Chapter 1. Appearance.
The February wind breezed through Sunset Shimmer’s fiery hair, cold enough to be acknowledged, but not so much as to make her shiver. Winter was coming to an end, and the days were becoming a little warmer, so she didn’t need to wear a scarf anymore.
“Where is your scarf?” Trixie asked as Sunset opened her apartment door.
“I don’t need a scarf,” Sunset said, rolling her eyes.
Trixie put her hands on her hips. “Yes, yes you do.” She reached for her backpack and produced a gray scarf. “Put it on,” she ordered. “I don’t want you getting sick again.”
“Trixie…”
“We’re not going over this again, Sunset!” Trixie insisted. “You got really bad last time! I don’t want you to end up with pneumonia or something!” When Sunset didn’t answer, she continued with a softer voice. “Please? For me?”
It was the most cliché phrase ever told, and yet, Sunset just couldn’t say no. After all, she didn’t want Trixie to worry.
Her life had also settled down into a calm passing of the days. With school starting again for the year, and graduation looming closer by the day, Trixie had to concentrate for her final exams and projects, as did the rest of her friends. Sunset thought she’d be dead bored half of her days, being able to see the girls only on weekends, but the universe smiled at her, and she somehow managed to get a second job as an assistant mechanic.
But not any mechanic, no. She was now a dirtbikes mechanic. Ever since she first watched a motocross race a few months back, she had immediately loved the sport. She didn’t have money to get the equipment necessary to try it, but now she was close to the bikes, and she could study them and fix them and tune them, and she loved every second of it.
She had always been the experimental kind, after all, and she enjoyed working physically for a change.
Not that she wasn’t proud of her intellect, of course, as she quickly learned how dirt bikes worked in the few weeks it took her to go from assistant to mechanic. The previous one had to leave due to a personal problem, in which Sunset didn’t have anything to do, for once!
And after her second week as a real mechanic, Sunset was recognized by both co-workers and racers as a semi-competent mechanic, and she quickly used this to her advantage by convincing her bosses to lend her an old bike they were about to throw out. “A write-off,” they had called it, but to Sunset, it was an opportunity to get her own bike for free.
If only she could make the damned thing work.
“I’m telling you, Sunset,” a dark blue skinned man with pale green hair told her. He was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and an amused smile on his face. “That thing’s done for. Stop wasting your time.”
Sunset harrumphed angrily. She was squatting next to the old dirt bike. She had thoroughly cleaned it, she had replaced the damaged parts with some spares she got at great discounts, she had even managed to unstick that uberly annoying clutch and make it feel new again. And yet, the bike just wouldn’t start.
It was starting to get on her nerves.
“I’m not wasting my time,” Sunset answered between clenched teeth. “I’m getting a free bike.”
The man snorted, his thick brows frowning upwards.
“With the money you’ve spent on those parts, you might as well have gotten a new bike. Have you ever even ridden one?” He asked. “You’re the only person in this field I’ve yet to see run a few laps to test the bikes.”
Sunset sighed heavily and turned to glare at him. “Don’t you have anything better to do than to annoy me, Stinger?”
“Oh, don’t be like that, hot stuff,” Stinger said. “It was an honest question. Everyone goes on and on about how much potential you have and shit, but, you see, I can’t trust a mechanic that doesn’t know how bikes feel.”
Sunset stood up and looked at him with an interested frown. “What are you trying to say?” She asked while wiping her hands with a cloth.
Stinger shrugged. “The beginner’s field is empty until four and my bike could use some tinkering.”
“You’re lending me your bike?” Sunset asked, more to confirm to herself than to him. She then frowned and crossed her arms. “Wait, this isn’t just an attempt to get my number, is it?”
Stinger gave a hearty laugh. “No, no. I mean, you’re smoking hot, and I’d totally try to hit on you, but I’m also loyal to my girl, get me? We’re getting married next month, and I’m not about to screw up just because.”
