"See you at school on Tuesday!" Sunset Shimmer called, waving. As her friends dispersed, Sunset faced the portal, took a deep breath, and stepped through.
Hooves met cool crystal with a sharp tap. She looked around, blinking as the spots cleared from her vision following the kaleidoscopic light show of the portal. Everything around her was crystal in hues of blue and purple and pink; some of the crystals along the walls were rough, as though poorly-cut, or perhaps grown. The room she found herself in was empty, with sunlight streaming in from a single window and a simple wooden door across from the portal. She turned to examine the portal and let out a low whistle. "Wow, Twilight," she said softly, "you went full nerd on this thing." She chuckled and shook her head, then trotted casually to the door. "So this is Twilight's castle, huh?" she mused as she opened the door, pleased at the familiar feeling of her magic. She stepped out into a hall made of more of the same crystal which stretched on and on in both directions.
Her ears folded down around her head.
"Aaaand I have no idea where anything is," she muttered. Shaking her head and sighing, she picked a direction at random and began walking. "Guess I should've let Twilight know I was coming instead of making this a surprise visit. Oh well, I'm bound to run into stairs or another pony or something sooner or later..." As she walked, she took in her surroundings. The smooth red floor contrasted nicely with the blues, pinks, and purples of the walls and columns. Where the walls were smooth, the columns were rough and asymmetrical. The odd velvet banner or tapestry hung here and there, all purple with gold tassels and trim. The windows gave the sunlight a faintly greenish tinge; wherever there was a door or window, an etched diagram of a tree's branches appeared directly above it. "Gotta say, Twilight's taste in decor is...interesting..."
Ever since Princess Twilight Sparkle had spent a weekend at her apartment with three friends from Equestria, Sunset had felt a pang of homesickness. The night they had returned home, she very nearly followed them through the portal. Since then, she had been contemplating visiting, and had even mentioned it to Twilight in the journal a couple of times. Twilight had been cheerful and enthusiastic, and had extended a blanket invitation to come through any time. "The portal's always open," Twilight had said.
And so it was, and so here Sunset was now, not ten minutes after the final bell on the Friday before a three-day weekend, roaming the halls of an unfamiliar castle in Equestria, a pony once again.
She passed by several doors and around a bend before spotting an archway up ahead that led to a spiral staircase. She stood on the landing, frowning indecisively, then shrugged and decided to go down. "Down's better than up," she muttered to herself. "Unless I end up in the dungeon." She tilted her head curiously as she trotted downstairs. "Does Twilight even have a dungeon?"
She emerged onto the landing and stepped out into a hallway identical to the one she'd just left. With a sigh, she continued trotting. "I wonder how big this place is," she muttered. "Strange I haven't run into anypony yet. I mean, in Canterlot—" she broke off, her ears twitching as she caught a sound. It was a quiet, high-pitched sound, but as she listened, it grew louder—closer. It sounded like a foal giggling.
Sunset blinked. *A foal?*
A golden flash of light went off in her face, and she reared in alarm. Then, she took a step back in shock and confusion, raising a hoof. "What...?"
A tiny white foal hovered in front of her face on massive pink wings. Her light blue-green eyes were wide and playful, but also inquisitive and mildly confused. A snow-white horn poked through a curly mane of lavender and periwinkle.
"Bbbbtbbbbtbbbbt," the foal burbled, tongue poking out cutely as she tilted her head.
Sunset's brain short-circuited as she took in the massive wings and the horn and the colorful mane. "The...the heck?! A baby alicorn?!"
The little alicorn giggled and flew around her, studying her intently. Then she did a flippy loop in the air, cooed something in baby language, and disappeared in a golden flash.
Sunset blinked. "...oooooookay," she drawled. "That happened. I guess."
"—heard her up here," a familiar voice said from around a corner. "We'd better find her quick before Twilight—"
Sunset tensed reflexively as two mares trotted into view. It took her a moment to identify them by comparison. One of them was Starlight Glimmer—she'd only met Starlight as a human before, but her hair was very distinctive. The other pony was gray with gray hair, a flat, dull expression, and a drab blue-gray dress.
"It's not as if Twilight can keep track of her any better than you can," the second pony said in a flat, dull monotone. A very familiar flat, dull monotone.
*Maud Pie. Huh.*
"I know that! But still, Twilight's pretty ticked at me for—" Starlight broke off as she noticed Sunset. "Oh! Hello, I didn't know anypony was..." Her eyes widened. "Sunset Shimmer?"
