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// Sunset's plan 
// Story: Sunset's true motivations 
// by ActivistVictor 
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Sunday August 16: 9:00 P.M

It was the day before school was scheduled to start in Canterlot high school, and student Sunset Shimmer had a major problem. She needed a plan to dethrone her former mentor Princess Celestia before the portal which connecting Earth and Equestira reopened again, a time less than three months in the future. If Sunset Shimmer did not have a plan formulated and in place by that time, she would be forced to wait three more years before she had another chance to return to Equestria and attempt to take it over, and waiting longer was the last thing Sunset Shimmer wanted to do. As such, she needed a plan very badly, and in a desperate attempt to get some inspiration, she went to the statue in front of Canterlot high (which also doubled as a portal to Equestria) in an attempt to get as close to Equestria as she could during the time in which the portal remained closed. Unfortunately for her however, this had done nothing to spark her inspiration, and had only served to increase her anger at this situation, Princess Celestia, and especially the statue...

"Ugh," Sunset said in frustration "Why can't I come up with anything here?! I mean really, all I want to do is come up with a simple plan which will, 1., allow me to become a princess in Equestria and gain rightful power over everypony there, 2., allow me to get revenge on Celestia for lying to my face and then casting me away like a useless pile of garbage instead of giving me what I was owed, 3. Allow me to make sure Celestia NEVER has any power in Equestria ever again once I'm done with her, and 4. can also can be setup and implemented within the next three months. You think this wouldn't be such a difficult task!" She then turned towards the statue and said" Well statue, I came here to get inspired, so come on, give me some bucking inspiration already." However, the statue said nothing and Sunset was still left without any ideas, and this caused Sunset to become enraged. "Ok Seriously, give me some BUCKING inspiration, RIGHT NOW! " she said pounding her fist into the statue in raw frustration. However, this failed to convince the inanimate statue to give her an idea, and was instead only successful at causing Sunset to yelp and pull her hand back in pain. "Motherbuck!" she shouted "my poor hoof. Er um hand. I mean, GAHHHHHH! You stupid statue, thinking you can cause me pain and consequently make me trip up in what I'm trying to say. Well I'll show." she said as she brought her foot back in preparation to kick the statue. However, unfortunately for Sunset, all this action did was cause her to lose her balance and fall forward, causing her to slam her head against the statue. "Ouch, my head," she said rubbing it. "You stupid…. statue! You're lucky I'm not in Equestria, because if I was I'd definitely use my unicorn magic to teach you a much deserved lesson. And it would go something like this," she said turning her head towards the statue and squinting as hard as she could.

At that exact moment, a light began to come out form the statue, and Sunset, noticing it, said "Wait, what the buck? Did that magic spell actually work? That's would be a first for this pathetic world!" However, as she continue to look she saw the light remain unchanged, and said "hmm, well I guess it wasn't my magic after all. I guess I just hit my head harder than I thought just now, "she said turning around in irritation. However, just then, noise began to leak from the statue as well, and Sunset, surprised as all getup, turned around and said "now wait a minute, I know you can see lights when you hit your head, but hearing strange noises too? That's not par for the course. Hmm, either I must have hit my head REALLY hard right now… or maybe…" she said widening her eyes in eagerness, "maybe my brain isn't damaged at all, but it's actually a vision coming through the portal form Equestria. I've read about these happening, but so far this is the first time I've actually seen it in person. Could this be happening because the portal is about to open in less than three months?" she pondered.

Yet, her curiosity was quickly cut off when the vision became much clearer and she saw a field on a sunny day in Canterlot, the capitol city of Equestria. "Hm, looks like I'll have to look into the science behind why this is happening at a later time, because right now, I have a vision to observe, "she said as she began to watch and listen intently. As she did, the vision panned, and she began to see a bunch of royal guards lined up in two rows on the field, with a central vacant slot in between the rows. "Heh." she chuckled, "get a load of all those stiffs. Oh I remember how I used to pester the living buck out of them back when I lived in Canterlot. Teasing them, throwing water balloons at them with my magic, saying rude things about their wives. Ah, those were good times, "she reminisced. However, she then stopped joking and said "but seriously, what is with all those guys in armor out there? I mean I know this is Canterlot and royal guards are par for the course there, but this is just crazy. Tartarus! If I didn't know better, I'd say someone… er um somepony, is being crowned princess or something. Ha, now that would be the day," she chuckled.

