The Rise and Fall of Sunset Shimmer
A long line of unicorn fillies waited eagerly outside the magnificent school building—it was the beginning of a new school year at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Each of them was shifting from hoof to hoof and talking anxiously. A few of the more energetic ones were giggling and jumping around in excitement.
Near the end of the line was a smaller unicorn filly with a bright, almost neon-colored, mane of red and gold. Her coat was a lovely shade of peach everywhere—including her flank. Like virtually everyone else in line, this little filly had yet to earn her cutie mark.
But somehow she knew it would be connected with her name.
Sunset Shimmer.
After what seemed like forever, the doors finally opened. The eager unicorn students stampeded (literally) into the building to register and take their entrance exams. Only a few would pass and gain entrance into the coveted school. But all had high hopes.
The group quickly formed four lines based on their names: A-G in one line, H-M in the next, N-S in the next, and W-Z in the last. Sunset moved into the third line and soon found herself facing a rather tired-looking gray unicorn.
"Name," he mumbled.
"Sunset Shimmer," she answered nervously and shifted her saddleback, which was full to overflowing of paper and quills and school supplies.
The unicorn checked her name off. "Get in line outside room 105A on the left. Entrance exam will be inside."
"Thank you," Sunset answered as she galloped off to the indicated line. The line of fillies was long enough that she couldn't see into the room, but she could hear the rather bored voices of school administrators coming from inside. "Your entrance exam is to hatch the baby dragon egg and levitate the baby dragon for at least ten seconds without dropping him. Failing to hatch the egg within three tries or dropping the baby will result in immediate failure of the entrance exam. Begin."
For a moment all was quiet. Sunset heard three magical zaps and groaning from a unicorn colt as he struggled. Then the administrator's voice again. "Next."
Sunset found herself surprised at how many unicorns failed the test. Many ran away crying, their hopes of attending the prestigious school dashed. The little filly became nervous herself. "Do I have enough magic to do it?" she worried.
Only one unicorn stood in front of her now. At the call of "Next" he eagerly dashed into the room. Sunset watched him carefully as he aimed his magic at the egg and concentrated, hard, sweat running down his face. Finally he had to stop. His horn faded and he slumped forward, panting. Only his first try had drained his energy.
"We haven't got all day!" the administrator reminded him impatiently.
The little guy tried twice more before almost fainting. As his mother helped him out the administrator crossed the colt's name off the list and called, "Next."
Sunset gulped.
She charged up her horn and didn't dare take her eyes off the egg. All of her concentration went into this.
Slowly the purple polka-dotted egg began to vibrate, then levitated as Sunset concentrated hard on it. She clenched her teeth and concentrated more.
Abruptly the shell cracked and a tiny baby dragon sucking his claw appeared sitting on the straw nest the egg had been in. The unicorn wasted no time in levitating the youngster gently and silently counting to herself. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"
She set the little guy down and turned to the administrators, holding her breath.
The head administrator nodded, seemingly impressed. "Well done, miss. You pass."
Sunset skipped happily from the room.
About two weeks passed. The unicorn filly known to her friends as Sunset blossomed in her studies. But something still seemed missing. She was perpetually restless and antsy, especially as student after student earned their cutie marks and she remained what the less kind ponies at the school called a "blank flank". She longed to discover her special talent and find her destiny.
As she pondered this topic one evening at her dorm room window, she glanced up and admired the sunset. Princess Celestia was a master at handling the sun.
Suddenly the filly got an idea. Opening her window, she leaned out and carefully aimed her horn towards a few clouds that had begun to obscure the view. A few quick charges of magic turned the clouds into showers of glittering sparks that captured and reflected the light of the sunset. Sunset Shimmer chuckled as she realized that she had just made Celestia's sunset shimmer.
Speaking of Celestia…
As the final rays of day sank below the horizon, the sun princess herself appeared in the night sky just outside the filly's window. Sunset's eyes widened in awe and excitement. "Princess!"
"Sunset Shimmer, I cannot tell you how beautiful you made my sunset look tonight." The princess smiled at the little unicorn. "What else have you learned to do with your magic?"
"Lots of things, princess! I can hatch baby dragon eggs, I can levitate myself—"
Princess Celestia raised a hoof and cut off the filly's eager chatter. "It sounds as though the teachers are doing an excellent job. Would you like to study your magic in-depth as my personal student?"