Sunset raised a hoof and waved sheepishly. "Starlight, hey. What's up?"
Starlight waved back. "I...wasn't expecting to run into you up here," she said. "Or...in Equestria at all actually..."
Sunset scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Heheh, yeah, I...have a free three-day weekend, so I decided to come back to Equestria for a visit. I figured I'd drop in on Twilight, surprise her, hang out..."
"Oh," Starlight said. "Cool."
"Have you seen a baby alicorn?" Maud asked disinterestedly.
"Actually, yeah," Sunset said. "What's up with that?"
"It's Twilight's niece," Starlight said. "Twilight had to step out for a minute to take care of something so we're baby...sitting..." She blinked, then pointed a trembling hoof at Sunset. "Umm..."
Sunset blinked. "What?"
"Uhh...Sunset? You...you're supposed to be a unicorn, right?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah?" Sunset replied, reaching up to touch her horn with her hoof. "Why do you ask?"
"Because, umm..." Starlight's voice quavered. "You, umm...you have wi...wi...wi..."
"You're an alicorn," Maud said dispassionately.
Sunset blinked several times. "What?" She craned her head around to examine herself.
And there they were, just barely within her field of vision.
Wings.
She reflexively spread them, examining the feathers, which darkened from amber to a fiery red at the tips. Her jaw dropped. "What the...?! How did I...?!" She looked at the other two mares with the expression of a lost, confused child in a crowd. "I'm an alicorn?" she whispered.
"Umm...congratulations?" Starlight offered sheepishly. Seeing that Sunset was about to start freaking out, she stomped a hoof. "Worry about it later, we need to find Flurry before Twilight gets back!"
"Calm down," Maud said. "She won't leave the castle."
Starlight took a deep breath. "You're right," she said. "It's a big castle. We'll find her. Trixie's watching the front doors, Flurry doesn't like flying outside..." She relaxed. "Right. So as long as she didn't go through the portal or something..."
Her eyes widened. So did Sunset's.
The mares broke into a run for the nearest staircase.
* * * * *
Flash Sentry stood in front of the broken statue, hands in his pockets. "I'm sure they won't mind," he said. "Just a quick peek. Just curious. Just wanna...wanna close the book on the whole Twilight thing. Besides, it's Sunset's home too. Can't hurt to have a look, right?"
Taking a deep breath, Flash placed a hand against the smooth marble. The surface rippled, feeling more like a cold, gelatinous substance than stone. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. He took a step back, steeling himself...
Something flew out of the statue and collided with his chest. He yelped in alarm and raised his hands reflexively. Half a second later, he registered what had just collided with him, and frantically ducked to catch the small, delicate baby before it could touch the ground. His chest heaved violently, every nerve in his body singing with adrenaline. He stared, wide-eyed, at the curious little infant in a pink romper, who peered up at him with bright eyes. "Bamugu?" the baby said.
"Oh God," Flash moaned, looking wildly around to see if anybody was watching. Thankfully, the courtyard was mostly empty. "Oh shit, this is bad..." Without thinking, he rushed headlong into the portal, cradling the infant.
A sensation of stretching and warping overtook him as his senses were assailed by blinding light and colors and a rush of sound. Then...
"—definitely heard something in there," Sunset Shimmer's voice said, muffled as though by great distance.
"Oh Celestia, will she be okay?" another voice asked.
"If she actually went through? I doubt she'd get very far." Sunset's voice was clearer now. Flash looked up, his vision blurry. He could make out the vague shape of a door. As it came into focus, he saw it open, admitting an amber-colored horse with wings, a horn, and a huge, wavy mane of copper and gold hair. "I mean, you know what happens when what the hell?!"
"Sunset, what—oh! There she is," the other voice said, sounding relieved. "But who's that holding her?"
Flash looked down at his hands...which were now hooves, in which a tiny baby horse in a diaper lay, rocking back and forth and giggling. A faint turquoise glow wrapped itself around the baby horse, and it floated over to the amber horse. "There you are, you naughty thing," the horse said. "That mirror's a no-no for little foals, okay? —Flash?!"
It was then that Flash realized that the amber horse looked a lot like Sunset Shimmer. His mouth felt dry. "Uhh..."
"Oh hey, it's that guy we met at the music festival," the other horse in the room said. Flash glanced in her direction, recognition dawning—it was one of Twilight's friends. Only...as a horse.
"Holy shit," he rasped.
Sunset coughed. "Uhh...so not to sound ungrateful or anything, but what the heck are you doing here?"
