Sunset in the Otherworld

by Impossible Numbers


At the End of the Two Worlds

And now she was back. Surrounded by darkness. Listening to the headless horses shuffling. Watched by those two glaring moons.

The stranger nodded. “A most diverting tale, and a most disturbing one indeed. Perhaps now you appreciate the first law in this world: all things must be earned. Bought. Exchanged.”

One sapphire shoe reached into the folds of the black-and-white robe; Sunset glanced down at the flash of gold.

“Two sun discs,” said the stranger, and a smile tugged at her lips. “The farmer Big McIntosh was wrong. Everything has two faces.”

“Hmmm.” Sunset cast her beam about the scarred trunks on either side. Suspicion leaked into her mind. “Is this Gravity Woods?”

So Applejack was attacked from here…

“What you describe as ‘Gravity Woods’ is merely a suggestion in your world of something greater in this one. The true magnificence you see around you.”

Magnificence. Bile rose in Sunset’s throat. “You know what happened. Then you know why I’m here.”

“Your beloved was struck by the living shadow. That creature never ceases to police the divide. It was… overzealous.” A strangely tender sigh. “We… apologize.”

Sunset glowered up at her. For the first time, the stranger’s face had less of an edge, less tension. Further back, the red apple floated in midair.

It disintegrated.

“Nevertheless.” The stranger shook herself down. “To business. You have spent almost two whole seasons – twenty-eight nights – in the dream world and beyond. Now the moment is ripe for you to pluck your fruit. Know only that your beloved’s fate rests in your hooves. Behold!”

Robe fluttering, sapphire shoe streaking across majestically, the stranger gestured to the signpost. Sunset cast her beam upon it. Two arrows, pointing down two paths.

Sunset frowned. What does she mean?

“What’s the difference?” she asked.

Both headless horses straightened up as her beam fell upon them. On either side, the black wheels of the carriage straddled each path. The whole scene was symmetrical, save for the right arrow being higher than the left.

For the first time, the stranger’s voice lowered from its usual rolling intonations; she sounded almost mortal. “What do you mean? Your choice is… clear…”

“Look! The arrows are blank! And the paths are right next to each other. Your carriage is on both of them!”

After casting Sunset a suspicious look, the stranger peered at the signpost, then at the carriage. “Nonsense! We see two arrows, both silver. One red apple points left; three apples point right. Our carriage floats over the gulf between them.”

Now it was Sunset’s turn to cast her a suspicious look. Yet she didn’t really think the stranger was lying; certainty encased those sombre tones as firmly as earth around a coffin.

Wait… Is this the dream world? Or is it something else by now? If we’re on the edge, then are the boundaries weakest here? If so, then it’s a matter of what you make of it –

Big Mac’s memory spoke: “Don’t trust every dichotomy that ponies throw at you. Sometimes, the world really ain’t as black-and-white as they think.”

As firmly as she dared, Sunset closed her eyes. “Not everything has two faces.”

“We beg your pardon?” She heard the rustle of cloth. “Is this a misguided jest?”

“Not everything has two faces. Sometimes it’s many…”

She opened her eyes. She stepped forwards.

The bifurcated pathway snapped apart; four, eight, dozens, hundreds, millions, an infinity of branching paths, all wrapping around each other until her head threatened to split trying to find them. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, stranger colours besides –

Too many. Sunset’s eyes burned and closed more tightly again. “Sometimes, it’s one.”

What are you DOING!?” The stranger’s voice roared from all angles.

“Sometimes, it’s one! The only one that matters!”

This time, she opened her eyes to one post. To one arrow at its peak. Pointing downwards. Where the infinite carriages and horses had been, a red pit opened up.

A village’s chanting voices rose out of the depths: “UNITY IS STRENGTH! UNITY IS STRENGTH!”

Among them cried the voice she’d been dreading to lose forever: “Unity is Strength!”

Her ear twitched. Gold shone from her smile. Warmth gladdened her heart. Dismissing the stranger’s commanding roar, she braced her legs and threw herself into the eye of the red sun.


Falling from the red glow, the dot became a disc became an island. White fangs ran around one half of the circumference; a dot stood opposite. Sunset clenched her eyes against the impact.

Barely a thump went up her legs. She looked.

Her ears drooped. Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped.

The University of Diana stood before her, exactly as she remembered it. Marble columns and steps dared her to step forth. Carved faces of the great alumni sneered down at her. Arched windows looked past her as though she were an insect, and she knew if she turned around, the great clock tower of Old Sleipnir would stand like an alabaster guard ready to evict her.

Ivory towers surrounded her.

It’s an illusion. It has to be. A good one. Nonetheless, she shrank where she stood. The laughter of students haunted her. The clipped tones of tutors hammered like woodpeckers into her skull. No matter what she did, there was always someone better, someone utterly uninterested in her –

She even heard someone shouting from afar, mockingly calling her name.

No. Not mockingly. Both ears twitched.