"Oh, yes, please!" Sunset exclaimed in wild excitement.
Celestia smiled. "Very well. Enjoy my sister's beautiful night. We shall speak more of our plans in the morning." Her snow-white wings carried her into the sky and toward her palace.
Sunset jumped around her room excitedly—so excitedly that she missed the brief flash coming from her flank. Only when she paused panting in front of her mirror did she realize that her cutie mark—a blazing red and golden sun—had finally appeared.
The little unicorn filly blossomed as a personal student of the princess. Her magic grew more and more sophisticated.
But one day something happened.
Sunset Shimmer's assignment this particular day was to write a detailed report on the final prophecy from Starswirl the Bearded—the well-known Armonia Prophecy. Most had heard of it, but few actually knew what it was and even fewer had studied it in detail. Celestia had decided having Sunset research the prophecy could be excellent practice for the future.
Sunset, on the other hoof, just wanted to go back to bed. She had been up late the night before and could barely keep her little eyes open as she struggled to read from her book.
Suddenly bright light, brighter even than the midday sun, streamed from the window of a tower of the school building visible through her window. Sunset looked up, startled. Even from the distance she could hear the crackle and sparks of very powerful—and seemingly out-of-control—magical spells.
Abruptly everything ceased again and was quiet. Shaken, the little filly returned to her schoolwork but couldn't forget the incident.
Later that evening, as she headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat, she noticed a new pony in line. She was a little lavender unicorn with a purple mane and tail with pink highlights. She looked nervous and excited at the same time. And, much to Sunset's surprise, she had a cutie mark. A cutie mark of a large pinkish-purple six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller white ones.
"Interesting cutie mark, especially for such a little filly," Sunset murmured to herself. She approached the new student. "Hi! Nice cutie mark!"
"Can you believe it?! I just got it today!" the filly answered eagerly. "And Princess Celestia asked me to be her personal student! YES! YES! YES!" She began prancing around the room.
Sunset Shimmer, meanwhile, was frozen in shock.
"What?!" she whispered.
Forgetting about getting dinner, she hurried back up to her room and pulled out a book Celestia had given her. Her shock turning to anger and jealousy, she picked up a pen and wrote a message. "Dear Princess Celestia; did you really just take a new personal student besides me?"
Celestia's reply appeared almost immediately.
"Dear Sunset Shimmer; I see you have met Twilight Sparkle. She will be joining you as my personal student here at the school. I think you two would become good friends and could help each other on your assignments. Two are always better than one.'
Sunset scowled. "But I'M your student!"
"Twilight is too. But nothing will ever cause me to abandon you in favor of another student."
"You don't have to abandon me," Sunset scrawled furiously, "because I quit!" She slammed the book shut before Celestia could respond.
"I was her star student! I should be the only one!" Sunset whispered angrily to herself. Her magic quickly started a fire in the hearth across from her bed. The furious little filly quickly fed all her schoolbooks, study notes, quills, and anything else connected with her studies into the fire.
As her magic levitated the final object—the magical book with her cutie mark on the cover—she hesitated. Somehow burning this book seemed wrong even in light of the new circumstances. Somehow…she slipped the book into her saddlebag and snapped it shut.
Sadly she surveyed her now much emptier room. Had she made the right choice?
Twilight Sparkle's excited face flashed before her eyes again. Sunset's face hardened into stone. Picking up her saddlebag, she sauntered out of the school, never to return.
Many Years Later...
Sunset dashed down the hallway toward the throne room with Princess Twilight and her friends in hot pursuit. The red and gold maned unicorn knew that without the crown containing the Element of Magic, Equestria would be easy prey for her when she returned. Now if only she could beat her pursuers to the magical mirror—
There it was, right before her! Just a little further—
Twilight suddenly jumped on top of Sunset Shimmer and knocked her down. The stolen crown flew out of the saddlebag. Sunset grabbed for it but it escaped her grasp and fell through the mirror.
Twilight watched it vanish, her mouth agape. "What did you do with my crown?!"
Sunset Shimmer smirked triumphantly. "Sorry it had to be this way…" She teleported from Twilight's grasp and ended up beside the mirror. She gave a mocking salute to the shocked alicorn. "…'Princess'."
She turned and vanished through the mirror.