However, right at that moment, she then noticed a couple more royal guards pulling a carriage down the central vacant slot with what Sunset perceived to be a purple unicorn in it, and said "Wait, what? I was just joking. This cannot seriously be a coronation ceremony for a new princess can it?" However, after looking at the vision intently or a little longer, she said "well as hard as I find it to believe this could be a coronation, I fail to see anything else this event could be. Hmm, no doubt this is Celestia' doing, I mean seriously, who else but Celestia would pick a nerd like HER to be princess." she said looking on. However, her cynicism quickly stopped when she took a closer look at the supposed unicorn. "Hey, wait a minute," she said looking intently, "that unicorn has wings! But then that would mean… that it isn't a unicorn after all, it's an ALICORN. But.. but how can that be? The last time I was in Equestria nopony had EVER been crowned princess since Princess Cadence many years ago. And CERTAINLY nopony had ever been made into an ALICORN beore. Just who the buck is this purple nerd anyways?"

Right at that moment, singing began leaking through the portal, which caused Sunset to quickly roll her eyes. "Oh my Celestia, not random musical numbers." she said, "honestly, they changed the number of princesses AND the number of alicorns since I left, but nopony bothered to do something about the number of musical numbers? If you ask me that's FAR more important than crowning some new nerd to be princess. Pff. And ponies wonder why griffons never take them seriously? I'll tell you why, it's because ponies don't have their priorities in order and break out into song SO often you'd swear you were living in some TV show made for girls under the age of thirteen." She then sighed and said "Well no matter. While this song is most certainly going to be annoying as Tartarus to listen to, I may as well hear it out. I mean it's not every day that visions come through the portal so who knows when I'll get my next opportunity to get information. And who knows, maybe their song will tell me just who miss purple alicorn is." She then stopped talking and began listening intently.

Immediately, Sunset heard the purple alicorn sing "Life in Equestria shimmers. Life in Equestria shines. And I know for absolute certain…." Before she was quickly joined by five other ponies: a white unicorn, a blue Pegasus, a yellow Pegasus, a pink earth pony, and an orange earth pony.

Upon them joining the purple alicorn, they all proceeded to sing "That everything. Yes everything. Yes everything is certain-ly fine. It's fine." Then, the purple alicorn flew up away from the group and approached rapidly as she said "yes, everything's going to be just fine," an action which caused Sunset to jump back in shock and stick her tongue out at the alicorn. The vision then paused there and began to gradually fade, and Sunset remained still for a few seconds taking in what she just saw.

However, she quickly regained herself and said "Well, that was strange. And you know, I can't quite put my finger on why, seeing those five friends of her royal nerdiness makes me extremely angry, especially that orange one with that stupid cowboy hat." She then pondered for another few seconds before saying "Regardless, the reasoning behind why I hate those ponies isn't what's important here. No, what's important here is the fact that now I know just who that who that purple BITCH is. She's my replacement. The pony who got everything I WANTED, INSTEAD OF ME!" she shouted and began punching at her face on the statue, before again jolting her hand back in pain. "I should have been an alicorn, I should have been crowned princess, and I SHOULD HAVE HAD AN ANNOYING MUSICAL NUMBER SUNG ABOUT ME!" she shouted. "And instead all of that gets given to some fricking nerd! Oh that is so it Celestia. I was going to let you off easy if you begged me for mercy after I took you over, but after seeing this from you, you can forget that offer. I don't care what it takes, I WILL return to Equestria when the portal opens and I WILL get revenge on you my pretty, and your little purple pest too," Sunset said maliciously.

However, reality began to take hold of her mind again and she quickly began to despair."But how in Equestria am I supposed to do that anyway?" she said. "I mean let's be real here. It's not like I can just walk up to the castle and start firing my unicorn magic at the guards. I may have been the most skilled unicorn in Equestria when I left, but I'm still just one unicorn. There's no way in Tartarus I would stand any chance against an army of royal guards, not on my own. They'd kick my plot up and down the block faster than I could say buck you, and then just for good measure they'd do it again. No. If I am to have any chance at success, I'm going to need to take an army of my own to Equestria. But GRRR, where am I going to get an army at this time of night?" she shouted to herself in rage.