“Huh,” Sunset said. “Well, congratulations, then. And thanks, I do want to try riding a bike.”
“Cool.” Stinger motioned her to follow him, and led her just a few meters from the workshop, where his bike was.
It was a beautiful metallic blue with arguably unnecessary green lightnings painted on the sides. Sunset didn’t hesitate and climbed onto it.
“I’m sure I don’t hafta tell you how to operate it,” Stinger began, helping Sunset stabilize. “But I still feel the need to warn you: don’t underestimate a bike. Make a few slow laps till you get the hang of it or you can get seriously injured,” he paused to offer her his blue helmet, “even if you use this.”
“Right,” Sunset said. She grabbed the helmet and put it on. It provided a welcome warmth against the cold breeze. She took a deep breath and started the engine.
The bike roared to life, and Sunset felt a thrill run through her spine. She could feel her limbs shaking with excitement. She had turned many engines on for the past two weeks, but this was the first time she was on the bike and about to ride it. She shifted in her place and shifted to neutral, and carefully, but decidedly, started to advance to the beginner’s field.
“Well, it does look like you’ve got potential,” Stinger noted as he followed her. “Most people fall off or crash on their first try.”
“I’m not most people,” Sunset said. She liked being praised for her obvious superiority, but she was too concentrated on keeping balanced to make better retorts. It didn’t help that she was going so slow that she still needed to use her feet to stabilize herself.
They arrived to the field, and true to Stinger’s words, it was empty. Sunset took a deep breath.
“Ready?” Stinger asked, and Sunset nodded. “Alright. You wanna go fast, but not too fast, get me? Just enough for the bike to balance itself, but not so much that you get sent flyin’ away.”
Normally, Sunset would have replied with a snarky comment, but she was too focused on getting it right. She didn’t want to ruin the bike and having to pay for it… She also didn’t want to get hurt.
She shifted to get more comfortable and pulled the throttle.
Sunset knew, instantly, that she had used too much force, as the bike gained speed way too quickly, and she started hearing a beep in her ears. That, or she was screaming at the stop of her lungs. She certainly hoped it was the first option.
Fortunately, instead of panicking, she remained calm and recalled all she had learned in the past weeks, and as she approached the first turn, she had managed to release the throttle enough to go at a comfortable speed. She shifted her weight, just like the manuals said she should, and accelerated at the right time.
Her heart bumped furiously inside her chest, and she knew it was out of excitement, as her high pitched scream had quickly turned into a cheerful giggle. She approached the first hill, and although she almost lost balance, she managed to keep steady. It was exhilarating, feeling the bumps and the air and the speed.
And sooner than she thought, she had already given a whole lap, returning to the beginning, where Stinger waited for her. When she closed the distance, she pulled the brake too much, and she bumped against the handlebar, but thankfully, she didn’t fall.
“How’d it feel?” He asked as she helped Sunset get off the bike.
“It was so awesome!” She answered, unable to stop smiling from ear to ear. “It’s like flying on a carriage but you’re steering!”
“A carriage?”
Sunset blushed slightly and cleared her throat.
“Never mind that…” She took off the helmet, feeling a particularly cold breeze on the back of her neck. She passed a hand through her hair and realized she was sweating quite a lot. “Ew.”
“Yeah, I know,” Stinger said, taking the helmet from her. “You get used to it.”
“Hey, Sunset,” a tall girl of light green skin and electric yellow hair called as she walked up to Sunset.
“‘Sup, Lightning?”
Lightning Dust stopped a few meters away, standing in a carefree pose, with her back arched and her hands hidden in the pockets of her red and black jacket. “There’s a girl at the workshop, says she wants to meet you ASAP.”
“A girl? Who is it?”
Lightning shrugged. “Dunno. She didn’t tell.”
“You could try being less descriptive,” Stinger joked. “Them girls like it.”
“What if I stick my boot up your a-”
“Alright, I’mma meet this mysterious girl before you two start having a weird BDSM session here,” Sunset said with a chuckle.