"Uhh...baby," Flash said. "Came...came flying out of the statue. Caught...caught the baby. Figured...needed to bring it back."
"Thank you so much," the other horse said. "You saved my hide. And, well, Flurry's."
"No problem," Flash said, staring at his...hooves. "Uhh, Sunset? Little help here?"
Sunset sighed. "Look, Flash...you need to not be here right now, okay? I mean, thanks for the assist, but..." She sighed again. "I'll help you back through the portal, and when I come back in a few days, I'll explain everything. Maybe...maybe next time I come, you can come with. But just...not right now, okay?"
Flash sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." He struggled to stand, then fell flat on his face. "Gah. What the hell happened to me?"
"Short version, you're a pony. I'll give you the whole story later." Flash felt an odd tingling sensation envelop him, then the sense of movement. Then he was back in the whirling, roaring kaleidoscope...
...and then he was on the ground next to the statue, hurting all over. He picked himself up, looked around, grunted, and walked away.
* * * * *
"Well. That was awkward." Sunset shook her head and turned to face Starlight, who now had Flurry balanced on her back. Flurry was rocking back and forth and chewing on Starlight's mane. "So! I guess we should...umm...be anywhere but here in this room?"
Starlight giggled. "Come on, let's go down to the library," she suggested. "It's the coziest part of the castle."
Sunset followed Starlight out and down the hall. Maud soon joined them, her gaze flat and dispassionate. "I found Flurry Heart," she said. "She's on your back eating your mane."
"Thanks," Starlight said dryly, rolling her eyes.
"So Twilight's niece is a baby alicorn?" Sunset asked. "She kinda forgot to mention that part."
"Really? Huh." Starlight shrugged. "Figured she'd have mentioned that. Took us all by surprise."
"Bau," Flurry opined.
Sunset giggled. "Now that I'm getting a good look at her, she's...she's adorable!" She leaned close and gently poked Flurry in the tummy with a hoof. "Who's a cutie baby? Who's a cutie baby? Yes you are! Yes you are!"
"Gigigigi," Flurry giggled.
After several minutes of walking, they entered a spacious library full of books, with plush cushions and chairs and tables everywhere. A blue unicorn with a silvery-white mane sat at one table, lazily flipping through a magazine. She looked up at them as they entered. "Hey Starlight," she said. "Find the baby yet?"
"Yeah, we found her," Starlight said. "Weren't you supposed to be guarding the front door?"
The unicorn shrugged. "Trixie had better things to do with her time," she said. "Besides, Flurry went up, not down, right?"
"Well...yeah," Starlight admitted. "Oh! By the way, meet Twilight's friend Sunset Shimmer!"
Trixie stood up lazily, tossing her mane and studying Sunset over the bridge of her upturned muzzle. "Hello, friend of Twilight Sparkle," she said imperiously. "You find yourself fortuitous enough to stand in the presence of the GREAT! AND POWERFUL!"
"Trixie," Sunset cut across her. "Yes, I know who you are."
"Oh? My reputation precedes me? Well well." Trixie let off a short, smug laugh. "Then perhaps Trixie will favor you with a demonstration of amazing and fantastic feats of magic the likes of—"
"Trix?" Starlight interrupted, holding up a hoof. "Check yourself before you wreck yourself." She pointed insistently at Sunset.
"Hmm?" Trixie studied Sunset more closely. Sunset smirked and spread her wings.
Trixie's jaw dropped. Her ears laid back. "Oh, horseapples," she pouted. With a dramatic sigh, she flopped back down at the table, burying herself in her magazine.
"Pinion envy. Not a pretty sight," Maud said emotionlessly.
Flurry burbled.
Shouldn’t it be the Ham and Bacon club?
8239623
Turkey Bacon Club is a snappier title. Besides, Starlight Glimmer is a turkey if ever there was one.
8239631
Turkey, Ham, and Bacon club? THB?
8239673
There's another reason for the title. The initials. TBC, as in "To Be Continued" (since it's a sequel), or...The Breakfast Club.
This can only end well.
Yeah, the writing was on the wall when she didn't get wings in Legend of Everfree, but I'm the last person in the world who can begrudge someone for elevating Sunset to a higher level of existence. By all means, go for it.
"Really?" Sunset had written. "What happens when someone wanders into your castle?"
"You'd be amazed how much human silence you can by for just one bit."
To be fair, that family doesn't have the best track record when it comes to communicating big events.
In any case, this definitely looks like it's going to be fun. And poor Flash.