But this rage was short lived, as Sunset, after thinking a little, very quickly replaced it with an evil smirk on her face. "Oh, that's right. My fellow students," she said rubbing her hands together menacingly. "They constitute an army, and judging by how much they adore me, I'll bet they'd be willing to fight for me too, especially if I 'guarantee' them a piece of land in Equestria for their exploits. Maybe then I'd have a chance of dethroning Celestia" Sunset said grinning in anticipation. However, she quickly lost her grin and said, "And maybe the Equestria cubs will win the Equestria series next year. No no no! That will never work. I mean, I know most of my students love and respect me as a whole, but not all of them. There are definitely a few dissenters in there like that hick who ran against me for spring fling a couple years ago and nearly cost me the crown, as well as my position as leader of this school. And that was just because of one person. No doubt more would people would stand up against me if I tried to lead an all out assault on Equestria, even with the promise of land there. And if that happens, there goes my army, and my chances of dethroning Celestia. No, as much as I'd like to, I cannot simply hope the students follow me into battle. If there is to be any chance of my success, I am going to need a way to ensure the students have my back the whole way. But grr, what on Earth could be powerful enough to give me hat level of insurance?" she said looking around in despair.

However, her despair quickly ceased when her eyes passed over the statue again and she caught sight of the crown the alicorn was wearing. "Wait, is that… yes, it is! That's an element of harmony on the nerd's head. One of six magical items like it in Equestria which each posess an amount of magic unlike anything else there. But what's it doing on her head? The last time I was in Equestria the elements hadn't been seen for nearly 1,000 years, and now all the sudden they're being used in major political events?" she said in confusion. However, she quickly brushed said confusion off and said "Well, no matter, it's not important how the element got there, what's important is THAT it's there, could easily retrieve it when the portal opens again, and knowing that gives me a fantastic idea." she said with an evil grin. "When school starts I'll suggest a design for the fall formal crown which looks exactly like the element princess wierdo is wearing. Then, when the portal opens in less than three months, I'll quickly slip back to Equestria with the fall formal crown and swipe the element of harmony and replace it with the fall formal crown. Then, before anypony suspects anything is amiss, I'll return to this pathetic world with the element and put it in the place of the stolen fall formal crown. Then, when the fall formal dance concludes and the fall formal princess is crowned, which conveniently enough will be just a few hours before the portal closes again, I will use the power the element possesses to 'convince' my fellow students to lead an assault on Equestria and we will all return to Equestria before the portal closes again. And then, with the help of my army, I will overrun Celestia, dethrone her, and take over as ruler of Equestria. It's brilliant!" she exclaimed. "HA HA HA HA HA!"

Yet, her satisfaction was short lived, as she quickly frowned and said "but wait, that's right! As powerful as the elements of harmony are, they have one major limitation, and that is that they can only be used by ponies who represent their pathetic qualities of friendship. And, judging by how miss purple two shoes was so buddy-buddy with those five anger-inducing ponies, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that all six of them represent the elements, and as such it' very unlikely I could use any of the elements myself, let alone the crown. So that means, even if I did manage to get that crown back here, I'd have no way to use it! Ugh, OF COURSE," she shouted, "and I was sure this would work too!" she said covering her face with her hands. However, she then calmed down a bit and said "wait a minute, maybe this still can work. Now that I get to thinking I seem to recall Celestia once teaching me a lesson about the effects of the elements of harmony in other worlds"…..

…...

"Sunset, will you please stop looking through those books for two seconds and pay attention to today's lesson, " Princess Celestia said.

"Come on Celestia," Sunset replied, "Can't today's lesson wait? I need to research ways to defeat nightmare moon."

"Sunset," Celestia groaned, "please. This is important."

"Yes, it is important," Sunset said, "because I've been doing research and, if my calculations are correct, then in less than five years' time it will be the 1,000th anniversary of the summer sun celebration, and when that happens, the stars will aid nightmare moon's escape and she will return to Equestria to bring everlasting night, and I have to find a way to stop he before it's too late." she said turning back towards her books.

"Sunset, " Celestia said exasperated, " I was referring to today's lesson when I said it was important."

"Oh of course you were sunbutt" Sunset exclaimed, "that;s all you ever care about isn't it? Those boring lectures. Well no offense, but I highly doubt some boring old lecture can have nearly the level of urgency that finding a way to stop a madmare who intends to bring eternal night to our land does. So if you would, please forget today's lesson and come help me research a way to stop her will you?"