“Do you want company?” Lightning offered. “That girl… she gave me the creeps.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, but shook her head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s just probably one of my weird friends.” Maybe Pinkie Pie, she thought.
The thrill of her ride was still present in her body, and her legs remained shaking even as she returned to her workplace. She could certainly get used to this, and, who knew?, once she repaired that old bike, she could start a career as a pro motocrosser.
Her thoughts dissipated when she entered the small office in the workshop, and her eyes fell upon the hooded figure sitting on one of the chairs.
“Hello,” She greeted. She decided to stay by the door, just in case. “How can I help you?”
The girl gasped slightly. An awkward silence followed, and just as Sunset was about to break it, the girl stood up and ever so slowly turned around. Sunset couldn’t make her features, sans a shadowed yellow skin and some red locks.
“Eerie,” the girl said in a low voice, and Sunset thought it sounded awfully familiar. “Well, the universe isn’t imploding, so I think we’re safe.” She slid the hood from her head, revealing her face.
Sunset’s heart stopped as she stared at her human doppelganger. A turmoil of thoughts swarmed her mind, like the knowledge that this girl had almost killed Twilight and Trixie, and her first reaction thought was to hit her in the face. But she then noticed that, unlike the clichéd sci-fi phrase, it wasn’t quite like looking in a mirror.
While Sunset’s skin was a vibrant yellowish orange, Shimmer’s was pale and darkened, and her cheekbones, unlike Sunset’s round ones, were sharp and thin. There were very pronounced bags under her eyes, and her hair had a serious lack of shine.
She looked like a lifeless husk of her previous self, and Sunset wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad sign. Especially with Shimmer smirking at her.
“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked, and she noticed the trembling of her own voice, but if it was out of fear, nervousness, or something else, she didn’t know.
“Straight to the point,” Shimmer noted, leaning over the desk and resting on it. “You know, this whole meeting your doppelganger is strange. I know of a lot of people have been through this, but…” She cracked a chuckle. “You gotta admit, this is uncanny. Same physical appearance? Same name? Same age? And… no, wait…” She tapped a finger on her lips, faking a thoughtful expression. “There’s one thing we don’t have in common…” She looked straight at Sunset’s eyes and grinned. “Your papers are all false.”
Sunset managed to maintain a very convincing poker face, but she knew that the very little twitch in her left eye had betrayed her.
“How is it possible, hm?” Shimmer asked. “At first I thought you were trying to impersonate me or something. But you- you just stayed here in this hick ville town doing nothing. That had to mean something, no?”
Sunset could feel Shimmer staring deeply into her eyes, and her wicked glare was making her feel very uncomfortable.
“Since when do you know about me?” Sunset asked, still trying to remain calm, even when her stomach was becoming upset.
“Since after I stabbed your pretty girlfriend,” Shimmer answered, and the nerve and boldness made Sunset feel really sick. “I was investigating the lawyer leading the case against me to see if I could find something against him instead. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. But, I did find out about you, although I couldn’t do anything with that information… Until now, that is.”
Sunset decided to let her dimensional twin keep taking, lest she throw up the moment she opened her mouth.
“You see, I have a bit of a… situation,” Shimmer continued. “And I thought that you could give me some answers.”
At that, Sunset crossed her arms and frowned. “And what makes you think I’ll tell you anything? In fact, I want you to give me a reason why I shouldn’t call the police. I’m pretty sure you should be rotting away in prison right now.”
“Wow, harsh,” Shimmer said without any trace of hurt in her face, instead, she looked quite amused. “I’d say it was good behavior, but no. I made a deal.” She grimaced and looked away. “I’m going to therapy. A psychiatrist, to be exact. And I’ve made enough progress that he deemed appropriate that I return to society, under certain conditions, of course…”
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
“One of those conditions,” Shimmer continued, looking back at Sunset again, “is to apologize to those whom I’ve wronged. But, like, truly apologize and not fake it. And I wanted to start with the girls back at Manhattan Academy…” She trailed off and gave a frown of confusion. “But, they were acting strange, like they didn’t know who I was.”