"I told him, with his love life, he should read more science fiction. But does he listen to me?"
To be fair, you may not have told him that in this particular universe.
"You may have a point."
So, bacon's obvious, but which one is the club?
I'd upvote this for ignoring Mirror Magic alone, aside from all the other good reasons to like this fic. Wonder how long until Twilight shows up and whether Sunset's presence will throw off her schedule. Actually, I wonder how long until Pinkie throws a party for Sunset (a few hours?).
8239765
I'm going to have to completely agree with you on this. Still, holding out hope she'll get them in the next movie.
As much as I disliked Mirror Magic making Sunset not an alicorn, I loved that it made Sunset's return trip through the mirror as rough as the trip back to the EqG world. I liked the slapstick.
Setting that aside, I love what you're doing with this story. Can't wait to see more.
Uh, MythrilMoth, I'm sorry to say that I found a continuity error:
Shining Armor and Cadance being married and having a baby is mentioned in the prologue of The Equestria Club as something Sunset already knows. (If her "Crap, I forgot to tell everyone!" is anything to judge by.) It's not mentioned if she knows that Flurry Heart is an alicorn.
And now I'm just hungry.
I love seeing a continuation. I do enjoy your writing style.
looking forward to more of this.
I look forward to the future updates to this Slice of Life flick.
Also, we weren't really bothered by Sunset not being an alicorn when she returned to Equestria in Mirror Magic. But go ahead, make her an alicorn here.
Besides, the slapstick in Mirror Magic was worth it.
Damn those fluffy feathers!
I can't blame you, you had the invitation, you took it. Nothing wrong with that.
I don't think so.
Yup.
Yeah, DHX or whoever as in charge of making that decision not giving Sunset wings was a bit of a dick move.
And cue something screwing him over in 3, 2, 1...
Called it.
Well, better do it now before things get TOO weird.
I think his brain is trying to reboot.
Guy can never catch a break.
Why does your saying that not even remotely surprise me?
Maud's fucking great.
i fully agree with sunset having be an alicorn now.
Flash's inclusion here: still less unnecessary than the movies
A-anyway, Alicorn Sunset fics are always OK by me!
8239823
Hey, you can't expect me to remember every single word of every single story I write. >.>;;
This go to be fun! I guess a lot of people were disappointed when Sunset was denied wings after everything she's gone through, but I like how she just has it pointed out to her here.
Poor Flash never gets a break. Can't wait to see what these four and Flurry will do next.
Yeah screw the specials. I admit to not having seen them yet, but from a marketing standpoint it's rather obvious that the marketing guys couldn't handle having Sunset as the group leader for EqG and are trying to shove Sci-Twi into the position because she's 'Twilight,' and it's reflected in the fact that Sci-Twi is definitely an alicorn in her transformations. I also pointed out elsewhere that Sunset getting mind reading as her new superpower is the least flashy and therefore least marketable power, further shoving her to the sidelines. Also I have seen enough spoilers for Mirror Magic to surmise that Starlight apparently steals the spotlight despite the fact that they were supposed to be co-staring in that one...
And I don't; after all, you're only human.
Edit: And proper replys is another bit of site functionality that no longer works for me since Fimfiction moved to 4.0.
While I heartily agree Sunset deserves her wings (the finale of Friendship Games was fantastic even if the rest of the movie was lacking), I feel it's understandable that they would be wary of another unicorn ascension considering what happened last time. If comments here are anything to judge by, they just misread the audience. All the people who get upset over new alicorn song are long gone...
I don't mind Sunset being an alicorn in this, but I don't agree at all that she should've been one in canon. That's just Sunset fanboyism speaking. Not every character who helped defeat a villain of several using magic automatically deserves alicornization. The scope of Twilight's deeds far outmatches Sunset's.
*Breaks down into hysterics.*
Yes! I love Maud in this story.
8241020
Problem is, they seem to be applying Princess Twilight's deeds to her human counterpart, since, as noted, her ponied up form is the same as her counterpart's.
I'm looking forward to reading this, but I have to ask: are there spoilers for the EQG specials? I had thought the first one was coming out later this month but half the fandom seems to have seen them already.
8241111 And yet, a character in EqG managed to earn her "horn and wings" apparently just because her name is Twilight. I think you're just complaining for the sake of doing so. Moth is not the first author to go for Alicorn Shimmer and he won't be the last.... and honestly, good for him. The last thing authors here need is the "didn't you watch X-episode/movie/special" complaint hindering them from writing a story.