"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said sternly, "If I have told you once I've told you 1,000 times, don't call me sunbutt!"

Sunset then glared at Celestia and said "Are you serious right now? I make a valid and well thought out argument for you helping me find a way to stop Nightmare Moon, and all you take from it, is that I called you bucking SUNBUTT!?"

"No, of course that's not all I took form it, "Celestia said, "but in any case it doesn't matter, and that's because no matter how you try to argue otherwise, you cannot change the fact that nightmare moon is just an old mare's tale, and as such I am not about to cancel today's lesson just so you have more time to look into it. Now, if you don't mind, please come here and take your seat, and save your research for your own time." Sunset attempted to protest, but was unable to finish as Celestia cut her off and shouted "NOW!"

"Ok, ok," Sunset said, "Starswirl the bearded, don't have a hissy fit on me", she said as she sat down.

"Thank you," Celestia said, before she turned around and said "now, as has been the case every day for the past month, today's lesson will be about the elements of elements of harmony. And, in particular, today I will teach you what happens to the elements of harmony in worlds outside of Equestria."

"WHAT," Sunset said in shock, "Are you bucking kidding me!?"

"Sunset Shimmer, please watch your language, "Celestia said.

Sunset however, replied and said "and why the buck should I? You tell me to stop looking into something important, something which could potentially end our way of life as we know it, because 'you have something more important to discuss.' So what do I do? Against my desires I agre, and stop my critical research to listen to you. But then, all you have to tell me is some nonsense about things which have not been seen for years and how they act in places which don't exist? Why shouldn't I be pissed?"

"I understand why you're frustrated," Celestia said, "but that does not change the fact that this lesson need to be taught to you. Now if you will, please stop complaining and pay attention to my lesson Sunset Shimmer"

"Fine," Sunset grumbled angrily, and she sat back down.

"Good," Celestia said, before continuing with her lesson. "Now, as you are aware if you've been paying attention in the recent past" Celestia said, before noting Sunset's bored expression and saying "something I often have my doubts about, the elements of harmony each represent a quality of friendship. While for most ponies coming in contact with an element has no effect, should a pony who exemplifies the quality of a particular element come into contact with said element, the element will resonate with that pony and they will be able to wield untold power."

"And in other news, one plus one equals two, my tutor is named sunbutt, and I am bored out of my mind," Sunset said sarcastically, and proceeded to chuckle at her sarcasm. However, this quickly ceased when she noticed Celestia glaring at her, and Sunset promptly lost her smirk and sat upright.

Celestia, satisfied her point had been made, then continued and said "However, while in Equestria the power of the elements can only be accessed by those that exemplify their qualities, in other non-magical worlds, no such restriction is present. As such, the elements can be used by anypony who wears them, be they good or bad, and this has the potential to be dangerous if the wrong individual should manage to get their hooves on an element. And what's more, should somepony who actually does exemplify the quality of a particular element manage to come into contact with said element, the element will again resonate with the individual, but in this case it will continue to build upon itself until it has magnified the most exemplary trait of the individual 1,000 fold. Now, while this wouldn't be such a big issue with some of the elements like kindness and generosity, since the ponies who represent them tend to be inherently good, with elements like loyalty, which can be to present in both good and bad individuals, this could spell disaster if the element resonated with somepony whose heart was not very pure. Were that to happen, there is a very real chance that the pony in question would have their dark side magnified 1,000 fold and would inevitably turn into, for lack of a better word, a raging she demon who was capable of mass destruction and destruction, assuming of course the individual in question was female."

"Hmm, well there'd be no need to worry if I resonated with an element in another world, because all that would happen is that I would have my boredom magnified 1,000 fold," Sunset said and again chuckled to herself. Celestia then glared at her, causing her to sit up straight again.

