“Stop it,” Sunset whispered. She was bent over as far as she could with the restraints keeping her in the chair. Her hair hung over her face. “Please, just stop it.”
The mirror had shown her an unending parade of images. Every petty, vindictive, selfish act she had committed from her time as Princess Celestia's student to her reign of terror at Canterlot High. Every insult, every plan, every rotten thing she had done to the students had been shown to her.
It had shown her everything she had ever done to her friends. Destroying the dress Rarity made. Crashing and ruining one of Pinkie Pie's parties that was meant to try to bring everyone at school together. Spreading rumors that Sweet Apple Acres produce was tainted by illegal pesticides. Putting out rumors that Rainbow Dash was using performance enhancing drugs. And worst of all, just making Fluttershy miserable at every encounter they had. It was like being blasted by the magic of friendship all over again, but instead of happening over a few seconds, this never ended.
Her reflection was loving every minute of it.
“Stop? Now?” it sneered. “But we're just getting to the good part. You know, where you get to relive what you did to the girl who put you here in the first place. When you–”
“I KNOW!” Sunset cried, snapping back upright in the chair. Tears were forming in her eyes. “I KNOW WHAT I DID TO HER! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER AFTERWARDS! I WISH I COULD TAKE IT BACK, BUT I CAN'T! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!”
For the first time, the reflection didn't smile. It walked forward and placed a hand on the back of the chair.
“I want you to realize who you are,” it said quietly. “I want you to know that no matter what you do, no matter how many friends you have, no matter how many times you save that pathetic little world from the magic you inflicted on it, there's no way to escape your real destiny.”
The reflection grabbed the back of Sunset's hair and yanked her head back. It leaned its face closer to Sunset, its voice low and dangerous.
“You are going to ruin everything, Sunset Shimmer,” it said. “And when there's absolutely nothing left for you, you'll come back to me and then, oh, the fun we're going to have.”
The reflection pointed back at the mirror and positioned Sunset's head so she could see. Sunset stared as the mirror flared to life again. She gasped at the image of herself, transformed again into her demon self, laughing as the town burned. Her friends all lying dead at her feet, the shattered remnants of the geodes scattered around them.
“No,” she whispered. She began struggling against her bonds, fear and anger sweeping through her. “That is NOT my destiny!”
The reflection snarled and yanked hard on Sunset's hair, causing her to cry out. It hissed into her ear, its voice now dark and twisted.
“Yes, it is. You wanted to know what I want and it's this. You; powerful, invincible, terrible. And when you've burned that world to ash, Equestria will be the next to fall. And from there, world after world after world after – ”
“ENOUGH!”
The voice echoed like a crash of thunder. A golden beam of light shot from the sky and struck the mirror, causing it to shatter into thousands of pieces. The reflection threw up its arms to block the shards, while Sunset tried to curl herself into as small a ball to minimize any impact.
The reflection looked up to see where the attack had come from and it snarled again.
“You,” it growled. It grabbed Sunset's hair again and pulled, forcing the girl to face it. “Don't think we're finished yet.”
There was a burst of flame and the reflection disappeared. Sunset leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. She heard and felt a large form land next to her and move close. Sunset felt a warm sensation on her wrists and ankles and then heard the restraints snap open.
“There. You're safe now, Sunset,” came an all-too-familiar voice. Sunset's eyes snapped open and she stared at the large white form in front of her.
“Princess Celestia?” she whispered. The alicorn shook her head, her mane flowing majestically behind her head.
“No, I'm not the princess, Sunset,” she answered. “But you can refer to me as her if it helps.”
“No, of course you aren't,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “This is still my mind. You're just some aspect of my psyche, just like that thing was.”
“Yes,” Celestia agreed.
Sunset stood up. This was the first time she had ever been around the Princess as a human, and she was surprised to see the princess was still almost a foot taller than her. “So now what?”
“That's entirely up to you, Sunset,” Celestia replied.
Sunset groaned. “I'm sorry, but I think my brain recreated you a little too accurately.”
The princess chuckled. “Well, I'm afraid you'll have to take that up with the brain's owner.”
Sunset stared at Celestia for a moment, then laughed herself. “You got me there. How about we try to get specific? I'm obviously still in the coma, and I can only assume you're here for a reason. So, for right now, what do we do?”
Celestia gestured with her horn. Sunset looked in the direction she indicated. A table had appeared nearby, with a chair on one side and a large cushion on the other. An elegant china tea service was laid out on the top, with a selection of cakes and finger sandwiches.
“For right now,” Celestia said, “We talk.”