Thirty moons before Sunset Shimmer returned to Equestria to steal the Element of Magic, she fled into a strange world.

Lost and disoriented, yet still burning with ambition, she runs into someone who is eerily familiar - and yet so very different from the saccharine pink alicorn whose wings she so deeply resents.

Taken under the wing of a disguised Chrysalis, Sunset starts to learn the ways of this world - and how to control it. A bond blossoms between them, an unexpectedly compelling anchor to this alien world.

And when it all falls apart - she crafts a plan.

An entry for The Red Parade's 2023 May Pairings Contest hosted by the Original Pairings group.

Celestia did not think she could make them immortal. While powerful, love and friendship usually do not endure so long as the heavens, after all. Yet when an accident brings an unintended truth to light, Twilight is not the only pony who will need to find her place in the world of tomorrow.

In fact, she intends that everypony will.