Celestia then continued and said "For these reasons, it is IMPERATIVE that the elements never be allowed to leave Equestria, because if they were to fall into the wrong hooves, the result could be nothing short of catastrophic. And even worse, in all likelihood this catastrophe would not be restricted to just the world the resonation occurred in. This is because, in a non-magical world, regardless of whether or not an individual actually represents an element, once an element and an individual have come into contact, the element latches onto them so strongly that both the element and individual behave as one thereafter. And, since the laws in magical worlds which typically govern the elements do not apply to individuals, this means that, using their unified status, and individual who is bound to an element is able to override these laws and use the power anywhere, regardless of whether or not the laws in a world would otherwise prevent that from happening. Now that is not to say that this connection is so powerful that it cannot be broken. Indeed, should the element and the individual become separated at any point, the connection will sever and the rules which normally govern the usage of the element will immediately take hold once again. However, this task proves easier said than done against a rogue tyrant who is souped up and the elements power, and indeed, the last time such an event happened, many perished under the individual's tyranny before the connection was finally severed and the their reign of terror was put to an end. So now do you see why today's lesson is so important miss Shimmer?" Celestia asked.

"Hmmm.. yeah, I'm goin to have to say NO" Sunset replied sarcastically. "Because as you have taught me," Sunset said, "the elements have been lost for nearly 1,000 years, and as a result, it really doesn't matter how they behave and where now does it? And do you know why? Because without any elements or any other worlds to take them too, there is no risk that an element will be taken to another world, and as such this lecture was a complete waste of time."

"Sunset" Celestia said, "don't be so hasty to assume that something is irrelevant just the items the issue concerns have not been seen for a long time period or because you have not seen them with your own eyes. I can assure you that while you have never seen them, other worlds do exist. And I can also assure you that, while the elements have not been seen in nearly 1,000 years, they will resurface again, and when that happens, the risk of them being taken to these worlds will return as well. In fact, when that does eventually happen, the only way that Equestria will continue to remain safe if ponies just like you dedicate themselves to making sure none of the elements ever finds its way outside of our land."

"Yeah, well when that does happen, you be sure to send me a scroll," Sunset said getting up. "In the meantime however, I am going back to my studies to try and solve an ACTUAL PROBLEM, one that WILL affect us in a very short amount of time unless action is taken immediately, the return of Nightmare Moon. And if you're not going to help me in my research for ways to stop Nightmare Moon, then please do me a favor, and stay the BUCK out of my way with your annoying lectures." Sunset said as she brushed past Celestia roughly. She then used her magic to open the door to the room, before she exited it and subsequently slammed it closed as hard as she could.

…...

Sunset, having finished her flashback, stood up in front of the statue as a wicked grin came across her face. "Hmm, it looks like you were right after all sunbutt, just like you were about so much. The elements were found again weren't they, which means that despite what I thought at the time, that crazy lesson actually was relevant. But while you may right about a lot Celestia, for once, you're going to wish that you weren't, because now that the elements have been found and I know about it, there's absolutely nothing stopping me from taking one from Equestria and using its power against you. And do you know what the best part of all of this is? You told me all that stuff about the elements because you thought I would be able to use that information to help you defend Equestria from those who wished use the elements to take it over, but were it not for you telling me all of that information, I wouldn't be knowledgeable enough about the elements right now to know I could use them to do just that even though I am not actually a bearer of them. Talk about cruel irony. Well in any case I hope you enjoy the next three months of power you have over Equestria sunbutt, because once my plan is put into motion, I can assure you that you will NEVER again be in charge. MWAH HA HA HA HA! MWAH HA HA HA HA! MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sunset laughed evilly

Eventually, once she had had her fill of evil laughter, Sunset whipped out her phone and began typing a text message. It said "Urgent, Meet me before school tomorrow. Big plans for this year," and upon finishing it she typed in the contact information for her two lackeys Snips and Snails and hit the send button. She then laughed again, but quickly stopped as she thought of something, and promptly brought her phone back out again and typed another text message to Snips and Snails. In it, she said "and make sure to show up EXTRA early. Knowing your intelligence, or lack thereof, I'm guessing I'll probably have to explain my plan to you more than once and I want to make sure I have enough time before class starts to do so" She then sent that message too, and her business done, got up and began walking away from the statue towards her home. As she did, she said "Oh boy is this going to be a good year. Not only are my dreams finally going to be accomplished, but I am also about to be remembered in history books for years to come as the first pony who ever dethroned the great and powerful Celestia. Man won't that be great! And heck, who knows? Maybe if I play my cards right they'll even make an animated movie about my plan and release it a few select theaters across the county." With that said, Sunset laughed evilly again, and then turned a corner and disappeared from sight.