. That is not something that can be denied, which was my other point. That said, canon is a guideline for fan-writing. In most cases we write things to be more realistic rather than floating on the canon plot.

We agreed that Sunset is meant to be smarter than she is shown in canon. Boom, done. Good working with you. -shakes hand-

7857021
I'm increasingly sure that I misunderstood something, so I'm sincerely sorry for the confusion. :twilightoops:
While still not entirely convinced that saying 'because plot!' is a valid explanation for merits and failings at any given time (Celestia proving to be surprisingly weak at times, Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of sewing, etc.) as opposed to exploring the implications of what they actually say and do and in what context, I can appreciate not wanting to spend all morning on the subject.

7857073

My point wasn't that it's acceptable for ALL failings. But that, based on the situation, is very much responsible for a number of them. "The villain needs to not be noticed right now. But the main character with experience in finding people and heightened senses is nearby... hm. Well, they just don't notice the villain despite all the fuss he's making." That sort of thing.

There are failures and such that do not match with the background, skillset, or experience of a character, fairly often in official writing. Not just in ponies, but also in ponies. When you have a character who SHOULD be able to handle a situation and is instead just totally useless so something else can happen or someone else can take over, that is plot contrivance. In canon, everything we know about Sunset as a character shows she is intelligent and capable. But at the same time when we see her actually doing things, she doesn't come off how she was presented based on her backstory and the results of her offscreen actions (taking over the high school and such through manipulation). That doesn't feel like 'natural mistakes' to me, that feels like passing off the idiot ball for the sake of writing.

Hopefully that cleared up whatever it was that didn't make sense for you?

7857093

Hopefully that cleared up whatever it was that didn't make sense for you?

I think so, thanks! Because this-

There are failures and such that do not match with the background, skillset, or experience of a character, fairly often in official writing.

-definitely holds true. As early as Season 1, Twilight could work her magic to calm the Ursa Minor, but didn't think to do anything but run like an earth pony from the hydra. Conveniently, she has to trust Pinkie, helping the moral of the episode along. There's all kinds of things one could say about Twilight's mental state and the effect on her magic after those stressful few days (or even just hours) of trying to figure out the Pinkie Sense, but to say that convenience didn't factor in at all feels disingenuous.

That said, we've seen Twilight do amazing things with magic, establishing her as a talented mage, but the same isn't easy to say of Sunset in regard to smarts without qualifying statement. :applejackunsure:

Not just in ponies, but also in ponies. When you have a character who SHOULD be able to handle a situation and is instead just totally useless so something else can happen or someone else can take over, that is plot contrivance.

Also sounds about right. Sunset gets her shining moment in Rainbow Rocks because Twilight and the rest, for some reason, didn't have the juice to stop the sirens themselves, even when I'm pretty sure that should have been Game, the way it usually is. I have argued at length that plot convenience heavily served Sunset for the duration of the movies, so her being a magical powerhouse then and not when she was urging Sci-Twi to do it all at the end of LoE suggests that either Sunset and the rest just didn't have the same power they did two movies ago, or it was Sci-Twi's turn to get over her issues in that stretch of the story.

In canon, everything we know about Sunset as a character shows she is intelligent and capable. But at the same time when we see her actually doing things, she doesn't come off how she was presented based on her backstory and the results of her offscreen actions (taking over the high school and such through manipulation). That doesn't feel like 'natural mistakes' to me, that feels like passing off the idiot ball for the sake of writing.

Aaaand here I sort of disagree again. But only a bit. :applejackunsure:
All we knew about her to start was that she was Celestia's student and kind of impatient. One (reasonably, I used to think) assumes that that demands smarts on her part, but seeing how neglectfully Celestia operates (letting Luna hit the point she did, the dragon in Season 1, her sit-back-and-watch plan to deal with Tirek, and how the comics depict her dealing with Sunset herself etc.), maybe all Celestia cared about was magical power (her real goal being to get them to be able to use the Elements), and would have just as soon accepted (and thrown out) Starlight Glimmer. The rest of Sunset's behavior, as you said, doesn't really say 'smart and/or capable' to me either, but darned if she isn't always trying her best. :pinkiesmile:

Thinking about it, it's possible the doofy moments really are all just lazy writing with what are supposed to be legitimately brilliant, talented characters, or that they just aren't what we thought they were. It's like, if, hypothetically, Fluttershy were initially presented as always being nice and sweet and cuddly, but just went around bitch-snarking at people all the time, which one do we say is her character?

Just so you know, you keep using "simpers" when you should be using "smirks".

Love this, can't wait for more. One thing though; the portal only lasts for three days, so how could Sunset have studied human!Sunset for weeks before sending her to Equestria?

Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuun!!!!

What a twist! Very nice, very nice.

Adagion feigned worry

Is this a new pokemon?

“Moondancer.”

Meh.

8191476 Right at the beginning I say this wasn't meant to be very good.

That’s almost crueler than death.

Is it now? I would consider it as kindness

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