//------------------------------//
// I Feel It Coming 
// Story: Sunset at the Midnight Sushi Bar. 
// by The Real Jack Doe 
//------------------------------//

	"So he's your dad?" Said Rainbow Dash. The group of friends had met in their usual spot, the music room of Canterlot High School.

Each of the young girls were in varying degrees of disbelief. 

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide, their mouths hung open slightly. Applejack and Rarity, despite their dichotomy both sported reserved yet concerned expressions.

Fluttershy looked like she was on the verge of tears. The only one who's expression was impassible was the most recent addition to the group of friends, Twilight Sparkle, who had been vary quiet ever since Sunset had started her story. 

"Eh, not exactly. It's complicated. He's 'Sunset Shimmer's' dad. But it's the Sunset Shimmer of this world, not me." said Sunset. She was needing her temple.

"And you're- I mean, Sunset Shimmer is...dead?" Said Fluttershy, her voice shuttering when she said the word

Sunset nodded. She stared at her shoes.

"Dude, that sucks." said Rainbow.

"You're telling me." Sunset sighed "This is so weird, I have no idea how to process any of this."

Sunset considered the situation "And then there's Sunny Roll, poor guy. He lost everything. All alone in this world." A lot like me, she finished in her head.

Sunset chuckled darkly at that. The she stopped and stood silent for a long moment, deep in contemplation. Eventually the bell rang.

"That'll be 5th period," said Applejack, "Sorry Sunset, but we gotta get to class. We'll talk about it after school, kay?"

"Alright. You girls go ahead."

Sunset nodded and felt a had rest on her shoulder. She turned to see a concerned look on Applejack's face "You gonna be ok?" she asked Sunset.

Was she going to be ok? Is any of this really ok? It was what it was Sunset mused, so she gave Applejack a smile and nodded. "You better get going, I heard you were failing algebra." she said wryly.

"Did you now? Rarity, what did I tell you about gossipin." Applejack shouted.

"I-I  don't know what you're talking about, oh would you look at that we're going to be late, best be off."

The girls picked up their thing, some faster then others, and made their way to their respective classes leaving Sunset to contemplate herself.

All except one. Twilight was still siting where she was her face still emotionless. 

"You were awfully quiet for all this, Twilight?" said Sunset.

"Hum? Oh it's nothing." said Twilight, coming out of whatever thought she was having. She too began to pick up her belongings. 

There was a silence as both Sunset and Twilight slowly made there way through the halls of Canterlot High. Both had a look of deep thought. 

Sunset thought about her life. Orphaned, no mother, no father, a cousin maybe that she'd never meet. She'd been in school for as far back as she could remember. Part of her always thought that the reason she was so hungry for magical power was that she was trying to find some spell, some book that could make her not feel so alone.

Now she had friends, she was happy. But not to put to fine a point on it, she was and alien, literally, to the human race.

And suddenly she tripped right in to her father. Well an ulternate vertion of her father at the vary least. One who had no one just like her. 

Sunset considered the likelihood of this situation. If the multiverse was indeed infinite then a situation like this was bound to happen, that was just logical. It's different when it happens to you though.

"Um?" said Twilight.

"Hm?" said Sunset.

"Can we stop here, I need something from my locker." Twilight pointed to the locker in question.

"Oh, sure."

Sunset leaned against the wall of lockers as Twilight opened her's. She finally turned to the nerdy girl.

"Twilight, do you believe in Fate?"

"As a concept maybe. As an active universal force, no." Twilight responded, in her usual way. "Why?"

Sunset turned to face her more directly "In Equestria Fate is real. It's not just a concept, it's verifiable force that drives us."

"Verifiable?" said Twilight, who was suddenly vary interested "Does that mean Ponies can measure Fate? How? Are there special instruments you need?"

Sunset gave Twilight a 'look'.

"Right. Continue."

Sunset sighed "Twilight, do you think me and Sunny Roll meeting was Fate?"

Twilight considered this, "Well as far as I can tell, in this world Fate is just a concept stemming from a fundamental lack of perspective. But, baring magic actually being involved here, it is one doozy of a coincidence. Why do you ask?"

"It's just, " Sunset paused to collect her thoughts, "Last night I thought about how I have no family and, well neither does Sunny Roll. I was thinking, maybe Fate had brought us together to, I dunno, be Father and Daughter?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Sunset."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, like you said, you may be 'A Sunset Shimmer' but you aren't 'his Sunset Shimmer'. His Sunset... well, is dead, and I don't think it's a good idea to..." Twilight paused think about what she was trying to say. "Well think about it like this, I may be Twilight Sparkle, but I'm not Princess Twilight, right?"

"That's true." Sunset considered.

"Right, so if something were to ever happen to me, I wouldn't want Princess Twilight to come here and replace me. And I don't think she would want me to do the same thing for her."

Sunset thought about this "Well if something were to happen to the Princess, I think she might actually want someone to take up her duties as The Princess of Friendship, but I get what you're saying. I don't think this is about pretending to be his daughter."

Sunset sighed. "I don't want to replace his daughter Twilight, I just want to... be his friend."

Twilight nodded at this, "I'm not telling you how to proceed, Sunset, I'm just saying what I think. You might do more harm to him than good if you get involved in his life.  " With that Twilight closed her locker, "He lost his family, he might not want a new one."

Twilight left it at that, leaving Sunset alone in the hallway to think about many things. Existence. Mortality. Fate. The Equine Experience... or Human Experience as the case may be. 

She contemplated loneliness.

'What kind of a person opens up a shop that only operates in the dead of night?' she asked herself.

'Someone who's been alone so long they don't know how else to be.' she answered herself.

"Someone like me." She said out loud.

"Hello, Is someone in there." Came an authoritative voice from down the hallway.

Rounding the corner reviled the Vice Principal, Luna. "Sunset Shimmer? where are you supposed to be right now?" She said in her famous 'Vice Principal Voice'.

"I'm going, sorry." Sunset said, scrambling to get to class.