“They were ignoring you,” Sunset found herself saying without giving it much thought. “It tends to happen when you’re a major bitch. Trust me, I know from experience.”
“I thought so, too,” Shimmer replied. “But they weren’t acting like one would normally do when ignoring someone, and I know them well enough to know that they weren’t acting like themselves, either… And, I also thought that they were just pretending or something, but…” She reached for the right pocket of her jeans and took out her cellphone. “Then I noticed that I had a message in my voice mail, which is strange because nobody uses it anymore, right? But, anyway, this is it.” She pressed play.
“Sunset,” A girl said with an innocent sounding voice. ”I know you’re busy with the trial and stuff, but… I-I need your help. I called the police but they didn’t believe me and I don’t know what else to do! I swear I’m not crazy! Adagi- No! Wait!” There was a thud, and the recording ended.
During the recording, Shimmer kept her eyes on Sunset.
“This was sent after I was found guilty and sent to prison, so I only heard it just two days ago.” She put her phone away and groaned. “Normally, I’d think she’s exaggerating, but as I said, I had already talked to “her” and she was acting strange. At first I thought of calling the police, but then I remembered that you exist.”
“If you have a doppelganger, your friends might as well have been abducted by doppelgangers,” Sunset said, finishing Shimmer’s thought.
Shimmer nodded. “So, question is: What’s up with that?” she asked. “Why do we have doppelgangers?”
Sunset stared at Shimmer, pondering her options. She frowned and snorted. “I’ll only tell you that, if you are telling the truth, I might know your friend’s impersonators’ origin. And if they are capable of kidnapping, then they’re not exactly people to be trifled with…”
“So cryptic,” Shimmer mocked. “I like it. It’s so me. But I still want a proper answer.”
“Pft, yeah, like I’m going to tell you anything.”
“And you also can hold grudges, like me.”
“I’m nothing like you!” Sunset snapped. “I did many bad things in the past, but I never tried to kill someone!”
Shimmer made a face, and Sunset wasn’t sure how to interpret it. “Speaking of that,” Shimmer started. “I’m pretty sure I can’t get near your girlfriend without getting thrown to jail again. Could you tell her I’m sorry?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Shimmer frowned.
“Because you don’t feel it.”
“Hmph, and I thought my good counterpart would be more understanding,” Shimmer said with a pout. “But I suppose there’ll be time for that. Right now I want you to take the doppelgangers that kidnapped my friends back to where they belong.”
Sunset sighed heavily. “I’ll only do it because I’m interested in meeting them, not because you want to.”
“Whatever you say,” Shimmer answered. “You’re a D-cup, right?”
Sunset was so taken aback from the question that she blushed and gaped for a moment. “Why the heck do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Because it’ll be easier if you fit in my clothes,” Shimmer replied nonchalantly. “I don’t want to buy special ones for you.”
“And why do you want me to fit in your clothes?!”
Shimmer stared at her for a moment with her eyes slightly narrowed. “We know nothing about these kidnappers, except for the fact that they’re, for some reason, hanging out at the academy,” she explained. “If you dress up like me, you can go in, talk to them, do whatever you need to do to get my friends back, and leave.”
Sunset pondered for a moment, humming. “Listen, I don’t think I’ll be able to do much, especially if they are evil,” Sunset said. “But… I don’t think they can do much damage, so it can be safe to just call the police.”
Shimmer raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t it be safe to call the police?”
“Oh, come on,” Sunset answered with an exasperated sigh. “If you thought it was safe from the start, you wouldn’t have come all the way to meet me.”
At that, and to Sunset’s surprise, Shimmer chuckled. “Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to meet my other self,” Shimmer said with a smirk. “I kind of thought we would make out or something.”
Sunset only deadpanned.