Applejack’s tone reached her first, and then the words, and when she spun around she was tackled in a sweaty hug that knocked her onto her haunches.

“Sunset! You would not believe what Ah had to go through to get this far!” Applejack broke off, eyes green as sap, her chest heaving with effort. “Ah was at these chalk cliffs overlookin’ this black sea, an’ this ferry mare told me Ah had to pay to cross. Ah had the discs an’ everythin’ – Granny musta left some by my body – but Ah knew you were comin’, so Ah said no. Ah walked away, an’ Ah musta walked for nights, but Ah got to this temple with two towers, an’ some gold king fella kept comin’ in fixin’ things like a unicorn, only he weren’t, an’ then he sent me to the Death Stones, an’ told me to leave that note, only the living shadow tried to eat me, an’ then Ah jumped down a hole to wait for yer, an’… well… here Ah am!”

Sunset didn’t move.

No… it can’t be that simple. This has to be a trick…

“Now what?” she breathed.

Applejack’s rosy-cheeked smile sagged. “Sunset. Ah’m real. That university’s an illusion, but Ah’m me. Look.”

She held up her leg. The black ring sparkled.

“Listen to me. Professor Chess: she’s like Gravity Woods. She’s –”

Then the world wiped across. Applejack was wiped out of existence.

Shock threw Sunset forwards, but thin air met her hooves. Only Old Sleipnir stood coldly over her.

Hoofsteps clicked on marble.

“Ah!” said a familiar voice; it lashed her mind, whipped it into shape. “Sunset Shimmer! My disgraced ex-student.”

She’s not real. She’s not real. None of this is real. Oh, Granny: what have I done?

Powerlessly, Sunset turned to look into the cold, blue, dead eyes of Professor Chess. It was the only colour about her; white coat, white suit, even a pale watch on an equally opalescent chain.

“I assure you I am real,” Professor Chess said, her ice-cube teeth biting the words into respectable pieces. “This university is just a reflection of your memories. But I run deeper than mere memory…”

Old torments clustered about Sunset. Demands to keep to the rules, to stop running in the corridors, to never speak out, to be a good filly… Professor Chess could reduce other tutors to trembling jelly.

“As does your crime.” Nostrils like skull sockets sniffed. “Runaway. Ingrate. Breaching the careful divide between our ivory towers and the little ponies of the countryside. From the beginning, you have created imbalances in the natural order with your stubborn spirit. Even now, you refuse to accept the status quo. That ridiculous stunt with the crossroads… You must respect the duality of the seasons.”

You tyrant! I did what you were too afraid to do! I believe that there’s more to life, just like AJ does! I don’t believe in creating two imaginary sides and then pitting them against each other. The likes of Big Mac and Granny Smith are smarter than you!

But she said nothing. The old fear squeezed her heart, held her hostage to it, kept her low to the ground.

Professor Chess’s snowy, bleached corpse sniffed. “Now you have threatened the stability of reality itself. That’s quite an achievement, Miss Shimmer. I hope you’re proud. You must leave this world. Now!”

Proud?

“Proud!?” she yelled through sheer panic. “Proud!? I’m proud I’m not a dead fish like you!”

Over glasses like frost framed by snow, Professor Chess peered at her. “Excuse me, young lady?”

Apple family stubbornness burned through her, raising her up on its flames. “I made my own fate! Those ‘little ponies of the countryside’ showed me what real achievement is! Warmth! Light! Friendship! No degree will ever match that. Certainly not one from a close-minded tyrant like you!”

The tyrant goggled at her. Gold shone in those glasses.

Sunset turned around.

Rising over the spike of Old Sleipnir, the sun dawned.

“No,” breathed Professor Chess. “Impossible! It’s… mere speculation…”

“So’s thinkin’ everythin’ comes in twos.” Gold wiped past; Applejack stood where she’d vanished, and stepped up beside Sunset.

Professor Chess reeked of sweat. “You must leave!”

“Big Mac tol’ me once that ponies only see in black-and-white when fightin’.” Applejack’s voice rang loud and clear. “Ah fight with my kin all the time. ‘Tain’t pretty. ‘Tain’t nice.”

“Then they are your opponents!”

“But we never lose sight of who we really are. We’re all part of the same family, but we’re all individuals too. Only some folk don’t see that.” She took a deep breath. “So who’re you fightin’, Professor?”

Professor Chess’s face creased with worry. The novelty shocked Sunset into life.

“You don’t have to be this way,” she said gently. “We can help you see –”

The professor’s face… evaporated.

Sunset gasped.

Pale mist faded away, revealing the stranger, black-and-white robe flapping without wind, mouth twisting with effort. Two sapphire shoes rose to hold the head as though afraid it would shatter.

“No!” boomed the stranger, half-commanding, half-mortal. “Everything has two faces. Two sides… balance…”

Applejack stepped closer. “Please. We wanna help you.”

