//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - The Talk // Story: Sunset Shimmer - Rainbow Light Empress // by Woomod //------------------------------// Chrysalis smashed the communicator, she had more, mind you she kept thinking she had more every time she talked to Mistletoe. He was going to be the death of her she swore. He was smart, he was competent, he was outspoken, and she was worried. He had been the ambassador for nearly ten years now he probably had friends knowing him probably lovers. Mistletoe may have been a failure, but he was still valuable and she didn’t need him with conflicting loyalties. Chrysalis sighed, well that plan was off. Now to figure out how the new Sun Queen had become so powerful, and she had a very good idea where to start she thought as she looked at the Picture of a Twilight Sparkle without wings, with Glasses, and with a Cutiemark of a star over a book. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunset knocked on the locked door for which a lavender unicorn was behind. A lavender unicorn who was Sunset’s friend and needed her right now. “Twilight are you in there?” A reply came through choked sobs. “Ye….Yes? How did you know I was here?” Sunset considered saying, she considered saying how she could focus on a pony and see all the ways they connected to others or just let it slide and see the harmony unfold in front of her, but one thing at a time….she did something she sorely didn’t want to do as a ruler….or as a friend, she lied. “I followed to your general area and have been knocking on doors since.” The lie burned at her, more than just guilt something inside her burned and rankled at it. “O….Oh.” Twilight Sparkle choked again. “So are you here to yell at me too?” Twilight asked downtrodden. “No Twilight, I’m not, or your doppleganger, I’m here to try and clean up this mess.” Sunset said and Twilight looked up hopefully. “Is the book still on the other side?” Twilight looked downtrodden at that, her hopes dashed. “No, I brought it with me….were you….were you just going to send me off.” Sunset sighed. “Twilight your parents and friends are probably worried-” “My parents think I’m going to college, and my friends? Let’s be honest Sunset they were your friends, they just let me hang out because….” Twilight choked out more sobs. “I guess maybe because they thought I was just a replacement for the real Twilight Sparkle.” “Sparkle.” Sunset snapped. “Listen to yourself. You are my friend, you are not my friend because you are a replacement for Princess Twilight.” Sunset sighed. “Trust me I didn’t need a replacement where did you think I was mondays and thursdays?” The room was silent for a long moment before the Glasses wearing Unicorn simply said. “Oh.” then turning to her asked. “So ummmm, you never mentioned your life before….earth...You lived….In a castle” she asked trying to change the subject. “Yeah.” Sunset replied nonchalantly. “This is where I was raised, this is where my mother Princess Celestia ruled equestria.” “Princess Celestia…..Heck of a step up from Principal.” Twilight said. “Ruling a principality. So Princess Twilight must be ruling a neighbor I guess….” “Ummmm Actually, Kingdom, and she’s royalty here.” Sunset said. “Is this a royal blood thing cause ewwwwwww.” The unicorn blanched Sunset snickered and shook her head. “No, rulership is granted based on wings and horn.” “But I read you were officially coronated, you don’t have wings and horn….” Twilight asked curious. “Though you do have that weird thing where your uhhhhh…..Symbol is all over rather than just your….butt.” “I am her heir, only I can fill her place.” Sunset stated with confidence before adding. “And it’s called a Cutie Mark Twilight.” “Well if you have to be an a….Pegacorn? To rule. How can only you fill her place?” Twilight asked more curious now. There we go get her curious and thinking, that keeps her mind off things. Sunset smiled inwardly. She checked her internal clock, it was almost time, the demonstration itself would be sufficient. Standing for only a few minutes of silence before she began to gather her magic channeling it through herself and along her body until every piece of her being was alive with her very essence and then allowing itself to taper off, and as she did so the red sun began to dip below the horizon. Twilight looked on blankly, she didn’t understand, couldn’t understand. Sunset clearly used magic through it ran sleekly across her entire body and her few attempts had all channeled that power through just her horn. “Sunset what did you do and what does it have to do with being the only one who can fill your Mother's place.” “I am the only pony in Equestria who can raise and lower the Sun Twilight.” Sunset responded clearly. “Wha…..WHAT?!” Twilight screamed in disbelief. “The Sun is a ball of plasma which planets rotate around are you controlling the planets rotat……” “Different world, different laws twilight. I had to learn your worlds