After entering the mirror portal and enrolling in Canterlot High School, Sunset Shimmer is on the perfect track to have Equestria on its knees in two years time. However, she was beaten to the punch; an army is building ranks right in front of CHS, and they see a fresh world to conquer all around them. Finding herself at the last stand between defeating the Changelings or allowing a second invasion, she is forced to decide what type of person she wants to be, and what future she truly deserves.
Unfortunately, there is little time left for either.
An AU which diverges at the Canterlot Wedding, set two years before the first EQG movie. Cover art by me. Enjoy!
Chapters (18)
I like the idea
10308497
Thanks so much! I've been thinking about it for a couple years now.
Really good start, and I love this concept. All of the other stories I have seen with a similar concept have long been dead.
So I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Hmmm, well then. For want of a nail it is then.
When s the next chapter coming out ?
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I'm planning for this Friday, but it depends on how much time it takes me to edit.
Good story so far. Following.
Well now, that's a cliff hanger for sure. I do wonder if something else saw/listened to Sunset's and Twilight's conversation.
Excellent chapter too, can't wait for more!
Hmmm. Interesting.
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Oh, you know, maybe a fly on the wall, you could say.
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Totally wonder if good ol' Chrysie might make an offer to Sunset. I know I'd totally love to see it.
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Well, let's just say that Chrysie might be better at Sunset's game than Sunset herself . But that is a couple chapters down the road, so hold on tight.
This is honestly such an interesting idea and I can't wait to see more.
10311988
Wow, thank you! I plan to give more.
Its so interesting to see just how far Twi came between when she canonically met Sunny, and when the changeling invasion happened at the end of S2.
And these changelings are giving me serious Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibes.
Yea, definitely getting Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibes from this. Very much enjoying it.
But… cripes, I almost forgot (or rather wanted to forget) just how awful a person pre Rainbow Beam™ Sunset was.
This sounds really good. I can't wait for more,
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I suppose I was subconsciously channeling a bit of Body Snatchers this chapter, haha. The Changeling's won't be pointing and screaming at anypony anytime soon, though.
Sunny doesn't realize how lucky she is to have gotten the Rainbow Beam. Gradual character development is a lot harder to write.
I'm definitely getting an Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe from this story. Keep up the good work.
So, hate eaters vs. love eaters? Well, this'll be fun. Which monster will come out on top?
She escaped? Whistling noise That's going to cause some problems in old Queenie's plan.
Of course they're on a side. Their own.
I'm sorry, but you "take the shape of your arms" thing is completely ludicrous
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Haha, a bit yeah. I plan on having Chryssie use more than basic mind control from this point on, because (as she's soon to find out) it's failed twice for her now. The main goal was have an attack that would absolutely piss off the sirens for getting caught in it so easily.
So, the Sirens are currently "in check". Typical mistake: underestimating your enemy. Well, looks like the chess match is starting to get interesting.
Guessing that was either Celestia or Cadence at the end?
Oho, a new player has entered the game? Who could it be? Well, guess we'll have to wait and find out.
And the devil has offered our dear Sunset a deal. Hopefully our dear Sunny knows enough not to take it.
They need some more allies, otherwise, running to the darkest corner and trying to out run the storm may be too appealing.
Ohohoho, well now. Things are coming into focus.
And, it sounds like Sunset's back wounds are getting infected. That's bad.
Why did the ending hurt my heart so much? Tia misses Sunny
I am very curious how she got away or if she was allowed to escape as part of "the plan.". Good chapter.
Unless you're deliberately changing this for the story, Sunset's been a student at CHS for four years as of the first movie as she's won the Fall Formal crown the three years previous.
10370026
This story is set two years before the first movie. The upcoming Fall Formal was intended to be Sunset's second win in the main canon, but I'm diverging from the canon at the lead-up to that night. I chose to have it coincide with the Changeling Invasion, because that was about a year or two prior to the EQG as well.
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Rechecking the first chapter I see where I misread. Somehow got the idea this was the year of movie.
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No worries! Just glad I could clarify for you.
Oh no! Timber has been turned into a zoooombie! Eh, no loss. *Ducks flying tomatoes*.
Yes, Princess, the failure of the student is also the failure of the teacher. Celestia is, in my opinion, a tragic character who has to guard her heart for so long knowing she will out live everyone else that she does have a hard time seeing mortals as more than pawns in a bigger game. That's why she doesn't always know how to handle ponies like Twilight and Sunset.