“You must leave! Now!” The stranger shuddered under the strain. “I – We – wish We could believe you… but… I am bound by obligation… Cosmic ledgers must be balanced… I manifested at the university… Maintained order… Kept everyone safe…”

Sunset ducked just as the world flashed with lightning. She didn’t need Applejack’s yelp of pain to know what the stranger had briefly revealed. One glimpse had been enough.

The screech ripped the air.

Applejack held her close and squeezed. Through her own chest, she felt the heartbeat.

Finally, she looked to see the living shadow circling overhead, wings sparkling, legs splayed, winds whipping about its body. Far behind, the sun oozed below the horizon and eased out of existence, leaving only the biting chill and the darkness.

Old Sleipnir cracked. Bricks spiralled out. The clock wrenched itself out of place, and the whole spire shattered and streamed into the shadow's whirlwind. Buildings crashed; pieces of marble flowed into the growing funnel.

The stranger sighed. “Alas… perhaps in another universe, it could have worked… but not here.”

Sunset rounded on her, chafing against Applejack’s grip. “You have to fight it! You must!”

“The living shadow cannot be persuaded. It is my second side. Duality is the Ultimate Reality. It forces me and it forces that mindless monster. I fear you have upset too much by coming here, Sunset. To tamper with fate is to strike at the foundations of the world.”

Applejack’s face was streaked with tears. “So… all this was jus’ for nothin’?”

Around them, the island began to shatter. The living shadow moved so fast that it became one ring, streaked with shooting stars. Chunks of rock vanished within while still more spiralled upwards.

“There is one loophole,” said the stranger.

Both Applejack and Sunset broke apart to face her, legs tensed.

“To restore balance, We need only one soul to stay forevermore. One must return, one must remain.”

They stared at her. Both inside and outside, Sunset’s world was crumbling away. All those nights, all those aches and pains and fears and uncertainties… for this?

“Ah’ll stay,” said Applejack at once.

What? No! I’ll stay. Where’s that sun? I could summon the sun again, if only I knew how to do it… We make our own fate… d-don’t we?”

“Ah was dumb enough to get myself into this mess. You shouldn’t have to suffer ‘cause o’ my slow reflexes.”

“I’d suffer it all a thousand times, if it meant getting you home! AJ, you’ve got something to go back to. Family, friends, a real life. I’m just a runaway who messed up, remember?”

“Forget it. Ah ain’t budgin’. Ah can’t complain; Ah’ve had a good life. You deserve your own now. You’ve got something to go back to, if you jus’ stop pretendin’ to be a martyr for a change an’ actually live!”

A disc thumped between them. They looked up. Framed by the rising chunks of the university, the stranger lowered her sapphire shoe.

“The universe cannot wait for you two!” She gestured to the golden disc. “One side is Sunset’s. The other is Applejack’s. Choose your side.”

Screeching, howling winds savaged the world around them. The ring became a cylinder, enclosing them all. Even the shooting stars vanished into the swirling void.

Sunset looked into Applejack’s eyes. For a fleeting moment, part of her wanted to gallop away, to leap into the maelstrom. End the universe. One without AJ in it was worse than nothing, because then she’d live knowing what she’d done…

Applejack picked up the disc. Caught in the encroaching winds, her tail flailed and her hat trembled on her ponytail. She inclined her hoof, showing the side with the embossed smile.

“Ah pick this side,” she said. “You OK with that, Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t speak. If she opened her mouth, she wouldn’t be able to hold back the twisting pain trying to wrench itself out of her soul. She didn’t want Applejack to see her that way.

Applejack flipped the disc.

It twirled in the air, strangely fiery with nothing but the tunnel of oblivion behind it.

I’m sorry, AJ.

Sunset’s horn flickered.

The disc flickered in response.

Applejack cried out as the gold hit the ground. Golden dust scintillated under Sunset’s magical glow before it faded, revealing the figure that was technically pony-shaped.

“YOU! You cheated!

Sunset couldn’t hold it in anymore; tears burned her eyes. “I made my own fate.”

Beside them, the stranger’s robe flapped and two wings cast shadows over the pair. “So be it. We exchange soul for soul.”

“NO!” Applejack leaped for Sunset, forelimbs wide for the embrace, but kept on rising. She flailed and thrashed and finally went limp, drifting up by yards.

The screech sank to a low, confused growl. Around them, the whirlwind slowed; shooting stars returned.

Sunset threw the hazel wood after her. She opened her mouth to shout one last message.

A flash of darkness. A flash of light. Both at the same time.

Applejack was gone.

Too much to bear, the twisting, writhing pain brought Sunset to her knees. What was left of the world blurred in her vision.

Silence was broken; the stranger’s hoofsteps approached. Silence returned.

“Why?” Sunset whispered through a voice thick with unshed tears. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye. Why? It doesn’t have to be this… this cold.”

Gentle feathers rested upon her withers. The stranger’s touch was ice.

“I know,” said the mortal voice. “Come see me again in fourteen nights.”

The ice faded away. There was a sense of space being emptied. When Sunset looked up and wiped her eyes, the stars were twinkling again.