For my part, Moth, just started on this one. Poor Trixie!
I feel bad for Flash. He keeps getting dumped on. I hope his luck and/or dignity improves.
8242451
You and me both dude. I really wish something good would happen to Flash for a change, something to help with his relationship with one of the Twilights if everything was perfect, but really anything good for him would be welcomed at any time.
Exactly, In EQG she had demon wings. In Rainbow Rocks one of the shorts, she had phoenix wings, and in Friendship Games she was made a full Alicorn Magic Girl. They seem to show her with wings (and a few of the toys too), then stripping it. I didn't know there was an Equestria Girl TV show yet. But I was likewise disappointed by them stealing her well deserved alicorn hood. As far as I'm concerned, like yourself, she's an alicorn.
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BTW, sorry, didn't know this posted till I thought to check it today.
Was the Flash scene REALLY necessary?
Sunset not being an alicorn never bothered me, simply because at this point, I've come to just accept what the franchise gives us.
Sure, there are some things that I dislike (mostly specific characters), but that's only a small handful of things.
8239765
But Mirror Magic is EASILY the best of the specials.
8243542
I'm not even sure it's actually the best but I love it just for having all three redeemed waifus interacting with another.
That earns it at least googol bonus points!
This is the most halal story ever.
8241020
Eh, I don't really care for the show at all anymore, so it's whatever.
And that's probably the last we'll see of him in this fic... eh, whatever.
Amazing! Who knew that Sunset would become an alicorn like Twilight!
8296815
Pretty much the entirety of the MLP community believes she should be an alicorn. I mean, she's had wings twice for Celestia sake (once in the "My Past Is Not Today" video and the Friendship Games movie). But, the creators are being butt heads and not giving us what all of us want.
At this point, Starlight deserves to be an alicorn more than Sunset. She has accomplished more than Sunset ever did. Counting the comics, Starlight has saved Equestria from Chrysalis and Discord. And finally closed the book on Nightmare Moon.
Sunset really hasn't done anything to deserve the honor.
And anyone who thinks differantly is just a Sunset fanboy/girl who can't understand the truth. That Starlight should be an alicorn before Sunset. 😈
Then you got to take into account that Starlight was able to fix a Starswirl spell, just like Twilight, something Sunset hasn't done either.
Sunset = Starlight -2.0
Sunset = Beta version of Starlight
And this is from someone who has Sunset as their second favorite pony and Starlight as their third. (Pinkie is still number one. Pinkie for alicornhood!) 😈 Yet is still able to distinguish what the truth is. If Starlight isn't an alicorn yet, than Sunset sure as hell shouldn't be.
8469564
You have more than made your point. Feel free to shut up now.
8469564
Alright first things first.
i.ytimg.com/vi/U7vTIoALWRk/hqdefault.jpg
Wings and a horn.
Sunset Shimmer was remade in the EoH, and came out an alicorn magic girl that was counter to SciTwi. So the EoH literally remade her, and remade her as an alicorn (ie. She was sucked into a tiny ball of harmony magic, when she came out she was that.)
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Second thing. The whole "new magic" thing is BS for alicorns and makes no sense in canon. Yes Twilight altered a destiny alteration spell. Keyword Destiny Alteration, Starlight just altered a Time Spell. Big Difference. But Cadance had resistance to a love spell; Flurry was born one; Celestia and Luna have always been them.
So the whole "new magic" thing is instantly debunked.
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Lastly. All of Glimmer past her introduction was hack writing. And a hastly, not well thought out, way to introduce lots of past villains. With an even crummier redemption arc (aka, non-existent for repeatedly destroying Equestria via time loops.). So if you don't like Princess Sunset, then that's your bad. Shimmy's done more than enough to earn her wings.
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8468692
According to Hasbro the comics aren't canon. Some peeps bought the right to use their name and image. But they are Hasbro Sponsored Fanfics. Nothing more. So nothing that happens in them counts (and she didn't do squat on NMM in canon, that was a nightmare induced by Twilight being a creepy, meddling stalker.).
Past that. Sunset has earner her wings way more than Starlight. Sunset Shimmer was the one to beat the Sirens, and prevented them from gaining an army to do whatever they wished. And she was the one who literally stopped the utter destruction of an entire universe single handedly. Starlight raped time and space, got a shoehorned redemption that lasted all of the end scenes of an episode after said rape. Then played a part in saving Equestria once.
4th reread, and I'm so happy I commissioned this fic.
Has someone been watching Akiba’sTrip ?