rules, and different rules of magic when it gained magic.” Sunset put simply before musing. “Though I do wonder if I could have done it back on earth since it’s tied to my cutie mark magic...” Twilight looked up she seemed small and tiny compared to sunset and she was scared. “Sunset….Are you….Are you a goddess?” Sunset chuckled a little and shook her head. “No Twilight I’m not a god, my mother may have been but I am not.” The Unicorn looked at Sunset in confusion. “I don’t understand what that means, I don’t understand what’s going on.” Tears began to stream down her face. “All I know is I wanted to be here with you. I get here and learn you are some kind of god queen, you don’t care about me and I get yelled at by my doppleganger, then you want to just send me back. “Of course I care about you Twilight.” Sunset sighed pulling her friend into a hug. The lavender unicorn pushed Sunset away. “No, not like that. like you do….the other Twilight.” Sunset Sighed “You're right Twilight, I don’t care about you like that. But you are my friend, and I do care about you.” “Then what’s going to happen to me?” Twilight looked at her tears in her eyes. Sunset said nothing for a minute, then two, the uncomfortable silence between them. “I don’t know. Part of me does want to send you home, and maybe that’s because I want what’s best for you…...or maybe it’s because I want what’s best for me.” “What’s best for you?” Twilight asked drying her tears. “Having you here….complicates things, a lot of things. It complicates Princess Twilight’s life, it Complicates my relationship with her.” Twilight looked at her with hope as she finished drying her eyes. “Complicates in what way?” Sunset looked at twilight for a long while thinking what to say, for a minute, then two, the tension in air palpable. Then sunset left the room. “I’ll send you some dinner, and assign you a room. I have things I need to do.” Sunset sighed as she closed the door and slid down it, well that was a disaster. She realized something she had known but only now accepted, a moment taken, she pushed she felt it like gravity pulling everything forward towards it’s conclusion, and she pushed against it. Like flying for the first time on the wings spell each push was new, exciting, exhilarating. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There she returned to that moment when blossom was someone who knew more than her, that was reality again, now, in this moment. “I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WORKED!” Sunset shouted for….well Blossom to hear. If this surprised the Pink Pegasus she gave away nothing. “Welcome, first and second time i’m presuming?” “So this is what you meant by ‘in this moment we are always will be teacher and student’.” Sunset stated with clear realization to the pegasus nodding. “So I didn’t just change the past or anything right?” “As long as events transpire as they did, the flow of events will suffer no alteration.” She states. “Translated from Blossomesse…...As long as I keep to the spirit and intent of the promise of this stolen moment, the present is safe.” Sunset stated with confidence while amusing herself with the thought of Twilight’s freak out of the idea of a moment happening different and conflicting ways before asking. “So when we stole this moment above the world….Did you know I would push you out?” “It was a possibility I considered. But also I considered that I might simply move on to teach another before you truly needed no more guidance.” Blossom responded plainly, then added with a smile. “So what do you need Ms. Sunset Shimmer.” “I…..need advice, about a friend.” The orange queen sighed. The pink pegasus shook her head. “I think there, you are the expert, and if not your own wisdom the wisdom of those around you is more than I can offer surely.” “Look it’s complicated and involves complicated stuff involving them and I can’t go to them because of that.” Sunset groaned. “Then I will listen Sunset, I can do that much.” Blossom replied in a soothing tone. “Thanks…..I mean it.” Sunset hesitated for just a moment before continuing….  “The other Twilight is here, because she’s….” Sunset hesitated a moment. “In love with you.” Blossom finished. Sunset shot blossom a glare she knew the blind pegasus couldn’t see but tried to keep a neutral tone. “Yeah that.” “My apologies for angering you Sunset Shimmer. I just saw no need for an awkward silence while you say what is true.” Blossom stated matter of factly. “So here an incarnation of my girlfriend comes chasing me from another world, and…..I don’t know what to do, I don’t if returning her is right for her and I worry that I might want to just be rid of her for my own sake as she complicates things.” Sunset said feeling the weight off her chest as she spoke to someone who could never be involved. “I Think You should take it as a beautiful thing that Twilight Sparkle truly loves you for you, and that your hearts are truly compatible such