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Completely agree. Up until this point, Celestia has, whether she intended to or not, misunderstood how the ponies close to her think. She may get how they feel, but she no longer understands the correct way to empathize with them. This was one of the reasons I put both Celestias together. It felt to me that, on some level of their consciousnesses, they wish they could be the other to complete themselves: the Princess wishes for the personal connection that the Principal makes with the people around her, and the Principal wants the validation of her worthiness that being a Princess/immortal would bring.
So, good news: they found the hostages, and they worked some issues out.
Bad news: they're being chased by changelings, and they couldn't recover the hostages.
And so, the next pieces are moved in this game of chess.
Seriously, this is becoming so good as the chapters go on, and I'm eagerly waiting for more. Not going to lie, I'm pretty excited to see Sunset and Princess Celestia (hopefully soon) reunite.
I really a good ending for sunset. Maybe a alicorn hood or something. It always struck me as weird that after shitty childhood and shit surguate mothership flys away. She someone with immense magical power, learned friendship , and more then likely created new magic? So?
Anyway good chapter your craftsmanship shows. Its rather professional work afterall.
Ps. I large part of me wants more sunset vs celestia.
You cause abandonment hurts! Dad!
Cause hate to see sunset relagated being overshadowed by twilight. Lets me real here twilight has done similar shit to sunset and nothing and i mean nothing was done.
I just find it just a little insidous that the one creature that really wanted things tk change did not get help nor passage back equestria?
Admittedly this a stretch that i feel like stretch. Cause I want sunset to not be talked at you know ? How do I say?
She is a bad person. But is that all she is? I mean look at discord? And what of her abition? Their is nothing wrong with wanting a impossible dream nor daring to reach it?
I mean we can not all be born into royal god hood some have to earn it ya know.
Ounce again thank you for a lovely chapter! Peace.
10390217
Thank you so much. Soon . . . but this is no world of happy reunions.
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Thanks for the kind words. I won't say anything (otherwise I will give too much away) but you're asking some of the right questions about their relationship.
Run a waaaaaaay! Poor Sunset, fear is such a dangerous crutch. Fear can make you do stupid things.
Looks like the chess board has been shuffled again. And the obsidian around Sunny's heart is starting to chip away little by little.
Why do I get the feeling that Celestia let them escape to throw another wrench into Chrysalis's plans.
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Maybe. But the Sirens won't realize that . . .
Another thing on celestia's character. MORAL character, I find her lack of morals very glaring. One thing MLP NEVER address is that EMPATHY IS NEEDED to understand those around you. I MEAN HOW RELATABLE can you be when your a cold heartless rather cruel ruler. That might I mention controls literally everything it seems? Am I reaching?
The land is hers to shape. The very clouds, the weather are hers through children that can barily comprehend her might and age. Who could stop her? Who has? All she has to do is let her Mortals die?
Letting all be forgotten no one knows she can make mistakes. Not even herself.
Lastly everyone bows to her. Why I wonder what she would have been like if she was actually friendly?
I like canon. But, the lunaverse is especially poetic in being somewhat smaller, perhaps weaker? She is more humble and able to make friends that celestia never could. In one fic a luna had befriended the changelings before any attack ever happened!
Ok ending arguement against celestia age imperialist and rather facist over tones to boot.
I've been enjoying this quite a bit! The promise of original SunLight also helps :v
I featured this on episode 296 of my podcast, Pony 411.
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Wow, thanks so much for talking about it! This technically is not my first story, I actually wrote one in 2018, but after I finished it I realized it was so atrocious that I decided to take it down and never show it to the public again. This story is a lot more planned out this time around, and I'm glad to see that you're enjoying it. It's nice to know that I'm only down to a few typos and errors, and I think some of the confusion with naming comes from Chrysalis impersonating Sunset's body. She doesn't have a humanized form in this story (her "human" form is technically that of the queen wasp), so when she speaks with other characters, she uses Sunset's body as a method of communication. Perhaps I should have made this clearer early on, though. Thanks again!
Y'know, this is actually a pretty clever use of that atrocity of a comic's source material.
Of course, now Sunset and Twilight have made their deal with the sea-devils. Good luck girls.
Throw down the gauntlet nothing. Sunset just dropped a frickin' AK-47 loaded with incendiary rounds.