that your bond can transcend worlds and lives.” Blossom stated.” Blossom replied softly. “And if such is true, and mutual, then yes it would complicate things.” Sunset said nothing that was something she had not considered, and it was heavy, it was huge. Twilight Sparkle loved her across worlds and lives, and either she could not reciprocate such feelings or….the Human Twilight would inevitably be a complicating factor, perhaps not now still a child but when she really does find her place, grow into her own. Sunset rubbed her temples. “As for doing what’s right, and doing right by others.” Blossom said. “You got this far, already found your path, your truth, you need to stop doubting that path and simply stay true to it. You doubt too much.” “I fear i’ll be too much like my mother If I….” Sunset said. “You are very much like your mother Sunset, But you are not her.” She said sincerely and plainly. “That truth is emblazoned upon you, why do you doubt the first thing a pony learns?” “Because I spent so long trying to be my mother.” Sunset stated before finishing with. “Annnnddddd I kinda got stuck with her job.” “Oh…..” Blossoms tone dropped slightly. “Kinda blame you for that, and I wonder how much of that was your fault?” Sunset asked honestly. “I knew that if you returned home that would put you inevitably on the path to being your mother’s heir….how long has it been for you since we stole this moment?” Blossom inquired. “Like A week and a half?” Sunset said bluntly. “Oh……..” Blossom said thoughtfully. “I did not know it would happen so quickly. My Apologies.” “Eh, more than future you gave me. See ya blossom….I’ll…..actually probably use this again.” Sunset closed her eyes and let the gravity pull her down, down, down……. Back to the present. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Twilight Sparkle the real Twilight Sparkle as far as she was concerned, walked down the pathway of Blueblood’s family manor she waved to the gardener, softly wondering if the gardener was another changeling and concluded that it did not matter as she entered. Twilight walked from room to room politely nodding to the servants as she passed, until she got to the parlor. There she saw two unicorn stallions talking and drinking, Prince Blueblood and the Changeling Mistletoe, The Prince seemed entranced by his companion who seemed to get occasionally distracted to look downwards at a book next to him. She spoke up. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” she said. “Of course not.” Replied Blueblood. “You’re family and you are always welcome.” “Thank you.” She said taking a seat, then in a playful tone said to Mistletoe. “Not planning anything against Equestria, are we?” “Not at the moment Princess.” He said with a disarming smile. “In Fact I just cancelled a plan against Equestria.” “....right you do make plans against Equestria.” Twilight groaned. “We are at war.” Mistletoe helpfully reminded her. “RIGHT! THAT! Ok Me and Sunset were going through mother’s files and she was actually setting aside money each month to give in distributed sums to the changelings.” Twilight stated. “It’s simply economically unfeasible to give you a lump sum worth your loses, how about we simply make those payments official and give you the monthly amount set aside for a reasonable length of time.” “We have been recovering off those...distributed sums for awhile, I cannot see a reason not to continue to do so officially.” Mistletoe nodded. “As long as your queen would not disagree.” Twilight in fact knew Sunset wouldn’t disagree, but something in her rose at the thought she needed her permission. Yes Sunset was the executive and her the bureaucracy, but this was finances, and she was still a princess. “Even if she didn’t she could take it up with me, I’m her equal as sovereign of Equestria whatever parliament says.” Mistletoe gave another one of his charming little smiles. “Well then, I look forward to this mutually beneficial, and more open relationship between our countries.” Prince Blueblood remained quiet, yet twilight couldn't help the feeling he was disappointed. “Well then, once we sign the papers, I intend to stay, that’s ok of course.” Twilight shimmer. “I am not foreign to mixing business and pleasure in my house.” Blueblood finally responded. So Twilight and Mistletoe hammered out some details, and as much as Twilight tried there was never going to be a no spying clause she knew for a fact Equestria’s actual allies didn’t have those but you got to give something. Then she spent some time in pleasant company, talking, joking, drinking, telling stories of her adventures, hearing stories of politics from Blueblood, and romantic escapes from Mistletoe. Until in the wee hours of the morning she idly looked at a Blueblood family picture, framed on the wall, she dropped her scotch that had been levitating in front of her. That’s how he got the title of Prince, But if this was his Family Manor, that would mean...